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

Chapter 366 A Powerful Alliance: A Long Talk with Emo!
February 5, 2012, Beijing International Airport.

Chen Jin had just gotten out of the car, preparing to meet up with Zhang Yimou and others to go to Berlin for the film festival; when he looked up, he saw Ni Ni, wearing a plaid trench coat, getting out of a taxi with great charm.

At 24, a woman is at the most charming.

He exudes confidence and poise.

She certainly saw Chen Jin too. The two exchanged a glance, and it was Ni Ni who took the initiative to greet him: "President Chen, long time no see~~~"

After saying that, he stood there and laughed heartily.

Just like the scene when the two first met downstairs at Zhang Yimou's studio, that... it was already 2 years ago.

"..."

Chen Jin shook her head, watching her carry her luggage alone, and said softly, "You're such a big star now, doesn't Sister Pu Lun even provide you with a driver?"

"Tch, isn't it all up to you, the boss, to give the orders?"

Ni Ni rolled her eyes at Chen Jin with amusement. How could she have imagined that the young man who used to live in the rented apartment across the hall would now become the boss of her company?

The boss's boss.

In less than two years, Ni Ni could only marvel at how quickly the world has changed.

Fortunately, after two long years of silence, she finally stepped into the public eye as she wished; after all, she became an overnight sensation.

Thanks to the popularity of "The Flowers of War" during this period, her popularity is now comparable to that of many top actresses on the market.

"Jinling"... is indeed incredibly popular.

With a box office of nearly 13 billion yuan, it currently ranks third in the history of Chinese films.

The first one to break out of the public eye was neither Chen Jin nor Bale. Both of them are domestically renowned and globally famous stars, and audiences are familiar with them. Ni Ni, on the other hand, is an ordinary person. Although she had some media exposure before, the general public is not paying attention to her and therefore is not aware of her.

So when she appeared on the big screen in a cheongsam, her graceful figure amazed countless people; she was truly stunning.

All I can say is that Zhang Yimou filmed her to be absolutely stunning.

Her character in "Jinling" was also quite outstanding. The other twelve beauties combined probably didn't have as much screen time as her, making her a true leading lady.

Chen Jin and Bale, the male lead and second male lead, seem to be there to highlight her.

In the end, Yu Mo resolutely took the lead in choosing to exchange with the students, becoming a plaything in the hands of the Japanese. This scene brought tears to the eyes of countless female viewers.

Such a woman is undoubtedly quite admirable.

It's only a matter of time before it becomes a fire.

"Okay, okay, I'll give you the best treatment when you get back from Berlin!"

Chen Jin showed no airs of a boss. Ni Ni subconsciously stood beside him, indicating that they should wait there or go in together.

"Let's go in. I've already spoken to Director Zhang; there are too many people and too many eyes around here!"

Both of them were clearly fully armed, each carrying their own luggage as they walked into the airport; Ni Ni has been getting a lot of exposure lately, many people can recognize her, and she has also had more appearances and endorsements.

A single film can make an actress famous; these days, only a few directors like Zhang Yimou can achieve that.

Upon arriving at the first-class VIP lounge, Zhang Yimou soon arrived, accompanied by Pang Liwei, photographer Zhao Xiaoding, and Zhang Mo.

This is probably Zhang Yimou paving the way for his daughter, letting her get to know more people in the industry, especially overseas filmmakers.

It's a basic, standard procedure; no one can escape it.

It's better than preparatory courses or being a student on a commissioned training program.

"Sister Wei, Sister Mo..."

Chen Jin greeted everyone one by one, and finally sat down with Zhang Yimou.

Zhang Yimou seemed to be in a great mood, and even the terracotta warrior had a rare smile on his face: "Dieter Kosslick just called me to ask when I'm leaving, and I guess he'll send someone to pick us up!"

Dieter Kosslick is the chairman of the Berlin Film Festival's organizing committee.

"He knows about the box office figures in China?"

"Yes, I told him. We've been shortlisted for the main competition, and there should be news from Europe, but it hasn't caused much of a stir or public opinion yet, so it shouldn't affect our election!"

"That's good!"

Currently, due to the Great Firewall separating China from overseas, the media mostly reports less-than-ideal news. The 13 billion yuan box office of "Nanjing" was a sensation in China, but in Europe and America, it was just so-so.

There are no short video uploaders like TK, so the network transmission is still very slow.

It was known to be a box office hit, but it didn't generate much discussion online, unlike later films like "Ne Zha 2," which went viral and was discussed on social media platforms worldwide.

"Jinling" is far from reaching that level.

First, the country's national strength had not improved; second, social interactions were not as harmonious as in later generations, and there was no software like TK that facilitated seamless communication between China and the United States; and third, the channels through which people in different countries learned about information were still very limited and isolated.

Information cocoons existed overseas a long time ago, and only people in the film industry knew about the huge success of "Jinling" during the Chinese New Year.

