Halloween is coming, and Halloween parades will be held in many major cities across the United States, and monsters in different costumes have begun to appear on the streets, such as Jason, Freddy, Skull Mask Killer, etc., can be seen everywhere.

The masks of the "Human Eradication Project" series, which was launched before Halloween, also became a hit.

At the entrance of many theaters, you can see fans wearing masks.

Together with other horror characters, these people make up the most fanatical and hardcore horror audience of the Halloween schedule.

But these people enter the theater and find that there are far fewer horror movies to choose from for Halloween this year than in the past.

Like the "Halloween" series, which is launched every one or two years, this year it turned out to be a no-show.

In the theater, a young man took off Jason's mask and asked, "Don't you have a screening of "Nickrey the Satan's Son?"

"There is no film schedule for this film. The ticket seller explained with a smile: "This film is a small-scale test screening, and our theater has no scheduled films. ”

The man looked up at the screening schedule and frowned: "There is no "Vampire King" either?"

The ticket seller was extremely patient: "The two films you mentioned are both small-scale test screenings, and there may be no films scheduled in the entire Los Angeles area." She recommended: "If you like to watch horror movies, you can try this "Human Removal Project 2", a very high-quality horror movie." ”

For many movie fans, just like Thanksgiving and Christmas are about going to see a family show, Halloween is also about watching horror movies.

Over the years, it has gradually become a movie-watching tradition.

"Hey, do you want to buy tickets?" The people waiting in the back got impatient and shouted at the conductor, "Give me three tickets for the Human Eradication Project 2." ”

The conductor hurriedly collected the money and issued the ticket.

Jason Masked Man looked at the film schedule again, except for the previously released films, there are not many newly opened movies in this theater, basically "Human Erasure Project 2" and "Return to Glory", but the latter is obviously not a horror film.

Three hours later, there will be a "Beautiful Legend of Sicily", as if it were the only one today.

He had seen the trailer of this film before, the director and the heroine were very unfamiliar, it was still an Italian movie, even if it was boring, he would not watch it.

There was no other choice, and Jason Masked Man said, "Give me a ticket for Project Human Removal 2." ”

The films released a few weeks ago have already passed the hottest stage, and the "Robbery and Abduction" released last week is a British film, and the response is relatively average, among the films that opened this week, "Human Eradication Project 2" is the only horror film that has been opened on a large scale, and it is also the film with the highest film schedule rate in major theaters at present.

A high screening rate means more screens, and more screens have room for more audiences.

This traditional horror film is strong, and the biggest competitor of "Human Erasure Project 2" is "Return to Glory", and the audiences of both sides are not the same.

If calculated by the standards of a few years later, the cast of "Return to Glory" is definitely superstar-studded, with Will Smith, Matt Damon and Charlize Theron as the three leading roles, but this sports inspirational film about golf has been looked down upon by theaters, even if DreamWorks hired Twentieth Century Fox as the distributor, there are only 2,000 theaters in North America.

"Human Erasure Project 2" is not only the largest film released on Halloween, but also the scale of publicity and promotion is second to none.

"A night of violence is naturally indispensable for all kinds of scenes and scenes of torture and slaughter. At least visually, it's an essential standard. ”

"In addition to the comprehensive upgrade of fighting skills and shooting skills, "Human Clearance Project 2" also showcased the debut of many powerful weapons. For example, heavy machine guns mounted in trucks, various grenades, etc. All in all, in terms of visual effects, "Human Removal Project 2" is much more enjoyable than the previous one. ”

The promotion of advertorials is a means often used by paper media publicity.

Friday's daylight passed quickly, and after the sun went down, the number of audiences in theaters across North America increased dramatically.

Even those who are hiding at home and watching TV will not be able to escape the propaganda bombardment of "Human Eradication Plan 2".

As the clock approached twelve o'clock in the morning, Tom Cruise sat in the living room of the mansion with no intention of going to sleep.

Penelope Cruz was next to him, watching TV with him.

"On an investment of $1.5 million. Penelope-Cruz was a little unimpressed: "Do you need to pay attention all the time?"

Tom Cruise shook his head: "This is my first time working with Ronan. ”

Penelope-Cruz said: "Is he really as good as you say?"

Tom Cruise suddenly laughed: "Who is the most representative commercial producer in Hollywood today?"

"Hmm......" Penelope Cruz thought for a moment and said, "Jerry Bruckheimer?"

