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

Chapter 434 One of Hollywood's Big Six: Universal's Methods!

The Hollywood Reporter

"A genius work written, directed, and starring a Chinese actor, 'The Killer' is a pure TNT bomb that can strike the heart of every action movie lover; without a doubt, it is the best Chinese action film since its inception!"

North American Film Magazine

"Undeniably, this is an incredibly exciting and unconventional dark-style violent action film, but what truly drives the visuals is the emotional weight of the story, as well as Jin Chan's performance and skills!"

Shadow of America

"The story seems very cliché, but! But it keeps your heart racing from beginning to end. It's an action film that's incredibly impressive. I thought it came from Hollywood, but it turns out it's from a genius young Chinese director. This is his directorial debut, and he also participated in acting, script planning, and even action design. I think I've fallen in love with this actor named Jin Chan. Oh, and he's also a very young Venice Film Festival Best Actor winner!"

……

Chen Jin looked at it intently, even a slight smile playing on her lips.

As Akira Kurosawa said, you can conquer the world, but you cannot conquer your country.

In China, Chen Jin would never have seen a film review that was nothing but praise and compliments; even if Kavanaugh had paid someone to write these reviews, Chen Jin still found them very enjoyable.

Who can resist being praised?
And foreigners are indeed good at praising people; just listen to what they're saying.
A genius director, a new world of action movies, exciting action demonstrations... These guys really know how to compliment people!

Chen Jin was hooked and became all smiles.

Sometimes, compared to Douban, Chen Jin really prefers reading Rotten Tomatoes and IMDb reviews, as the vast majority of them are the most genuine reactions from foreigners.

At least from the Rotten Tomatoes list, there were only a handful of negative reviews. Chen Jin estimated that the Rotten Tomatoes score should be around 90%. He didn't know how many Rotten Tomatoes the original timeline had for "John Wick".

But it probably won't reach 90%!

There aren't many films that open with a 90% Rotten Tomatoes score, so this is already a level of critical acclaim that elevates a film to an even higher level.

The IMDb rating is also around 8 points, which shows that Chen Jin's previous deduction with Kavanaugh was correct.

Film is a universal art form.

As long as you can tell a story that everyone in the world understands, then Chinese people will like it, and North American audiences will also accept it.

The film "Hitman" is an adaptation of "John Wick," which is a story with a North American focus, so it's normal that foreigners like it.

"We'll see how the box office performs in the opening weekend!"

Now Chen Jin only hopes that the word-of-mouth for this movie can spread quickly. As long as it can sell well in the nearly 3000 theaters on its opening weekend, then its box office success in North America will be basically guaranteed.

A huge opening weekend guarantees a huge box office hit; this is a universal truth for films worldwide.

He just needs to wait for the movie to be a huge hit and for his popularity to skyrocket.

"go to bed!"

Chen Jin stretched and yawned as she walked into the bathroom.

After taking a shower, he went straight to sleep.

The next morning, Chen Jin received Chen Su's report on the domestic box office.

Because of the time difference between North America and China, the box office figures for mainland China were released around noon in North America.

As of today, "John Wick" has been in theaters for exactly 11 days, with a box office of 13.07 billion yuan in 10 days and 1.42 million yuan yesterday, officially entering the 13 billion yuan club.

At this rate of box office growth, the target of 20 billion should be reached by the end of the month.

The box office growth wasn't as rapid today, a weekday, with a total of around 7000-8000 million yuan. It declined day by day until the weekend when it exploded again, officially ending the summer season.

"It might just break into the 25 billion mark!"

Chen Jin did the calculation herself and was also shocked by the number.

It's worth noting that a domestic contender with a budget of 25 billion yuan, following the normal trajectory, would have gotten the 2015 film "Monster Hunt" through sheer luck.

However, there was also "Furious 7" that year, which also grossed over 24 billion.

This film is also special because its lead actor, Paul Walker, passed away unexpectedly. The IP is popular all over the world, and many people rushed to the cinema to see this posthumous work.

Chinese people are still too compassionate.

Hollywood is ruthless in profiting from human suffering; as long as there's money to be made, they'll do anything.

Now, Chen Jin has pushed China's box office to the 25 billion mark two years ahead of schedule.

