Get Out Word-of-Mouth Survey

Of course, the actual losses might not be that severe.

The biggest source of revenue for theaters was actually food.

As it turned out, nobody disliked free things.

Starting on May 2, audiences could watch a movie for free—and it was a new work by a director like Steve Kevin, who was already fairly well known in Hollywood.

It instantly drew countless eager participants. There were Black people and white people among them, but what they all had in common was a love of bargains and movies.

At all three theaters, screenings of Get Out were packed with crowds.

New Line Cinema and Warner each dispatched their own investigators to survey the audiences of Get Out.

Ronald was an investigator at Warner Bros. specializing in film audience and quality surveys. He had the bulky build typical of America's lower-class masses.

Of course, Ronald was not quite that exaggerated, but he still weighed a little over two hundred pounds.

He looked like a chubby middle-aged white man with a somewhat comical appearance.

However, he had not wanted to take this assignment today. He simply had no choice.

As the nice guy among the investigators, this old fellow nearing forty had ultimately been forced to come here when none of the other investigators were willing to.

As one of those "dead white men" in Black people's eyes, Ronald found it hard to even lift his feet toward the groups of strong Black men emerging from the theater.

In his fixed impression, Black people could sometimes be unreasonable.

Once, he had invited Black people to eat watermelon and fried chicken—his two favorite foods. He had wanted to share them with his Black friends.

Unexpectedly, after learning what he had done, his friend had flown into a rage, beaten him up, and cut ties with him.

Although he later learned that when a white person treated them to those two foods, it implied racial discrimination.

After that, however, he no longer wanted to make Black friends either.

No one knew when they might offend some taboo of Black people's and get beaten up for no reason.

Watching batch after batch of Black people leave, Ronald knew that if he did not start surveying them, he would not be able to finish today's assignment.

Suppressing his worries over Black people's unpredictable behavior, Ronald stopped several Black people who looked especially pleased.

Of course, the main reason was that these Black people did not look quite so strong.

Ronald figured that even if they beat him up, it would hurt less.

"Excuse me, gentlemen. I'm a Warner Bros. employee. Our company produced Get Out. Would you be willing to cooperate with a brief survey here?"

The Black men exchanged glances. The strongest-looking one, who seemed to be their leader, stepped forward.

"Sure!"

Only then did Ronald smile. Taking out paper and a pen, he began asking questions.

"How would you rank Get Out among the movies you've seen? S is the highest rating, and E is the lowest."

"S!"

"It has to be S!"

"..."

The Black men all eagerly answered.

Although it was not the only movie with a Black protagonist, it was the only commercial blockbuster centered on a Black protagonist.

They had enjoyed it immensely. The satisfying parts in the beginning were the white girlfriend and her defense of them.

Then, in the latter half, the protagonist took down those bad white people who wanted his body.

"Then would you recommend this movie to your friends and family?"

Ronald asked again.

"Of course."

The Black men answered in unison.

Ronald carefully recorded the information. All the data would eventually be compiled and delivered to Warner Bros.' decision-makers, who would use it to decide whether to increase promotion for Get Out or cut their losses early.

However, based on Ronald's many years of experience, he could already smell the scent of a major hit.

Over the course of a day, he questioned more than a hundred Black people, along with some white people.

The Black respondents consistently rated the movie between S and A, while the white respondents' ratings hovered between A and C.

Clearly, this was a movie aimed primarily at Black audiences over the age of sixteen.

Meanwhile, at other theater chains, Warner's investigators had also gathered their respective materials.

They brought all the materials with them and headed to Warner Pictures.

In the president's office, several senior Warner decision-makers and the president were reviewing the survey data for Get Out together.

"Are the first-day box office numbers out?"

Jeff Robinov glanced at the data and asked directly.

A staff member beside him hurriedly produced the report in his hands.

"They're out. It opened in one thousand theaters, with four thousand large screens. The first-day box office has exceeded ten million."

"The exact figure is a total box office of ten million, eight hundred and twenty thousand dollars."

One executive who did not know much about Get Out first looked at the production and marketing costs displayed before him.

Then he asked in disbelief, "President Robinov, does that mean Director Kevin's film can recover all its production and marketing costs in just two days?"

The other executives also showed delighted expressions.

"Yes, that's right!"

"Director Steve Kevin is only twenty-four years old. His potential is limitless."

"His first two films since debuting have both achieved huge returns on small investments, bringing enormous profits to New Line Cinema and us."

Although Warner had nothing to do with Saw, Kevin's first film, Warner had been New Line Cinema's overseas distribution partner.

Through overseas distribution, Warner had also received a share of the profits.

That was why Warner had taken the initiative to approach Kevin for cooperation on his second film.

However, two consecutive successful films would inevitably send Steve Kevin's reputation soaring within the industry.

For Kevin's next movie, countless investors would probably come knocking.

Warner Bros. had to maintain a good relationship with Kevin.

A major director with a continuous streak of success held an extremely important position for a film company of their scale as well.

However, exactly how to win over Director Kevin, and what price they should pay, still required consideration.

"We'll discuss Kevin later. Have all of you read the materials in your hands?"

"We have."

Everyone nodded.

Only then did Robinov continue.

"Based on these materials, Get Out still has a great deal of untapped potential. In particular, affected by the Los Angeles riots, Black people are currently full of dissatisfaction toward white people."

"The military's suppression may have stopped the riots, but they lack somewhere to vent their emotions."

"Get Out seems to have appeared at precisely the right time. That can be seen from the unanimous praise it has received from Black audiences in these materials."