Chapter 382: Dominating the Lunar New Year Movie

Huayi Company, inside the CEO’s office.

Wang Zhonglei's face looked very ugly, and Feng Xiaogang opposite him also had a serious expression on his face.

They encountered a crisis. The company's key project this year, "If You Are the One 2", was unexpectedly overtaken by "Lost in Thailand".

This was something no one had expected before the film was scheduled.

After all, as far as the entire Chinese-language film market is concerned, the pattern among directors is clearly "one super and many strong".

Jiang Heng is so extraordinary that he is no longer something that the other "great directors" can catch up with. He can be called the absolute king in the field of commercial films.

Apart from Jiang Heng, the only ones who can be called "great directors" are Zhang Yimou, Chen Kaige, Feng Xiaogang, Jiang Wen, Cheng Long, Wu Yusen, Zhou Xingxing, Xu Ke and a few others.

Several of them missed the Lunar New Year holiday due to various reasons. Although Xu Ke has "Flying Daggers of Dragon Gate", it is of a different type from "If You Are the One 2", and the period between the two films is more than ten days, so it can be said that the impact is not significant.

Be it Wang Zhonglei or Feng Xiaogang, they really didn't expect that a small movie like "Lost in Thailand" could crush "If You Are the One 2". It was really unexpected.

In terms of schedule, "If You Are the One 2" will be released on December 12, a Wednesday.

"Lost in Thailand" was delayed by two days and was scheduled for Friday the 24th.

But in these two days, "If You Are the One 2" has been blocked, causing its box office to plummet.

In fact, in the original time and space, "If You Are the One 2" was a very twisted movie, and the root cause may be the joining of Wang Shuo!
Because it is said that in If You Are the One 1, Qin Fen spoke heartfelt words to Wu Sang when they separated, and Feng Xiaogang used the character's mouth to show his goodwill to his "Northern Dipper" Wang Shuo.

"Money is not a problem for me, I just lack friends. The best ones have all gone their separate ways!"

Then Wu Sang drove the car, sang a sad song, and couldn't help crying.

That scene really captured the emotions of a middle-aged man.

Those friends who were once indispensable and extremely friendly in your life suddenly disappeared from your life one day and you no longer have any contact with them.

Wang Shuo was probably moved by this plot, and he collaborated with Feng Xiaogang again, which was a rare opportunity, and joined the crew of If You Are the One 2 as a screenwriter.

As a result, If You Are the One 2 strengthens the friendship line, greatly reduces the comedy element, and boldly explores the fear and transcendence of facing death.

This is somewhat contrary to the audience's expectations of watching the movie, because everyone comes here to watch the excitement and the comedy. It's almost the New Year, why are you talking to me about death!

In another life, "If You Are the One 2" did not "fight" closely with other competitors in the same period, so its box office performance was still acceptable, earning a box office of 4.7 million yuan.

But this time it is different. It was only two days apart from "Lost in Thailand", and the latter's comedy and funniness are much stronger than "If You Are the One 2".

As a result, tickets for Lost in Thailand were hard to get over the weekend, while the single-day box office of If You Are the One 2 dropped significantly.

Wang Zhonglei and Feng Xiaogang both had worried looks on their faces.

"It's so embarrassing. I have been making comedy films for so many years, but today I was outshined by a new director!" Feng Xiaogang sighed.

Wang Zhonglei also reflected, "I thought that as long as I stayed away from Jiang Heng, I wouldn't have to be afraid of anything. I never expected...!" To be honest, not only these two were shocked, but the entire Chinese entertainment industry was shocked by the box office performance of "Lost in Thailand".

What is even more shocking is that the film’s producer is Bonna Pictures, and the major shareholder of this company is Jiang Heng.

It's fine that the films Jiang Heng made himself are good, but now even the films made by a new director of a company under his name are so good. This is too shocking!
"The absolute king of the Chinese entertainment industry, dominating the three major periods of the Spring Festival, summer vacation, and New Year's Day..."

The Southern Evening News actually counted all the films produced by iQiyi, Youku, Tencent Video and Bonanza in recent years, and based on the analysis of the films' box office and quantity share, it came to the conclusion that Jiang Heng actually occupies a monopoly position in the Chinese-language film market, which caused an uproar in the industry.

The article also pointed out that director Zhang Yimou has joined iQiyi, Youku and Tencent Video, but the filming was a bit slow so he was unable to participate in this year's Lunar New Year holiday.

If Zhang Yimou makes a blockbuster next year, the proportion of "iQIYI, Youku and Tencent Video" in the Chinese-language film market will be even greater...

The first impression this article gives people is that the media in the South really dare to say and report anything!
Secondly, is Jiang Heng already so powerful in the film industry?
As the discussion sparked by the article intensified, more media outlets jumped out to report on Jiang Heng's other investments in the film and television industry.

For example, the two cinema chains ranked first in China, "China Film Chihong" and "Shanghai Film Chihong", ranked third, Jiang Heng's "Chihong Cinema Investment Management Company" is the second largest shareholder.

Jiang Heng also has small stakes in several other cinema chains.

In addition, special effects production, film and television equipment rental, animation industrial park, film and television amusement park, film and television shooting base, film and television peripheral toys... It can be said that all industries involved in Jiang Heng or iQiyi Film and Television have been exposed by the media.

Needless to say, this time he was clearly targeted.

In the meeting room of iQiyi, Youku and Tencent Video, Du Huan, Li Xiaoping and other company executives all had serious expressions on their faces.

Jiang Heng's performance was okay and he was not too panicked. He had always operated his business in compliance with the law, but his business just went too well by accident.

Du Huan said seriously, "What we know so far is that our performance in this year's Lunar New Year holiday was really great. "Galaxy Chasing Girls", "Wolf Warrior", "Flying Swords of Dragon Gate", "Lost in Thailand", it can be said that every movie is a box office hit, and the performance of "Lost in Thailand" is soaring on the heels of "If You Are the One 2", and is heading for a box office of billion!"

Everyone couldn't help laughing when they heard this, and thought that "the idea of ​​stepping on If You Are the One 2 is very funny."

Du Huan was still serious, "Other companies are scared. Director Jiang usually takes up two of the popular domestic schedules, which makes other companies unhappy. This time, they feel that they have taken up all the time!"

"Schedule competition is a matter of ability. What does it have to do with our development?"

"That's right. It shows that we are doing a good job in our business. To be honest, if it wasn't for the media breaking the news, we wouldn't have known that the company has grown so well!"

"Yeah, it's so powerful!"

Jiang Heng waved his hands and sighed, "We always have to give others a way out. The achievements made during the Lunar New Year holiday are indeed quite astonishing. We should be more careful next time and release the films separately!"

In terms of public opinion, the impact on Jiang Heng was actually not that great.

Once this trend passes, the audience will forget about it.

One might even think that Jiang Heng is capable of surpassing many big Hollywood directors, and it is normal for his career to develop to this point.

Jiang Heng was just worried that the leaders of the Film Bureau would come up with some policies that were unfavorable to him due to pressure from various companies, which would make things difficult for him.

(End of this chapter)