Chinese Entertainment: Academic Director

Chapter 296 Single-Day Box Office Record
After the film's release, there wasn't much need to be put into its promotion in China.

All we need to do is let everyone know that Cao Yang's 15 billion yuan investment in "Inception" has been released. Cao Yang and the 15 billion yuan investment are the biggest selling points of this movie.

In addition, the film features international superstars like Johnny Depp and Leonardo DiCaprio, which easily attracts audiences to the theater and creates a movie-going frenzy.

In fact, this is indeed the case.

Because it was a simultaneous global release, Depp and others stayed in the US to promote the film, while only Leonardo DiCaprio came to China with Cao Yang. In addition, there were Fan Bingbing and Wu Qihua, so the group couldn't possibly travel to many cities to promote the film.

Besides, Leonardo DiCaprio is only making a cameo appearance in the film. It's already a favor that he came to China to promote the movie. Expecting him to join the roadshow? That's simply impossible.

In addition, since it's a global simultaneous release, Hong Kong, South Korea, and The Little Days are all scheduled to be released on July 14th. These are all good ticket markets, especially South Korea and The Little Days, which I'll definitely be going to.

On July 14th, Cao Yang and his group first flew to Hong Kong. In the afternoon, under the arrangement of Columbia Asia staff, they held a fairly grand promotional ceremony.

It was called a promotional ceremony, but it was practically a premiere.

This time, Cao Yang received an unprecedented welcome in Hong Kong, with extensive media coverage.

No matter how unwilling they were to report it before, one undeniable fact is that, including Hong Kong and Taiwan, Cao Yang is the most famous Chinese figure and the most influential Chinese in Hollywood.

Hong Kong is a city where it is very easy to go abroad. Anyone who goes abroad, no matter which Western country they are in, can deeply feel that Cao Yang's influence is not on the same level as Li An, Cheng Long, or Li Lianjie.

Of course, the frenzied reporting by Hong Kong media was also partly due to Leonardo DiCaprio's visit.

Leonardo DiCaprio is a global superstar, and his fame and influence in Hong Kong are even greater than in mainland China.

Hong Kong's celebrities are also very interesting, and they are somewhat different from those in mainland China.

For example, if a mainland Chinese celebrity wants to attend the premiere of "Inception," they have to find a plausible reason, such as going with someone else who has been invited—that's the most reasonable excuse.

However, things are different in Hong Kong. Without an invitation, many celebrities would come to the venue to "show their support," and they were very professional when interviewed, constantly recommending the movie and expressing their admiration for Cao Yang...

In short, those who don't know the inside story might think they are very familiar with Cao Yang.

In the midst of all the hustle and bustle, a publicity campaign that was more lively and exciting than many movie premieres left Cao Yang feeling utterly exhausted.

He never expected that a simple publicity campaign would turn into such a huge event, attracting so many Hong Kong celebrities.

Not only did familiar faces like Jackie Chan, Donnie Yen, Tsui Hark, and Chen Guo attend, but many first- and second-tier Hong Kong stars who were previously unknown also came.

These were the ones who were able to come over and greet Cao Yang, and there were also many minor celebrities who wanted to come over but were stopped.

It wasn't that Cao Yang was putting on airs; it was just that there were too many people. They couldn't turn the movie promotion into a meet-and-greet, could they?
Before its film and television industry "withered," Hong Kong truly flourished, genuinely influenced East and Southeast Asia, and deserved to be called the Hollywood of the East...

Therefore, one of the legacies left behind is that there are too many celebrities!

According to the itinerary, the next day everyone will go to South Korea for promotion, then to Xiao Rizi for promotion, then return to China, spend a day promoting in Shenzhen and Guangzhou, then go to Shanghai for promotion, and then Leonardo DiCaprio will leave.

Leonardo DiCaprio is not the main character.

Officially it's a cameo, but the poster shows him as a special lead, and he's actually a very large supporting actor with a lot of screen time... No matter how you define it, for someone of Leonardo DiCaprio's status to do this much is already giving Cao Yang a lot of face.

Leonardo DiCaprio is very direct. He once publicly stated in the media that the reason he made a cameo appearance in this movie was firstly because the movie was indeed excellent, but most importantly, because the director of the movie was Cao Yang.

Hong Kong media are quite inquisitive. Today they asked Leonardo DiCaprio why he was promoting the movie so enthusiastically as a guest star, and whether it was related to Columbia Pictures.

For example, will there be in-depth cooperation with Colombia going forward?

Leonardo DiCaprio paused for a moment, then said directly, "A collaboration with Columbia? No, no, no, my current work schedule doesn't include any collaboration with Columbia, of course, this film, Inception, doesn't count."

I've stated clearly before that Director Cao Yang is one of the directors I admire most, and also the director I most want to work with. I turned down many other jobs to participate in the film's promotion, and this was entirely my own choice, because the director of this film is Cao Yang.

At this point, he spread his hands and smiled, saying to the camera:

"Director Cao Yang, you see? I am a very dedicated actor. If you have any film projects in the future, as long as the role is suitable, you must call me immediately."

