Some box office statistics

After entering the new millennium, the development speed of the film industry has been progressing by leaps and bounds.

Even the ticket sales for movies have specialized channels for collection.

Therefore, generally speaking, the box office statistics for the first day of release can be available by the next afternoon, or even earlier. After all, nowadays theater data calculations are done using a network system. Every ticket sold is recorded, making it extremely convenient and fast.

...

In the living room of a hotel, Lyman hung up the phone and paced back and forth twice before calming down his chaotic emotions. The joy on his face gradually gave way to calmness. This was because the first-day preview results of the 21 theaters had been released. In the morning, George personally went to the headquarters of Paramount Pictures to inquire, and he had just called to inform Lyman.

According to the data obtained by Paramount Pictures, they had earned over $25,000 in box office revenue on the first day.

All 21 theaters operated overnight, and "3 Idiots" was only screened in one theater among them. On average, each screening room had around 500 seats. Yesterday, the movie was played three times, and the ticket price for the first round was 6 dollars. With over $25,000 in box office revenue, it meant that the average occupancy rate for "3 Idiots" in these theaters reached around 20 percent. This result was quite good, and it was no wonder George congratulated Lyman over the phone.

Lyman quickly informed René and Thomas about the box office statistics. René smiled and said, "I think we'll definitely make a profit when the expansion starts."

"Haha, that's for sure," Thomas also laughed.

Just as Paramount Pictures was considering whether to start expanding the screenings the following week, the second-day box office results for "3 Idiots" surprised everyone once again. The average occupancy rate for the 21 theaters had actually increased further, reaching 32 percent. The box office revenue for the second day also exceeded $76,000 dollars.

The cumulative box office revenue in the first two days had already surpassed $100,000 dollars, and based on this trend, Paramount Pictures' expansion plan was undoubtedly going to be implemented. It was the inevitable law of the market—no one wanted to miss out on easy profits.

As long as the film's word-of-mouth was guaranteed, the upcoming weekend screenings were likely to continue increasing the box office revenue. From this perspective, the first-week ticket sales per theater would definitely not be lower than $10,000.

Next up was the time for "3 Idiots" to significantly increase its screening scale...

However, it still depended on the film's word-of-mouth. For a project with limited marketing and more of an artistic nature, word-of-mouth recommendations were extremely important. Since the film was only screened in 21 theaters, Paramount Pictures hired a consulting company to conduct on-site data statistics at the theaters. Audience word-of-mouth couldn't be truly reflected in the media or newspapers, and it often had a significant disparity from film critics' evaluations.

In North America, there were companies like CinemaScore that specialized in market ratings and predicting box office trends. However, Paramount Pictures couldn't expect such a large company to pay attention to small-scale preview projects. Similar films were released in North America every week, and most of them were part of a weekend theater tour. Who would pay attention to them?

Moreover, hiring a consulting company to conduct on-site investigations wouldn't cost much. Paramount Pictures was more than willing to do so, as it would provide the most effective data analysis for their screening plans.

Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles. In front of a cinema.

A movie enthusiast recalled the plot of the film he had just watched and recommended it to his close friend over the phone, "This film is really great... Yeah, it's "3 Idiots"... Quite impressive... You'll know once you've seen it... Well, I'm hanging up now."

After putting down his phone, he gently rubbed his brow, seemingly immersed in thought. "It's such a fantastic film. It would be a shame to miss it. I want to tell more people about it." With some contemplation and praise, he left the cinema.

At an independent cinema in Venice, Los Angeles, a white girl was stopped by someone as she walked out of the cinema. Hearing this person asking her questions about "3 Idiots", she responded aggressively, "I think the director is so bad. Rancho, such an outstanding person, didn't get a good ending, and they didn't even reveal what happened to him afterward! And that part where the senior attempted suicide, couldn't they have saved him like they did with Raju?"

Passersby began discussing the film as well.

"What were the names of the director and the screenwriter?"

"Lyman Lattes and René Garcia," someone nearby reminded.

"Yes, those are the guys."

"The movie was really well made," someone chimed in.

"I have a feeling I recognize the name of the director. Wasn't he the one who directed "Buried"? I'll go back and check the credits on the videotape to compare," another person said.

