Expanded Screening

Renowned reputation, outstanding performance in limited release, attracting immense attention, and continuing to be a hot topic... 'Buried' has undoubtedly seized an excellent position, with everything ready except for the final push.

What's more, next week's only new release, 'Saw 3D,' can be considered the weakest competitor in the next two months.

This film is the seventh instalment of the series, and the box office performance of the last two sequels has been disappointing. However, due to the low production cost and simple distribution strategy, Lionsgate has continued to produce them. But in terms of box office potential, it has reached its limits. This time, they are relying entirely on the 3D gimmick, hoping to boost ticket sales.

This is undoubtedly the best opportunity for 'Buried.' If this window is missed, it will have to face a series of strong competitors in the coming weeks, and relying solely on word-of-mouth, 'Buried' would struggle to create a miracle at the box office. The outlook would immediately become bleak.

But no one anticipated that Focus Features would refuse to expand the release significantly. In the fourth week of October, they only added ten theatres, increasing from eleven to twenty-one, and still limited to Los Angeles and New York, continuing a limited release for the second week. Compared to the attention 'Buried' received the previous week, this minimal expansion was almost negligible.

Focus Features' decision left people puzzled, leading to speculation: Could it be that Focus Features was unprepared and didn't anticipate the huge response to 'Buried,' thus missing the opportunity?

However, a seasoned company like Focus Features not only conducts internal screenings, gathers data, and formulates corresponding expansion plans, but also prepares for contingencies to respond immediately when unexpected situations arise.

So, this means Focus Features is following their planned expansion schedule?

If that's the case, then Focus Features is truly calculating and strategic!

Because, in the fourth week of October, not only did the per-theater average for 'Buried' not decline with the increase in theaters, but it also surged upward, recreating the feat of 'The Blair Witch Project' eleven years ago. With a per-theater average of $50,700, it surpassed the opening weekend per-theater average of 'Paranormal Activity' last year, ranking third in the historical per-theater box office for horror films!

This is understandable and can be summarized as: scarcity marketing.

The more limited, exclusive, rare, and unattainable something is, the more attention it attracts. After igniting a wave of praise in the first week, the accumulated reputation from Toronto and Telluride finally erupted. People's expectations for 'Buried' skyrocketed, and regardless of whether they liked it or agreed with it, they all decided to watch it in theaters to judge its merits for themselves.

Moreover, 'Buried' is not a dreary art film for awards season; despite the overwhelming positive reviews, it's still a thriller/horror film. In other words, it's a popcorn movie, which increases its appeal to the general audience.

But, Focus Features did the opposite, refusing a wide release and still limiting the screening to Los Angeles and New York—two cities with the most vibrant arts scenes, the highest audience sophistication, and the most outstanding artistic sensibility. This attracted a large number of seasoned film enthusiasts while further spreading the film's reputation.

The most direct reflection of this is the leap in IMDb ratings, where the number of voters exceeded 3,000, with more than 3,600 votes cast, a more than fivefold increase from the previous week. At the same time, the rating dropped slightly from 8.5 to 8.4, though the decline was very slight, within an acceptable range, further proving that moviegoers affirmed the quality of 'Buried.'

It's well-known that seasoned users dominate the IMDb ratings, and Los Angeles and New York are two of the top gathering places for these users. If 'Buried' holds up in quality, these cities' professional film enthusiasts will give more candid opinions, further validating the film's reputation. Of course, if 'Buried' cannot withstand the scrutiny, these picky and critical users will not hesitate to condemn it.

This is the strategy of Focus Features, and it also shows their absolute confidence in the quality of 'Buried.'

Thus, 'Buried' experienced a miraculous rebound in its second week, not only setting a new per-theater average record but also further spreading its excellent reputation! This tightrope victory truly made 'Buried' famous, spreading across North America like wildfire.

Now, more and more people are comparing 'Buried' to '127 Hours.'

Although this comparison began in Toronto, 'Buried' was initially overshadowed by Danny Boyle and James Franco's collaboration, with '127 Hours' receiving rave reviews from critics. As a result, this discussion was more of a buzz in Toronto, failing to gain traction in North America.

