San Diego, California, a small city famous for its comic book exhibitions and military bases, has fallen asleep at midnight, with only a few theaters in the city still brightly lit and as noisy as daytime.

No sooner had than one of the early screenings of "American Sniper" ended, David James, a front-line market researcher from Cinema Score, showed up at the exit of the screening room, ready for gifts and a small tape recorder, and immediately greeted an audience member as he walked out of the exit.

After a simple explanation of the intention and a small gift, the fan, who looked a little strong, happily accepted the consultation.

"The film is very real, I have been on the battlefield in Afghanistan, and the real war is actually like this, plain and cruel, especially the city clean-up battle, any inconspicuous corner, a deadly bullet may be fired. ”

This fierce fan is obviously a veteran, and he particularly agrees with "American Sniper", "There is also Matthew Horner's performance, how to say it, it is very simple, most of the snipers I know are the way he plays, hiding in a certain high place, without words, but guarding the safety of his comrades." ”

He talked a little too much, "Matthew's professionalism is undoubted, every tactical move is like a real soldier, and his military literacy is very high." ”

David James nodded frequently and asked, "Can you rate this film?"

"Score A, the battlefield is more real and brutal than this film. The fierce fan paused and gave a thumbs up, "Matthew Horner's performance is A+! ”

"Okay!" David James quickly said when he saw that the fierce fan was still about to continue, "Thank you very much." ”

The fierce fan nodded and walked away with the small gift.

Subsequently, David James stopped another male fan in his twenties.

"Smash their heads!" the male fan was a little radical, "just like in the film, kill everyone who dares to launch a terrorist attack on us!"

He left with an A+ and left quickly.

David James is not surprised by this situation, because he himself is very angry about the terrorist attacks in Benghazi, why don't those terrorists stop?

There are also colleagues around me who say that only when these terrorists are dead will the world be stable.

Although David James felt that this statement was inappropriate, he very much agreed, he is an American and does not think about the complexities behind it.

The few fans I met later were relatively calm, and they also gave a more objective evaluation of the film.

An older fan said, "The film, including Matthew's performance, is real and not pretentious. ”

Another fan wearing glasses said, "Although the plot is not so earth-shattering, Matthew shows that as a soldier, in addition to professional skills, he also needs strong inner support, which also reflects the cruelty and ruthlessness of war." ”

A female fan said, "The camera language is very engaging, and the psychological portrayal of the soldiers is also very detailed, showing the cruelty of war through all aspects and details." ”

The worst of these people all gave American Sniper an A rating.

But many more people are not so objective and calm, the consulate in Benghazi has just been attacked by a terrorist attack, and normal citizens of any country will be angry about this kind of thing.

After David James concluded this cinema investigation, it was obvious that in the face of the patriotic fervor aroused by the terrorist attacks, "American Sniper" was a huge hit.

Is patriotism going to be a box office miracle?

As a front-line investigator in the film market, he understands this, and Hollywood uses all kinds of emotions to do marketing, which is a common method.

Of course, it's not just Hollywood that's doing this.

David James was angry when he thought about the terrorist attack in Benghazi, but when he thought of Hollywood's marketing methods, he calmed down a little and used noble patriotism for marketing, which is a bit too much.

But no matter what he thinks, it is impossible to affect "American Sniper", which shows the precursor of a box office explosion no matter how you look at it.

After finishing this paragraph, David James came to the ticket office, happened to see the operation manager, and leaned over to chat a few words.

"The head office is very optimistic about Matthew Horner's film. The operations manager said to David James, "Matthew Horner's film itself is a hit, and in the face of the Benghazi terrorist attack, the popularity of "American Sniper" is inevitable. ”

David James nodded slightly, "We have a similar judgment over there. ”

The operations manager added, "This afternoon, the head office just issued a notice that when "American Sniper" is fully released tomorrow, the number of screens screened in all theaters of Imperial Entertainment will increase by 10%. ”

"It's going to explode. David James had that judgment.

As another movie ended, he left the counter and went to the exit hall.

