Huayu 05, our science fiction movie universe

Chapter 649 A Runaway Success in the Spring Festival Film Market

When the main story of "The Martian" ended on the big screen, the audience lingered, reluctant to get up.

With its gripping dual-narrative structure, dramatic pacing, rigorous scientific details, and heartwarming humanistic spirit, this film tells a story about courage, wisdom, and perseverance, proving that in the vast universe, the will to live and the unity of humanity are enough to overcome the most severe challenges.

Of course, there was another reason why the audience didn't get up: they were all waiting for the movie's post-credits scene.

There are two post-credits scenes in The Martian.

In the first post-credits scene, the setting is still the cemetery from the end, but the main characters have changed to Luo Ji and his mentor Ye Wenjie.

The two stood in front of a tombstone with the name "Yang Dong" on it, and just then they saw Zhang Beihai's departing figure.

However, this brush with fate did not bother them. They glanced at each other and then started chatting again.

"Teacher Ye, please accept my condolences."

"Oh well, it's all in the past."

This Easter egg was neither particularly exciting nor particularly memorable; it merely filled the gap in the connection with the movie "The Wallfacer." To be honest, "The Martian" is set earlier than "The Wallfacer," so their release dates should theoretically have been swapped, but it doesn't really matter.

In addition, this Easter egg also serves as a prelude to the upcoming web series "Red Coast" which will be released this summer. Ye Wenjie, a character who only appeared as a minor character in the previous cinematic universe, was not given much screen time.

As for the second post-credits scene in "The Martian," that's quite interesting.

Previously, in order to send supplies to Zhangbeihai on Mars, China's space agency specifically sought help from the United States, asking them to help launch a heavy rocket.

As a result of an accident, the rocket lost its balance and crashed during ascent.

The second bonus scene shows the US space agency investigating the cause of the rocket accident.

They enlarged the footage from when the rocket launched and used technical means to remove noise, but unexpectedly discovered that when the rocket lost its balance, a bird-shaped shadow collided with it.

Of course, they could only see a blurry shadow, but that was surprising enough.

As NASA investigators looked at the footage and stared at each other in bewilderment, a large section of the wrecked rocket was quietly floating on the ocean.

But the next second, a shadow appeared beneath the wreckage, followed by a gaping maw that suddenly opened wide, its sharp teeth standing tall like a forest, gleaming coldly, and easily swallowed the rocket wreckage whole.

This startled the audience in the movie theater, but they quickly became excited because, in the eyes of fans of the [Galaxy Cinematic Universe], this Easter egg was undoubtedly related to the previous movies "Distortion" and "Rampage".

And behind this, Dr. Chen Ang, who is an expert in bioengineering, must be involved.

However, the post-credits scene was ultimately just a prelude and a gimmick. When countless moviegoers walked out of the theater and looked at the dazzling lights of New Year's Eve outside, they felt as if they had been transported to another world, with a sense of unreality.

Just now in the movie theater, they were truly immersed in "The Martian," experiencing Zhang Beihai's ordeal with the film, feeling tense when they needed to be tense, relaxed when they needed to be relaxed, and desperate when they needed to be desperate.

It can only be said that a good movie truly has a unique magic that can make people forget all the troubles and things in reality, and even after the movie ends, they can still savor it for a long time.

Among them, some movie fans couldn't wait to take out their phones and start sharing their movie-watching experiences online.

Loneliness like in "WALL-E", survival like in "Cast Away", optimism like in "Robinson Crusoe", escape like in "Gravity", and plenty of hard science fiction and popular science documentaries.

This is a well-made and standard space science fiction film, and director Wong's skills are definitely reliable.

It's hard to imagine that one day we'll be able to see a space science fiction movie made by us in a movie theater.

It's truly fortunate that Chinese cinema has a director like Wang Hao.

This film is a slap in the face to all the studios that clamor for "new stories." It's just as brilliant as Robinson Crusoe, set in space, over two hundred years ago.

The moment Zhang Beihai started planting, calculating the days, was when the film reached its zenith.

That's something only the Chinese truly understand—why we have such a deep attachment to this land. The instinct for cultivation is deeply ingrained in the very bones of Chinese civilization.

