[Chapter 329: Intense Fight]
"Harvey, why didn't you accept Link's invitation to collaborate earlier?" Bob Weinstein swayed his hefty body as he squeezed into the back of the stretched Lincoln, glancing at his brother, Harvey Weinstein, sitting across from him.
"Please, if this was really lucrative, do you think Link would be willing to share? He's not known for his generosity," Harvey leaned back against the leather seat, a half-burnt cigar pinched between his fingers, looking out at the Hilton hotel illuminated against the night, a sardonic smile creeping onto his uneven face.
"Isn't it a profitable opportunity?" Bob shook his head. "The movie is great; audiences loved it. Many believe that The Butterfly Effect's box office in North America won't be less than $100 million. If we teamed up with Guess Pictures for the promotion and distribution of this film, we'd see a larger cut of the profits after the movie hits big. This is a guaranteed win."
Miramax was one of the producers of The Butterfly Effect, holding an 18% share of the North American box office and 15% of international revenue. If they participated in the film's promotion, they could potentially secure even bigger profits.
Seeing Harvey's refusal, Bob felt a pang of regret.
"Don't just think about profit. The $100 million North American gross for The Butterfly Effect is an optimistic scenario. This film has a niche subject matter; it leans toward the artful side, and its box office ceiling is not that high. Plus, don't forget the big seven studios. To stifle this movie, they've released the blockbuster Apollo 13 at the same time, and they'll use other means to suppress The Butterfly Effect's box office. With the big seven teaming up, the chances of this movie scoring big are slim."
Harvey paused, shifting his gaze to Bob, his tone growing serious. "If we agree to collaborate on promoting this movie, and then Link asks us to front tens of millions to battle it out with the big seven, should we take the plunge? Putting that kind of money on the line against the big seven is like gambling; the risk of loss is high. It's better to avoid the gamble altogether."
After absorbing Harvey's words, Bob fell silent for a moment before nodding. "You're right; this is indeed risky. Link sees that too. He worried that Guess Pictures wouldn't withstand the pressure from the big seven, which is why he approached us for help."
"Exactly," Harvey scoffed, snuffing out the cigar in the car's ashtray. "Link is incredibly greedy; he rarely shares his profits. That's precisely why he attracts their ire. People like him only share when they're cornered, and he wouldn't part with box office cash unless he had to."
Bob nodded. "Hopefully, the pressure from the big seven will teach him a lesson about greed."
---
After the movie's release, the big seven media groups banded together to promote Apollo 13, flooding the news with coverage and leaving little room for other films to shine.
To counter the big seven's media blockade, Guess Pictures ramped up their marketing efforts for The Butterfly Effect. They promoted the chaos theory of the "butterfly effect" concept, enlisting experts to lecture on science channels, and even tied in a tsunami that struck Chile in March to generate buzz about the term. They aimed to ensure everyone was familiar with it.
They also stirred conversations on topics like, "If you could travel back in time, what would you change?"
What ensued was a heated back-and-forth battle for public attention, creating quite a spectacle. People both inside and outside the industry gathered to watch the unfolding drama. Supporters of Link hoped for the film's massive success to further his cinematic legacy, while detractors were eager for Apollo 13 to crush The Butterfly Effect at the box office, giving Link a taste of defeat.
...
After a week of competing, the box office numbers rolled in.
Apollo 13 took in $42.37 million in its first week across 2,517 theaters, claiming the top box office spot without surprise. The Butterfly Effect also performed decently, earning $28.75 million in 1,874 theaters, placing second while topping the charts in attendance and per-theater revenue.
Crimson Tide landed third, earning just $17.83 million in its second week across 2,332 theaters, significantly lower than expected.
While You Were Sleeping earned $5.52 million this week, landing in sixth place.
...
After the week's figures were released, no one was shocked to see Apollo 13 at the top. The film was based on real events, portraying the harrowing tale of the Apollo 13 spacecraft that experienced an explosion en route to the moon, with three astronauts overcoming immense challenges to survive and return to Earth. The incident held high interest in America, elevating the astronauts to heroic status.
The film's creators were the same team behind Forrest Gump. With such a hot-button topic and the box office star power of Tom Hanks, it was expected to perform well.
However, pre-release forecasts had predicted the movie would exceed $50 million in its debut week, making the $42.37 million somewhat disappointing for the studio. The Butterfly Effect's second-place finish was also no surprise. With a production cost of $12 million and featuring mostly up-and-coming actors, its box office draw was lower.
Still, directed by Link, known for his high box office draw with no past boxes to consider from failures, getting second place was not unexpected.
...
The Los Angeles Times even echoed sentiments of inevitability with three "no surprises" in its report of The Butterfly Effect's box office performance, stating, "The box office success was no surprise," "The storyline was engaging, also no surprise," and "The film's innovative setup was no surprise."
