With the Oscars glow, the studio's ongoing marketing, and fans' enthusiastic support, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice saw a remarkable 37% box office rebound during the week of March 22 to March 28, the week of the Oscars. Its weekly revenue climbed back to over $10 million, hitting $11.49 million.
This was the film's 14th week in theaters, with a cumulative box office total of $632.25 million.
On Friday, March 29, the North American Easter release window began.
For this Easter period, Daenerys Entertainment planned to release two films: Jim Carrey's Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls on March 29, and The Haunting in Connecticut 2 from the Conjuring Universe on April 5.
Jim Carrey's comeback was a delicate negotiation after the tension with Daenerys Entertainment, but he was now back, with his third film collaboration with the studio. Compared to his previous runaway success in the original timeline, this time, Carrey had nearly been completely sidelined by Daenerys. With the huge success of his previous films, Ace Ventura and The Mask, the budget for Ace Ventura 2 was still tightly controlled by New World Pictures at $30 million, and the movie opened on 2,652 screens.
Also in the same release window was Paramount's Primal Fear.
This crime thriller, also budgeted at $30 million, revolved around a gripping murder case involving an archbishop. Originally starring Richard Gere, he missed this comeback opportunity due to Simon's influence, after a steady decline since the late 1980s. The role went instead to Sam Neill, the lead actor from Jurassic Park.
However, the original movie's most notable element was Edward Norton's breakthrough performance.
Since this was a Paramount project, Simon did not interfere, and Norton still landed his role, proving once again that talent always shines through.
The film opened on 1,983 screens.
The comparison highlights the stark contrast in the distribution power between Daenerys Entertainment and other Hollywood studios. Even with similarly scaled films, the opening screen counts showed a gap of several hundred, leading to a different starting point and, inevitably, different box office results.
With the Easter window approaching, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice still maintained significant momentum after its sweeping success at the Oscars.
This presented another opportunity for further growth.
Based on current box office trends, the marketing teams of both companies projected that the film could reach a cumulative total of $650 million by the end of the two-week Easter period. Once it crossed the $650 million mark domestically, earning another $50 million during its extended run, potentially through the summer, would be quite easy.
However, on March 29, the most talked-about news was the afternoon 2 p.m. product launch by Tinkerbell Corporation.
This year, Tinkerbell's annual product launch took place at the newly opened large conference center in Egrit Park, Mountain View.
Simon arrived in San Francisco in the morning, showing significant interest in the event, though he did not attend in person.
This did nothing to diminish the excitement surrounding Tinkerbell's 1996 product launch.
Unlike previous years, with the product lines continuing to grow, the biggest difference this time was that the presentation lasted three full hours, from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Despite the length, the tech, finance, and other media attendees from around the world were thoroughly engaged.
The first hour and a half covered the regular upgrades of the iCam series, iPlayer series, and other products. Although there were no groundbreaking surprises, the improvements were still noteworthy.
The real highlight came in the last hour and a half.
Tinkerbell officially unveiled a new product that had been in development for over two years: the digital camera, iRec-10.
More accurately, it was a comprehensive ecosystem of hardware, software, and services centered around the iRec-10 digital camera.
The iRec-10, boasting a maximum resolution of 360P, was its standout feature. To put this into perspective, traditional home film cameras of the time, when converted to digital, only offered about 240P resolution—the same standard for most TV broadcasts.
Though from Simon's future perspective, 480x360 resolution seemed mediocre, it was a significant leap ahead for its time, leaving traditional film cameras far behind.
This was also the main reason for the iRec series' delayed release.
Two years ago, when Simon first saw the prototype, its video resolution was only 240P.
The Tinkerbell team considered launching a digital camera with the same 240P resolution as traditional home film cameras and gradually upgrading it over time. However, they realized that without a standout feature to immediately capture the market's attention, the first iRec product would lack impact.
Ultimately, they chose to launch with the 360P standard. Users could also adjust the resolution to 240P or lower for extended recording time.
Upgrading from 240P to 360P was not just a simple hardware improvement—it was a complex system overhaul. Hundreds of engineers had worked for over a year to ensure the highest video quality and the most optimized compression ratio while keeping costs reasonable.
In addition to the 360P resolution, the iRec-10 featured 1GB of micro hard drive storage, allowing for up to 250 minutes of video recording, equivalent to over four hours.
Unlike the iCam and iPlayer, the iRec allowed users to swap out the micro hard drives once full. Tinkerbell also released 1GB and 2GB versions of replaceable micro hard drives, catering to users' needs during long trips or extended shooting sessions.
For most families, 250 minutes of storage was more than enough since the iRec was designed to be a PC peripheral. Once the storage was full, users could transfer the videos to their personal computers.
As recordable CD drives became more common, even with limited PC storage, users could burn their videos onto CDs for permanent storage.
As for the price, which everyone was curious about, iRec-10 surprised many.
In the lead-up to the event, media outlets had speculated that the iRec-10 would be priced around $1,000.
On stage, one of the Tinkerbell Girls revealed the actual price under the gaze of the entire audience.
$799!
Though it was $300 more than the iCam and iPlayer series, it was still lower than almost all expectations.
At the time, other electronics manufacturers who had already released digital cameras, even those aimed at the consumer market, rarely priced their products below $3,000. Professional-grade cameras were priced at $10,000 or more.
The iRec-10's $799 price tag was a market-disrupting move.