To put it bluntly, news about the Nanjing Massacre has gained more international attention overseas than the novel "Nanjing".

"Unexpectedly, the daily box office is not much different from that of Mission: Impossible 4, they are very close!"

Zhang Yimou has also developed the habit of checking box office figures on his phone every day.

Because it's convenient.

Take yesterday for example. Because it was Saturday, the first holiday after the Spring Festival, "Mission: Impossible 4" grossed 6900 million yuan in a single day, while "Jinling" grossed 5100 million yuan. Despite unfavorable screening schedules, the occupancy rates were about the same.

The later development of "Jinling" exceeded Zhang Yimou and Chen Jin's expectations.

However, Chen Su also analyzed it.

The previous promotion by CETC was actually a very good boost, and the popularity of the Holocaust has begun to transfer to the movie.

When a topic is widely discussed, and a related movie is currently showing, it's only natural that some viewers will go to see it and learn more about it.

Previously, perhaps because of the Spring Festival, it was not appropriate to watch such a movie during such a lively and festive time. But now that the Spring Festival is over, "Jinling" has begun to replicate the long-term trajectory of the original timeline.

Moreover, this time the event was much more significant than before, which is why "Jinling" was still able to gross 50 million yuan in a single day over the weekend after its release for half a month.

As for Mission: Impossible 4, it also benefited from the Spring Festival holiday. On its first day, it grossed 1.38 million yuan, surpassing the 1.08 million yuan of Nanjing. After 8 days of release, it grossed 5.7 million yuan, which is obviously better than the original box office performance.

They might even eventually reach the 10 billion ceiling.

This is certainly inseparable from Chen Jin's butterfly effect.

The online and offline marketing campaign for "Love is Not Blind" during the Double Eleven shopping festival two years ago led to a complete explosion in online ticket sales, a year earlier than the original timeline. This overall industry trend boosted the overall box office market in China, making it 20-30% better than other films released during the same period!

In other words, if the original total box office for 2011 was 131 billion yuan, then the actual total box office figure reported by the Film Bureau last year was 159 billion yuan, which is more than 20% higher than the original figure.

The extra 20 billion yuan is thanks to the early emergence of group-buying websites and mobile apps like Dida and Meituan.

Smartphones have certainly played a significant role in this.

This is all due to the increased benefits brought about by online ticketing.

In principle, all movies are profitable.

Of course, those that originally had a huge box office success profited the most.

According to the original timeline, China's total box office in 2012 was 171 billion yuan, and this year was supposed to be the year of explosive growth for online ticketing; but now, it may not even reach 200 billion yuan.

Mission: Impossible 4's box office performance exceeded the original target by 50%, which is within the normal range, precisely because of these factors, coupled with the marketing during the Spring Festival season.

Its original box office was 6.7 million, and now it's almost 10 billion.

"Jinling" was able to double or even more in box office revenue thanks to its marketing efforts and Chen Jin's strategic planning during the Spring Festival season.

"Yes, it will soon surpass Avatar and become the second-highest-grossing film of all time!"

"If things go well, 15 billion isn't out of the question..."

Everything depends on the last day of the Berlin Film Festival.

The next two days should be the last hurrah for "Jinling". It's a bit doubtful that "Jinling" can still make 50 million today. Next week, it will officially enter the 10 million level per day. If it goes well, it will make 20 million or more, and if it goes poorly, it will make a little over 10 million. At most, it can only make around 100 million in a week.

Next week, even 5000 million is uncertain.

Mission: Impossible 4 is about the same, but it should be slightly better than The Nanjing Massacre.

"That's enough. Before filming started, I never even considered 10 billion, let alone 15 billion!"

"I'd be more than satisfied with 5 million, haha!"

Zhang Yimou was smiling there.

Zhang Yimou has never made a film that grossed over 5 million yuan at the box office; his highest grossing film is still "Under the Hawthorn Tree," which grossed 3.23 million yuan.

The rest fluctuated between 2 million and 3 million in box office revenue.

This isn't to say that his previous films were bad, but rather that China's box office market has only undergone tremendous changes in the last two years, climbing rapidly almost year by year.

Zhang Yimou is undoubtedly the most qualified to speak on this matter.

"Let's not talk about the distant past, let's talk about two years ago. If you told me that the movie 'Jinling' could gross 15 billion yuan, I would never have believed it!"

"too fast!"

"When Avatar grossed 13 billion yuan two years ago, the entire Chinese film industry was pessimistic and everyone was bearish, including myself... A group of film critics said that no Chinese film could surpass that number within 10 years!"

"hey-hey!"

Zhang Yimou grinned and held up the number 2 with his hand: "You've surpassed it so quickly, and with two films!"

"This is great news that will boost the market!"

"Finally, China has a film that has grossed over 2 million US dollars! This is quite rare even in North America!"

Zhang Yimou, who has always firmly believed in the rise of Chinese cinema, is actually not very optimistic about the market.

