Chapter 306 Roadshow Premiere (Two in One)
Online, New Picture exclusively invested in "The Flowers of War". In order to promote it, Zhang Weiping revealed the salary of the film's leading actor Christian Bale.

A full 20 million US dollars, equivalent to more than 100 million RMB, is a salary that domestic celebrities cannot even dream of at this stage, but for top Hollywood stars, it is a normal price.

"Fuck, this is too expensive."

Some netizens lamented that the total investment was only 6 million, and one person's salary accounted for so much of it. Now many viewers understand why Hollywood movies require huge investments.

Take "2012" for example. It is estimated that the total salary of the actors is close to million US dollars, after all, they are all well-known superstars from home and abroad.

Later, some media revealed that Zhang Weiping had initially planned to invite Leonardo DiCaprio to play the male lead, but was scared off by the other party's offer.

"The salary is 25 million US dollars, and I also have to share in the global box office, my goodness."

"The investment in this movie is less than 100 million US dollars. If Leonardo DiCaprio is chosen to play the leading role, his own salary will account for more than a quarter of it."

"These Hollywood superstars are really expensive. Ordinary movies can't afford them."

After the premiere, Gu Wei continued to be busy with the post-production editing of the film. According to the progress, the finished film can be submitted for review by the end of New Year at the latest.

...

In the past two years, the marketing methods of movies have been constantly updated, from holding large-scale premieres, and then appearing on various programs, to calling fans on Weibo and participating in interactions. It can be said that each of them has its own unique approach.

But since last year, the most mainstream way to promote films has been roadshows, which have even become a standard for "blockbuster" films.

In order to boost the box office of the film, the day after the premiere, the main creative team of Painted Skin 2 was divided into three groups, each embarking on a roadshow journey to second- and third-tier cities.

In terms of route, Zhou Xun and Hu Ge were in a group, heading southeast from the capital to the Magic City. This was mainly because Hu Ge graduated from the Shanghai Theatre Academy and was more suitable.

Huang Xiaoming and Su Chang formed a group and headed towards second- and third-tier cities in the southwest. The main actors' destinations were Chengdu, Chongqing and other cities.

As for the northeast direction, Wuershan led the rest of the people to run together.

The main reason for going to second- and third-tier cities is that they are more enthusiastic about celebrities, and the cinemas will also actively seek opportunities for roadshow activities from theater chains and film companies. After all, the arrival of big-name stars will increase the popularity of the cinemas.

Of course, when going on a roadshow in a certain city, you also have to balance the relationship between the various cinemas. If you can't balance it, it's better not to go.

The actors' schedules are also a key point. Fortunately, Zhou Xun and Huang Xiaoming have now left Huayi Company and established their own studios, so their schedules can be adjusted.

Su Chang and Hu Ge knew about Wuershan's roadshow plan early on and had reserved time for it. The same was true for others. Everyone was holding back their energy.

Wuershan's group, with more than a dozen people from their personal team and publicity team, were the first to fly to Bincheng.

As the northernmost ice and snow capital of the motherland, Bincheng's economic strength is the strongest in the province, but the number of cinemas was not large 10 years ago.

The first stop for Wuershan and others was Wanda Cinema on Central Street. Central Street is always crowded with tourists regardless of winter or summer, so the Wanda Cinema next to it is never short of audiences.

In order to boost the box office of the film, Xingchen Films Company formulated a strict roadshow plan, which lasted for a total of eight days, from one day before the release to one week after the release, in an effort to break the box office record for domestic films.

The first stop for Wuershan and others was Wanda Cinema on Central Street. Central Street is always crowded with tourists regardless of winter or summer, and the Wanda Cinema next to it is never short of audiences.

At the same time, in Xi'an, Shanghai and other places, the arrival of the main creative staff of "Painted Skin 2" instantly made the movie theaters in major cities "packed".

Zhou Xun, the first domestic actress to win three major awards, Huang Xiaoming, currently the hottest first-line male star, Hu Ge, the popular young actor, Su Chang, the new rising star, plus the fan base of "Painted Skin 1", have created this hot situation.

At the meet-and-greet events in major cities, all the words spoken were pre-prepared clichés, which would become repetitive in the coming week. Signing posters was like doing homework.

...

In the early morning of the 28th, the last domestic blockbuster of this year's Lunar New Year holiday will be released in major theaters to meet with audiences and fans.

Some media joked that the 2010 Lunar New Year movie season was a watershed for domestic films, with three big-budget movies from big directors, "Let the Bullets Fly," "If You Are the One 2," and "Painted Skin 2," all coming together with great momentum.