If Depp saw this interview, he would probably curse Leonardo DiCaprio for being despicable and shameless, "stealing" his director Cao Yang.

Leonardo DiCaprio's interview caused a huge sensation in Hong Kong. Ordinary people would never have imagined that the "high and mighty" DiCaprio would be so "flattering" of a director from mainland China.

While surprised, Hong Kong's stars also felt it was somewhat natural. No matter where in the world, once a director reaches a certain level, they will always be a level above the stars.

Hmm, thinking about it this way, they realized that flattering Cao Yang today was actually a wise choice. Didn't they see that even Little Li did the same?

Cao Yang met Zhang Baizhi again.

At this time of year, the cypress sap is still very moist and tender all over. Cao Yang knows this all too well.

Although Bai Zhi hinted that he could go to Cao Yang's hotel for a visit, well, to sit for a while.

However, this is Hong Kong, a city famous for its paparazzi, and Cao Yang's itinerary was not a secret, so we had to regretfully give up.

Another reason is that there is a flight from Hong Kong to Incheon, Seoul at 12:30 am tonight, arriving at 5:00 am, and Cao Yang and his group are going to take this flight.

So, I didn't have time to do it.

Oh, by the way, it's not called Hancheng anymore. Last January, Seoul's mayor, Lee Myung-bak, announced that Hancheng had been officially renamed Seoul and solemnly informed the Chinese government that they could no longer translate their capital as Hancheng.

Since it was still early, everyone went to the hotel arranged by the organizers to rest.

Cao Yang felt like he had just fallen asleep when he was woken up by the phone call.

He picked it up and saw that it was Lao Han calling. He didn't answer the phone right away, but checked the time. It was already past 10 a.m.

As soon as the call connected, Lao Han's hearty laughter came through.

"Junior brother, did I disturb your rest? I reckon you should be up by now."

He knew Cao Yang's schedule; Cao Yang was to attend a welcome banquet arranged by the organizers at noon, and he felt that Cao Yang should be awake by then.

Fat Bing opened her eyes; she had also been woken up by the phone call.

After arriving at the hotel, the two didn't do anything. They were already tired from the previous day, and then they had to catch an early morning flight, so they just cuddled and slept soundly.

Seeing Cao Yang half-lying on the bed answering the phone, she turned her eyes and crawled under the covers.

"Hiss...how much?"

Cao Yang was shocked. Let's just say that's how it is.

"Haha, junior brother, let me tell you, I didn't believe it when I first found out either. I had to confirm it several times before I finally believed it."

Old Han laughed heartily on the phone, extremely pleased. He believed that Cao Yang must have been just as shocked as he had been when he first heard about the box office results.

"Yesterday, the domestic box office broke records, with a single-day box office exceeding 50 million, raising the previous single-day box office record by more than 10 million. Most importantly, of those 50 million, 41 million came from 'Inception'! Haha..."

"hiss……"

Cao Yang couldn't help but gasp and quickly said, "No, senior brother, let me catch my breath. This result is too good. I need to... I need to calm down or move around a bit..."

"I understand, I understand, haha, junior brother, don't even mention you, I still feel like I'm dreaming. Goodness, your box office in one day is higher than the total box office of most movies."

President Han also took a breath, clicked his tongue twice, and finally said, "Junior brother, calm down first, and I'll calm down too. Anyway, congratulations, haha..."

After hanging up the phone, President Han couldn't help but clench his fist hard.

Then, he slapped his forehead, caught up in his joy, and forgot to tell Cao Yang something.

Yesterday, "Inception" was released, and today not only are the box office results in, but the word-of-mouth is also amazing, with very few negative reports. A movie-going frenzy has already formed, but that's not the most surprising thing.

What's most surprising is that the first commercial IMAX theater built last year at Beijing Huaxing Cinema already has tickets available for pre-sale for up to two weeks in advance!
That's right, it will be two weeks from now.

Yesterday morning, everyone who watched "Inception" in the IMAX theater was utterly amazed by the effects. Naturally, the IMAX theaters, which are still very rare in China, became incredibly popular.

Out of curiosity, Mr. Han went to the IMAX theater to try it out, and the effect was truly excellent, especially the scene where the street flipped; Mr. Han didn't even know how to describe it.

Unfortunately, there are too few IMAX theaters in China now; otherwise, given the ridiculously expensive ticket prices, he believes the box office would be even more astonishing.

When Cao Yang and his team were promoting their work in South Korea, they encountered a situation similar to that in Hong Kong, or even more exaggerated.

In comparison, the class divisions in the South Korean film and television industry are more pronounced.

Cao Yang felt this most deeply.

In Hong Kong, while there are social classes among celebrities, they are not very distinct.

South Korea is different. The "Korean Wave" that started to become popular in China, their "oppas," their "goddesses," and those Korean idol groups, no matter how popular they are, cannot be served at the dinner table.

Of course, it's acceptable when entertaining guests.

(End of this chapter)