Chapter 177: So-Called Freedom
"I don't think it was worth it!" Walking into the theater with his companions, Terry was still arguing with one of them. "War is about securing the greatest victory at the smallest cost. Six men dying to save one—putting everything else aside, from a purely military standpoint, it's just not worth it."
"You can't look at it like that."
As the group reached the ticketing window, another man named Bridge shot back, "Think about it. Today, you decide trading eight lives for one isn't worth it, and a mother loses her only surviving son. Tomorrow, another mother buries her child for the exact same reason. Over time, rock-solid traditional beliefs will turn into empty promises. Who would ever feel safe sending their loved ones into the military to protect this country?"
Standing a short distance from the ticket window, Huntington, an investigator from the Screen Actors Guild, smiled faintly. He had been here all afternoon and had heard countless similar debates. The topic had clearly become a cultural flashpoint. Just like these people who had already seen the movie, the arguments usually ended with them buying another ticket and heading back inside.
Clearly, the promotional campaign for Saving Private Ryan was outstanding!
Armed with actual survey data, Huntington was certain of it. However, compared to yesterday, Saving Private Ryan was also experiencing some negative shifts. Since yesterday, some media outlets had been hyping protests by Black audiences against the film, and that coverage showed no signs of slowing down today. Even though a few Black historians had stepped forward to defend the movie, his own observations at this theater showed that the proportion of Black audience members today had dropped noticeably compared to opening day.
Extrapolating from this, public opinion had clearly influenced the choices of some Black moviegoers.
However, compared to its rival in the same release window, Braveheart, the box-office performance of Saving Private Ryan over the past two days was more than just a couple of levels higher!
Take the theater he was in right now. Only a single screening room was still showing Braveheart. While corporate sabotage from rival companies might have played a role, the film's lackluster box-office performance was the key factor behind its plummeting screen share. From morning until now in the late afternoon, by his observation, Braveheart had sold fewer than forty tickets!