However, the situation is now completely different.

Although the Metacritic score for professional critics is only 69, which is unlikely to compete with '127 Hours,' this is still one of the best scores for a horror film, second only to 'The Exorcist,' and even higher than classics like 'The Sixth Sense' and 'The Shining.' This also means that the door to awards season is slowly opening.

Moreover, the enthusiasm of audiences is climbing steadily. In the face of the desperate situation in the confined space, 'Buried' manages to deliver a dramatic monologue, and many don't believe '127 Hours' can do better, nor do they think James Franco's performance can surpass Renly's.

'127 Hours' is set to hit the North American market next week, debuting in four theaters, which is highly anticipated.

Fox Searchlight realized that such a confrontation could draw more attention to the film, so they began to shift resources and hype up the rivalry between 'Buried' and '127 Hours.' Coupled with Focus Features' efforts, the two films indeed became the focal point of discussion, and the outcome is yet to be determined.

A new director, a new actor, a new writer, a new team, and even before 'Buried' premiered at the Toronto Film Festival, no one knew anything about the movie. But now, 'Buried' has quietly entered the awards season spotlight, competing with '127 Hours.' This expansion strategy seems justified.

The new per-theater high of $50,700 helped 'Buried' achieve a weekend box office of $1.06 million, propelling it into the top 15 of the North American weekend box office chart, currently ranking 12th!

As expected, 'Saw 3D' indeed performed weakly at the box office, earning only $22 million over the weekend, narrowly beating the second-weekend 60% drop of 'Paranormal Activity 2' to claim the title of North American weekend box office champion for the fourth week of October.

Of course, relative to the $20 million budget, 'Saw 3D' should have no problem recouping its costs, but making a profit will require more effort.

Undoubtedly, the only film in the top 30 of the box office chart to see an increase in ticket sales, 'Buried,' once again claimed the title of the most talked-about film. For a movie still in limited release, this is a dreamlike victory, fueling even more expectations for its future box office performance.

The following week, Focus Features finally expanded the release to other cities, adding limited screenings in Seattle, Chicago, and Houston. Combined with Los Angeles and New York, the film was shown in 53 theaters.

However, the North American box office market this week is a fierce battleground, with three new releases in over 3,000 theaters: DreamWorks' 'Megamind,' 'Due Date' from the creators of 'The Hangover' starring Robert Downey Jr., and 'For Colored Girls,' directed by the famous African-American director Tyler Perry, known for his parody films. The competition is unimaginably intense.

Moreover, besides '127 Hours,' four other arthouse films are set for limited release, marking the official start of awards season. The upcoming awards season films will only become more frequent, and the competition will only become fiercer. Standing out among the dazzling array of awards season films will not be an easy task.

In this context, 'Buried' finds itself in a somewhat awkward position. As an awards season film, it's too commercial, lacking deep thematic exploration, and the thriller genre is not favored by the Oscars. But as a commercial film, it's too niche—a one-man show in a confined space? It sounds more like a stage play, and the market may not be interested.

In the face of competition, '127 Hours' successfully capitalized on last week's buzz, translating the attention into substantial box office success with a per-theater average of $66,000 from four theaters, easily surpassing 'Buried.' At the same time, the critical reception was overwhelmingly positive.

A Metacritic score of 82, a 93% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and an IMDb audience score of 8.3.

Not only did it surpass 'Buried,' but it also did so decisively. In the face of '127 Hours' overwhelming acclaim, 'Buried' had no chance to fight back.

So, what does this mean? Does it mean that in the awards season competition, 'Buried' cannot compete with '127 Hours'? Does it mean that in the North American box office battle, '127 Hours' will leave 'Buried' in the dust?

The awards season competition is yet to be determined, but in the box office battle, the answer is clearly no.

'Buried' continued to deliver surprising per-theater averages for the third consecutive week, earning $2.18 million from 53 theaters, with an average of $41,100 per theater! A strong breakout performance!