"Click!"
The lock turned, and Yui Aragaki opened the door to her apartment and stepped inside.
This was her rented apartment in Tokyo. Although it was a bit out of the way, it had convenient transportation and the neighborhood was safe.
"I wish this apartment was mine! But if I keep working hard, I'll buy my own place one day," she told herself, trying to keep her spirits up.
Since joining Luke's Japanese company, she'd suddenly gotten very busy, a major shift from her days of just relaxing at home.
Yui had started her career as a model, and transitioning to an actress wasn't easy. She had a lot to learn about acting. While movie and TV roles hadn't come through yet, she was getting swamped with photo shoot requests for magazines and posters.
In particular, a promotional ad for the Japanese Kendo Association had paid her a surprisingly high fee. She simply wore a white Miko (shrine maiden) outfit for a simple photo series. Yui knew exactly whose influence landed her this opportunity at an above-market rate.
She had initially thought she was latching onto a sturdy support—a "thick thigh" in the original context—but lately, she realized it was more like a giant Pillar of Heaven.
Japan is a country that closely follows U.S. media and often aligns itself with its opinions. Over the past few days, Japanese media suddenly realized: "Our Sword God is about to become the God of Sports in North America!"
"This just proves our foresight was excellent," they seemed to be saying. "We put him on a pedestal before even the 'Father Country' realized how amazing he was."
As a result, the Japanese media machine went into overdrive:
"Master Luke Shines Brightly Once More! The Most Dazzling Light of Our Era!"
"We Are Master Luke's Most Reliable Backup—We Will Always Support You!"
"American Football? That's Mere Child's Play!"
If Luke saw these over-the-top, dramatic headlines, he'd be so embarrassed he could probably dig a three-room apartment with his toes.
However, these headlines perfectly captured the current sentiment in Japan: they weren't treating Luke as a foreigner; they considered him one of their own. Even though Luke was of Foreigner, his Japanese was excellent, he was handsome, and he was a master in the Japanese Kendo world.
A person like that should naturally become a national idol
Luke's film, Pirates of the Caribbean, was about to premiere simultaneously in Japan, and virtually every theater was giving it the maximum possible screen time. This was a level of treatment rarely afforded to foreign-language films; they were truly treating him like family.
Yui Aragaki couldn't help but be amazed by Luke's fame and influence in Japan.
"Mr. Luke, when will he come back to Japan? What is he doing right now?" Yui gazed at the moon in the night sky, thinking of their promise to visit three shrines together. The young woman could only quietly hope their plan would come true soon.
### A Massive Box Office Advantage
While the earnest young woman was gazing at the night sky, Luke and Mr. Eisen were talking in the study. It was midday in New York City, and the early summer sun streamed into the room, making the motes of dust visible in the air.
Mr. Eisen smiled. "So, this is the second bird in your 'kill three birds with one stone' plan? It looks like it's working great."
"Yeah, we don't have to worry about the movie's buzz anymore," Luke replied.
"Do you realize the publicity effect you've created with all this? You couldn't achieve this even if you spent $200 million on promotion."
Luke nodded, knowing Mr. Eisen was right. North America is constantly saturated with all kinds of promotion—like election campaigns, for example. Those campaigns cost huge amounts of money but rarely achieve the kind of universal saturation Luke just did.
While most of the attention was focused on Luke personally and his sports performance, any portion of that attention that bled over to Pirates of the Caribbean was a massive help and would surely be more effective than any costly "full-scale marketing campaign."
Luke was confident that the buzz leading up to the premiere of Pirates of the Caribbean was unprecedented for any film. With such a strong start, Luke was even more sure of the movie's box office potential.
Mr. Eisen handed a stack of materials to Luke. "The official premiere is this Friday. Take a look at the details."
"An initial screen time of 48%? And the time slots are great too!"
Luke's attention immediately went to that metric, as the screen rate is the foundation for everything else. He remembered that the late director Somers' The Mummy Returns premiered with a 40% screen rate. That film had to spend a fortune on publicity to get that number.
Don't let the 8% difference between Pirates of the Caribbean (48%) and The Mummy Returns (40%) fool you; the resources committed are on completely different levels. No cinema would ever give a single movie all of its screens, as the risk is too high if the movie bombs. Since this is the crucial summer blockbuster season, losing out on a penny means losing a lot of money. The money earned now has to balance losses during slower seasons, so theaters cannot accept the risk of overly concentrated screenings.
Giving 48% screen time was pushing the theater's limits. After all, pirate movies were still synonymous with "box office poison" at the time. If it weren't for Luke's current incredible fame, the theaters would never have given it such a high rate.
Moreover, even the same screen rate can hide internal differences. The time slots they give you and the quality of the screening rooms used can significantly impact the final box office result. In this case, Pirates of the Caribbean got the best resources with no compromises.
"The four major professional sports leagues have also reached out to us," Mr. Eisen mentioned. "They're promoting the movie through their own channels and have booked a lot of screening times to help boost the box office."
"They're just terrified that I'll actually switch to playing sports, so they're working hard to promote me and hope I just keep making movies," Luke chuckled.
"You're always doing something unexpected. Can I ask what the third bird in your 'kill three birds with one stone' plan is?" Mr. Eisen asked, intrigued.
"It has nothing to do with the movie. You'll find out soon enough. Right now, nothing else matters besides the upcoming premiere of Pirates of the Caribbean."
"Right. We've done everything we can. The next step is seeing if we can hit the goal of 'highest-grossing film of the year,'" Mr. Eisen said, clearly aware of Luke's ambition.
"Don't worry. We're going to win," Luke said confidently. He knew the original Pirates of the Caribbean was already a huge success, and with all his extra efforts, it would be unnatural for him to lose to The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.
"By the way, how did you turn Japan into a 'solid vote' territory?" Mr. Eisen suddenly asked.
"Huh? What do you mean?" Luke was a little confused.
"A lot of movie theaters in Japan are giving it a 65% screen rate. With the support of the world's second-largest movie market, your chances of a major international hit just went way up," Mr. Eisen replied, smiling.
Hearing that, Luke felt a strange sensation.
"I'm an foreigner, and I just made Japan my solid box office base?"
He had to admit, that was a pretty cool feeling.
---