Chapter 107: Internal Screening

"Steve Kevin has finished the production of 'The Dark Knight'?"

As soon as Robinov heard this news, he rushed over.

As a major production with an investment of around $150 million, if it flopped at the box office, even a film company of Warner Bros.'s caliber would struggle to bear the consequences.

After all, considering Warner Bros.'s scale, their annual revenue was just over $200 million.

It seemed like a lot, but if you factored in production costs, losing money on a major production would essentially mean Warner Bros. had worked for nothing that year.

Losing money on two major productions would require dipping into their liquid assets.

And losing money on three...

Without the support of the conglomerate behind them, it could almost topple a major film company.

The film industry had always been a high-risk, high-reward business.

A successful film, especially for a major production, brought in substantial future revenue.

Overall, it could achieve returns three, five, or even more times the investment.

With such high returns, the losses were equally severe.

Of course, for Robinov, as the President of Warner Bros., if such a high-investment production failed miserably, even he couldn't escape the fate of resigning and leaving.

However, considering Kevin's abilities, Robinov absolutely didn't believe there would be a situation where they couldn't even recover the costs.

If that were the case, he would have to accept that Kevin's career would inevitably plummet as well.

Messing up a major production was entirely different from messing up a small one.

Robinov's quick steps revealed his sense of urgency.

In just a few minutes, Robinov arrived at the screening room from his office on one of the upper floors.

Kevin handed the master tape to Robinov, stretched lazily, and confidently said, "I am certain that this will be another epic masterpiece in my career, worthy of an Oscar."

This was a rare moment of self-praise from Kevin.

Essentially, this Batman: The Dark Knight duology was born from Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight series, but Kevin absorbed its essence and reconstructed the films.

At least 50% of it was original content.

He could barely say that it was his own work.

If films like Saw, Get Out, and Mission: Impossible were direct adaptations or remakes, then Pirates of the Caribbean was Kevin's first step in adapting films.

Of course, the overall extent of the adaptation for Pirates of the Caribbean was around 10% to 20%, and Kevin didn't feel comfortable claiming it as his own creation.

But for Batman: The Dark Knight series, Kevin essentially deconstructed the plots of the previous two films while incorporating the storyline of the Joker's origin, further elevating the importance of the character.

In this way, Kevin used the first half of the Batman: The Dark Knight series as a setup.

Therefore, the first film's performance might not be outstanding.

But all the setup would directly propel the next installment of Batman: The Dark Knight to the level of a masterpiece, and that was Kevin's confidence.

Robinov nodded, and Kevin's confidence infected him as well.

So, what needed to be done next was simple—a rating from an internal screening to determine the proportion of subsequent investments for this major production.

The screening manager and several executives who had come after hearing the news took their seats.

The small screening room, which could accommodate over thirty people, was fully occupied.

Kevin reclined lazily in his chair and fell asleep. He had absolute confidence in the quality of The Dark Knight, and now he only awaited the result.

Robinov hushed everyone, signaling not to disturb Kevin, and quietly started the film with the volume lowered.

Both movies had a runtime of over four hours.

Everyone prepared themselves for a bladder endurance test in advance.

The movie quickly began.

In the first part of the film, the reasons behind Batman's birth in the comic book were rapidly portrayed.

Shortly after, the true ruler of Gotham City, Bruce Wayne, made his appearance.

...

Over an hour quickly passed, and the first movie screening ended.

The expressions on everyone's faces were uncertain, and they cast skeptical glances at Steve Kevin, who was sound asleep on the side.

Compared to Kevin's previous films, this movie was just an average Batman work, apart from its exceptional artistic visuals and the characterization of Batman and the Joker.

Even in terms of the story, it was quite ordinary.

It could make money, but only a modest amount, which seemed a bit beneath Kevin's stature.

At a critical moment, Robinov intervened and put an end to these criticisms.

He firmly believed that a movie that could make Steve Kevin so confident couldn't be limited to this level.

The real essence of the film must lie in the second part.

The ending of the first part, with the Joker's smile and words, was clearly setting the stage for a magnificent and intellectual battle between him and Batman in the second part.

Amid unanimous agreement among the audience, the second movie seamlessly started playing, showcasing the climax everyone was eager to see—the epic showdown between the Joker and Batman.

From the very beginning, the second movie revealed the dual nature of Batman and the Joker.

If Batman was the emperor of Gotham City on the surface, then the Joker was the embodiment of chaos, the king of its criminal underworld.

The film quickly grasped the audience's attention with a few fast-paced and majestic scenes.

All eyes were glued to the screen.

A battle centered around life philosophy, values, and worldview began.

Under the relentless pressure from the Joker, Batman witnessed the death of his girlfriend and the corruption of his friend. Gradually, he started transforming into the next Joker.

All of this even elicited sympathy for Bruce from the viewers.

People watched as Bruce was toyed with by the Joker, anticipating Batman's ultimate strike.

Yes, in superhero movies, the protagonist, the superhero, can never fail.

Therefore, everyone present knew.

Batman would ultimately emerge victorious, but the victory would be so brutal.

...

The movie quickly reached its conclusion.

"Clap, clap, clap, clap!"

Applause filled the air, waking Kevin from his slumber.

All eyes turned to Kevin, their doubts now vanished.

When Kevin produces a film, it is bound to be a masterpiece. This concept firmly imprinted itself in everyone's minds.

Kevin stood up calmly, surveyed the room, and then asked in a relaxed manner, "What do you all think of The Dark Knight?"

"A masterpiece!"

"Without a doubt, it's a masterpiece among masterpieces."

A senior manager among the screening team stepped forward and exclaimed loudly.

After watching several films, this screening manager had become an ardent supporter of Kevin. The quality of Kevin's films had reached a level of blind faith for this manager.