Chapter 190: How Much Did *The Sixth Sense* Spend on Public Relations?

Friday morning, at a cinema ticket counter, Michael was flirting with the ticket seller.

"Jenny, you know what? I've been to so many cinemas, you're the most beautiful one I've ever seen!"

"Thanks, Michael, but you don't have to praise me so much because of this cup of coffee; it's just instant~" the ticket seller smiled and shrugged.

"Oh no, Jenny, I'm speaking from the heart! You could totally go into acting and be a star!" Michael said with complete sincerity.

Jenny smiled and changed the subject: "Michael, isn't your CinemaScore the most accurate prediction agency? Then tell me, which of these two movies premiering at midnight tonight will have a higher box office?"

CinemaScore is a third-party market research agency located in Las Vegas. The company surveys the audience's rating of the viewing experience and predicts box office revenue based on this data. It sends 35 to 45 cinema rating survey teams to 25 major cities in North America. It randomly selects audiences, distributes survey cards to ask about the audience's age, gender, etc., and rates the movie from A+ to F.

Before the Internet era, CinemaScore was the rating system most valued by major film companies, even directly affecting box office trends. Because its survey results symbolize how the movie

Michael was an employee of CinemaScore, and tonight he was responsible for collecting audience feedback at this cinema for two newly released films: "The Sixth Sense" and "Runaway Bride."

It was precisely for this reason that, while the films were still playing, he had the leisure to flirt with the young lady at the ticket booth.

Mentioning his professional field, Michael puffed out his chest and pointed at the poster for "Runaway Bride," which showed the big-mouthed leading lady in a wedding dress, fleeing in a panic:

"Julia Roberts, Richard Gere—the leads are both A-list Hollywood stars. Plus, it's a romantic comedy, the genre people love Julia in most. With these elements combined, its opening box office can't possibly be low. Besides, teams behind such big stars aren't simple, especially Julia's. She's very skilled in the romantic comedy genre; she basically never misses, and the scripts don't fall apart, so the success rate is extremely high!"

This is also the reason why big American stars have drawing power. If you can maintain your status as an A-list star for years, your eye for scripts rarely has problems, and the quality is basically guaranteed. Otherwise, if you stumble twice in a row, you're out of the A-list.

"Uh-huh~" Jenny nodded upon hearing this, signaling him to continue.

Then Michael pointed at the poster for "The Sixth Sense," which showed Bruce Willis walking alongside a young boy:

"Look, Bruce Willis, teaming up with director Wu Yuchen. The lineup is barely on par, but in reality, it's a bit worse, after all, Wu Yuchen isn't an on-screen figure.

Secondly, regarding the genre this time, Bruce Willis has abandoned the action films he excels at, which will undoubtedly cause some of the audience who like him to lose interest—a point deduction.

And look at the promotional tagline on the poster..."

Jenny looked over and saw a poster for "The Sixth Sense" that read:

"If you like horror-thrillers, you must come see it!

If you like heartwarming family dramas, you must come see it!"

Michael said: "To be honest, horror-thrillers and family dramas are conflicting. Think about it: romance + comedy is a great match, romance + tragedy is a great match, action + comedy is also quite good... but family + horror, uh, it's very difficult to fuse these two aspects.

Although Wu Yuchen has succeeded consecutively over the past two years, it doesn't prove he can do everything. Moreover, he has achieved his current results at a young age; it's inevitable that he would be arrogant and want to challenge such a difficult genre and innovate. It's very likely to lead to failure; this is an unstable factor, so I'm deducting points."

"What you're saying sounds very reasonable. So, you're betting on 'Runaway Bride'?" Jenny asked.

Michael sipped his coffee and said with a smile: "For now, yes. But all of this still depends on how the film's quality actually turns out. When the audience comes out in a while, the survey will provide the results!"

At this moment, Jenny suddenly said: "The one in Theater 3 has finished; the audience for 'The Blair Witch Project' is about to come out."

Michael hurriedly put down the cup in his hand, took a stack of survey cards from his briefcase, and went to the exit to wait.

