Entertainment: I am the peak

Chapter 533 The Secret of Autumn

"Mojin: The Lost Legend" is less than 2 million yuan away from the record set by "Monster Hunt".

When asked by a reporter if she would take any measures, such as having the film's production company book out entire screenings, to break the record, Ye Ning was quite direct.

Ye Ning waved her hand and said no: "The New Year's Day holiday is in two days, there's no need to book the whole place."

Recently, Lao Wang has not been talking about his real estate business, but rather about Wan Da's film and television industry, using "Mojin: The Lost Legend" as an example.

"When this project was being evaluated, they said they wanted to control the budget and ensure profitability. I said, how could a film like this not be profitable? What's there to control? How much does it cost to make a movie?"

"The entire process went over budget twice, totaling 80 million. Most production crews would have gone bankrupt long ago, but I still insisted on investing. I didn't even ask why the budget went over. What's there to ask? Who's the director? Li Qiutang. Who are the male and female leads? Liu Ye and Liu Yifei. What else is there to ask?"

"Oh, setting a record is a small matter; the key is that it was made into a movie."

When Lao Wang puts on airs, it's a natural talent.

Strangely enough, although Wanda was the main controller of "Mojin: The Lost Legend", it seems that Autumn Pictures was the biggest beneficiary.

There's nothing we can do about it. It's because Wanda listed its cinema chain, not its production company, and Autumn Pictures' listing timing was just too perfect.

"Detective Chinatown" successfully capitalized on the Lunar New Year holiday season's momentum. The day before "Detective Chinatown" was released, the box office of "Mojin: The Lost Legend" had already dropped to 5100 million.

"Detective Chinatown" earned a respectable 9100 million yuan on its opening day and received excellent reviews, while "Mojin: The Lost Legend" once again lost its daily box office crown, earning only 4200 million yuan.

However, the total box office of "Mojin: The Lost Legend" has reached 23.52 billion yuan, only 8000 million yuan away from "Monster Hunt".

On the first day of the New Year's Day holiday, "Detective Chinatown" and "Mojin: The Lost Legend" were released at the same time, with the former grossing 1.14 million yuan and the latter 7100 million yuan.

Just after noon on the second day of the holiday, WanDa Film & Television's official Weibo account released a poster:

"After 16 days of release, the movie 'Mojin: The Lost Legend' surpassed 24.39 billion yuan in total box office revenue at 11:27 am on January 2, 2016, becoming the highest-grossing film in Chinese film history. Thank you to the audience, Chinese films are rolling forward."

A new record has been set. Five years ago, Li Qiutang became the highest-grossing Chinese film in history with "In Time" grossing 670 million yuan. He was 27 years old at the time.

Five years later, 32-year-old Li Qiutang has finally ascended to the throne of the highest-grossing film in Chinese film history.

"Let's look at the movie news. The domestic fantasy adventure blockbuster 'Mojin: The Lost Legend,' directed by Li Qiutang and starring Liu Ye, Liu Yifei, Chen Minghao, and others, has achieved remarkable results since its release. At noon today, the film's total box office exceeded 24.39 billion yuan, becoming a new box office champion in Chinese film history."

"The blockbuster film 'Mojin: The Lost Legend' has sparked a movie-going frenzy since its release, with its box office currently exceeding 24.4 billion yuan, becoming the highest-grossing film in Chinese film history. The film tells the story of... 'Mojin: The Lost Legend' features a thrilling and exciting plot and excellent production, and has been hailed by audiences and industry professionals as a milestone work in my country's film industry."

"The blockbuster film 'Mojin: The Lost Legend' has grossed over 24.4 billion yuan at the box office. The film has also achieved groundbreaking results in the sales of its merchandise. According to data from the production company, the sales of 'Mojin: The Lost Legend' merchandise have exceeded 5 million yuan, setting an example for the revenue model of Chinese films."

In an interview, Ye Ning stated frankly: "In the past, 90% of our revenue came from film box office revenue sharing, which was extremely risky. Hollywood films typically only generate one-third of their total revenue from box office sales, with the remainder coming from merchandise licensing and streaming rights fees."

