Entertainment: I am the peak

Chapter 756 The Lunar New Year Film Season Flops Completely

To be honest, Li Qiutang was genuinely moved when Feng Siyu cried and begged everyone for help, almost kneeling down before the bosses present, saying, "She ran away, I can't run away, that's my own father, I have to save him no matter what."

I think Feng Xiaogang has done a pretty good job educating his daughter.

But then I thought about it, and realized that all the money Feng Xiaogang had earned before had a share in his biological daughter, so my sympathy instantly diminished.

However, Huayi's contribution of only 12 billion is indeed a bit low.

"What does the company's losses have to do with those two brothers?" Some people present also disliked Huayi. "Those two brothers have already made enough money in the past few years. They should have four or five billion yuan in their hands."

"They're buying this and that every day; it's all investors' money." The two brothers own a horse farm, a private art museum, and various artworks. How much more they have in other undisclosed investments is unknown.

"Unlike our Director Li, who focuses solely on film and television and doesn't do anything else." At this point, he didn't forget to praise Li Qiutang.

Li Qiutang enjoys water sports such as swimming and diving, but these are nothing special to many people.

Li Qiutang said self-deprecatingly, "That's just being unambitious; I don't know how to do anything else."

…………

The film "Yunnan Insect Valley," produced by Huayi Brothers, was released as scheduled.

This film is crucial for Huayi Brothers, which is facing numerous challenges.

So far, there haven't been many film and television adaptations of "Ghost Blows Out the Light." The only ones that have been broadcast are "Chronicles of the Ghostly Tribe," "Mojin: The Lost Legend," and Jin Dong's "Ghost Blows Out the Light: The Ancient City of Jingjue."

The best-performing film is undoubtedly Li Qiutang's "Mojin: The Lost Legend," but Jin Dong's "Candle in the Tomb" is also quite well-received.

Three years later, the Douban rating for "Mojin: The Lost Legend" has actually risen from the initial 7.7 to 8.0.

Many viewers commented, "It's not just the best Ghost Blows Out the Light movie, it's the best Chinese adventure action film."

Fans of "Chronicles of the Ghostly Tribe" are still criticizing it and want Li Qiutang to make a sequel.

Therefore, Huayi Brothers' "Yunnan Insect Valley" will naturally be marketed as "Mojin: The Lost Legend".

The slogan they shouted was "A major comeback for the Ghost Blows Out the Light series".

There are only two movies in the "Ghost Blows Out the Light" series, so it can't be a return to "Chronicles of the Ghostly Tribe", right?

Therefore, it is not surprising that Li Qiutang was asked for her opinion on the film.

Li Qiutang's works have been released one after another recently, and he frequently appears in front of the media, making him easy to catch.

"I don't know much about it," Li Qiutang said honestly. He really didn't know beforehand that China Film Group had transferred the copyright to Huayi Brothers, and that Huayi Brothers had made this film.

“I hope the movie will be good,” Li Qiutang said. “I hope it can surpass ‘Mojin: The Lost Legend.’ The domestic film season this December is too quiet.”

Since the start of the Lunar New Year film season in December, not a single domestic film has grossed over 200 million yuan!
That's right, not even 2 million. Would anyone have dared to dream of that in previous years?
The biggest winner of the Lunar New Year film season is Aquaman, which is now close to 20 billion yuan.

The reporter didn't give up and pressed him about the possibility of filming "Mojin: The Lost Legend 2," because Wan Da had never given up and had never changed his promise to the public that "the original cast would return."

Li Qiutang reiterated that he has compiled his experience filming "Mojin: The Lost Legend" and his understanding of adventure action films into a long article and posted it on Weibo. He believes that the success of "Mojin: The Lost Legend" can be replicated.

"I have other filming plans and won't be making 'Mojin: The Lost Legend' anymore." The biggest controversy surrounding Huayi Brothers' production of "Yunnan Insect Valley" lies in its cast—from the director to the actors, they are all newcomers!

Even Li Qiutang wouldn't dare to do that.

"Let's wish them good luck. The market is bad right now; breaking even is a victory." Li Qiutang was clearly unwilling to talk much about "Yunnan Insect Valley," but her statement that breaking even was a victory sounded sarcastic.

These kinds of special effects blockbusters need to make money, otherwise all that money invested would be wasted.

Li Qiutang prefers to talk about her new film "The Wandering Earth," which was released during the Spring Festival.

"The overseas rights sold well. It will be released simultaneously in North America and Australia." This was also a piece of good news announced on the Weibo account of "The Wandering Earth" a couple of days ago.

The company didn't expect "The Wandering Earth" to achieve much success overseas. The selling price wasn't particularly good; it only brought in less than $500 million across the two continents, which was better than nothing.

It's worth mentioning that the North American rights to "The Wandering Earth" were not sold to Lantern Entertainment, but were instead distributed by Universal.

In promoting "The Wandering Earth," Li Qiutang has consistently emphasized that he will show the audience something different.

He still says the same thing today: "Our entire screenwriting team consists of six or seven people. If you include those who discuss ideas together, there are more than a dozen people. We brainstorm ideas together. If we still can't come up with good and different ideas, I would say we should just quit as soon as possible."

Furthermore, it was emphasized that "The Wandering Earth" is a concentrated display of the achievements made in the industrialization of Chinese films to date.

"People will see the extent to which China's film industry has become industrialized in 'The Wandering Earth'."

If someone else said this, the media would think it was like a toad yawning with a big mouth, wondering who they were to dare to represent the industrialization of Chinese cinema. But no one would doubt Li Qiutang when he said this.

Because he truly represents the industrialization of Chinese cinema.

After completing this event, Li Qiutang left Yanjing.

Li Qiutang is such a jinx. He said that if "Yunnan Insect Valley" could break even, it would be a victory. As a result, "Yunnan Insect Valley" earned 6400 million on its first day, 3400 million on its second day, and 9800 million in its first weekend. Moreover, its reputation collapsed rapidly and could not be saved.

This film cost over 2 million yuan to make, and based on its current performance, it really won't break even.

And so, Huayi ended 2018 with a less-than-dignified performance.

On the last day of 2018, Bi Gan's film "Long Day's Journey into Night" was released.

The marketing for this movie is textbook perfect!
The idea of ​​a "kiss to ring in the new year" for this film was conceived by a genius.

The film's producers suggested that theaters screen the film at 9:50 p.m., so that the movie would end right at midnight, allowing couples to share a kiss to ring in the new year.

This marketing campaign attracted many couples to the theater. Many of them may not have been familiar with director Bi Gan's previous auteur-style works, but instead entered the cinema expecting a commercially successful genre film with a clear plot and romantic atmosphere.
What they saw was a highly personal, poetic, and dreamlike art film. The film employs a fragmented, non-linear narrative, interweaving reality and memories, with the latter half featuring a 60-minute 3D long take to simulate the protagonist's dream.

This is driving the audience crazy! And then the audience started criticizing them!
But this movie grossed a whopping 2.6 million yuan on its opening day!
An art film! 2.6 million yuan at the box office on its opening day!!

Marriage Story was smugly boasting about its 7000 million yuan opening day gross, but look at what others have done!
But with "Marriage Story" grossing over 4 million yuan since its release, I'm already incredibly satisfied and don't compare it to others.

On the first day after the New Year's Day holiday, Li Qiutang returned to Yanjing and received an invitation from Fan Bingbing to have dinner with him that evening.

(End of this chapter)