China Entertainment Mythology 2004

Chapter 211 The Martian was released and won the championship with 1.2 billion on the first day

The first day of "The Martian" has a film schedule as high as 55%, which is not high among Li Mu's films, but it is also the same for Zhang Yimou, Feng Xiaogang, Zhou Xingchi, Yuan Shixu Xu Zheng and others. It’s not high, and it’s still not high in the lineup of imported blockbusters. The lineup of imported blockbusters with enough attention is sometimes as high as 80%. The problem is that “The Martian” is released simultaneously with “Kung Fu Panda 2” .

According to the film scheduling logic of domestic theater managers, "Kung Fu Panda 2" should also be given to high-ranking films.

"Kung Fu Panda 1" has swept the world; the protagonist of the "Kung Fu Panda" series is the national treasure giant panda, and the character image has won the recognition of domestic audiences; It is a well-selling work, and has accumulated enough popularity for the sequel; "Kung Fu Panda 1" is extremely publicized. Not only fans know that this movie will be released soon, but it is also very well-known among ordinary audiences; "Kung Fu Panda 2008" The box office pre-sales are very good.

It can be said that "Kung Fu Panda 2" meets all the basic characteristics of a high-ranking film. If it is in normal times, it will properly get about 50% of the filming. But now its only problem is that it is released simultaneously with "The Martian".

As mentioned earlier, "Kung Fu Panda 2" conforms to all the internal logic of taking high-ranking films, so what about "The Martian"?

Except for the guidance issued by the theater chains in a unified manner, the theaters under their umbrellas are properly adjusted within the recommended film scheduling range according to their respective regions and audience preferences. Most theaters in China are directly responsible for the film scheduling by the theater managers.

The first thing a theater manager needs to look at is stars and publicity, because more than 30% of the audience are blindly watching movies, and most of the time word-of-mouth is of little use. They are very few.

And when it comes to the production team and star cast, "The Martian" will not be troubled.

Li Mudu is already a world-class director, and the global box office of his directed works ranks third in the world, and the awards even swept the Oscars.

Works such as "Inception", "Gravity", "Assassin", "Super Body", etc., which one has disappointed the audience?Even the old men and women in the village know that there is a Li Mu in the country, who is very good at making movies, and the money earned from making a movie is enough to buy 500 million tons of corn!
My God, 500 million tons!How big a pile of corn is that? !I heard from my grandson that there are 100 billion catties!
He is always broadcast on CCTV news, even old farmers who have never seen a movie in a theater know him, let alone a more avant-garde movie audience?

Besides Li Mu, the leading actor in this film is Jiang Wen.At this time, it has been less than half a year since the release of "Let the Bullets Fly", which was popular last year, and it has only been more than three months since "Let the Bullets Fly" was fully released. Half a year ago, "Let the Bullets Fly" not only created a box office miracle, but also Countless people in the country regard it as a masterpiece. It can be said that now is the time when the market recognizes Jiang Wen the most.

Not to mention the heroine Gong Li, when "Gravity" was the most popular, a ticket could be fired up to 1000 yuan, and the film won a super high box office of 2009 billion yuan in the 16 market. Gong Li even became the first actress in Asia to win an Oscar after this film.

And Liu Yifei, do you still need an introduction?Who in China doesn't know her?
I won’t introduce the rest one by one. In short, with regard to the production team and star lineup, how would you arrange films if you were a theater manager?

The film arrangement also depends on the promotion and distribution of the film.

First of all, the crew of "The Martian" is really willing to spend money, the production budget is 1 million US dollars, what is the publicity cost?
Secondly, there are a lot of investors and distributors involved in the film. With more participants, there will naturally be more people who share the box office, but at the same time, the promotional efforts and distribution advantages will be significantly magnified.

Different companies have their own specialties and advantages in terms of distribution. "The Martian" is generous, and there are many people and companies who are willing to work hard for this film.

In addition, the first day of film scheduling has a certain gambling nature, and it is often the pre-sale data of the film that prompts theater managers to finally throw down their chips.

In terms of pre-sale data, "The Martian" is 8500 million, and "Kung Fu Panda 2" is 5000 million.