That’s right, the already released “The Orphan of Zhao” is confirmed to be a flop, and the yet-to-be-released “Painted Skin 2” has been promoted through its premiere. People in the industry also know that another high-grossing movie is about to be born. As for how much box office it will make, that depends on the data after it is released.

Some people say that the current situation of the domestic film industry has led to the competition among the three blockbusters, while others say that these three films have fueled the Chinese film industry at the end of the year.

Recently, film critics Bi Chenggong, Jiang Xiaoyu, and Zhou Liming were guests on Mango TV's "Movie Front Cloud", participating in a three-way heroic debate representing three movies.

Film critic Bi Chenggong believes that it is the times that make heroes, while Jiang Xiaoyu believes that it is heroes that make the times. "Without these three heroes, no matter how good the situation is, it will be lonely."

Zhou Liming frankly admitted that heroes and the times complement each other and the two are inseparable.

Early in the morning on the 29th, the first-day box office data of "Painted Skin 2" was released and sent to the mobile mailboxes of several bigwigs, who were all shocked after reading it.

The box office on the first day of its release was 4380 million, including 600 million from the midnight show, breaking the 300 million record set by "The Great Earthquake" and once again breaking the first-day box office record for domestic films, and increasing the box office data by nearly million.

With 42% of the first-day screenings, it took over 50% of the box office revenue. In other words, the audience attendance at major cinemas was extremely high.

It is said that Gu Wei was stunned when he first saw the result. Holy shit, it actually broke the record!

He had always thought that the earlier release date of Painted Skin 2 would make it difficult to replicate the original film's box office records, but he never expected it to achieve such good results.

Han Sanping, Wuershan, and the people in charge of Xiying were even more confused when they received the data. Is this true? How can a domestic fantasy blockbuster achieve such good results? Although everyone said that it would surpass the box office of "Aftershock", that was just talk. Now that the premiere box office came out, everyone couldn't help but be ecstatic.

"Alas, the box office record of "Earthquake" can no longer be maintained. We can only hope that "If You Are the One 2" can give some support." In the office of the president of Huayi Group, Wang Zhonglei sat in the boss chair, staring at the data of the first day of release of "Painted Skin 2" in a daze.

Feng Xiaogang standing by was also a little dazed. What happened this year? The domestic films released were more terrible than the last. Jiang Wen’s movie was about to break 6 million yuan, and now there was an even more terrible one.

"Boss Wang, we have to find a solution. This box office record has only been maintained for a few days and it has been surpassed. This will also have an impact on the company's stock price."

Wang Zhonglei, who was sitting opposite him, also seemed to be thinking about what he said. Then he picked up the phone on the table and called the department manager in charge of public relations.

"Roadshow, roadshow. It seems that our company's films will also have to go on roadshows in advance in the future. This method is indeed effective."

After finishing the call, Wang Zhonglei muttered to himself.

Wang Changtian stood in front of the French window in his office, looking at the scenery outside. He had made up his mind and called his assistant in, saying, "Go and invite those vice presidents. I need to have a small meeting."

The assistant asked, "Is it about Painted Skin 2?"

Wang Changtian smiled slightly and said, "No, it's about the company's movie "Painted Wall"."

Wang Changtian, who started out as a radio, television and entertainment host, after seeing the first day box office of Painted Skin 2, the first thing he thought of was how to take advantage of the popularity. He certainly would not miss such an opportunity.

The first-day box office of "Painted Skin 2" topped the hot search list, and its Douban score reached 8.1. For a commercial film, this score is very high.

Where there are ratings, there must be reviews. The reviews online are almost all praising the explosive special effects and good plot.

As for the long reviews, there are both good and bad ones.

"The dialogue in Painted Skin 2 was too deep at the beginning, which was also the style of the whole film from beginning to end. The emotions were not hidden, and the story was not told in a steady manner. As a result, the ending of Huo Xin shooting an arrow at himself, Que Er sacrificing for love, and Xiao Wei's awakening did not resonate with us much. Compared with the first part, the gap is a bit big."

Some people also attacked director Wu Ershan, saying that he relied on director Gu Wei to direct the first Painted Skin, but now that he has independently directed Painted Skin 2, the gap is obvious and the movie did not achieve the effect that fans wanted.

Following this review, there are mostly five-star reviews, most of which praise the plot and the dazzling special effects. Some people also say that this movie lives up to the reputation of a domestic fantasy film.

Or they are fans of Huang Xiaoming, Zhou Xun, Su Chang, Hu Ge and others, and the whole article is full of praise.

