The Wind of China Entertainment 2005

Chapter 524 Stealing Box Office

When multiple films are released at the same time, how to schedule them more scientifically is a rather headache for theater managers.

There are two factors that determine the screening schedule: the influence of the film itself and the estimated box office potential.

Imported films will refer to the performance of their overseas releases, and series films will consider the box office performance of their previous films.

Non-series films will be comprehensively considered based on the main creative staff, film production team, film publicity, etc.

In addition, the degree of movie preferences among moviegoers in the market where the cinema is located, the historical box office performance of similar films in the market, and the comparison with other films in the same period are also the basis for judgment.

First, estimate the national box office revenue, break it down into regions, and finally convert it into the percentage of screenings.

Not only that, scheduling fees are also a consideration.

If movies are considered commodities, then cinemas are the channels through which audiences obtain these commodities.

If you want your products to get better display positions and more display opportunities, you naturally have to pay certain channel fees.

In the cinema movie market, this channel fee is the so-called scheduling fee, and it depends on whether the film producers are willing to make concessions.

These are the preparations before the release.

Wait for the film to be officially released, especially the first day box office release.

There is a relatively simple basis for judging how to adjust the screening schedule in the future, which is the attendance rate.

But just looking at the attendance rate is sometimes not entirely correct.

For example, on Valentine's Day, no matter what movie is shown, the attendance rate will not be bad.

The thirsty young men and women just needed an excuse.

As for what kind of movie it is, I don’t particularly care, as long as it’s not too bad.

So this is why the imported blockbuster for children, "Terrestrial Adventures 2: The Mysterious Island", saw a huge box office surge on Valentine's Day, and "The Banquet" will also choose this period.

It is undeniable that attendance rate is indeed an important data to assist theaters in making scheduling decisions.

However, considering some special reasons and the different sizes and numbers of seats in each hall, it is obvious that there will be deviations if we only look at the attendance rate.

Therefore, theater managers usually refer to a data, the screening output ratio.

Screening output ratio = box office share/seat share.

Box office share = a movie’s single-day box office / total box office.

Seat share = number of seats for a movie on a single day / total number of seats on a single day.

When the screening output ratio is equal to 1, it means that the film's screening schedule meets market demand.

When it is greater than 1, it means that the number of screenings is lower than the market demand, so more screenings need to be made.

When the screening output ratio is less than 1, there is an oversupply of screenings and the cinema should reduce the screenings of the film.

Valentine's Day ends on February 2th.

That night, when the theater manager reviewed the day's sales data, the screening output ratio of "Out of Time" was far greater than 1 in most cases.

Because "Out of Time" is a low-budget romance film, major theaters were relatively cautious when it was first scheduled.

Taking into account the audience's expectations and Lu Yuan's appeal, the box office potential is estimated to be not low, and the screening rate is set at around 23%. This screening rate is actually a very high figure relative to the cost.

Who would have thought that after 2 p.m. on February 14, almost every show of "Out of Time" in mainstream theaters in major cities across the country was sold out.

Now it seems that 23% of the screenings are far from enough, so add more and keep adding.

On the other hand, "The Legend of the Hongmen Banquet", as a costume blockbuster with an investment of hundreds of millions, although slightly inferior in marketing, still got 24% of the screenings.

As a result, the box office on the first day was terrible, only a little over 1000 million.

The total national box office on that day was 1.4 million yuan, and it only contributed 7.1% of the box office share, which is the so-called "inverted screening schedule."

Looking at the screening output ratio, it is not surprising that it is far less than 1.

When theater managers see figures like these, their first reaction is naturally to cut back on films.

Therefore, the next day, the screening rate of "The Banquet" was reduced from 25% to 17%.

The reason why the drop is not too big is that, on the one hand, the screening fee of "The Banquet" is sufficient, and the investors are secretly making efforts.

On the other hand, in the eyes of most theater people, the box office of romance-themed movies will plummet on the second day of Valentine's Day.

The theory is probably that those romantic movies released under the banner of Valentine's Day are purely disposable, just like condoms that are destined to be thrown away after a few hours.

I've deceived my girlfriend, and they've had sex, and the rest is much more direct, with sex anytime, anywhere, and all the time. Who has the time and energy to watch a romance movie?

Besides, February 2th is Wednesday, not a holiday. Students have to go to school and office workers have to work.

Comparing the box office trend curves of Valentine's Day in the past two years, the industry generally believes that after Valentine's Day, the box office of romance films will return to a reasonable level.

Films like "The Banquet" will be much more stable.

"The high box office of Time Travelers is very likely just a flash in the pan. Last year, the movie Love Is Not Blind also took first place at the box office on Valentine's Day, but everyone knows how it performed the next day. It quickly dropped by half and fell back to around 10 million."

