The Audience

A movie might not see a direct box office boost just because critics give it high ratings, but word-of-mouth from the audience is a crucial reference point for ticket sales.

On a very ordinary weekend, Lina and Wood were on a date, preparing to pick a movie to pass the afternoon.

They arrived at a cinema on Fifth Avenue and looked over the information and posters for the films currently showing.

"How about Tom Cruise's new movie? The newspapers are raving about it, and the visuals are gorgeous. It's worth a watch," Wood said, voicing his opinion first.

"But the movie is 156 minutes long. Isn't that too long? I wanted to get my bag serviced after the movie, and they'll be off work by then," Lina said, looking less than satisfied.

"Then let's watch American Pie. It's both funny and relaxing."

"I don't like movies filled with crude humor. Let's watch Legally Blonde. A classmate of mine saw it last night and said it was great."

Wood shrugged to show he didn't mind. Since there was a screening starting right at that time, he bought two tickets for the earliest show.

They grabbed some popcorn and soda on the way and entered the theater, which wasn't particularly large, finding seats toward the back.

Afterward, other people trickled in, and Wood, bored, munched on his popcorn while looking around.

As more and more people entered the theater, he realized that by the time the movie started, the occupancy rate had actually reached eighty percent. This was the highest occupancy rate he had seen for any movie this year.

He immediately shared this discovery with his girlfriend.

Lina looked up and noticed that not only was it full, but the vast majority of the audience was female. This was quite different from the past, where male audiences were the mainstream.

The overhead lights dimmed, the movie began, and the two of them stopped thinking about anything else, focusing on the film.

At the same time, Irene also left her home and walked into a cinema, intending to watch Eyes Wide Shut. In her previous life, she hadn't watched it because the film was too explicit and not a genre she liked, so she decided to pay her respects to the late director's final work in this life.

"One ticket for Eyes Wide Shut, please."

She walked into the theater's largest hall, which could hold as many as 200 people. When she entered, only the seats in the very center were occupied, while the rest of the place was empty. This occupancy rate could hardly be called healthy.

The movie started quickly. After thirty minutes, Irene still hadn't gotten into it. To be specific, she didn't understand the main plot; she only knew the scenes were gorgeous and the lead actors were beautiful.

Clearly, there were quite a few people who felt the same way as her. Whispers began to spread through the theater.

"Did you understand that?"

"Why didn't William divorce his wife after finding out she was cheating?"

"He didn't know. He was just suspicious that his wife was cheating."

"So, did the wife actually cheat or not?"

She really wanted to tell the person next to her that there was a term for the wife's behavior in the future: "emotional affair."

After she endured the 156 minutes, the movie finally ended. The overhead lights flickered on, seemingly waking up some of the sleeping audience members. As she left the theater, she could vaguely hear some grumbling and complaints.

On the other side.

"Elle is just amazing! She's so smart and beautiful. I declare that she is my new idol!" Lina was very excited after the movie; she wanted to become a girl just like Elle.

"What do you think about me going to graduate school for law? Harvard Law School must be really hard to get into, right?" Lina said as she walked, completely lost in her own thoughts.

"I don't think much of it..." Wood looked at his girlfriend, who always had these sudden whims, and gave a dry, unenthusiastic response.

"Why not? Are you just like the male lead in the movie, looking down on us girls and thinking we're just blonde and brainless?" Lina widened her eyes and questioned her boyfriend.

"How could that be? I just think... um... I think..." Wood hurriedly waved his hands to deny it.

"Think what? You better explain yourself clearly."

"I just think... ah, I think Harvard is too far away from us. Maybe you could look into New York University or Columbia University?" Wood said, thinking quickly on his feet.

"Oh, you're right. Distance is indeed an issue."

Wood wiped the non-existent sweat from his forehead and quietly breathed a sigh of relief. Seeing that Lina wasn't heading in the direction they had originally planned, but was instead turning toward the Fifth Avenue commercial district, he quickly grabbed her: "Honey, you're going the wrong way. You should go to the right to get your bag serviced."

"I changed my mind. I want to buy a pink dress. You know, my closet has always been missing one."

Wood opened his mouth and looked into Lina's eyes. It felt like if he dared to say no for even a second, he would be dumped by his girlfriend the next, so he surrendered.

"You're right, honey. You could also look at a Chanel bag. The one Elle carried would look great on you," he recommended, going against his conscience.

"Silly, that wasn't a Chanel. That was Prada. But it wouldn't hurt to go look; it would be nice if I could buy the same one."

Similar conversations were happening to many people recently. The sales clerks on the commercial street noted that pink products, which were usually not easy to sell, had recently seen sales far exceeding the past.

The entire city was undergoing a pink movement.

At dinner that evening, her father learned that Irene had gone to watch Eyes Wide Shut in the afternoon and asked her how she felt about it.

Irene stopped chewing, thought for a moment, and said, "Not great."

"Oh?" Francis Coppola was a bit surprised. In terms of professional reputation, this film completely crushed Legally Blonde. He thought he would at least hear a word of praise.

"This movie is about a wealthy couple who have nothing better to do than to crazily test each other's bottom lines. The husband braves a nude party and gets scared out of his wits, while the wife has wild fantasies about cheating with a hunk. In the end, they both realize it's safer to just go home and argue. How many points do you think I can give a story like that?"

After listening, Francis burst into laughter. "Hahahaha! Your summary of the movie, whether you like it or not, is basically accurate if you strip away the substance. At your age, it's normal not to understand the deeper interpretation of marriage."

Irene shrugged. She didn't want to understand it, nor did she have any interest in doing so.

Suddenly, she remembered the MTV Video Music Awards. Her own film wouldn't make the cut this year, but Britney's album definitely had a shot.

She gave Britney a call, and during the conversation, Britney couldn't stop praising Edward Nelson, gushing about how he'd driven her in a luxury car right in front of her rivals to put them in their place—he was just such a great friend.

Afterward, Edward had even lent her the sports car he'd provided to the film crew, making her feel like the center of attention during this period.

As Irene chatted with her, she kept a mental tally of how many times Britney mentioned Edward Nelson's name. By the end, she figured it wouldn't be long before the two of them finally crossed that line, so she dropped a hint: "The MTV awards are coming up soon; do you need me to walk the red carpet with you?" Before waiting for a reply, she immediately added, "Of course, if you have other options, you can choose someone else."

Even though that sounded a bit manipulative, Britney actually started to waver, "I mean, I do want you to come with me, but Edward specifically asked me to go with him so I could get a feel for the awards ceremony..."

"Did you say yes?"

"No, no, I told him I needed to think about it." Britney could tell from her friend's tone that she didn't seem to approve.

"Hmph, I think you should keep him waiting a little longer; don't agree too quickly." She wasn't just talking about the awards ceremony, but it was clear that Britney had completely missed the subtext.

"Oh, okay, then I'll tell him next week."

Irene couldn't help but cover her face with her hand; she really didn't know what to do with Britney.

If you enjoy this book, please remember to add it to your bookshelf so you don't lose it next time.