Chapter 177 First Day Box Office
On the first day of National Day, many news reports about "Interstellar" occupied the headlines on the Internet.

A large number of audiences also went to the cinema.

It has been rated as the "benchmark" of science fiction films by many top Hollywood stars.

It took two years and an investment of US$200 million.

An Oscar-winning directorial effort starring top Hollywood stars.

With all these factors coming together, movie fans are full of expectations for this movie and want to see it first hand.

As one of the producers, Wanda Company made sufficient preparations in advance and has increased the screening rate of "Interstellar" to more than 50%.

Of course, it’s definitely not that high on the surface, but it should be fair in principle.

China Film Group certainly cannot do it directly like this, but there are still some other operations.

On that day, several producers were keeping a close eye on the news from the cinema.

.........

The next day, Gu Wei's phone kept vibrating, but this time he was no longer in the country, but had arrived at a villa in Beverly Hills.

Gu Wei flew to Hollywood yesterday, but this time he did not come with Liu Yifei.

Just as Gu Wei said, the domestic box office is only part of it, and the final result still depends on North America.

"It is reported that Director Gu Wei rushed to Hollywood yesterday."

"Interstellar opened in more than 5,000 theaters in North America."

"Countries such as the UK, France, and island countries will release the films one after another."

After seeing the news reports, other people in the country began to react and thought that this was a normal operation and that overseas was the main market.

"Hmm."

Gu Wei, lying on the bed in the villa, stretched unconsciously. He was still quite tired after sitting on the plane for more than ten hours.

He picked up his phone and saw that there were many missed calls. Gu Wei called Reid first.

As for other people in China, they didn’t even return the phone calls. What else can they say except congratulations? They just need to wait to share the money. Can they count on them for anything else?
“How was the attendance on the first day?”

Gu Wei asked directly.

"Boss, according to feedback from Warner Bros. and Universal Studios, the first-day attendance was very high, not lower than that of The Dark Knight at the time."

Even through the phone, Reid's tone was still excited. He had a hunch that the box office of this movie would exceed his expectations.

"Well, keep an eye on the data. I'll go to the company later."

"Okay, boss."

After hanging up the phone, Gu Wei took a look at the text message on his phone, which was sent by China Film.

"The box office on the first day was 3880 million."

Gu Wei raised his eyebrows. This was quite a good statistic.

In addition to text messages, messages on QQ and discussions in the group also continue to come in.

"Congratulations, boss."

“Congratulations, director.”

In his own company group, Qin Hao took the lead in sending congratulatory messages.

"Let Wang Chen give you red envelopes."

Gu Wei tagged Wang Chen in the group and instantly received a lot of flattery.

"Congratulations to the director, the movie is great."

Dong Xuan was busy working on the set and did not attend the premiere. After watching the movie, she sent a message to Gu Wei.

"Thank you."

Gu Wei replied with these two words on QQ.

After replying the message, Gu Wei got up and went to the bathroom to wash up.

...

In China, word of mouth about "Interstellar" has already appeared on the Internet, and it can be said that most of the word of mouth is good.

"This is a conscientious movie. The special effects are so dazzling that they blinded my eyes."

"This movie is worth the price of admission."

"I watched it twice, and I like Liu Yifei's childhood look."

"Theron looks really cool with short hair."

There are good ones and there are bad ones. Some film critics specialize in this and finding fault with everything is their specialty.

"What a pity. There is a Liu Yifei in a Hollywood blockbuster. It looks quite abrupt."

"The logic is a bit inconsistent. The four-dimensional and five-dimensional space are all imagined. No one knows the specifics."

...

There was no need for the public relations of other companies to step in, netizens just left comments below to criticize.

"I think it's quite abrupt that you sent this message. Why don't you delete it, idiot."

"Tell me what a sci-fi blockbuster is. What the hell is a sci-fi blockbuster? Do you want to make it in real life without relying on imagination?"

"How many science fiction movies have you watched to give such a high evaluation?"

Netizens are quite combative, and quite a few film critics deleted their posts after being criticized.

"Director Han, the first day box office statistics are out."

In the China Film Office, an assistant was making a report with data.

"How many?"

"3880."

"Okay, got it. Let Director Gu know the data."

"Okay, Director Han."

Han Sanping finally relaxed; this box office result was beyond his expectations.

Now he is completely relieved and no longer has to worry about the domestic box office.

"Now it all depends on the box office in North America."

Leaning back in the chair in front of his desk, Han Sanping muttered to himself.

"Haha, Xixi, the comments online are so funny, so talented."

After attending the premiere, Liu Yifei completely let herself go. According to her, she was exhausted after working for so long and was not allowed to take a break.

It is called conserving energy.

Well, as for whether she was gathering her strength to wait for Gu Wei to come back, only she knew. "What? Let me see."

