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

Chapter 397 North America, "Jinling" is here!
Shanghai Pudong International Airport.

"Mom and Dad, let's go back!"

"Grandpa and Grandma, there's no need to see us off..."

After filming "Grandma", Chen Jin spent a week with her family in Shanghai and the surrounding area before reluctantly setting off for the United States.

Preparatory work for "A Trip to Hong Kong" has already begun, and he urgently needs to return to finalize the plan.

"Take good care of yourself, okay?"

Su Wanyu was tidying up Chen Jin's clothes. Her assistant, the chubby little girl Wang Yuanyuan, who was carrying luggage not far away, probably didn't hear her. Otherwise, she would have at least protested. "I'm in charge of all of Brother Jin's daily life."

During her time in the United States, Chen Jin mostly lived in the outer room.

"I know, there's still Yuanyuan!"

Chen Jin pointed to Xiao Wang not far away, and Wang Yuanyuan looked over curiously.

"You can't possibly leave everything to her, can you?"

Chen Jin really does delegate a lot of things to her assistant, who has been in that position for almost two years and is very familiar with her and understands her habits.

"Okay, okay, I'm off then!"

Chen Jin didn't want to argue with her mother, so she hugged her and then waved to Chen Xianqi.

This is the case for many mothers and sons, and fathers and sons in China.

When a mother and son haven't seen each other for a long time, they miss each other, but after a few days, their feelings of mutual annoyance will begin to recur. The relationship between a father and son, on the other hand, is a more reserved kind of mutual understanding.

However, Chen Jin's maternal grandparents suddenly came up.

"Jinjin, take your marriage seriously. Grandpa Zhu thinks it's a good idea. Let's set a time to finalize it!"

Chen Jin: "..."

She still couldn't escape the fate of being pressured to get married.

"Yes, hurry up!"

Grandma had also joined the ranks of those urging her to get married, and seeing that her mother wanted to join in as well, Chen Jin quickly pretended to glance at her phone: "Alright, we need to get our tickets checked, or we'll be too late to go in!"

"Mom and Dad, Grandpa and Grandma, I'm leaving!"

Chen Jin walked faster than a rabbit, desperately trying to signal to her assistant with her eyes.

Wang Yuanyuan was obedient and started to speed up while carrying her luggage.

"That kid avoids the topic whenever it comes up!"

"I'll definitely deal with him properly next time!"

Chen Xianqi was cursing "fiercely" when Su Wanyu glanced at him and chuckled, "Besides being good at hindsight, what else can you do?"

"Reviewing a mobile phone!"

"My followers are almost 10!"

Su Wanyu: "..."

This is probably like talking to a brick wall. Marrying such a person in this life, Su Wanyu feels really tired sometimes.

"You go back to the capital by yourself. I'll stay with Mom and Dad for two more days!"

Su Wanyu was ready to avoid seeing him and getting annoyed, but Chen Xianqi chuckled and said, "No way, I want to stay a few more days and go fishing with Dad. It's nice to experience rural life once in a while!"

"haha, really?"

Can't this guy tell right from wrong? I'm telling you to get lost because I don't want to see you!
Su Wanyu angrily took her mother's hand and said irritably, "Let's go home!"

"Why don't the four of us play for a while longer?"

"How about we go to Zhejiang Province?"

"Xianqi, say less!"

The old man had already given his son-in-law a meaningful look; he knew his daughter's personality well enough.

"Oh!"

Chen Xianqi also sensed a strong killing intent and quickly shut his mouth.

The two men walked behind, and Chen Jin's maternal grandfather whispered, "Xianqi, it hasn't been easy all these years!"

"Hey, I'm used to it!"

How could he not know his wife's personality?
He was just trying to smooth things over, saying that on purpose; that's called the wisdom of life.

Grandpa, you still need to practice!
The family of four walked out of the airport, and Chen Jin finally breathed a sigh of relief when she arrived at the VIP lounge.

It's true that family members shouldn't stay together for long periods of time. It's best to meet up occasionally and go on a trip together. This also applies to grandparents and other grandparents.

"Yuanyuan, have you taken your family out for fun these past few days?"

During her time filming in Beijing, Chen Jin also gave her assistant a few days off.

"no!"

Wang Yuanyuan spoke concisely, her small face tense, her eyes glancing around from time to time—a skill she had honed over the past year.

Because fans would occasionally rush up to find their idol.

