Hollywood Immortal

Chapter 620: Record-Breaking Midnight Screenings

[Chapter 620: Record-Breaking Midnight Screenings]

On the early morning of December 19th, Titanic opened its midnight screenings on an unprecedented scale of 7,200 screens across 3,800 theaters.

This release scale actually exceeded the daytime opening scale of the vast majority of Hollywood commercial blockbusters.

Thanks to Linton's immense box office appeal, theater chains provided their maximum support.

Not only did the scale of the midnight screenings break historical records, but the daytime opening screens also shattered records, reaching a staggering 20,000 screens in 4,300 theaters, with a screen share of an incredible 44.4%.

Except for a very few pure art-house theaters and rural cinemas in remote areas, basically all theaters would simultaneously screen Titanic on the first day.

Moreover, Linton remembered that in his previous life, this movie drew a super-strong theatrical cycle curve, winning the weekly box office championship for 15 consecutive weeks, creating an unprecedented, unparalleled, and incredible miracle that far exceeded the screening time of a normal movie.

Since the Early Stage of the 90s, the normal theatrical cycle for films in North America has been 8 weeks, and the box office revenue share is calculated on a sliding scale.

According to the tiered revenue-sharing agreement signed between Universal and the theater chains, a diminishing split model was adopted.

In the first week, Universal's share was 70%, the second week was 65%, and the third week was 60%.

In the fourth week, the share dropped to 45%, then decreased by five percentage points every week, reaching 25% by the eighth week.

Generally speaking, after 8 weeks, a movie is automatically pulled from theaters, except for a few chains that might choose to continue long-term screenings for popular films.

However, for long-term screenings, the theater takes the lion's share, generally as high as 80%, while Universal would receive at most 20%.

If Titanic followed this model for settlement with the theater chains, Universal and Linton Film Company would undoubtedly suffer huge losses.

Therefore, before the promotion and distribution, Linton had Universal negotiate a separate revenue-sharing ratio for Titanic with the theater chains that both parties could accept.

They made significant concessions on the revenue-sharing ratio for the first few weeks in exchange for increasing the share for the later period. Specifically:

Universal's share for the first and second weeks dropped to 60%, and the share for the third and fourth weeks was 55%.

The share for the fifth to sixth weeks was 50%, and the share for the seventh and eighth weeks was 45%.

Starting from the eighth week, if the per-theater weekly box office for Titanic in North America was above $5,000, Universal's share would remain at 40%.

If the per-theater weekly box office for Titanic in North America was between $3,500 and $5,000, Universal's share would remain at 35%.

If the per-theater weekly box office for Titanic in North America fell below $3,500, Universal's share would only be 20% until the movie was pulled from theaters.

Late that night, from Los Angeles to New York, from Houston to Boston, from cinemas in core urban business districts to those in the suburbs...

Linton's fan club members were everywhere, wearing uniform support T-shirts, holding Titanic posters and banners, queuing up to enter in an orderly yet exceptionally excited manner.

Of course, those braving the cold wind to see the midnight screening weren't just Linton's fans; there were also other audience members drawn in by the film's promotion.

Basically, every cinema was swarming with people, with long queues forming.

By the time the movie started, the Titanic halls were basically full, and many who couldn't get tickets had to regretfully buy tickets for tomorrow immediately.

As the movie began to play, the bustling theaters gradually quieted down.

Then, it almost replicated the emotional curve of the premiere—from initial awe to appreciation for the beautiful romance in the middle, to the last half-hour of almost unstoppable tears of sorrow.

From Los Angeles to New York, from San Francisco to Chicago, almost all audience members were deeply moved and shocked by the film.

Some girls were so moved that their tears completely burst through, crying until their makeup was ruined.

Some groups of older sisters held each other and cried together, completely disregarding their image.

The men tried their best to control themselves and not cry out loud, but they were also silently wiping away tears with tissues.

Those who came with their boyfriends leaned on their boyfriends' shoulders, weeping while saying, "You jump, I jump."

...When the movie ended, the credits appeared, and the lights came on, audiences in almost every theater spontaneously burst into applause.

The applause was warm and sincere, for the great love in the movie that transcended class, for the unparalleled visual and auditory shock presented by the film, and for the radiance of humanity shown in the face of disaster.

Audience members walking out of the theaters, each with undried tears, excitedly discussed Jack's sacrifice and Rose's strength, while also being eager to recommend the movie to their friends.

Facing the survey forms handed out by the research company employees, everyone unhesitatingly wrote down an 'A+', and some would even write down their feelings.

At the same time, many audience members silently walked to the ticket windows to buy tickets for tomorrow to watch it again.

The authentic word-of-mouth from the first batch of viewers quickly began to spread widely at an alarming speed through phone calls, ICQ, and various forums on the internet.

The giant ship that is Titanic has officially begun its voyage.

Because the film's duration was as long as 194 minutes, which is 3 hours and 14 minutes...

It wasn't until 4:30 AM that Linton, who had fought several rounds with the ladies in his Los Angeles manor, finally received a call from Levitt of the Universal Pictures distribution department.

"Boss, great news! Our movie's midnight box office is a massive hit!"

"Oh? How much is it?"

"$10.71 million, breaking the midnight box office record of Mission: Impossible."

"It seems the fans are still quite supportive of me."

"Boss, maybe your box office prediction for the movie really can come true."

"What, even you guys didn't believe it?"

"We certainly believe in you, it's just that the figure of $1.8 billion is truly beyond my imagination."

"Well, keep up the hard work and wait for the miracle to happen."

"Boss, remember that our promotional roadshow team gathers at 9:30 AM."

...Just as Linton hung up the phone, Kate Winslet, who had been eavesdropping nearby, pounced over and gave him a sweet kiss.

"Honey, was the Titanic midnight box office a hit?"

"Of course. The midnight box office was $10.71 million; we've set a new record for the North American midnight box office."

"That's wonderful! Shouldn't we celebrate properly?" Kate Winslet happily pulled the other sisters to launch a new challenge against Linton... A new game began once more...

*****

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