….

  [een(:19) Days Later]

  [July 27th, 2010]

  ….

  Deonte Maravich, the President of Red Pictures Distribution, sat in his office, his gaze fixed oack of papers before him.

  Across from him stood Pete Harty, the pany's Film Acquisitions Executive - the same two men who had watched [Following] with Regal that day.

  The report detailed the film's box office performance over the past six weeks.

  His expression?

  Unreadable.

  [Following] wasn't just a success, it had exceeded all expectations, achieving a level of ercial triumph that her he nor any other board member had foreseen.

  And that recisely the problem.

  They hadn't foreseen it.

  Deonte felt like a man who had been handed a feast, only to watch it slip from his grasp and shatter before he could take a sie.

  Frustrating and maddening - yet, there was nothing he could do. Because in the end, he had lost a battle of wits against a young man not even half his age.

  "It was a plete defeat…" He muttered

  His gaze shifted across the room to the man lounging fortably on the sofa, William Rush, the former CEO of Red Pictures.

  "You knew about this, didn't you, Mr. Rush?"

  The older man nodded, his expression did not ge. "To some extent, yes… but I didn't expect it to reach this level. Stephan got one over me again this time."

  By the end of his sentence, his voice carried a hint of irritation, not because of the financial setback, but because he had lost to Stephan.

  Deonte sighed, exhaling a small breath. He had no i iing caught up in the long-standing rivalry between those two.

  Meanwhile, Pete Harty remaiill, like an immovable statue, unfazed by the tension in the room.

  Deonte's eyes lowered once more to the papers in his hands.

  The movie was released on a - Tuesday.

  ly the most desirable day for a unch, at least not for a distribution pany of their scale. But they didn't have much of a choice.

  Because ter that same week, another major film was set to release under - Pixy Studio.

  A pletely different genre, sure.

  No direpetition. But still, avoiding that csh was the smart move.

  Siuesday wasly a prime moviegoing day, with most people buried in work.

  The expectations were modest.

  But then, there was that name - Stephen Hawking.

  His involvement as Presenter carried far more weight thaheir own marketing team had anticipated.

  Regal, the young director of the movie, and with the help of their Red picture's marketing team, kly what they were selling, and they pyed their cards accly.

  They went all in on Hawking's name, using it as the driving force behind their promotional push, leveraging curiosity to pull eyes toward the trailers.

  And it worked.

  By the time the m sings started, theater seats were filling up at an impressive rate.

  Occy hovered between 50 to 60 pert - an incredible feat for a film with fresh faces.

  Simultaneously, early reviews from critics who had attehe Monday sing were already making waves online, hailing the film as a must-watch.

  Momentum built throughout the day.

  By the time evening shows rolled around, [Following] started gaining tra.

  Social media exploded with reas. Positive word of mouth spread everywhere.

  On the same day, by evening the occy shot up, hitting a staggering 70 to 76 pert.

  By nightfall, ohing was certain - [Following] had made its mark.

  [Day-1] Total - 1.2 million.

  It was an ued start, but no one, critics, audiences, or eveeam behind it, could have predicted what was i.

  Not even Red Pictures.

  Deonte flipped to the report. His eyes sed the numbers.

  The number of [Day-2] was eveer.

  The film grossed 2.8 million, with theaters packed from m until te at night.

  Word-of-mouth spreads signifitly, boosting attendance.

  Social media hashtags trend, and people rush to see the film with friends.

  Evening shows sold out aultiple cities, prompting exhibitors to add extra sings for Wednesday.

  By [Day-3], demand had forced a theater expansion, fifty more ss, bringing the total t to 650.

  And the momentum didn't stop. The film raked in another 3 million.

  Deonte murmured, staring at the figures. "It is twice the opening day numbers…"

  On [Day-4], Friday, the film tis impressive momentum.

  Despite the arrival of a major new release that same day, [Following] held its ground. Ironically, the peting film's own pre-release sings had backfired spectacurly.

  Criticism poured in - and to make matters worse, audience reas after the official release weren't aer.