It can be said that "Kung Fu Panda 2" is very good in all aspects, the only pity is that I met Li Mu and his "The Martian".

So here comes the question, is it okay to postpone the release of "Kung Fu Panda 2"?

Of course.

But the most important reason why "The Martian" and "Kung Fu Panda" were both released on May 5 is that this day is the beginning of the four-day holiday in the United States. Many American families will choose this small long holiday to watch movies collectively. , and the largest box office of the two films must be in the United States.

Secondly, as mentioned earlier, the simultaneous release of imported films is one of the important basis for films to obtain high-ranking films.

One of the most important reasons why "Frozen" from the original time and space is so popular but the domestic film schedule is extremely low is that it was not released at the same time as North America. The domestic release time was a few months later, and many viewers have already watched it online. If the original high-definition film is too high, then the willingness to go into the theater to watch it will be seriously reduced.

Therefore, although "Kung Fu Panda 2" is not ideal in the domestic film schedule, there is no need to postpone the release date in order to avoid "The Martian".

The final result is that the film schedule of "The Martian" is as high as 55%, while that of "Kung Fu Panda 2" is only 35%.

On Thursday, May 5, "The Martian" was officially released nationwide.

The ticket halls of theaters across the country were visibly bustling on this day, and many theaters saw long queues of audiences.

In the ticket halls of various places, the voices of buying "The Martian" and "Kung Fu Panda 2" kept coming and going.

At the ticket window of a movie theater, a young girl who had just started working was already in a hurry.

"I want two tickets to The Martian."

"Three "Kung Fu Panda 2""

"Give me three copies of The Martian, yes, all in 3D."

"Two copies of The Martian."

"No tickets in the morning? What about at noon? Even in the afternoon!"

……

After the staff formally inspected the tickets, many audiences with movie tickets in their hands began to walk towards the entrance of the theater. After paying a deposit of 10 yuan to get 3D glasses, they walked into the movie hall together with the crowd.

The story of "The Martian" is very simple. The Chinese astronaut Ma Yue was accidentally left on Mars due to a huge storm. The average distance from the earth here is 2 million kilometers, and the food in the base is only enough for him to eat for 300 solar days. , up to 400 solar days, and it would take four years at the fastest for the rescue spacecraft to pick him up, so the first desperate situation he faced-where to find the remaining three-year rations?

It can be said that the film "The Martian" is the story of the hero overcoming one desperate situation after another.

If there is not enough food, create conditions to grow potatoes on Mars.

There is no fertilizer, and the Martian soil lacks microorganisms, so the manure hoarded by astronauts is used.

If there is no water, then ignite hydrogen and add oxygen, all junior high school students understand.

But the question is where does he go to find hydrogen?
This is Mars!

There is a way!
There are hundreds of liters of fuel hydrazine in the aircraft. Under the action of the catalyst iridium, the hydrazine will be decomposed into nitrogen and hydrogen in an instant.

He just needs to collect the hydrogen in a small space and ignite it...

Good guy, anyone who understands chemistry knows that this TM is simply killing his life!

But it's already like this, so what if you don't risk your life?

To be honest, this film has not spilled a little blood here, it has not deliberately stirred up a relationship, and there are no violent conflicts, but many viewers still feel a kind of shock during the process of watching the film.

Shocked by the optimistic spirit of the hero Ma Yue from beginning to end.

As far as the desperate situation the hero is facing, I am afraid that the vast majority of people would have died as equals, but Ma Yue has not. Ma Yue has always believed in the power of science. Doing everything possible to survive.

This spirit is really touching.

Who doesn't know that hydrogen gas will be ignited in oxygen to form water?

Who doesn't know that manure can be used as fertilizer?

Who doesn't know there is soil on Mars?

But ask yourself if you are also facing Ma Yue's situation, can you think of growing potatoes on Mars?
Hang!
Even if you think about it, do you have this hands-on ability?

That's even more hanging!
But is Ma Yue's method feasible?

Anyway, everyone can't see any obvious flaws.

The first time I ignited the hydrogen gas, it exploded, but it didn't matter, after analyzing the problem clearly, I went on to the next one, and finally he succeeded.

