317. The Battle for Opening-Day Box Office

As November draws to a close and temperatures plummet, North America remains bustling with activity.

Black Friday's massive sales have once again set new records for major shopping malls, and movie theaters are naturally a popular choice for relaxation after shopping. However, the Thanksgiving season seems somewhat lackluster due to the delayed release of "Speed of Death 11" this year.

In December, snow began to fall in many parts of China, and it was that time of year again when northerners mocked southerners for being unsophisticated. During this period, Lu Ban was busy promoting "Demon Tide" in various parts of the country, which greatly boosted the popularity of the game.

Now, Lu Ban has two paths for publicity and distribution. The first is to hold preview screenings, showing "Demon Tide" in some cinemas in advance to build up word-of-mouth. The second is to proceed step by step, releasing some behind-the-scenes footage from time to time to enhance anticipation.

Lu Ban ultimately did not choose to hold a preview screening because he wanted to leave the suspense until the very last moment.

Moreover, films that are screened in advance are usually those that audiences have little confidence in. For "The Demon Tide", audiences had high expectations. The first day's pre-sale tickets were sold out a month in advance, and there were also some scalpers reselling them. In the secondary market, the price of pre-sale tickets was inflated to two or three times.

With Christmas just a week away, Lu Ban faced another problem.

That is, will the midnight premiere be held in the country or abroad?

International cinemas invited Lu Ban to unveil a film in Times Square, New York, while domestically, it was Jiangcheng Cinema.

Logically speaking, with "The Speed of Death 11 of Demon Tide" being released globally simultaneously for the first time, and "Gone with the Wind" also premiering at midnight, the clash on the first day overseas is crucial. In order to show that he values the overseas market, Lu Ban should attend the premiere abroad.

However, Lu Ban did not go abroad, but stayed in Jiangcheng.

In Lu Ban's words, the premiere of a Chinese film should definitely be held in China.

Moreover, midnight arrives earlier in China.

In Europe and America, Christmas is a time for family reunions. Christmas trees, Christmas dinners, Christmas carols, Santa Claus—a strong festive atmosphere pervades the city.

On the internet, the debate between "Speed of Death 11" and "Demon Tide" has reached its most heated stage.

I think we should support "Speed of Death 11"). It's a movie made in our own country, why should we spend money to watch a foreign film?

Why do I have to discuss nationality when watching movies, buddy? Shouldn't we just watch whichever movie is good, or even all of them?

I've seen the ads for "The Demon Tide," it seems to be a fantasy film. There aren't many movies like that these days, so I might choose to watch it based on the ratings after its second day of release.

[Why not spend more time with family during Christmas? Don't any of you have girlfriends?]

No, even if "The Demon Tide" is bad, no one would want to see a sequel to "Fast & Furious," right? Ever since they brought back dead characters in the previous movies and made the male lead's wife black, I've thought this movie is hopeless.

So here's the question: would you choose to watch a movie featuring a Black person or a movie featuring an Asian person?

Hey buddy, was what you just said racist?

I don't think either of these works is worth the money. Both are male-dominated, with no room for female empowerment. Does this mean women are incapable of working in modern society? I want to boycott them!

The crux of the debate is probably who should be supported, with both sides holding their own opinions, and there are also fence-sitters watching the show. This kind of situation can occur in any country.

In China, Christmas isn't celebrated with as much fanfare. Aside from some stores offering discounts and special promotions, and some shopping malls displaying Christmas trees, it's just an ordinary year-end celebration.

For many people, Christmas is not as good as New Year's Day, at least New Year's Day has a holiday.

The Jiangcheng Cinema was packed with people.

The midnight pre-sale tickets were sold out long ago. However, according to current box office predictions, "Speed of Death 11" has far surpassed "Demon Tide" in pre-sale box office on its first day in places other than China.

After all, it's the last installment in a series that's been going on for over a decade, and many longtime fans are coming to see the premiere out of nostalgia.

Moreover, Lu Ban's previous remarks were highly provocative, which made some people wish that Lu Ban would suffer a major setback and be thoroughly humiliated by foreign films.

"It should snow in Jiangcheng tonight."

Standing outside the movie theater, Feng Yu looked at the gloomy sky.

"It's quite fitting for the occasion."

Wearing a mask to prevent unnecessary harassment, Lu Ban looked at the still bustling movie theater entrance close to midnight and sighed.

Do you think you can achieve your stated goal?

Feng Yu inquired.

"It should be possible."

Lu Ban nodded.

Based on pre-sales, "The Demon Tide" is absolutely dominant in the domestic market, accounting for 35% of screenings on its opening day and with total pre-sale box office approaching 700 million yuan. This situation was only seen during the Spring Festival slot in the past.

As for "Speed of Death 11", it has a 20% share of screenings in China and its pre-sale box office is close to 200 million yuan.

The main reason is that the midnight premiere of "Fatal Speed" was based on North American time, so it wouldn't be available in China until noon, which reduced the box office revenue on the first day.

However, overseas, "Speed of Death 11" had a much higher number of screenings on its opening day than "The Demon Tide," reaching 43%, while "The Demon Tide" only had 17%, with a difference of about five times in pre-sale box office.

Judging from the global pre-sale box office, "Speed of Death 11" should have a first-day gross of around 800 million, and coincidentally, "The Demon Tide" should also hover around that level.

The difference between the two is hard to discern; until the very last moment, no one knows who will emerge victorious.

Because for films with sufficient pre-release publicity, the opening day box office usually represents the peak, so the battle on the opening day also represents the first confrontation between the two.

In North America, some media outlets have even dubbed it the "ultimate showdown," urging people to leave their homes and go to the cinema. It's hard not to believe that theater chains are behind this push.

Regardless of who ultimately wins on the first day, cinemas will make a fortune, because it means that the domestic box office will reach over a billion yuan on Christmas Day alone. Those cinemas that are struggling to meet their year-end targets couldn't be more grateful to Lu Ban.

"However, there's not much to say about the box office on the first day. To achieve record-breaking box office results, relying solely on regular moviegoers won't be enough."

Lu Ban knew very well that some movies had extremely high opening prices, but then plummeted from the second day onwards, much like energy stocks that had been halved in value. This wasn't necessarily due to the quality of the films, but rather because these movies were only meant to be seen once. No one would go to the cinema to watch them a second or third time. Those who wanted to see them would go as soon as possible, and those who didn't want to see them wouldn't bother to go even after the films were taken off the screens.

To truly break records, you need word-of-mouth, attention to detail, viewers who want to watch the movie two or three times, and to bring in more people who never used to go to the cinema.

Can "Demon Tide" do that?