China Entertainment special effects started in 1997

Whether Wu Yusen and Zhang Jiazhen were worried or confident, they could do nothing at this point.

As the saying goes, "Whether it's a mule or a horse, let's take a walk." Whether "Red Cliff" is good or bad depends on market reaction and audience evaluation.

On July 7, the long-promoted costume war blockbuster "Red Cliff" finally landed in domestic theaters.

Due to the Three Kingdoms theme, cast and publicity effect, there are still many viewers who go to the theater to watch the movie.

Wu Yusen and Zhang Jiazhen dressed up and walked around several theaters in Beijing in a low-key manner. They found that there were still many people watching the movie, and they felt a little relieved.

In the small square in front of a theater under the China Film Red Cinema Line, Wu Yusen wore a peaked cap, holding a cigarette in one hand and leaning on a tree with the other hand.

"Thinking back to when I was shooting A Better Tomorrow, I was so nervous during the midnight preview. It's been 20 years!"

Zhang Jiazhen also sighed: "Time flies. I never thought that 20 years later, I can still feel the same as when I was waiting for the preview results at the midnight preview!"

In the past, Hong Kong movies would be previewed at midnight for about a week before they were officially released to see the audience's reaction.

If it was good, they would increase the publicity. If the reaction was not good, they would quickly take it back and make changes. During the prosperous era of Hong Kong movies, the midnight screening culture was all the rage.

At that time, directors and investors would generally go to the midnight screenings to watch, and sometimes they would bring actors with them.

If the audience didn't like the movie, it would be terrible, and they would curse it very hard.

Wu Siyuan, a big shot in the Hong Kong film industry, once said that he had seen several directors sitting there dumbfounded. When the show was over, the directors couldn't stand up and kept saying, how could this happen, how could this happen.

This was the case with Days of Being Wild, shot by Wang Jiawei. The audience didn't understand it and cursed on the spot.

Deng Guangrong, who invested 40 million Hong Kong dollars, was almost angry to death after watching the midnight show and was sent to the hospital for an IV drip.

So even though Xu Laoguai is so awesome, he dared not go to the midnight show. Once he was carried in by several people, he still broke free and ran out. He went to the restaurant next to the cinema to sit and wait, and then asked his colleagues after they finished watching.

Only when he was sure that no one scolded him did he dare to sneak in to watch the movie the next day.

In the golden age of Hong Kong movies, the midnight show was the touchstone of box office.

The reason why the Yongsheng Film Company of the Xiang brothers came from behind was that the boss Xiang Huasheng often went to the midnight show to squat, and he knew what the audience liked to watch, so he was able to plan a series of popular movies.

In the mid-to-late 1990s, Hong Kong movies declined, and the culture of the midnight show gradually dissipated.

Wu Yusen, who left Hollywood, has not had the tension of the "midnight show" for many years.

I don't want to feel that the tension is back when "Red Cliff" is released this time!

It is said that he has worked in North America, the world's No. 1 box office market, and achieved remarkable results, so he should not be so nervous.

The only reason is Jiang Heng!

Special effects blockbusters are unique and have cultivated the tastes of domestic audiences. They won't really think that my movie is bad, right?

Wu Yusen couldn't help thinking, but he really didn't have the courage to go into the theater to see the audience's reaction.

Besides, even if the audience has any opinions, it's too late to change them now!

Wu Yusen and Zhang Jiazhen chatted for a while and then went back.

The next day, the first-day box office results of "Red Cliff" were released, 31 million, which was the same as the first-day results of Jiang Heng's "Lion Camel Ridge" a few years ago!

Upon learning of this result, Wu Yusen, Zhang Jiazhen and all the investors of "Red Cliff" breathed a sigh of relief.

With a first-day box office of 30 million, the domestic market should have at least 400 to 500 million, right?

This is just the first part. If the two parts have a box office of 800 to 900 million, plus the overseas market, it will make a lot of money.

However, the employees of the company said that the score of "Red Cliff" on Douban is not very high, only 6.7 points.

Wu Yusen looked unhappy after hearing this.

Zhang Jiazhen said: "That Douban website, is it under Jiang Heng's name?"

The employee said: "It was created by Jiang Heng!"

Zhang Jiazhen said angrily: "This kid, it's okay to make blockbusters. He also built a cinema to affect the scheduling of films and built a film review website to manipulate word of mouth. Is he going to build a movie kingdom in the mainland?"

Wu Yusen looked even gloomier after hearing this, "This is both an athlete and a referee!"

"He won't deliberately black us, right?"

"It's hard to say!"

In the morning, the two did nothing else but study Douban and read the film reviews of "Red Cliff".

As a result, their blood pressure soared and they were so angry.

The entertainment media in the mainland is different from Hong Kong. There are still more positive reports on movies.

But the criticisms on the film review websites are more real and direct. There are all kinds of bad movie words in the short review column, and there are too many complaints to complain.

As for the long reviews, they were a little more obscure, with all kinds of connotations and ridicules, plus one-star and two-star ratings.

"Bang!"

"This is too much!"

Zhang Jiazhen couldn't help but threw the mouse, "Old Wu, we can't be bullied like this, go find the leaders of the Film Bureau!"

Wu Yusen smiled bitterly, "After finding the leaders, what should we say, have we been scolded by netizens?"

"This must be someone named Jiang!"

"It's okay for us to say a few words when we complain. Go to the leaders, you need evidence!"

Zhang Jiazhen was speechless. He couldn't prove that these film reviews and short reviews were made by Jiang Heng, especially the many long reviews, which were still on point.

The problem is that he can't tolerate it!

"If this continues, the box office will definitely be greatly affected!"

"I know, let's call and ask!"

After Wu Yusen said that, he called Jiang Heng and said that he hoped Jiang Heng could ask Douban to control the comments and delete the bad ones.

Jiang Heng on the other end of the phone was stunned after hearing this, thinking: "Are we so familiar with each other that you want me to help you control the comments?"

"I'm sorry, Director Wu, although Douban is under my name, it has always been independently operated, and I have never managed it. As for the film reviews, as long as there is no violation, they cannot be deleted!"

"Okay!"

After hanging up the phone, Old Wu was so angry that he smashed his phone.

After discussing for a long time, it was decided to let the company's people register Douban accounts and give good reviews to "Red Cliff".

Unexpectedly, more and more bad reviews poured in.

As Wu and Zhang worried, the appetite of domestic audiences was really spoiled by Jiang Heng's special effects blockbusters.

The high box office on the first day was due to the good marketing of the film.

But from the second day on, the single-day box office plummeted.

On the second day, more than 26 million.

On the third day, it was over 19 million.

On the fourth day, it was only over 15 million!

The decline in the box office was terrifying.

In terms of word of mouth, it was almost at the extreme. The Douban score dropped to 6.1, and all kinds of negative reviews were flying everywhere.

Some people complained about Lin Zhiling's "Meng Meng, stand up!"

Some people also complained about Sun Shangxiang's sentence "The rise and fall of the world, every woman has a responsibility."

What's even more unbearable is that Zhuge Liang, played by Jin Chengwu, was too emotional, which damaged the reputation of the prime minister.

In short, the word of mouth of "Red Cliff" collapsed, but it made the audience more and more looking forward to the performance of "Zhu Xian".