The King of Directors 2000

Chapter 608 A remarkable billion

"Three Billboards" was released to good reviews and had a good first-day box office of 28 million.

This first-day box office is not comparable to super blockbusters such as "囧", "Tangshan Earthquake" and "Let the Bullets Fly", but for a drama like "Three Billboards", it is very good.

At the same time, everyone also knew the truth of this movie.

"Three Billboards" looks the same as "Parasite". I would say it is a commercial film, but it also has the meaning of a literary film.

Let’s talk about literary films, they also have some commercial elements.

In fact, such a movie is not palatable. The subject matter is too heavy and cannot be resonated with, and it is difficult to achieve high box office.

Just like "Parasite" released last year, the mainland box office is not comparable to Lee Sheng-yew's previous purely commercial films.

"Parasite" also includes Andy Lau, Tony Leung Ka Fai, and Liu Tao as stars, and their box office appeal is much stronger.

As for "Three Billboards", both Maggie Cheung and Simon Yam have little appeal.

Therefore, after the movie was released, even though it received 28 million at the box office on the first day, investors in the following National Day movies breathed a sigh of relief.

On September 9th and 28th, many new National Day movies were released, including "Escape", "Magic", "Have a Happy Journey", "Detective Dee: The Dragon King", "The Temptation of the Princess", "Walking Alone" "The Hero" and other movies.

In the eyes of many theater managers, "Detective Dee: The Dragon King" is undoubtedly the most competitive movie. This movie is Tsui Hark's latest masterpiece and features young actors such as Feng Shaofeng, Zhao Youting, and Lin Gengxin.

The second is "Escape". This movie is directed by the Pang brothers and stars Louis Koo and Li Xinjie.

As for other movies, including "Magic" starring Huang Xiaoming and "A Happy Journey" starring Chen Sicheng, they are blockbusters.

Therefore, among the movies scheduled on September 9, "Detective Dee: The Dragon King" has the highest ranking, with a full 29%, and "Three Billboards" and "Escape" both have % , as for the schedule of other movies combined, it is only %.

This is the view of theater managers, and many people are still unconvinced.

Chen Sicheng is one of them. After "Yanjing Love Story" was broadcast, it achieved excellent ratings. Chen Sicheng suddenly stood out and turned from an actor into a potential director.

His vision has become much higher. He doesn't watch TV series very much anymore, and he is thinking about acting in movies.

It just so happened that at this time, his reputation was not well received on the Internet, saying that he was greasy and pretending.

So in the National Day season of 2013, he brought "A Happy Journey", in which he was the male lead and Bao Beier was the second male lead.

Chen Sicheng has put a lot of effort into this movie. He works very hard. He believes that he will be able to make a turnaround, just like "囧" did to Xu Zheng, who suddenly transformed into the most popular actor.

I never thought that the theater manager was not optimistic at all and only gave 10% of the film schedule.

At 9:29 pm on September 11, at a late-night snack stall in Xicheng District, Yanjing, Chen Sicheng and Bao Beier sat together to eat barbecue.

The two of us ordered several chicken legs and a piece of grilled fish.

At this time, the grilled fish is cooked and the meat is fragrant, making people appetizing.

Bao Beier was hungry and immediately picked up the chopsticks to eat the fish.

Chen Sicheng sat on one side, holding a wine glass and looking quietly into the distance. He was completely unaffected by the grilled fish, as if he was thinking about a great philosophy of life.

Bao Beier has long been used to it.

Netizens are right, Chen Sicheng is oily, pretentious and earthy.

This guy is like this in real life too.

However, Chen Sicheng has become a potential director. Although he is disdainful, he dare not point it out to his face.

After eating most of the grilled fish, Bao Beier felt his belly was round and satisfied. From the corner of his eye, he saw Chen Sicheng still looking into the distance. He couldn't help but said: "Brother, aren't you hungry?"

Chen Sicheng glanced at Bao Beier and said quietly: "Hunger is temporary, thinking is eternal. We must be good at thinking and should not be greedy for temporary satiety."

Damn, this is crazy.

Bao Beier was a little speechless, and then thought of the purpose of the two people here, "Brother, do you think "Bon voyage" can get 10 million today?"

"Bon voyage" only has 10% of the film schedule, but it can reach 10 million, which is considered very impressive.

The two of them were sitting here having a late-night snack, waiting for a call from the film director.

In the past, box office statistics could not be calculated until eight or nine o'clock the next day.

Nowadays, the Internet is convenient, and there are professional box office statistics websites. All theaters are connected to network data, and the box office of the previous day's movies can be calculated after twelve o'clock in the evening.

