Chapter 124: Fierce Competition
Just like Jurassic Park, which had taken the summer season by storm the year before, Independence Day inevitably became the public enemy of every film currently in theaters the moment its opening-day box office numbers came out. Starting Saturday morning, the attacks in the media rang even louder than the day before. Judging solely by public opinion, the film was a massive flop, an absolute piece of trash.
In some ways, the situation exceeded Duke's expectations. He knew Hollywood was fiercely competitive and far from some pure, virtuous haven, but he had never imagined the rivalry would reach such extremes.
Walt Disney executives had just called him to offer their congratulations and goodwill, yet right on their heels, their affiliated media outlets were clamoring that the aliens in Independence Day had shockingly low IQs—how could they possibly invade Earth?
Media outlets closely tied to Sony Entertainment were continuously nitpicking the film's logical loopholes, itching to parade every single bug in front of the American public.
Duke had originally thought Independence Day had no strong competitors in its release window, assuming its theatrical run might go a bit smoother. He never expected that the film's massive $20-million-plus opening day would trigger every potential rival.
"Duke, you come from a privileged background. You probably aren't very familiar with low- and middle-income families in America, are you?"
Hearing Robin Grande speak from across the desk, Duke nodded. According to what some people used to say, America was paradise. Having lived here for over twenty years, however, he knew the place was definitely no paradise—though it wasn't hell, either. In essence, it wasn't much different from the country he used to live in: the rich were very rich, the poor were very poor, and human rights and all that were just a load of nonsense.
"Even though movies are a relatively cheap form of entertainment compared to income," Robin Grande continued, "for low- and middle-income earners, the budget they can set aside for movie tickets each month—or even for the entire summer season—is definitely limited. If they choose this film, they have to give up on another. And these are the very people who make up the main demographic driving the box office."
"So..." Duke immediately understood. "We're in potential competition with other films?"