Last weekend, three new films were released on a large scale in North America, and the opening results were mixed. On the other hand, the annual report released by the National Association of Theater Owners (NATO) shows that the average movie ticket price in the United States has reached $10.53, a sharp increase of 15% compared to before the epidemic.

Viral marketing works wonders, "Scream 6" box office soars

"Scream VI" (Scream VI) produced by Paramount Pictures was released in 3,675 theaters last weekend, and finally got a box office of 44.5 million U.S. dollars, far exceeding the industry's expectations and continuing the horror film's popularity. Strong momentum in the North American film market. The opening box office of $44.5 million is the best result of the "Scream" movie series so far, surpassing the $34 million opening record when the third film was released in 2000.

"Scream 6" poster

In the fifth film released in January last year, while David Arquette, Neve Campbell, and Courteney Cox, the three old protagonists returned, Melissa Barrera was introduced at the same time , Jenna Ortega, Dylan Minnette and other new forces, connecting the past and the future, made a good start for the restart of the "Scream" story.

The sixth part this time continues the plot of the previous part, telling the story of the protagonist and his party being chased by the "Ghostface" killer again after they moved to New York. Because the salary could not be negotiated, the protagonist Neve Campbell withdrew from the production of this film. The outside world was worried that this would make nostalgic fans abandon "Scream 6", but the box office proved that this horror film The vitality of classic IP is really very strong.

"Scream 6" stills

Of course, careful publicity in advance is also essential. Since the end of last month, killers in the shape of "ghost faces" have appeared in many downtown areas in the United States, attracting a large number of terrified passers-by to call 911 in a hurry. In the end, it was discovered that these were all intentional stunts by Paramount to promote "Scream 6". However, putting aside the controversy about whether it is appropriate or not, it turns out that such viral marketing is quite effective. Cooperating with the marketing campaign launched by the film's official account on social media, the topic of "Scream 6" became popular before it was released. In fact, Paramount has been using similar publicity methods in the horror film "Dangerous Smile" before it was released. It was used before it was released, and the effect is quite good.

On the eve of the release of "Scream 6", the "Ghostface" killer appeared on the New York subway.

The "Ghostface" killer captured by the traffic monitor.

The sci-fi action film "Escape from the Cretaceous" (65) from Sony Pictures was also released in 3,405 theaters, and got a box office of 12.3 million US dollars, which cannot be said to be very ideal. The film is starring Adam Driver. Due to various reasons, the release time of the film has been changed from the original May 13, 2022, and has been postponed at least four times. Generally speaking, this kind of situation often indicates that the film company is not optimistic enough and lacks confidence in the distribution prospects of the work. And the film's current freshness of only 36% on the film review collection website "Rotten Tomatoes" has indeed verified this point.

"Escape from the Cretaceous" will be released in mainland China at the end of this month.

The writing and directing partners of "Escape from the Cretaceous" Scott Baker and Brian Woods became popular five years ago with the script of "A Quiet Place". A unique style of cost horror films. But this time, "Escape from the Cretaceous" has obviously far exceeded the world of independent films they were familiar with in the past, regardless of the story structure or investment cost.

"Champions", starring Woody Harrelson, was also released in 3,030 theaters over the weekend, and only received a box office of 5.15 million US dollars. The film takes the route of sports comedy, directed by 64-year-old Bobby Farrelly. Speaking of which, Farrelly has been in the industry for 30 years. Before that, he partnered with his brother Peter Farrelly to shoot "Dumb and Dumber" and "I'm Crazy About Mary" under the name of "Farrelly Brothers". Waiting for blockbuster comedies. However, in 2018, Peter changed course and directed the serious drama "Green Book" alone, and finally won the Oscar for Best Picture unexpectedly. It is said that the reason why the younger brother Bobby was not involved at the time was because he had been in the pain of bereavement for many years, and it was difficult to extricate himself from it. Bobby Farrelly was heartbroken when his 20-year-old son Jess died of a drug overdose at home in 2012. In the past few years, he has finally regained his strength and has independently directed the series "Now" and other works. This time "The Champion" is also the first feature film he independently directed after breaking away from the brother group.

"Champion Division" poster

"Teacher of Champions" is a remake of the Spanish work of the same name in 2018. It tells the inspirational story of an alcoholic professional basketball coach regaining his confidence and vitality in the "Sunshine House" basketball team in the community. In the original Spanish version, people with real mental disabilities were used, but director Javier Fisel overcame many difficulties and made a well-received and well-received masterpiece, which won the 2019 Spanish Film Goya Award. highest honor.

The Hollywood remake this time is also Xiao Guicao, using a large number of amateur actors with autism or intellectual disabilities. This approach has won a lot of praise from the outside world. In fact, as early as that year in "I'm Crazy About Mary" and "Beauty in the Eye of the Beholder", the Farrelly brothers used such disadvantaged groups as actors, and the two also won the American Disabled Person Award in 2020 for this reason. A special contribution award issued by an interest group.

Theater operators are optimistic about the future development of the market

Last week, as the official organization of the North American theater industry, the National Association of Theater Owners released its 2022 annual report, giving a lot of the latest data that the industry cares about.

In the three years of the epidemic, the number of screens in North America has dropped from 44,283 in 2019 to 40,263 in 2022, a decrease of only five percentage points, which is far better than outside estimates. Especially during the first period of the epidemic, the theater industry at that time could really be described as devastated, and there seemed to be news of theater closures in various parts of the United States and Canada; The operator takes over. Overall, theater operators in North America are relatively optimistic about the future film market.

Last year, North America experienced the rise of everything, and movie ticket prices were not immune to it. According to the annual report, the average ticket price in 2022 will come to US$10.53, a 15% increase from US$9.16 in 2019. In the same three-year period from 2016 to 2019, the average ticket price only increased by 8%. Obviously, the prices of movie tickets in North America have risen quite significantly in the past three years. On the one hand, it is affected by the general environment, and on the other hand, the proportion of expensive tickets such as 3D and IMAX in the market is increasing.

Counting the 15% increase in ticket prices, if the number of moviegoers is purely used, the North American film market needs to have a total box office of at least US$13 billion this year if it is to return to the level of 2019. Last year, the total annual box office in North America was US$7.4 billion, and the most optimistic estimate for this year is US$9 billion. The gap is quite large.

The annual report reveals that there are currently 107 so-called large-scale new films that are expected to be screened simultaneously in at least 2,000 theaters this year, a significant increase from last year's 71 and almost the same as 2019's 112. In the view of the National Association of Theater Owners, this is the greatest guarantee for the box office to return to the level before the epidemic.

As for the rising ticket price, the Association also emphasized that we should not only look at the price itself, but also refer to inflation factors for horizontal comparison. The average ticket price of $10.53 is even more affordable than the average ticket price in 1971, considering the fact that the currency is becoming less and less valuable. However, the association’s calculations may have overlooked the difference in the overall level of economic development in the United States: in the first three years of the 1970s, the annual growth rate of the U.S. GDP was in the range of 3 to 5 percentage points, while the annual growth rate of the U.S. GDP last year Only 2%. How many Americans and Canadians are willing to continue to pay for movie tickets with an average price of US$10.53 will be known by this time next year.