Chinese Entertainment: Academic Director

Chapter 491 New Record
"Like Father, Like Son" did not choose to be released on a traditional Friday; June 21st is Father's Day, which is a Sunday.

Logically speaking, June is the summer movie season, the best time for both domestic and international films. Movies released during this period are generally ambitious and highly competitive.

However, June is already almost over, and so far, no movie released in China has become a huge hit.

The only competitive film is the Hollywood blockbuster "Terminator Salvation," which was released on the 9th. After more than ten days in theaters, its box office has barely reached 2018 million yuan. Now, the daily box office is declining sharply, and based on the current trend, it is uncertain whether it will eventually reach 7000 million yuan.

As for domestic films, quite a few were released this month.

There are also several movies starring big stars, such as "Kung Fu Chef" which will be released on the 16th.

The cast is quite luxurious, featuring a host of big stars including Sammo Hung, Wu Jianhao, Ying Cai'er, Ai Kago, Hung Tin-ming, Lam Chi-chung, Fan Siu-wong, and Leung Hiu-lung, and it's an action comedy film.

Hung Kam-po's fame and status in Hong Kong need no further explanation.

Wu Jianhao was a member of F4, a group that was once very popular throughout Asia, and he was also very well-known in China.

Yingcai'er has become very popular in Hong Kong and Taiwan in recent years.

Ai Kago debuted as a member of Morning Musume.

Lam Chi-chung and Fan Siu-wong were both stars in Hong Kong, especially Fan Siu-wong, who rose to fame with the film "Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky," and his role as Xu Zhu in "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils" is also a classic.

There's also Leung Siu-lung, who became a sensation across mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong with his role as "Chen Zhen," and then made a successful comeback with his role in Stephen Chow's "Fire Cloud Evil God."

With such a cast and crew, even if the movie was terrible, it should have attracted a large audience to the theaters a few days ago. But on the first day of its release, "Kung Fu Chef" didn't even gross 500,000.

The mainland side was completely overwhelmed; not even a splash was made.

Hong Kong should at least show some performance, right?
Yes, that's certainly impressive; HK$40 in three days.

So far, of all the domestic films released in June, only the animated film "Malan Flower," released on the 19th, has grossed over 1 million yuan on its opening day; all the others have not.

Actually, saying 100 million is a bit of an exaggeration, because apart from "Malan Flower" which grossed 170 million on its opening day, all the other domestic films released in June had opening day grosses of less than 50.

This is actually the current state of the domestic film market.

Don't be fooled by the fact that several Chinese-language films gross over 100 million or even 200 million yuan each year, and occasionally even 300 million yuan. In reality, 80% of these films struggle to even reach 10 million yuan.

The polarization of Chinese-language films is very serious.

Hollywood films account for roughly half of the total box office revenue for domestic films each year, while Chinese-language films, including those from Hong Kong and Taiwan, account for the other half.

This is even with annual quotas on imported Hollywood films, and with these imported films deliberately competing against each other.

Without the targeted adjustments made above and the pressure from the US to hold onto the share of imported films, the Chinese market would have long been occupied by Hollywood, just like Hong Kong, Taiwan, and most other places.

"Perhaps this is one of the purposes of using 'Like Father, Like Son' for the experiment mentioned above."

Cao Yang looked at the information about movies and box office figures for June in his hand and thought to himself.

Following the release of "Like Father, Like Son" on the 21st, there are 7 more movies scheduled for release in the remaining 10 days of June.

However, after taking a closer look, Cao Yang realized that apart from "Transformers 2," which was released on the 24th, the other six films were ones he had never heard of in his previous life.

In other words, throughout June, the only competitive films were "Terminator Salvation," which had been in theaters for more than ten days, and "Transformers 2," which was released three days later than "Like Father, Like Son."

Terminator Salvation has exhausted its potential and poses almost no threat to Like Father, Like Son. Therefore, only Transformers 2 is the real enemy.

That's how it should be.

However, the capacity of the domestic box office market is no longer what it was a few years ago. In the same period, only one film can become a blockbuster, while the others are siphoned off.

With the exponential growth in the number of screens in China in recent years, it's not just a matter of one movie becoming a huge hit in the same release window; even two or three movies can be accommodated.

However, "Like Father, Like Son" and "Transformers 2" are not the same type of film, so they are not really in competition.

"In other words, 'Like Father, Like Son' really has a good chance of becoming a big hit."

Cao Yang rested his chin on his hand and thought for a moment. He then called General Manager Han of China Film Group and asked him to prepare in advance and arrange more roadshows depending on the box office performance of "Like Father, Like Son".

