Amid the media's overwhelming praise for Run Lola Run, the weekend passed quickly.
However, since February 16 was the third Monday of the month—Presidents' Day, one of the federal holidays—the new week's weekend box office was calculated over four days, from February 13 to 16. This was actually a key reason Orion had chosen to schedule the release for the 13th.
February 17, Tuesday.
Having been extremely busy lately, Orion Pictures president Mike Medavoy hadn't gotten much rest over the three-day holiday. Still, he arrived at the office bright and early today.
Sitting in his office, reflecting on Orion's bumpy ride over the past year, Mike Medavoy even felt a touch of survivor's relief.
In 1985, Orion had produced and distributed twelve films, with the best performer, Desperately Seeking Susan, grossing just $27 million in North America; nine of them faced losses.
Due to a string of box office flops, early 1986 saw Orion plunged into severe financial crisis, on the verge of takeover by the Wall Street powerhouse Warburg Pincus. If it happened, the entire original management team would be ousted.
In the nick of time, company CEO Arthur Krim convinced his friend, media mogul John Kluge, to buy 6.5% of Orion's stock, injecting the desperately needed working capital and saving everyone's jobs.
From there, things seemed to turn around.
Orion's summer release Back to School raked in over $90 million in North America, pulling the company out of its financial hole. At the end of last year, their key release Platoon had accumulated over $40 million by last week. Based on the current trajectory, this film could easily charge past the $100 million mark in North America.
Moreover, in awards, Orion was reaping rewards this year. Thanks to the stellar reputations of Platoon, Hannah and Her Sisters, and Hoosiers, Orion had garnered 18 nominations for the upcoming 59th Oscars—more than any of the Big Seven.
Now, in the blink of an eye, it was 1987, and Orion seemed to have carried over last year's good fortune.
Right at the start of the new year, the company had snagged a modest box office dark horse from the Big Seven.
Run Lola Run.
Though he hadn't seen the opening weekend numbers yet, based on the feedback from the past few days, Mike Medavoy had no doubt this film would give Orion a strong start to 1987.
Idly flipping through a document, lost in these thoughts, his secretary knocked: "Mr. Medavoy, Miss Johnston is here."
"Let her in," Mike Medavoy replied, then thought better of it and stood up, adding, "Oh, and has the weekend box office data come in?"
The secretary shook her head. "Should I follow up?"
"No need—just send it straight to my office when it arrives. And brew two coffees." With that, Mike Medavoy rounded his desk and extended a hand to Janet, who had just entered. "Miss Johnston, you're early again today."
Janet smiled as she shook his hand. "Aren't you as well?"
"This is my job, after all—I have to put in the effort," Mike Medavoy said, gesturing for Janet to sit in the reception area. He took the seat across the coffee table. "They usually deliver around nine-thirty; it should be here soon."
Janet had overheard his exchange with the secretary and simply nodded.
Once settled, Mike Medavoy was about to ask after Simon's recent activities when the office door opened again. The secretary waved a fax. "Mr. Medavoy, the box office—it's here."
Mike Medavoy sensed a hitch in the secretary's tone, his face clouding with doubt. A faint unease stirred, so he rose and took the report himself.
One glance, and his expression turned peculiar. He turned to the secretary. "You're sure this is right?"
The secretary, still composing herself, said, "I—Mr. Medavoy, should I call and check?"
Though he doubted the data was wrong, Mike Medavoy nodded.
Janet stood and approached, extending a hand. "Mr. Medavoy, may I see?"
"Oh, of course." Mike Medavoy handed over the box office report. "The numbers should be accurate, but this is unbelievable—way higher than I imagined."
Janet said nothing, her eyes dropping to the report, spotting Run Lola Run's name and figure right away.
$5.51 million.
Not bad at all.
That was Janet's first thought. Then she started calculating: $5.51 million, per the 15% fixed box office split Simon had negotiated with Orion—just from the past four days, they'd recoup over $800,000. Even accounting for future print costs, they'd already broken even.