Tom Cruise said lightly: "I worked with Jerry Bruckheimer in "Top Gun", not to mention when I just entered the production industry, even Jerry Bruckheimer during "Top Gun" is not as good as Ronan now. ”

Although he knew that Tom Cruise admired Ronan Anderson very much, Penelope Cruz was still very surprised: "This is too exaggerated, right?"

Tom Cruise simply explained: "Jerry Bruckheimer has made it this far, and Don Simpson has played a key role. In Jerry Bruckheimer's early production career, Don Simpson shielded him from the wind and rain and stopped most of the troubles, including project selection, and it was Don Simpson who really played a decisive role. ”

He smiled: "Look at Ronan again, no one shows him the way, no one shelters him from the wind and rain, and no one chooses projects for him, he has to rely on his own analysis and judgment for all major decisions, and the biggest pressure is also his own responsibility, he can have today, not by the help of others, but by himself." ”

"But he also has failed projects like 'Ace Agent!'" Penelope-Cruz countered.

The smile on Tom Cruise's face was even stronger: "'Ace Agent' failed? You don't understand ......"

He didn't go on to explain, and for a woman who didn't understand filmmaking, there was no need to explain at all.

The film was a box office failure, but anyone who knows the operation can guess that Ronan and his company are the winners of the project.

If the film fails, the company that shoots the film may not lose.

These things are too complicated, there is no need to tell a vase woman.

She may not understand it.

A woman like Penelope Cruz, who only uses her body to climb up, simply doesn't understand what a young producer who has been successful in a row represents.

Not everyone can win his friendship with Tom Cruise.

A lion will never be friends with an antelope.

For some reason, Penelope Cruz had a feeling that that Ronan Anderson was much more important than she was in Tom Cruise's eyes.

Penelope-Cruz wonders if the two men have some ulterior secrets.

She suddenly felt that it was best if "Human Removal Plan 2" failed!

This film, Penelope Cruz has seen the premiere, the film has no artistic content at all, it is bland and vulgar, and the failure is a matter of course.

Shouldn't bad movies hit the streets at the box office?

While thinking about it, Penelope Cruz quietly looked at Tom Cruise and realized that Tom Cruise's attention was not on her at all, but on the TV report about "Human Erasure Plan 2".

As a thriller film, the first film in the film series has a slightly smaller layout, mainly entangled in the theme of good and evil, not only limited to a single family, but also extended to only a little bit of hatred of the rich brought about by the gap between the rich and the poor. ”

The commentary and reports on this TV show seem to be belittling, but in fact they want to promote and suppress.

"In "Human Eradication Project 2", in addition to the visual effects full of violent scenes, the humanistic theme of the film also has a great extension. The line of arming the male protagonist mainly emphasizes the theme of whether violence should be countered with violence in the face of unintentional harm from others. The young couple is a sublimation of abandoning emotional entanglements before the crisis. The most important theme, of course, is the main line of black mother and daughter, which is seamlessly connected to the plot design, elevating the entire purge plan to the level of political intrigue. ”

Penelope Cruz couldn't help but sneer in her heart, just this kind of film, it's embarrassing to say that there is a humanistic theme?

"It is conceivable that the creators of the "Human Eradication Project" series do not seem to want to dominate the genre of horror thrillers, and they obviously have greater ambitions to extend the life of the series as long as possible......"

The TV was still playing, Tom Cruise's cell phone rang, and Penelope Cruise picked up the remote control for the first time and turned off the TV sound.

It just so happened that it made her uncomfortable flattering voice disappear.

Penelope Cruz went to see Tom Cruise on the phone, his eyes swept over the wall clock on one side, and before he knew it, it was past twelve o'clock in the night.

"yes, I see. Tom Cruise was clearly in a good mood, and his handsome face almost burst into laughter: "You keep an eye on the film, so be it." ”

Seeing Tom Cruise hang up, Penelope Cruz asked with concern, "What's wrong, honey?"

Tom Cruise put down his phone and said directly: "Today's North American box office statistics are out, and "Human Erasure Project 2" won $13.6 million on the first day of release!"

Penelope Cruz's face was about to collapse in an instant, but she was a veteran actress who had been tested for a long time, no matter what her actual thoughts were, she immediately squeezed out a happy smile and stood up to hug Tom Cruise: "Tom, the film you invested in is a big hit, congratulations!"

