Chapter 32: An A-Rated Horror Film
Compared to the cold, hard box office numbers, the survey results offered Wayne a much-needed breath of relief.
According to the Fox team's statistics, Happy Death Day drew 5,680 viewers on its first day of screening. From those, 5,650 completed survey forms were returned—an astoundingly high response rate. Out of those:
1,477 rated the film A+
4,153 rated it A
Only about 20 gave it a score below C
The film's initial reception could only be described as explosive.
Now, Wayne could only hope that these A-rated viewers would spread the word, bringing their friends and families to theaters. Only then could glowing reviews transform into real box office returns.
After draining his beer, Wayne left the bar and returned to his apartment, determined to get a good night's sleep.
---
By midday, the sun had climbed high over the city. Inside a sunlit classroom, Hector Henry walked in with a sandwich in hand. The short lunch break had brought students together in clusters, chatting about weekend plans and current obsessions.
Hector joined his friends, just as they were discussing which movie to see during the upcoming break.
"I heard Alien 3 comes out early next month!" said a short, chubby boy—clearly a fan of monsters and sci-fi. "I've been saving my allowance for two months just to buy the new Alien figurines. Wanna come with?"
"Ugh, no thanks. I'm not into gross monsters," one of the girls replied, clearly not thrilled by the idea.
"Actually, Daisy and I watched something awesome yesterday," Hector jumped in as he finished his sandwich. "We're planning to watch it again. I swear, it's the most unique horror film I've seen in years. I'd totally watch it a second time."
"Horror? So… monsters?" the chubby boy asked, clearly intrigued.
"Nope, none of that nonsense. It's set in a college—just like ours. The whole story unfolds on campus. So? You guys wanna come? We can go together." Hector looked around hopefully. He really wanted to share something he loved with his friends.
"Alright, we'll go after school. It better be as cool as you say."
"Trust me. It's seriously cool!"
---
Because the early screenings were limited and lacked real promotional push, Happy Death Day remained in a quiet middle ground—neither a flop nor a breakout—for its first three days. But as time passed, word of mouth began to snowball. More and more young viewers trickled into cinemas, drawn by personal recommendations.
On Saturday morning, Fox's distribution assistant Terry handed Wayne the latest box office report. As Wayne read through the data, he felt the weight on his shoulders ease just a bit.
Thursday (Day 2):
Average attendance: 24
Total box office: $34,800
Friday (Day 3):
Average attendance: 29
Total box office: $43,900
Friday (Day 4):
Average attendance: 45
Total box office: $68,100
Notably, Friday night showings had a clear surge in audience numbers.
In total, Happy Death Day had earned $175,600 in its first four days, with the highest-grossing single theater reporting $4,390.
Wayne reviewed the report carefully. As long as Saturday and Sunday followed the same upward trend, the movie would almost certainly qualify for a wider release.
He picked up the phone beside the sofa and dialed Terry at the Fox distribution office. It was time to talk expansion.
"Terry, it's Wayne. I saw the numbers."
"Yes, they've exceeded our expectations," Terry replied. "Now it all depends on this weekend. But I can tell you in advance—there will be an expansion."
"How many theaters, Terry? You've seen the momentum. Happy Death Day has serious potential to earn Fox a lot of money."
"Hold your horses, Wayne. Like I said, it depends on weekend turnout."
"Alright, fair enough. Let's stay in touch."
As Wayne hung up, Terry also ended the call—right in the middle of a Fox distribution team meeting. Present were Terry, his supervisor Thomson Rossman, and several other team members. They were in the middle of finalizing the release strategy for Alien 3.
Besides Alien 3, there was also this unexpected contender—Happy Death Day.
Alien 3 needed no discussion. It was Fox's flagship release of the year, their first collaboration with CAA's packaged projects, and clearly their top priority for next month.
When it came time for Terry to present, he spoke about Wayne's film:
"I suggest we maintain the current number of theaters for Happy Death Day until after the weekend. We'll decide on the expansion once we see the Sunday numbers. Only weekend box office can reflect its real potential."
He turned toward Rossman. The latter gave a slight nod of approval, allowing the meeting to continue.
In the early 1990s, even the biggest studios were growing increasingly cautious with their investments. Yet despite all the caution, flops still happened constantly.
It wasn't just small-time indie directors like Wayne who faced scrutiny. Even Spielberg and James Cameron had to jump through hoops before securing studio backing. No one in Hollywood was throwing around tens of millions lightly anymore.
