The Wind of China Entertainment 2005

Chapter 523 Impossible!
Hong Kong, Kowloon.

At the open-air breakfast stalls, the aroma of steaming pancakes and golden and crispy fried dough sticks fills the air.

Director Zhong Jichang sat at the dining table, gently stroking the lighter with his fingers.

He lit a cigarette, took a deep breath, and exhaled slowly. The smoke rolled back with the wind and covered his face.

If you ask who in Hong Kong most hopes that "Time Travel" will flop at the box office, he would be second, and no one dares to claim to be first.

Ever since the "Far Cry" incident, Huang Rong gave an interview in which some negative information about his early years was exposed. Now, his reputation in the mainland is extremely bad.

It is true that the Internet has no memory. Netizens’ minds are filled with different messages every day, and many things are forgotten in the blink of an eye.

But in a short period of time, he was indeed unemployed, and the root of all this was Lu Yuan.

Therefore, on the first day of the release of "Out of Time", even though he knew it was useless, he still left a bad review on Douban to vent his hatred, but it was soon drowned out by the flood of comments.

"Did you go to see that movie yesterday?" he asked Huang Qiu Sheng who was sitting opposite him.

Hong Kong is just a small place, and I basically know or have worked with everyone who is famous in the circle.

Zhong Jichang had worked with Huang Qiusheng in his early years.

In 04, he and Gordon Chan co-directed the thriller film "A-1 Headline", starring Huang Qiusheng and photographer Chen.

Huang Qiusheng bit his toothpick, his right eye was dark purple, he reached out to pick his ear, and said with disgust: "Why should I contribute to his box office?"

He and Zhong Jichang got together this morning and felt a sense of sympathy for each other.

Because of his inappropriate remarks, he became a hot topic in the media. Whenever reporters from mainland China's iQiyi interviewed him, they would lead the conversation to the topic of his nationality and his British father.

Later, the words became more and more outrageous. He lost his temper and rushed forward with his fists raised.

Unexpectedly, the iQiyi reporter dodged quickly, and he hit the wrong person and punched the NetEase reporter in the face.

The NetEase reporter suffered an unexpected disaster, but he also had a bad temper and a strong physique, so he fought back on the spot and knocked him down with one punch.

Other reporters travel around all day for interviews, and may even have carried a camera. They have a strong physique. He is not an action actor, so he really cannot compare with him in this aspect.

The police arrived at the scene and asked for the reasons. The NetEase reporter was deemed to have acted in self-defense, and the iQiyi reporter received verbal education.

He was the only one injured, and because he had hit someone, there was a dark hand that kept sending him negative news releases, which damaged the image of the crew. He was under great pressure from public opinion and could not get any follow-up publicity, so he returned to Hong Kong alone.

"Why couldn't you hold back and take action?"

Zhong Jichang's gaze fell on his bruised eye circles, his tone full of regret.

Huang Qiusheng angrily threw away the cigarette butt in his hand, his face full of dissatisfaction: "They speak too harshly, they deserve to be punished."

"Is it worse than the paparazzi here?" Zhong Jichang asked tentatively.

Huang Qiu Sheng glanced at him and asked, "Have you ever been called a bastard? Have you ever had someone remind you all day long that their daddy doesn't want you? You haven't."

He thought so in his heart, but said: "In my opinion, it is even worse."

After saying that, he took out his mobile phone and swiped the screen to check the latest news.

Zhong Jichang leaned forward involuntarily and asked anxiously, "Are the first day box office data out?"

"not yet."

Zhong Jichang leaned back in his chair, tapping his fingers on the table, and speculated, "I don't think the box office of Out of Time will be that high."

"Oh?" Huang Qiu Sheng was curious why he was so sure.

"Although the Valentine's Day period has gradually gained attention in recent years, its market potential is ultimately limited."

Huang Qiu Sheng thought for a moment and expressed his agreement.

There is a saying in economics that demand leads the market, and where there is demand, the market is born.

It’s Valentine’s Day.

Every year, many couples in love want to take advantage of this special day to bring their relationship closer.

The most common activities are shopping, eating, and having sex.

Everything is for the final step, but it can't be too direct to avoid scaring the girls.

Therefore, watching movies has become the preferred option for the majority of male compatriots.

When it is late at night and everyone is asleep, if the girl is moved and willing to bloom for you, she will hint with various subtle excuses, such as the school dormitory door is closed, the community is too far, she is too tired today, she lost her keys...

The clever male compatriot understood what she meant and suggested that they stay in a hotel for one night, and then the man and the woman fell in love.

After that, they were half-hearted, welcomed it with a line of people, worked hard, and never recovered.

Once that relationship is exposed, the matter will be accomplished.

Movies are a form of consumption with social attributes, which makes them crucial in this process and become a rigid demand during Valentine's Day.

Where there is demand, there will be a market.

In the film market, the Valentine's Day period was not taken seriously by theaters and film and television producers in the early days.

Before 2009, the box office performance during the Valentine's Day period was very dismal.