From Shennong tasting hundreds of herbs to creating the world, to growing potatoes on Mars in the space age.

The Chinese nation's down-to-earth, hardworking, and resilient characteristics are vividly displayed in this film.

Like Gravity, this is a space science fiction film that is completely different from the Hollywood narrative structure.

In fact, only in director Wang Hao's films can you truly see what role a suitable future government should play in various events.

The plot is fast-paced, with no contrived twists, everyone's actions are reasonable, and there's no deliberate sentimentality. It almost completely avoided all my triggers. Highly recommended!

Liu Ye delivered another award-winning performance; I feel he deserves an award for "The Martian."

……

There are many similar short reviews. On platforms such as Taopiaopiao, Maoyan, and Douban, the ratings for "The Martian" are mostly 4 or 5 stars, and the opening score hovers around 90 points, with the majority of reviews being positive.

As for the investors and creative teams of other films, their hearts sank to the bottom after watching this movie.

No comparison, absolutely no comparison!
It's simply too strong, strong in every aspect without any weaknesses.

Whether it's the story's pacing, emotional resonance, acting, or special effects, it's almost flawless.

This is something that cannot be achieved by the individual ability of a director alone. "The Martian" is almost the biggest beneficiary of the film industrialization system built by Galaxy Group.

This incredibly strong film raked in a staggering 1.28 million yuan at its advance screenings on New Year's Eve, breaking the record for domestic film box office once again and leaving all other films released in the same period far behind.

The difference in box office revenue was even greater on the second day, which was the first day of the Lunar New Year. With nearly 43% of the screenings and countless positive reviews online, "The Martian" achieved a box office of 4.2 million yuan on the first day of the Lunar New Year.

If the preview screenings on New Year's Eve are included, the film's opening day box office reached 5.4 million yuan, breaking Wang Hao's previous record for the highest-grossing opening day for a mainland Chinese film.

However, most moviegoers are already used to this, since almost all of the box office records in China were set and broken by his or Xinghe Pictures' works.

In contrast to the exaggerated box office figures of "The Martian," the box office performance of other films released during the same period was much more normal.

Following "The Martian" is the sci-fi comedy film "Crazy Alien," which grossed 3.2 million yuan on the first day of the Lunar New Year.

Following "Crazy Alien," the movie "Pegasus" grossed 2.7 million yuan on the first day of the Lunar New Year.

After that, there's no need to talk about "The New King of Comedy" and "The Knight of Shadows: Between Yin and Yang," their box office numbers were abysmal, even worse than those of the two animated films.

It can only be said that the older generation of filmmakers are really going to be swept into the dustbin of history. Even the distributors of these two companies have completely given up on promotion.

The following day, Wang Hao and "The Martian" were featured twice on CCTV-1's 7:00 PM news program.

One instance was a CCTV reporter's report on the packed crowds at Xinghe Amusement Park, showcasing Beijing's outstanding cultural tourism achievements during the Spring Festival and the influence of Xinghe Amusement Park, a landmark amusement park resort, during its first Spring Festival after its completion.

Don't underestimate this point. The outstanding performance of [Star River Paradise] during the Spring Festival in Beijing will ultimately translate into achievements for relevant cultural, tourism, economic, and urban construction departments, and will be shared by leaders at all levels and in all sectors.

Otherwise, why would so many leaders from the district, city, and even ministries have provided such strong support?

Moreover, Galaxy Park, with its completely independent intellectual property rights, is more impressive and deserves to be featured on CCTV's "News Broadcast" than Universal Studios in Hollywood.

While CCTV's "News Broadcast" reported on the immense popularity of Xinghe Amusement Park during the Spring Festival, the aerospace-themed area and the movie "The Martian," which was being heavily promoted in the park, naturally received some screen time. The photographer even gave a close-up of the 1:1 replica of the Mars rover during the parade.

Following the news report about "Galaxy Amusement Park," CCTV's evening news program also covered the film market during the Spring Festival, announcing that the 2019 Spring Festival box office had reached a new high, highlighting the rapid development of the Chinese film market in the past year.

During this process, CCTV's on-site reporter team naturally also interviewed the audience who watched "The Martian".