This pricing decision was not made lightly and came after intense internal debates at Tinkerbell.
The hardware cost for the iRec-10 was already $600, meaning the profit margin at $799 was just 25%. In the electronics industry, this was relatively low. For instance, the previous iCam-50 had a profit margin of 57%, while the iPlayer-10 had a 49% margin.
The $1,000 price point that many predicted had been supported by several internal teams at Tinkerbell.
However, in the past few years, personal computers in North America had been selling for as low as a few hundred dollars. If the iRec-10 were priced at $999, it might still have undercut Sony, Panasonic, Kodak, and others, whose digital cameras ranged from a few thousand to over $10,000. But for a consumer-oriented digital camera, such a price would still have been too steep.
In the U.S., a monthly salary of $3,000 could easily be reduced by taxes, insurance, rent, utilities, and other living expenses, leaving little room for large purchases.
That's why the famous saying about Americans not having $400 in cash had some truth. While the origin of the $400 figure was unclear, it highlighted that most ordinary Americans had little cash on hand.
This is also why, during the pandemic, the U.S. government had to distribute direct payments to residents.
Without regular income, many Americans couldn't afford basic necessities, let alone luxury items. In such a scenario, desperation could lead to drastic actions.
So, for the average American, purchasing a $1,000 electronic product required careful budgeting, just like in many other countries, with many opting for installment plans.
In short, $799 and $999 were two very different concepts.
The final sales difference could be in the millions.
Moreover, this pricing had been made with a broader strategy for the entire Westeros system's tech ecosystem in mind.
At the core, all of Tinkerbell's products were part of a larger internet ecosystem, with each product impacting and promoting the other. The iRec series of digital cameras was a key component of Simon's long-term vision.
Even if they made less profit on the hardware, a successful product launch would drive the growth of the entire internet ecosystem.
The second half of the hour-and-a-half presentation focused on this ecosystem.
After the iRec-10, Tinkerbell introduced iCut, a video editing software.
This was the accompanying software for the iRec series, designed for post-production work such as cutting, adding subtitles, and background music.
Though iCut couldn't compare to Egrit's professional video editing software, Ygritte VideoStudio, in terms of features and special effects, it was more than sufficient for the average user's needs as a free tool.
Professional users, of course, could opt to pay for Ygritte VideoStudio.
Following that was the launch of a video editing resource library on the Broadcast platform, providing users with a vast collection of background music and sound effects, some free and some paid.
In a
society that places a premium on copyright protection, Broadcast's resource library not only made things easier for users but also helped avoid unnecessary legal disputes.
Finally, Jeff Bezos from Egrit took the stage to announce the official relaunch of YouTube.
As of 5 p.m. on March 29, the new YouTube platform would no longer be limited to official content partners—any user could upload their own videos.
Due to current internet constraints, regular users would only have 500MB of space, enough for about two hours of 360P video, and individual videos would be capped at 10 minutes.
While there were limitations, this service was completely free.
And users weren't locked into the 500MB limit. As their videos garnered more views, their account level would increase, unlocking more storage space.
This system was designed to encourage users to create high-quality content.
There were exceptions, of course. Public figures with verified accounts could apply for VIP status, which lifted both the storage and video length restrictions.
Some users might try to game the system by creating multiple accounts once they maxed out their storage.
That was fine.
But it was like starting a new game. If you were willing to abandon a Level 70 character to return to the beginner village and grind from Level 1, no one would stop you. However, all the time and effort invested in the Level 70 account would be wasted.
In reality, YouTube's level-up system wasn't that demanding. Users who consistently created quality content could quickly unlock privileges similar to those of verified users. Given the current limitations of online storage and bandwidth, YouTube wanted to encourage better content and avoid filler.
Lastly, and most significantly:
YouTube would open up ad revenue sharing to all content creators.
There were no barriers. No special application was needed. As long as the video was original, YouTube would automatically enable ad revenue sharing.
Moreover, the platform would introduce a sponsorship feature. Fans who liked a particular creator could directly sponsor them with cash. YouTube would take a 30% cut to cover taxes and fees, with the remaining 70% going to the creator.
Although YouTube hadn't allowed individual uploads before, it had already implemented ad revenue sharing for official content.
At the event, Jeff Bezos provided a detailed revenue breakdown. On average, creators earned between $0.60 and $1.80 per thousand views.
To give the audience a more tangible example, Bezos showcased some revenue figures, including the ad revenue from three songs by his boss that broke Guinness World Records last year: Young and Beautiful, Blizzard, and Bach's Last Day.
Just Young and Beautiful, with 1.37 billion views, had generated $2.469 million in ad revenue.
For Simon, $2 million wasn't a significant amount.
But for most people, creating a phenomenon like this could allow them to retire comfortably.
Though 1.37 billion views might seem unattainable, even earning just one-tenth of that amount would provide a substantial income.
With Bezos' persuasive presentation, many of the distinguished guests in the audience were eager to try it themselves.
They understood the advantage of being verified on the platform. Without a doubt, YouTube would provide verified accounts with better exposure and recommendations.
Millions of viewers who watched the livestream of the event were also itching to get their hands on the iRec-10 as soon as it hit the market.
_________________________
[Check out my Patreon for +200 additional chapters in all my fanfics! $5 for all!!]
[w w w . p a t r e o n .com / INNIT]
[+50 PowerStones = +1 Chapter] [+5 Reviews = +1 Chapter]