"The 3,100 theaters we have now are already maxed out," Bella Anderson said to Matthew in his office. "The test screenings for Insidious were excellent, and Warner Bros. has classified it as an 'A-list' release, but it's impossible to make or ship more prints right now."
Matthew nodded slightly. "I understand."
Insidious was approaching its second weekend of release, and its first expanded weekend. With Halloween fast approaching, the film was set to be the widest-released R-rated horror film, with over 3,100 theaters showing it.
The second-place competitor, Piranha 3D, was only opening in just over 2,400 theaters.
This was not just a result of Insidious showing strong market potential in its first week of limited release, but also a reflection of the significant gap in capabilities between Warner Bros. and Piranha 3D's distributor, The Weinstein Company.
When it comes to wide commercial releases, the real competition in Hollywood is usually between the Big Six studios.
"Do you know much about Piranha 3D?" Matthew asked Bella.
"I know a bit," Bella replied. "It was produced by Dimension Films, a subsidiary of The Weinstein Company, with a budget of $25 million. It was directed by Alexandre Aja from France."
Matthew thought for a moment. The director's name sounded unfamiliar.
Of course, he hadn't delved into the horror genre before, so he didn't know many directors in that field.
The conversation soon shifted back to Insidious. No matter how other films performed, Insidious had already shown enough market potential to make a major impact.
"Currently, Warner Bros. has invested $3 million in distribution and increased the marketing budget to $10 million," Bella continued. "If we want them to invest more, we'll have to wait until after this weekend's expanded release."
"Keep an eye on it," Matthew instructed. "On Monday, monitor the box office closely and stay in communication with Warner Bros."
Frankly, Warner Bros. had been quite generous as the distributor. Besides the film's strong market potential, a significant part of their support stemmed from their long-term relationship with Matthew and the string of successful projects he had brought them.
After all, Warner Bros. didn't own the rights to Insidious. They would only earn distribution fees, and if the expansion didn't go well, they might not even recoup the marketing costs they fronted.
With Insidious now showing in over 3,100 theaters, most of which had multiple screens, the number of digital copies required exceeded 6,000. While digital copies cost about half as much as traditional film prints, Warner Bros. had already invested more than the film's entire production budget.
Prints cost money, transporting and storing prints costs money, and marketing costs money too. For a low-budget film that ends up being a hit, the promotional costs are often ten or even a hundred times higher than the production costs.
Warner Bros. expected Insidious to gross at least $15 million over the expanded weekend. If it hit that mark, they were prepared to invest more in prints and marketing.
Matthew's own marketing efforts hadn't slowed either. So far, he had invested over $5 million in advertising and online promotion.
In this era, no Hollywood film became a box office hit by pure word of mouth. Every so-called "self-made" blockbuster had massive financial backing behind it.
A big budget doesn't guarantee a hit, but a hit movie always has significant money behind it.
As the new weekend began, it took only one day for box office data to make it clear that Insidious was the weekend's biggest winner in the horror genre.
On the first day of its expanded release, Insidious grossed $8.1 million from over 3,100 theaters, easily topping the daily box office chart.
In second place was Piranha 3D, which grossed $3.6 million.
The outcome of this horror-themed weekend was clear from day one.
By Monday morning, when the latest box office data reached The Weinstein Company, Harvey Weinstein's face was as dark as a storm cloud.
Sitting behind his desk, Harvey Weinstein ignored his quiet subordinate, Steve Stabler, and just stared at the weekend box office rankings, sinking into silence.
As expected, Insidious had taken the number one spot.
This was foreshadowed on Friday, but the final box office total still caught him off guard.
Harvey Weinstein's eyes skimmed over the $22.3 million figure, finding it particularly irritating.
In second place was Piranha 3D with $10.5 million. Although the film had met its $10 million opening weekend target, the gap with Insidious was simply too large.
On top of that, Insidious had a production budget of just $1.5 million, while Piranha 3D cost $25 million to make.
Based on the current trajectory, Piranha 3D's North American box office might only break even with its production budget, and even combined with overseas revenue, it might struggle to make a profit. To turn a profit, it would have to rely on post-theatrical revenue streams like home video and digital rights.
As for Insidious, it looked likely to gross at least $50 million in North America alone, and possibly even $80 million.
