A Pitiful Schedule

Hard Candy is scheduled for release on July 19th?

"This is not good news. What are the theater chains trying to do?!" Victor was quite furious.

Zucker also narrowed his eyes.

In North America, the period from the first weekend of May to mid-August is the summer blockbuster season, a time when major Hollywood studios reap massive box office returns from their star-studded lineups.

Naturally, this also means the competition is incredibly brutal!

If it is difficult for the major studios, it inevitably means that small and medium-sized film companies find it impossible to secure enough screens for their films, leaving them to be nothing more than cannon fodder.

July, after all, is right in the heart of the North American summer season!

Even films with budgets in the tens of millions produced by mid-sized companies dare not release during the summer season for fear of being crushed.

If films with budgets of ten million dollars are afraid, how could Hard Candy, a film with a budget of less than one million dollars, possibly dare to compete with blockbusters from major studios?

Are they not afraid of being crushed into cannon fodder?

Clearly, Wald Pictures was not that stubborn!

"Boss, the theater chains are trying to screw us over!"

Victor pulled out the North American film schedule for July and, looking at the high-profile films listed, felt a surge of uncontrollable anger.

Eraser, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, The Spitfire Grill, Independence Day, A Time to Kill, White Squall, and so on—which one of these wasn't produced and distributed by the Hollywood Big Six?

Damn it!

Zucker looked at the films scheduled for late June and July; they were all absolute monsters!

"Damn it all, they want me dead!"

"Every single one of these films is in the top 40 of this year's North American box office. Not a single one has a North American gross of less than 50 million dollars!"

It was a headache.

With his own Hard Candy, a project with a budget of less than one million dollars, what could he possibly use to go head-to-head with these blockbusters?

It was like throwing an egg against a rock, a total suicide mission!

"Martha, contact the theater chains and see if we can move the release of Hard Candy to early or mid-August," Zucker said immediately.

"Understood, boss."

Martha immediately called the theater chains, but the results were not ideal.

"Boss, the theater chains all say the August schedule is full and cannot be adjusted. If... if we insist on delaying, the only option is September," Martha said, her expression grim.

"To hell with a September release! Students are back in school in September; who is going to watch the movie then?" Zucker couldn't help but feel a surge of anger.

Victor looked at Martha and asked in a low voice, "With a July 19th release, how many screens are they giving Hard Candy?"

With no hope of adjusting the schedule, they could only try to fight for more screens.

"300 screens for the opening weekend. And they said that's only because of the face we saved with our previous film, Run Lola Run, which grossed 100 million dollars overseas. Otherwise, we wouldn't even get 100 screens," Martha gritted her teeth.

A measly 300 screens?

What is that supposed to do?

The theater chains were treating Hard Candy and Wald Pictures as nothing more than cannon fodder!

Yes, Hard Candy was a low-budget, niche film that wouldn't pull in massive box office numbers, but the quality was good. If it had been given a decent release window, it could have easily grossed 6 to 10 million dollars.

As for now?

Being dumped into the blockbuster-heavy summer season, he would be lucky to scrape together 3 million dollars!

"Boss, should we delay Hard Candy until March or April of next year?" Victor suggested.

The schedule in March and April is relatively loose. According to Victor's plan, it would indeed allow Hard Candy to achieve a decent box office, but Zucker didn't want to wait!

"No need to wait until next year. Let's stick with the July 19th release," Zucker said through gritted teeth.

"But..."

Victor wanted to say more, but he was interrupted by Zucker.

Next March and April, the film The Barbarian—a total monster of a movie—would be released, with a North American box office of nearly 60 million dollars, enough to crush any niche film.

Although the current summer season is packed with blockbusters, Hard Candy is a niche film with a completely different flavor. As long as the marketing is done right, it might still achieve a decent box office. It would just be incredibly difficult, bordering on desperate.

Actually, there was one more reason Zucker didn't say out loud.

The director of Hard Candy is none other than Zack Snyder!

A future superstar director of Hollywood!

Zucker had seen the finished cut by Zack, and he had to admit it was even better than the original version of Hard Candy. Delaying the film would inevitably lead to a series of unexpected issues. Choosing to face the challenge head-on would surely make Zack Snyder even more grateful to Wald Pictures, deepening their connection, which would be of great benefit in the future.

July 4th.

Wald Pictures.

Director Zack Snyder sat on the sofa with a grim expression, his entire body trembling with anger.

"Zack, I am so sorry. We at Wald Pictures are too small and weak to secure you a good release date and a sufficient number of screens. After all, Hard Candy is your first official film, and I never expected that it would be ruined because of us at Wald Pictures. Sigh, I, Zucker Wald, say to you once again: I am sorry~"

Under Zucker's emotional performance, his expression looking as if he had been dealt a heavy blow made Zack feel even more guilty.

Look!

Look closely!

A benefactor!

A truly great person!

"I, Zack, am just a director, while Mr. Wald is the boss of a film company. If the movie Hard Candy didn't get a good release date, he is the one who loses the most, yet he is here comforting and consoling a small director like me. I..."

Zack felt increasingly guilty in his heart: "Perhaps I should go back to shooting music videos."

Thinking of this, Zack stood up immediately and said solemnly: "Mr. Wald, the fact that the movie didn't get a good release date is not your responsibility, but mine. If... if my directing skills were more solid, I would definitely have been able to move more theater chains. So you don't need to say sorry to me; it is I who should apologize to you~!"

He paused for a moment and continued: "Perhaps I am just not cut out to be a director. I have no talent for directing. I might just keep shooting music videos in the future, I..."

"Bullshit!"

Zucker roared at him: "Zack! Mr. Zack Snyder, you remember this: you are a genius, a rare cinematic genius!"

"It's just one movie. If it loses money, so be it. I value you as a person. As long as you are willing to shoot and I still have money, then you keep shooting. If one movie doesn't work, we shoot two. If that doesn't work, we shoot a hundred or eighty."

"No money? At worst, I'll mortgage the company. I refuse to believe we can't succeed!"

As his words fell, Zack was moved to tears.

Look at this, this is what you call the grace of being discovered!

At this moment, an incredibly excited Zack Snyder almost knelt down to pledge his loyalty, willing to drink, smoke, and get perms for the old Zucker family for generations to come.

Oh my god, I didn't think I had such good acting skills. Zucker gave himself a thumbs-up in his heart.

Second update delivered. Minister says thank you once again to the readers. Thank you all for your support, I will continue to work hard~!