A moment later, a crowd of audience members poured out. Michael hurriedly handed out the cards and pens in his hand: "Sir, could I trouble you..."

Before he could finish, he saw an irritable man take the card from Michael and tear it to pieces:

"Fuck! This is a fucking stupid movie. The damn producers are fooling with my feelings and playing with my intelligence! Refund!"

"Oh, sir, please don't say that. Maybe those people really did die?" a middle-aged woman nearby who looked very kind-hearted advised.

"If they died, even better! Idiot, haven't you figured it out yet? This was a scam from beginning to end, they were just playing us! Tricking us into the cinema!"

"Right! This movie is trash! It's a piece of shit!"

Michael hadn't even opened his mouth, and a debate had already broken out among the fans; one side thought they had been played, while the other insisted it was a real documentary and that those college students were already dead.

A moment later, after Michael collected the cards and returned, he sighed and said: "Not even 10 cards, and the reviews... don't even get me started."

Many people simply refused to talk about the movie anymore.

Jenny smiled at him and said: "I've seen quite a few people walking out cursing these past few days, some even left halfway through."

Michael shrugged, sighed, and said: "This is a fraudulent movie. The bottom line of the film industry has been lowered by these people; it's truly sad!"

The two chatted for a while longer, and Jenny reminded him: "'Runaway Bride' in Theater 5 has finished."

Michael immediately ran out again. This time, his treatment was much better. Although some people refused him, many audience members took the cards and filled them out; after all, the content of the cards wasn't difficult, and they could get a small gift like a keychain.

At the same time, Michael would also chat with those who were filling them out, asking: "May I ask what your thoughts are after watching 'Runaway Bride'?"

"Aside from the gimmick of the runaway bride being quite attractive, this movie is really vulgar; it's still the same old stuff..."

As this person was speaking, another girl who was filling out a card said: "Oh, don't say that, that's Julia Roberts!"

"Fine, I like Julia too, but I think she should change things up. 'Notting Hill' was two months ago, and now here comes 'Runaway Bride.' I feel that her appearing in romantic movies too frequently makes me feel aesthetic fatigue. Maybe stretching the time out a bit would be better."

"Buddy, actually it's not as bad as you say. The marriage proposal speech that Richard Gere gave by accident was still quite moving~"

"That's all that's left. If it weren't for Julia Roberts, I would give this movie a B-!"

Michael listened to these people's words, and his hand was quickly recording them in his notebook; this was the most direct feedback from the audience.

Five minutes later, seeing Michael return to the counter with a stack of cards, Jenny asked curiously: "How was it?"

While organizing the cards in his hand, Michael said: "A total of 34 cards, including 2 A+, 3 A, 6 A-, 6 B+, 8 B, 5 B-, 2 C, and 2 D."

Just from the quantity of these 34 cards alone, it was already much stronger than "The Blair Witch Project" from just before.

Jenny didn't quite understand the CinemaScore standard, so she asked directly: "How is this rating?"

"Average, I suppose. But there are quite a few fans in the premiere audience. If you subtract the fan filter, it can only be called very ordinary."

Before he could finish speaking, he saw another wave of audience members starting to leave. Knowing that the premiere of "The Sixth Sense" had ended, he immediately grabbed a stack of cards and ran out again.

"Sir, can you help me fill out a card?"

"Of course! I'm just so excited; I feel like I have so much I want to say right now!" the man said while taking the card and pen.

"Ma'am, could I trouble you to fill out a survey?"

"I'd be happy to! I must give this movie a high score; it's just too amazing!" the woman, who looked like a mother, said excitedly while holding the card.

"I'm going to give it an A+! This ending really shocked me! My scalp was tingling at that moment! My God!" a young man also said excitedly, his face flushed.

"I never expected the ending to be like this! Bruce Willis was actually dead from the beginning; he was a ghost the whole time!"

Another person nodded repeatedly: "Yeah! I didn't expect Bruce Willis's acting to be this good; I never noticed it before! No wonder they said it's his transition work; this time the transition was truly a success!"