"If 'Like Father, Like Son' really has a chance to be a big hit, then Wu Qihua, Huang Bo, and Sister Hong will have to work hard to promote it. I think they would be happy to do so as long as the box office is good."

Because "Like Father, Like Son" was released on a Sunday, which is a weekend, the first screening wasn't scheduled for 8 or 9 a.m., but instead, it was scheduled for midnight.

Given that it's the weekend and the popularity of "Like Father, Like Son," scheduling a midnight screening is quite necessary.

Last year, midnight screenings could only be shown in about twenty major cities across the country. Smaller cities were not lacking in the conditions for midnight screenings, but rather in the fact that there were fewer viewers, so there was no need to schedule midnight screenings.

This year, the number of cities that can arrange midnight screenings has increased by more than ten. It may not seem like much, but the number of cinemas that can arrange midnight screenings has almost more than doubled.

This is because more cinemas have been built in big cities, especially those cities that can arrange midnight screenings. Which city hasn't seen an increase of cinemas?

Cao Yang was actually quite looking forward to the midnight screenings. After all, there were more cinemas, big cities were safer in the past two years, and nightlife was more vibrant, so there were more moviegoers and couples watching midnight screenings.

Since he was interested in the midnight showing, Cao Yang decided to go and see how it went.

Of course, you can't go alone in the middle of the night.

Li Xiaoran has already set off for Shanghai today to promote her film.

Cao Yang had originally decided to take the day off tonight, but since he was going to see the midnight showing, he couldn't go with Lao Tian or President Han, could he?
Currently, among his many female confidantes, Li Xiaoran and Gao Yuanyuan are not in Beijing, Dong Xuan has gone to Guangzhou to film a movie, Pang Bing is in the United States, and Jing Tian is filming "The Great Biography of Sun Tzu" in Zhuozhou, Hebei Province.

After much deliberation, the only person who could be confirmed to be in Beijing was Yu Feihong, a semi-retired actress and homebody.

So Cao Yang went to Yu Feihong's place. The two of them dressed up and went to a movie theater in Beijing that wasn't in a very busy area to see how it went.

This cinema is owned by China Film Stellar Media Group, and the decor is decent.

When the two arrived, it was already past 11 p.m. They hadn't booked movie tickets, and they couldn't expect the midnight showings to be sold out, could they?

It wasn't packed.

However, there seemed to be a lot of people in the audience, and the seats I bought were very far back.

"Two tickets for the movie 'Like Father, Like Son'."

Cao Yang and Yu Feihong had just bought their tickets when they heard a couple behind them also buying tickets for "Like Father, Like Son".

"Wait a minute before going in, I'm going to buy some drinks."

Cao Yang said to Yu Feihong.

"Forget it, it's late at night, eating will make you gain weight. You have no idea how much effort I put into maintaining my current figure."

Yu Feihong stopped Cao Yang from going.

"Let's sit here for a while and observe how the tickets are selling."

Cao Yang thought for a moment, then pulled Yu Feihong to a secluded corner to sit down without saying much.

He was actually just curious about the midnight screenings; he wasn't particularly concerned about box office performance.

The two sat for about ten minutes and watched as more and more couples came in. Indeed, most of the people watching the midnight show were couples; there were almost no single people watching the midnight show.

Without exception, all of them chose "Like Father, Like Son".

This China Film Stellar Cinema wasn't in a prime location, but the midnight screening was surprisingly 90% full, which genuinely surprised Cao Yang. "Are there really this many people watching midnight screenings?"

In the screening room, Yu Feihong looked at the almost full theater and couldn't help but ask.

"Maybe it's because this is Beijing, plus it's the weekend and I don't have to work tomorrow. Well, I also have a lot of fans and a good reputation. It's still very romantic for couples to watch a movie before checking into a hotel."

Cao Yang chuckled and whispered in Yu Feihong's ear.

Yu Feihong smiled and gripped Cao Yang's hand with a little more force.

"Should we do what these couples do and go to a hotel after the movie? I wonder if it would be more romantic."

Cao Yang couldn't help but tease him.

Yu Fei glared at Cao Yang, then gripped his hand and tightened her grip again.

"You don't want to come to my place, do you? Are you starting to dislike me? Have you lost your passion for me? Are you still thinking about going to hotels for fun? Do you often take other girls to hotels for fun?"

Yu Feihong unleashed a barrage of attacks on Cao Yang, leaving him completely bewildered.

"No, no, sister, I was wrong. Let's not go to the hotel, let's just stay at home... Hmm, I haven't tried anything else in the kitchen yet, how about we try something in the kitchen tonight?"

Cao Yang quickly changed the subject by using more sensitive language.