Four years later, the landing site of Zhurong 4 is 3200 kilometers away from the base, and he wants to get there before Zhurong 4 lands.

The power of the Mars rover is insufficient, so the solar device and the Mars rover are combined together. If the power is not enough for heating, then the base’s isotope heat generator is dug out. This thing can solve the heating problem—through the plutonium inside— 238 decay to provide, but once this thing is leaked...

Well, it's already like this, and I'm afraid of the radioactive elements of a bird!
The potatoes were planted, but the vegetable field exploded again, and the microorganisms in the soil were completely lost. He could not continue to grow potatoes.

The Mars rover is almost finished. At this moment, the hero suddenly thought of something, so he drove the Mars rover and set off.

At the same time, the staff of the Huaxia Aerospace Command Center also discovered his actions through satellite photos, but his traveling route this time confuses the people in the command center, because this is obviously not the landing site for Zhurong 4 , but detoured to the plain of Asidalia, which was a barren land.

Suddenly, the staff of the command center thought of something, he hurriedly found a map, and after some measurements, he understood.

It turned out that Ma Yue's destination this time was the Pathfinder Mars probe launched by the United States in 1996. He wanted to get in touch with the earth through the Mars probe launched by the United States more than ten years ago.

Well, it looks like it's time to contact NASA.

……

In the morning, a niche film and television forum in China.

"Should you have watched "The Martian", right? If you have finished, can you tell me what the movie is like?"

10 minutes later, the post ushered in the first reply: "This question is actually a bit difficult to answer. Whether the movie is good or not is really very picky. Personally, "The Martian" has no peeing points throughout, especially at the end when Gong Li rescued me. In Jiang Wen’s part, I was so angry that I didn’t dare to take a breath. After I almost failed to rescue, I found that my palms were full of sweat. For me, this is another masterpiece of Li Mu. But for those who like sensationalism and dog blood For audiences with no brains and strong dramatic conflicts, this movie may not be exciting enough."

Soon some netizens echoed: "You are too right. I know it will be a happy ending, but I am still very nervous. It is a masterpiece to me, but I also know that many people will not like this type. For example, how does the protagonist study?" The process of self-help involves a lot of theory, and for some viewers, these things may be a bit boring."

"My daughter, I like "The Martian" very much, but my roommate said that it is a bit like a science and education film, so is this good or not?"

"Can I say that it's been a long time since I've seen such a solid sci-fi film? It must be good! I recommend watching IMAX, it's very enjoyable, and the scene where the Zhu Rong is passing by in space is not too shocking. I don't know what everyone thinks, but I am I’m planning a second shot, I’m leaving my words here today, the box office of this movie will definitely not be bad, but it can’t be too good either, as someone said above, this movie is a masterpiece for those who like it, right? For those who like it, it may seem a little mediocre and dull, there is no way, it is difficult to say."

"My original book is limited by the length of the novel. Some details in the novel are not shown in the movie, but the flaws are not concealed. Generally speaking, the movie is completed to a very high degree."

"When the Zhurong appeared on the stage, I was in tears. It was so shocking. I heard that Li Mu built real detachable modules. In theory, these modules can be sent to space and assembled into spaceships. The rigor is so frightening. I seriously doubt that Li Mu is paranoid. mad."

Everyone in the post discussed very enthusiastically, but almost no one noticed a very strange phenomenon, that is, many people said that the movie was simply a masterpiece, and almost few people said that this movie was bad, but at the same time everyone was very happy. I tacitly think that the box office of this film may not be too amazing.

Of course, the so-called astonishment is only compared with Li Mu's own previous works. If compared with other directors, Li Mu will still reduce dimensionality.

This is strange, since so many people say that this movie is very good, why do they all think that the box office of the movie may not be too amazing?
In fact, it is because in reality, there are many examples of masterpieces that are obviously masterpieces but hit the box office, and "The Martian" really seems to have the characteristics of such masterpieces.

For example, there are a lot of scientific theories involved in it, and the key is still not clear. Does anyone really like to read such papers?
Therefore, it is true that it is a masterpiece, but if the box office is average, everyone will not be surprised.

