Chapter 28: Release Date
It was morning.
At the Bridge Pictures office entrance, an employee called out,
"Team Leader."
"Yes?"
Without looking away from her monitor, Yoon Jihye asked,
"Who is it?"
"Director Baek Geonwoo."
Jihye immediately looked up.
Geonwoo stood beyond the glass door.
He had met TS ENM the previous evening.
If he'd simply come to report that he had chosen them, there was no reason to visit in person.
"Take him to the meeting room immediately."
"Yes."
Jihye closed the settlement sheet on her desk.
Inside a drawer was a file containing the final contract.
The company president's signature and seal were already there.
She began reaching for it, then stopped.
Geonwoo hadn't said he was here to sign.
She closed the drawer and entered the meeting room empty-handed.
Geonwoo stood.
"Sorry for coming without warning."
"It's fine."
Jihye sat across from him.
"Did yesterday's meeting go well?"
"Yes."
"TS ENM's terms were good?"
"They were."
"I thought so."
She placed a water bottle and cup in front of him.
"The initial release was larger than ours too?"
"Yes."
"Marketing budget?"
"Yes."
Every straightforward answer made Jihye's expression a little stiffer.
She closed the bottle.
"So you came in person to tell me you've decided to sign with TS ENM?"
"No."
Her hand stopped.
Geonwoo opened his document bag.
He placed Bridge Pictures' revised contract on the table.
"Is the final contract ready?"
"It's ready, but..."
"Then I'd like to review and sign it today."
Yoon Jihye stared at him.
"You want to sign with us?"
"Yes."
"Not TS ENM?"
"I'm giving domestic distribution to Bridge Pictures."
For a moment, Jihye couldn't answer.
Geonwoo drank some water.
"Wait."
She stopped him.
"Before we look at the contract, let me ask one thing."
"You reviewed everything TS ENM offered, right?"
"Yes."
"The screen count and marketing plan?"
"I did."
"Then why us?"
Geonwoo answered.
"My movie and Low Ceiling would have opened only one week apart."
"How large was the difference?"
"The internal target for my film was one hundred thousand viewers. Low Ceiling's was three million."
He continued.
"I understand that one hundred thousand is already ambitious for an independent film."
"But I felt they were placing too much of a limit on what my movie could become."
He looked at Jihye.
"And I thought that with you, I might be able to dream of more than one hundred thousand."
Jihye couldn't speak for a moment.
"We can't guarantee more than one hundred thousand."
"I'm not asking you to."
"Then what are you asking?"
"I don't want to close off the possibility before we begin."
Geonwoo lightly tapped the revised contract.
"You thought about which audience my film could reach and how to increase screens when the response came."
"That's what distributors are supposed to do."
"TS ENM prepared thoroughly too. They offered more theaters and more marketing money."
"Then I understand even less."
"A larger company and a company willing to keep watching the possibilities of my film are two different things."
Jihye stared at him.
"How can you be sure we'll keep watching?"
"When we first met in Busan, you were already explaining why this movie could connect with an audience."
"Because I wanted to distribute it."
"And yesterday, you told me to check what other movies TS ENM would release around the same time."
"I only said that because I didn't want you signing without knowing."
"That's exactly why I trust you."
Jihye fell silent.
Geonwoo continued.
"I didn't dislike the one-hundred-thousand target itself. I know that would already be a success."
"Then?"
"I felt that even if my film performed better than expected, it would still be treated as a one-hundred-thousand-viewer movie."
"Because of Low Ceiling?"
"Yes."
He nodded.
"Meanwhile, you told me from the beginning that the plan would change depending on audience response."
"That's the difference I'm choosing."
Jihye slowly exhaled.
"Our company is smaller than you probably think."
"I know."
"We can't call theaters and get every time slot we want."
"I know that too."
"If the audience doesn't come during the first week, the film could disappear even if we fight to keep it."
"Then I'll run around selling the movie with you."
She raised an eyebrow.
"You're going to call theaters yourself?"
"If it's necessary, why not?"
Jihye laughed quietly.
"You're already making me work before you've even signed."
"We said we'd dream beyond one hundred thousand. We can't sit still."
"I never said I was dreaming that."
"Start now."
This time, Jihye couldn't hold back her laughter.
"All right."
She stood.
"Wait here."
She left and returned shortly with a file.
"The final contract. Signed and sealed by our president."
"You already prepared it."
"In case you happened to say yes."
She opened it.
"Bridge Pictures receives only domestic theatrical distribution rights. Overseas distribution is excluded."
"Contract period?"
"Five years from the release date. If we need an extension, we'll renegotiate before the period ends."
Geonwoo read until the final page.
The distributor section had the president's signature and company seal.
Only the producer's signature line remained blank.
Jihye pushed a pen toward him.
"One last confirmation."
"Go ahead."
"If you sign now, we begin release preparation immediately."
"That's why I came."
"If TS ENM comes back later with better terms, you can't change your mind."
"I don't intend to."
Geonwoo picked up the pen.
He signed his name.
Yoon Jihye checked the completed contract.
"Done."
She handed him one of the two copies.
"From this moment, Bridge Pictures is the domestic distributor of Before the Light Reaches."
"Please take good care of the film."
"I think we're supposed to say that to you."
Jihye stood and extended her hand.
Geonwoo shook it.
"Please take care of us, Director."
"Likewise, Team Leader."
After the handshake, Jihye placed the contract inside the file.
"I should tell the staff. Everyone's been waiting for the result."
She walked out holding the file.
The employees looked up.