Even now, when he brags, he still compares it to North America.

Deep down, he probably still believes that China's market can't compare to the US market.

They spoke of $2 million with such trepidation.

If he knew there would be a $22 billion movie in the future, he would kneel down immediately.

I doubt they'd even dare to dream of such a thing.

After all, the Hollywood he considered invincible only had a market value of over 9 million US dollars at its highest, and that was the combined value of the two North American countries, Canada and the United States.

Why should China be able to surpass this number?

"Director Zhang, that's far from enough!"

"The domestic box office market has yet to be fully explored!"

Chen Jin, seeing that the plane was still a while away from takeoff, said, "Let's do a comparative analysis. 'Jinling' hasn't even reached 5000 million viewers in China yet. China has a population of 14 billion. If 1 million people went to the cinema, just imagine how much box office revenue it would generate."

"What about 2 million or 3 million people?"

"impossible!"

Zhang Yimou waved his hand: "You think this is the 70s or 80s? How much did movie tickets cost back then? How many movies were released a year?"

"You don't care what era it is!"

Chen Jin sighed inwardly, wondering why people say the future belongs to the young.

Just listen to what Zhang Yimou has to say and you'll understand.

They live forever in their own world.

"The Titanic could fetch 97 million yuan in China back in 3.6. Wasn't that a market economy by then?"

"What does this mean?"

Chen Jin stared intently at Zhang Yimou, who was deep in thought: "This illustrates the importance of marketing!"

"hold head high?"

Zhang Yimou thought Chen Jin was going to give a long speech, but he didn't expect her to say this instead.
"Yes, marketing!"

"If you were to make a movie like Titanic, do you think you could make 97 ​​million in 3.6?"

"..."

Zhang Yimou doesn't even need to be mentioned.

That's definitely not going to work, and his commercial films can't compare to Cameron's.

"Putting aside the quality of Titanic, it is indeed a masterpiece. But the general public who watched the movie didn't know that at first. They heard about it from newspapers and news reports that a ship had hit an iceberg, so they wanted to see it for themselves!"

"With the pervasive propaganda of news media and television, would you watch it if you were in their shoes?"

"meeting!"

Zhang Yimou actually went to see it.

"So that's it, isn't it? Avatar's marketing was the same, advertising to the whole world that it was 3D to the naked eye and had top-notch special effects!"

"The common people all want to taste how salty it is!"

"If we had a film in China that was marketed so well that many ordinary people wanted to go to the cinema, do you think they couldn't afford the 35 yuan ticket price?"

"Isn't it just like those movies from back in the day, like 'Tunnel Warfare,' 'Mom, Love Me Once Again,' and 'Shaolin Temple'?"

"This is not because of ticket prices or a lack of movies. The more people watch it, the more public opinion it generates, and the easier it is to market it!"

"The snowball will get bigger and bigger, just like the Shaolin Temple where everyone flocks to the streets!"

"The domestic market doesn't lack audiences; what it lacks are good commercial blockbusters and good marketing!"

In later years, marketing was often effective, but the film quality didn't match; or the film quality improved, but there wasn't enough money for marketing.

"Audiences love watching movies; after all, China's entertainment industry is severely lacking!"

"With the economy booming, mass entertainment, apart from watching movies, is too niche!"

"What about 'Jinling'?"

Zhang Yimou frowned and asked, "Is it because of the Spring Festival film season?"

"Yes, Nanjing's success was due to the Spring Festival, and its downfall was also due to the Spring Festival!"

"In terms of marketing, it's on par with Avatar and Titanic, maybe even stronger; but the subject matter of the film is limited, it's not suitable for the Spring Festival season, a family-friendly movie season!"

"If it were a comedy, 20 billion should be a piece of cake!"

Zhang Yimou was taken aback by the number Chen Jin presented.

20 million?
He wouldn't even dare to boast like that in his dreams!

"But if we choose other release dates, such as the Lunar New Year period, not as many people will go to the cinema. Apart from the Spring Festival, many people have to work at other times!"

"Yes, I understand what you're saying. You really revitalized the Spring Festival film season; even the leaders of the Film Bureau didn't expect that!"

"and……"

Zhang Yimou laughed and said, "The Spring Festival is indeed a good time to boost consumption in all walks of life. How many industries can a single film drive? The Film Bureau will probably have to award you a big prize next year!"

These are genuine achievements; they're practically a gift from Chen Jin.

"Let's not talk about that. The reason I've been telling you all this is because I have only one thought in mind!"

"After filming 'The Criminal Lu Yanshi,' could we make a commercial blockbuster like the one I'm talking about, even if it involves Hollywood stars? I'll provide the script, and we can try making it together and show it to people in China and around the world?"

This is why Chen Jin talked to Zhang Yimou for so long.

Only through a powerful alliance can we fully maximize traffic during the 2014 Spring Festival!
(End of this chapter)