Easter in 1988 was April 3, and high schools and universities in the United States typically gave students a one- to two-week spring break during this time. Young people are the main moviegoers in the film market, and Easter has naturally become an important time in North America.

On March 25, the Easter schedule opened, and "When Harry Met Sally", which had been screened for two weeks, officially opened on a large scale with 1,077 screens.

In addition, Universal's "Soldier Genius", Orion Pictures' "Johnny the Good Man" and Paramount Pictures' "A Single Man Wonderful" were also released on the same day.

In several new films, it is no coincidence that the starring role of "Genius Soldier" happens to be Matthew Broderick, who has previously clashed with Simon. Matthew Broderick and Michael Fox, who became famous with "Back to the Future", are the two most popular male stars among teenagers in this era, which is why Michael Fox's "The Road to Development" last year was also scheduled for Easter.

Compared with the previous two works with average reputation, Matthew Broderick's new film "Genius Soldier" has been widely recognized by the media. Without When Harry Met Sally, GI Genius would have been destined to be the most popular work this Easter.

Now, through Disney's tireless publicity and word-of-mouth accumulated by two weeks of early screenings, coupled with the hype about Meg Ryan's restaurant scene, "When Harry Meets Sally" is far more popular than other works that have just been released this Easter schedule, both in terms of media evaluation and topic.

What's more, "When Harry Met Sally", a classic film that is still talked about by fans decades later, is naturally not comparable to the teen popcorn movies specially tailored for the Easter schedule by studios such as "Genius Soldier" and "Good Guy Johnny".

As a result, in the first week of the large-scale opening, "When Harry Met Sally" easily won $17.81 million at the box office with a unique attitude.

In comparison, the second-ranked "Genius Soldier" fell directly below $10 million at the box office in the first week, and the first-week box office of 1,239 screens was only $9.13 million, and new and old films such as "Good Guy Johnny" and "Single Man Doing a Lot of Things" were left behind.

From March 25th to March 31st, a total of 17 films released in North American theaters had a cumulative box office of $60.33 million, and only the movie "When Harry Met Sally" strongly divided 29.5% of the box office share, and the other 16 films could only share the remaining 70.5%.

On April 1, when the new week's data came out, although they had been mentally prepared during the screening stage of "When Harry Met Sally", many people still wondered if this was an April Fool's joke.

You must know that among the top five works on the weekly box office list, "When Harry Met Sally" has the least number of screens. Warner Bros.'s "Gold Medal Police Academy 5" even has 1,700 screens, but the film only earned $5.09 million at the box office in its second week of release, ranking fifth, with a cumulative box office of $12.52 million.

Looking at "When Harry Meets Sally", 1077 screens, counting the previous screenings, the cumulative box office has easily exceeded $20 million in three weeks, reaching 21.56 million.

When Daenerys Films promoted "When Harry Met Sally" last year, almost all studios were not optimistic about the project, even after the successive success of Simon's several works, the attitude of the Big Seven towards "When Harry Met Sally" began to loosen, and Daenerys Films finally signed a very unequal distribution contract with Disney.

Although neither side has announced the details of the cooperation, in Hollywood, where there are no secrets at all, this matter has become a topic of conversation among many people in the circle.

After Simon suddenly accumulated a huge net worth through the operation of the stock index futures market, his 'splurge' in Hollywood in the past few months has also been labeled as a rookie, a fat sheep and a nouveau riche by too many people.

For more than half a century, too many attempts to break into Hollywood have been largely lost, as evidenced by the rapid expansion and decline of second-tier studios such as Canon Pictures, De Laurentiis Entertainment, and New World Entertainment in recent years.

Simon Westeros's recent actions, in the eyes of many people, are completely following the old path of companies such as Canon Pictures.

Now, with the release of "When Harry Met Sally", many people are starting to calm down and re-examine a young man who has been in Hollywood for less than two years.

After the large-scale opening of the first week, the box office performance directly exceeded 20 million US dollars, coupled with the explosive film criticism and topic heat, it is obvious that "When Harry Meets Sally" has a very high hope of breaking 100 million at the North American box office.