Mike Medavoy noticed Janet merely raise an eyebrow, a satisfied smile curving her lips. He understood she was new to the industry and might not grasp what Run Lola Run's numbers meant, but he still wanted to shake her awake: "Is that all the reaction you have?"
Meanwhile, in Century City, Beverly Hills—less than a kilometer from Orion's headquarters—at Fox Studios, Leonard Goldberg waved the box office report wildly, somewhat unhinged as he barked at his assistant: "$5.51 million! How is this possible? Did the theaters mess up?"
The assistant, clutching a folder, remained unruffled—unlike Mike Medavoy's secretary—and replied firmly, "Mr. Goldberg, I've already called to confirm. It's correct."
Hearing the assistant's calm tone, Leonard Goldberg took a deep breath and waved her out.
Once she left, he sank back into his chair, yanked open the desk drawer, eyed the cigar box, then slammed it shut. He picked up the box office report again, scanning line by line.
North American box office for the seventh weekend of 1987.
First: Platoon; $12.87 million; Orion.
Second: Critical Condition; $6.31 million; Buena Vista.
Third: Mannequin; $5.99 million; Fox.
Fourth: Run Lola Run; $5.51 million; Orion.
Fifth: Over the Top; $5.15 million; Warner.
In the top five, aside from the current hot favorite Platoon breaking $10 million, the other four films' grosses seemed comparable. But comparing screen counts revealed the stark disparity.
Among the five, excluding Run Lola Run, even Fox's Mannequin had 932 screens. The other three all exceeded 1,000, with Stallone's new Over the Top opening on a massive 1,758 screens.
In contrast, Run Lola Run had a mere 207 screens—not even a quarter of Mannequin's, an eighth of Over the Top's.
Yet, with just those paltry 207 screens, Run Lola Run had raked in a staggering $5.51 million, bulldozing its way into the North American weekend box office top five.
How could anyone not be shocked?
And with such a stellar opening, what came next?
Keep in mind, Orion had only distributed Run Lola Run in a few West Coast states like California, Nevada, and Oregon. As a second-tier independent, they couldn't reach overseas markets. But the central U.S., the East, and even Canada to the north—Run Lola Run hadn't screened there yet.
So, if this momentum held...
Leonard Goldberg shivered involuntarily, almost afraid to think further. His mind flashed through the events of the past few months.
When Simon finished Run Lola Run, he'd first approached Fox. After the film garnered praise at Sundance, Simon still leaned toward giving distribution to Fox—right up until it won at the festival; Fox had had the chance to snag it.
But.
They'd let every opportunity slip away.
Now.
God.
What had he missed?
Leaning back in his chair, he pondered swiftly, then pressed the intercom on his desk. His assistant soon returned.
"Give David Giler and the others a heads-up—I'll want to see a rough cut of The Butterfly Effect this afternoon. Also, Simon Westeros's other script, uh, what's it called?"
The assistant promptly reminded him: "Final Destination."
"Right, Final Destination. Contact WMA and get the script over. And Simon Westeros..."
Leonard Goldberg hesitated, undecided, but the assistant volunteered: "Mr. Goldberg, Simon Westeros is currently in Arizona, working on a film invested by De Laurentiis Entertainment—called Near Dark."
Leonaard Goldberg frowned. "Anything special about that movie?"
"No," the assistant shook her head. "But the director is Kathryn Bigelow. During Run Lola Run's shoot, she was Simon Westeros assistant director—he's probably returning the favor."
Hearing this, Leonard Goldberg's mind blanked on who Kathryn Bigelow was but didn't pursue it, just waving her off. "In that case, forget it for now. Go handle what I said."
No matter how stunned, rattled, or regretful the executives at studios that could have secured Run Lola Run's distribution were, the film's jaw-dropping opening weekend numbers spread like wildfire, landing on key pages of many evening papers that afternoon.
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