Chapter 72 Temporarily ranked first in the year
The cinema equipment and decoration standards in Manhattan should be second to none in North America!

The screen is wide and bright, with surround sound, and coupled with special effects blockbusters like "Lion Camel Ridge", it is a true visual feast.

The audience in the venue were all immersed in it and deeply shocked.

But the most shocking person was none other than Liu Xiaoli.

Before going abroad, she had been a dancer at the Wuhan Song and Dance Theater. She also played Madam Xiang in the musical "Chu Yun". She can be considered half a member of the Chinese entertainment industry and has some understanding of the domestic film market.

In her impression, Chinese-language films include Zhang Yimou's "To Live", Chen Kaige's "Farewell My Concubine", Jiang Wen's "Sunny Days", the grandeur of "The Decisive Battle" and the twists and turns of "Comrades: Almost a Love Story".

These excellent Chinese-language films have one thing in common, which is that they are all gray in color.

Perhaps this is why Zhang Yimou attached too much importance to the color matching of the film.

He wanted to make a radical change and create his own school of thought.

In terms of the effect, it was indeed achieved, and the name of "National Master" became widely known.

The audience criticized him for his poor storytelling, but no one questioned his film pictures.

Liu Xiaoli's feeling at this moment is a bit similar to that of the Chinese people when they watched "Hero" for the first time. They never thought that the colors of Chinese-language films could be so vivid.

Coupled with the smooth story rhythm and the dazzling special effects fighting, she was mesmerized and couldn't recover for a long time.

After leaving the cinema, scenes from the movie kept appearing in my mind.

"I can't believe that Chinese-language films can be so good. It seems that none of the Hollywood blockbusters released this year can compare to this!" Liu Xiaoli, who was sitting in the passenger seat, exclaimed.

Her remarried husband also said: "Yes, I have always heard colleagues say how good this movie is, but I still don't believe it. I never thought it could be this good!"

"Sissi, what do you think?"

Liu Tianxian, who was sitting in the back, was stunned for a moment when she heard her mother's question before she said, "Ah, it's very good!"

Seeing that her daughter was a little absent-minded, Liu Xiaoli wondered why her daughter was so unhappy after watching the movie, as it was her daughter's suggestion.

"What are you thinking about?"

"Oh, it's okay. I was wondering how long it would take me to complete the credits and finish my high school career sooner!"

Liu Xiaoli was overjoyed when she heard this, and said to her husband, "Look, our Xixi is becoming more and more sensible!"

"Yes, smart and sensible!"

The topic was changed and Liu Xiaoli did not continue. After the three of them drove home, they each went back to their bedroom.

Just looking at the mountain of study materials on the desk, her heart became restless.

The shocking scenes in "Lion Camel Ridge" kept appearing before my eyes, and I felt the charm of the movie for the first time.

In the next few days, Liu Tianxian was rather depressed and refused to say anything even when Liu Xiaoli asked.

Until one day, the mother and daughter were at home, "Mom, there is something I want to tell you!"

Liu Xiaoli had known that her daughter was worried, so she was not surprised.

"What's the matter, tell me!"

“I want to be a movie actor!”

"What did you say?" Liu Xiaoli was stunned. She had some ideas about her daughter's future, but she had never thought of letting her become an actor. After all, she had heard about how difficult it was to make it in the entertainment industry.

"Why did you come up with this idea? Is it because of the movie you watched a few days ago?"

"Yes, not quite!"

Liu Xiaoli took her daughter's hand and sat down on the sofa. "Then talk slowly!"

"I used to admire Audrey Hepburn on TV and wanted to be like her, but it was just a thought. Until I watched Lion Camel Ridge a few days ago, I felt that the movie was great and wanted to become an actor."

After hearing this, Liu Xiaoli was stunned.

I never expected that my daughter, at such a young age, would have such thoughts.

Her only expectation for her daughter is that she achieves success in dancing!

"Xixi, it's a good thing that you have ideas about your life at this age. Mom is very happy. But it's not easy to become a good actor. You have to endure a lot of hardships and suffer a lot. Do you understand?

The hardship you are experiencing studying right now is nothing compared to that, you know?"

Liu Tianxian, however, remained unmoved, with a childish face and a firm gaze, "Xixi, don't be afraid!"

Liu Xiaoli hugged her daughter, her eyes moistened, "I'm scared. You know how much your mother has suffered for you. How can I bear to see you suffer!"

Seeing that her mother was very emotional, Liu Tianxian could only comfort her gently, and her plan to become an actor had to come to an end.

However, in the North American film market, "Lion Camel Ridge" came out of nowhere and grossed a staggering $5500 million in its first three days of the weekend. Among Hollywood films released in 2000, it was second only to "Mission Impossible 2" with a first weekend box office of $5784 million. The former's North American box office results have been released, reaching $2.15 million.

What’s even more terrible is that the director of “Mission Impossible 2” is Wu Yusen.

If the first and second place in the North American box office rankings in 2000 were occupied by two directors from Hong Kong, the entire Hollywood would lose face, and for a time the newspapers would be full of news about the "threat theory" of Chinese directors.

However, the word-of-mouth of "Mission: Impossible 2" ranked last in the entire series, and its box office performance can be said to have started high and ended low.

"Lion's Ridge" received unanimous praise as soon as it was released, and its final box office performance will definitely surpass "Mission Impossible 2".

It would be a joke if a Chinese mythical blockbuster won the North American box office annual championship.

All of a sudden, many major media outlets across the United States criticized "Lion Camel Ridge", leaving many viewers at a loss as to what to do.

Because everyone around me who has seen it said it was good, and the media also called it a surprise a while ago, so how come it suddenly became bad?
Then I went to watch it out of curiosity, and wow, the visual effect was amazing!

Throughout August, the North American summer season was dominated by "Lion Camel Ridge". All the films released in the next one or two weeks became cannon fodder, and none of them could compete.

The performance of "Lion Camel Ridge" also soared, breaking through 2.6 million US dollars and million US dollars successively, and finally won a North American box office of million, temporarily ranking first in the year.

This result really scared the major Hollywood film producers and filmmakers.

We can't really let a Chinese-language movie dominate the North American annual box office chart, would that save their reputation?

It's a pity that there are not many good movies released this year. If there were "Titanic" with a North American box office of 97 million in 6.59 or "Star Wars Episode 99" with a North American box office of 4.3 million in 1, it would not have come to this!
When the news reached China, it caused a huge sensation. Many friends came to congratulate Jiang Heng, as if "Lion Camel Ridge" had already firmly won the annual championship.

Jiang Heng knew, however, that the movie "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" starring Jim Carrey at the end of the year achieved almost the same result.

Not to mention that the box office is expected to surpass that of "Lion Camel Ridge", even if it is not as high as "Lion Camel Ridge", the final reported box office results will definitely be higher than "Lion Camel Ridge".

They have never followed the moral code of martial arts!
(End of this chapter)