Chapter 90 It’s hard to get a vote

In 2001, China had just joined the WTO and was on the eve of economic take-off, and the overall national economy was still underdeveloped.

But even in the poorest countries, there are still a large number of rich people.

In fact, the poorer the place, the greater the gap between the rich and the poor is likely to be.

Not to mention that the market economy tide of the 20 years of reform and opening up has created a large number of wealthy people.

Some of them are ambitious and never stop striving.

But there are even more people who are lost in wealth, living a life of luxury and debauchery all day long, wanting to live as luxuriously and as prestige-wise as possible.

With an investment of hundreds of millions of US dollars and co-production between China and the United States, the world's first mecha special effects blockbuster was released, but this was not a big stimulus to these people.

But as the world's first IMAX movie with super-stunning visual effects, and with only five IMAX screens in the world, all of which are in China, this gimmick is quite attractive.

During the preview period, IMAX ticket prices increased six or seven times, but many rich people didn't notice it.

With extensive publicity in the media and on the Internet, some rich people finally realized that it would be very prestigious to use this ticket to show it to themselves or to give it to friends or leaders!
For a time, the advance tickets for the first day of the release in IMAX theaters in five cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu and Wuhan, under the China Film Red Cinema Line, were almost sold out instantly.

On the black market, the starting price for twenty-one IMAX movie tickets is two hundred.

Some bold and unscrupulous people can sell the product even if they ask for three hundred.

In Shanghai, real estate businessman Chen Shifu yelled into the phone, "Three hundred, these bastards are really brave to ask for it, give it to him, give it to him, remember, two tickets, and they have to be during prime time!"

The assistant on the other end negotiated with the scalper for a few words, and then said again on the phone, "Um, Mr. Chen, during prime time, it's 400 per ticket!"

"Four……!"

Chen Shifu was so angry that he almost choked. He thought he was dark enough, but he didn't expect there were people who were darker than him.

A movie ticket worth twenty-one people was resold for four hundred.

If he had not retired and started big business in recent years, he would have considered taking a group of brothers to take down these scalpers and then start his own business.

"Give it to him, give it to him!"

After Chen Shifu finished speaking, he added: "Add two more, but not at the same time!"

The assistant was stunned, thinking that Mr. Chen was in a mood and wanted to take his lover to the movies!

But Chen Shifu didn't know that the two tickets were originally bought for Secretary Song's daughter.

The two additional ones can be given to Secretary Song himself!

Whether he is taking people to see the movie himself or sending others to see it, he must remember the favor.

Although I haven't been able to completely cling to this big tree yet, I have done more things for the other party and there will be a chance eventually.

In Guangzhou, in the office of a toy factory owner, a boss wearing a vest, shorts and slippers, holding a stack of IMAX movie tickets for the first day of the release of Pacific Rim, clapped his hands and said, "Everyone has been really hard-working during this period. I will reward everyone with two IMAX movie tickets for Pacific Rim!"

"Wow, long live the boss, you're so nice!"

"Really? I queued for a long time but couldn't buy it. Boss, you really touched me!" The boss waved his hand and continued, "It's not just to watch the movie. There are tasks. You must remember the characteristics of each mecha and each monster in the movie. Whether you can make a fortune depends on this time!"

However, this person also realized it later because he was busy with other orders. By the time he noticed the news that "Pacific Rim" was about to be released, the preview in Guangzhou had already ended.

An employee showed him photos of mechas downloaded from the official website of "Pacific Rim". His eyes instantly lit up and he hurriedly ordered everyone to get the relevant information.

Unfortunately, although the mecha photos on the official website are high-definition, they are basically partial details.

The "Wanderer" in the premiere trailer does give us a glimpse of the entire scene, but because it is a fight in the dark, the video quality is not good and many parts are too blurry.

The boss wanted to invite a few key employees to watch the movie, firstly as a reward for their previous order, and secondly to prepare to copy the mecha and monster toys from "Pacific Rim" and make a fortune.

Although he hasn't seen it yet, based on his years of business experience, he believes that such mecha toys must be selling very well.

In Guangzhou, there are many toy manufacturers who have the same idea as him, and they are all ready to make a big splash.

Some people even gave up the domestic market and aimed directly at overseas markets, making agreements with distributors in Southeast Asia, the United States and other places. After the release of "Pacific Rim", the factory will imitate the mecha and monster toys as soon as possible, and then ship them out by sea and put them on the market.

It can be said that too many people are waiting in the wings to take advantage of the potential profits that this film may generate.

On July 7, "Pacific Rim" was officially released in mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, North America, Japan, the United Kingdom and other countries and regions where the film was split into two parts.

Because there were no so-called midnight screenings and after a long period of extensive publicity, the 8:30 a.m. show in many theaters was the earliest screening time for "Pacific Rim."

In China, long queues instantly formed in front of cinemas in commercial districts of major cities, and the queues were filled with young men and women with expectant expressions.

Especially those who had IMAX theater tickets and brought their girlfriends with them, they were extremely proud.

It’s because there is no circle of friends these days, otherwise I would have posted a few updates every now and then!

The audiences who walked into the theater and watched the IMAX version were so excited when they left the theater that they all became "tap water" and recommended the film to their relatives and friends.

Of course, there is an element of showing off in doing this.

After all, if you pay a little attention to the movie market, you will know how hard it is to buy tickets and how high the prices are charged by scalpers.

There was even a couple who were lucky enough to buy IMAX movie tickets at normal prices early on, but when they arrived, they were fooled by scalpers who "purchased them at high prices" and sold them at 150 yuan per ticket.

The young couple took 300 yuan and went shopping happily in the mall. The scalper sold the ticket for 250 yuan each to a lawyer named Zhang Wei.

It can be said that after the film was released, the word "explosive" is not enough to describe how popular Pacific Rim is; the only word that can be used is "explosive".

Because on the third day of the movie's release, which was Sunday night, the IMAX playback equipment in a certain theater malfunctioned due to long-term continuous playback, causing the audience in the theater to become excited.

Some audience members shouted excitedly, "I bought the ticket at a high price from a scalper and drove hundreds of kilometers just to watch the IMAX version. Now you tell me it's broken and can't be shown?"
No, it must be released!

The audiences in the theater basically made the same demands. The staff members were scolded to the point of tears and had no choice but to go find the manager.

But the manager couldn't solve the problem, so he could only send someone to contact the manufacturer to seek technical support and calm the audience.

But the audience didn't listen to this. They were all excited, waving their arms and rolling up their sleeves, and it seemed that a violent conflict was about to break out.

The theater manager was really helpless and knelt down in front of the audience!
(End of this chapter)