A film needs proper promotional strategies to achieve box office success.
For promotion to be effective or even exceed expectations, it is essential to identify the film's target audience and implement strategies that can influence them.
Setting aside the online manipulation of ratings and reviews surrounding The Matrix, the offline survey data collected by Hollywood's professional research agencies, commissioned by Touchstone Pictures, was also quite encouraging.
The offline audience approval rating for The Matrix remained above 92%, meaning there was little concern about its reputation.
Fans of The Matrix generally fell into two categories. One group was drawn to the film's coolness, captivated by Keanu Reeves' Neo and Charlize Theron's Trinity.
The other group consisted of detail-oriented fans who enjoyed analyzing the film's intricacies. These fans often interpreted elements of the movie from angles even director Gilbert had not considered.
For instance, a particular shot or scene might appear insignificant on the surface. However, these meticulous fans would attribute deeper meaning to it and compose lengthy analyses, which were so compelling that even Gilbert found them convincing.
Of course, to further stimulate fans' interest in exploring the film's details, Gilbert and the marketing team undertook several initiatives.
First, they utilized online influencers to steer public discussion.
Articles such as "13 Details You Missed in The Matrix," "The Intersection of The Matrix and Eastern Philosophy," and "The Deep Concepts of The Matrix as Explained by Director Gilbert" flooded the internet.
While this type of promotional strategy became commonplace in later years, in this era, it was groundbreaking—completely novel and highly effective.
As these promotional articles gained traction, more fans joined the discussion, voluntarily writing their own interpretations.
Some fans even argued over differing opinions. To validate their viewpoints, they would repeatedly watch the film, searching for evidence to support their theories.
This was beneficial for The Matrix since it boosted ticket sales.
Additionally, the film's official marketing team organized a series of events.
For example, Disney's ABC network invited several philosophers, senior Christian pastors, and even two Buddhist monks from Japan to participate in a television program.
The purpose of this show was to discuss the philosophical themes of The Matrix and its interpretations of Christian and Buddhist ideologies.
While the debate itself was secondary, the primary goal was to keep the film in the public eye and encourage audiences to return to the theaters, increasing box office revenue.
Faced with such an intricate and multifaceted promotional campaign, Sony-Columbia Pictures was completely caught off guard.
Michael Ovitz and Martin Bob were dumbfounded—the opposition's tactics were too unpredictable and unconventional, making them impossible to counter.
After several meetings, they concluded that The Matrix's marketing strategy was impossible to replicate.
This was because the film itself had an exceptionally high level of discussion and contained numerous intriguing elements worth exploring, which naturally piqued fans' curiosity.
But Armageddon? Audiences could predict the ending right from the beginning. The story was straightforward, without hidden layers of meaning.
For a film like that, viewers simply wanted an enjoyable experience. They had no interest in deciphering deeper messages.
Fortunately for Armageddon, The Matrix was an R-rated film with a limited audience reach.
Families with children would never choose The Matrix, but they could watch Armageddon.
So, while The Matrix's marketing campaign was unique, the fundamental audience gap remained significant, merely balancing out the competition.
As the first weekend ended and the weekday screenings began, the two films continued their fierce box office battle.
Under the pressure of these two summer blockbusters, the survival space for other films shrank drastically.
Apart from Rush Hour and Titanic, only a handful of films managed to hold their ground, while most others were pushed out of the market.
Thanks to its well-executed marketing strategy, The Matrix emerged as the weekday champion, earning $30.51 million over four days, bringing its total North American box office to $95.37 million.
However, Armageddon wasn't far behind, grossing $28.09 million over the four days, bringing its total to $90.11 million.
With the two blockbusters driving ticket sales, the summer box office market continued to surge. Following the record-breaking opening weekend, the second-week weekday box office also reached an all-time high.
Industry insiders were ecstatic, hailing the arrival of Hollywood's blockbuster era.
Although the blockbuster era had already begun, never before had two major films clashed directly yet both thrived.
This kind of healthy competition proved that the summer market had enough room to accommodate two or even more big-budget films simultaneously.
Before Gilbert embarked on his North American promotional tour with the film's cast and crew, Robert Iger personally sought him out for a discussion.
Gilbert's perspective was that the North American movie market had matured significantly. To dominate the summer season, a film's core quality had to be strong.
"Bob, don't underestimate Armageddon just because its reviews aren't as strong as The Matrix's. That's only relative," Gilbert said.
"In terms of summer blockbuster standards, Armageddon is still top-tier."
Robert Iger agreed. "You're right, Gilbert. It's clear that we share the same viewpoint.
The movie industry ultimately revolves around the films themselves. A booming market doesn't mean studios can act recklessly."
