[Chapter 129: Box Office]
Compared to the more objective reviews, a staggering 90% of the comments about this film were overwhelmingly negative.
The New York Times bluntly declared it to be a pretentious movie with no entertainment value, asserting it wasn't worth spending five or six dollars and over eighty minutes in a theater.
The Chicago Tribune went even further, calling the film a complete scam. The studio had stirred up chatter about "The Blair Witch" to spark curiosity, leading viewers to watch a deeply uninspired movie, allowing it to become a box office hit.
Payne Buck, a special correspondent for the Tribune, urged the audience not to see The Blair Witch Project, warning that those who did would be seen as foolish.
Famed film critic Justin, writing for the Los Angeles Times, commented that this film had fundamentally altered his perception of the industry, as it broke records for the worst movie achieving the highest box office haul.
Justin recalled feeling that Paranormal Activity was very bad and should not have received such a high box office, but after the release of The Blair Witch Project, that perspective shifted drastically.
Even though Paranormal Activity had its flaws, it was genuinely frightening and its storyline sufficiently cohesive to be deemed an interesting, modern film. In contrast, The Blair Witch Project was merely a derivative work, lacking originality in both its filming techniques and promotional strategies, blatantly mimicking those of Paranormal Activity.
"There's nothing redeeming about it," Justin concluded, and his sentiments resonated with many film buffs.
Previously, while watching Paranormal Activity, audiences had deemed it mediocre at best -- scary, perhaps, but not much else. After seeing The Blair Witch Project, though, viewers suddenly reconsidered their stance on Paranormal Activity, realizing it wasn't so bad after all. At the very least, Paranormal Activity was terrifying and capable of making an audience jump. Meanwhile, The Blair Witch Project was merely a ruse.
Numerous media outlets joined the critique parade, lambasting The Blair Witch Project as a bad movie. Variety magazine wryly noted that American media usually struggled to reach a consensus on hot-button issues, but when it came to condemning The Blair Witch Project, everyone was in agreement, which was quite rare.
...
Despite the deluge of criticism, The Blair Witch Project continued to boast impressive box office figures. It raked in $45.28 million during its opening week alone, with projections indicating that North American earnings would surpass $100 million.
Given those numbers, the media felt a sense of helplessness. They had persistently claimed that The Blair Witch Project was an abomination crafted by the marketing sham of the distribution company, yet so many people couldn't resist their curiosity and ended up watching it.
Unable to chastise the audience, some media outlets turned their ire towards Trimark Pictures and director Ed Merrick, accusing them of exploiting these tactics to push box office sales, which, in their opinion, undermined the integrity of the industry.
Some members of the press advised Trimark president Mark Amin to tread carefully, warning that such opportunistic methods would tarnish the studio's reputation, leading to waning audience support for future releases.
...
"Ha! They must be jealous of us. If this movie had come from their studio, they'd be even more greedy than I am," Mark Amin chuckled, glancing at the headlines.
Link laughed as well. After The Blair Witch Project premiered, numerous media critiques had downgraded the film from a six or seven to a flat zero.
The reasons for this were twofold. On one hand, the movie indeed lacked quality while simultaneously achieving shockingly high box office earnings, causing discontent among many in the industry. On the other hand, The Blair Witch Project's success inevitably impacted the earnings of films from rival studios.
Several of these films came from the major studios, such as Warner Bros. with Falling Down, Universal Pictures with Mad Dog and Glory, Paramount Pictures with Fire in the Sky, and Miramax with Like Water for Chocolate, among others.
Watching The Blair Witch Project soar to success made it tough not to feel jealous, and there were certainly attempts to undermine the film through backed media, firing off criticisms in hopes of diverting audiences toward their own films.
"Link, you really are incredible! Whether it's making films or marketing them, you excel at both. When I go to Guess Pictures, I hope you'll continue to support us," Mark Amin said with admiration in his eyes.
"Absolutely. We'll work hard together from now on, aiming to produce more blockbuster hits and hopefully elevate our company to the ranks of the major studios," Link replied.
"Ha! If anyone else said that, I'd have my doubts, but since it's you saying it, I have full faith because I believe you can make it happen."
...
As The Blair Witch Project continued screening, Trimark and Guess Pictures ramped up their promotional efforts. They incessantly generated buzz around The Blair Witch Project, the missing persons involved, the director, and even Link himself.
The methods of promoting Link were straightforward. Some media outlets speculated whether he was actually the mastermind behind The Blair Witch Project due to its striking similarities to Paranormal Activity in filming style, camera work, and marketing strategies. They were both essentially cut from the same cloth.
Moreover, discussions around the 'Blair Witch incident' had surfaced last summer, before Paranormal Activity had even hit theaters.
Everyone was aware that prior to Paranormal Activity's release, Link and Guess Pictures had widely circulated numerous paranormal events, with the Blair Witch incident being one of the more buzzed-about phenomena of that period.
From this perspective, their promotion of the Blair Witch may have served as groundwork for this film. There was indeed a plausible argument that Link was behind The Blair Witch Project.
However, some media refuted this claim, arguing that Link had been on a book tour since late last year.
His travels spanned from America to Canada, and across North America to Europe, Asia, and Australia, covering millions of miles, with barely any rest in between except for Christmas -- making it virtually impossible for him to be the film's director.
The media contended that this speculation was simply a ploy by Trimark to leverage Link's fame, drawing his fans into theaters -- a move they deemed highly unethical.
Some outlets attempted to interview Link and Guess Pictures about the matter, but both Link and the studio remained tight-lipped.
...
In the film's second week, it earned $37.67 million in 2,312 North American theaters, bringing its total earnings to $82.95 million. This made it the first film of the year to gross over $80 million in North America and it continued its streak as the weekly box office champion.
In second place was the film starring Richard Gere and Jodie Foster, Sommersby, which earned $8.10 million for the week, slightly lower than anticipated.
Third was Falling Down, featuring Michael Douglas, which raked in $7.62 million.
Fourth was Mad Dog and Glory, which saw only $2.10 million in its second week.
Overall, the combined total of box office gross from the second to ninth placed films was still less than that of The Blair Witch Project, a reality that left many feeling despondent -- so much so that they voiced their frustrations loudly.
*****
https://www.patreon.com/Sayonara816.