"Yes, I have the same idea as you. It is certainly worth congratulating that Out of Time has won the first place in the box office and set a record for the first day box office in the mainland, but the market potential is there. No matter how capable Lu Yuan is, he can't go against the trend. Can he drag the elderly grandpas and grandmas to the cinema to reminisce about love?"

"I disagree with the above view. The most important factors that determine the performance of a film are quality and reputation. Since the Valentine's Day schedule in 09 has gained attention, countless film producers have released shoddy films on Valentine's Day for the sake of profit.

Last year, the box office of "Love Is Not Blind" was outstanding in large part because other romance films were worse, and "Love Is Not Blind" had the audience base established by the 1998 TV series version. It was a tricky work. The film was actually no different from most short-sighted film producers, and was also designed to make a quick buck on Valentine's Day."

"Yes, there were several love movies released at the same time this year. Love had too many melodramatic plots, and Wang Jing's Marry a Perfect Man was a big money-making movie. I didn't see much sincerity.

Among a bunch of flirtatious bitches, "Time and Space" is particularly different. It connects time and space, has a novel theme, and tells a fantasy love story in earnest. Many of my friends didn't have time on Valentine's Day, but after noticing the feedback online, they all planned to make up for it on the weekend. "

"The so-called market and the overall market are nothing but excuses for the weak. Why should the trajectory be the same as last year? Is it because there are not enough big screens? I don't think so. In the final analysis, it is because of the poor quality of the works. Take the spy war TV series market as an example. After "Insidious", a group of mindless followers of the same theme appeared. The market is rotten because of these people. Experts have asserted that domestic spy war dramas are doomed.

What happened? Lu Yuan made a strong appearance with Before Dawn, which gave the market a breath of fresh air. I would like to advise some people not to deceive themselves. The most important thing for a TV series is the quality of the story and word of mouth. Just because you can't do it doesn't mean that others can't do it either. Just like the spy war drama market is facing a collapse again. Believe it or not, maybe one day Lu Yuan can find a good script and turn the tide."

"Haha, what are you bragging about? If the market doesn't work, then it won't work. Just wait and see."

People inside and outside the industry have been arguing endlessly about the box office trends after Valentine's Day, and everyone has their own opinion, and no one can convince anyone else.

The cinemas readjusted their screening schedules and on February 2, under the attention of the public, the box office figures for the 16th were released.

"Time Traveler": 4070 million.

"Terrain Adventures 2: The Mysterious Island": 1053 million.

"Legend of the Hongmen Banquet": 938 million.

"."

"boom!"

Everyone in the industry was shocked.

4070! !

Those directors, actors, producers, etc. who used sham accounts to give advice and make sarcastic remarks in major forums have all shut up.

What a big deal! The expected box office avalanche did not occur.

The box office was supposed to take a collective dive and return to a reasonable range, so why did everyone take a dive while only your "Time Raiders" is still floating in the sky?

Lu Yuan is so awesome, it doesn't conform to the market rules. You...you will make us look low-class.

The day after Valentine's Day, the box office of "Time Raiders" was still strong. The so-called big dive had a certain impact on it, but not as big as everyone expected. The aftereffects were stronger than expected.

Meiya Entertainment, Li Guoxin's reaction this time was very calm.

The first day box office results came out yesterday. After his anger, he was actually mentally prepared, but he still held on to a glimmer of hope.

But when the number dropped to three digits, all his hopes were shattered. The result of 938 million seemed like a silent mockery of him.

Xie Tang stood opposite without saying a word. He had not slept all night last night and his eyes were bloodshot. Given the current situation, "The Banquet at Hongmen" was a complete failure.

The crushing situation that was imagined before the release did occur, but the one that was crushed was "The Banquet".

These people from the Hong Kong circle obviously underestimated the power of the new forces in the mainland film industry.

Lu Yuan is now a big name in the mainland film and television industry.

Li Guoxin looked at the data on the computer screen and probably had similar thoughts in his mind.

But as a veteran in the entertainment industry who has been in the industry for many years and the CEO of a company, he will not simply admit failure.

At least the losses should be reduced.

He is well aware that the popularity of a movie is positively correlated with its screening schedule. The more discussion and attention it receives, the more viewers will come to watch the movie. Driven by profit, the higher the proportion of screenings in the cinema will be.

On the contrary, the lower the popularity, the lower the share of screenings.

The current Valentine's Day craze has passed, and they urgently need to create new topics for "The Banquet" to re-attract the audience's attention and draw the public's attention away from "Time Raiders".

"Tell me, what else can we do?"

Xie Tang pursed his lips, sorted out the strategy he had prepared last night in his mind, and took a step forward.

On the fourth day of its release, the box office of "Time Travel" is as follows.

Wednesday, February 2: 14 million

Thursday, February 2: 15 million

Friday, February 2: 16 million

On February 2, all major entertainment information sections were almost exclusively occupied by "Time Raiders", and related reports emerged in an endless stream.

