Chapter 251: What Man Could Refuse to Date a Historical Celebrity?
Fans like Aoko and Alice, who watched Super 8 two, three, even four times, weren't exactly rare.
Of course, most fans weren't like Alice, who wanted to play magecraft-based mystery-solving games. Their reason for rewatching Super 8 was much simpler and more honest, they just wanted to enjoy it thoroughly.
And those who had already gotten their fill of enjoyment naturally couldn't wait to hop online and share their thrilling experiences, trying to get others to join in on the fun.
Naturally, among the waves of passionate online reviews, there were also some planted comments by Type-Moon's hired shills.
As a transmigrator, Shinji valued the importance of online reputation and word-of-mouth marketing more than anyone else.
Unfortunately, though Shinji placed great importance on his internet army, the quality of modern-day temporary shills just wasn't up to par.
Times like this made him deeply long for his dream PR commander—Hassan of the Hundred Faces.
One person playing 88 roles—there was simply no PR strategy more efficient or better-executed. Calling Hundred Faces a "naval admiral" (a pun on "internet navy") wouldn't be an exaggeration.
Sadly, due to the randomness of summoning a Hassan, Shinji was hesitant about attempting to summon the right one.
After all, aside from Hundred Faces, the other Hassans weren't very useful.
Sure, being a Hassan meant they'd be good at stealth and gathering intel, which is perfect for corporate espionage in theory.
But the catch was, they could only operate in Fuyuki City. In a place like that, Shinji didn't even need a Hassan to get intel.
He could get anything he wanted with just a single look.
Pulling for a specific Servant from a summoning pool, what kind of behavior was that?
A sucker's move!
Knowing full well that his luck was trash, Shinji would never bet his fate on RNG.
It'd be one thing to summon a different Hassan, but what if he pulled King Hassan?!
Even though the conditions for summoning a Grand Servant were extremely strict, what if—just what if—the decline of mystery in this world had weakened Spirit Origins to the point where Grand Servants could be summoned more easily?
And if it wasn't even because of that and he still managed to summon that old man? That'd be even worse!
Shinji firmly declared he had zero interest in restoring Human Order. What he was interested in was filming a story about restoring Human Order.
Of course, the only reason Shinji had the leisure to think about what might happen if he summoned the wrong Hassan was because, for now, he wasn't desperate for better internet shills.
After Super 8 premiered, the internet was flooded with organic fans, people who spontaneously started promoting the film without being paid.
In the end, the online PR team at Type-Moon and their hired shills may as well have done nothing. They basically got paid for lying around.
As a result, Shinji had mixed feelings.
Having his movie praised was obviously great, but as a boss, seeing employees slack off and still get paid didn't sit right with him.
That said, he didn't claw back the money he paid to the internet trolls. He just told the PR department to stay alert for any smear campaigns or attempts at sabotage.
Because more than the one-sided online praise, what Shinji really cared about was the movie's box office performance.
At the end of the day, no matter how good the reviews were, no matter how passionate the fans, only when that buzz translated into real box office revenue could the movie be called a true success.
Critical darlings that failed commercially were meaningless—just like that film everyone praised endlessly but took nearly 25 years to break even: The Shawshank Redemption.
Of course, that was in Shinji's original world. In this world, where art films were all the rage, Shawshank didn't make a killing, but at least it didn't lose much either.
But that was about the limit of it—art films, with their slow pacing and somber mood, really weren't suited for theatrical releases. The Shawshank Redemption still did terribly at the box office. It only barely managed to recoup its budget thanks to later home media and licensing revenue.
By contrast, Shinji's film was a completely different story.
"$23.1 million on opening day in North America!? For a tokusatsu film!? And the entire cast is Japanese!?"
Although Cloris had already expected Super 8 to perform well, she hadn't imagined it would do this well.
After all, aside from the special effects, this Japanese tokusatsu movie didn't seem to have any elements—from its cast to its IP—that would typically make it a box office hit in North America.
So when her assistant brought her the North American box office figures, Cloris—who was in the middle of taking a bath—was so shocked she stood straight up in the tub.
Luckily, the only other person in the room was her female assistant, so there was no risk of any embarrassing mishaps.
Too bad for Director Shinji though, he missed out on quite the sight.
"This kind of performance... could it be another Fate/Zero-level hit?"
When it came to money matters, Cloris didn't feel like soaking anymore. She quickly threw on a robe and headed into the living room to look over Super 8's numbers in detail.