"So how many days did you stay at home in bed?"

"No, I fought with my mom for three days straight, and she forced me to go on blind dates!"

I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked you that question.

Chen Jin suddenly realized that her mother was actually quite nice, so she quickly coughed and changed the subject: "Um, did Director Zhang call?"

"Yes, I asked. Director Zhang said he won't be going to North America. He'll leave it to you and Bale to figure out!"

"Fine……"

Chen Jin didn't expect Zhang Yimou to go to the United States either.

The events surrounding "Hero" may have affected him, which is why he declined the North American premiere of "The Battle at Lake Changjin." Of course, whether he comes or not doesn't make much difference, as his box office appeal in North America isn't actually that high.

The success of "Hero" and "House of Flying Daggers" largely relied on the stars and the number of screenings.

There aren't many directors whose work resonates with audiences in North America.

For Nolan, Cameron, Spielberg, and others, it mainly comes down to the star-studded cast and production team.

Many North American audiences recognize the films from the Big Six, and the number of theatrical premieres also encourages many Americans to spontaneously go to the cinema to watch them.

Just last month, overseas, "Jinling" premiered in Germany, the first European country to do so.

Riding on the wave of popularity from the Berlin Film Festival, it grossed 91 euros on its opening day. This figure represents the best opening day record for a Chinese film in Germany to date.

As of now, "Jinling" has grossed 391 million euros in Germany, breaking the box office record for Chinese films in Germany. The last film to set a record in Germany was also a Zhang Yimou film, "Hero"!
"Hero" grossed $374.5 million in Germany, and "The Battle of Nanjing" has now broken that record.

Moreover, Germany has a very good reputation, and many people spontaneously share their views on daily life on Twitter and Facebook.

Following its success in Germany, the film has also been released in several major European box office markets, including the UK, France, and Italy. Current market analysis in Germany suggests that "The Golden City" has a very good chance of grossing over 500 million euros.

As for the UK, Europe's largest voting bloc, Jinling's first-day box office of £49 was also quite impressive.

The total box office of "Jinling" across all European countries has reached 2394 million euros, and the final box office is expected to reach 4000 million euros, setting a new record for Chinese films.

Although "Jinling" did not reach phenomenal popularity in Europe, both Chinese people and many fans of the film have been sharing clips, real historical footage, and other information about the movie online.

This is the outcome Chen Jin hoped to see.

Box office revenue is secondary; Chen Jin wouldn't dare to dream of 1 or 1 million. Besides, even if it sold for 2 million euros in Europe, it wouldn't concern him, because the distribution rights for "Jinling" had already been sold to mk2!

It earned all the money thereafter.

This collaboration with Chen Jin must have been a huge success for this long-established European film company that started with art-house films.

After all, he spent 200 million euros on the distribution rights.

Chen Jin was essentially sold off, almost given away, mainly to try and win the Berlin Golden Bear.

Having achieved its goal, MK2 began to reap its own profits; the same was true for Weinstein, that old pervert in North America. He had clearly seen the success of "Jinling" in Europe, so he was quite confident in the North American market for "Jinling".

Based on market analysis, and comparing Zhang Yimou's previous films with Huaxia Film Distribution, especially films from ten years ago like "Hero," many people can actually draw a conclusion.

North American box office revenue is generally higher than that in Europe.

So if the marketing and promotion in North America is done well, $5000 million should be the minimum.

It is highly likely that this film will set a new record for Zhang Yimou's highest-grossing film in North America, surpassing the $5371 million record set by "Hero"!
The box office record for "Hero" in Europe that year was $2981 million!
Now, "Jinling" is expected to gross 4000 million euros, which is close to 5000 million US dollars!
In North America, the potential earnings could be 6000-8000 million!
This was a figure that would excite Weinstein. He actually spent over $3000 million to buy the North American distribution rights for "The Golden City," which had a high-stakes feel to it, mainly due to other sources of income.

Box office revenue only accounts for 20% of a film's total earnings.

But with the success of "The Golden City" in Europe, Weinstein saw the possibility that he could recoup his costs through box office revenue in North America.

If this comes true... Harvey really hit the jackpot!
That's why this guy went all out for a Chinese film, holding a North American premiere, inviting not only the two leads, Bale and Chen Jin, but also some Hollywood celebrities.

Most importantly, he distanced himself from Nolan and Spielberg.

