Chapter 488 Being a traitor?
China Film Digital Base.

The crew of "The Wandering Earth".

When Gu Wei announced the completion of the film, almost all the main creators had tears in their eyes. They all say that special effects blockbusters have high box office and the actors who act in them are likely to become famous, but the filming process of a movie is really not easy.

Hu Jun and Zhou Xun have been in the industry for many years and have filmed many movies and TV series, but none of them was as energy-consuming as "The Wandering Earth".

For example, actors who graduated from major professional colleges must have been taught or performed non-proprietary performances while studying in school.

But when more than 90% of the scenes in a movie are performed without props, it really proves the saying that you hate what you do.

At the celebration banquet, Zhou Xun just let go and drank every cup he had as soon as it was poured, showing that he was not afraid of anyone.

When they were in high spirits after drinking, they pulled Gu Wei over and started to complain harshly. Gu Wei knew that everyone had been feeling very depressed during this period, so he didn't take it to heart at all.

Before the celebration banquet was over, news reports from outside were released on a large scale.

Sina Entertainment: "The Wandering Earth, directed by Gu Wei and starring Hu Jun, Zhou Xun, Huang Xiaoming, Liu Ye and others, was announced to be completed today."

Souhu Entertainment: "It is reported that the film's post-production will still take nearly a year to complete. Director Gu Wei said that he will release the global promotion song of "The Wandering Earth" in the near future."

Penguin Entertainment: "At the wrap-up party, Han Sanping, Yu Dong, Wang Changtian, Ye Ning and others showed up in a hurry and then left early. Currently, the production team and the theater chain are still in a stalemate, and both sides are trying to avoid meeting privately!"

.........

The entire month of September ended with news of several domestic films failing at the box office.

However, what followed was the start of the National Day holiday melee mode.

"White Deer Plain", which has been released for ten days, has completely died out. The box office was about to break 1.02 million yuan, and after reaching million yuan, it has completely stopped.

Many directors in the circle expressed regret, and there were also quite a few filmmakers who scolded Wang Quanan. Their reasons were basically the same, mocking him for messing up a literary masterpiece.

Some people even shamelessly said that it was a waste of such a high-cost investment and that it would be different if they took the photos themselves. This is a typical "I can do it too" mentality.

Online, the news media waited for two or three days, and after seeing that the three films had completed their premieres, they directly announced the box office data of the three films "Double Exposure", "Dangerous Liaisons", and "Tai Chi 1".

"The romantic film Dangerous Liaisons, starring Zhang Ziyi and Zhang Baizhi and with an investment of 460 million yuan, had an extremely poor box office on the first day, closing at million yuan, and there is basically no hope of making a profit."

"The box office of Tai Chi 1, produced by Huayi Film Group, directed by new director Stephen Fung and starring Yang Ying, showed a sluggish trend, with a first-day box office of 890 million, far from the set target."

"Double Exposure grossed 820 million yuan on its first day, and compared to the cost of the other two films, it is expected to make back its investment. Fan Binbin's acting skills were praised by filmmakers in the industry."

Maybe it's because of "Fan Bingbing" that the news reported by the media is very strange. Both of them failed at the box office and were highly expected, but why is it that when it comes to Fan Binbin, it's not her fault?

Not only are the media reports like this, I don't know if the movie "Double Exposure" mobilized the "Internet Army", but its reputation on the Internet far exceeds that of the other two films.

Now it’s going to be lively.

When the three movies are put in front of them, both the audience and the media have endless things to say.

The more you compare, the more obvious it becomes which one is worse.

Adding new elements, or making a movie by combining multiple elements, always faces an inevitable problem.

That is, if the word-of-mouth of the first part is bad, it will inevitably affect the second part.

Just like Huayi’s “Tai Chi 1” now, it seems to have collapsed.

Not only the big and small Wang of Huayi, but even many filmmakers in the industry did not expect that among the three movies, the worst-rated one was not "Dangerous Liaisons" which had the lowest box office, but "Tai Chi 1".

To be honest, although the box office of "Dangerous Liaisons" was so low that it made the film company bleed, the subject matter is there after all, and the box office can't be much lower.

Unlike "Tai Chi 1", which had overwhelming publicity in the early stages and made a lot of big claims, its reputation has now backfired, and the negative reviews will only become more numerous and more serious.

After officially entering the National Day holiday.

The producers of several films seemed to have regained their confidence and wanted to make a comeback during the National Day holiday. The leading actors of the three films simultaneously launched a new round of publicity.

As for Huayi, "Tai Chi 1" currently has a box office of only million, which is at the bottom of the list.

Yang Nenmo personally took part in the promotion on Weibo, and even the leader tried his best to promote the film, but the effect was not great. After all, if the movie was not good, who would spend money on it? The poor ability of newcomers to attract box office revenue was reflected here.

