Chapter 405 Breaking the Record
The December Lunar New Year holiday season has passed quietly for more than half.

Over there, "The Flowers of War" is being promoted in full swing, and from time to time you can see Zhang Weiping making some cool moves.

On the other hand, everyone at Xingchen Film and Television was smiling happily.

Early in the morning, Gu Wei walked into the company with a smile on his face.

"Good morning, boss!"

"Ah."

As soon as I arrived at the office, Song Ge walked in hurriedly.

"Director Gu, this is great news. The record has been broken."

"What record?" Gu Wei was stunned when he heard this. These past few days he had been discussing the tiered profit-sharing with Ye Ning and others, and the results were pretty good.

Gu Wei gave Ye Ning two choices. One was that for all movies produced by Xingchen Film and Television, the ratio would be 6:45 for movies below 55 million and 41:59 for movies above million.

Second, the dividing line for domestic films directed by Gu Wei is 10 billion.

Choosing one of the two puts the eight major cinema chains headed by Ye Ning in a difficult position.

The other party did not give an answer on the spot, but just said that he would go back to discuss it. Gu Wei had plenty of time, so he naturally did not force it.

"Uh, that's the domestic box office record of "Avatar." Song Ge was also speechless. What a guy, as a boss, he doesn't even care about the situation of his own movie.

"Oh, it's exceeded 1.8 billion." Gu Wei reacted and asked hurriedly. No wonder when he just arrived at the company today, he found that the employees were so happy that they didn't know what to do. So this was the reason.

"According to yesterday's statistics, as of now, it has been released for a total of three and a half weeks, or 24 days, and the box office has totaled 1.816 billion, officially topping the record for the highest box office for domestic imported films."

"Haha, not bad, a very good result. By the way, how much is the daily box office now?" Gu Wei laughed and then asked.

"The average daily box office is currently around 3 million, with most of it coming from D theaters. According to this pattern, the box office will probably exceed billion by the end of the month."

Song Ge knew the corresponding data very clearly. He had been keeping an eye on this matter these days, so when Gu Wei asked about it, he answered without hesitation.

"Also, China Film Group and Wanda are asking about the celebration banquet. What day do you think it should be set for?" Song Ge continued to ask.

"Tomorrow or the day after tomorrow is fine. You can discuss with them and make it bigger. Everyone has worked so hard for so long, let's have some fun."

"no problem!"

...

At the same time, Han Sanping of China Film Group laughed loudly, but secretly sighed that the investment was too little. Only tens of millions were invested, how much money could be distributed?

Industry leaders have different attitudes towards "2012", but audiences' evaluations of the film are almost unanimous, with "explosive special effects" and "rigorous plot", and enthusiasm for watching the film is very high.

However, amidst all the praise, there were also many criticisms, especially from some professional film critics, who said that the film's plot was childish and boring, without any depth, and had confusing logic, and was not comparable to "Avatar" at all.

Gu Wei looked at it and thought, "When foreign countries save the world and the earth, you guys are frantically licking their boots. Do Chinese people do this because the plot is boring? When the Japanese devils randomly changed and filmed our own version of Journey to the West, why didn't you protest?"

However, Gu Wei only read film reviews occasionally and did not take the negative reviews seriously. He was not money and could not be loved by everyone.

At six o'clock in the evening on the 25th, a celebration party for the 2012 billion box office of "" was being held in the largest banquet hall of the Capital Yintai Park Hyatt Hotel.

The reason why the 1.8 billion box office milestone was chosen to celebrate is, of course, that it broke the box office record for imported films, which makes the publicity more eye-catching.

Secondly, it was for reward. After more than half a month of publicity, road shows, and TV shows, everyone was really exhausted.

In addition to the main creative staff, China Film and Wanda also invited many media reporters to the celebration banquet.

"No matter how lively it is, publicity is still necessary. We should take this opportunity to publicize it and ensure that the box office exceeds 2 billion." Han Sanping said directly.

After Gu Wei and the main creative team smashed the ice sculpture with the words "1.8 billion", the celebration banquet officially began, and reporters started taking photos.

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

"Here, I would like to sincerely thank Yifei, Cheng Long, Xiao Ming, and Dao Ming. Thank you for your efforts in promoting the film. Without your efforts, there would not be the current box office miracle. Thank you all!"

As soon as Gu Wei finished speaking, thunderous applause broke out from the audience.

In addition to Gu Wei, Han Sanping and Ye Ning were also present, but in order to ensure that everyone could eat well and have fun, they all behaved very low-key and did not go on stage to give long speeches.

As soon as the banquet started, everyone ate and talked. Filmmakers eat and drink together, and after a few drinks, they can't help but talk about movies.

Han Sanping first asked about the launch time of "The Wandering Earth", including specific dates such as project establishment and script review.

Gu Wei thought about it and decided to start it after the New Year, but some special effects shots could be produced in advance, just like the filming of "2012".

