Ladder 49 was a movie released by Walt Disney. To be precise, Ladder 49 was produced by Touchstone Pictures, which was owned by Walt Disney.
Touchstone Pictures was Walt Disney's go-to studio whenever the company wanted to make a live-action movie. Touchstone was completely controlled by Walt Disney, unlike Miramax, which had a fat Harvey who would fight for control.
Anyway, Ladder 49 was about a firefighter who was trapped in a warehouse fire. The movie was not based on a real story but was heavily inspired by the heroism that firefighters demonstrated.
Honestly, Walt Disney was not confident in this movie. That's why they chose to release it in October, a stale month for cinemas.
They had already spent over $60 million and couldn't ignore the movie's potential. They even cast John Travolta and Joaquin Phoenix for the film... By the way, that casting was also the reason why the movie's budget reached $60 million.
Anyway, the response to Ladder 49 was diocre. Sure, being a public servant was a respectable profession. Firefighters were among the most respected for a reason.
Unfortunately, the public had already moved on from 9/11. That tragedy was heartbreaking, but people had to take a step forward and understand that life was not all about tragedies.
If Ladder 49 had been released shortly after the peak of the 9/11 incident, it might have grossed $500 million. Too bad Walt Disney's managent was too busy forcing political views on the public instead of making heartfelt movies.
Furthermore, it didn't help that Ladder 49 was released on October 1, the sa day as Mr. and Mrs. Smith 2.
The possibility of this firefighter movie making huge money was low, now that its opponent was Mr. and Mrs. Smith 2.
Perhaps it was a coincidence, but 20th Century Fox and Grey Pictures decided to release their movie on the sa day as Ladder 49. 20th Century Fox couldn't sacrifice their schedule for Mr. and Mrs. Smith 2, so they settled on October 1.
On its first day, Ladder 49, also released on October 1, grossed $7.46 million. An amazing amount of money for just one day.
On the sa day, Mr. and Mrs. Smith 2 casually made $38.73 million. It was both frustrating and amazing to see how much money movies could earn in just a single day.
Most of the ti, the first-day box office result determines a movie's trajectory.
From that angle, it was obvious that Mr. and Mrs. Smith 2 had a far higher return on investnt than Ladder 49. Even the Cinema Alliance knew exactly which movie they should invest in next week.
Two days had passed, and the first-weekend box office results for both movies were calculated.
Ladder 49 grossed $22.08 million, while Mr. and Mrs. Smith 2 grossed $76.08 million. The difference between the two was painfully obvious.
The Cinema Alliance imdiately allocated more theaters to Mr. and Mrs. Smith 2.
Initially, the number of theaters screening Mr. and Mrs. Smith 2 rounded up to 4,100 across the United States.
As for Ladder 49, the film was screened in 3,200 theaters.
The Cinema Alliance had the authority to reduce the number of theaters showing underperforming movies and reassign them to more promising ones. At the end of the day, the Cinema Alliance was running a business, not a charity. They had no reason to keep Ladder 49 around when Mr. and Mrs. Smith 2 could generate far more revenue.
In the second week, the number of theaters screening Mr. and Mrs. Smith 2 increased to 5,200, while Ladder 49 dropped to 2,750 theaters.
This business move made Walt Disney furious. But they couldn't do anything about it, since this flexibility was outlined in the contract. The Cinema Alliance had the right to adjust theater numbers. Usually, they made these changes after three weeks.
But this ti, the Cinema Alliance wasn't going to let the mont slip by. They took advantage of the situation. So yeah, more money for Mr. and Mrs. Smith 2.
As everyone expected, Mr. and Mrs. Smith 2 proved itself with a whopping $177.82 million after ten days in theaters.
anwhile, Ladder 49 didn't even touch $50 million after ten days. The firefighter movie only managed to earn $41 million.
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The competition for next year's Academy Awards was becoming clearer as more films were promoted.
The Big Six studios and many veteran filmmakers understood that more parties would be held toward the end of the year and into the new year. These parties were essential for garnering votes from Academy mbers. ꭆἁɴỌ𝐁Ёš
So far, several films had begun gaining attention.
First was The Aviator, starring Leonardo DiCaprio. This film marked the actor's first serious step toward winning the golden statue. It would still take him more than a decade to get it, mainly because the Academy had sothing against him. Incidentally, after The Aviator, Leonardo gradually shifted the types of roles he played, even his facial features subtly changed. He aged, the simple explanation.
The second movie was Finding Neverland, starring Johnny Depp. After failing to win Best Actor previously, Johnny set his sights on the Academy Awards and chose this project specifically to appeal to Oscar voters.
The third contender was Million Dollar Baby, starring Clint Eastwood. A veteran actor who had been part of the industry for decades.
The fourth contender was a musical, directed by Fremont Smith and starring Brianna Evans and Ryan Gosling. La La Land positioned itself clearly as an Oscar hopeful.
People weren't stupid. In Hollywood, it was easy to tell whether a movie was made to earn money or to win awards.
[Second chapter of the day.]
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