"We signed Before the Light Reaches!"
Silence.
"Really?"
"He just signed."
The employee who had escorted Geonwoo stood.
"The director chose us?"
"Yes."
"Over TS ENM?"
"Yes."
Jihye opened the contract to the final page.
Applause broke out.
"Congratulations, Team Leader."
"Thank you."
"Team Leader, we beat TS ENM."
"We didn't beat them."
She said that, but she couldn't stop smiling.
Listening from inside the meeting room, Geonwoo smiled too.
"It's nice that everyone's this happy."
Soon a release calendar and monthly schedule were spread across the table.
Jihye asked,
"Do you know Low Ceiling's release date?"
"Yes. They said only the official announcement remained."
Geonwoo gave her the date.
She wrote it on the calendar.
"TS ENM wanted your movie one week later? That's brutal."
"Why?"
"That would put you directly after Low Ceiling's first-week performance."
She explained.
"Seo Jiwan's marketing would still be in full force."
Geonwoo looked at the calendar.
"Then when should we release?"
"Two weeks after that."
"That means Low Ceiling will be entering its third week."
"If it succeeds, it'll still have many screens. But it won't be able to keep first-week showtimes forever."
"What else opens that week?"
"One romantic comedy and an animated film. The audience overlap isn't complete."
Geonwoo checked the date.
"Won't the festival attention cool by then?"
"We'll keep creating news before release."
"What kind?"
"Distribution deal. Release announcement. Poster. Trailer."
She circled the date.
"We'll negotiate theaters using this date."
"Sounds good."
Jihye called toward the office.
"Assistant Manager Min."
"Yes?"
"Start checking theaters available for this release date. Contact TGV immediately too."
"Should I ask about benefits for the TGV Award winner?"
"Yes. Available branches and time slots too."
She looked at Geonwoo.
"Director, check the actors' schedules."
"For stage greetings?"
"GVs too. Ask them to keep the first and second weekends open."
"I'll contact them."
Geonwoo took out his phone, then asked,
"What scale are you thinking for the first week?"
"We'll concentrate on independent art theaters and a few major TGV branches."
Jihye unfolded a list.
"We'll target theaters where audiences similar to those who liked the film at BIFF actually go."
"The kind of audiences who watch the movie, post reactions, and recommend it."
"Exactly. During the first week, building reaction is almost as important as total attendance."
She marked several TGV branches and independent theaters.
"We build seat occupancy and word of mouth here, then use that data to ask other theaters for more screenings."
"So rather than spreading too wide from the beginning, we expand from places where demand already exists."
"That's the most realistic method Bridge Pictures has."
Around the office, employees began calling theater contacts.
"We're checking availability for a film opening next month."
"It's a TGV Award winner."
"We'd also like weekend screenings if possible."
Several days later.
Low Ceiling officially announced its release date.
Less than an hour later, Bridge Pictures released its own press statement.
[Busan International Film Festival Audience Award & TGV Award Winner]
[Director Baek Geonwoo's Debut Feature Before the Light Reaches Confirms Theatrical Release]
The date was two weeks after Low Ceiling.
Soon, articles began covering both movies together.
[The Busan Rivalry Continues in Theaters]
[Before the Light Reaches Arrives Two Weeks After Low Ceiling]
Kwon Taeoh was in the editing room reviewing Low Ceiling's theatrical trailer.
The structure was different from the festival trailer.
The festival version focused on the anxiety of the trapped miners and the movie's atmosphere.
The theatrical version needed to seize general audiences immediately.
"Move the collapse earlier."
"It's already fifteen seconds in."
"Put it within the first ten. Show Seo Jiwan's face before that too."
"So we're emphasizing that it's a disaster film first?"
"Of course."
Taeoh replied.
"Festival audiences research films before attending. General moviegoers might choose based on only a few seconds of a trailer."
The editor moved the scenes.
The mine collapsed with a roar.
Then came Seo Jiwan's dust-covered face.
"This is much stronger."
"Don't show too much of the final oxygen-tank scene."
At that moment, an employee entered.
"Director, Before the Light Reaches announced its release date."
Taeoh held out his hand.
"When?"
The employee handed him the phone.
"Two weeks after us."
Taeoh checked the article.
"Two weeks after?"
"Yes. Their release begins when we enter our third week."
"That's better for us."
"What?"
Taeoh handed the phone back.
"By the time they release, we'll already have our first- and second-week audience totals."
He leaned back.
"Word of mouth will already be established."
"And once the advertising starts properly, we'll draw general audiences from week one."
"If response is good, we'll still hold strong time slots in week three."
Taeoh smiled faintly.
"They'll start their run already being compared against our accumulated audience."
He pointed at the trailer screen.
"Festivals put us on equal footing. The theatrical market doesn't."
"You mean we're at a huge advantage?"
"Obviously."
Taeoh continued confidently.
"The side that gets the audience first and builds word of mouth first has the advantage."
"By the time they try to expand, we'll already have our position."
"Who's distributing them?"
"Bridge Pictures."
"So he rejected TS ENM."
Taeoh laughed briefly.
"He probably decided it was better to be the priority at a smaller company than come after our film at a bigger company."
"Will that work?"
"They'll target a few theaters that suit their movie and try to build word of mouth first."
"Independent theaters and some TGV locations. If response comes, they'll expand."
"Then they might succeed."
"Only if the response comes."
Taeoh asked,
"Do we know their opening-week screen count?"
"Not yet. Only the release date."
"Ticket sales?"
"Not announced."
"Tell me immediately when both are confirmed."
"Understood."
