Entertainment: I am the peak

Chapter 769 Carnival!

Meanwhile, among "The Wandering Earth's" competitors, "Crazy Alien" had the highest opening weekend gross at 8.25 million.

"Pegasus" grossed less than 5 million.

The gap is too big. With a difference of more than three times, any cinema manager knows how to schedule screenings, and no director can turn the tide.

Based on the general rule that total box office = opening weekend box office * 3, the total box office of "The Wandering Earth" is estimated to be 10 billion!
Nobody believes it!
No organization dares to release this figure.

Therefore, Maoyan has given a conservative figure of 70 billion for now. This figure takes into account that the Hollywood sci-fi action blockbuster "Alita: Battle Angel" will be released next week, which will inevitably divert viewers from "The Wandering Earth". In addition, with the holiday over, the first wave of movie-watching potential has been released, and the growth rate will naturally slow down.

"Actually, the ceiling for domestic single-film box office should be over 10 billion yuan." Li Qiutang was in Jiangcheng today for an event, and now she is having dinner with Zhang Zhao and others, as well as some local leaders.

“The market capacity has actually reached its limit.” No one believes Li Qiutang’s claim of 10 billion yuan for a single film, “but the market sentiment is not right. There is a lack of the right timing, location, and people to push a film to the top.”

But some leaders in Hubei Province and Jiangcheng don't care about billions or anything. What they want to know now is: as the son-in-law of Jiangcheng, will you bring Hubei Province or Jiangcheng to make a fortune in the second part?
The provincial and municipal cultural investment and tourism funds, as well as various cultural funds, all have money. As long as Li Qiutang asks, one or two hundred million yuan will definitely not be a problem.

No, is the government in such a hurry for its money? Shouldn't this money be used for local cultural and tourism development instead of investing in movies?

But Li Qiutang said, "We haven't even discussed whether we'll make a second film yet. Besides, I'm the director; I don't handle the money."

I understand their eagerness to get on board, but it's far too early to collect payment now.

Zhang Zhao also expressed his refusal, and he said it very directly: "To be honest, please don't take offense, the first movie has only been released for a few days, and everyone, including our company, is still emotional. It would be very irrational to talk about the second movie now."

"Including 'Wolf Warrior 3,' when the second film broke 3 billion, an investor presented me with a cash check for 100 million, saying he wanted to invest in the third film." Li Qiutang had never heard Zhang Zhao mention this story before. "But making a third film isn't that easy." Wu Jing didn't come to Jiangcheng with her, so there were some things she could say.

"The higher the audience's expectations, the more cautious the creators should be. If they are too cautious, they will not dare to start a project. Moreover, Wu Jing's schedule is booked up for five years from now. It will be really difficult to make 'Wolf Warrior 3'."

Back to "The Wandering Earth," there's no rush for a sequel. "It would be too easy to scam money. I could release the news about the second movie tomorrow, and without saying much, I could easily secure a billion yuan in investment. I could use that money to invest, even if it's just earning interest, and make it last three to five years without anyone daring to say anything. But that's not how things work. After all, it's a creative endeavor. If the inspiration isn't there and the timing isn't right, it can't be made into a movie. Otherwise, wouldn't that be considered scamming investors?"

After finishing this meal, Li Qiutang and the others finally achieved today's results: 3 million on the first working day after the Spring Festival holiday, bringing the total box office to 34 billion.

This number is simply outrageous; how can a company gross 3 million yuan in box office revenue on a weekday?

What's even more absurd is the share price of Autumn Films in Hong Kong. With the launch of the Stock Connect program today, countless mainland retail investors flocked to Autumn Films. But in hindsight, these retail investors are truly unafraid of getting trapped.

"The Wandering Earth" climbed to 34 billion yuan in 7 days, and Autumn Pictures' stock rose by 60 billion yuan in just one day!
The stock prices of the film's other two producers, Wanda Films and China Film Group, also rose. Wanda Films hit the daily limit up today, while China Film Group rose 2.2%.

State-owned enterprises simply cannot compete with private enterprises in this regard.