"After Love Is Not Blind, a domestic low-budget genre film once again created a miracle. Time Travel Together made 1.3 million yuan in three days, becoming a new box office dark horse!"

"Lu Yuan broke the rules and went against the trend, breaking the Valentine's Day box office plunge curse."

"'Time Travel Together' is unstoppable at the box office and continues to lead the pack."

"Liu Shishi's big screen debut was a triumph, both her acting and box office were great."

"If the role of Yu Ji was not played by box office poison Liu Yifei, but by Fan Bingbing or Zhao Wei, The Banquet might have changed its fate."

"When Li Rengang was interviewed and asked how he would rate Liu Yifei's role as Concubine Yu, his attitude was ambiguous."

"call."

Cai Yinong looked at the reports related to Liu Yifei and a smile of success appeared on her face.

Never overestimate a woman's mind. Yes, the negative news related to Liu Yifei was written by her.

The top star of her own company will rise rapidly with the help of "Over Time", and all obstacles in her way will have to go away.

Although Liu Yifei's resources have plummeted in the past two years, the market's recognition of her cannot be underestimated due to her solid foundation in past national dramas, and her status remains firmly among the top young actresses.

During the "Forbidden Kingdom" period, she was the top four actresses and two actresses, and she was at the peak of her popularity, which was unattainable for actresses of the same age.

Today, Cai Yinong believes that the other party can be stepped down from his position.

She also knew that there were many agents in the industry who had similar ideas as her, and that Liu Yifei's early barbaric growth model made her many enemies.

In fact, Lu Yuan also offended quite a few people unintentionally.

But he has strong business skills and good vision. Even though his colleagues are unwilling and hate him, they can only respectfully call him Teacher Lu.

Liu Yifei is different, her professional ability does not match her fame.

The box office failure of "The Feast" made her the target of public criticism, and the Internet was filled with comments blaming her for the poor box office performance.

For example, Zhao Wei was originally invited to play the role of Yu Ji in "The Banquet", but she did not have the schedule, so they contacted Fan Bingbing. Fan Bingbing said that the decision would depend on the final cast and the quality of the script.

What he meant was actually a tactful rejection - he didn't like the script.

Finally, this opportunity fell to Liu Yifei. She came to save the situation and pick up resources that others didn't want.

It doesn’t matter whether it’s true or false, just like the overwhelming negative information in the past few years.

What Cai Yinong had not expected was that the director of "The Feast" Li Rengang had such a bad character. Not only did he not stand up for the actors, but he had an ambiguous attitude, which intensified the suspicion and accusations from the outside world.

What does he want to do?
Of course, they are taking the opportunity to hype up the issue, using the news of the discord between the director and the actor to draw the audience's attention back.

Liu Shishi recalled her boyfriend's explanation and answered the reporter's question, "I think the failure of The Feast at the box office should not be blamed on Liu Yifei."

"Is it because Liu Yifei and Lu Yuan are classmates?" the reporter held up the microphone.

"Not really." Liu Shishi shook her head. "I once asked Mr. Lu a question. For a work, which is more important, the actor's professional ability or the quality of the script?"

"How did he answer?"

Liu Shishi spoke slowly: "Teacher Lu said that actors serve their roles, and roles serve the stories."

The reporter pondered in his mind, wondering if this was a hint that the script of "The Banquet at Hongmen" was not good?
He thought it made sense and changed the subject: "So, what do you think of the widely circulated opinion that the Valentine's Day diving spell has lost its effect on Lu Yuan."

"I have already answered it just now." Liu Shishi smiled.

The reporter was stunned. Actors serve their roles, and roles serve stories. So what she meant was that there was no such thing as the Valentine's Day diving curse not working on Lu Yuan. It was just that the story itself was wonderful and word of mouth was spreading.

After finishing the interview that day, when Liu Shishi returned home, she found that the stinky man had already returned.

At this moment, he was lying on the sofa, holding his mobile phone and frowning.

"What's wrong?" She walked over and sat on his lap.

Lu Yuan didn't respond.

She simply lay down, squeezed together, and stretched her head to look.

But I saw Li Guoxin making complaints on Weibo.

"This film took two years to make. The crew encountered floods and sandstorms, and the staff behind the scenes worked day and night to make the film's release possible.

Unexpectedly, the box office on the day of its release was only 1050 million. We all agreed that this was not the result the film should have achieved.

After investigation, it was found that since its release, "The Banquet" has suffered from the dual impact of online piracy and box office theft.

In order to satisfy the huge profits of individual groups and individual cinemas, acts that undermine social morality and market fairness, such as stealing box office revenue and falsifying box office revenue, have continued despite repeated bans, not only causing serious losses to the film box office, but also infringing on the interests of the country's entire film industry.

We are eager to get strong help from relevant government departments at this time to severely stop and crack down on these black hands. "

A picture of a handwritten movie ticket receipt for "The Banquet" was also attached.

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(End of this chapter)