Tom Cruise patted her on the back lightly, very calmly: "Expected success." ”

The film cost $6 million, and it got $13.6 million on the opening day in North America alone.

Ronan is really amazing!

He picked up his phone and dialed Ronan's number, this guy has been busy with work lately, and there should be no female companion to do sports.

Penelope Cruz listened to Tom Cruise on the phone about what the production cost of $6 million, and his face suddenly became hot.

A film that cost $6 million to shoot and produce got $13.6 million at the box office on the first day of release, which is too exaggerated, right?

What will be the final box office, and will it be ten times the cost of production?

Penelope-Cruz finally understands why Tom Cruise is valuing the measly $1.5 million investment.

Early Saturday morning, as soon as Ronan arrived at the office, Assistant Connie put the first-hand information of "Human Eradication Plan 2" on his desk.

The box office of $13.6 million on the first day of release unsurprisingly overwhelmed all the films screened in the same period and won the single-day box office championship.

And the advantage of "Human Removal Project 2" is very large, and the box office of "Return to Glory", which ranks second, is only $3.85 million on the opening day.

Ronan knew very well that "Return to Glory" would not have grossed $13.6 million over the weekend's three days, and "Human Removal Project 2" had already locked in the box office title for the week ahead of schedule.

For example, if this kind of typical commercial movie has an excellent box office performance, then the corresponding movie theater will increase or remain the same, but if the box office is not good, then some movie theaters may reduce the number of films, so the box office will be less.

The most test of the box office in the first week is the film's pre-publicity and marketing and public opinion.

Like a sequel movie, the influence of the previous movie can also be carried over.

Ronan has first-line market data obtained by a research company hired by him, and a sample survey in theaters shows that nearly 75 percent of the audience who went to watch "Human Eradication Plan 2" yesterday had watched the first film, of which 67 percent were male and 59 percent were under the age of 25.

In other words, the promotion of "Human Eradication Project 2" played a role, and young men under the age of twenty-five formed the main audience of this film.

The commercial strength of the sequel film is also fully revealed.

In terms of other statistics, there are also word-of-mouth statistics after the first day of the film.

The Rotten Tomatoes website currently collects 37 professional film critics' film reviews, nearly half of which are negative, and even if they are positive, the critics do not score them highly, and the freshness of "Human Erasure Project 2" is inevitably marked as rotten, only 58 percent, and the average critic score is 5.4.

Compared with professional film critics who have always treated commercial films with a harsh eye, ordinary audiences judge movies based on their most intuitive likes and reviews, and there are more than 1,500 user ratings on the IMDB website, with an average score of 7.2.

In addition, MetaCritic included reviews from 35 media outlets, with an average rating of 6.3.

Most of the media gave it a good review.

"Project Human Removal 2 effectively exploits the setting from the first installment, and brings us more visceral excitement than the first one. ”

- The Hollywood Reporter

Director James Wong doubled, and sometimes tripled, the themes of the domination of social power in the story with "Human Erasure 2," and the ferocity and transparency of these ideas resonate. ”

—The New York Times

"The film's creators tried to give importance to the plot of this action thriller, even though it made us addicted to violence. But the film still uses high-intensity weapons, armored vehicles, vigilantes and predators in clown masks to remind us of the brutality of violence and government organization. ”

- Los Angeles Times

In a country like the United States, where violence is rife everywhere, anti-violence themes like "The Human Eradication Project" seem to be very popular.

As for film critics, a lot of commercial films can ignore them.

After Ronan read the statistics, he called Embassy Pictures and asked Embassy Pictures to continue to promote publicity and promotion, and use the remaining $2 million publicity budget to where it should be used according to the plan.

This film, which has no suspense in North America, is bound to be a success.

Ronan is more concerned about the overseas market, what will happen overseas?

Near noon, data from overseas markets came back one after another, as a foreign film, in many countries and regions, "Human Removal Project 2" is not the largest released film, and some countries will also promote their own horror films during the Halloween schedule.

The United Kingdom, Germany, Brazil, Mexico, and Australia have faxed relevant information, and according to the local offices' own sample survey statistics, the attendance rate of "Human Eradication Plan 2" is generally good, but the specific box office data will not be counted until a few days later.

Hollywood movies in overseas markets, of course, can't be as convenient as in North America.

Moreover, North America is the largest and most mature film market in the world, from law to system to commercialization.