At that time, the various schedules were not yet mature, and Valentine's Day was more seen as a holiday symbol for gatherings and giving flowers.

It wasn't until 2009 that the market reached a turning point, with total box office revenue on Valentine's Day reaching 4000 million for the first time.

At that time, the annual box office in mainland China was only 62.06 billion yuan, with an average daily box office of 1700 million yuan. The Valentine's Day period attracted initial attention from the industry.

In 2010-2011, with the two love movies "Love in the City" and "Love is Not Blind" testing the waters on Valentine's Day, the box office record set a new high.

The Valentine's Day period in 2010 fell on the first day of the Lunar New Year. This was the first time that the Valentine's Day period overlapped with the Spring Festival period. With the blessing of the double holidays, the national box office on that day exceeded 6400 million.

In 2011, the single-day box office on Valentine's Day broke the record again, reaching 9500 million.

The Valentine's Day box office has exploded one after another, almost doubling the year-on-year figures. This has left the film market with something to think about: the Valentine's Day market should have unlimited prospects.

Many film producers are crazy about it and want to make a fortune during this period, but they don’t care about the quality of the work.

Just looking for quick money.

Zhong Jichang pondered for a moment and then said, "Last year, the total box office on Valentine's Day was 9500 million. Even if it is exaggerated this year, it is impossible to double to million. At most, it will exceed million."

"And there are quite a few movies released on the same day."

He continued, "There's the romantic film "Marry a Perfect Man" directed by Wang Jing, the Taiwanese romantic film "Love", the mainland's "Time Travelers" and "I Do", in addition to this, there's also our costume film "The Feast of Hongmen", and the imported blockbuster "Journey 100: The Mysterious Island" starring Johnson, which was released a few days ago."

"There are so many wolves around, and so many films are competing to share a box office of hundreds of millions. How much share can Out of Time grab, with the lowest cost and successful marketing?"

Zhong Jichang is quite confident in his analysis.

“So I said don’t worry too much…”

He was halfway through his words when Huang Qiusheng, who was browsing on his phone, widened his eyes and said in a lost voice, "How is that possible?"

"How is it possible?"

Huang Qiusheng looked up and said in disbelief, "The news just came out online that the first-day box office of Out of Time was 4950 million."

"How much?" Zhong Jichang was so shocked that his voice became louder, and the cigarette in his hand, which had not yet been extinguished, was suspended in the air.

"4950 million!" "Four thousand. Hiss." Zhong Jichang felt pain and quickly threw away the hot cigarette butt.

The total box office of the entire movie "Far Cry" is still a little short of 9000 million. His revenue in one day is equivalent to what he earns in half a month.

"What about the situation of "The Banquet at Hongmen"? " he asked, with a vague sense of foreboding in his heart.

After all, the market capacity is there. If one side gets more, the other side will be doomed to have nothing to eat.

Huang Qiu Sheng seemed not to hear it and just lowered his head to browse the latest news.

He didn't ask any more questions and took out his cell phone. He was so anxious that he almost dropped it.

After opening the Weibo, he took just one glance and suddenly stood up as if he had been electrocuted, completely ignoring the strange looks from the diners around him.

"This is absolutely impossible!!"

"Pugai, what are you yelling about? Eat shit!" a diner nearby shouted in dissatisfaction.

Zhong Jichang turned a deaf ear and kept his eyes fixed on the series of reports on his mobile phone.

"The costume blockbuster "The Feast of Hongmen" suffered a Waterloo. The 1.2 million yuan investment failed in its first battle. The box office on the first day was only 1050 million, far less than "Time Travel Cohabitation". The established goal of 3.6 million yuan to recover the investment may not be achieved."

——Reported by iQiyi.

"Romance is upgraded, and the box office is soaring! In 2012, the single-day box office of Valentine's Day exploded, breaking the historical record with a record of 1.4 million, an increase of nearly half over the same period last year. The Valentine's Day economy has once again demonstrated its power."

——Sina Entertainment reports.

"Poetry and Distant Places joined hands with 'Time Travel' to create a fantasy love story that swept the Valentine's Day box office with a box office of 4950 million, not only winning the single-day box office crown, but also setting a new record for the single-day box office of Chinese-language films on Valentine's Day."

——Beijing Daily.

"'Time Travel Together' was unstoppable, with a box office of 100% on the first day, surpassing the ancient costume epic 'Legend of the Feast', and even the similarly themed 'Love' and 'High Altitude Love II' were far behind."

--Southern Metropolis Daily.

"The victory of domestic films! On Valentine's Day, facing the strong 2 million of the imported blockbuster "Journey 4200: The Mysterious Island", "Time Travel Together" surpassed it with a first-day box office of 4950 million."

——Magic City Daily.

"."

Are you kidding me? The box office of "The Banquet" barely crossed the 10 million mark on its first day.

Huang Qiu Sheng and Zhong Jichang looked at each other, both of them with shock written all over their faces.

One party has nearly 5000 million, and the other party has just broken 1000 million. How can there be such a big gap?

At this moment, the Internet was also in an uproar, with film critics and netizens writing eloquently, either criticizing or praising the film.

