January 4th, Sunday Late Night.
In Paramount Pictures' distribution command center, two heavy-duty fax machines spit out the last few statistical reports.
The Paramount Vice President of Publishing stared at the bold black text on the first line of the report, his fingers holding the coffee cup trembling involuntarily.
The first three days grossed $71.4 million.
Including screenings on Christmas Day and earlier previews, the film grossed a total of $136.8 million in its first ten days of release.
In this current release window, besides the global phenomenon The Lord of the Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, * The Kingmaker Part 1* has dethroned all other Hollywood blockbusters. Universal's $140 million action film * Lin Qi *, starring Dwayne Johnson, has had its screenings halved. Warner Bros..' big-budget live-action Bugs Bunny, featuring Brandon Fraser and Bugs Bunny, saw its occupancy rate plummet to below 30% in its second week, with per-theater revenue less than $2,000. Managers of 2,400 theaters across the US worked overnight to revise their schedules, freeing up screens originally intended for these big-budget productions to show this business biopic about the rebuilding of Boston basketball.
Monday morning at 8:30, third floor of the Boston Auerbach Training Center.
Assistant Margaret knocked and came in, carrying four thick stacks of financial statements and alliance briefings, which she neatly piled on Lin Qi's desk.
"Mr. Lin, this is the general ledger for the theaters sent by Paramount, along with summaries faxed over this morning from the New Garden ticketing center, Converse finance department, and the Alliance public relations office." Margaret put down the documents and stepped aside.
Lin Qi picked up his hot black coffee and casually flipped to the first weekly report from the official flagship store and ticketing center of the New Garden.
During the ten days from Christmas to New Year's Day, the three official Celtics stores around the New Garden were almost completely emptied of jerseys. Countless fans who had just left Copley Square and the Boston Theatre turned around and flocked to the arena's merchandise department. All the casual tickets for the second half of the season sold out within 48 hours after New Year's Day, and scalpers' courtside tickets more than doubled in price. Even the VIP boxes for next season received full deposits this morning, with a 100% renewal rate.
Lin Qi opened the second sales report from Converse headquarters.
The retro green and white high-top sneakers worn by Keanu Reeves ' character Lin Qi in the early 1990s became a wildly popular item among young people across the United States. Retro casual styles sold out in over 500 chain shoe stores nationwide. More importantly, the custom-made basketball shoes worn by Ben Wallace saw sales surge by 60% year-on-year after the Christmas Day game.
Fortunately, the decision had already been made to transfer the main production lines to several large contract manufacturers along the China coast. If they had relied solely on the meager capacity of their Maine factory, this sudden surge in orders would have already completely overwhelmed the supply chain. Even so, express container ships from Dongguan and Putian are still adrift in the Pacific Ocean, and even with China factories operating at full capacity in three shifts, they still can't keep up with the speed at which orders are flying in from all over the United States.
These off-field commercial gains naturally translated into tangible income for the players.
According to the supplemental commercial agreement, the revenue sharing from jersey sales and the tiered bonuses from the shoe brands were directly deposited into the players' personal accounts. Garnett alone received $700,000 in bonuses for reaching sales targets in just the past two weeks. Chris Paul Pierce's personal signature apparel line received a second payout of $400,000. Even Wade, who was on a rookie contract, received a $150,000 advance payment from Converse's rookie shoe sales.
Ben Wallace had just changed into his training clothes when his agent called. Three well-known American pickup truck and heavy equipment brands had offered him endorsement deals, with three-year offers exceeding four million dollars. Big Ben sat in front of his locker, grinning from ear to ear, which prompted Rasheed Wallace next to him to excitedly kick the locker door.
Lin Qi opened the last document, which contained the league's official statistics for the second phase of All-Star voting, as well as the latest odds from major media outlets for the regular season MVP.
Since the start of the season, the Celtics have maintained the best record in the entire league.
Garnett's stat line was 28.4 points, 13.2 rebounds, 8.1 assists, 2.4 blocks, and 1.5 steals per game.
Garnett's high post playmaking and three-point shooting are a huge threat. As long as he holds the ball high at the top of the arc, if the opponent defends and leaves the basket open for a cut, or if they can't defend and he pulls up for a shot, his shooting makes defensive coaches all over the league shudder.
On the other side, Chris Paul Pierce was equally unstoppable, averaging 25.3 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 4.2 assists per game. His footwork in isolation plays was as solid as a seasoned veteran, and his mid-range jump shot and isolation plays made life difficult for the opposing small forwards. Together, the two anchored Boston's half-court offensive and defensive system.
On TNT's television program, Charles Barkley slammed his fist on the table and shouted, "Just mail the MVP trophy directly to Boston! Averaging 28 points, 13 rebounds, and 8 assists per game, Kevin is playing a season on par with Larry Bird Larry Bird and Jabbar! If this season's MVP goes to someone else, it will be a collective disgrace to all basketball reporters in America!"
In the regular season MVP odds released by Las Vegas, Garnett's odds have dropped to 1.15, while Tim Duncan and O'Neal are far behind.
This dominance on the court, coupled with the legendary story in the movie of Lin Qi's decision to draft Garnett against all odds, turned the All-Star voting into a one-man show in Boston.
In the second phase of All-Star voting, Garnett garnered 1.82 million votes, surpassing Tim Duncan and Kobe in the Western Conference to become the league's leading vote-getter.
With an All-Star caliber average of 25 points per game, Pierce has secured his starting small forward position in the Eastern Conference, leaving his competitors more than 200,000 votes behind.
On the guard line, Wade's name caused a sensation across the United States.
Riding the wave of the movie's popularity, coupled with his fast-break dunks during the Christmas Day victory over the Nets and the New Year's Day rout of the Mavericks, Wade was repeatedly featured in major morning sports news programs. Hubie Brown's spontaneous nickname "Dwyane Wade" became the most fashionable term on the streets. In the second round of voting, Wade surpassed Baron Davis to climb to second place among Eastern Conference guards, second only to Allen Iverson.
It is highly likely that one team will field three starters at the same time in the NBA All-Star Game in Los Angeles next month.
" David Stern called the PR department himself this morning," Margaret added. "He's very pleased with the momentum and even inquired about your schedule for the All-Star Game in Los Angeles next month."
Lin Qi looked at the fine snow falling outside the French windows, picked up a pen, and signed his name on the Converse follow-up production confirmation letter.
"Paramount is urging us to push for overseas marketing and distribution, to proceed with the original plan across Europe and Asia. On the court side, have the finance department transfer this week's bonuses to the players' accounts on time. Tell the shoe design department that Dwyane's first signature shoe doesn't need to wait until summer; send over the expedited samples from the China factory, finalize the design before All-Star Weekend, and we'll debut it in Los Angeles."
Lin Qi closed the folder and handed it back to Margaret: "Take a break, don't overwork yourself."