Generation Z Artists

Chapter 425 The God of Hollywood Marketing
After reaching the top, Taken's global popularity finally reached a truly dominant level.

"Dominating" means that Hurricane ranks first in every aspect and angle, from mainstream media to tabloids, from professional analysis to folk memes, from video editing to textual derivative works.

If you're not talking about hurricanes, then you're out of touch.

The current US president simply posted a blog entry: "The best action movie to date! #Taken#"

It's clear he's trying to ride the wave of popularity, but he's not very good at it.

Now look at Comrade Jianguo. In just 15 days, he posted a total of 287 Weibo posts, of which 142 were related to "Hurricane" or Fang Xinghe, averaging 9.6 posts per day.

"Wow! Congratulations to my best friend! You've defeated all prejudice! @Fang Xinghe"

"Look at my shooting moves, cool, right? #FangXinghe#"

"You'll beat them to a pulp! KO, and KO again! @Fang Xinghe #Chinese kung fu#"

He really loves social media; he's always acting cute and affectionate.

Unfortunately...emmm, 1.2 followers don't really generate much buzz.

In contrast, Guan Hai's follower count grew at an astonishing rate. It's not appropriate to delve too deeply into the related topics, but he definitely capitalized on Fang Xinghe's popularity, with countless fans supporting him every time he made a statement.

Seeing the explosive popularity, Fang Xinghe ignored everyone and focused on traffic acquisition and conversion.

He used a new satellite encrypted phone to personally issue various instructions.

"White, proceed as planned."

Upon hearing the name "White," Dana White paused for a moment, then responded with ten times the enthusiasm.

"Yes, sir! Your white coat is ready at any time!"

Next Tuesday, Dana White, representing the UFC, told the media, "I will do everything I can to make this crossover match happen!"

On Wednesday, he continued his blatant boasting: "Of course I know it's difficult. In fact, it's more difficult than you think! Could you do me a favor? Does anyone have Fang Xinghe's agent's phone number?"

Thursday: "Fang Xinghe's management team has reached a basic consensus with me! The match you've been waiting for is coming soon!"

On Friday, a Weibo post with the caption read: "Oh my god! Look who this is?"

Photo caption: Charlie Wong and Dana White shaking hands and posing for a photo in front of the UFC building.

The dramatic and unpredictable storyline kept the week's buzz going.

No one knows how far the tournament has progressed or whether it will actually happen. In any case, the whole nation is paying attention and praising it, making "Hurricane" a hit for another whole week.

You think that's all?

No, no, no, the tricks of online troll leaders are endless. They won't stop until they've completely drained the market!

……

His second secret phone call was to his good friend Goldman Sachs.

On June 16, The Economist, the world’s most authoritative political and economic weekly, published an analysis article in its Leaders section.

Fang Xinghe, the God of Modern Marketing

Because the article is too long and technical, only the main points are summarized here.

From "Hero" to "Young Love" to "The Condor Heroes" and then to "Hurricane," the distributors have changed multiple times, but the marketing strategy has remained consistent. Therefore, it can be confirmed that the core operator is Fang Xinghe himself.

Extensive evidence...

Extensive discussion…

Conclusion: The "miraculous breakthroughs" of the above four film and television works are not a victory of quality and content, but rather the result of the marketing genius Fang Xinghe's imaginative and unrestrained promotion.

If the first three films were merely marketing embellishments that enhanced the content, adding a 50% return on high-quality content, then "Hurricane" represents the true pinnacle of marketing.

With thin content, rudimentary scenes, superficial themes, and an emphasis on thrills over substance, this is a commercial popcorn movie that scores at most 80 points.

But this very film, provoked by Fang Xinghe's repeated provocations, is now aiming for a spot in the top 10 of film history...

Blah blah blah, the marketing god has transformed!

……

The publication had mediocre sales and was from the UK, but once the articles were published, the business, finance, and economics communities were in an uproar.

The Wall Street Journal: "SR has fully demonstrated his talent in this area, the mystery of Weibo's explosive growth has finally been explained, and the frenzy surrounding Fang Xinghe-related stocks fully reflects some unclear market expectations..."

Weibo's stock price surged in response.

What is the connection between the box office explosion of "Hurricane" and the business prospects of Weibo?
No, but it just went up in price.

Fang Xinghe's net worth quickly rose to third in the world, and he began to challenge Warren Buffett for second place.

As Weibo's stock price soared, the economic and financial sectors began to hype it up, and the global attention given to "Hurricane" grew even stronger.

……

The third encrypted call was to the president of StarNet Weibo's European region.

Outside of North America, Japan has lost its position as the second-largest voting bloc, and has been replaced by the European Union.

The UK film ranked first within the EU with a box office of $1.09 million, surpassing the record set by Titanic to become the current highest-grossing British film of all time.

This is an absolutely incredible achievement.