Another person replied, "Yes, I saw it mentioned in the newspaper yesterday."

"Wow, he's quite talented. I liked both of the films he directed."

"I didn't like "Buried", but I think this one is really good."

"He's really talented..."

Amidst the chaotic voices, fading footsteps carried them away, eventually disappearing.

After watching the movie and having dinner outside, Bella returned home. She poured herself a glass of water, sat down, and took a moment to rest before sitting in front of her computer.

Since the Sundance Film Festival, she had been following a director named "Lyman Lattes". So when the film was released in theaters, she went to the cinema and contributed a movie ticket, considering it her modest support.

The scenes from the exhibition hall, where everyone applauded and stood up to show their respect, were still fresh in her memory. Receiving applause is easy, but how many directors can truly satisfy the audience?

She connected to the internet and skillfully opened IMDb, conducting a simple search to find the section dedicated to director Lyman. Ever since the release of "Buried", he had his own IMDb identification number, but at that time, his section was barren. Apart from a few sentences introducing the director's personal information, the name of the film "Buried", and the IMDb link, there was nothing else.

However, this time Bella noticed something different. In his list of works, not only was "3 Idiots" listed, but several people had also left messages in the discussion group.

"Is anyone here? Wow, it's so empty. I didn't expect to be the first one to leave a message. Who is this director Lyman Lattes? Why doesn't IMDb even have a personal photo for him? Is it this neglectful? But I really like this director's works. I watched the movie in the morning, and I still have this indescribable emotion lingering in my heart. Oh, and IMDb officials or anyone kind enough, could you add a photo of him?"

This was a message from around 1:00 p.m. yesterday. By 3:20 p.m., someone else had left their mark.

"F*ck! xxxxxx" A series of profanities erupted, with many words being censored by the website. It wasn't pleasant language.

This person seemed very angry and kept complaining, "Where is that piece of shit director Lyman Lattes? Why did he make a movie like this? Do you know that my girlfriend cried for a long time after watching it? She's still in a bad mood. It really pisses me off. He ruined the well-planned date I had set up."

Many people left comments behind, expressing their anger.

"If it doesn't work today, what about tomorrow? Are you only alive for one day? Huh? With such a foul mouth, you're bound to break up sooner or later."

The person responded, "Mind your own business, you b*tch."

Another person commented, "From the sound of it, it seems like you didn't watch the movie. Only your girlfriend did."

The person replied, "So what? I had something to deal with in the morning, so she went to the cinema alone. We had planned to hang out together in the afternoon, and it was such a rare day off. But it got ruined because of that director Lyman Lattes. Now my girlfriend doesn't want to leave the house and says she's not in the mood. My god, when she talked to me on the phone this morning, she was so happy and agreed to my request."

The person who left the earlier comment was speechless. "Well, what can I say? I suggest you also go watch the movie. Maybe you'll find the reason for your girlfriend's bad mood, and then you might find a way to resolve it."

The person replied, "Thanks, buddy. I'll go see what this movie is about, and I'll come back and update you on the situation."

"How did it go?"

"Has he returned yet?"

Further down, there were similar comments from others. Everyone wanted to know what happened to this person next.

Scrolling down to a message around 7:00 p.m., the person updated their comment, "This movie is actually pretty good. I had never seen this kind of film before, and it touched me. Now I understand my girlfriend's mood a bit better. She's sensitive deep down, perhaps even more able to connect with the story than I am. After watching it, I'm also wondering why there are so many constraints in this world. Even someone as outstanding as Rancho can't break free..."

Reaching this point, Bella stopped scrolling. Although there were quite a few comments, overall, there was a lack of attention.

She scrolled the webpage upward, and next to the name Lyman Lattes, the profile picture area remained blank. What did this director look like? She knew, he was an ordinary-looking person—nothing particularly handsome, but not ugly either. And most importantly, his talent was what truly stood out.

Unfortunately, she didn't have a photo of this guy either, so she couldn't help the fans who were curious about his appearance. When you're not famous, that's how it is. Even IMDb officials wouldn't pay attention.

Then, she clicked on the link for "3 Idiots" under Lyman Lattes's section, and as the webpage flipped, a rating page appeared before her eyes...