The box office on the second and third days did not fall below 1 million, which reached New Year's Day, January 1st.

The single-day box office exploded, reaching over 70 million, breaking the single-day box office record set by "Let the Bullets Fly".

"Haha, Director Wu, you have to give us big red envelopes at the celebration party."

Zhou Xun, who was on a roadshow in the south, couldn't help but call Wuershan after seeing the box office data. He could hear the other party's excited tone over the phone.

For Zhou Xun, he has won all the domestic film awards he deserves, and now all he lacks is the honor of a commercial film box office success, which he has now accomplished with this movie. No wonder the other party is so excited.

"Haha, Director Wu, the box office is booming."

Even though everyone was in different parts of the country at the moment, Huang Xiaoming, Hu Ge, Su Chang and others called to congratulate him. Wu Ershan also said that everyone had worked hard and they would celebrate together at the celebration banquet. Red envelopes and the like were not a big deal. …

After the New Year's Day holiday, the daily box office of "Let the Bullets Fly" dropped significantly after breaking 6 million yuan, and currently remains at to million yuan per day.

However, if this trend continues, it will not take long for the record held by "Earthquake" to be surpassed.

"Alas, brother, I have worked in vain. Judging from the situation, I can only maintain the title of domestic film box office champion for half a month at most."

Jiang Wen called, but his tone sounded a little sour.

The momentum of "Painted Skin 2" is so strong that it is basically breaking various records for domestic films.

In just 6 days, less than a week, the box office reached 3 million.

Let’s take a look at If You Are the One 2, the total box office has also reached 4 million, but it has shown signs of decline in advance.

You have to know that it was shown for a week longer than "Let the Bullets Fly", but its daily box office is almost the same, both below 10 million.

"Lack of staying power, Feng Xiaogang's latest film has received mixed reviews."

That’s right, there are already posts by film critics and film experts online pointing out the reasons why If You Are the One 2 failed at the box office.

"The strange thing about If You Are the One 2 is that although it is a comedy about love, in the end what we see is that love plays a minor role in it, and it plays a minor role for death."

"If You Are the One was a casually made bad movie, then If You Are the One 2 was a serious bad movie. That's the only difference."

"Jiang Wen's Let the Bullets Fly went to the extent of falling out with the producer in order to avoid product placement, while Non 2 went to the extent of falling out with the audience in order to product placement. Xiaogang, what you lost was not your themeless plot or the hodgepodge production, but your attitude towards movies and your attitude towards fans."

Some netizens also talked about the placement of advertisements in "Fei 2", "I would like to ask Director Feng Xiaogang, there are more than advertisements placed in a movie, what do you think of your fans? We can tolerate your half-baked and shoddy work, but we cannot tolerate your behavior of ruining the movie and the fans just to make money."

On the other hand, perhaps because he saw that the box office of the movie was basically impossible to surpass "Let the Bullets Fly" and "Painted Skin 2", Feng Xiaogang also let himself go at this moment.

Started fighting with netizens and media on Weibo.

"The media attack me to vent their personal anger. They don't understand movies at all. Product placement is very normal. It is common in Hollywood blockbusters. Why don't the media go after them instead of attacking me?"

Previously, Xinhua News Agency published an "anti-Feng manifesto", harshly criticizing Feng Xiaogang as an "advertising master" and praising Jiang Wen as a true man who defended art.

Feng Xiaogang, who was not concerned about the box office, responded immediately, and the two sides responded back and forth in a lively atmosphere.

Feng Xiaogang said to netizens: "You can criticize the movie, but don't mess with me."

Now, netizens were not happy with this and started posting messages one after another, with both sides starting to attack each other on Weibo.

At the same time, on the third floor of Xingchen Film and Television Company, Gu Wei, Liu Yifei, Qin Hao, Chen Minghao and others were staring at the screen in the screening room.

Liu Yifei, in particular, was discussing with others in a low voice while watching.

Song Ge and Wang Chen next to them, as well as some employees, acted as spectators and watched the movie seriously.

"This shot is great, and it echoes the previous plot..."

"We need to make some changes here, it feels a bit out of place..."

Gu Wei has devoted all his efforts to this movie. Now, as he looks at the finished film, a smile appears on his face.

The movie, which lasted more than an hour, ended very quickly.

After the movie ended, Gu Wei stood up and asked, "Everyone, please watch it. What do you think? Do you have any thoughts?"

Except for Su Chang who is on the roadshow, everyone else here is the main creative staff.

"Sister Yifei acted so well." Before anyone else could say anything, Tong Liya, who was sitting next to Liu Yifei, started to flatter her. Hearing this, Liu Yifei gave her a sweet smile.