Chen Sicheng heard this and said, "I am full of confidence."

Bao Beier touched her bald head and didn't know what to say for a moment.

He was still a little unconfident in his heart. After all, "Detective Dee: The God of Dragon King" was produced by Huayi, and "Three Billboards" was produced by Fenghua. The two films accounted for most of the box office, leaving much less box office for other films. .

"You do not believe?"

When Chen Sicheng saw Bao Beier's appearance, he immediately understood what he meant.

Bao Beier nodded, "Brother, this is how I see it..."

He expressed his thoughts, and Chen Sicheng smiled after hearing this, "Didn't the word-of-mouth come out? "Three Billboards" had 28 million on the first day and only 15 million on the second day. It was a big plunge. Now on the third day, how can "Three Billboards" hold up?

"Detective Dee: The Dragon King" did well at the box office, but "Three Billboards" may not necessarily do so. As long as "A Good Journey" is of good quality, it will be a hit. "

When Bao Beier heard this, she also felt it made sense.

Chen Sicheng was very proud of the success of the TV series "Yanjing Love Story" he produced last year, but other directors from China Entertainment thought it was nothing more than that.

He went on to say: "Lee Sing-yew is not very capable and is a master of award-winning films, but I think his film career has gone astray. He always wants to make films that make ordinary people tired of watching them. This is not going to work.

The current mainland literary and art film record is "Hawthorn Tree Love", with a total of 145 million. This is Lao Mouzi's appeal.

For "Three Billboards", I think it's a 50% discount, which is about 70 million. "

Bao Beier thinks it should be a little higher, "Brother, Director Li's movies in recent years have all exceeded 100 million. It's impossible for this new movie to be less than 100 million."

"That's not necessarily true. Just wait and see. If it can exceed 100 million, I will give you a car."

When Bao Beier heard this, she nodded immediately, "Brother, then we have an agreement."

"I said it, I will never regret it."

At this moment, Chen Sicheng's phone rang. He looked down and saw that it was the director of "Have a Happy Journey" calling.

"Director, how was the box office?"

Chen Sicheng was the first to ask, full of anticipation and excitement.

"Sicheng, I'm sorry. It's my incompetence that has dragged you down. Today's film schedule is low and the attendance rate is even lower. At the end of the day, the box office is only 2.6 million."

The box office on the opening day was only 2 million, and Hollywood blockbusters will be released next week, including "Sin City " and "Now You See Me".

Under such circumstances, it would be considered good if "Bonus Road" could end up with 15 million.

When Chen Sicheng heard this, his heart skipped a beat. He seemed to hear the sound of his heart breaking. He didn't expect it to be so low.

Obviously working hard.

It's obviously very interesting.

Why doesn't this work?

How am I worse than Xu Zheng? Bald Xu can do it, why can’t I?

"Director, how is the reputation of the movie?"

"Word-of-mouth, bad reputation, 5 points on Douban, that's it, you'd better not read the comments." The person on the other end hung up the phone immediately. Chen Sicheng thought of the film director's words, but became even more curious. Then he turned on his phone and read the comments carefully.

I found that many netizens commented on him, saying that he was vulgar, oily, ugly and pretentious.

There are more posts complaining about his looks and temperament than there are posts discussing the plot of the movie.

Chen Sicheng put down his cell phone speechlessly, met Bao Beier's eyes, and could only say: "It's not good at the box office. Let's work hard next time."

He then thought of "Three Billboards" and added: "My previous opinion is definitely correct, and "Three Billboards" is no good. This movie will not have much box office, at most 70 million."

Chen Sicheng and Bao Beier were both disappointed when they did not achieve the expected results.

The two of them then went home to find their respective mothers.

However, they signed a contract and had to cooperate with the producer in promoting the film during the first two weeks of its release.

Even though the movie wasn't great, the two got together and then traveled across the country to promote the new movie.

The subsequent development greatly exceeded Chen Sicheng's expectations.

"Detective Dee: The Dragon King" is indeed great. It dominates the box office rankings. Looking at this situation, the National Day release should have 300 to 400 million.

However, the movie that ranked second on the box office list was not "Magic" or "Escape", but "Three Billboards", which Chen Sicheng despised.

Although "Three Billboards" cannot be compared with "Detective Dee: The Dragon King", its box office is very stable. In the next few days, it will be around 15 million, firmly occupying the second position.

At this rate, after seven days, the total box office of "Three Billboards" exceeded 100 million.

With Hollywood blockbusters coming next, this movie probably has little potential.

But the box office of a movie like this can exceed 100 million, which is already considered very impressive.

