As the film's box office increased steadily, people got more and more surprised. The total box office of the first week reached 24,432,195 dollars. "Mean Girls" ranked first at the end of the first week.
This was only the beginning for the teen movie though, as it would be in theaters during the entire summer vacation. The haters disappeared soon, like waves leaving a beach. Only then did some observant, conscientious people realize that Qin Guan's film had grossed 10 million dollars amid the American commercial film circle.
Qin Guan, who was still dedicated to indie films, had made a good start in commercial films. When his other new films premiered one after another after extensive promotion, everyone faced a scary phenomenon.
"Mean Girls" remained first on the billboard even during the second and the third week. Its terrible momentum seemed like it would only keep increasing.
These horrible facts were on the desks of all market analysts. In less than a month, the total income of the film had reached 60 million dollars. An insignificant film with a budget of less than 10 million had made a counterattack.
This only proved that one should never look down upon anybody. There were so many unexpected happenings taking place around the world.
The PR Department of Nestle took advantage of this to launch the company's ads.
Where are the ads? What? You've only edited one so far? The parkour one? Just launch it immediately! Globally!
The food giant launched the same version of the ad in different countries at the same time. Their chocolate started selling like crazy during that period.
The biggest advantage of fast-moving consumer goods was their overwhelming scale. People could see their ads everywhere in their daily lives.
The chocolate ad gave Qin Guan a rare chance.
The producer and distributor of Warner Bros was eating a KIT KAT bar in his office in New York. The chocolate suddenly reminded him of something, so he started rummaging in the pile of scripts at the corner of his large office. The scripts had been selected by his staff, but they were on that shelf for different reasons.
Qin Guan's ad had reminded him of a script about chocolate, which would be suitable for those chocolate businessmen.
Despite its unique style and black humor, the script had been graded with a "B", so the company wouldn't invest too much in it. It was actually tailored for Tim Burton, the only director who shot children's films by using dark, obscure methods.
Things were different now though. Inspired by the ad, the producer believed that the key to the film's success would be Qin Guan's participation and the selfless contribution of chocolate traders. This would save a lot of money for the film. Even Qin Guan's value wouldn't bother the distributor, as he was definitely a "B" kind of actor.
The producer, who was a go-getter, dusted the script off carefully and swallowed all the chocolate chips in his mouth. Then he made a call.
"What can I do for you, sir?"
"Call the Circulation Department. I want to see the director of Investment and Income Assessment in my office."
"No problem. Anything else?"
The producer pondered it a little before he told his assistant, "Contact B Plan Company for me. Tell them that I have a good script and I'm looking for someone to co-produce it with."
After a pause, the assistant reminded his boss, "Mr. Bem, you must be forgetting that the owners of the company are going through a marital crisis."
Bem took another piece of chocolate from the package, and then leaned back against his chair and said in the receiver happily, "I know, but I know Jennifer Aniston very well. Heartbroken people do well in their careers. If she is clever enough, she will realize that this film is a big chance for her future. She and Brad Pitt are getting a divorce, so this film will be the last one they produce as a couple through their company."
"A seemingly civil couple and a dying company... What would she spend money on?"
The assistant held his breath. This was a trick meant to minimize the risk for Warner Bros and get the most money out of the smallest investment. The company, which possessed both the production and distribution rights, would get the maximum profit.
Great trees towered over smaller ones. As a mere blade of grass, all the producer could do was do his job.