How much had Matthew Horner invested in this project? Achieving ten times the production budget in profits would be easy.
If it were just that, Harvey Weinstein might have felt a bit of envy and jealousy, but no more than usual. After all, there were many hit films every year in Hollywood, and The Weinstein Company could only produce or distribute so many.
But Insidious was different.
Harvey Weinstein crossed his hands on his desk, memories of this project flashing through his mind.
This was a film that had slipped through his fingers, a project that Matthew Horner had snatched away from him!
If it weren't for Matthew Horner, James Wan would have definitely worked with The Weinstein Company.
On Oscar night, he had James Wan locked in a hotel room, and it wouldn't have been long before that young director would have caved in. But Matthew Horner showed up, snatched James Wan away from him, and made him lose out on this major box office hit.
Why did Matthew Horner keep making things difficult for him?
Unlike most other Hollywood stars, even Tom Cruise and Leonardo DiCaprio, who were always respectful to him and eager to call him a friend, Matthew Horner didn't show him that same deference.
Not only did he not respect him, but Matthew had also stolen a project from right under his nose...
In all his years in Hollywood, Harvey Weinstein had been the one to snatch projects from others, not the other way around.
And to make matters worse, this stolen film had gone on to be a massive box office hit, just as he had anticipated. It was like a slap in the face.
By the looks of it, Insidious was poised to gross at least $50 million domestically.
Every year, he worked tirelessly during awards season and the Oscars, spending heavily on PR and lobbying to secure major awards. Yet even when a Weinstein-backed film took home a prestigious trophy, it often struggled to surpass $50 million at the domestic box office.
As for profits? Even less.
Publicity costs money, PR costs money, and convincing Academy voters costs money.
You can't win an Oscar without spending money—it's absurd to think otherwise.
After all the expenses, the profit margins on an awards campaign were slim. Now, look at Insidious—even after deducting all the costs, it could easily make $20 or $30 million in profit.
Small investment, high return!
But all that profit had nothing to do with him, because the project had been snatched away!
Harvey Weinstein felt terrible, but he was still in control of his emotions. After all, ever since he had fallen out with Matthew Horner on Oscar night, he had become accustomed to seeing Matthew Horner's string of successes.
The Fast and the Furious, a dead franchise, had been revived by Matthew Horner and turned into a box office juggernaut. Then came G.I. Joe, which launched another successful franchise. The Twilight series, which Matthew had invested in, had become the trendsetter for young adult films globally.
And then there was Inception…
Harvey Weinstein's eyes fell on the box office chart again, and he sighed helplessly. Inception, which had been in theaters for 15 weeks, was still in the weekend top ten, grossing another $3.36 million this weekend. Its domestic total now stood at $381.5 million, with a global total of $895.7 million.
The film had a good chance of breaking $400 million domestically and $1 billion worldwide.
Christopher Nolan's directorial skills were a key factor, but everyone knew that without Matthew Horner's star power, Inception wouldn't have been nearly as successful.
Harvey Weinstein frowned. Even he had to admit that Matthew Horner was now one of the biggest commercial stars in Hollywood.
Suddenly, he remembered something.
Earlier this year, he had tried to buy the film rights to the memoir American Sniper, only to be outbid.
And who had outbid him?
Harvey Weinstein's frown deepened as the realization hit him. It was Matthew Horner who had secured the rights to American Sniper!
Clearly, Matthew had maneuvered behind the scenes, snatching away the rights without Harvey even realizing it.
"What should I do?" Harvey Weinstein muttered under his
breath. "Matthew Horner, what should I do with you?"
Steve Stabler, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke up. "Boss, I have a suggestion."
"Hmm?" Harvey Weinstein looked at him. "Let's hear it."
Steve Stabler licked his dry lips before speaking. "Many Hollywood stars, especially those who come from humble backgrounds, often become obsessed with indulgence once they reach the top. Matthew Horner seems to have a similar tendency, especially when it comes to his complicated relationships with women. We could exploit that, using the women in his life."
He glanced at Harvey Weinstein and continued, "People often get bored after indulging in the same pleasures for too long. If we can find someone to guide him, Matthew Horner might start seeking even more extreme thrills."
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