Fooling Huayu for Thirty Years

Chapter 543: 2000 million for "Returning to One's Roots"! Is Da Tian Tian's background extraordinary?
How much money has Ma Xun made so far this Lunar New Year film season?

If we calculate based on the box office of 300 million for "Curse of the Golden Flower", then Ma Xun should receive more than 10 million.

This was all free; we even negotiated a portion of the overseas box office revenue with Jiang Zhiqiang.

Of course, it hasn't been released in North America yet, so there's no rush to make money overseas.

The key point is that this film also had a significant investment, with funds going to Hengdian and post-production.

Therefore, Ma Xun will actually earn around 20 million from this movie.

This is pure profit, pure profit that couldn't be purer.

He basically forced Zhang Yimou to revise the script, cough cough... Anyway, he did a great job.

As for the movie "Fearless", Ma Xun was able to get a relatively small share of it.

It should be around three million.

After all, this movie barely grossed over 100 million.

They didn't earn much to begin with.

However, the film did quite well at the Hong Kong box office, becoming the top-grossing film.

HK$3000 million.

Fortunately, at least ten million of the HK$3000 million went to Golden Harvest Cinemas.

That's right. It was already clear before that no matter the outcome, Ma Xun would definitely make a profit.

What he should do most is to expand the market.

The bigger the plate, the more he gets.

He came back to talk about his own film.

"Me Before You" certainly has an excellent reputation, but ultimately it is still a romance film.

In China's domestic film market, romance films really need to be closely linked to their release dates.

It means that box office success is only achieved on special days.

Now it's Christmas time, and then there are other holidays.

Otherwise, the box office wouldn't be very good.

Although box office performance is generally poor for all films outside of holidays, it is even worse for romance films.

The reason is actually quite simple: more than 90% of those who watch romance movies are couples.

Everyone's at work on weekdays, who goes out on dates? There aren't many blind dates either.

Therefore, although "Me Before You" performed very strongly in the early stages.

But after the number exceeded 100 million, this year's holiday was quite special.

As a result, the box office performance was mediocre.

It's only around 130 million now.

But this result was exactly what Ma Xun had expected, and he could certainly accept it.

In fact, anyone familiar with our film market will understand these principles.

For example, many romance films in the original timeline often had their highest box office on their first day of release because that day was chosen to be Valentine's Day.

Chen Sicheng's movie version of "Love Story in Beijing" broke 100 million yuan on the very first day.

Then there is no more then.

There are too many examples like this. In fact, the box office performance of "Me Before You" was already outstanding.

And finally, there's the film "Cloverfield 2".

The box office revenue of over 100 million yuan has clearly exceeded Ma Xun's expectations.

The key is that there's also the box office revenue from the US.

All things considered, this calculation...

"Me Before You" will get at least 4000 million, and "Cloverfield 2" will get at least 3500 million.

The previous two blockbusters, plus...

It's about 1 million.

During this Lunar New Year film season, Ma Xun not only expanded the business significantly, but also cleanly pocketed at least 100 million yuan.

Pretty good.

And right now, Zhang Yang told him that the film "Falling Leaves Return to Their Roots" is worth 5000 million?
Ha ha……

Ma Xun wasn't in a hurry. He first told Zhang Yang, "Let's go get some food. It's almost lunchtime." Then they discussed the food at the table.

Zhang Yang was naturally very happy to hear this, as he was also a little hungry, even though he had been turned away earlier.

Moreover, there was a glint in his eyes. Clearly, he wasn't stupid; he knew that being able to have dinner with Ma Xun meant that business was on the table.

So the two of them quickly found a hot pot restaurant nearby and started eating.

Ma Xun was very experienced, because he knew that the other party was not someone who was easily fooled.

They didn't say anything.

They just eat and drink, or chat.

As for the movie, this is just a film review.

Zhang Yang does have some insight; his comments on certain movies even earned praise from Ma Xun.

just like……

"Mr. Martin, you've seen Martin's 'The Departed,' haven't you?"

"I've seen it, I definitely have."

What did you think of the movie?

"I'd like to hear Director Zhang's comments."

"Hey! He's the one who made this movie! He's ruined it!!"

Goodness, this guy actually has some skills.

Ma Xun chatted with him with great interest, but after pouring Zhang Yang several drinks, why wasn't he drunk yet?

Could it be that this guy can really drink?

In that case, Ma Xun will have to change his tactics.

"Let's talk about the play 'Getting Home'."

“Oh, Mr. Ma, this is wonderful.”

Zhang Yang was actually just putting on a brave face; once Ma Xun said that, he felt relieved.

But then, Ma Xun asked a question.

"No, how did you convince Teacher Zhao to act in this play?"

This Teacher Zhao is none other than Uncle Benshan.

It's important to know that Uncle Benshan is still at his peak, so his salary is definitely not low.

Zhang Yang quoted a 'cost' of nearly 5000 million, and Ma Xun was certain that this guy was definitely bragging. However, it's estimated that the cost of this movie will be hard to keep low, after all, the salaries of Uncle Benshan and Sister Dandan, among others, will definitely not be low.

If you look closely, this movie actually has an all-star cast.

If we include the 'righteous' Lao Guo in the film, then this is definitely a top-tier cast for Chinese comedy films.

However, Guo Degang is not yet a household name.

Well, it should be said that he is becoming famous, which is really different from the old Guo who used to be pointed at and talked about by many passers-by in the shop window.

It must be emphasized that Guo Degang is not a perfect person, but the fact that he was placed in the shop window is indeed a problem with the TV station.

To be honest, that TV station is a complete jerk, there's no problem with them.