"Douban scored 9.1, which is a little weaker than "Inception", but it is also true that this film is a masterpiece, and there are very few movies with Douban scores above 9."

Someone on the forum quickly replied: "There is a very interesting review on Douban: 'After watching it, I plan to watch it again. Director Li Mu gave us a sci-fi masterpiece at the price of 1 million US dollars this time, but I am sad. I found that it is almost impossible to do at the box office. It cost only 400 million US dollars. I hope it can get at least 10 billion domestic box office. Otherwise, I am really afraid that Li Mu will run away and stop making sci-fi blockbusters. It can be regarded as my contribution to the healthy development of the Chinese film market.'”

After reading this Douban review, many netizens silently replied: "Why don't I give it a second shot? Although I know that the probability of this kind of hard sci-fi film earning a box office of 10 billion is very low, I still try my best."

"Count me in. In fact, I am very poor and Li Mu is very rich, but if "The Martian" does not even have a box office of 10 billion in the end, I will really feel uncomfortable."

At noon, Director Chen Kaige also opened Douban very curiously. "The Martian" is the first one on the left side of the homepage of the website. After entering the website, he saw "The Martian" at a glance.

"Score 9.1." He murmured, then clicked on the review page, browsed through the video briefly, and then he suddenly saw the short review calling for everyone to do a second review.

In the end, Director Chen couldn't hold back anymore. He really couldn't understand the brain circuits of young people nowadays. What did he say?

It's just off the charts. How many directors in China can have a single movie with a box office of over 10 billion?

It seems to be just Li Mu and Shen Junsheng, Li Mu's tool man, right?
How did it develop to the point where "The Martian" will be over if it doesn't take 10 billion Chinese movies?

Director Chen Da's current highest-grossing work is only 2 million yuan, so is the Chinese film going to end?
Simply inexplicable!
The next day, the box office of "The Martian" was released on the first day, and yesterday's post immediately became lively again:
"Amazing! The first-day box office of "The Martian" was announced, 1.2 million, breaking the first-day record of "Lost in Thailand"!"

"True or false? Impossible? I admit that "The Martian" is super to my taste, but this kind of hard sci-fi audience naturally doesn't have a wide audience, right?"

"It's absolutely true. The official website of "The Martian", China Film Group, and Sina Entertainment have all announced it. In short, this time, Director Li made a big mistake again."

A netizen posted a screenshot of the news, so the post immediately went viral, and countless netizens came out to speak for a while.

"I have 1.2 yuan for 84 million yuan, and I made the second brush yesterday."

"I can't figure it out. It shouldn't be. How could "The Martian" sell so well? Doesn't make sense?"

"If I knew it was so awesome, I wouldn't have used it again yesterday. It cost me 92 yuan, and now I suddenly feel a little distressed."

"The worst thing is "Kung Fu Panda 2". The Douban score is 8.1, which is excellent. The box office on the first day was 6900 million, which is definitely not bad, but it just hit the 'Mars'!"

"Born at the wrong time!"

……

From the next day, major newspapers across the country began to report on "The Martian".

[The significance of "The Martian" is not just as simple as breaking the box office record on the first day of "囧囧". It is also a microcosm of the continuous advancement of the Chinese film industry. A great monument in history. "People's Daily" review. 】

[While being shocked by the plot of "The Martian", people should also see its important exploration significance for Chinese science fiction movies.Science fiction movies originated in Europe and the United States, and are an important type of genre movies. For a long time, everyone felt that China lacked the soil for science fiction. However, the rise of director Li Mu in recent years has deeply demonstrated that "science fiction" is not a patent of Europe and the United States. Can make very wonderful sci-fi works. "Guangming Daily" review. 】

[In recent years, the successive successes of "Inception", "Gravity" and "The Martian", especially the astonishing box office of the first two works in the international market, are all based on the tireless pursuit of technological progress, Taking into account the Chinese cultural traditions and the tastes of foreign audiences, so as to achieve the great success of Chinese science fiction films going global and stunning the world, director Li Mu has opened up a clear way for Chinese films to go global, and has made a good example. "Economic Daily" review. 】

　I broke my promise, that's all for today, I'll make up for it tomorrow.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)