China Entertainment special effects started in 1997

Originally, The Matrix was released in North America on March 31, 1999, but was not introduced to the mainland until January 14, 2000.

Because the release time in China and the United States was nearly a year apart, pirated discs flowed in, which affected the film's box office to a certain extent.

Moreover, for Chinese audiences in 2000, computers were still a luxury, not to mention the concepts of the Internet, the matrix, and the virtual world.

In addition, the mainland distributors at that time were not always interested in promoting foreign blockbusters, and finally only achieved a box office of 17 million.

In this life, the mainland was the first to be released, and even Hong Kong was nearly a month late, so the impact of piracy was very weak.

Although it is difficult for the audience to understand computers, the Internet, and artificial intelligence, it is fortunate that it is a Hong Kong film, not only with familiar faces, but also handsome men and beautiful women.

Jiang Heng also made some changes to the original action style, replacing lightness with swiftness and sharpness, which is more in line with the aesthetics of mainland audiences influenced by Hong Kong action movies.

In addition, the first sci-fi movie and special effects blockbuster in the mainland was promoted with a powerful publicity and distribution, and finally achieved an amazing first-day box office result.

9.67 million!

In 1997, when more than 30 million could enter the top ten of the annual box office, the first-day box office result of more than 9 million was definitely a very "explosive" existence.

After hearing this result, Yu Dong was so surprised that he couldn't hold the phone steadily.

More than 9 million were collected in one day, and it will definitely exceed 100 million when the film is released.

The first film released by Bonna Company had a box office of more than 100 million, which can be regarded as a hit!

Although his shares are only 18%, he can still get a large dividend.

In order to achieve this goal, Yu Dong ordered people to increase the publicity of the film on the one hand, and at the same time called various theaters, hoping that they would continue to increase the number of screenings.

"Don't worry, Lao Yu, even if you don't call, we won't reduce the screening schedule. No one is competing with you at all!"

Even if "Party A and Party B" has some competitiveness, it will not be released until December 24. It can be said that from the 19th to the 23rd, the mainland theaters are completely dominated by "The Matrix".

On the 20th, it achieved a box office of 1,047. On the 21st, the performance began to decline, and only won 9.06 million.

So far, the box office of "The Matrix" in the first three days of the weekend has been released, and it has won a box office of 29.2 million.

After the media reported it, it can be said that the whole country was shocked.

After all, this is a brand new film type of Chinese-language film, science fiction!

When will the Chinese make science fiction blockbusters? Just thinking about it makes the Chinese excited.

And Jiang Heng, who has seen various propaganda methods, seized this point and repeatedly emphasized in interviews with various media that "The Matrix" is the best science fiction movie in the world. Whether it is the plot or the picture, it has surpassed Hollywood in all aspects.

This interview was repeatedly broadcast by various local TV stations because they felt that it was very inspiring for the Chinese people.

The reason is simple. China in the 1990s was not easy. It was so frustrating!

Let’s not talk about many things. It took 15 years to negotiate to join the WTO!

It was a lot of trouble!

At that time, the Chinese people were full of energy.

So in the business war in the 1990s, patriotism was a very good card.

Of course, if you want to use the name of "patriotism" to make the audience support you, you must first have a solid product.

If you use garbage to pretend to be the "light of domestic products" and cheat money in the name of patriotism, you will eventually be abandoned by the people!

Fortunately, the quality of "The Matrix" is excellent. Whether it is the core of the film story or the special effects, it is refreshing.

So except that the plot is not easy to understand, it is almost all advantages in the eyes of the audience, and the box office has also declined slightly.

On the 22nd, 8.17 million!

On the 23rd, 7.91 million!

After five days of release, it won a box office of 4,500, ranking seventh on the box office rankings in 1997!

In front of it are "Jurassic Park 2" with 72.1 million, "Opium War" with 72 million, "A Good Man" with 65 million, "Skyfall" with 47.6 million, "Say It Nicely" with 46 million, and "The Evaporation Order" with 45.8 million.

It can be said that it is only a matter of time before it surpasses these films and tops the annual box office rankings.

At the Beijing Film Studio, Han Sanping sat in his office, feeling restless for a long time.

After all, he had considered changing the release date of "Party A and Party B" to avoid the limelight of "The Matrix".

But if he really wants to change it, there is really no better release date. He can't be afraid of "The Matrix" and change "Party A and Party B" to the summer of 1998. Then he will not be the director of the studio anymore!

It can be said that Han Sanping has been under great pressure during this period of time.

After all, he invested more than 6 million yuan, and the film is a brand new type. He doesn't know whether the audience will like it.