Just like "Riding Alone, Thousands of Miles" has more than 30 million, breaking the box office record for literary films.

Then "Love at the Hawthorn Tree" grossed 140 to 500 million, once again breaking the box office record for a literary film.

Such a literary and artistic film can exceed 100 million, which demonstrates Lao Mouzi's strong appeal.

That's what happened with "Three Billboards."

Two weeks later, when Chen Sicheng was thinking about future movie plans at home, he accidentally saw the news that "Three Billboards" relied on high reputation and was still steadily winning at the box office. Now the total box office of this movie has exceeded It earned 1.5 billion, surpassing "Hawthorn Tree" at the box office.

Such a movie that is not completely commercial and has a bit of literary and artistic quality can earn 1.5 billion.

Many media believe that this is a reflection of Lee Sheung Yew's appeal.

Chen Sicheng was dumbfounded when he saw the news. He didn't expect that "Three Billboards" could be so successful and could earn 1.5 billion with little effort.

Thinking of what he said to Bao Beier before, he couldn't help but panic.

Bao Beier is a big talker. I'm afraid half of the entertainment industry knows about her behavior now, right?

Will it offend Lee Sheng Yew?

Do you want to talk to Director Li?

Chen Sicheng has always been arrogant and has never convinced anyone.

However, he is two years older than Lee Sung-yew. He has already won two Palme d'Ors, the Venice Best Director Award, and is also known as Asia's most successful commercial film director.

If compared with Li Shengyao, he seems to be a little behind. Even if you are not convinced, you have to admit that he is better.

Talk to him and learn from him.

So one day later, on the set of "La La Land" in Chongqing, Chen Sicheng met Li Shengyao with red eyes.

He didn't sleep well last night and his eyes were bloodshot.

"Hello Director Li, I am actor Chen Sicheng. I just directed a TV series last year."

Li Shengyao naturally recognized Chen Gou.

Brother Hupu, there is no one who doesn’t know Chen Gou.

Hate for taking his wife away.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Chen Sicheng began to flatter.

"Director Li, I really admire you. A feature film like "Three Billboards" can earn 1.5 billion. You are definitely the most successful commercial film director I have ever seen."

"I'm lucky. When I was interviewed before, I always thought that 30 million would be good."

"Hi, director, you are so humble. You are definitely the director with the most commercial vision and the strongest box office appeal that I have ever seen. I think Lao Mouzi is not as good as you in this regard. You are our role model. A benchmark for us new directors.”

Chen Sicheng was really proud. When he came here, he was originally worried that he wouldn't be able to say those disgusting compliments, but he didn't expect to come here and meet the young and handsome Li Shengyao.

Not only was he not jealous, but those flattering words seemed to have been recited thousands of times before he opened his mouth.

Do you have the potential to be a flatterer?

No, I wasn't like this before.

He was a little ashamed, but he didn't stop praising Li Shengyao.

After boasting for half an hour, he finally revealed his true goal.

"Director Li, what kind of movie do you think my level is suitable for?"

"Sicheng, do you really want to listen?"

"Yes, I'm very confused right now and I want to listen to your guidance."

"Have you found an investment?"

"No, if Fenghua is willing to invest, I will look for Fenghua for all my future movies."

Hearing this, Li Shengyao nodded with satisfaction.

Xu Zheng left a few months ago, but Bald Xu went downhill after "囧 in Hong Kong".

Chen Sicheng, who is here now, has a better business vision than Xu Zheng.

Although it is a "copied" movie, it was not made by Lee Sing-yew, so the audience will not scold him if they are unhappy.

If he didn't win over Chen Sicheng, wouldn't it be an advantage for others?

"Sicheng, now, don't think about high box office. It's best to come up with a movie with a good reputation, build up the reputation, and then make another movie that explodes."

"Which direction should I choose for a movie with good reputation?"

Chen Sicheng felt that he couldn't become fat in one go, but he didn't know what movie type he should choose.

"You filmed the TV series "Yanjing Love Story" last year and it received a good response. Why not make a movie version and film a story you are familiar with. This way you can be sure that the box office will not be low."

When Chen Sicheng heard these words, he was as enlightened as seeing the sun after clearing the clouds.

He stood up excitedly and nodded, "Director, I really didn't obey anyone before, so I just obeyed you. You are really awesome. I will listen to you and I will make the movie version of "Yanjing Love Story"."

"Okay, polish the script. You don't have to show it to me. Just ask Fenghua for investment."

Chen Sicheng nodded gratefully, "Director, you are my noble person, and I will never let you down."

(End of this chapter)