Austin Hogan sat down at his desk, gathered his thoughts a little, and then picked up the phone and connected to the secretary branch outside the office, "Help me dial the office of Chaos Pictures and find Lancelot Strello." Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 After hanging up the phone, after waiting for about a minute or so, the secretary pushed open the office door, "Lance is not in the company, I only found Ian Strello." ”

Austin exhaled lightly and nodded toward the secretary, "Line two." When the secretary had finished speaking, he closed the door lightly.

If given a choice, Austin would still like to communicate with Lance. It's not that Lance is better at talking, in fact, Lance is even stronger than Ian and Theo in his bones, and he often doesn't leave room for maneuver when talking; But Austen knew that Lance was a pure filmmaker, not a businessman, so he tended not to get too close to certain nuanced issues.

But, apparently, he had no choice now.

Grabbing the receiver, Austin heard a relaxed voice on the other end of the phone, "Austin, how can I help?" "Ian is always like that, hospitable, cheerful and bright, yet bohemian, and has a special charm in his gestures.

"Of course, regarding the 'Sin City' partnership, after discussions, we decided to expand the release of the film from next week, so there are some details that need to be communicated in terms of the contract." Austen's personality is still straightforward, without the politeness of social occasions, but it also makes things more pure.

"Oh." Ian seemed surprised—of course, Austin knew, and Ian wasn't surprised, "That's good news, and I think Lance will be happy." Ian's gentle voice carried a hint of joy that made people not hate it at all, "So, if there is anything that needs to be changed, I will fully cooperate." ”

"AMC has decided to expand to 900 theaters for screenings, and the number of screens will reach 2,938 for at least three weeks." Austin cites a simple series of numbers, but the most prosaic way of saying it is like hitting the ball straight through, smashing it at Ian with speed and ferocity, leaving Ian with little time to react.

"Oh?" Ian did have some surprises, and this time it was true.

After a tug-of-war, Sin City won 694 theaters at AMC, including 2,000 screens. Subsequently, under the matchmaking of AMC, Royal Entertainment and other theater chains also agreed to this plan, and after making adjustments according to their respective proportions, they ensured that the movie was released in 2,700 theaters on the premiere weekend. On average, each cinema has about three screens, but less than three.

Now, AMC has not only added more than 200 theaters in one go, but also guaranteed at least three screens per theater on average.

Just this one detail shows the sincerity of AMC. What's more, this scale will be maintained for at least three weeks, which also means that "Sin City" can maintain such a large-scale screening posture for the next three weeks, which will win a more favorable geographical position for the defeat of the "Saharan Cavalry".

From the standpoint of an independent film company, this is indeed a very gratifying thing. But Ian was not carried away by the joy, because he clearly realized that the addition of theaters in the next three weeks would actually increase the revenue of Chaos Pictures, and it would also mean that the revenue of the theater chain would increase even more.

It can be said that this should be a strategic adjustment of the theater chain in order to win more benefits, not for friendship or something.

Now, AMC took the initiative to throw this bait, apparently hoping to show friendliness, and took the initiative to extend an olive branch. But in Ian's view, this means that AMC wants to seek more benefits - if Chaos Pictures accepts this favor, does it mean that when Chaos Pictures signs a long-term contract with AMC in the future, they still need to give up some of their benefits? AMC really played a good game, won its own interests, and wanted Chaos Pictures to be grateful to Dade - these are the rules of the game on Wall Street.

"I'm sure Lance will be very happy to know the news." Ian said politely, with a relaxed smile on the corner of his mouth, "I said at the beginning, please believe in Lance's ability, you won't regret it." Immediately, Ian hit back the straight ball that Austin thrown: You are the one who gets the benefits, don't get cheap and sell well.

Austin knew that Ian was not so easy to fool, and after only two sentences of dialogue, Ian had already launched a counterattack, but Austin was not to be outdone, "Of course, for any money-making movie, AMC is warmly welcomed with open arms." This sentence is actually a hint that Chaos Pictures is just a small Hollywood company, and the number of works produced in a year is estimated to be no more than one hand, so it is best not to be too greedy.

"That's for sure, no one would refuse to make money, would it?" Ian replied as well.

Although the scale of Chaos Pictures is not large, Lance has already made two consecutive works of more than 200 million, and now it seems that "Sin City" also seems to have such potential, so Chaos Pictures is a cash cow that makes sure to make money without losing money, who will refuse? Ian believes AMC won't.