Of course, the initial operation did not go smoothly until "Hurricane" had a high enough base of popularity, and until Brother Fang began his targeting.

Well, on Weibo in the UK, the topic has been steered quite off-topic—look at you guys, France is really chaotic and incompetent!

Who guided this...? Don't ask, the answer is spontaneous lactation.

Anyway, the backdrop was a fantastic choice, and the British public was very satisfied. The film's reputation continued to rise, even surpassing North America by 7 percentage points.

Oddly enough, Hurricane also had a high box office in France.

The public not only didn't mind Fang Xinghe's breastfeeding method, but even helped to criticize the official stance.

The incident began when the French Ministry of Culture wrote an article stating that "Taken's portrayal of French society is full of prejudiced fantasies and unacceptable exaggerations," and lodged a protest with the Chinese cultural authorities.

This incident has been going on for several days, causing "Hurricane" to remain a hot topic in neighboring countries.

Relevant domestic departments immediately sent a diplomatic note to Fang Xinghe, but he ignored them and directly tagged the French Ministry of Culture on the international version of Weibo.

"Who exactly would break down because of a movie?"

Following closely behind @French Ministry of Foreign Affairs—

"I understand your cowardly mentality of wanting to run to your mother when you can't win, but could you please not run to my mother?"

Finally, @French Ministry of Security —

"What about you?"

A simple question mark startled the French security authorities, who had remained silent until then, prompting them to urgently delete the Weibo account.

Sorry, we do not work online. Please do not mention it.

Netizens across the EU were laughing so hard their heads almost flew off.

After the fierce competition, the UK box office increased by $3000 million in three days, and the French box office increased by $1900 million in three days, both in US dollars.

The French arts and culture community also launched a massive campaign of support: "SR is a child of French cinema. His journey began in Cannes, and his highest honors also came from Cannes. Although his new film is a commercial popcorn flick, we will always be proud of his groundbreaking attempt..."

Other art-house directors who switch to commercial films: vulgar, decadent, bowing to money, lacking the courage to uphold principles, film merchants...

Fang Xinghe is now directing commercial films: breaking through his own limitations, daring to try new things, and expanding his boundaries—great job!

Who says the French don't have double standards? They're far too open about it.

The two leading powers of the EU, Britain and France, are acting like sycophants, and the remaining countries naturally follow suit.

Of course, the overall box office wasn't particularly outrageous, and it can't compare to something as phenomenal as "Titanic." It was just that the short-term hype led to a large number of teenagers watching the movie repeatedly.

Total box office revenue in the EU when it finally ended its run: €3.22 million.

Third in film history.

...The Japanese market finally underperformed this time.

With a total box office of $1.33 million, it ranks sixth in film history, behind Spirited Away, The Great Ship, Hero, One More Time, and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.

This kind of live-action action film without big visuals is indeed not to the taste of the Japanese.

No matter how much a film trends on social media, conquers the West, or generates buzz and discussion, its box office growth curve will flatten out after reaching a certain point.

Even 1.33 million was beyond Fang Xinghe's expectations; his initial hope was only to break 100 million.

Therefore, his marketing efforts in Japan were not targeted at the film itself at all.

He simply brought up a seemingly unrelated topic—

#Fang Xinghe's little sister is super kawaii#
Regardless of whether she's a tragic character in the movie, just tell me whether Zhang Hanyun's image and temperament are suitable for Japan!
The answer is obvious; no need to search for Doubao. Anyone with eyes can figure it out.

As a result, her former employer, EE-Media, inexplicably discovered that Zhang Hanyun had become a sensation in Japan.

Despite having very few scenes, she later surpassed Janine Chang's popularity in Japan.

After learning about this, the Chinese public had a great deal of discussion and analysis: "How many domestic stars has Fang Shen sent to Japan in just a few years?"

The most rigorous answer is Nenxian, Zhang Hanyun, and Zhang Junning.

People like Feng Yuanzheng and Wang Jinsong, who are known for their unconventional and eccentric roles, can't act in serious dramas in Japan, so there's no need for them to develop their careers there.

The conversation veered off course, and they started discussing how Fang's fame, status, and achievements around the world would influence her future potential.

Although it's difficult for these popular idols to maintain their status in Japan for long, it's incredibly easy for them to cash in on their popularity while they're still hot.

Coincidentally, Zhang Hanyun was ignored in the United States, so they simply sent her to Japan to do publicity, get business deals, and buy her a new car and house. They also sent her Fang Ge messages every day with at least 10 tildes.

……

South Korea received special care from Brother Fang.

Many people don't know that Fang Xinghe's Korean "Starry Night" has actually gone through more than one iteration.

There are so many idols here that fans can easily get a full meal—regardless of whether the food is good or not, the most important thing is not to go hungry.

Fang Xinghe's looks and talent are undeniable, but he appears too infrequently.

