[Note: I've never seen any of The Equalizer so I didn't add the summary.]
Sean William Scott was standing in front of the audience of SNL (Saturday Night Live).
He told jokes and his delivery was on point, the audience liked it very much.
He was a guest this time, trying to promote the movie he was in. Sean knew that their movie might lose this time, but there was nothing wrong with trying.
Besides, even Universal Pictures hoped that this sequel would be worth it. Otherwise, Sean wouldn't be on SNL to promote the movie.
"By the way, don't forget to check out our movie, American Wedding! Sound familiar? That's right, it's the sequel to American Pie!"
He announced and the audience cheered.
Their movie, American Wedding, was to be released on August 1, 2003. The movie was promising and Sean had already seen it, it was good.
However, Sean and the cast were nervous about the success of their movie. Universal Pictures might be suffering this year as only a few of their movies were doing well. And it seemed that American Wedding might also flop.
On the same day of American Wedding's premiere, The Equalizer would also have a premiere....
...
...
Unlike the budgets of Pirates Of The Caribbean and Wanted 2, The Equalizer had a budget of only $55 million. The highest paid person in the crew was Denzel Washington with more than $10 million. Even the director was paid less than the actors.
Almost all of the cast had small salaries, except for some cameos such as Brian O'Connor (Paul Walker).
Grey Pictures and 20th Century Fox were not looking for huge results like over $500 million. They would be satisfied as long as the movie made over $200 million because the production and advertising budgets were not large.
The two companies decided to focus more of their resources on Pirates of the Caribbean and Wanted 2, as these two had better chances at the box office.
Of course, they didn't abandon The Equalizer, they just put more promotion on Pirates Of The Caribbean and Wanted 2. Grey Pictures was having problems with their funds, so they couldn't invest more in The Equalizer.
Kazir thought he should start looking for investors for his film projects outside of CCU. It was the only way to keep the company breathing.
Three movies and a TV show were enough to strangle the company.
Just like that, August 1st came and both Universal Pictures and 20th Century Fox were busy.
One did a red carpet at the TCL Chinese Theater, the other at the Universal Cinema AMC.
The others had Denzel Washington, Kazir Grey and the cast of The Equalizer.
As for American Wedding... Well, most of the cast was not that famous except for Allison Hannigan and Sean William Scott. Although Universal Pictures invited Leonardo DiCaprio as a guest in the premiere to attract more attention.
Before 12 midnight, both shows started the premiere of their movies.
The strongest advantage that The Equalizer had was that it was part of a huge Cinematic Universe, which made it more interesting. In fact, most of the audience watching the movie were fans of CCU. They had no idea what The Equalizer was really about.
As for American Wedding, it was a comedy and a sequel to a successful movie. It already had a fan base that would buy tickets.
However, American Wedding was rated R because it was a sex comedy. This might limit the profit of American Wedding.
As for The Equalizer... Well, it was also rated R. 20th Century Fox and even Stella Willow were against it, but Kazir wanted the movie to keep its bloody and dark theme, just like John Wick. So yeah, the kids couldn't see the movie, unfortunately.
The two were both R-rated, but had different genres. Both sides wanted to beat the other to make more money.
...
...
...
"Hello, babe? How's your day? Oh my bad, how's your night? It's morning here in New York."
Angelina and Kazir were on the phone. The actress was promoting the film in New York and might be back in a week or two.
As of August 1, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider - The Cradle of Life has grossed $31.25 million at the North American box office.
As for Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, it has already earned $196.33 million in North America. The international release will take place next week, starting with English-speaking countries.
"It's fine, we just finished the premiere and the audience reaction is not that bad. I'm at Fox headquarters right now, waiting for the midnight results of The Equalizer."
Kazir yawned slightly.
If it was 7 a.m. in New York, it was still 4 a.m. in Los Angeles, and the sun was still missing to light the surroundings, Kazir was sleepy.
"Promise me that you will rest as soon as you hear the result."
"I promise." Kazir nodded and ended the conversation.
He returned to the office and found people sitting in front of their computers, calculating the midnight box office.
Even Tom Rothman was in the place, waiting for the news.
After tabulating the result, the person handed the documents to Tom Rothman and Kazir Grey.
"This result is 97% accurate."
"...Looks like there's no reason to be afraid of American Wedding," Kazir muttered, and Tom agreed.
The midnight box office was $5 million.
+++++
[2nd chapter for today.]
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