I am Hollywood

[Chapter 1193: Opening Weekend Box Office]

"Do you remember this?"

Jodie glanced at Eric with her beautiful, bright eyes, feeling a mix of emotions. She vividly recalled a meeting last year when she had unceremoniously rejected Eric's invitation for dinner, made under the pretext of wanting to settle a bet. Who would have thought that a year later, she still couldn't escape from his grasp?

"Of course," Eric nodded, adopting a righteous expression. "How could an upstanding person like me possibly owe anyone anything? So, how about dinner tonight?"

"You're so unoriginal," Jodie teased lightly. "Just dinner?"

"How about we eat at the Liberty City Manor?" Eric smiled, "After dinner, whatever you want to do, I can't possibly say no."

Jodie snorted softly, neither accepting nor rejecting the invitation. "Let's not be so frivolous. Let's talk about the novel. It's getting published next month."

Eric wiped the smile off his face and turned his focus back to the manuscript in front of him. "The idea of an open ending is great, but ending with Ryan successfully returning to Earth feels a bit off. It would be better to add a bit more drama to wrap it up. It doesn't need to be long, but it should give readers more room for imagination."

As they chatted, the afternoon slipped away unnoticed.

In the evening, Eric brought up the dinner invitation again. After a brief moment of hesitation, Jodie agreed to return to Liberty City Manor with him.

...

The next morning, Jodie woke up to find Eric no longer beside her. Yet, she didn't feel any of the typical insecurities a woman might feel.

Ever since she had taken an interest in the Shell Villa, a now-iconic Los Angeles building, she quickly dressed, washed up, and began wandering the extravagant home out of curiosity.

Occasionally, she stopped to admire the art pieces on the walls. While she didn't know much about art, she recognized some of it was painted by Eric himself, displayed alongside those from famous artists.

She chuckled to herself, then realized he had indeed earned that right. She had carefully saved his script for Gravity.

Her thoughts drifted back to the little man, and she inexplicably recalled his mention of their bet and recent plans.

She had been thinking about wanting a child for a while now, but the Gravity project had delayed her for a year.

Perhaps.

She recalled they hadn't taken any special precautions last night. She had even misled him by saying she was in her safe period. Thinking back, there was a part of her that might have hoped for this.

After all, while she had several male friends, she felt a unique connection with only him.

However, she still had doubts about his identity. She had no desire for anyone to speculate that she had ulterior motives regarding his vast fortune. Deep down, she hoped her child would remain distanced from that world.

Having gained fame as a young woman, she had never worried about her livelihood and therefore viewed money rather lightly.

If she were to conceive, she could leverage Eric's outstanding debt to her to claim sole custody of the child. He had enough women in his life already, with three kids, so he likely wouldn't protest.

Lost in these thoughts, she wandered into the kitchen downstairs.

...

There he was, busy at the counter, wearing a light gray turtleneck sweater with sleeves rolled up, paired with khaki casual pants. His tall stature and sharp profile caught her eye, eliciting a flutter of feelings.

When he noticed her, he smiled and continued chopping an apple. Jodie then spotted the bite mark on his right arm.

That bite looked off.

She couldn't help but laugh at the thought that popped into her head.

Eric turned to her, asking, "What's got you smiling?"

"Nothing," Jodie pointed at his right arm. "What happened there?"

Eric raised his right hand to check his watch, puzzled as if he had only just noticed. "Did you sneakily bite me last night?"

Jodie rolled her eyes, unimpressed by his attempt at humor.

Eric was only joking, placing the chopped apple into a glass bowl and mixing it with salad dressing. He laughed, "I came across a girl who thought I was picking on her, so she lunged at me and bit me."

Jodie looked skeptical, catching one particular word: "Thought?"

"Yeah," Eric nodded, "I hadn't met her before; we were strangers at first sight, and then that was that."

Realizing Eric was indeed telling the truth, she wanted to ridicule him but was sidetracked by another question. "What happened next?"

"Next? The prince and the princess lived happily ever after. See, I'm such a good guy that even the worst stories turn into fairytales in my hands."

"I've never seen someone so keen on praising themselves."

Jodie rolled her eyes again, not wanting him to think she cared too much about his personal life, so she dropped the subject and helped prepare breakfast.

Soon, they moved to the dining room.

...

On the table sat a laptop with an email full of data opened. Curiously, Jodie glanced at it, deducing it was movie box office information.

Not wanting to pry, she took a seat and munched on a fruit salad, asking Eric across the table, "How did the first-day box office turn out?"

Eric passed her a glass of milk and then sat down. "It was $24.29 million."

Jodie paused for a moment. Even though Eric had explained some things to her the day before, she still couldn't help but ask, "Isn't that a bit low?"

If it were any other film, $24.29 million on the first day could easily be considered a success. But for Eric, it clearly fell short.

Eric shook his head and elaborated, "Two thousand 3D screens, with an 82% occupancy rate, brought in $20.65 million. One hundred IMAX screens were fully booked, totaling $3.64 million. In sum, $24.29 million -- so do you still think it's low?"

Having grown up in Hollywood, Jodie immediately understood the implications of Eric's explanation.

She wasn't particularly surprised by the nearly full midnight screening he had mentioned yesterday; many blockbuster movies achieve that. But maintaining over 80% capacity throughout the day was impressive.

"That high? If only there had been more screening rooms..."

...

As they discussed this over breakfast at Liberty City Manor, the buzz about Gravity's first-day performance had already spread across media channels.

