Creating the atmosphere

On the next day, the data from the midnight screening of "Buried" was collected by the relevant personnel of EuropaCorp.

With a box office revenue of €17,000, the performance was not particularly impressive.

Durant looked at the report in his hand and instructed, "Continue to maintain screenings in 30 cinemas." With an occupancy rate of less than 10%, it was considered relatively normal for this type of low-budget thriller film. Given the current situation, EuropaCorp would definitely profit from the operation of this film, which was in line with their initial distribution expectations.

On Saturday, which was a traditional rest day, "Buried", which maintained the same number of theaters, did not show a significant surge in box office performance but steadily earned €26,000.

This result was still average but within the expected range. If this momentum could be maintained, the film could receive a box office income of €130,000 to €140,000 for the week. Additionally, after the following week, it would be released in other regions, and after the global market declined, there would still be revenue from subsequent offline videotape distribution. Overall, EuropaCorp estimated that they could easily earn two to three million from this operation, which was quite satisfactory.

Anyway, they didn't expect this film to have a packed theater or weekly box office exceeding the production cost. Stable data performance meant no risk, and that's exactly what EuropaCorp wanted to see.

On Sunday, the box office slightly increased to €28,000. As of today, "Buried" had earned €71,000 in just three days in the French market.

And certain things followed as expected.

September 11th, Tuesday, an ordinary day that became extraordinary due to a terrorist attack.

Lyman only learned about it the next day. He was busy writing the outline for a new script when René suddenly came to his house and told him about the incident, also providing the best-selling newspaper in France, Ouest-France.

After carefully reading the newspaper, various memories resurfaced one by one:

Two civil aircraft crashed into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in the United States within a short period.

Under the raging flames and dense smoke, everyone from on-site reporters to street pedestrians and rescue workers was in a state of panic.

They had experienced too many peaceful days and were caught off guard by this tragedy.

The United States immediately closed its airspace and prohibited all flight activities.

Then, President Bush made a statement confirming that it was a premeditated terrorist attack.

Following that, the military across the United States entered the highest state of alertness, and it was immediately determined that this terrorist attack was orchestrated by Osama bin Laden. He was officially put on the global wanted list. Of course, the Taliban regime, which had always been displeased with the U.S. government, firmly claimed that this incident had nothing to do with its citizens.

The newspaper also published the analysis of experts in international relations who had a clear understanding of France's perspective. They believed that the root cause of this incident lay in the United States' long-standing Middle East policy. The prolonged military conflict between Israel and Palestine and the injuries inflicted by Israelis on Palestinians, along with the U.S.'s bias towards Israel, led to a group of fanatical extremists with a determination to die.

In the following days, the whole world became aware of this news, and various media outlets reported extensively, always delivering the latest information.

On September 14th, the U.S. House of Representatives agreed and authorized President Bush to use military force against terrorists. At the same time, according to a public opinion poll conducted by the U.S. media, over 90% of the participants supported the U.S.'s armed plan against the enemy.

On September 19th, the armed forces landed in Afghanistan.

On October 7th, President Bush announced that they had destroyed some military targets of the Taliban authorities in Afghanistan, as well as the notorious al-Qaeda terrorist organization's training camp in Kandahar. The war on terrorism began.

This event caused many Americans to almost instantaneously "sanctify" all technological means that could defend the United States. The previously debated National Missile Defense program directly entered the implementation stage. In addition, the severe divisions between the Democratic and Republican parties disappeared without a trace. The nation stood united, together in the fight against terrorism.

The previously criticized Bush administration, in an instant, started trending upwards from a "weakened" position and a lack of public confidence in its future. It solidified its grip on the governing institutions with excellent crisis management abilities and decisive actions, which greatly increased the favorability of the American people.

Conspiracy theories also began to emerge at this time. Some believed that the attack was orchestrated by the Bush administration itself in order to maintain the international status of the United States and achieve hegemonic peace. This would allow them to openly intervene in the entire Middle East region...