It was agreed before that Guo Degang would be given a host position after a certain period of time. In the end, he stayed for too long, making a fool of himself in that shop window in the sweltering heat, but the TV station broke the contract.

That TV station... they're really doing something utterly inhuman!
But then again, 07 was the time when Guo Degang rose to fame, and if we consider this movie...

Goodness, the more I think about it, the more I want to get my hands on this movie.

When Zhang Yang heard Ma Xun ask this, he immediately replied, "Of course, it's with my sincerity."

"Isn't it money?" Zhang Yang blushed when Ma Xun said that.

"Ahem, there are definitely money involved, but Teacher Zhao is very professional. After reviewing the script, he expressed great satisfaction."

"So who is the main investor in this film?"

"This..." "The funds from Hong Kong, right?"

"Mr. Ma, nothing can be hidden from you."

"Let's skip the useless talk and give you a price now."

"2000 million yuan for the mainland China distribution rights to this film, that's mine."

This……

A glint of light flashed in Zhang Yang's eyes, but then he looked troubled. "Mr. Ma, this is a difficult matter for me."

Ma Xun laughed, "What's so difficult about it? Your movie is still going to be released in Hong Kong, right?"

"Of course."

“Then I can increase the number of screenings for this movie. You may not know this, but Golden Harvest in Hong Kong is mine.”

Good guy!
Zhang Yang's eyes shone brighter than before.

"Um, I, I..."

"Do you want to go back and think about it?"

"After all, this money was invested by Hong Kong."

“Okay, of course you can consider it. However, I can tell you that no one can offer better terms than me. Moreover, if you also want overseas connections, I can help you establish connections in Japan.”

Ma Xun was quite sincere this time, and Zhang Yang smiled broadly after hearing it.

"Mr. Ma! Thank you for your patronage! I can see your sincerity! Let's drink to that!"

He downed all three cups in no time.

This can be considered as a way of expressing one's sincerity.

Ma Xun nodded, and then said one last thing.

"I hope we can work together happily."

Zhang Yang shook hands with Ma Xun directly, a gesture that suggested he understood the situation.

This price is most likely acceptable.

……

Ma Xun really liked the movie "Getting Home".

Moreover, he was certain that many movie fans would enjoy the film.

However, according to the original timeline, this movie did not achieve great box office success when it was first released.

There's no way around it, because in the original timeline, "Curse of the Golden Flower" was indeed a huge box office success.

"Curse of the Golden Flower" really accounted for a huge proportion of the box office.

As a result, "Getting Home" was not well received by theaters at the same time.

The ending was naturally not good.

It probably only grossed around ten million at the box office.

With a lineup including Uncle Benshan, Sister Dandan, Wu Ma, and Guo Degang, the box office was indeed lower.

The key is that after the movie is released, more people will be able to see it.

It seems that this movie has only recently been discovered by the public.

Therefore, many people have commented on this movie as follows:
China's best road movie!

Ma Xun felt that this assessment was well-deserved.

Now, by sheer chance, I should be able to secure the rights to this film.

In that case, let me, Ma Xun, do a good job of publicity.

Most importantly, according to Han Sanping, the Lunar New Year film season at the end of this year... is just right!
That's right, Ma Xun has made up his mind to use "Falling Leaves Return to Their Roots" to have a showdown with "The Warlords".

To be fair, "The Warlords" was actually very well made.

It's a rare gem of a film, and Jet Li's performance is decent, but the box office results... are still a bit disappointing compared to the quality of the movie.

Now that Ma Xun is here, let's make some proper arrangements.

This summer's blockbuster was "Assembly", and for the Lunar New Year season, it's "Getting Home".

Ma Xun already had a good plan in mind for this arrangement.

Just now...

"Mr. Ma."

"Oh, go ahead, I have no problem with this."

A phone call came in, and Ma Xun frowned slightly because the call was from Li Xue.

She rarely calls, and when she does, it's always because she has important information.

However, this important information is quite special.

"I have some rather strange information here."

"What message is it?"

"There's someone who seems to need Boss Jia to take special care of them."

"What do you mean?"

"Ha...don't you understand?"

"You mean, there's someone who wants Jia Yueting to take care of them?"

"Someone told Jia Yueting that they hoped he could take care of someone."

"You're getting more and more confused. Just tell me who that person is!"

"This person is very strange."

"What's strange about it?"

"I don't think I've ever heard of her name before."

"What's so strange about that?"

"How could someone who isn't very famous be so 'favored'?"

"Oh, that is indeed very strange."

"What I really wanted to ask was, Mr. Ma, have you ever heard of this name?"

"Okay, just ask."

Li Xue's words were strange enough, and Ma Xun, following her lead, also found them somewhat inexplicable.

The conversation between the two has remained shrouded in mystery.

Ma Xun initially found it quite fun, but then...

"Her name is Jing Tian. I wonder if Mr. Ma has heard of her?"

Sweetie?!

Upon hearing the name, Ma Xun immediately felt something was off.

So naturally, I hesitated for a moment.

Such a small gesture did not escape the notice of Li Xue on the other end of the phone.

"As expected, this girl is no ordinary person."

Ma Xun smiled after hearing this, "Don't make wild guesses, he might just be an ordinary person."

If he says that, Li Xue will definitely be even less likely to believe him.

"Okay, it's up to you."

That's definitely sarcasm.

Ma Xun had no choice but to say, "This information is great."

Well, with these words, Li Xue felt even more that Jing Tian's background was extraordinary.

And what about Ma Xun?

He thought about it and realized... this year it seems like it's Da Tian Tian's art exam.

After the New Year.

Hmm, I need to go check it out.

(End of this chapter)