On the "Double Exposure" side, Zhang Ziyi continued to hype up her love life, saying that she only wanted to find an honest man to marry.

As for "Dangerous Liaisons", it was even more cruel. Fan Binbin directly released a photo of him kissing the director.

Just like that, the National Day holiday passed with lively news reports and cold movie box office.

.........

The dismal box office performance during the National Day holiday has caused major film and television companies in the industry to focus their attention on the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday.

After the holiday, data released by the Film Bureau showed that so far this year, the share of domestic films in the box office has fallen below 30%.

I have to say that this is indeed not good news. Such a huge gap means a loss of nearly 30 billion yuan, and this is only in ten months.

In addition, almost all domestic films released in September, even during the National Day holiday, lost money. People in the industry then understood why the producers had to forcibly increase the box office share ratio.

The fundamental reason is the dominance of imported films, which has resulted in major film and television companies that produce and distribute films not making any money. Or rather, not only did they not make any money, but the vast majority of them suffered losses. The producers urgently need to stop the bleeding and increase profits.

Online, both sides refused to give in, and many netizens have said that they should imitate the producers and theaters and launch a joint boycott. "You have eight major theaters and six major producers, and we, the audience, should also form an alliance to lower the box office."

The timing chosen by the film crew this time is also very clever. It’s almost November, and there’s not much time left for everyone anyway.

At the same time, Hollywood imported blockbusters, such as Li An's "Life of Pi", entered the mainland.
James Cameron, a top Hollywood director, praised it: "It couldn't be better. You must embark on this amazing journey and see this wonderful work with your own eyes."

The speech by a world-famous director naturally brought huge traffic to the movie.

For a time, more and more people were looking forward to the release of this movie.

.........

In Xingchen Film and Television Company.

"Hasn't the deal been reached yet?" When Gu Wei saw Song Ge returning with a helpless look on his face, he knew the result.

"The cinema chain is taking a tough stance this time and they refuse to give in no matter what." Song Ge shook his head and smiled bitterly.

To be honest, the theater chains have very good reasons, because the expenses of theaters are indeed very high now, including 3% of the box office tax, 5% of the film special fund, 43% of the film company share, about 20% of the annual rent, and about 15% of the operating costs, plus equipment depreciation and rising rents every year, plus the rise of Internet video, many theater chains are already overwhelmed.

"The rents have gone up ridiculously over the years."

After listening to this, Gu Wei couldn't help but complain about the situation. Since the acquisition of Dadi Cinemas, a considerable portion of the huge amount of funds invested by the company has been used to pay for venue rental.

"The actors' pay has also increased to an outrageous level." Song Ge responded.

Hearing this, Gu Wei smiled awkwardly. After all, when it comes to film pay, his sister is currently the best in the mainland. It's strange to say that in the past, the market was not good and everyone didn't dare to make big investments.

Now that the market is good, the cost of movies has become a big problem again, and the actors' pay has almost become a headache for directors.

Without further ado, regarding the issue of the profit-sharing ratio, directors and filmmakers in the circle naturally support the producers. When faced with interviews, major directors also expressed their opinions. In summary, filming a movie is not easy, and there needs to be profit guarantees.

Although the theaters seem to be isolated, they are actually the most united.

"Our attitude is to firmly oppose increasing the revenue sharing ratio. If the relevant departments do not come forward to coordinate and the two sides fail to reach an agreement in the end, the domestic cinema alliance will directly choose to refuse to screen certain films."

“When one party makes unreasonable demands and attempts to use administrative power to intervene in the market.

The best outcome is upstream and downstream negotiations and market-based regulation.

The worst-case scenario is that the cinema chains, studios and producers go their separate ways, and everyone loses.”

Ye Ning's speech naturally also represents the final attitude of the theater.

But any discerning person can see that although it is a lose-lose situation, the one that suffers in the end is definitely the producer. After all, theaters can choose to show imported films, the only difference is how much profit they make.

The theater chains headed by Han Sanping naturally understood the situation, but at this point, they were already in a difficult situation and they certainly couldn't just give in.

Seeing this, the General Administration hurriedly called a meeting between the two groups to discuss the situation. If no action was taken, several blockbusters would not be able to be released. Let alone 180 billion box office this year, 150 billion would be a stretch.

The next day, the meeting organized by the General Administration was held as scheduled, supposedly to reconcile the conflict between the two parties. However, after the meeting, the effect was not significant.

"Haha, the company bosses have been talking about increasing the revenue sharing ratio, but after seeing the box office of the movies released during the National Day holiday, everyone is still so tough. I really admire them."

Ye Ning's words were a bit unpleasant to hear, and they amounted to exposing someone's shortcomings.

The atmosphere at the scene changed slightly. The companies that had no movies showing were fine, but the bosses of companies that had movies showing all looked grim.