This is the impact of the butterfly effect.

In fact, as Chen Jin said before, China does not lack moviegoers, but rather good movies that can get audiences to go to the cinema; even going back several decades, blockbuster films had hundreds of millions of viewers.

In recent years, Chinese films have produced a lot of terrible movies, but many viewers still buy them; so it's normal for a blockbuster to become a hit.

Otherwise, why would several phenomenal films such as "Wolf Warrior 2" and "Ne Zha 2" have more than doubled the box office figures that were previously the highest-grossing films in Chinese film history?

Currently, "John Wick" only has 7-8 million more than "The Battle of Jinling".

The original timeline is that Transformers 4 almost reached 14 billion yuan in the summer of 20, which just goes to show that the potential of the Chinese film market is really strong.

Everything is possible.

The original timeline shows that "Lost in Thailand" grossed 13 billion yuan in 2012, but that doesn't mean the mainland market was that big.

It's still possible for the volume to double. Besides, Chen Jin's butterfly effect has lasted for more than two years. Whether it's buying tickets online or through a mobile app, it's much more convenient and has expanded significantly compared to before.

Back in 2012, buying tickets via mobile app wasn't very convenient, but now it's something you can do with a snap of your fingers.

The butterfly effect can change so dramatically in just two years.

Moreover, this change will widen further over time.

2019 can be considered a watershed year for the Chinese film market. Due to a sudden epidemic, various industries have declined, including the film market.

Based on the normal trajectory, Chinese films can still reach new heights in 2019.

"Ne Zha 2" demonstrates that China's potential is not limited to this.

In other words, there was already a market in 2019 that could support a 150 billion yuan film, but there just wasn't a phenomenal film like that.

Therefore, if Chen Jin continues to forge ahead at this pace, no one can predict what the Chinese film market will be like in 2019.

It is very likely that this will be an even more robust market than the original annual output of 800 billion.

A market size of 1000 billion is definitely not a dream, nor is becoming the world's number one market.

The premise is that Chen Jin's butterfly wings need to flap even more vigorously, spreading this wave to North America and then to the whole world.

In that case, the rise of the Chinese market is only a matter of time.

buzzing-

The sudden vibration of her phone interrupted Chen Jin's thoughts.

As soon as he slid the answer button, Kavanaugh's voice came through the phone: "Chan, are you awake?"

"Yeah, I just woke up. I'm going downstairs for lunch!"

"Let's go together, I'll be there soon. We have to go to Los Angeles tonight for movie promotion!"

"You'll be spending the next week on the road!"

This is a consistent marketing strategy for The Relativity series films: building hype before release.

Previous films like *Fast & Furious* and *Immortals* used this method, a common Hollywood tactic. However, they can use this promotional approach because the *Fast & Furious* cast and Henry Cavill, who plays Superman in *Immortals*, have a very strong box office influence in North America.

Wherever they went, they were welcomed by countless movie fans in North America.

Chen Jin has virtually no popularity in North America, so this kind of promotion is actually quite awkward, as it only lets audiences who are interested in the movie know about the film "Killer: Dragon".

There probably isn't a scene like the cheering for Hollywood stars you see on TV.

Kavanaugh had mentioned this to Chen Jin several times, and Chen Jin had no choice but to agree.

"Ok!"

"I'm coming downstairs right away!"

After washing up, Chen Jin met Kavanaugh and his beautiful assistant at the restaurant.

The two of them took their buffet lunches and sat down in a corner. Since it was noon and the hotel was a five-star hotel, there weren't many people in the restaurant, so Kavanaugh and Chen Jin ate while chatting about the movie and the upcoming publicity campaign.

"Chan, I heard that Diesel invited you to audition for a role in Fast & Furious 6?"

Kavanaugh suddenly looked up at Chen Jin.

I guess they wanted to find out something from his expression.

Chen Jin knew that this kid wouldn't have dinner with her for no reason; he must have something to ask her. The publicity team for "The Killer" could have come to him after dinner.

"Yes, he suddenly told me that last night, and I was actually quite surprised!"

Chen Jin smiled, but did not show any eagerness to take on the role.

"Harrison told me about it this morning!"

Harrison is the vice president of Universal.

"Oh?"

"How did he say?"