  Disappoi spread quickly, dimming the hype around the big-budget tender.

  Meanwhile, [Following] thrived.

  With no other film anding attention, the indie breakout remaihe ter of discussion.

  It had pulled in another 3.3 million, maintaining a 70 to 78 pert occy.

  The film is still being driven by strong buzz and positive media ce.

  Offices and college youth buzz with versations about the film, leading to steady evening shows.

  Saturday, [Day 5], the theaters were once again expao a total t of 700.

  The occy was at a peak over the weekend with 70 pert and even 90 in a few cities.

  Praise for its gripping performances and ued twists dominated social media, with te-night sings added to aodate the surge in i.

  By the end of the day, it had grossed 4 million.

  But something even more signifit was happening.

  Viewers who returned for a sed watch found themselves appreciating the film even more. Subtle details they had missed the first time became clear, deepening their admiration for the director's craft.

  Adding to that, the film was also released iionally, increasing the theater t from 700 to 1000 within two days.

  The first weekend, [Day 6], Sunday - [Following] had pulled in another 6 million.

  Iional media also starts rep the phenomenon, further fueling ticket sales. Families and younger viewers also begin attending, expanding the audience base.

  With its total earnings now at 20.3 million in just one week, the film had pletely recouped its produ and marketing costs, and then some.

  Deoared at the figures, exhaling slowly.

  "It's already recovered its Max estimated revenue… and added another 4 million on top of that." He muttered.

  Yep. acc to their initial estimation the movie's overall potential was around 16M which it recovered in its first week.

  And this was the time big names in Hollywood finally noticed the film's massive success.

  "…And it didn't stop there." He added, flipping to the page.

  But by then, it was already too te. [Following] wasn't just a hit, it was a full-blown phenomenon.

  As the film's momentum grew, so did its theater t. In its sed week, the number of ss soared to nearly 1,500.

  Audiences poured in. Liretched outside theaters. Additional te-night sings were scheduled just to keep up with demand.

  By the end of the weekend alone, [Following] had grossed 16 million, and with another 14 million from weekdays, its sed-week total climbed to 30 million.

  For an indie film, these were unheard-of numbers.

  In its third week, it had reached a staggering 2,500 ss, the highest domestic t for an indepe film i years.

  Occy remairong, averaging 75-80%, with theaters still rep sold-out shows in major cities.

  By the end of the week, the film had amassed another 40 millioing its pce as one of the most successful low-budget films of all time.

  Only in its fourth week did the film begin to show signs of slowing down.

  A few markets tapered off, and newer releases cimed some ss, bringing its theater t down to 2,200. However, demand remained high, with an occy rate of 65-70%.

  [Following] ehe week with 28 million.

  As expected, by the fifth week, theaters began redug sings. The t dropped to 1,800, yet the film remained a must-watch for those who had missed out earlier.

  Even with the dee, it added another 18 million to its total.

  Currently the end of the sixth week is running with a total of 1,000 ss and an occy of 50%-55%.

  Official figures were yet to be finalized, but early estimates poio another 12 million added to the tally.

  So with that, the film's total domestic earnings soared to a whopping 148.3 million.

  Adding in the 54 million from iional markets outside the US, the total climbed to 202.3 million.

  And that wasn't all, there were still revereams from DVD sales, digital distribution, and other els yet to be factored in.

  An more than twelve fold return on iment.

  But as Deoared at the numbers before him, a bitter truth settled in.

  If only they had secured a rger share of the profits. If only they had trolled more of the distribution.

  "This is our own loss… Well pyed, Regal… well pyed." He muttered under his breath.

  That was all he could say - to aowledge.

  Because no matter how 'unfair' the deal had been - Numbers don't lie.

  .

  ….

  [To be tinued…]

  ★─────??★??─────★

  Author Note:

  Visit Patreon to instantly access +3 chapter for free, avaible to Free Members as well.

  For additional tent, please do support me and gain access to +10 more chapters.–> [email protected]/oWriters