"Oh! Speaking of acting, shouldn't you mention that little boy? His acting is simply superb; I've never seen any child with better acting than him before!"

"Yes, this little boy's performance is too great! I almost ignored Bruce Willis!"

"I think the biggest credit should go to director Wu Yuchen. He's the screenwriter and the project initiator. He already helped Stallone transition two years ago, and this time, with Bruce Willis and the little boy in his hands, their acting also exploded. Moreover, the atmosphere of the entire film was created so perfectly, and the details were buried very well. I must bring my friend to watch it again tomorrow!"

One by one, the fans who had finished watching joined the discussion. This time, Michael didn't even need to hand them out; people were already taking the initiative to come to him for cards, filling them out while sharing their thoughts with everyone. A group of people were discussing it heatedly.

Michael was somewhat surprised watching from the side. He hadn't encountered this situation in the year or so he'd been in the industry. His colleagues said the last time this happened was during "Titanic"!

After a good while, Jenny watched Michael return with two large stacks of cards and couldn't help but ask in surprise: "Oh, Michael, why so many!"

Michael placed the stack of cards on the counter, grinned, and said: "Hey, Jenny, can you help me count how many there are? I'll treat you to dinner tomorrow~"

Jenny rolled her eyes at him: "Is this how you invite girls on dates?"

However, although she said that, she still picked up the cards and helped him count them. A moment later, Jenny said: "I have 53 cards here, and 27 of them are A+..."

Michael listened to the data Jenny reported, recording it in his notebook while summarizing it with his own, finally arriving at the data for the premiere of "The Sixth Sense":

A total of 125 survey cards were received, with A+ reaching a staggering 68, exceeding 50%! There was no need to even count the reviews below A+.

You have to know that just before, with the 34 cards for "Runaway Bride," only 2 gave an A+ rating!

125 cards versus 34; the enthusiasm of the audience for "The Sixth Sense" was nearly four times that of "Runaway Bride," and the level of praise far exceeded the latter by an unknown amount.

This time, Michael didn't need to do an analysis; even Jenny could see from the results that the word-of-mouth for "The Sixth Sense" was explosive, completely crushing "Runaway Bride"! As for that trash "The Blair Witch Project," it wasn't even worth mentioning.

Jenny smiled at Michael and said: "Michael, it seems your predictions as a professional aren't always accurate~"

Michael laughed and said: "Even professionals can miss the mark. This director Wu Yuchen is truly amazing! To make up for my mistake, Jenny, please allow me to invite you to dinner the day after tomorrow as well!"

Early Friday morning, the film reviews for the newly released "Runaway Bride" and "The Sixth Sense" from various newspapers had already been released.

"A vulgar romantic comedy; Julia Roberts is the only highlight."

"Julia and Richard team up again; warm and not lacking in humor!"

"True love creates miracles! Julia's romantic movies will never let you down! —— 'Runaway Bride'"

Regarding "Runaway Bride," the reviews were mixed; after all, the producers had spent money on PR.

As for "The Sixth Sense," it was basically a stream of rave reviews:

"The best suspense film of the year! You won't know the truth until the very end!" —— Los Angeles Times

"A horror-thriller that can not only scare people to tears but also move them to tears! Highly recommend 'The Sixth Sense'!" —— San Francisco Chronicle

"A classic horror film, the best psychological suspense movie, 'The Sixth Sense' is not to be missed!" —— Chicago Sun-Times

"Bruce Willis successfully transitions in 'The Sixth Sense'; his acting is beyond doubt!" —— Entertainment Weekly

"Bruce Willis's best acting ever, yet overshadowed by the genius performance of child star Haley!" —— American News

"A moving plot that progresses in layers, textbook suspense and twists, plus the god-like acting of the little boy!" —— The Washington Post

"A heartwarming film wearing the skin of a horror-suspense movie; a family film that the whole family should go see together." —— The New York Times

After waking up in the morning, Julia Roberts finished breakfast, and upon seeing these reviews, her first reaction was:

"How much did the PR for 'The Sixth Sense' cost? How is it that there isn't a single negative review?!"