Iger's clarity of thought was commendable. Many studios, driven by the massive success of Titanic and the current summer box office boom, had begun overextending themselves.
Several studios rushed multiple projects into production without thorough research or preparation, all with budgets exceeding $100 million.
Even Hollywood's major studios were guilty of this, especially MGM, which had greenlit four blockbusters, each costing over $100 million.
While most of these productions were financed through Wall Street investors, any potential losses would still significantly impact MGM.
Among these, the latest 007 film had an enormous $150 million budget and featured French actress Sophie Marceau.
To be honest, Gilbert wasn't optimistic about this project's box office prospects.
That French beauty had even wanted Gilbert to direct the 007 movie, but he had flatly refused.
Established directors generally avoided directing 007 films—if the movie succeeded, the credit wouldn't go to the director, but if it failed, they would be the ones to face harsh criticism.
Failing on such a well-known franchise would be a fatal blow to a renowned director's reputation.
Now making another attempt in Hollywood, Sophie Marceau had no more reservations and directly moved into the Melon Estate, openly showing whose side she was on and hoping to receive special treatment.
But Gilbert had no time to be distracted. At this moment, he was traveling across North America with the The Matrix team for promotional events.
The strong performance of The Matrix put Sony Columbia Pictures on edge. Many executives had initially opposed going head-to-head with The Matrix, but it was that short islander executive who insisted on the decision.
Was it because Gilbert had slept with several of their country's goddesses? That was ridiculous. Weren't goddesses meant to be slept with?
Regardless, the consequences of that Japan executive's stubbornness weren't too severe. Armageddon still met expectations and performed quite well.
Because of Armageddon's impressive performance, the Japan executive, Kazuo Kojima, even received praise from the parent company back in his country.
But now came Godzilla.
With two massive summer blockbusters dominating the second weekend—one of them from their own company—could Godzilla withstand the competition?
Kojima's initial plan was to use Armageddon to crush The Matrix and pave the way for Godzilla.
But now, not only had The Matrix not been crushed, but it had exceeded expectations.
Meanwhile, Armageddon hadn't collapsed either. Both blockbusters had successfully carried their momentum into the second weekend, which only increased the pressure on Godzilla.
For Kojima, Godzilla was undoubtedly the project he valued the most.
This was because there had always been a plan among Sony's top executives to promote Japanese culture in North America, and Godzilla was meant to be the spearhead of this effort.
But with the vanguard facing such fierce resistance, their cultural expansion strategy was now in jeopardy.
Kojima had clearly overestimated Godzilla and the influence of Japanese culture in North America. While Japanese culture had a solid niche market, it was far from mainstream.
Audiences had already seen Jurassic Park, and they weren't particularly interested in a giant monster from Japan.
Moreover, this version of Godzilla was filled with traces of Jurassic Park imitation—if you covered up the title, people might mistake it for Jurassic Park 3.
As a result, Godzilla's reception at test screenings was far from ideal.
Despite this, Godzilla still stuck to its release schedule on the second weekend of The Matrix and Armageddon, confidently charging forward—only to secure third place at the box office.
During its opening weekend, Godzilla managed only $21.51 million, a figure lower than what The Matrix and Armageddon had each earned in a single day on their opening weekends.
Meanwhile, The Matrix saw only a 35% drop in its second weekend, earning $42.15 million in three days and pushing its North American box office total to $137 million.
Achieving such strong results caught both Disney and Warner Bros. off guard.
They had initially feared that Godzilla would significantly impact The Matrix's second-weekend earnings.
But to their surprise, this Japanese monster was so weak that it fell before even putting up a fight—worrying about it had been unnecessary.
Over at Sony Columbia Pictures, reactions were mixed—both relief and concern.
The good news was that Armageddon had performed well in its second weekend, with only a 40% drop. It earned $37.21 million over the weekend, bringing its North American total to $127 million.
Although the gap with The Matrix was widening, Armageddon was at least meeting expectations. It was projected to end its North American run with around $220–250 million.
The bad news was that Godzilla had flopped.
Despite Sony Columbia Pictures' extensive efforts—and the proactive involvement of Michael Ovitz and Martin Bob in negotiating with North America's major theater chains—things didn't look good.
As the new workweek began, Godzilla's theater count was brutally slashed, dropping from 2,600 screens to just 1,200.
And that was after Ovitz and Bob had done a great job—otherwise, Godzilla would've been left with only a few hundred screens.
The screens that were freed up? Naturally, they were given to The Matrix and Armageddon.
Michael Ovitz had never expected this turn of events. They had originally planned to divide up the theaters The Matrix would free up—but in the end, it was Godzilla's theaters that were up for grabs.
Ironically, one of the films benefiting from this redistribution was Armageddon, a project he had helped package. There was something almost darkly humorous about the situation.
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