[Chapter 337: Strategies at Play]
In the early hours of December 9, the movie The Man from Nowhere premiered its midnight showing on a massive scale, opening in 1,800 screens.
The film lived up to expectations, boasting an attendance rate exceeding 90% and grossing an impressive $2.33 million during the midnight screenings, second only to Terminator 2 in box office history.
Meanwhile, the highly anticipated Clear and Present Danger, starring the veteran superstar Harrison Ford and backed by Hollywood's Big Six studios, disappointed, especially Paramount Pictures, whose hopes were dashed.
Clear and Present Danger opened in 1,600 screens but only made $970,000 at midnight -- less than half of The Man from Nowhere's earnings.
This affected the screening schedules for their official openings on the 9th.
The Man from Nowhere's opening was expanded to 3,400 screens.
Clear and Present Danger's opening was scaled back further to 2,700 screens.
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At 9 a.m., Linton, accompanied by Monica, Will Smith, Scarlett Johansson, and the PR head Klinsman, departed by private plane for New York to kick off a two-week nationwide promotional tour.
At 2 a.m., after his initial session with Monica, Linton received a congratulatory call from Klinsman.
The Man from Nowhere's first-day box office totaled $15.74 million; with the midnight showings, it reached $18.07 million, ranking first with a box office gap lead.
Clear and Present Danger was second, with $7.47 million on opening day and $8.44 million total.
Third was last week's release, Disclosure, with $3.86 million.
The Man from Nowhere's action scenes were spectacular, and the plot was already gripping.
It was the first Hollywood blockbuster to incorporate Hong Kong-style action choreography, blending beauty with brutal action.
Audiences, used to Hollywood's traditional blunt fight scenes, were thrilled and eagerly recommended the film to friends.
Moreover, Linton's screen presence was charged with charisma, amplified by Monica's captivating allure.
The story tackled America's rampant drug problem, juxtaposing the ruthlessness of criminals with the innocence of the character Sam (So-Mi), showing Linton's transformation from despair to a heroic crusader against crime.
All these elements struck a deep chord with viewers, sparking widespread resonance.
Combined, these factors made The Man from Nowhere a game-changer in the market.
The film's critical reception was unprecedented.
According to audience surveys by cieasre, viewer ratings soared to an astonishing A+.
Cieasre projected that The Man from Nowhere's North American box office would exceed $200 million.
This success was a stark slap in the face to Hollywood's Big Six executives, who felt the sting personally.
But since the battle had just begun, to save some dignity, these studios intensified their efforts to suppress The Man from Nowhere.
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On Saturday, as the reviews were lifted, media outlets controlled by the Big Six unleashed a wave of criticism and slander against The Man from Nowhere.
They claimed the film was nothing but senseless violence, lacking meaningful content and not worthy of viewing.
Some argued that America thrived and its people were happy, accusing Linton of focusing only on the dark side of society.
Film critics unfavorably compared The Man from Nowhere to a box of cheap fast food -- lacking substance and nutrition.
Meanwhile, they lavishly praised Clear and Present Danger and Disclosure from multiple angles.
In short, The Man from Nowhere was bashed while the other two films were hyped.
Because of the Big Six's influence, many critics broke professional ethics.
Some had just attended The Man from Nowhere's critics' screenings and even accepted perks from Linton's company.
But later, they turned around and found faults with the film from every angle.
Linton's company didn't hesitate to blacklist these unethical critics and shared the list across the industry.
Whether other studios would follow up was another matter, but these critics would likely have a hard time getting future review gigs, effectively beholden to the Big Six.
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Faced with this harsh media environment, Robert, Harvey, and Klinsman were uneasy.
Before the internet era, media held immense power, controlling all channels of communication.
Such widespread negative coverage against The Man from Nowhere, just as it launched, could wreak havoc.
However, having come from the future, Linton was well-versed in publicity tactics and quickly devised a countermeasure.
He asked Robert to immediately allocate $1.5 million for special coverage on NBC, MCA, and UPN.
They sent live broadcast vans to key city theaters to stream the real-time performance of the three films in cinemas.
This included screening schedules, audience numbers per theater, and on-the-spot interviews with exiting viewers about their impressions.
Starting 3 p.m. that day, the three major networks exposed the films' actual performances candidly before all America.
From Los Angeles to New York, Chicago to San Francisco, Houston to Washington, iconic theaters across cities were featured live.
Theaters screening The Man from Nowhere were packed, even in the afternoons with attendance rates over 75%.
Theaters showing Clear and Present Danger and Disclosure were sparse, with reporters counting audience heads versus seats.
Clear and Present Danger's attendance rate was under 40%; Disclosure's didn't reach 30%.
Post-screening interviews showed similar trends.
Clear and Present Danger and Disclosure received lukewarm responses; few praised them, though no harsh criticism surfaced.
Many complained that Harrison Ford was too old for action roles to excite audiences anymore.
But The Man from Nowhere's crowd was a different story.
Viewers were thrilled, excitedly sharing their enthusiasm on camera.
"This movie is amazing! Linton is so cool, Monica is so sexy, Scarlett is adorable... I'm coming back for a second showing tonight."
"I've never seen such thrilling action scenes. The choreography blew my mind. I need to watch it three times to learn Linton's slick moves."
"The villains were so despicable, and watching Linton kick their butts was incredibly satisfying. I'll definitely recommend this movie to all my friends and family."
Audience reactions overflowed from the screen.
Afterward, these excited fans rushed to the theaters' merchandise shops.
Reporters followed and found the stores crowded with fans waving credit cards eagerly.
"Give me the whole set of Linton dolls!"
"I want the biggest Linton doll and the biggest Monica doll!"
"Scarlett's doll is so cute. Get me one, plus a Linton doll too."
By contrast, merchandise sections for Clear and Present Danger and Disclosure were deserted, a stark contrast to the bustling The Man from Nowhere booths.
Even Bill and Hillary Clinton, who attended the film, gave high praise during their UPN interview, with Hillary smiling sweetly while holding a Linton doll.
Both declared The Man from Nowhere the best action movie they'd ever seen.
*****
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