Of course, these had little impact on France. Apart from an increase in high-level meetings and multinational support for counterterrorism operations, the way of life for the people remained unchanged. The only noticeable reaction was in the film market, which Lyman paid more attention to.

After this event, theaters worldwide fell into silence, making many films that were currently showing victims. Especially comedy films became the biggest casualties under the shadow of the terrorist attack. Many upcoming films also withdrew from release. As a result, in the vast film market, only a few new releases persevered, including "Buried".

The world's changes also affected the film market. A timeless theme reminding people to oppose violence came to the forefront. EuropaCorp, with its discerning vision, seized the opportunity and started a large-scale re-promotion of "Buried". Slogans like "War is a Feast of Death" began appearing in various media outlets.

In a globally affected situation, the publicity effect was amplified one by one. Efforts were made in overseas regions such as the UK, Australia, the United States, and Italy. The box office performance of "Buried" for the new week ultimately reached €4.68M. Compared to the previous week's box office of €820,000, the difference was like night and day, nearly six times higher.

The number of theaters screening the film in France increased to over 800. Anyway, not many films were released during this period, so "Buried" took advantage of it. Although many viewers did not choose to go to the cinema during such times, the audience base undoubtedly decreased significantly. However, considering the limited competition and film selection, and the fact that "Buried" subtly hinted at the phenomenon of innocent people suffering and malicious retaliation under the panic of war, it stood out among these films.

Of course, there were disadvantages as well. At least in the United States, the film was not well-received. In its first week, the film only earned less than one million dollars at the box office, and that was in a situation where the American audience had limited choices.

The anti-war ideas and satire directed at various aspects of the United States reflected in the film did not capture the interest of the domestic audience at this time. Normally, people could mock the Washington authorities however they liked, but not at a time like this. As expected, "Buried" had an even worse experience in the second week in the American film market. Instead of expanding, the number of screenings decreased.

The "9/11" event indeed had a tremendous impact on the political, economic, and social life of Americans, and the entertainment industry naturally followed this trend. Additionally, the North American film market has always been exclusive, making it even more difficult for foreign films to achieve success. People were already accustomed to supporting "Made in America" productions, so the poor reception of "Buried" was completely expected.

Fortunately, the film performed better in other regions. EuropaCorp was delighted with the results. After two weeks of operation, they recovered their costs, including the subsequent distribution expenses. The most crucial point was that the market potential demonstrated by "Buried" had not yet been fully unleashed, indicating that its future performance would undoubtedly be even better. As a result, the company's top management made a bold decision to increase the advertising budget, allowing more audiences to spontaneously enter the theaters to enjoy the film.

After the third week, "Buried" earned €1.35M in domestic box office revenue and accumulated a global box office of $9.62M. It was on the verge of crossing the 10 million mark.

This data was like a bolt from the blue, causing great excitement in the entire EuropaCorp. They had acquired the distribution rights for the film for only €2M, and now it was approaching a 10 million box office revenue. Not to mention the subsequent DVD releases and licensing of ancillary rights, which would certainly bring in significant income.

Perhaps this film alone could bring about a very promising performance for the year, resulting in impressive numbers. Naturally, the media and newspapers did not miss this opportunity with such a dark horse film. Numerous spontaneous promotions began to emerge, and many reports started to focus on the future development of the film.

On October 2nd, the film once again grossed over $3M at the box office, crossing the 10 million mark and reaching a data achievement of over $12M. However, following the rules of market development, after more than a month of screenings, the growth momentum of "Buried" had reached its peak and began to gradually decline.

While a commercially successful film often screens for over six months, it was a bit unrealistic for a niche film that hadn't received any major mainstream awards. The people at EuropaCorp clearly informed Lyman that they would not invest any more in promotion, and discussions with French theaters for the film's lower-level release date indicated that it would maintain a screening period of about two weeks.

Sustaining for over a month, close to 50 days of screenings, was already a testament to the respect given to this niche film. As for the international market, it might extend a bit based on the screening situation in different regions, but it was not expected to be substantial.

On October 24th, "Buried" officially finished its run in French theaters, with a total domestic box office of €5.24M.