America Tycoon: The Wolf of Showbiz

By mid-November, local TV stations in Los Angeles and Atlanta aired the trailer for "Zombie Stripper" during their late-night slots.

The professionals at Lionsgate Films had edited highlights like people flying through the air and the machine gun dance.

The ads were also tacked onto Gray Company's late-night shows, which had been consistently getting good ratings.

Then there were the trailer and poster columns at the preview theaters.

For the preview, the distribution company invested limited resources and targeted a specific audience.

After a week of low-key promotion, "Zombie Stripper" began its limited screenings in eight independent cinemas in both Los Angeles and Atlanta.

Elena had the day off, and she had arranged to watch a movie with Martin that afternoon.

Lily shamelessly tagged along.

Following two adults, and with Lily being tall, it was easy for her to blend in and enter the theater, as it was only R-rated, not NC-17.

In the slightly old cinema hall with many empty seats, the three of them chose a row towards the back. When they sat down, Lily slipped past Elena and took a seat on Martin's left.

Elena, who sat on Martin's right, glanced over and said, "Watch the movie, and keep your mouth shut."

Lily nodded and said, "There aren't many people here, Martin. Is no one watching your movie?"

Martin handed her the popcorn, "Eat and talk less."

Elena passed a Coke to Martin and asked in a low voice, "Seems like there aren't many viewers, right?"

In the nearly 200-seat old theater, less than forty people were scattered around.

Since "Zombie Dancer" was being shown in the cinema, Martin had already achieved his goal and was in a good mood, "It's a low-budget B-movie, shot and produced in just three months, so you can't expect too many viewers."

Lily tried to speak up again, but Martin handed her the Coke, "Drink."

During the pre-film ads, Lily quickly counted and said, "Not counting us, there are 37 people."

She muttered, "Let me do the math, rounding the movie tickets to 6 US Dollars each, this screening is 240 US Dollars in box office."

Elena was curious, "What are you calculating?"

Martin replied, "She's figuring out the box office."

"He's in a movie that's just been released." Lily pointed at Martin and prodded him, "I studied how to calculate box office from movie magazines."

She glanced at Elena's chest, which was slightly larger than hers, and silently criticized her sister's brain size as inversely proportional to her bust size, and continued, "This movie is short, only 92 minutes long, so it could be shown 9 times a day. Taking this afternoon's screening as an average, that's 2160 US Dollars for a single cinema in a day."

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Elena said, "You got it wrong, it should be 1860 US Dollars."

Martin wouldn't be foolish enough to argue with Elena and said, "It's been previewed since Friday; each cinema could make about 6000 US Dollars in weekend box office from this film."

The number of viewers could vary each showing, potentially more or less.

Elena, still counting on her fingers, finally gave up, astonished, "Martin, you dropped out of school before I did; how come you can figure this out, but I can't?"

Lily, whose mouth was faster than her brain, blurted out, "Because you really are dumb, even dumber than Martin..."

Elena flipped her bottled Coke and, despite Martin being in the way, still hit Lily on the head with it.

With a thud, Lily looked dejected.

Martin quickly grabbed Elena, "Don't disturb others watching the movie."

The main plot and essential contents of the movie hadn't changed, but some redundant footage had been cut and it was slightly toned down to meet MPAA ratings.

From the start of the film, Elena was in shock.

She thought the late-night movies Martin had acted in, like Ma Zhen's, were exaggerated enough, but this was even more so.

Elena clung tightly to Martin's hand and pressed her body against him, ready to sit on his lap if there were no people around, given her impulsive nature.

Martin tickled her palm discreetly and shot her a look.

Elena held herself back, planning to wait until after the film to continue.

The atmosphere in the cinema was good, with constant laughter from the audience in front, occasionally punctuated by exclamations.

The viewers who came to see this movie were undoubtedly B-movie fans, and this rotten film that brought some novelty to the outdated zombie plasma theme was somewhat satisfying for them.

At the end of the show, many people criticized the plot for being flimsy, yet they praised the male lead for his unique and incredibly well-acted scenes.

Stepping out the theater exit, Lily vented, "Who's the idiot that came up with such a moronic idea?"

Elena regretted bringing her along and threatened, "Don't force me to get physical."

Lily held back her words, puffing up her cheeks like an extra-large frog.

Back at their home in the community, Lily wanted to discuss the movie with Elena but found that Martin and Elena, the idiots, had disappeared.

She sneaked out, set up a wooden ladder, and climbed up to the rooftop, taking advantage of the fairly bright moonlight to look around.

Before long, it was total chaos as Elena chased Lily with a shotgun.

Martin, Harris, and Holle watched the sisterly showdown.

...

"Zombie Stripper" had a limited screening in three cinemas in Atlanta, averaging 6423 US Dollars per cinema over the weekend.