---
As Saturday arrived, the North American movie market came alive again. At one of the theaters under his supervision, Simeon, Fox's trusted surveyor, was back on the job.
Watching the swelling lines at the ticket booth, he quietly tallied the growing interest in Happy Death Day.
"One for Basic Instinct," a Black man said at the counter.
"Two for Basic Instinct."
"Six for Happy Death Day, thanks!"
"Do you still have Happy Death Day? Great, I'll take four!"
"Two for Happy Death Day."
"Six for Happy Death Day, please!"
The momentum was real—and building fast.
From Simeon's close-up observations, it was clear—those buying tickets for Happy Death Day were overwhelmingly young, mostly students arriving in small groups with friends. During the film's first four weekdays, while attendance had shown a gradual upward trend, there had been no sign of an imminent breakout.
But that changed this Saturday morning.
There was an explosive surge in ticket sales. Happy Death Day was now outselling Basic Instinct, even though the latter was showing in four separate auditoriums. Simeon quickly tallied that over 70 tickets had been sold just for this one daytime showing—a major feat for a Saturday afternoon.
He understood why. The film had no big names, no star power—everyone from the director to the cast were rookies. Worse still, the lack of early marketing meant almost no one had even heard of it.
But now, thanks to glowing word-of-mouth from those who had seen it, more and more people were coming in on recommendations from friends.
Just then, the theater manager appeared at the ticket counter, asking the staff for a sales update.
"Simeon, are you still going to have the audience fill out those surveys?" the manager called out casually. "This session has nearly 80 people—you're gonna be swamped!"
"No need to collect more responses for now," Simeon replied with a shrug, joining the manager in the lounge area. "I'll finish gathering the day's data later. Still, who would've thought it would blow up this early in the day?"
"Not me," the manager chuckled. "Honestly, I doubt Fox expected this either. Otherwise, they wouldn't have done such a limited release." He shook his head, half-joking. "If things stay this hot into the afternoon, I'm calling HQ to ask for more prints from Fox."
"Good luck with that," Simeon replied, raising his eyebrows. "From what I know, they only printed 40 copies total—not a single extra. Unless the print lab starts running 24/7, this thing won't get any more screenings before Monday."
---
After four days of slow simmering, the word-of-mouth buzz around Happy Death Day finally boiled over on Saturday night. Across the country—from New York to Los Angeles—young moviegoers were flocking to theaters just to see this mysterious new horror film.
Many came in groups, determined to watch it together. But there was a problem: Happy Death Day was showing in only a handful of theaters, and each theater had just one print. Even if the managers wanted to add more showings, they simply couldn't.
---
By Sunday morning, the previous day's booming ticket sales and viewership data had already reached 20th Century Fox, and a detailed report now sat on Thomson Rossman's desk.
After reviewing the data, Rossman didn't wait for Monday. He immediately contacted Terry, instructing him to reach out to the print lab and begin producing more copies that very day.
"Saturday's total box office was $103,000," the report read.
"Average theater attendance was 68 per screening."
"Total cumulative box office: $278,600."
"Top-performing theaters earned over $7,000 each."
"Audience ratings of A and above hit 94%."
"This is, without a doubt, a grade-A horror film…"
This was no fluke. Happy Death Day was on the brink of a breakout. What had started as a quiet, low-budget genre film was suddenly gaining national attention. And if Saturday hinted at its potential, then Sunday confirmed it.
That day, from the very first morning showing, Happy Death Day's ticket sales began to skyrocket. Across 40 theaters in two major cities, the film raked in $133,000 on Sunday alone.
Adding the earlier earnings, the total cumulative box office hit $411,600, and the average per-theater revenue soared past $10,000, reaching an astonishing $10,290.
Even just the weekend numbers were on par with major studio hits. By Sunday night at midnight, once Fox had the final stats in hand, Terry called Wayne.
"Wayne, Fox is officially moving forward with a nationwide expansion," Terry announced. "We need you at the 20th Century Fox building, 6th floor, tomorrow morning. There's a meeting."
---
After hanging up, Wayne walked to the window, lit a cigarette, and stared out at the shimmering lights of Los Angeles through a veil of smoke.
He knew one thing for sure: he was about to make it.
No matter how rocky the road had been… no matter how many setbacks he had faced… once tomorrow came, Happy Death Day would be showing across North America.
The goal he had set for himself at the very beginning—to break into the mainstream—was finally within reach. He had taken that first, solid step.
And from here on out, things would never be this hard again.