These two are not just attending a premiere; they need to encourage the audience to attend.

Spielberg, in particular, had to record a promotional video to promote "Jinling" as the Chinese version of "Schindler's List".

It has to be said that Weinstein is truly a genius when it comes to publicity and marketing.

Hero brought in Quentin Tarantino.

This time, "Jinling" also brought in Spielberg, the director of "Schindler". In fact, Spielberg and Zhang Yimou are quite familiar with each other in private. Back when Zhang Yimou invited Spielberg to collaborate with an international director during the Beijing Olympics, Spielberg was the one.

However, for some reason, Lao Pi eventually left the directing team.

But privately, he and Zhang Yimou have a very good relationship, and it's really just a matter of a word for him to support him.

He is still willing to recommend this film to his good friend, mainly because it has already won the Berlin Golden Lion, so he can recommend it with confidence, as it will not have any impact on his career or his box office appeal in North America.

Schindler had a tremendous impact in North America.

This movie grossed over 3 million US dollars at the box office, but it ranked in the top ten of movie reputation charts in many countries around the world, and it was quite famous.

While the future is made quite satirical and humorous by the squid, the film's global reputation is currently among the highest in film history.

Therefore, if Lao Pi defines "Jinling" as the Chinese version of "Schindler", it will be a huge boost to the box office and its influence beyond its target audience.

Because of this publicity, coupled with the results in Europe, Weinstein was originally only expected to get around 1000 theater openings, but this time he talked about more than 1700. It can be said that this lecherous guy really did his best for the release of "Jinling".

Of course, it's not shameful to do it if it's for making money.

This guy still has some influence in North America, even within the independent film industry.

May is one of the hottest movie seasons in North America, a pre-summer holiday season, and many North American box office records have been set during this period.

May to July!

The release of The Weinstein was scheduled for this month, of course, also for box office reasons.

Because it's not a blockbuster film, it's actually quite easy to secure a release date, since it poses little threat to the Big Six and other major films.

Despite its apparent popularity in Europe, it's actually only popular within the Chinese community and a small group of people.

4000 million euros is not enough to be considered a blockbuster; it only generates buzz. Therefore, many big-budget films in North America did not consider "Jinling" a competitor. Weinstein did not think the film could make 1-2 million, which is not logical.

All I can say is that while other blockbusters are feasting on the summer blockbuster season, "Jinling" is lucky enough to get a little bit of the leftovers along the way.

This May, North America was packed with blockbuster movies.

The top contender is undoubtedly Marvel's "The Avengers," as the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which was launched with Iron Man, has finally seen its first assembled film.

Its popularity has swept the globe, including mainland China.

This is definitely the top tier in May, with a conservative estimate of a global market size of 1 billion.

The second is Men in Black 3, and the first two Men in Black movies were also huge hits worldwide.

Films like "Dark Shadows" and "Battleship" had over 3500 theaters for their premieres, so "Nanjing" definitely couldn't compete with them at the opening.

After that... we'll have to see how the box office goes to decide whether to open more theaters or gradually reduce them.

Box office competition in North America has always been fierce.

99% of movies only have a 3-day opening weekend verification period.

If the opening weekend doesn't go well, the movie will be moved to another theater, the number of theaters will start to decrease, and the number of screenings will drop. Because he knew that "The Avengers" would premiere on May 4, Weinstein avoided this behemoth and set the North American premiere of "Jinling" for May 25!
There's still a week to go, and it's scheduled to be released on the same day as several other North American blockbusters, including "Men in Black 3" and "The Dictator".

The Avengers has already grossed $9 million worldwide, which is incredible, including 7 million in mainland China!

In North America, it surpassed $4 million, taking in $2.1 million in its opening weekend, becoming the fastest film to reach $4 million in North America.

Weinstein was wise.

The entire North American summer movie season has been boosted by "The Avengers". Even though it wasn't released in the same period as "The Avengers", it was released at the end of the season and was able to reap some benefits.

Chen Jin's trip to North America this time, besides "Hong Kong Trip" and "Killer: Dragon", was to attend the North American premiere of "The Warring States".

In this bustling summer season, Chen Jin finally took her first step into North America.

Another turning point in his life and as an actor.

His first film, starring in a movie, will be released in North America, a money pit that countless filmmakers around the world aspire to visit.

"Jinling" is coming to North America!
(End of this chapter)