"Mojin: The Lost Legend has achieved great success in exploring the sale of movie merchandise, expanding revenue channels and reducing profit risks. However, we must also recognize that the domestic movie merchandise sales model is still far from perfect, and piracy remains rampant. We will continue to combat piracy, and we hope that the industry will work with us to explore other channels for movie revenue."

Li Qiutang became the most dazzling star of this Lunar New Year film season.

But Li Qiutang remained remarkably calm about achieving this success. He did not give any interviews, make any public appearances, or even share the company's good news on Weibo.

Zhang Zhao said, "Director Qiu Tang needs to rest for a while." The reporter countered, "Is Director Qiu Tang going into seclusion to create a new film?"

"I don't know about that; it's his personal plan." Li Qiutang, who just broke the record, is at the peak of his career. Announcing a new film at this time would be seen as a way to attract investment. There are only 10 days left in the quiet period, and Qiutang won't take that risk.

Li Qiutang did indeed go to rest. He is currently in the Cayman Islands with some friends who love diving. It's the offshore financial paradise, the Cayman Islands.

Among Li Qiutang's group of online friends are quite a few wealthy guys who love to have fun and seek thrills. They even suggested finding time to go on an Antarctic expedition or climb Mount Everest.

"To be honest, I've traveled to pretty much all over the world, and after thinking about it, I've never been to the North or South Poles or Mount Everest."

Li Qiutang was quite interested in traveling to the North and South Poles, as it was just a matter of buying a boat ticket. However, she was a little hesitant about Mount Everest, as it was a place that most people could visit.
When Li Qiutang left the Cayman Islands for Los Angeles, the New Year's Day holiday had just ended in China.

"Detective Chinatown" earned 2.82 million yuan during the holiday, ranking first, while "Mojin: The Lost Legend" earned 2.18 million yuan, ranking second. The total box office of "Mojin: The Lost Legend" reached 25.7 billion yuan after the holiday.

It really doesn't make sense. Many companies in the industry can't understand why so many outstanding young directors can be discovered in the fall, and why they all sell so well.

You're talking about throwing money at it, which company doesn't have money? Can't Huayi Brothers afford to invest 30 to 50 million in a new director? Can't Guangming (a Chinese entertainment company) afford it?

Everyone says they need to cultivate new talent, and Deng Chao was a shining example of that. He made money from it, but he was also heavily criticized.

How did autumn come about?

What makes the Sky Tree Project so unique that it attracts so many new directors and incubates such excellent works?

The key point is not just "allowing newcomers to lose money." Other companies also know that it is difficult for newcomers to get ahead, and they also allow newcomers to lose money.

Many producers and bosses went to Autumn Pictures after the holidays to learn from their experience and exchange ideas.

This kind of exchange is beneficial to the industry, and Qiu Tian naturally welcomes it and will not keep anything to herself.

But when asked what was so special about the Towering Tree Project, Qiu Tian herself couldn't quite put her finger on it.

In fact, the Towering Tree Project has been implemented for more than three years now, and the best-selling investors such as Han Yan, Chen Sicheng, Guo Fan, Lu Yang, and Tian Yusheng all invested in it in the first year.

Wen Muye and Xin Yukun have not yet published any new works.

This year, the "Towering Trees" project failed to produce a single new director.

"What's most special is that in the early stages of this program, every new director and every new project was personally interviewed and reviewed by Director Qiu Tang. Their scripts were even personally revised by Director Qiu Tang. He revised the script for 'Detective Chinatown'."

“He basically lived in the teahouse during that period, constantly meeting new people and discussing projects. Eventually, the teahouse owner would reserve a seat for him every day, and if he didn’t go to the teahouse for a day, people would ask him why he wasn’t there.”

Li Qiutang is the special factor. Other company bosses may also understand creative work, but most of them cannot write screenplays.

Autumn's suggestion was: "You can organize a review committee, with people who understand scripts, understand the market, and are willing to pay. Everyone can review new talents and new projects together. Once they pass the review, you will receive payment. The company will provide a one-stop service for new talents, from creation to team building, filming and production, and then to publicity and release."

This is the secret to Qiutian's success. Qiutian is sharing it selflessly, and sincerely hopes that the industry can work together to make the pie bigger. But whether people will listen to it and whether they can actually do it is another matter.

(End of this chapter)