Chen Jin wiped her mouth and smiled.

"Universal wants to buy the rights to 'Hitman,' including any subsequent sequels..."

Kavanaugh stared intently at Chen Jin, who was laughing heartily. He knew these Americans weren't so kind!
What audition for Fast & Furious 6!

Just kidding. What kind of project is Fast & Furious 6? In terms of company investment, this could be the biggest output of a company in a year. It is very likely that the profit or loss will both be above this film.

How could a project like this be handled so casually?

Even the world's top IPs wouldn't offer a Chinese actor such a privilege as Jackie Chan.

Most of the works he acted in were of a lower tier, or were tailor-made for him.

Even "Rush Hour" was actually a box office success achieved by Jackie Chan through his own hard work and fighting.

It wasn't mentioned that he was being approached by top IPs starring Stallone and Schwarzenegger.

"The Expendables" is a newly developed film, and even Stallone himself didn't know if it would be a big hit. Of course, he could invite Jet Li to participate. But the "Fast & Furious" series is destined to be a blockbuster upon release. Not to mention foreigners, there are countless people in Hollywood who are envious and competing with it.

Do you think it's your turn, an outsider, to take the horse?
Sung Kang was able to play Han because of his luck; Fast & Furious 3 made him famous and he became one of the main characters, so they had to include him.

For others to join halfway through, they would need a significant stake in the film.

Benefits that can be seen globally.

It's important to understand that these top-tier IPs are resources that can only be obtained through joint development with Chinese film studios, even if Chinese actors want to participate.

For example, Wanda invested in the film "King Kong," which was later starring Jing Tian.

Moreover, Chinese actors often only get to play minor roles. Even someone as famous as Zhang Ziyi only gets a few screen time. This is already considered the "greatest sincerity" Hollywood has shown!
Since you've invested Chinese capital, I'll give you a minor role in return.

Foreigners are so shrewd!

If you eat the meat without spitting out the bones, you're bound to lose money.

In their eyes, giving you this role is already a "favor"!

Chen Jin has experienced firsthand the arrogance of these guys during her time in Hollywood.

You only get the attention of Wall Street bigwigs like Kavanaugh. They'll only fawn over you if you have money. The reason so many stars came to yesterday's premiere was because of Kavanaugh, not because of Chen Jin.

Chen Jin is nobody in Hollywood now.

"Haha, Universal is so optimistic about 'Hitman'?"

Chen Jin suddenly asked a question, her face beaming with a smile.

"Chan, you should know how great your movie is!"

Kavanaugh emphasized that.

“No, no, no…”

Chen Jin waved her hand and said, "I think it's because Universal saw the potential value of this film. If someone else had starred in it, things might have been completely different, right?"

"For example... Tom Cruise!"

"hehe!"

Kavanaugh smiled somewhat reluctantly and nodded: "You're a smart man. I always admire you when we talk!"

"And it's becoming clearer now why you were able to make the film 'The Killer'!"

"Yes!"

Kavanaugh's smile vanished completely. He glanced around; his assistant was sitting far away. He lowered his voice and said to Chen Jin, "You guessed right, Harrison definitely thinks so!"

"If your movie starred Tom Cruise, I can't even imagine how much it would have grossed!"

Even 10 billion US dollars is an underestimation.

This is the value that Universal Pictures sees in "Hitman".

"They can even reboot or adapt it after buying the rights!"

"What if my movie becomes a hit in North America?"

Chen Jin retorted, "Of course, my success doesn't refer to selling 2 million or 3 million US dollars in North America!"

Chen Jin has enough self-awareness to know that even if the opening theaters are packed, and Kavanaugh does this kind of marketing and promotion, the final box office of "The Killer" is unlikely to exceed 2 million.

Like "Jinling", 1 million yuan is already a great success.

After all, in the original timeline, John Wick's global box office was only slightly over 1 million US dollars.

It was the second and third installments that became huge hits, built on the premise that the first installment was a streaming sensation.

Yes, the first John Wick movie didn't do so well at the box office, but it went viral on streaming platforms and in the global piracy market.

"If it becomes a hit, Universal will be even happier!"

"Of course, that's assuming they buy the rights to 'Hitman' from you!"

(End of this chapter)