Or.

Putting aside this conservative attitude, "When Harry Met Sally" is destined to be the first film to break 100 million at the local box office in 1988.

The local box office exceeded 100 million, which seems to be a simple concept, but it is a goal that too many Hollywood filmmakers may not be able to achieve in their lifetime.

You must know that there are about four or five hundred movies that can enter theaters in North America every year, not to mention that it is too far away, but in the past 10 years, there are no more than 5 works that can achieve a box office of more than 100 million in North America every year. Moreover, most of them are concentrated on the best filmmakers and studios in Hollywood in this era to spare no effort to promote and distribute the investment, and the number of works that can hit the local box office of more than 100 million purely as a dark horse like "When Harry Meets Sally" is even rarer.

However, the threshold of breaking 100 million at the local box office seems so easy for a young person.

Simon's three films last year, one won the annual crown and one exceeded 100 million at the box office, even the worst box office performance "The Grim Reaper is Coming" also squeezed into the ninth place on the annual list with a local box office of more than 70 million US dollars.

In the new year, when many people are almost in a lively state of mind watching a young man who starts to 'behave badly' after getting rich, an anti-genre romance film that the whole Hollywood is not optimistic about suddenly once again shows the potential of the local box office to break 100 million.

Four films in a row, four consecutive successes.

Now, as long as people with a normal IQ can no longer think that Simon Westeros's series of successes is just accidental.

“......”

"Meg Ryan is so beautiful, and that scene, haha, it's really classic, I'm going to buy the tape as a collection in the future. ”

“......”

"Do you know that Meg Ryan has other movies?"

"The role of the pilot's wife who died in "Top Gun", have you forgotten. However, Meg Ryan's appearance in that movie was so terrible, and the performance seemed so pompous that it was normal not to remember. It seems that she is still more suitable for the role of Sally. ”

“......”

"Autumn in New York is beautiful, Toby, why don't we go to New York in the autumn to stay at my aunt's house. ”

“......”

Inside a movie theater in downtown Burbank.

At the end of the movie, listening to the comments of the audience who began to leave, Michael Ovitz, the president of CAA, who was still sitting still, said to Michael Eisner, CEO of Disney Company next to him: "If you count "Good Morning Vietnam", this should be the fifth time. At the end of last year, Simon Westeros was desperate to sign Robin, surely because he discovered the box office potential of "Good Morning Vietnam". I stopped it, and I had a little trouble with Westeros about it. I'm still a little skeptical that I'm doing right or wrong, and that Robin may have missed out on a better movie. ”

"When Harry Met Sally" was released by Disney, and if he wanted to see the film, Michael Eisner only had to give him a word of command, and someone would send him a copy. However, he and Michael Ovitz both wanted to experience the repercussions of the film in the audience as much as possible, so they took the time to rush to the cinema together.

Ovitz suddenly became interested in "Good Morning Vietnam" late last year, and the two families arranged a family screening, which Eisner naturally knew. Listening to the lively discussion of the audience around him, Michael Eisner asked, "Can you tell me more about the script, Michael?"

"A feature film called Dead Poets Society," says Michael Ovitz, "and if you're interested, I'll send you a script." ”

Michael Eisner nodded, and suddenly said, "Michael, do you think it's possible for Disney to buy Daenerys Films?"

"After 'When Harry Met Sally,' the other companies must have had this thought," Michael Ovitz shook his head with a smile, "But, you think about that kid's net worth now, how could he possibly sell his film company?"

Michael Eisner said: "Maybe he wants to be affiliated with a big film company, Simon Westeros's talent in film is undoubted, but in terms of company operations, it is a complete mess. It's like "When Harry Met Sally", if I were in his position, I would never have signed the original contract with Disney. ”

In the contract signed between Daenerys Pictures and The Walt Disney Company last year, Daenerys Pictures will have to pay Disney a fixed distribution commission of $6 million if "When Harry Meets Sally" grossed less than $40 million at the North American box office. At the North American box office of more than $40 million, the Disney Company will receive an 18% share of the box office as a distribution commission.