Among all the films, "Out of Time" has undoubtedly become the focus of public opinion, receiving rave reviews and its reputation has almost reached the point of bursting.

Netizen I Don't Want to Listen to Your Fart praised: "Listen to me, go watch Time Travel Together, it's definitely worth the ticket. I think poetry and distant places are the biggest surprises of Valentine's Day.

There is no need to praise Lu Yuan anymore. He is indecisive as a small-time person, but he becomes secretive when he grows up. He can switch freely between a 23-year-old youth and a 45-year-old domineering boss. Even if they wear the same clothes, one can tell which one is Lu Ming and which one is Lu Shiyi by their temperament and micro-expressions.

But what amazed me even more was Liu Shishi, whose debut on the big screen was eye-catching. She shed the halo of a popular star and let herself go. Her acting skills were absolutely amazing. She performed a crying scene very well. To be honest, I was still immersed in the film for a long time after it ended!"

The husband of a netizen would squat in the toilet when he goes out: "'Time Travel Cohabitation' is a breath of fresh air among domestic love films. It is definitely not the kind of film that makes a quick buck and leaves. It made me cry and laugh the whole time. It is full of cute and funny moments. It is really suitable for relaxation. Moreover, this movie is very pure, without melodrama or emotional entanglement.

Unlike several other romantic films of the same period that were full of melodramatic plots and used a lot of intimate scenes as selling points, can you believe that there is only one kiss in the whole movie "Out of Time"? Lu Yuan, can you do this? You don't even dare to kiss your girlfriend, can you pick her up and push her against the wall and kiss her hard for me? It would be better if it's a big one (laughs).

Back to the point, this movie made me, a middle-aged woman over 40, recall the most beautiful form of love again, which is to be willing to change for you and give up everything for you. "

Film critic Zhang Xiaobei said: "Time Travel is a domestic love movie worth watching. Lu Yuan is directing for the first time and he shows rare humility and professionalism. He has a good grasp of every detail of the film. The opening scene is eye-catching, as if it was written by a veteran director."

Let’s look back at “The Banquet at Hongmen”.

Although it was in direct competition with "Time Travel" before its release, the audience feedback was generally average.

"I rarely comment on a movie so angrily. Every detail of The Banquet disappointed me. The director and editor are shameless and lack respect for the audience.

The role of Yu Ji played by Liu Yifei is the worst of all. Could you please go back to filming TV series? You are not Lu Yuan and you don’t have his acting skills and talent.

In history, Yu Ji was a loyal and unyielding woman, but in the film, she had an ambiguous relationship with Liu Bang, and her love for Xiang Yu was not deep. Liu Yifei, have you studied history?

The director is pretentious and petty, and the characterization is superficial and distorted. The whole film turns a historical film into a gangster film. Zhang Liang, such a smart man, was conquered by Liu Bang's trick.

The portrayal of Liu Bang is too stereotypical. You only see the villain side of the founding emperor of the Han Dynasty. I would like to advise Hong Kong directors not to ruin history if they cannot film it. "

"."

On the other side, in Beijing, the Meiya Entertainment branch.

The atmosphere was so heavy that it seemed as if water could be squeezed out of it.

"boom!"

"impossible!!"

Li Guoxin also went crazy and almost lost control. The movie with an investment cost of 1.2 million yuan only had a box office of 1050 million on the first day.

What an international joke.

If it weren't for the tingling sensation from his palms hitting the table, he would have even suspected that this was a nightmare.

Several people were standing in a row in front of the desk.

Publicity Director Xie Tang lowered his head with an equally gloomy expression. He knew that silence at this moment was wiser than any excuse.

However, Li Guoxin's questioning came like a storm, forcing him to face it head-on.

"Didn't you express with confidence at last year's annual meeting that The Feast at Hongmen would revive the costume drama market?"

Li Guoxin's voice trembled with anger: "Didn't they say that with so many top stars supporting it, it would be enough to crush that low-budget production?"

Xie Tang opened his mouth and wanted to explain that these words were not spoken by him, but by the representative of Starlight International.

But at this moment, he could only silently endure Li Guoxin's anger and dared not make any rebuttal.

"Didn't you say that Lu Yuan's box office appeal was exaggerated and that audiences would eventually return to rationality and focus on the quality of the film itself?" Li Guoxin became increasingly agitated.

"But now? What is this?!"

"Give me an explanation!" he demanded.

After a long time, seeing that Li Guoxin seemed to have calmed down, Xie Tang said: "This is only the first day. We were outshined by Out of Time in the early publicity. Once word of mouth spreads, it is still uncertain who will win."

Li Guoxin didn't buy it and glared at him: "Do you think I didn't read the comments online?"

Xie Tang made a judgment: "Those remarks are nothing more than saying that Hong Kong directors are not suitable for making historical films. Someone deliberately led the trend before the film was released. I seriously suspect that these are still the competitors behind the scenes!"

Li Guoxin was silent.

"so what."

"Wait and see."

"Then wait until tomorrow's box office is released?"

(End of this chapter)