There's nothing we can do about it; the Martian has the largest audience in theaters.

It is extremely rare in China for someone to appear on CCTV's "News Broadcast" twice in a row.

With this lead, other channels such as the movie channel, military channel, science and technology channel, news channel, and overseas channel naturally followed suit, and they all gave extensive reports on the popularity of "The Martian," giving this Chinese science fiction film high positive reviews from different perspectives.

Such an extravagant promotional campaign naturally further boosted the film's subsequent box office growth.

On the second day of the Lunar New Year, "The Martian" saw a minimal drop in box office revenue, successfully grossing 3.9 million yuan.

On the third day of the Lunar New Year, the screenings of "The Martian" increased, and the box office saw a slight increase, reaching 4 million yuan.

The fourth day of the Lunar New Year...

The Martian's box office performance was phenomenal, and as more and more people watched the movie online, more detailed and lengthy film reviews sprang up like mushrooms after rain.

After all, this is a popular source of traffic right now, and those self-media bloggers certainly won't let it go.

One film review blogger on Douyin, known as "Big Eyes Watching Movies," gained hundreds of thousands of followers by commenting on the film "The Martian."

"【Simple and Not Lonely Martians】"

Every era has its own epic. In this complex era, while Hollywood superheroes are still indulging in philosophical introspection and screen characters are generally filled with bitterness and hatred, director Wang Hao's "The Martian" stands out with a more 'Hollywood' attitude.

It does not pursue obscure philosophical ideas, but uses solid scientific logic, a tenacious national spirit, and the unique pragmatism and romance of China to tell a space epic about survival and rescue.

It can only be said that the center of gravity of world film culture may be gradually shifting eastward.

In "The Martian," Liu Ye portrays Zhang Beihai, who possesses not only the optimism of a scientist and engineer but also the tenacious vitality unique to traditional Chinese soldiers.

His survival wisdom comes not only from technical manuals, but also from the emergency response experience of the new era of Chinese naval vessels, the farming memories of his father's pioneering work, and the spirit of collective cooperation behind the "Tianwen" project.

When Zhang Beihai planted the first potato on Mars, what the audience saw was not only scientific self-rescue, but also the profound attachment of Chinese civilization to the land—from the slash-and-burn agriculture of Chinese civilization to Chinese astronauts planting potatoes on Mars, this survival instinct spanning thousands of years made the film's theme transcend individual heroism and become a symbol of national spirit.

This may be the key factor that has led to Hollywood films, after a long period of development, struggling to reach their peak and even beginning to decline.

Their works are precisely lacking that cultural core brought about by historical accumulation.

In addition to its consistent adherence to the core spirit of Chinese civilization, director Wang Hao's "The Martian" not only continues the hard science fiction style of his previous film "Gravity," but also takes a step further in terms of cinematic quality.

What we can see is a comprehensive advancement and improvement in the entire film industry, from directing techniques to the on-screen and behind-the-scenes aspects.

The red desert of Mars, the scientific design of the Zhurong Base, the mechanical details of the landing vehicle, and even the chemical reaction of hydrazine to produce water are all presented in a realistic style almost like a documentary.

Unlike the grand and lyrical nature of "Gravity," this film is closer to the pragmatic spirit of "Apollo 13"—there are no out-of-focus romantic shots, and you can see almost every piece of equipment and every screw clearly.

It can be said that the technical beauty presented in the film has reached its pinnacle.

In addition, unlike the "idealistic utopias" that often appear in Hollywood science fiction films, Wang's science fiction films tend to emphasize the efficient collaboration and responsibility of the state apparatus.

In "The Martian," whether it's the debates at the space command center, the balancing acts within the bureaucratic system, or even the spirit of sacrifice of the "Tianwen-6" team members, all showcase the unique collective decision-making culture of China.

When Zhang Hongyi (played by Zhang Hanyu) orders, "Do everything possible to survive," this command is backed by a national commitment, not an individualistic adventure.

The film's ending, where Zhang Beihai returns and declines media attention to quietly dedicate himself to the construction of the space force, elevates the theme further—for a civilization, individual heroism is merely a drop in the ocean; only when such drops come together can we create miracles.

(End of this chapter)