At the end of the night's work, David James returned to the car and quickly counted a series of data from tonight's field survey, and among the fifty-five people he surveyed, the majority of the audience was male, reaching 61 percent, and the proportion of them over 20 years old was as high as 85 percent, and the overall average score was A.

However, in a special group, the film has a good reputation.

David James specifically counted a total of fifteen active or veteran military members consulted tonight, and fourteen of them gave the highest score of "A+".

It is clear that "American Sniper" has gained universal recognition among the special group of military personnel.

In addition, David James also found that the number of active or retired military members in the consultation audience can be seen that this particular group is quite represented.

There are so many veterans across the United States, and if most of these people go to theaters, they and their families alone could contribute hundreds of millions of dollars or more to the box office of the film.

It can only be said that the propaganda of "American Sniper" is very targeted, and it is clear where the main support group is.

The film has the selling point of Matthew Horner, as well as the god assist of the Liberians, plus the publicity and distribution are in place, David James can't think of a reason why "American Sniper" didn't hit the box office.

The sudden burst of patriotism among the American audience is indeed very surprising.

Of the 3,555 advance screenings that began Thursday night, "American Sniper" reached an average of 60 percent attendance, earning $13.2 million in one fell swoop.

This is the best advance box office in September since the birth of the concept of advance screenings in the North American Film Market.

Matthew was really relieved to get this data statistics, no matter how good the previous estimates and statistics were, the actual box office figures are the most real market reaction to the film, and it is not without movies that were favored before the release in the past, and the box office hit the streets.

For an investor, nothing is more important than the revenue of the film.

In addition to the box office data, Matthew also got a statistic that major film critics rarely gave him a good review for the film he starred in.

In the past, because the films he starred in were all commercial films and focused on the popcorn genre, of course he didn't bother to pay for the public relations of film critics, and even during the test screening, some film critics came to him to ask the filmmaker for what he meant, but he refused.

The movies he starred in have never had a good reputation among film critics.

But the general social situation is here, and most film critics will not be stupid.

"Hollywood Reporter" columnist film critic Todd McCarthy directly sang the praise: judging from the finished film of "American Sniper", Clint Eastwood directing this film is very suitable, and this film is still essentially the core of Western heroes, and the whole film seems to be flat and straightforward but takes people's breath away. In addition, Matthew Horner put on his best performance so far, with a climactic sandstorm shootout.

"Los Angeles Times" film critic Glenn Hewlett-Packard published an article saying: Clint Eastwood once again interpreted the United States with the cowboy spirit, from the daily life to the daily life of the battlefield, did not sharpen the dramatic conflict, did not want to talk about war heroes, and did not deliberately poetize the trauma of war, it seems that it is just the simple cowboy spirit of childhood that supports the male protagonist all the way.

The famous film critic David Bordwell directly praised: Matthew Horner has created a flesh-and-blood sniper character with excellent acting skills and qualities comparable to military personnel.

Matthew remembers that it has been many years since a film critic had said such good things about him.

In fact, it is not difficult to see that film critics are not stupid, and the skills of seeing the wind and making the rudder slip one by one.

In the face of the general social situation, we can only follow the trend, and it is best not to go against the trend, the rolling social trend is not something that one person can fight against at all.

"American Sniper" has received a halo bonus of patriotism, and the increase in popularity has become more and more obvious.

By Friday morning, the number of theaters showing "American Sniper" in North America had risen to 4,355, setting a new record for R-rated theaters.

According to the normal situation, because of the relationship between the classification and the audience, it is very difficult for an R-rated film to get more than 3,500 theaters, let alone 4,000 theaters.

This war film, finally under the dual effect of Matthew and patriotism, has received the same treatment as PG-13's first-line major production in many North American commercial theaters.

"American Sniper" did not disappoint a group of theater owners, bringing a rare movie-going craze in September, the traditional off-season for North American films.

Beginning Friday morning, many theaters showing "American Sniper" were in the mood for a summer weekend, with crowds lining up in the halls and some filling up in areas like San Antonio, Moore, Richmond, Texas and New Mexico where military and veterans gather.

To describe it in many media reports, "American Sniper" is a popular film that can be compared with summer blockbusters.