I was just thinking about taking the arts exam and you said I've been playing supporting roles

Chapter 322: Giving the Chinese entertainment industry a sneak peek!

2011 11 Month 9 Day.

Inside the chairman's office of Shanghai Film Group.

Several people stared at the news on their computers in silence.

"So Young" surpasses 100 million yuan in pre-sales, breaking the record for the fastest pre-sales to reach 100 million yuan in Chinese film history!

"With 1.2 million yuan in 4 days, 'So Young' surpasses 'Transformers 3' to become the top-grossing pre-sale film in China!"

The original cast and crew of "Love is Not Blind 2: So Young," the sequel to "Love is Not Blind," are coming this Singles' Day!

……

Just one day later, domestic media and social media platforms were almost overwhelmingly reporting on the pre-sale and box office information of "So Young".

Even the interactions between Chen Jin and Zhu Yanmanzi on Weibo were unearthed by portal websites and reported as news.

With only two days left until the Taobao Dida online and offline premiere gala for Singles' Day, in addition to the main cast and crew of "So Young," the event will also feature Wang Fei, the original singer of the theme song for "So Young," Chen Chusheng, the newly crowned champion of "Super Boy," and the top ten contestants, as well as last year's "Super Girl" contestants...

Alibaba and Didi have clearly maximized their traffic this time, launching their promotions well in advance.

Not only will Hunan TV broadcast this event, but several online platforms will also be live streaming it.

Needless to say, everyone knows this movie is a huge hit, not to mention industry insiders; if the movie's quality is good, breaking film records is not out of the question.

"Mr. Ren, should we... withdraw the film?"

Chen Xunqi, sporting a small mustache, looked at a leader sitting at the head of the table. This leader was Ren Zhonglun, the CEO of Shanghai Film Group, who had invested in numerous films, including "Bright Sword," "2046," and "Perhaps Love," and held a prominent position in the domestic film and television capital circle.

His previous investment, "Heroines of the Yang Family," was originally scheduled to premiere on November 18, a week later than "So Young," precisely because he was afraid it wouldn't be able to compete with Chen Jin's new film on Singles' Day.

After all, the success of "Love is Not Blind" last year was evident to the entire industry, and many film companies still dare not go head-to-head with it; the film starring Jackie Chan and Jet Li the month before last is the best reference.

Learn from past mistakes!
Even Jackie Chan and Jet Li are no match for them, let alone "Legendary Heroines of the Yang Family," which is far inferior to them!
Although neither "1911 Revolution" nor "The Legend of the White Snake" received good reviews, the film starring and directed by Jackie Chan only grossed over 30 million yuan at the box office. Jet Li's comeback costume martial arts film also failed to break 100 million yuan during the National Day holiday, only grossing over 80 million yuan.

This all illustrates a significant problem.

The influence of older generation box office draw artists is gradually declining in mainland China; while new voices are rising, and these are local rising stars, with an unstoppable trend. This is the fastest-changing market trend in mainland China.

Now, Chen Jin's new film "So Young" has swept the country, leaving many industry leaders completely stunned.

1.2 million in 4 days, and that's just pre-sales.

Even Hollywood blockbusters seem no match for this movie, so who can stop it?

The main creators of "Legendary Heroines of the Yang Family" were clearly restless, which is why this meeting was held, including the film's producer and executive producer, Jackie Chan.

A few months ago, his "The 1911 Revolution" had just gone head-to-head with Chen Jin's "Major Events in Life," and ultimately suffered a crushing defeat.

This made Jackie Chan remember this newly emerging supernova in mainland China.

Chen Xunqi has collaborated with him for many years and is the director of "Legendary Heroines". He is very famous in the Hong Kong film industry and has composed many Hong Kong film scores. He is a master in music, but his directing... is rather appalling.

"Project A" is probably his most successful directorial work, but unfortunately it was also co-directed with Jackie Chan and Chan Chi-wah.

"..."

The meeting room fell silent after Chen Xunqi finished asking his question.

Everyone looked at Ren Zhonglun, waiting for him to speak; "Heroines of the Yang Family" was a film he invested in, and the decision to withdraw it from release and its promotion was ultimately up to him.

"If it's withdrawn, has a new release date been chosen?"

He glanced at Chen Xunqi.

"Next month, December, the Lunar New Year film season!"

Chen Xunqi said, "There aren't any big movies at the beginning of the month, so we can make some arrangements!"

"Big brother!"

Ren Zhonglun suddenly looked at Cheng Long, who had been silent all along: "Have you heard of the blockbuster effect? ​​I recently heard this professional term, it seems to have come from Hollywood!"

"I know!"

"By riding on this wave of popularity, we might be able to do even better if we release the film!"

Cheng Long smiled slightly.

Because blockbuster movies attract more people to the cinema, some people may not be able to buy tickets for the movie they originally wanted to see, so they buy tickets for other movies instead.

There is indeed a saying that good blockbusters can drive viewership.