Austin heard Ian's voice, and he also knew that this was a tug-of-war between the two sides, from the current point of view, it is imperative for Chaos Pictures to establish a distribution department, and it has a certain strength, and the cooperation between major theaters and Chaos Pictures is not a problem, but there are still many parts worth discussing in terms of cooperation details.

If the box office of "Sin City" really crossed the threshold of 200 million, then Chaos Pictures is indeed worth a gamble on AMC - after all, the distribution dividend ratio of the entire Hollywood industry is about the same level, and there is little difference between the interests of large distribution companies and small distribution companies, the real difference is still in the thickness of resources, such as the number of screens, such as the geographical location of the theater, such as the poster location in the theater, the degree of recommendation of the theater staff, the time schedule of the screening, details related to the promotion of the movie's promotional content in the theater.

But if Sin City's follow-up box office performance is weak, especially when the theater chain has increased the number of screening venues, and the performance does not meet expectations, then they will definitely not be merciful.

Therefore, now is just the beginning, and both sides are just testing each other's bottom line.

"So, what are Lance's plans for new works lately?" Austin changed the topic, although it is not directly related to distribution, but it is to explore the depth of resources of Chaos Pictures - at present, Chaos Pictures relies on Lance to create alone, and Lance's creative inspiration directly determines the competitiveness of Chaos Pictures.

Ian chuckled, "What, you heard the inside scoop?" A rhetorical question made Austin stunned, "But at present, those inside information are not credible, Lance has several project options in his hands, but he is not in a hurry for the time being." After all, it's not the new work plan that's most important right now, is it? ”

Austin believed that with Lance's current reputation, there would definitely be no shortage of projects to find him, but he was somewhat surprised that the information revealed from Ian's words showed that Lance was reluctant to take on outside projects, and was more inclined to create a new project on his own. This is good news – Lance, who keeps his creative juices alive, is currently the most concerned object in the entire North American market.

"Then let's wait and see." Austin didn't go any further, he planned to listen to the rumors in the circle first. "Contract details, do I need to have an interview?"

"No, you fax it directly to the office, Theo will sign it after reading it, and then send it back." Ian didn't have any entanglement, and simply agreed neatly, because he knew that there was no need to dwell on these details now, and when Chaos Pictures and the theater talked about a long-term cooperation, it would be the beginning of the real battle.

Austin obviously understood this, Ian was indeed a fox, shrewd enough not to let go of the slightest detail, "Very good, then it's settled." Come out for lunch together next week if you have time. "This is not a polite gesture, but a foreshadowing for the future cooperation negotiations between the two sides.

"Of course." Naturally, Ian wouldn't refuse.

After hanging up, Austin sat down in his chair and thought for a while. A month ago, they hadn't paid much attention to the idea of Chaos Pictures, after all, the distribution department wasn't just built just like that; But in the blink of an eye, their ideas have been shattered, and it is foreseeable that relying on Lance's momentum, Chaos Pictures will be in full swing, just like the original Dream Factory.

However, such drawbacks are also huge, one is prosperous, and the other is lost, and the entire Chaos Pictures industry is maintained on Lance alone. It is precisely this kind of adventure that makes Austin look forward to the future development of Chaos Pictures, and what heights can their distribution department reach?

Chaos Pictures is like a spring breeze, blowing a dead air in Hollywood, but everyone will wait and see if it can change the landscape and achieve the goals that DreamWorks has not achieved.

Immediately, Royal Entertainment, General Motors, United Arts and other theater chains have contacted Chaos Pictures one after another to discuss the expansion of the screening. "Sin City", which has only been released for a week, has embarked on the road of expansion, and the direct reaction of the theater chain is the most direct manifestation of the prosperity of the entire market, which is beyond doubt compared to the media reports and the noise of the Internet.

After the release of many films, they have achieved excellent box office performance and excellent word-of-mouth feedback, and the theater chain will arrange for further expansion - it is a fool not to make money, but generally speaking, because the movie itself is a large-scale release, the scale of the expansion is more in the range of one or two hundred. But this time, "Sin City" showed its strength in sweeping thousands of armies, which not only broke the expectations of the media, but also refreshed the subjective judgment of major theaters. As a result, the theaters have expressed their attitudes with practical actions: the mighty expansion is underway.

In the second week of April, "Sin City" will be released in 3,300 theaters, and the scale of the screening will reach 500, which is incredible. For comparison, "Saharan Cavalry" was released in 3,150 theaters. (To be continued.) )