The three of them were chatting animatedly, with the young lady and Cheng Long occasionally interjecting, but most of the time they were just listening.

"It's the same thing. The higher-ups think that Director Gu has done a lot of research on the film industry, so they want to talk to you about mainstream films." Han Sanping had obviously received instructions from his superiors, and after a little thought, he talked about it. "Director Han, isn't The Wandering Earth a mainstream film? We're working on it!" Gu Wei said with a smile.

"?" Han Sanping turned into an emoticon at this moment, his mind full of questions, and Ye Ning next to him was in a similar situation.

"Mr. Han, you think mainstream movies are just about war scenes and gunplay, but I think promoting Chinese culture is the mainstream."

To be honest, the Americans were very proud at this stage. Why did Wolf Warrior 2 receive a cold reception in the United States in the original time and space? Did they think it was too fake? Or did American audiences not like war films?

How could China’s retired special forces be so awesome? How could China’s navy be so powerful?
The reason is that Americans believe that only our superheroes can save the world, and that movies made by other countries are all fake.

If we really make a movie like "Wolf Warrior" now, Americans may not be able to appreciate the plot of an Oriental man saving the world. If the protagonist is replaced by a Hollywood star, people may give face and buy tickets to watch it, but is it still a domestic mainstream movie?
"Director Gu, there is nothing wrong with what you said. Right now, the main focus is still on the box office." Ye Ning acted as if nothing had happened, not showing any sign of the strong attitude he had during the meeting.

"Well, I know that, but the higher-ups have strict requirements for main-theme movies every year. In principle, some movies have to be made even if they can't be made and don't make money." Han Sanping knew the details and said with a sigh.

Seeing the other party like this, Gu Wei did not respond. He could not ask him to shoot a war movie now and then guarantee that it would be a global box office hit. He was a director, not a god.

Han Sanping, Ye Ning, Gu Wei, Song Ge, Liu Yifei, Cheng Long and other senior executives of the three companies and the protagonists were at one table, while Huang Xiaoming, Chen Daoming and other star creators were sitting at another table.

After three rounds of wine and five dishes, Han Sanping and Ye Ning left early. Gu Wei toasted everyone at each table and then let everyone drink their own drinks. Even if someone came to toast, they would just take a sip.

Seeing Gu Wei's full aura, the timid ones dared not come forward. Gu Wei ate and chatted with Liu Yifei, Song Ge, and Wang Chen.

The celebration banquet ended successfully, and the next day's entertainment news continued to be dominated by "2012".

Sina Entertainment said: "2012" box office exceeded billion, creating the "strongest Lunar New Year box office" in history.

Penguin Entertainment: "2012" is a huge hit at the global box office. The total box office of films directed by Gu Wei has increased rapidly and is currently heading towards the top three in film history.

Souhu Entertainment: Liu Yifei’s pay has skyrocketed and has now exceeded 25 million in China.

Southern Metropolis Daily reported: "2012" has grossed over billion US dollars worldwide, and has not yet been released in many countries and regions.

The media was dazzled by the various reports, and people in the circle envied Liu Yifei's pay.

The last person to receive 20 million yuan in film pay was the international star Zhang Ziyi. Now there is another person in China who receives even more than her. All the celebrities and artists should look at each other and then look at themselves. The gap is really huge.

……

The "war" between the production industry and theaters that lasted for more than half a month has finally ended.

But the public opinion in the industry did not end, but became more boiling, and many production companies even directly cursed.

This time, Zhang Weiping has completely offended other companies. Everyone works together to support you, but in the end only you get the benefit.

After the General Administration meeting, some theater chains reached a new agreement with New Picture, but other film and television companies were not included. No matter who it was, they would have a good attitude towards New Picture.

At this time, Zhang Weiping was hated by everyone in the industry.

Not only the producers, but also the remaining theaters and audiences who refused to screen "The Flowers of War" were complaining online.

In the final analysis, theaters that refused to show the film lost profits, while the audiences were fleeced, and the increased box office naturally came out of the audiences' pockets.

In the villa.

Gu Wei and the young lady were leaning on the sofa, one of them was petting a cat while the other was talking on the phone.

"Okay, agree to his terms. You talk to him first. I'll come forward after you confirm."

"Where's Song Ge? What's wrong?" The young lady asked casually while holding a white kitten.

"Huayi's producer is leaving, and Song Ge wants to bring him into the company."

"Chen Guofu?"

"Haha, who else could it be except him?" Gu Wei said with a smile.

"Why did you leave Huayi for no reason?"

"They wanted to make a movie out of it, so Chen Guofu probably got frustrated and wanted to leave."

"Ah, Huayi won't make movies anymore in the future?" Upon hearing this, the young lady was obviously stunned.

A company that claims to be the best in the industry actually has such an operation. Not to mention Liu Yifei, other people would probably have the same reaction if they heard it.

"I think making money from movies is too slow, so I want to make big money."

.........

(End of this chapter)