This means that the higher the North American box office of "When Harry Meets Sally", the higher the distribution commission Disney receives as a distributor. Normally, this kind of thing should be the other way around.

Right now

Even according to the North American box office of "When Harry Met Sally" is 100 million US dollars, Disney can get $18 million with this movie alone. Moreover, Disney will also have the right to obtain the first release of the film through other channels.

Since the two are good friends, Michael Ovitz knows a lot about it.

Thinking of Simon Westeros's various actions in Hollywood after he became rich, it seems to be really out of order on the surface.

But.

Pointing to the big screen in front of him, Michael Ovitz said, "Michael, if Simon Westeros hadn't signed such a seemingly loss-making contract, would Disney be willing to go out of his way to promote this movie?"

Michael Eisner paused, with a sudden expression on his face, shook his head and smiled bitterly: "No, and if it were a general agency distribution, I would definitely not give this movie an Easter schedule and more than 1,000 screens." ”

Michael Ovitz shrugged and said, "So, do you still think that young man doesn't know how to run a company? Moreover, this is also a young man who knows how to make trade-offs. He knew that only by giving enough could he get what he wanted. Now, look at "When Harry Meets Sally", even if the North American box office of this movie is calculated at 100 million US dollars, the theater share ratio is calculated as 50%, and Disney can get 18 million US dollars, which seems to be very rich, but Daenerys Films, which also holds the distribution rights of all other channels outside the local theater chain, will be more profitable in the future. ”

The people in the screening hall gradually dispersed, and the two also got up and began to walk out.

Michael Eisner heard Michael Ovitz's words, and after a little calculation, he had to nod with a wry smile again.

Truly.

If it weren't for those conditions that Simon Westeros prescribed, Disney definitely wouldn't have put much effort into the film.

Now, it is Disney that has invested a lot of publicity resources, through two consecutive months of TV trailer promotion, more than 1,000 screens at one time, the popular Easter schedule and a complete set of distribution operations, to ensure the excellent box office results of "When Harry Meets Sally".

Without these preconditions, with the excellent quality of the film, "When Harry Met Sally" may still be a big hit, but the box office performance will definitely not be as good as it is now. Moreover, the local box office can exceed 100 million, and it is immeasurable to boost the subsequent distribution of the film through all other channels.

According to the revenue ratio of Hollywood film platforms, the total revenue of "When Harry Meets Sally" in overseas, TV and video channels will be three to four times that of the domestic box office, and since the subsequent release does not require much investment in publicity, the profit is even more lucrative.

Moreover, even after deducting commissions and publicity investment, Daenerys Pictures will recover all the production costs through the North American box office, and no matter how much the follow-up channel distribution receives, it will be a net profit.

In this way, Disney only received $18 million in commissions, but suffered a loss.

The two got into a car parked outside the theater together, and waited for the driver to drive back to the Disney headquarters before Michael Eisner said again: "So, Michael, what do you think of the films that Simon Westeros has set up during this time?"

"I've read most of the scripts, such as 'Rain Man,' a project that I spent more than a year personally promoting, as well as 'Dead Poets Society,' 'Steel Magnolia' and a few, and in all fairness, I think these scripts will make a good movie, but the box office potential in terms of commerciality is hard to guarantee. Michael Ovitz thought and said, "After all these years in Hollywood, everyone knows that no one can predict whether a movie will be successful or not until it is released, but I am not sure about that anymore. ”

Michael Eisner said, "So, do you think Daenerys Films films can be like 'When Harry Met Sally'?"

Michael Ovitz shook his head and said, "I don't know, but if I were you, I would definitely start working on a few films from Daenerys Films that have not yet confirmed distributors, at least, I would try to maintain a good relationship with Daenerys Films." ”

Michael Eisner nodded, but suddenly said, "However, you don't seem to be doing that in your current position." ”

"That's a big ambitious little guy," Michael Ovitz said, with a reminiscing expression, "You know, the first time we met, he revealed a certain will, he wanted Hollywood to go back to the big set era." In the era of big studios, when stars were only employees of film companies, there was no room for the survival of the agency, how could this be? Therefore, we were destined to only become rivals. ”