When the two were filming "Alone on the Beach at Night", they got along well on the set, and Tong Liya, Su Chang and Liu Yifei also developed into a friendship second only to best friends.

When Tong Liya finished speaking, everyone else smiled, and the two of them began to chat and laugh in low voices again.

"Director, I think the movie is good, but some of the scenes..."

Qin Hao is known as the little prince of art films and he does have his own unique features. He picked up the record he had just made and started talking about it.

Chen Minghao next to him also added a few words from time to time. The two of them had a lot of ideas about art films.

"There's something, keep talking..."

Hearing Gu Wei's affirmation, the two of them instantly perked up, and the others also listened attentively...

With the New Year's Day holiday over, the box office performance on weekdays will definitely drop sharply.

Fortunately, the movie box office has successfully exceeded 3 million. At present, regardless of whether it can break the record, at least the minimum guarantee target of 5 million will definitely be no problem.

Since it was the first time that Wuershan led a roadshow, he did not want to make everyone work so hard, and the original plan was to end it after the New Year's Day holiday.

Now the three roadshow teams have gathered in the capital. Gu Wei has also finished editing the film and has submitted it to the General Administration for review. Now that everyone has arrived, he is also preparing to hold an annual meeting and dinner to have some fun together.

The success of one movie might be a fluke, but two are enough to demonstrate his strength. Today, Wuershan is certainly not as famous as Zhang Yimou, Chen Kaige, Gu Wei and others in terms of status and style, but after this movie, Wuershan has also secured his position as a major domestic commercial film director.

At six o'clock in the evening on the 7th, the annual meeting and celebration banquet of Xingchen Film and Television Company was being held in the largest banquet hall of the Capital Yintai Park Hyatt Hotel.

The reason for choosing this time to celebrate is that the company's annual meeting and box office celebration party are put together, which makes the publicity more eye-catching.

Secondly, it was to reward people for their contributions. The eight-day roadshow really exhausted everyone.

Huang Xiaoming and Zhou Xun, needless to say, often run around all day to boost box office sales and don't even have the energy to speak.

Su Chang and Hu Ge have been working very hard during this period. They have both become thin and tired, and look pitiful.

But the one who works the hardest here is Zhou Xun. She has a bit of a "people-pleasure" and "funny" personality. The roadshow is humorous and the atmosphere is great wherever she goes.

Although she is often exhausted after a busy day, she never tires of it.
Zhou Xun had her own plans for working so hard. After her contract with Huayi Company ended, she set up her own studio. Although she was unwilling to sign with Xingchen Film and Television, she was very willing to cooperate with Gu Wei.

By working hard on the roadshow at this time, she can not only win the favor of Wu Ershan and Gu Wei, but also look forward to creating a new domestic film box office record and becoming the queen of domestic commercial films. Of course, this does not include Liu Yifei. After all, Liu Yifei is a frequent star in Hollywood blockbusters and her total box office is much higher than hers.

Everyone in the banquet hall had different thoughts, but their eyes were all on Wuershan who was speaking on the stage, as if they were listening attentively.

"Here, I would like to sincerely thank Xiao Ming, Xun Ge, Su Chang, Hu Ge and other publicity and promotion teams who followed us to various places for roadshows. Without your efforts, there would not be a miracle of breaking the 6 million box office in 3 days. Thank you all."

As soon as Wu Ershan finished speaking, thunderous applause broke out from the audience. In addition to the company's employees, Han Sanping and the person in charge of Xiying were also present. Just to ensure that everyone could eat well and have fun, they all behaved very low-key and did not go on stage to make long speeches.

Afterwards, Gu Wei came to the stage and gave everyone a few New Year's greetings, hoping that everyone would continue to work hard and reach new heights next year.

Once the banquet started, everyone ate and chatted.

Han Sanping, Gu Wei, Wang Jinghua, Wuershan, Lu Yang and other company executives were at one table, while Huang Xiaoming, Zhou Xun and other star creators were at another table.

...

The celebration banquet ended successfully, and the hot entertainment news on the second day continued to be dominated by "Painted Skin 2".

Sina Entertainment said: "Painted Skin 2" broke million in six days, re-creating various records for domestic films and giving a new definition to the time period between the Lunar New Year and Spring Festival.

The film channel's flagship column "China Film Report" commented: The emergence of "Painted Skin 2" has created a new type of Chinese-language film, allowing China to have a truly magical blockbuster for the first time. The various special effects shots may be a small step for director Wu Ershan, but it is a big step for Chinese-language films.

……

(End of this chapter)