China Entertainment special effects started in 1997

There were no heavyweight films released in the North American film market in August.

"Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby," released on the 4th, has a North American box office of 148 million, ranking 12th in the year.

The animated film "Farm", released on the same day, had a box office of more than 70 million, ranking 34th for the year.

"Dance My Life", which was released on the same month as "Kung Fu Panda", only had a box office of over RMB 60 million. It is also a youth inspirational film with the theme of hip-hop culture.

Therefore, during the time when "Kung Fu Panda" was released, it can be said that there was no one who could fight.

Upon its release, the film grossed more than RMB 60 million in the first weekend box office, astonishing many Hollywood studios and media critics.

First of all, this box office result is really unexpected. It is not possible for animated films produced in Hollywood to achieve such results, let alone a foreign animated film.

The second thing is the shock brought by the content of the film, because at first glance, the film has very strong Chinese elements, and many scenes are also very exotic to some American viewers, which is eye-catching. But its story structure and tone are actually Hollywood-esque.

Therefore, it is very easy for American audiences to understand this story, which is one of the important reasons why the film was a box office hit.

On the Rotten Tomatoes website, 88% of film critics gave the film a positive review after watching the movie.

Popular reviews believe that the success of "Kung Fu Panda" is mainly due to its interesting story and likable characters. But it is undeniable that the Chinese elements really add points to this movie. The beautiful Chinese scenes in the film are really great, like a dreamy place.

The film reviewer of the Chicago Tribune praised "Kung Fu Panda": "Director Jiang Heng has produced one of the most interesting animated films that surpasses all the works of DreamWorks... The reason why I like this film is simple-the picture is very beautiful. It’s beautiful, very ‘Chinese’, and the jokes are very interesting, which can make audiences from all over the world laugh. In addition, it is also very interesting to see an animated film set in ancient China.”

If North American film critics treat "Kung Fu Panda" with shock and surprise, then DreamWorks is completely confused.

They started making the film in September last year. The theme is also a kung fu panda. It was inspired by classic Chinese action movies such as "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", "Kung Fu", "House of Flying Daggers", and "Hero". The script The similarity is very high, and the character image and scene style are also similar to their sketches.

Yes, the production cycle of animated films is relatively long, and DreamWorks' estimated schedule is 2008.

As a result, there was no painting here. Jiang Heng came up with a work that was better than the action movie they had expected and designed. This was quite disappointing.

After some investigation, I found out that the project for "Kung Fu Panda" was established in mainland China earlier than theirs, and it took several years to produce such an exquisite action movie.

The more DreamWorks investigated, the more dumbfounded they became. They didn’t know how to defend their rights even if they wanted to file a lawsuit. They could only watch helplessly as the film dominated the global film market and achieved huge box office results.

Yes, the overseas box office of "Kung Fu Panda" is very good, and it has not been affected at all because it is produced in China.

I think it is the charm of "Kung Fu". There is no doubt about this. "Kung Fu" is a powerful symbol of Chinese culture.

It is also the charm of "panda". It goes without saying that countries around the world love pandas.

The kung fu panda and the animated movie are extremely attractive to teenagers and children from all over the world.

Letting the tiger be the protagonist may scare children.

But when pandas appear, children will only have the urge to pet them.

Because in the eyes of Westerners, pandas are gentle and honest animals.

This view is not necessarily consistent with the habits of pandas themselves, but this is what Westerners think.

The gentle, cute panda knows martial arts, and this contrast is inherently interesting.

Coupled with the name of Jiang Heng's producer, it can be said that it has achieved amazing box office results in major film markets around the world as soon as it was released.

The film's global box office has exceeded 200 million, 300 million... and 500 million US dollars at an astonishing speed. Looking at the box office trend, there is no suspense over 600 million US dollars. It seems that 700 million US dollars is possible!

The news spread back to China, shocking the entire Chinese-language film market.

Special effects blockbusters only make money, why do cartoons also make so much money?

For a time, the bosses of major domestic film companies gathered together to drink and dine, always chatting about "Kung Fu Panda".

After all, it’s not unusual for “Zhu Xian” to be a box office hit, but the success of “Kung Fu Panda” is a bit beyond the understanding of these people.

In Beijing, in a private room of a high-end hotel, Wang Zhonglei, Chen Guofu, Liu Weiqiang and others gathered together for dinner.

Huayi's version of "The Legend of the Gods" has been filmed and is currently in the post-production of special effects.

What troubles Wang Zhonglei is that because he is afraid of Jiang Heng's dirty hands, all the special effects shots of the film are outsourced to special effects companies in Japan, South Korea and the United States.

This is indeed a peace of mind. The only drawback is that the cost has increased by nearly 30%, which is very painful.

But there was nothing they could do. Knowing that Jiang Heng was going to make a movie about gods, Huayi was still trying to seize the stage. He must be afraid of the other party's retaliation.

A high price has already been spent on the special effects. When the film is released in the future, I don’t know if the other party will start with the film schedule, but they can only try to make mistakes.

When talking about Jiang Heng, we naturally have to mention several popular movies released in the summer.

Red Cliff was completely sluggish. It barely made over 200 million yuan at the box office due to the Three Kingdoms theme. It will make another 200 million yuan when the next part is released. It is still a loss.

As for CJ7, although the box office was not a big hit, it still made some money.

The box office of Zhu Xian and Kung Fu Panda is really so good that it makes people envious and jealous!

"Hey, you say, the box office of Zhu Xian is high, we can understand it, but how can this cartoon make so much money? Haven't foreigners seen cartoons?" Wang Zhonglei took a sip of wine and asked in confusion.

Chen Guofu responded: "If you ask me, it's still the good choice of the theme. Foreigners like pandas and kung fu. When these two elements are combined, the quality of the film is better, it is really attractive to children."

Liu Weiqiang nodded, "I called a few old friends recently, and many of them said they would take their children to see Kung Fu Panda."

Liu Weiqiang was born in 1960, and his peers are now in their forties.

However, people in the entertainment industry get married very late. Several of my friends' children are only in elementary school, which is the right time for them to like watching cartoons. I can understand this very well.

It's just that Wang Zhonglei can't understand it. After all, Huayi Company has been established for some time, and its performance is good among the film companies in the mainland.

But I still have to look up to iQiyi, Youku and Tencent Pictures.

It was okay that they couldn't compare with special effects blockbusters before, but now they can't even compare with cartoons. It's too disappointing!

"What do you think, let's make an animated film?" Wang Zhonglei suggested.

Chen Guofu and Liu Weiqiang looked at each other and smiled bitterly. They are really not good at animated films!