[Chapter 335: The Siege of The Man from Nowhere ]
This trip to Washington had been extremely fruitful, far beyond what Linton had expected. On November 27th, Linton flew back to Los Angeles on his private jet, slowly reviewing everything in his mind with a bright mood.
Not only had he secured two highly capable supporters in powerful political positions, giving him the most loyal advocates at the highest levels of American politics, but from now on, both he and his company could operate with greater freedom and space. Through them, the Douglas family, who had long opposed him, no longer required his personal effort to handle -- they could no longer threaten his career. With the political influence of Bill and Hillary Clinton, the Douglas family's decline was inevitable and effectively on a countdown.
Even more unexpectedly, he discovered that Hillary herself was an immensely valuable cultivation partner, with huge potential for growth. This made him realize that cultivation partner didn't only exist within the entertainment circle; politically influential women were also excellent choices. For someone like himself who was already at the Celestial Presence stage and increasingly dependent on public support, this significantly broadened his alternatives.
Moreover, Hillary's abilities were impressive. She deduced from his daily actions that he could help people regain their youthful beauty, which in turn helped him perfect a deceptive magic system to cope with the public, preventing him from becoming a target in the future.
Of course, this system still lacked one crucial element -- he needed to develop related beauty and longevity elixirs to make it perfect. Unfortunately, although his inheritance contained recipes for such elixirs, all the ingredients required spiritual herbs, and find these herbs was impossible.
However, since these elixirs were originally designed for cultivators with physically resilient bodies requiring powerful effects, ordinary people would neither need nor tolerate such potency. He considered developing downgraded versions using common earthly herbs that could effectively work for regular people, guided by the detailed descriptions of the herbs' effects in the recipes.
It seemed he would have to find time to explore the traditional herb markets around the world to see if there were suitable substitutes. The formulas provided thorough descriptions of each spiritual herb's effect could guide his research.
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Back in Los Angeles, the move into the new Linton Tower was nearly complete. Linton headed straight to his spacious, luxurious new office, feeling an ambitious surge swell within him.
After a month in theaters, the North American box office for Get Out had easily surpassed $100 million, making it a dark horse during the traditionally slow November season. It helped revitalize the sluggish movie market. With another month before the end of its theater run, the final box office was expected to top $120 million.
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Starting early in the year, a new wave of mergers swept through North American theaters, with many smaller chains acquired. By early November, the top four theater chains controlled over 80% of the market.
Thanks to a string of hits, Linton Films' influence across major theater chains had grown tremendously. In the eyes of theater owners, Linton Films had become far more popular than the struggling MGM, rivalling even Universal Pictures.
Last week, Linton Films secured new distribution agreements with the major theater chains. The revenue-sharing model between Linton Films and theaters now matched Universal's, with the percentage of box office revenue going to the film company increased substantially compared to before.
The arrangement was: 70% for the first week, 65% for the second, 60% for the third, then dropping to 45% in the fourth week and decreasing by 5% each subsequent week, with a floor of 25% by the eighth week. This ensured the company would generally secure no less than 55% of the film's total box office earnings, greatly enhancing their profitability.
Of course, Get Out's deal remained under the previous terms, but starting December, new releases, including the much-anticipated The Man from Nowhere starring Linton himself, would benefit from the improved split.
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The Man from Nowhere was set to premiere on December 9th. As Linton's self-written, self-directed major production of the year, it naturally drew wide attention. The theaters had high hopes for its commercial success.
Following screenings for theater representatives, they allocated substantial screen time, estimating the film would open in no fewer than 3,000 screens.
However, the Hollywood Six Majors -- already inclined to suppress Linton Films -- and pushed further by Delmont Douglas, began a fierce campaign against The Man from Nowhere.
December ushered in the hot Christmas season, with competition as fierce as the summer blockbuster season. Normally, even with intense rivalry, studios avoided releasing their tentpole films simultaneously to prevent mutually hurting their box office returns.
For example, this summer's simultaneous release of two blockbuster films, The Rock and Interview with the Vampire, was almost unheard of in Hollywood.
Yet the holiday scheduling data received from theaters showed otherwise. On December 2nd, Warner Bros. released their blockbuster Disclosure; on December 9th, Paramount's major production Clear and Present Danger premiered; and on December 16th, Sony Columbia's Legends of the Fall hit theaters.
This blatant scheduling showdown was a clear signal from the giants: they intended to sabotage Linton's The Man from Nowhere. Notably, Paramount even scheduled Clear and Present Danger to open the same day as The Man from Nowhere, setting the stage for a direct box office battle.
One wonders if they realized that although they might win the contest, their own box office receipts would suffer heavily -- classic case of winning a battle but losing the war.
It was probably due to Linton's recent acquisition of the UPN TV Network, whose surprising success had embarrassed them, prompting the studios to retaliate financially in the film market. Alternatively, they may have received sufficient incentives from the Douglas family and other major players to tolerate these risks and losses.
To make matters worse, film promotion for a release typically enters its most crucial 10-day pre-release hype period, where the distributor invests heavily in media advertisements, and the key creative team participates in extensive interviews to generate intensive media coverage and TV appearances.
But the marketing department had already received feedback from many outlets refusing to interview the The Man from Nowhere crew or even honor previously agreed advertising contracts, opting to pay penalties rather than proceed.
Upon investigation, all these media outlets were affiliated with the Six Majors, which collectively controlled over 65% of entertainment media.
Even theaters began calling, reporting immense pressure from the Hollywood Six Majors to reduce The Man from Nowhere's screen time and boost Clear and Present Danger's.
Fortunately, theaters and Linton Films maintained good cooperation, and with Linton Films' track record for guaranteed box office successes -- especially Linton's own directorial ventures -- the impact on audience turnout was minimal.
Still, facing the collective pressure from the six major studios, the screening schedules were somewhat impacted.
The latest distribution plans showed The Man from Nowhere's debut screen count dropped from 3,000 to 2,900.
Conversely, Clear and Present Danger's opening rose from 2,600 screens to 2,900 screens.
Despite repeated aggressive moves by the Hollywood Six Majors, Linton Films' The Man from Nowhere remained a closely watched release, and theaters continued to allocate significant screen time and marketing resources to it.
The battle for box office supremacy during the Christmas season had clearly already begun, with all sides ready for fierce competition.
*****
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