Chapter 127: Choosing a Release Date

Chapter 127: Chapter 127: Choosing a Release Date

Then there was the North America television broadcasting rights, which was also an area where Echo Pictures could enjoy a share of the revenue. The base transfer fee of 7 million dollars was very consistent with the film’s box office and market value.

Fox could take a cut from both long-term revenue streams, but Echo Pictures only signed for short-term gains, yet it could still obtain 4.86 million dollars from it.

This way, the total share Irene Coppola could receive was approximately 18.36 million dollars, of which 1.836 million dollars needed to be paid to Shelly Ovitz and the legal and accounting team, as they each enjoyed five percent of Echo Pictures’ investment income from Mean Girls.

The success of a film is by no means the credit of the director alone. It requires the collaboration of an entire team. If not for her agent, Irene Coppola would have to haggle with major companies herself, and the key point was that she wouldn’t be able to haggle effectively.

Moreover, the supervisory and auditing role of a professional legal and accounting team was indispensable. Hollywood capitalists would not show mercy.

In the end, Echo Pictures was still left with 16.52 million dollars.

With a North America box office as high as 166 million dollars, Irene Coppola only received one-tenth of the revenue in the end. To outsiders, this deal might not seem worthwhile, but it was unavoidable because the real bulk of the money was taken by the distribution company.

Unlike her previous experience with Legally Blonde, where the entire production was handled by her father’s company, allowing her to enjoy other long-term revenue, the income she could obtain here was extremely limited.

Besides that, another reason was that the overseas box office was too low. If the overseas box office could also successfully hit 100 million, then the income Irene Coppola could obtain would be far more than this.

However, a film with the subject matter of Mean Girls was relatively popular only domestically. To make money overseas, one still had to rely on action films like The Italian Job. When The Italian Job is released next year, the income should be able to double.

After Irene Coppola signed the revenue share confirmation, Fox Pictures stated that they would deposit her earnings into her account within this month.

She couldn’t help but heave a heavy sigh of relief. Before this money arrived, she was basically a pauper. Besides a little bit of food money, all her remaining funds had been invested into The Italian Job, and even Vera Cecil’s salary was being paid under the production budget.

Fortunately, the house belonged to her parents and the car was sponsored. At least she still looked glamorous on the outside.

Afterward, the relevant personnel from the legal and accounting team slowly left, leaving only Irene Coppola and Shelly sitting opposite Baird Fergus and Adelaide Griffin.

"Next, we should discuss the release date for The Italian Job." Adelaide Griffin raised her hand to signal her assistant, and a release schedule was pushed to the center of the conference table.

Baird Fergus used the tip of his fountain pen to point at the three dates circled on the table. "These are the three optimal windows we have selected based on next year’s overall market, the scheduling of similar films, and the allocation of marketing and distribution resources—April 15, June 28, and October 11."

Irene Coppola’s gaze fell on those bolded dates, which basically avoided all the blockbuster films released in 2001 that Irene Coppola knew of. One had to admit that the person who created this schedule indeed had extraordinary vision.

Shelly picked up the schedule and examined it carefully, his brow slightly furrowed. "Although October avoids the summer scramble, will the audience conversion rate for crime action films in the autumn/winter season be inferior to the peak season?"

Baird Fergus immediately replied, "There is Halloween at the end of October, which generally stimulates a wave of movie-going frenzy and has a certain stimulating effect on action and thriller films.

Furthermore, as the end of the year approaches, the audience’s willingness to spend on entertainment actually rises. We have researched data from the past three years, and the average box office for action films in October is 37% higher than in April.

More importantly, releasing in October would catch the registration window for the Golden Globe Awards. The editing and score of The Italian Job both have the potential to contend for awards."

Adelaide Griffin added, "As for April, frankly speaking, we don’t really recommend it. The spring season has always been a ’transition period’ for small and medium-budget films.

Audience enthusiasm for viewing is not high. Moreover, three comedies have already been scheduled for the same period, and their marketing and distribution rhythm will occupy market attention earlier, making it easy for our action film to be marginalized."

Then he looked back and forth between Irene Coppola and Shelly. "In fact, the June release window is the most suitable. There are basically no strong competitors in the two weeks before or after."

"Pearl Harbor is two weeks before, and Jurassic Park 3 is two weeks after. These two films have different subject matter than ours, so the impact on us will not be too great. And the summer box office pool is definitely the most powerful, so it is worth the risk."

"Taking everything into account, we are more inclined toward June 28 as the premiere date for The Italian Job."

Irene Coppola slowly raised her head, her gaze sweeping over the expectant eyes of the two people opposite her. Her tone was calm but carried an unquestionable certainty. "I choose April 15."

The conference room instantly fell into silence, and a trace of surprise flashed across everyone’s faces. After all, this was the worst choice relative to the other two release windows, and Irene Coppola did not seem like someone who couldn’t distinguish good from bad.

Shelly knew Irene Coppola’s personality and knew that she must have sufficient reasons for making this decision, so he did not voice any questions.

Baird Fergus put down his fountain pen and asked seriously, "Irene Coppola, could you elaborate on your considerations? We need to find sufficient logic to support this decision in the market. After all, the direction of marketing and distribution resource allocation depends entirely on the choice of the release window."

Irene Coppola’s fingertips gently brushed over the October date on the schedule, and she thought to herself: In a few months, that terrorist attack that shocked the world will arrive, and the entire United States will be shrouded in panic and sorrow. At that time, who would have the mood to walk into a cinema to watch a crime action film filled with explosions and chases?

October is too close to that point in time, so it must be ruled out first.

As for June, honestly speaking, she didn’t really take Pearl Harbor or Jurassic Park 3 seriously.

Pearl Harbor was wrapped in the skin of a historical war but was actually about a bland and uninteresting romance, and this romance was not even one-tenth as exciting as that of Titanic. It was also ranked on Hollywood’s list of box office flops.

And Jurassic Park 3 was the third installment in the Jurassic Park series, and also the only film in the series that was neither directed by Steven Spielberg nor based on a novel by Michael Crichton. Basically, it was a mediocre sequel.

Therefore, she was actually more inclined toward the June 28 release window.

But who told her that her Pirates of the Caribbean was still waiting to borrow the influence of Fox Pictures to pressure Disney?

Previously, Shelly revealed that Fox wanted to wait until after The Italian Job was released before deciding whether to approve Pirates of the Caribbean. So, once the June 28 release window was chosen, she would be unable to launch the project for another half a year. If this were before, Irene Coppola wouldn’t have cared, but with Disney still watching like a tiger eyeing its prey, anything could happen in half a year.

She could only try her best to move the release date earlier.