Moreover, a more direct manifestation of the blockbuster effect is the increase in the movie-going audience in the following year; for example, after "Wolf Warrior 2" broke 50 billion yuan at the box office, films that used to rarely reach 30 billion yuan suddenly became more common.

Because many first-time moviegoers fell in love with watching movies, the number of people who originally liked movies might have increased from 1 million to 1.2 million or even more due to blockbuster films, which led to an overall increase in box office revenue.

Movies often gross over 5 million, and it's become the norm for them to gross over 10 billion.

This is all due to the subsequent expansion brought about by blockbuster movies.

"Yup!"

"It's impossible for Chen Jin's new film to secure all screenings. If we hold onto our screenings and the quality is good, we still have a chance!"

Ren Zhonglun was simply sharing his thoughts with Cheng Long.

The withdrawal and rescheduling of a film are major issues, and meetings will be held to discuss them comprehensively.

It requires a vote, not a decision made by a few individuals.

Chen Xunqi was only there to report and make a suggestion; ultimately, Ren Zhonglun had to make the final decision and convene a comprehensive discussion on withdrawing the film.

Upon hearing Ren Zhonglun's words, Cheng Long glanced at his long-time partner, clearly wanting him to answer the question.

In the past two weeks, "Heroines of the Yang Family" has held an internal screening, and the feedback has been quite unsatisfactory; this is the main reason why Chen Xunqi wanted Ren Zhonglun to withdraw the film from release.

Can't beat it.

Totally unbeatable.

Moreover, he may suffer a backlash, and as a director, he may be unable to direct any more films.

If it's pulled from its original release date and rescheduled, it might be able to compete with other films.

These days, many films released in mainland China are terrible, rated 3-4 points, but some still manage to recoup their costs.

This market is booming right now; if you have good marketing and a strong lineup, you can completely ignore reputation.

Everyone said "The Promise" was terrible, but it still made money.

The same applies to films like "The Banquet" and "A Simple Noodle Story".

"President Ren!"

"That's true..."

Chen Xunqi had no choice but to bite the bullet and start rambling. Jackie Chan had thrown this problem at him, so he had to convince the "boss": "If our movie is a youth romance film, it's still possible to reap the benefits of a blockbuster, but a period martial arts film like this might not be able to get a share of the market!"

"If we change the release date, we can definitely promote it properly. Right now, there's no buzz about our movie online!"

“This puts us in a passive position!”

The so-called "blockbuster effect" is actually dependent on the release date.

For example, during the Spring Festival film season, there was a lot of promotion at the beginning, and many viewers knew how many films were being released. If other movies were popular, it would be normal for them to watch the others as well. But now, all that's being shown is "So Young". If viewers go to the cinema and see "Legendary Heroes", they might not be interested at all.

These are all unpredictable results. The main reason is that Chen Xunqi lost confidence in the film he directed after the screening.

Recently, there has been a lot of negative news about this movie, such as the lead actress Zhang Bozhi acting like a diva on set.

"All right!"

"I need to call an emergency meeting. Director Chen and Brother Chen, would you like to attend?"

Ren Zhonglun looked at the people beside him, and they reluctantly agreed.

But in reality, including Chen Xunqi, Cheng Long couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief; if this really clashed with "So Young," they couldn't guarantee what the consequences would be. Withdrawing the film now was truly a wise move.

"Brothers, please wait a moment. Let me sit outside for a while while I make a phone call!"

Ren Zhonglun spoke to Cheng Long and the others who were about to get up, and Cheng Long and the others responded and left.

Ren Zhonglun's deputy, Nan Guangcheng, did not leave.

"Ha, so afraid?"

"This movie probably wasn't even finished!"

After Ren Zhonglun and Cheng Long left, his expression suddenly changed.

"Yes, it's a complete mess. These directors from Hong Kong are really not adapted to the local culture!"

As investors, how could they not know the outcome of the screening?

No matter how much Chen Xunqi tries to hide it, he can't hide it anymore.

"We still haven't kept up with the times!"

Ren Zhonglun astutely observed, "I just didn't expect that Cheng Long would be in trouble now. The market changes...it's really too fast!"

If it weren't for Cheng Long's arrangement, how could Ren Zhonglun have possibly invested?!

"Mitsunari, how could this be?"

"Chen Jin suddenly became famous all over the country. Not only did she become famous so quickly, but the market effect was also so good."

Ren Zhonglun has seen many scripts that lead to overnight fame, but with movies, fame doesn't guarantee audience approval.

Now, people have a great reputation, and audiences still obediently buy tickets to enter the theater. This is a very scary thing!

"internet!"

"Internet marketing today is different from what it was a few years ago!"

"Mobile information dissemination is now highly advanced, almost enabling real-time communication; especially microblogs, where information spreads incredibly fast. The success of 'Love is Not Blind' last year was undoubtedly related to this, and several Taobao websites are also promoting it, it's Singles' Day, a nationwide shopping festival..."

Nan Guangcheng thought for a moment, then spoke.