"Party A and Party B" is different from previous movies. The film structure is a loose "sketch series" structure, which is a brand new attempt.

It would be better if there was no competition from "The Matrix", but the box office performance of "The Matrix" is still so terrible!

"Director, I called several theaters and said that the theaters that have scheduled "Party A and Party B" have a high attendance rate. There was constant laughter during the movie. After the show, people were arranged to randomly ask some audiences, and the reviews were not bad!"

"Huh!"

Han Sanping let out a long breath, feeling like a stone fell from his heart.

"That's good, that's good! What about "The Matrix"?"

"It feels even more popular than a few days ago. Jiang Heng is young and quite cunning. He just talks about catching up with the Premier League and the United States and defeating Hollywood. Audiences who were fooled went to the theater to watch his film. I heard that some young people watched it. More than once!”

Han Sanping said: "Xiangjiang people have broad vision and thinking, and have developed media. They are good at inspiring people!"

"Want to reflect?"

Han Sanping waved his hand, "Don't worry about him, just promote our "Party A and Party B" well. Also, remember to bundle "The Matrix" when promoting it!"

"Don't worry, factory director, I'll make arrangements right away!"

The Beijing Film Studio increased its promotional efforts for "Party A and Party B" without mentioning it, but said that the film's director, Feng Xiaogang, was under a lot of pressure than Han Sanping.

The script of the film "Party A and Party B" is adapted from Wang Shuo's novel "You Are Not a Ordinary Person". It tells the story of four young freelancers who suddenly had a whim and started a "good dream one-day tour" business, promising Stories that help people live a day when their dreams come true.

He has high hopes for this movie and wants to use his new expression techniques to gain a place in the Chinese film industry.

Originally, "Party A and Party B" was moved to December 24 to avoid Cheng Long's film "Who Am I", which was scheduled to be released in January 1998.

I never expected that "The Matrix" would come out halfway. Not only was it released a few days early, but its box office performance was so bad, it was really too bad!

On the morning of the 25th, Feng Xiaogang, who had not waited for the first day's box office results, couldn't stay at home anymore.

Simply dress up, put on a hat and sunglasses, and wander to a movie theater near your home.

When I entered, I saw a reporter interviewing me before I could buy a ticket.

Feng Xiaogang was afraid of being recognized, so he hurriedly walked out and changed houses.

"Which one of these two movies is better?"

In 1997, Feng Xiaogang was not famous yet, so he went straight to the queue to buy tickets without fear of being recognized by ordinary audiences and ticket sellers.

"It must be "The Matrix". Do you want one?"

"What about "Party A and Party B"?"

"Not bad!"

For the conductor, he can sell whatever he wants, but he doesn’t have to persuade anyone.

"However, "The Matrix" is more exciting, and "Party A and Party B" is quite funny!"

"Give me a copy of "Party A and Party B"!"

"fifteen!"

Feng Xiaogang paid the money, took a movie ticket and sat down on the floor. After waiting for a while, he checked the tickets and entered the theater. When the movie started, he found that the occupancy rate was about 60%.

For a morning movie, this number of viewers is already a lot.

He shot the film, so Feng Xiaogang naturally didn't care about the plot. The whole audience was watching the audience's reaction.

To his delight, the audience in the theater burst out laughing from time to time, even leaning forward and backward.

"If all theaters in the country were like this, my film would not be bad at the box office!"

Feng Xiaogang thought of this and secretly resented Jiang Heng for blocking his rise. Unfortunately, this time he was not as good as others. Sooner or later, he would have to make a blockbuster movie to win him back.

At the end of the movie, Feng Xiaogang got up and walked out. Listening to the audience discussing the funny plot from time to time, Feng Xiaogang felt so happy that he felt happy.

But when I arrived at the ticket office, I found that the audience was still coming to watch "The Matrix", which made me a little depressed.

I thought I would take a look at this movie when I come here.

Thinking of this, I went to queue again, but the last few shows were full, so I could only buy the afternoon one.

Feng Xiaogang was so depressed that he wanted to curse, but the conductor said: "Do you want to buy it? If you don't want to buy it, let the people behind you come over!"

"That's right, do you want to buy it or not, Mo Ji!"

"Hurry up, I didn't see the queue!"

Feng Xiaogang gritted his teeth and said, "Give me one!" Then he bought a ticket for "The Matrix".

When I looked at the time on the ticket, I saw that it was more than two hours later and I happened to go to dinner.

After leaving the cinema, I found a noodle shop and ordered a bowl of old Beijing noodles with soybean paste. After a full meal, I wandered around a nearby shopping mall for a while and then came to the cinema again.