At this time, Liu Yifei was lying on the bed in a very ungraceful manner, with Su Chang beside her.

"Look, netizens are talking about your childhood look."

...

After packing up, Gu Wei drove directly to the company.

"Boss, did you have a good rest?"

Reid, who was staring at the data, asked with concern when he saw Gu Wei coming.

"not bad."

"Warner Bros. and Universal Studios haven't sent us the first day's box office data yet?"

"The business units of the two companies are currently collecting statistics, and it will probably take some time."

Ryder glanced at his watch, estimated the time and said.

"Ah."

Gu Wei nodded, and then went directly to the third floor of the company.

"boss."

Davis, the head of the company's special effects department, put down the documents in his hand and said after seeing him.

"Has it started yet?"

Looking at the busy staff upstairs, Gu Wei asked.

“Yes, we started 3D production when we got the print of Titanic.

But judging from the current situation, progress is very slow.”

Davis reported the situation. Even in Hollywood, 3D mode is a technical job. In addition to requiring a large number of production staff, the length of time is also a problem.

I have to say that 3D movies are not common even in Hollywood. The main reason is that if you make one movie like this, you can make two or three movies of other types.

In his previous life, Cameron reached a cooperation with Stereo D. 300 experts spent more than 60 weeks and cost $1800 million to give "Titanic" a new 3D look.

The Tomorrow's Star Film and Television Company currently has only more than a hundred special effects production personnel, and the manpower is still a bit thin.

"There are still too few employees working. According to the current plan, it will take us hundreds of weeks to complete the production, and the production cost will exceed 2500 million US dollars."

Davis said with some concern.

"Ryder will continue to recruit special effects personnel. There is no need to rush the time. What is the problem with the current predicament?"

This length of time exceeded Gu Wei's expectations, and the cost also increased a lot.

But even so, he doesn't plan to hand it over to other companies for production. He would just take it slow and treat it as training for the company's employees.

"We have to construct a new image that fills in the shadows."

When creating a sense of space for 3D images, designers must separate the image into simulated images for the left and right eyes.

One of the biggest challenges in the conversion process is repairing the lost information.

For example, if you put a hand lightly in front of your face and look at a background image, when you close your left eye, you can see the image from the right perspective, and then switch to the right eye, the part of the left image covered by the hand will appear. This is also true for 3D images, but the view of the second eye mentioned above in 2D images will not exist, and it will be replaced by a blank.

"This information comes from pixels in the adjacent frame."

Listening to the professional terms coming out of Davis' mouth, Gu Wei nodded slowly. As a great director, he understood the difficulties involved.

"Boss, we still need to purchase some equipment, among which the rotoscoping machine is essential."

To differentiate the depth of objects in a composition, the company’s designers will use a rotoscoping machine, where they will draw lines on each object at different depth planes.

"We now spend 20 to 30 hours a week reviewing the work of these designers, and I spend 4 to 5 hours a week reviewing the work they provide me."

"No problem. Let Ryder buy the missing items as soon as possible. We absolutely cannot have only the subtitles in 3D. The shots and editing of the film must be 100% faithful to the original film."

Gu Wei did not make this request out of sentimentality. Respecting the content of the original movie is the minimum requirement. He can't just re-edit it into a new movie.

"Understood, boss."

Davis nodded thoughtfully.

"Boss, boss."

Just as Gu Wei and Davis were chatting, Reid's voice was heard.

"Boss, the box office is out on the first day."

Panting is Reid's truest state at this moment, of course, coupled with excitement, excitement, and disbelief.

"How many?"

Gu Wei's expression was probably similar to his. After two years of hard work, the harvest season had finally arrived. It would be a lie to say he wasn't excited.

"Haha, 7080 million US dollars."

"7080 million, oh my god."

Ryder repeated the number, and even now he couldn't believe it.

"boss."

Seeing Gu Wei who was already in a daze, Reid quickly walked up to him and shook him.

"Oh oh we did it haha."

Gu Wei came back to his senses and burst into laughter. Reid had only seen this expression once before, when Gu Wei won the Oscar for Best Director.

"Haha, it worked."

"Incredibly, we surpassed the opening day box office of The Dark Knight."

The employees who were working nearby unconsciously put down their work, and some of them even started jumping up in excitement.

Well, it’s hard to describe the dancing posture. To be honest, it’s not as good as that of the girl group.

“Get ready for a party tonight, and everyone should attend.

In addition, employees who participated in the production of "Interstellar" will receive double bonuses."

With a wave of his hand, Gu Wei said directly, why don't you celebrate the money you made?

"Wow."

"get high."

Suddenly, the third floor was filled with screams and whistles.

Soon, the whole company got the news, and all employees were immersed in this joy for the whole afternoon.

...

(End of this chapter)