"There are various reasons why several movies failed at the box office during the National Day holiday. The most important one is the existence of imported films, which affected the final box office results. Now we are talking about the profit-sharing ratio. The movies during the Lunar New Year holiday will definitely not disappoint you, Mr. Ye." Wang Zhonglei said in a bad tone.

"Again, it's impossible to increase the ratio!"

"Then don't expect any domestic films to be released during the Lunar New Year holiday!"

Just like that, the talks between the two sides broke down.

.........

Over the past six months, these domestic film companies have either been scared by imported films or have seen their peers fall, causing them to have psychological trauma and fear.

To the extent that movies released in November, December, and even January next year, have already begun intensive promotions.

Especially on the Huayi Film Group side, the box office failure of "Tai Chi 1" put the subsequent "Tai Chi 2" in a very embarrassing situation.

You say that the film should continue to be released as scheduled, but the box office is not guaranteed at all. If it is postponed, there will be a lot of domestic blockbusters in the next few months, and judging from the strength on paper, none of them will be easy to deal with.

"Brother, the total investment in these two movies is as high as 2.2 million. We can't just keep delaying the release."

In Huayi Company, Wang Zhonglei said with a grim expression.

"Alas, this is one of the reasons why I want the company to go into the film industry. Compared with investing in real estate and the gaming industry, the risks of movies are too great." Wang Zhongjun said quietly.

Hearing this, Wang Zhonglei couldn't help but complain in his heart, even though he was his brother, "It's time now, saying this can help increase the box office?"

"What should we do next? The issue of box office sharing is still at a stalemate. The Lunar New Year holiday is coming soon, and the promotion of 1942 is also a problem. We can't just drag it to the last minute and not release it during the Lunar New Year holiday!" Although Wang Zhonglei complained, after thinking for a while, he still listed the things that needed to be solved one by one.

"I had hoped that Tai Chi 1 would generate huge box office revenue and force the cinema chains to make concessions, but now it seems that I can no longer count on that."

"What are you expecting? When Ye Ning and the others see the failure of our company's movie box office, I'm afraid they will wake up laughing in their dreams." Thinking of the other party's ridicule in the meeting, Wang Zhonglei couldn't help but said hatefully.

"At this point, Tai Chi 2 can only be released as scheduled. You and Xiaogang should work together to promote it and ." Wang Zhongjun thought for a while and then ordered in an orderly manner, "Talk to the theater chain headed by Ye Ning in private. We are willing to make concessions in exchange for an increase in the screening schedule of ."

"Being a traitor?" Wang Zhonglei couldn't help but think of the operation of the new screen.

"I'm not being a traitor. The producers will definitely fail this time. We just made arrangements in advance."

...

People in the industry suddenly discovered that Huayi Company seemed to have made a temporary change. When interviewed by media reporters, it no longer insisted on increasing the producer's share of the profits, and its attitude softened a lot.

Representatives of theater chains also expressed their optimism about Feng Xiaogang's "1942" and were willing to increase the screening schedule when the film was released, hoping that Feng's masterpiece could create a new domestic box office record.

Not only in the speeches of both sides, all major cinema chains had already arranged movie posters of "1942" in the theaters in advance to promote the film.

After this operation, Feng Xiaogang was naturally the happiest person.

Once Feng Xiaogang is happy, he will definitely not be idle.

This is indeed the case. Through Weibo and Huayi Dawang’s sale of paintings, he raised 4 million yuan to allow migrant workers’ children to watch "1942" for free.

As soon as the news came out, it caused controversy among netizens.

Feng Xiaogang couldn't help it and started arguing with netizens online.

A series of wonderful operations naturally emerged.

First, he stood up for Yao Chen, who had just gotten married, and scolded some netizens, saying that their bad behavior was innate.

He then angrily criticized some netizens for being uneducated, saying that even if they went to watch "1942", they would probably not understand it.

Speaking of which, in the whole country, I'm afraid there is no one else except Feng Xiaogang who dares to criticize netizens like this during the promotion period of a new movie.

Many people were stunned. Song Ge, who was busy with the release of Lost in Thailand, couldn't help but say during his free time: "The way he's doing now, this is not a good sign!"

Gu Wei laughed and said, "Of course. No matter what, arguing with netizens is unworthy of a public figure and a great director. If the word-of-mouth and box office of 1942 are good, the problem won't be a big deal for the time being. But if not, haha!"

Let’s not worry about whether “1942” will be successful or not. Not to mention Gu Wei, even Song Ge, after seeing Huayi Company’s recent attitude, has guessed that the other party is going to be a traitor.

"It seems that there is no hope of increasing the profit sharing ratio." Song Ge made a direct guess.

"Originally there was still some hope, but after several domestic films failed in succession, the theater chains are even less willing to give in."

"Then what should we do?" Song Ge continued to ask.

"Stay firm. This matter is definitely not over. Even if it doesn't work this time, it won't be long before someone else takes the lead."

.........

(End of this chapter)