Hollywood: The Greatest Showman

Chapter 280: Red across the board

Even the most daring prophets wouldn't have predicted the current situation. From the midnight show craze, to media feedback, to audience interest, extending to online buzz, and finally culminating in the involvement of film critics—"Buried" has shockingly surpassed "Paranormal Activity 2" in every aspect. This is nothing short of... a miracle!

In 2009, a found-footage horror movie, "Paranormal Activity," became the biggest dark horse of the year. With an ultra-low budget of just $15,000, it leveraged excellent marketing and clever planning to gross $107 million in North America, becoming the second most profitable film in history, only behind "The Blair Witch Project."

A year later, the sequel made a grand entrance with a budget of $2.75 million—a drastic change from its predecessor. Before its release, the film was already generating massive hype, with overwhelming publicity, and was expected to dominate the Halloween box office alongside "Saw 3D"—at least until "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Part 1)" was released.

However, it was unexpectedly challenged by "Buried," something that Paramount Pictures, the distributor, never saw coming. Although "Buried" was only released in eleven theaters, making it no competition in terms of box office, "Paranormal Activity 2" still secured the weekend box office crown. Yet, the momentum of its opening weekend was hindered, which is not a good sign for its future box office performance.

As for Focus Features, they are overjoyed, sitting back and reaping the benefits. Not only can they slightly adjust their distribution strategy for "Buried," but they can also tweak their awards season campaign, giving them another option to consider.

Judging from the feedback from various parties, Focus Features seems to have made a better deal by spending $4.5 million at Toronto to acquire the North American distribution rights for "Buried" compared to Weinstein Company, who spent $6 million on "Blue Valentine." However, "Blue Valentine" doesn't seem to be as "friendly" to the general public.

In terms of media ratings, "Buried" garnered reviews from 29 media outlets, with 21 positive reviews, 5 mixed, and 3 negative, overwhelmingly extending the media momentum from Toronto. This proves that the cheers in Toronto and Telluride were not just festival hype; both critics and audiences have shown support for the film. The call for additional screenings in Toronto was well-deserved, which also led to growing audience anticipation for this limited release.

"Buried" achieved a media score of 69, compared to "The Shining," which scored 61, and "The Sixth Sense," which scored 64.

These figures alone highlight the enthusiastic praise "Buried" has received from critics, especially for Renly, the sole male lead, who received universal acclaim. Even those media outlets critical of the overall quality of the film, including the notoriously harsh New York critics, showered Renly with praise.

As a newcomer, Renly has carved out a space for himself with undeniable talent in just a few short months. His previous work on "The Pacific" earned him an Emmy Award, leading many to wonder if "Buried" will make a splash this awards season.

In the U.S. film rating system, media scores are just one part of the equation, representing the opinions of professional media. These critics are often highly knowledgeable about film, with deep expertise, which makes their tastes more discerning and elitist.

Aside from media scores, Rotten Tomatoes, IMDb, and CinemaScore serve as excellent supplementary indicators of a film's quality.

Rotten Tomatoes represents popular media opinions, encompassing magazines, online outlets, top bloggers, and theater critics. This means their tastes align more with the general public, though they still retain a degree of critical professionalism. If media reviews generally number around thirty, rarely exceeding forty-five, Rotten Tomatoes' popular media scores are based on at least 150 reviews, with major commercial films sometimes attracting up to 250 reviews.

IMDb, of course, needs no introduction, as it completely reflects audience preferences. However, IMDb's rating system is quite complex, ranking users based on several factors like the number and quality of their reviews. This ranking system slightly curtails the influence of mass voting by internet trolls, which is why IMDb ratings are so authoritative.

Finally, CinemaScore measures the feedback from theaters, reflecting the tastes of the general audience. Typically, commercial blockbuster films score "A-" or higher, anything below that is disappointing; horror and thriller films usually hover around a "B" score, and reaching this score is cause for celebration; art films tend to score lower, with some films shown only in art theaters not even being measured by CinemaScore.

These four metrics represent different audience feedback and provide a broad reference for moviegoers.

However, watching movies is a highly personal experience. It's perfectly normal to feel indifferent towards a movie that everyone else loves, or to enjoy a film that others despise. Therefore, different audiences choose films based on different criteria, and that's the right approach.

After achieving a media score of 69, "Buried" boasts a Rotten Tomatoes score of 87%. Popular media has shown unprecedented enthusiasm, showering the film with the highest praise. On the ten-point scale, Rotten Tomatoes scored it at 7.6—a fantastic score for a thriller-suspense film!

It's clear that both professional and popular critics have been generous with their praise. From Toronto to Telluride to its limited release in North America, "Buried" has not only maintained its momentum but seems to be continuing to rise, creating a wave of positive reviews!

So, what about the audience?

IMDb ratings are currently limited, so they can't be taken too seriously just yet. However, the early rating of 8.5 shows the initial reactions from midnight show audiences; as for CinemaScore, there isn't any data available yet.

This film, released in only eleven art theaters, hasn't been able to generate enough data for a CinemaScore, so this reference point is currently blank. However, people can look to indirect reference data to find their answers.

'Paranormal Activity 2.'

Released on the same day, this film is also a thriller-suspense movie, with a low budget and a lot of early feedback. It serves as the perfect reference point.

With a release in over 3,200 theaters, "Paranormal Activity 2" had its four main metrics published immediately.

It garnered a media score of just 53 points from 23 outlets, a significant disappointment, dropping two tiers from the original film's 68 points!

Its Rotten Tomatoes score was only 58%, with an average score of 6 from 131 popular media outlets, aligning with the professional critics and showing a consistent decline across the board.

On IMDb, where over 14,000 users cast their votes, the film's score was a disappointing 5.5, a steep drop from the original's 6.3.

As for CinemaScore, it managed to maintain a "B," which is average for a horror movie—just barely passing and not completely losing face.

In summary, "Paranormal Activity 2" failed completely, with audiences and critics in agreement that the film was a letdown.

In comparison, "Buried" is clearly ahead, dominating in almost every metric and even rivaling the original "Paranormal Activity." This suggests that "Buried's" CinemaScore is likely to be at least a "B"—on par with "Paranormal Activity 2." Whether it can reach a "B+" or even an "A-" remains to be seen once more audiences watch the film.

Moreover, with the buzz on Yahoo Community, Instagram, and Facebook, the film is exploding online. Combined with the glowing media reviews and Rotten Tomatoes scores, it's not hard to conclude that this is a movie worth watching.

The so-called Halloween season is a time for horror and thriller movie lovers to indulge. But this year, "Paranormal Activity 2" has left audiences disappointed. As they wait for "Saw 3D" next week, "Buried" has emerged as the movie to fill that void.

At this moment, industry insiders are marveling at Focus Features' cunning strategy of releasing "Buried" during this time. Initially, it seemed that a head-on collision with a similar genre film would be disadvantageous for a film like "Buried," which lacks resources; but looking at it from another angle, it provided an alternative for those who love "Paranormal Activity 2"-type movies.

Of course, this is all just hindsight analysis. "Buried" garnered attention due to a perfect combination of timing, location, and opportunity. The release timing by Focus Features was merely the final catalyst.

Incredibly, "Buried" has experienced an unprecedented surge in weekend limited releases. Whether it's due to the Toronto and Telluride buzz, curiosity about Renly's real strength, the overwhelming positive reviews, or the disappointment with "Paranormal Activity 2," audiences have flocked to theaters and bought tickets to "Buried." That's the result.

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