Ren Zhonglun tapped his fingers on the table, then suddenly stopped, saying, "Do you know what I've been thinking about these past few days?"

"Back when I first joined the Shanghai Film Studio, 'Hero' was released. At that time, the hype surrounding this film was even greater than that of Chen Jin's film now. Almost every old man and woman in the village knew about Zhang Yimou's new film!"

"Haha, this is what I was just talking about: marketing iteration!"

"The promotion of 'Hero' was actually more inspired by the print media promotion of 'Titanic' back then, which was quite ubiquitous; in addition, the Internet was just emerging, and the Film Bureau felt that the time was right, which led to the fact that everyone was talking about it back then!"

"This is the first time that film has been marketed online!"

"Now, mobile internet has replaced the computer!"

Nan Guangcheng was analyzing the situation when Ren Zhonglun nodded, "Perhaps. Things are changing too fast, and we... are falling behind the times!"

"Young people have ideas and drive!"

"Film marketing is becoming increasingly important, and the proportion of investment in it is also shifting more and more. We really can't use past cases to analyze the current market situation!"

"Look at how many record-breaking movies have been released this year?"

"Last year, 5 million was considered a big hit. Now, movies easily gross 8 or 9 million, and some even gross over 10 billion. Overall, the numbers have doubled!"

"..."

The two chatted in the office and soon came out smiling.

They were unsure about the upcoming film, but were very optimistic about the market.

Moreover, it's time to change our mindset.

Hong Kong filmmakers are not omnipotent; they may be able to support some mainland filmmakers at a lower cost while generating higher returns.

This was something that Cheng Long and the others sitting outside had absolutely no idea about.

***
Two days later, the global premiere celebration of "Love is Not Blind 2: So Young" was held on Singles' Day.

Dressed in new clothes, Chen Jin, along with the main cast and crew of "So Young," headed to Alibaba's headquarters in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province.

This celebration was held internally within Alibaba.

However, the team responsible for directing the venue and broadcasting the live stream was from Mango TV; Zhejiang TV itself lacked influence, and the artists they invited, such as Chen Chusheng, were all artists under Mango's Tianyu Media.

Chen Jin and Zhu Yanmanzi arrived in Hangzhou yesterday, obviously for tonight's celebration.

Haha, "The Heroines of the Yang Family" has been pulled from its release schedule!

Guo Fan and Chen Jin were in the same car when a news article suddenly popped up.

Originally, their biggest competitor next week was this movie, at least in theory; now, "So Young" is about to break 2 million in pre-sales, and not to mention Chen Jin, even Guo Fan doesn't really care about this movie.

Even with his unprecedented reputation, it's unlikely to affect the huge success of "So Young," given the pre-sales and hype.

As long as the quality of a movie isn't too terrible, its box office performance is unlikely to be bad.

After all, there is a one-week gap.

The fact that "Heroines of the Yang Family" has been withdrawn from its release date clearly shows that the company lacks confidence in its own work and is afraid of being overwhelmed by "So Young". If the reputation of the work collapses, the losses will only be greater.

"So there aren't any movies posing a threat to us for the next two weeks, right?"

Zhu Yanman asked Chen Jin.

"It wasn't there in the first place!"

The movie "Heroines of the Yang Family," which scored less than 4 points, is actually a true reflection of the current state of the Chinese film market.

Around 2012, theaters were filled with all sorts of bad movies. Chen Jinzhen didn't care about the release schedule because there were just too many bad movies. No wonder Hollywood's box office was able to sweep the mainland; there were really very few good ones.

Even a passable mainland Chinese film is actually quite promising in this market right now.

China has suffered from terrible movies for far too long!
It's not that the market is bad, but that the people controlling it are utterly corrupt from top to bottom.

This is what ultimately led to the backlash from the movie-going market.

Everything is, in fact, the best arrangement.

The film market has been overdrawn in recent years, and the next few years will be the time to pay it back.

Filmmakers have been struggling since 2020, complaining about how bad this and that are and how difficult it is to make movies. But the one thing you shouldn't blame is the market. If the market is thriving, you can make 150 billion yuan.

You should blame your industry predecessors for taking away your share of the profits ahead of time.

"Ne Zha 2" is truly a resounding slap in the face to these directors who make live-action films.

We've done a good job of portraying you as the kings of a single global market, dominating the world in a single region. Unfortunately, you yourselves are not up to par, so you can't blame the audience for criticizing you every day—the Chinese entertainment industry is finished.

It's truly over.

Chen Jin didn't dare say that he had obtained the system to save the Chinese entertainment industry; he wasn't that great, nor did he have that kind of power.

The general trend is something that he, as an individual, cannot change.

All he can do is keep his own circle separate from the whole.

Whether you finish or not is none of my business; I only care about doing my best.

Wow!

The vehicle arrived at Alibaba's headquarters, and Chen Jin, along with the main cast and crew of "So Young," got out.

Standing there, Chen Jin had never felt so confident before.

Let's give the Chinese entertainment industry a sneak peek, starting tonight...

(End of this chapter)