Los Angeles was a bit better, with an average box office of over $8,000 per theater in 5 cinemas.

Not too good, but not bad either.

Spot screenings targeted specific audiences; for some films that performed well in spot screenings, it was common for box office earnings to burst through $20,000+ per theater.

And of course, the poor performers were just a three-day or one-day tour in the spot screening cinemas.

This result was enough for Lionsgate Films to expand distribution further and increase the promotional budget.

Advertisements and short promotional films for the movie began to appear on some websites, especially forums populated by B-movie enthusiasts.

TV commercials and print media also threw in everything.

The weekend before Thanksgiving, "Zombie Stripper" expanded to 54 theaters across North America, and the weekend box office jumped to $425,000.

Adding the previous weekend and weekday box office, this B-movie's North American box office exceeded $500,000.

As for reputation, talking about reputation is just vanity for B-movies.

Instead, the male lead's three splendid performances were buzzed about by numerous B-movie enthusiasts on several movie websites.

Two days before Thanksgiving, Zombie Dancer Studio received a business letter from Lionsgate Films and immediately notified Martin, Catherine, and Benjamin to come for a meeting.

Since the studio's office space was small enough to accommodate only two operators, the meeting took place at Gray Company.

Benjamin was in a very good mood and embraced Martin heartily upon meeting: "Buddy, we're going to be famous."

Martin said with a smile, "Is it that exaggerated?"

Benjamin, who arrived the earliest, whispered, "We're going to Los Angeles."

Catherine was excited, "To Hollywood?"

Benjamin didn't answer.

Kelly Gray entered the meeting room with Ella, nodded slightly to the three of them, and said, "Lionsgate Films just informed us that 'Zombie Stripper' will expand to 650 theaters this weekend, covering all states in the US, we've made it."

Martin leaned back in his chair, looked up at the ceiling, raised his hands and clenched them into fists, his gaze penetrating obstacles as if he could see the sky — the sky was so damn blue, the sunshine so damn bright, bald Benjamin was damn handsome, Ella's freckles were damn pretty, and Kelly and Catherine were outrageously beautiful.

Everything looked good when you were happy.

Even if Old Black came over, Martin could call him handsome.

Because spot screenings and wide releases had vastly different scopes of influence.

Martin, as spirited as a monkey, had been bustling around for nearly half a year, and wasn't this what it was all for?

Overjoyed, Benjamin slammed his fist onto the meeting table and when Martin stretched his fist out, they bumped fists.

Too excited, Benjamin used too much force and let out an "Ouch" from the pain.

Catherine, either slow to react or yet to realize what showing in 650 theaters could mean, pinched her face and asked, "Mrs. Gray, can we go to Hollywood?"

Kelly looked at Martin and said, "Lionsgate Films is preparing a fan and media event in Los Angeles to further promote the movie. They asked you to go to Los Angeles, your tickets are booked, you'll leave early on Friday after Thanksgiving in Atlanta."

"I can go to Hollywood?" Catherine first asked doubtfully, then stated affirmatively, "I can go to Hollywood!"

She suddenly let out a scream, hugged her blond hair, stood up, and turned in circles.

The allure of fame to an average actor was as great as Catherine's excitement at that moment.

Even Martin was continuously smiling at Kelly Gray.

Why hide it when you're happy?

Actors are naturally expressive.

After screaming loudly, Catherine calmed down a bit, sat down in a chair, and laughed apologetically, "Sorry, I lost my composure. This is... this is too important to me."

She extended her hand to high-five Martin and Benjamin, "Thank you! Thank you! It's a great honor to work with you all."

Martin nodded with a smile, "Me too."

Kelly then said, "Dave has been negotiating with Lionsgate Films and has secured a $5,000 payment for each of you. However, once you're in Los Angeles, you must fully cooperate with Lionsgate Films."

Barely containing his excitement, Benjamin let slip a curse, "As long as they don't mess with my ass, I'll absolutely cooperate." Then he vowed, "Even if they do mess with my ass, I'll endure it!"

Kelly told her assistant, "Ella, go get some wine. We need to celebrate."

Ella quickly brought champagne and tall glasses, and everyone in the meeting room had a toast together.

Benjamin and Catherine left hand in hand soon afterward.

After lunch together, Martin accompanied Kelly to her luxurious apartment.

Kelly said, "Your wish has been fulfilled."

Martin responded, "It's our wish that's been fulfilled."

Kelly didn't deny it. Martin got a leading role in a theater movie, gaining an important credential, and her company profited from the project, securing more abundant funds to invest in new plays and the conversion of an auto industrial park into a movie studio.

Martin thought for a moment and said sincerely, "Kelly, I hope you become a legislator soon."

Kelly Gray laughed, "Martin, I hope you become a superstar soon."