Good guy, there are more people than in the morning.

I stood aside and listened to a few words, all of which came from "The Matrix".

"I've never seen a computer, can you understand it?"

Feng Xiaogang muttered, luckily no one heard him, otherwise there would have been a conflict.

Soon it was time to check in, and we walked into the cinema with the team.

Looking around, my dear, the pit is full of people, almost all seats are full.

"Where the hell did this come from!"

Feng Xiaogang muttered and found his seat to sit down.

Not long after, the main film was played, and as the plot unfolded, Feng Xiaogang became more and more frightened as he watched it, because he is a professional.

As the saying goes, laymen watch the excitement, while insiders watch the door.

To an outsider, they would just think that it’s awesome, awesome, and awesome, but they can’t explain why.

It’s different for an expert, he can see what’s so great about it!

Although Feng Xiaogang is not well-known among mainland directors at this moment, he has real material.

You can see how advanced the core of the film's story is and how difficult it was to shoot the special effects scenes in the film.

Forget about the fighting scenes, although they are very exciting, I believe many directors in Hong Kong can make them.

But the scene of dodging bullets was really shocking. He scratched his head and couldn't figure out how to film this scene!

"There must be someone helping him. A pure newcomer will definitely be able to make a film like this!"

After watching the movie, Feng Xiaogang had to admit that his film could not be compared with "The Matrix", so he suspected that Jiang Heng was not the real director of the film.

But no matter how doubtful he was, Jiang Heng had already succeeded, which made him feel a little disappointed.

"Hello, Old Feng, the first day box office results are out!"

Walking on the road, Feng Xiaogang suddenly received a call from Zhang Xiang of Beijing Film Studio. Hearing that the first day box office has been released, he was very excited.

"How much?"

"2.57 million!"

"2.57?"

"Yeah!"

"Then, if the reputation can be maintained, it will definitely be over 20 million!"

Zhang Xiang was also a little excited, "Yes, it will definitely be over 2,000!"

But he didn't know that in history, the first day box office of "Party A and Party B" was more than 3.6 million. Due to the impact of "The Matrix" and other factors, it fell by more than 1 million.

But Feng Xiaogang didn't know these, he just felt that if the box office could reach more than 20 million, the cost would definitely be recovered.

When the time comes, sell some copyrights and release videotapes, Beijing Film Studio can also make a small profit.

"Very good, very good!"

Feng Xiaogang was a little excited, and felt that his tense heart finally fell.

Although he was still jealous of Jiang Heng's box office results, he was in a worse situation!

Jiang Heng, however, saw that the single-day box office of The Matrix continued to decline, and felt that there was nothing left to promote, so he booked a flight back to Hong Kong and prepared to fight for the Spring Festival.

Suddenly, he received a call from Yu Dong, "Director Jiang, good news, good news! CCTV wants to interview you!"

Jiang Heng was stunned and said, "Not an interview...!"

He wanted to say that he had been interviewed before, but halfway through, he realized that the previous interview was from the movie channel.

Although it is also very influential, it is not the strongest.

"What are you talking about?"

"News column!"

"Hiss!"

Jiang Heng took a breath of cold air. The news column interviewed him, which was too face-saving!

"What's the situation?"

"I also heard it from others. Maybe the leaders think that with the current Asian financial crisis, Hong Kong can produce a special effects blockbuster that surpasses Hollywood, which can boost the morale of Hong Kong people!"

Jiang Heng didn't know how to answer for a while after hearing this.

Morale and confidence are always difficult to talk about, but it is also a blessing to be recognized by the official.

After all, the ratings of CCTV's news program are too high. If you can appear on it, "The Matrix" will be known to the whole country!

"Okay, tell them, I'm always available!"

After hanging up the phone, Jiang Heng hurriedly refunded his flight back to Hong Kong and extended his hotel stay in Beijing.

Looking at the night view outside the hotel window, thinking about the current housing prices, he secretly said: "When the box office share is in hand, I can find a way to get a piece of land! If I can build a building in Beijing, I won't be afraid even if I lose everything else!"

Like Zhang Chaoyang, the market value of the Flying Tiger Company fell into a mess, but because he has three buildings, he is still a billionaire with a net worth of billions.

The next day, I finally waited for the notice from CCTV and went to record the interview video, but it took several days to broadcast it.

"So far, the box office performance of the Chinese-language science fiction blockbuster "The Matrix" has accumulated 74.86 million, surpassing "Jurassic Park 2" to become the annual box office champion in 1997."