Girls in Seoul can easily find places to meet their idols in any shopping mall, with endless stages and promotional materials to watch every day, and a live atmosphere at minimal cost.

Where is the money? Where is the love? All the money was spent on other ugly dogs. What's the point of yelling "Fang Xinghe, I love you"?
Therefore, unless you reach the maximum level of fandom during their period of restlessness and achieve the leap from superficial fans to true believers, they will inevitably switch sides over time.

The fact that Korean fans are not loyal is actually an inevitable phenomenon shaped by the social environment in South Korea.

However, they also exhibit another characteristic—aggressiveness.

Fang Xinghe made a secret call to his South Korean agent, Kim Jae-hee, and they talked for a full hour and a half.

Immediately afterwards, the atmosphere on the official Korean StarNet fan cafe became very strange.

"Our performance is declining compared to last time!"

"Waaaaah, you guys are making me so angry I could cry! Your fighting spirit has been so low for the last two years!"

"Is it because your brother works so hard that you feel you don't need to work hard?"

"Wake up! The Bai, Hong, and Lan families are all laughing at us. Those treacherous bastards who climb over the wall are humiliating us every day!"

"Hurricane absolutely cannot lose to you! That would mean we new fans have lost to those disgusting women who jumped ship!"

"Damn it! The Japanese company next door has already reached $1700 million!"

(Box office summary data for "Starry Night" in Japan)
"Are we, the dignified Han Fei, even inferior to those (country bumpkins) from China? If you can't bring your family and friends to buy at least 5 tickets before you go offline, trash like you should die!"

"Aaaaaah! Stop trying to control the comments outside! The most important thing right now is to boost the box office!"

……

The middle layer of the Korean Star Network, namely the Super Topic Square, quickly became a battlefield for Starry Sky and all the other fans.

Some netizens criticize Chinese fan circles as disgusting and Weibo as a garbage dump, but these are all things that Japan and South Korea, with their oppressive societies, have already mastered.

At Fang Gou's command, Kim Jae-hee ruthlessly wielded his knife, and in an instant, the Korean fandom accelerated its development by five years, entering an era of blood feuds and chaotic warfare.

Does using combat to bully fans work?

That's incredibly effective.

"Less Than You" was a truly nationwide film in South Korea, and it still holds the top spot at the box office with a staggering $6500 million.

However, hurricanes lack a nationwide foundation, and to achieve good results, they rely entirely on a lot of hype and motivation.

Moreover, with new idols emerging one after another and a large enough core group of stars, it is indeed time for large-scale purification.

The ultimate goal of the dog team is to... remove all the excess powder, leaving only die-hard fans, fanaticism, and faith, and drive the Korean starry sky to go completely mad!

……

And so, the god of marketing wielded immense power, summoning both hurricanes and bloodshed.

The days of June were dwindling, but his profits were skyrocketing.

By July 1st, the film had already finished its run in most markets, leaving American audiences bewildered: Huh? Where's my battle? What happened to this exciting crossover event?

I don't know if there was a tournament, but Fang Ge won so many times he was exhausted.

Summary Report of the "Taken" Project —

Production cost: $3000 million.

Investors: Galaxy Pictures (China) US$3600 million, Sony Columbia Pictures US$2400 million.

Equity distribution: Galaxy Pictures 60%, Sony 40%.

Publisher: Sony.

Issuance proceeds: 10% non-senior issuance fee.

Marketing and promotion costs: US$4750 million for global marketing and promotion expenses.

North American box office: $3.98 million.

Global box office: $10.18 billion.

Film history rankings: The Big Ship 18.43 billion, The Lord of the Rings 11.19 billion, Pirates of the Caribbean 10.66 billion... Fourth in film history.

Backend revenue: Estimated figure is 12-15 billion, not yet released.

Allocation plan:

1. Fang Xinghe's fixed salary is US$3000 million (already received).
2. Fang Xinghe's share of the global box office revenue is 20%, totaling US$2.36 million (accrued).

3. Of the remaining 7.82 million, approximately 5.6 million belongs to the cinemas.

4. Of the remaining 2.22 million, the marketing and distribution expenses advanced by the issuer are excluded.

5.（2.22-0.475=1.745），1.745亿去除10%发行费，剩余1.57亿。

6.星河影业分得60%，为9420万；索尼分得40%，为6280万。

Fang Xinghe's total income: US$2.66 million.

Galaxy Pictures' total revenue: US$9420 million.

Sony's total revenue: US$8025 million.

……

Fang Xinghe: Sigh, after working hard for several months, I haven't actually earned much.

Sony: Damn it!
Galaxy Pictures: Hehe, another easy win!
But actually, this calculation is wrong; Fang Xinghe's gains are far more than just this initial income.

During its short one-month run from June to July, he achieved a remarkable leap in his career.

(End of this chapter)