I became a son-in-law in the United States

Chapter 61 Box Office Miracle

Regret?

Luther wouldn't regret it; he only regretted not asking for a higher price.

Thus, after a round of "relaxed" negotiations, the two sides finally reached the following agreement:

1. The box office film sold the screening rights of "Walden" to several theaters in the Boston area and several eastern states for a total fee of $1.2.

If it includes the Midwest or even the whole of the United States, then the price will be different, but it will not exceed $30,000.

From the date of signing the contract, the above-mentioned theaters may screen this film at any of the chain cinemas nationwide.

Of course, since most of these cinemas don't have sound equipment, they need to be slightly modified before screenings, but this is nothing compared to the cost of buying the films.

2. For cinemas that are unwilling to buy out the entire property, a base price plus revenue sharing model can also be adopted.

Specifically, it means paying a portion of the base price upfront, and then returning a portion of the subsequent box office revenue to the film.

This applies to some small, independent cinemas, as it significantly reduces risk while still allowing them to make money—a win-win situation.

3. During the screening of "Waden Lake", the box office film company needs to assist with all necessary promotional activities.

In summary, these were the conditions that Luther had negotiated with everyone over a period of 20 minutes.

Of course, it was less about negotiating terms and more about Luther reading out the decree in public, and the others didn't need to do anything but thank God for his grace.

The final result was indeed satisfactory, with Paramount, Fox, First National, and Lois all acquiring the full rights.

For such giants, whose interests extend nationwide, across all regions and markets, $3 is not an exorbitant sum.

Other cinemas either bought a portion of the space or opted for a base price plus revenue sharing model.

In this way, the film earned approximately $63 from box office revenue solely through licensing and screenings, which is also a very satisfactory figure.

In this day and age, if a movie can gross $40 to $50, that is already a pretty good result.

If it can break the million-dollar box office mark, that would be an extremely rare occurrence.

At this moment, however, Luther was full of confidence in the matter.

After everyone left, Reynolds couldn't help but ask Luther:

"Mr. Luther, may I ask you something?"

"Can."

Reynolds paused, his shrewd eyes darting around, before slowly speaking:

"To be honest, I don't quite understand your approach..."

"Is that so?"

"Yes, your offer was indeed a bit high for them, and you were very firm and wouldn't budge an inch. In the end, they had to sign it with a heavy heart. I can tell that this is probably our last collaboration, and there won't be a next time."

At this point, Reynolds became quite sentimental.

He naturally dared not lose his temper in front of his boss, and his anger was well concealed.

In his view, Luther's actions were extremely irrational, as he was almost jeopardizing the future of the box office film for the sake of just one deal.

However, Luther didn't see it that way. He paused, then looked at Reynolds with a penetrating gaze, and said...

"Reynolds, tell me, if this time I do as they want, and we complete this deal in a friendly atmosphere, do you think it's possible?"

"This..." Reynolds suddenly thought of something and frowned.

"Let me tell you, it's simply impossible," Luther began to explain. "First, the old money in Boston still has influence. Once this is over, they will stay far away from us. Your desire to continue cooperating is nothing but an unrealistic fantasy."

Reynolds' forehead began to sweat; he really hadn't expected Luther to say that.

"Secondly, do you think they'll keep buying sound movies from us?"

"That... probably not..."

Although Reynolds was unwilling to admit it, the facts were undeniable, and he had no choice but to accept them.

Based on his understanding of these peers, he realized that he had missed the opportunity this time, and coupled with the fact that he really didn't have any film sources, he had no choice but to humble himself and ask for help.

But once this is over, these companies will invest heavily in sound films. By then, they won't even be able to release all of their own sound films, so how could they possibly buy box office films?

By then, the relationship between the two sides will not only not improve, but will become even worse.

Based on these two points, Reynolds thought about it for a moment and felt even more impressed.

This young man had already considered all of this.

.................

In the following days, the changes came even faster than expected.

After the box office films were licensed for screening, business at the open-air cinemas decreased significantly. Although they were still full, the previous scenes of huge crowds were gone.

This is easy to understand; if we're talking about the movie-watching experience, then movie theaters are far superior.

Especially during this period, many cinemas have gradually installed sound equipment, which has greatly improved the movie-watching experience.

Of course, this is also a major boon for these cinemas.

Previously, each ticket cost about 15-20 cents, but now the price has been uniformly increased to 20 cents, and some even exceed 50 cents.

Technological progress comes at a price, and ultimately all the costs will be passed on to the audience.

Meanwhile, at the entrance of the Orphen Theater in New York State.

A stylishly dressed young man was waiting at the entrance of the movie theater, chatting idly.

"I heard this movie has sound!" someone exclaimed excitedly.

"Yeah, it's not just Boston, the whole of New York State is going crazy. This is the first sound movie in human history, as great as Lindbergh. I have to see it no matter what." My companion agreed.

"Lily, I finally managed to get the tickets this time. You promised that if I could get the tickets, you would dance with me."

"Dancing is fine, but doing *that* is not."

"That's all for now, the movie's about to start!"

................

At the Stanley Theater in Pennsylvania.

This event was also packed to capacity, with audiences screaming wildly everywhere. The cheers reached an unprecedented climax, especially when the male and female leads were talking on screen.

The audience was thrilled by the synchronized audio and visuals.

"This is what a movie should be!"

"Hollywood needs to improve!"

"Movies with sound are so great!"

"A box office hit? I'll remember that..."

Meanwhile, the film was being discussed everywhere in Los Angeles, Washington, Michigan, Seattle, and other states.

"Waden" became an instant hit across the country, becoming the most successful film of the summer.

On August 24th, a month after the release of "Waden Lake", another piece of good news came.

After a month of intensive screenings, the final box office figures for "Walden" have finally been released.

"$234.4!"

Ya waved the note in her hand, her skirt fluttering in the warm summer breeze, her laughter echoing like silver bells in the office.

"Luther! We have created a miracle!"

P.S.: Thank you so much for the monthly tickets and recommendation votes!