"Japan's opening day box office was 150 million yen. The UK brought in £2.15 million. France brought in... uhmmmm..."
"What is it, Miss?"
Cloris rubbed her eyes. "Ugh, dealing with all these currency conversions is such a pain. Can't we just use USD across the board?"
"That's globalization for you, Miss."
"...Well, when you put it like that, it makes sense."
Cloris sighed, gently setting the report down as she gazed out the window at the sky.
"I didn't expect my dear Shinji to have this much pull. He's more effective than a lot of big-name celebrities."
"It's also thanks to Times Group's promotion," her assistant said proudly. "Without our push, the movie wouldn't have earned this much."
"But this entire promotional campaign was also Shinji's design. That guy really is a genius in the film industry. Always one step ahead of everyone else."
As she dug through the data, Cloris discovered something interesting.
For a tokusatsu film like Super 8 to achieve such astonishing results in markets like North America and Europe, there had to be an extra factor at play.
The IMAX screens.
Thanks to the new magic-based, glasses-free 3D technology used in Super 8, a lot of Western moviegoers opted to watch the pricey IMAX version right from the start—wanting the full, immersive experience.
Those who couldn't watch it in IMAX still tried to go for the 3D version instead, treating it as a sort of "IMAX mini experience."
Given that current movie ticket prices in Western markets were such that 3D tickets cost twice as much as 2D, and IMAX tickets were twice as expensive as 3D, all of this additional revenue massively boosted Super 8's first-day earnings worldwide.
What's more, quite a few people watched the standard 2D version first, then heard about how amazing the 3D was and bought a 3D ticket.
Then, after experiencing the glasses-free 3D magic for themselves, they wanted to watch the IMAX version too...
'If there weren't so few IMAX screens available right now—if more places had access to them—then Super 8's first-day box office could've gone up by tens of millions more. It might've even hit $50 million!'
Cloris thought with a hint of regret, then shook her head.
"I'm thinking too much. If IMAX were that common, it wouldn't be such a big deal. Like what my love always says, this is what you call 'scarcity marketing,' right?"
"Miss, there's something I'd like to remind you of."
Her assistant kindly offered a reminder.
"What is it?"
"Matou Shinji isn't yours yet. The way you refer to him… might be a little premature."
Cloris gave a cold smile. "Relax. It's only a matter of time."
"But judging by Matou Shinji's behavior, he seems to prefer hanging around those Heroic Spirits."
Cloris waved dismissively. "They're just a bunch of glorified dead people…"
"Exactly, and because they're dead, there's no responsibility involved," her assistant pointed out.
"…"
"There is no need for marriage certificates, and he can play the field without any strings attached. Compared to regular women, Servants are way more convenient." Her assistant continued listing off the perks.
"…"
"Plus, they come with a fame bonus. Let's be honest, dating a historical icon just feels way more impressive. I mean, what guy wouldn't want to sleep with Jeanne d'Arc?"
"Heh~"
Cloris sneered coldly. "I'm not concerned with that sort of thing."
With that, she stood up and instructed, "I'm heading to Type-Moon's offices. Get me an outfit."
Her assistant immediately pulled a formal dress from the wardrobe. "Already prepared, Miss."
Noticing she had been outmaneuvered, the corner of Cloris's mouth twitched a couple of times, then she silently stepped forward to get changed.
"Ah, right."
While changing, Cloris suddenly remembered something else.
"Next week, keep an eye on the stock market. The Super 8 hype is definitely going to drive IMAX shares through the roof. Have someone sell at a peak."
Since outside investors had no access to Type-Moon's equity, anyone trying to ride the wave of the glasses-free 3D tech would naturally turn to companies loosely associated with Type-Moon.
From any angle, IMAX was the perfect target:
– Its technology aligned with Super 8's viewing experience,
– Its format matched the film's selling point,
– And most importantly, it was publicly traded.
It was the ideal opportunity for Cloris to offload her personally held shares and make herself a hefty bit of pocket money.
Still, her assistant looked a bit puzzled by the decision. "Super 8 has made the whole world see IMAX's value. Even if you're not investing more, shouldn't you hold those shares?"
"Idiot."
Cloris, now fully dressed, casually tossed her long silver hair over her shoulder.
"Why settle for clinging to the world's backup plan when I can just follow Shinji and make real money?"
<+>
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