Despite the remarkable occupancy rates capturing the media's attention, the overall single-day box office of under $30 million still felt unimpressive for Eric.

Consequently, mocking opinions sprouted throughout the media landscape.

Of course, there were also those who understood the situation.

The Los Angeles Times remarked that if Gravity could maintain its box office performance next week without a dip, Eric's new film still had a chance to breach $300 million in North America.

However, to reach that goal, they needed to increase the number of 3D and IMAX screens. With Firefly Group lacking any such plans, it seemed unlikely in the short term.

Moreover, due to the limited availability of 3D films, even theaters didn't naively expand their 3D screen count.

With merely two thousand screens among the total of thirty-six thousand in North America, Firefly Group's reach was only about 5.5%.

While they did their best for national coverage, they could only focus on the mainstream box office cities, which naturally left many fans unable to watch the film.

Soon, complaints circulated online, and traditional media picked it up quickly, framing the issue as a major misstep in Firefly Group's distribution strategy.

Following this, some media suggested that the Firefly Group release a 2D version of Gravity, a sentiment echoed by some of Firefly's executives.

Even if the 2D version of Gravity would undoubtedly still be a classic, it couldn't match the immersive experience of a 3D film.

Since Eric produced Gravity mainly to promote the 3D and IMAX formats, he naturally dismissed those suggestions without hesitation.

...

Over the weekend, Gravity grossed $22.35 million and $19.36 million from 3D cinemas, while IMAX theaters remained completely sold out.

In fact, the hundred IMAX theaters in North America had nearly sold out all tickets within a week, with ticket scalpers already capitalizing on high demand.

In total, Gravity accumulated $76.78 million in its opening weekend.

Between Eric's previous hits like Jurassic Park, Casino Royale, and Iron Man, this figure was just slightly higher than the $71 million Jurassic Park earned during its opening weekend six years prior.

When adjusting for inflation, Gravity's opening weekend box office was the lowest among those films.

Although Thanksgiving was just around the corner, many people worked until the 24th to enjoy a four-day holiday.

So, November 22nd marked the coming of the workweek.

Based on usual trends, box office revenue on weekdays tends to decrease by 60% to 70% compared to the weekends, meaning that four weekdays would typically generate only about 30% of the weekend's revenue.

Using this ratio, Gravity's theoretical box office for those four weekdays would likely only be $23.03 million, bringing its first-week total to around $99.81 million -- barely close to the $100 million mark.

While Gravity's reception suggested a lower drop-off, the outside world generally believed it would not surpass typical box office decline limits.

Furthermore, the media had solid facts backing their expectations for a possible weekday drop-off for Gravity.

The concentration of 2,000 3D theaters limited accessibility, primarily located in mainstream cities and insufficient numbers. Since the distribution was controlled by cinemas, Firefly could not flexibly adjust the 3D theater locations in response to audience numbers.

This had already excluded a significant number of remote viewers.

During the weekend, many audience members might be willing to drive to a nearby city for the 3D experience, but that commitment waned as weekdays reopened.

However, subsequent events revealed that many had underestimated Gravity's box office draw and the new allure of 3D and IMAX films.

...

On the morning of November 23rd, Gravity's weekday box office on its first day astounded everyone.

On Monday, Gravity brought in $14.13 million in 2,000 3D theaters, a mere 27% drop from Sunday's $19.36 million.

Meanwhile, IMAX continued to operate at full capacity.

Consequently, even media outlets previously optimistic about Gravity's performance found themselves in disbelief.

Amid this shock and awe, Gravity's box office momentum remained unbroken in the following days.

On Tuesday, 3D theaters raked in $13.99 million, and IMAX didn't disappoint with full houses.

Wednesday saw 3D box office numbers at $14.53 million, once again reporting full IMAX theaters.

On Thursday, the 3D theaters made $12.27 million, with IMAX outlets staying at max capacity.

Throughout those four days, apart from a noticeable dip on Thanksgiving Day, Gravity recorded occupancy rates exceeding 50% in the North America's 2,000 3D theaters.

Ultimately, Gravity grossed $120.33 million in its first week from those 2,000 3D locations, contributing another $25.74 million from 100 IMAX theaters, which had commenced screenings at midnight the previous week.

In total, Gravity's opening week box office reached $146.07 million, significantly surpassing all forecasts, including those from the Firefly Group's distribution division.

Without a doubt, Gravity had ignited a viewing frenzy that transcended the phenomenon created by Eric's previous three films.

...

When Gravity's final box office numbers came in, all previously cautious parties could no longer stay put.

Even on weekdays, with an occupancy rate over 50%, the future of 3D films looked remarkably bright.

Major North American theater chains abandoned the 3D theater promotion plan initially laid out by the Firefly Group, quickly reaching out to higher-ups at Firefly, eager to expand the number of 3D theaters immediately.

Conversely, IMAX's stellar performance in the market also drew attention from cinemas and Hollywood, and this focus had even overtaken the interest in 3D.

After all, just the hundred IMAX theaters in North America generated $25.74 million for Gravity within a week.

This indicated that under ideal circumstances, just these 100 IMAX theaters could amass over $1 billion in annual box office. That alone would account for a staggering seventh of the total North American annual box office.

However, those 100 IMAX theaters only represented about 0.3% of the total 36,000 screens across North America.

Clearly, no one realistically expected IMAX screens to maintain a 100% occupancy rate indefinitely, but even if their typical fill rate decreased to 70%, the returns from expanding IMAX facilities would still be exceedingly lucrative in proportion to their share of the overall market.

*****

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