Being able to profit from a stock hitting its daily limit during such a critical moment, Lao Wang is extremely grateful that he invested in "The Wandering Earth" back then.

On the 12th, Li Qiutang and his entourage visited their hometown of Fengtian. That day, "The Wandering Earth" earned 2.2 million yuan, a normal decline. Total box office reached 36.2 billion yuan. Autumn Pictures' stock price rose another 15.7%, returning to the 700 billion yuan mark.

On the 13th, Li Qiutang arrived in Shanghai, where the super popular idol Zhang Yixing, as a guest actor, met with the audience along with the cast, causing fans to scream.

Wu Jing didn't manage to dance the girl group dance, but he learned a few street dance moves from Zhang Yixing on the spot. When Zhan Lang danced street dance, the effect was equally outstanding.

Director? If the director doesn't jump in, wouldn't someone as big a director as Li Qiutang have some baggage? He wouldn't do this. During the post-New Year promotions, many people asked about a sequel, but Li Qiutang was ruthless and wouldn't budge, insisting he hadn't thought it through yet and would focus on perfecting the first film first.

During the afternoon market closure, shares of Qiutang Pictures in Hong Kong rose another 11.7%.

Investors who bought shares in Autumn Pictures before the Lunar New Year have already seen their investment increase by nearly 30% in just three days.

But the frenzy of capital in the autumn film industry is far from over.

The next day was Valentine's Day, and The Wandering Earth's box office rebounded slightly to 2.8 million yuan. After 10 days of release, the film's total box office reached 40.9 billion yuan.

In the capital market, Autumn Pictures continued its strong upward trend, rising another 8.2% and heading towards a market value of 800 billion.

Despite warnings from numerous institutions that the project-based system unique to film companies is insufficient to support long-term profits and that investment should be approached with extreme caution, many investors have lost their rationality amid the box office success of "The Wandering Earth." They generally believe that Autumn Pictures can break through the 100 billion yuan mark in this wave and become the first film company in China with a market value of 100 billion yuan.

They're practically calling this wave of investors after the Lunar New Year speculators.

This is certainly speculation, and the warnings from the institutions are correct; the success of a single film cannot support the company's long-term profits.

But to put it bluntly, even the consensus of idiots is still a consensus, and in this frenzy, there's no point in arguing anymore.

On Friday the 15th, "The Wandering Earth" earned 1.5 million yuan, bringing its total box office to 42.4 billion yuan, and Autumn Pictures' market value closed at 754.8 billion yuan.

On the same day, state media began to get involved.

Previously, the movie channel and news channel only mentioned "The Wandering Earth" in passing during the Spring Festival special program. However, with the outcome of the Spring Festival film season already decided, and "The Wandering Earth" having a very high probability of bringing Chinese films to a new level, more official media outlets have begun to contribute to the film's coverage.

"The Wandering Earth" has become the culmination of the first 10 years of China's film industrialization process.

"The Spring Festival film market is booming, among which the domestic science fiction film 'The Wandering Earth,' directed by Li Qiutang, has attracted much attention..."

"The Wandering Earth continues to lead the post-Lunar New Year movie-going boom. According to reports, as of now, the film's total box office nationwide has exceeded 42 billion yuan..."

"The domestic sci-fi blockbuster 'The Wandering Earth' continues to be a box office hit. The film's excellent production has sparked a nationwide movie-watching frenzy, showcasing the charm of astronomical science..."

Li Qiutang has been getting so many interviews with CCTV lately that she can't tell which program it is for. Sometimes, the footage from one interview is used in three or four different programs.

Even Lan Yu came to ask him, "Is there a second season?"

Li Qiutang quickly begged for mercy: "Spare me, there's no time to think about a second part right now."

After the first week of the Lunar New Year, "The Wandering Earth" has grossed 46.2 billion yuan, ranking second in film history, and is still 10 billion yuan away from the record set by "Wolf Warrior 2"!
The post-Lunar New Year moviegoing enthusiasm declined faster than Maoyan predicted, forcing Maoyan to adjust its box office forecast for "The Wandering Earth" to 65 billion yuan.

However, Alita: Battle Angel will be released in five days.

(End of this chapter)