"Pah, all you do is torment me. I don't want to. You'll sleep in the guest room tonight and you're not allowed in my bedroom."

Just as Yu Feihong finished speaking, the movie started playing, so she stared at the big screen with a serious expression.

The chatter and talking in the theater gradually subsided and eventually disappeared.

Cao Yang observed that although the audience's emotions fluctuated with the plot of the movie, there was some whispering and discussion, but not much fluctuation. Even going to the toilet during the movie was rare.

This shows that the audience was engaged and at least didn't lose immersion, which is a good sign.

After the movie ended and the lights in the theater came on, Cao Yang saw that many girls had red eyes, and some were even wiping away tears.

"hiss……"

Cao Yangguang was busy observing the others and didn't notice Yu Feihong next to him. Yu Feihong, with red eyes, twisted Cao Yang's waist.

It hurts.

"You're still so heartless. The child is so pitiful, and you still won't let him go. Why did you have to create a scene where he secretly took pictures of his father? He's so sensible, it makes me want to cry. What a pitiful child."

Cao Yang was both amused and exasperated. This plot arrangement was indeed tear-jerking and served as a turning point and a turning point in the father-son relationship.

Without this plot point, "Like Father, Like Son" would definitely lack a lot of emotional resonance.

"Since you like children so much, let's go back and have one tonight."

Cao Yang quickly said in a low voice.

"Humph."

Yu Feihong slightly raised her chin, her eyes were red-rimmed, but she seemed to be smiling.

As they walked out, the two deliberately paid attention to the whispers and comments from the audience.

"When the father discovered all the blurry photos his son had secretly taken with his camera, I cried uncontrollably. That child was so pitiful; he idolized his father, and his father treated him like that..."

"I think the small business owner who wears a dirty T-shirt and takes a bath with his child is the most qualified father. I feel that elite education is the most terrifying and stressful thing for children."

"Those blurry photos contain the purest love of children. When the children looked through them one by one, I almost cried. Wasn't this supposed to be a heartwarming film?"

……

"It seems that the part that left the deepest impression on the audience after watching the movie was the photo taken by the child with a camera."

Cao Yang thought to himself.

What moves the audience and leaves a lasting impression is what makes a film memorable, what sparks discussion, and what makes a film successful.

"Let's go, we can get a good night's sleep tonight."

Cao Yang said to Yu Feihong with a smile.

Yu Feihong pursed her lips; she didn't believe it.

Besides, she didn't want Cao Yang to get a good night's sleep.

Furthermore, she made up her mind that after she finished using him tonight, she would kick Cao Yang into the guest room and keep her word, refusing to let him sleep in the bedroom.

Cao Yang did not sleep in the bedroom tonight, but Yu Feihong also did not manage to sleep in the bedroom.

Cao Yang's phone rang before seven o'clock in the morning.

Yu Feihong mumbled something, and like an octopus, she clung tightly to Cao Yang, refusing to let him leave.

She was really exhausted last night.

She couldn't quite remember how she got to the guest room.

Cao Yang stretched out his hand and barely managed to reach the phone. Luckily, the phone was close by, otherwise he really wouldn't have been able to reach it.

He checked the number and, just as he suspected, it was President Han calling.

Cao Yang could roughly guess that the box office results for the midnight screening of "Like Father, Like Son" were probably out, and the results should be pretty good, otherwise President Han wouldn't have called so early in the morning.

"Cao Yang, did I disturb your rest?"

"I asked with a smile on my face over the phone," Mr. Han asked.

"I didn't fall asleep until 4 a.m. last night."

Cao Yang glanced at Yu Feihong, who was hugging him tightly, and said weakly.

"Oh dear, I'm so sorry."

Mr. Han laughed and quickly said, "I'll keep it short, you can rest after you finish. The box office figures for the midnight screenings of 'Like Father, Like Son' have been tallied, guess what... never mind, I'll just tell you directly."

853 million! 853 million!

This is a new midnight screening record, exceeding the record set by "Love in the Seaside City" last year by a full 223 million!
The box office for this midnight screening was incredible! I find it almost unbelievable.

Haha, you know you've set a new record again, and I think this record will definitely stand for a long time. Okay, I won't bother you anymore, go and get some rest, haha..."

The midnight screenings of "Like Father, Like Son" had excessively high box office numbers?
Can it last a long time?
This is nothing!

曹阳不由得想到了17年上映的《速度与激情8》创下的1.68亿元零点场的记录，还有在那两年后的19年《复仇者联盟4》创新下的1.79亿元的零点场新纪录。

Compared to them, "Like Father, Like Son" is only a fraction of their quality.

The domestic box office potential is huge.

(End of this chapter)