On Saturday, "Human Erasure Project 2" remained independent in North American theaters, collecting another $14.2 million on the same day, and there is no suspense that it will become the biggest winner of the Halloween schedule.

Ronan's road to serialized films has also taken a solid step.

Looking at today's world film industry, the sequel to a blockbuster movie is undoubtedly the least risky commercial film.

"Ronan, "Death is Coming 2" is also going to be on the agenda as soon as possible. ”

George Clint, who had just returned from Europe, was very concerned about the progress of the series: "Sequel films are too easy to succeed compared to original films. ”

Ronan was calm and said, "I'm already looking for the right director." ”

James Wong signed a contract with Revolution Film Studio, a subsidiary of Sony Entertainment, and it is impossible to come back in the short term, and Ronan will not wait for him all the time, without James Wong, he can always find other suitable directors.

"Don't worry. Ronan added, "We have a lot of time. ”

George Clint nodded and said, "I think that "Death is Coming 2" should be given priority, like "Tales of the Night" should be postponed for the time being. ”

Ronan smiled: "George, there is no successful first part, how can we make a sequel?"

"yes. George Clint has been too busy lately and said, "I've been busy for the past two days. ”

Ronan asked, "What's going on over there?"

George Clint replied: "Paul Greengrass has moved into post-production and is in the process of first cutting the shots. You can rest assured that you will be able to complete it as planned. ”

Ronan thought for a moment and said, "You take the time to contact Roland Emmerich's assistant Len Wiseman and see if he wants to direct the movie alone." ”

George Clint made a note of it: "Okay, I'll contact him as soon as possible. ”

It didn't take long for George Clint to leave, and Connie entered the office and sent Ronan a schedule for this time for Ronan to finalize.

"Fatal Bend" has started filming, Ronan must go to Louisiana to see the situation, "Twilight: Twilight" has been delayed until November due to several revisions, and Random House also needs to talk to him about the follow-up.

"Tales of the Night" is also ready to start preparation......

Also, the Robert Lee negotiations in New York were not very smooth, and the other side of the negotiations wanted to meet Ronan in person.

It's about future plans, and Ronan has to go to New York next month.

Now that the stock market is plummeting, triggering an economic crisis and many companies are in trouble, it is the best time.

When these companies recover from their efforts, it will be ten times more difficult to win some of the film rights in their hands.

Ronan is also looking forward to his trip to New York.

He thought about it for a while, and personally called the Mountain Foundation in India to communicate with Roth Khan's uncle and nephew that "Tales of the Night" needed investors.

Roth Khan's uncle and nephew will come to Los Angeles in some time to discuss reinvestment.

There are also offline channels, and there are also continuous information from Netflix, and the collapse of Internet stocks has made Netflix more and more bleak, but it has not yet reached the point of exhaustion.

Based on Ronan's first-hand information, it is possible to wait.

On the weekend before Halloween in 2000, the film market belonged to "Human Erasure Project 2", but compared with previous years, the market dominated the situation, which also indicates that this is the most deserted Thanksgiving schedule in the film market in recent years.

A movie, in the case of dismal screenings of other films, stands out and always attracts the attention of many people.

On Monday morning, in Glendale, Los Angeles, Steven Spielberg specially invited Jared Katzenberg to his office.

The DreamWorks triumvirate is divided, but the general direction and interests are always the same.

Unfortunately, David Geffen has decided to fade out of DreamWorks, and the Big Three has gradually become a Big Two situation.

"Did you read last weekend's box office stats?" Spielberg asked.

Jared Katzenberg shook his head: "Before I had time to look, I came to you at work." He asked, "I remember that DreamWorks had a live-action movie that premiered last weekend, right?"

Spielberg pushed down his disc glasses and said, "yes." Back to Glory starring Matt Damon and Will Smith ”

Hearing these two names, Katzenberg naturally asked, "Did you win the box office?"

"Nope. Spielberg's old face is not very good-looking: "I didn't win the box office championship, but only the second place in the box office list." ”

At this stage, Katzenberg has been studying the latest computer animation technology at DreamWorks Animation Studios, and has not paid much attention to the situation outside of DreamWorks, so he can't help but ask: "Aren't all low-budget horror films released on Halloween? Films starring Matt Damon and Will Smith can't lose out to those B-grade horror films, right?"

Spielberg's face was gloomy, and he could only say: "I really lost to a small-budget horror film." ”