The paper awarded it a high score of 93 out of 100, while Apollo 13 landed at 85 and Crimson Tide at 81.
...
The Butterfly Effect also caught the attention of renowned film critic Roger Ebert.
Ebert was a respected figure in film criticism, awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1970 for being the first film critic to receive the accolade. He contributed insights to over 200 newspapers worldwide. His reviews were not only professional but constructive, clearly identifying a film's merits and defects while maintaining objectivity. This ability made his critiques incredibly influential in Hollywood, with many film enthusiasts treating his reviews as viewing guides.
Ebert published his review of The Butterfly Effect in the Chicago Sun-Times, calling it "the most intriguing film" he had seen that year. He noted that Link used the familiar tropes of time travel to explore themes of fate and choices, unveiling the complexities and unpredictability of time. The movie possessed both depth and interest, even if the narrative logic fell short of perfection -- it was still engaging enough to warrant repeated viewings.
He gave the film three-and-a-half stars, with a maximum score of four.
...
Following the publication of the review, interest surged around The Butterfly Effect, prompting Guess Pictures to keep the buzz alive through media promotions featuring keywords related to the "butterfly effect" and topics like "If you could travel back in time, what would you want to change?" and "Which year would you wish to return to?"
They even invited many stars to publicly share their thoughts, adding to the movie's momentum.
...
Come the second week, fueled by the positive reception and ongoing marketing, The Butterfly Effect saw a notable increase in both attendance and ticket sales, grossing $30.56 million across 2,174 theaters for the week -- a rise rather than a decline, maintaining second place at the box office.
Apollo 13 still held the top spot with $33.53 million, but the drop was steeper than expected.
In terms of critical reception, Apollo 13 also fell short of expectations, receiving an average score of 8.2 from 38 outlets.
The film's strengths lay in its accurate depiction of the historical event, celebrating the astronauts' courageous spirit of adventure; its educational value was distinct. However, it had plenty of noticeable weaknesses.
The pacing in the first half dragged, testing audiences' patience. While the film's adaptation retained authenticity, the director added excessive dramatization to enhance viewing experience, diluting the factual essence.
Overall, it was an excellent adventure film but hardly a classic, and replicating the success of Forrest Gump at the box office would be unlikely.
Coming in third place was Braveheart, released by Paramount Pictures, featuring Mel Gibson and Sophie Marceau, a historical film with a production budget of $55 million, earning $15.55 million in its opening week.
Crimson Tide captured fourth place, taking in $6.51 million.
Although The Butterfly Effect didn't clinch the top spot, its box office performance actually increased, narrowing the gap with Apollo 13 to just over $2 million. If this trend continued, The Butterfly Effect might even have had a shot at overtaking Apollo 13 in terms of ticket sales.
...
"How could this happen? We've done everything to undermine The Butterfly Effect, yet its box office remains strong?" Michael Ovitz exclaimed in frustration upon seeing the numbers.
"The quality of The Butterfly Effect is indeed impressive, and Guess Pictures has mastered the art of film marketing," Ron Bernstein replied, resigned.
Before the summer blockbuster season, Michael Ovitz and the higher-ups at the big seven had held numerous meetings to strategize on how to suppress Guess Pictures' released films by analyzing potential box office draws of multiple blockbusters. They executed an arrangement to release Apollo 13 on the same day as The Butterfly Effect, sandwiching it between solid performers like Crimson Tide and Braveheart.
All three films boasted significant commercial and artistic merit, and the backing of the big seven media group's promotional efforts suggested a high likelihood of box office success.
Universal Pictures' marketing department predicted that with those blockbusters flanking it, The Butterfly Effect would top out around $80 million at the North American box office, with little hope of exceeding $100 million.
Now, two weeks after its release, The Butterfly Effect had accumulated more than $59.31 million at the box office, making a $100 million gross merely a matter of time.
Under the relentless suppression of the big seven, this film was set to surpass the $100 million mark. This effectively mocked their earlier attempts as fruitless.
Michael Ovitz seethed with frustration. He immediately called Ron Bernstein and others, demanding they ramp up promotional efforts to overshadow The Butterfly Effect's exposure and ticket sales, ensuring the film wouldn't see further success.
Ron Bernstein and his team urged patience.
In the coming weeks, major releases like Die Hard with a Vengeance, Waterworld, Jumanji, and Pocahontas were on the horizon.
When these films premiered, several companies would bolster their advertising and marketing, shifting audience focus away from The Butterfly Effect, causing its ticket sales to plummet, alleviating their concerns.
Hearing this, Michael Ovitz began to relax, waiting patiently for bad news about Link.
[T/N: Finally up-to-date with the original.]
*****
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