Chinese Entertainment Intelligence King

Chapter 319 New Landscape of Cinema Streaming, Cat vs. Dog, Dark Horses and New Movies
As July arrives, the summer movie season begins.
Actually, the summer movie season had already started in late June, with the best-performing film being the animated movie "Kung Fu Panda".

This Hollywood animated film blends Chinese national treasures, kung fu, and ancient China.

While it may seem somewhat incongruous in many aspects, the characters are likable, the fight scenes are good, and the production is excellent. It has been quite popular in China, and in just over ten days, the box office has almost exceeded 150 million yuan, and it has also surpassed 10 million yuan in Taiwan.

Aside from its home market in North America, this film's box office performance in China is probably one of the highest among overseas films.

Yan Li paid attention to this movie because Yi'an Cinemas made money.

For animated films, one of the main consumers is parents with children and trendy couples. The community-based approach of Yi'an Cinemas is gradually showing its power.

Compared to regular cinemas, Yi'an Cinemas offers more amenities, better services, and more diverse entertainment, going beyond just watching movies and providing an excellent experience.

Although Yi'an Cinemas cannot compare to Wanda Cinemas, which has an entertainment complex as its foundation, it can definitely outperform ordinary cinema chains.

If cinemas are also located in complexes or commercial districts under China Resources, Yi'an Cinemas can achieve the same effect as Wanda, or even surpass it.

So far, Wanda has mainly pursued a market expansion strategy, while Yi'an Cinemas, while expanding, has been studying how to refine, brand, and community-based cinema operations.

To put it bluntly, if you can't compete on scale, compete on service and create a differentiated advantage.

It's best to establish a fixed impression among moviegoers: Wanda is large and convenient, while Yi'an is small and comfortable, thus consistently attracting target customers.

In such cases, films like "Kung Fu Panda" can sometimes be produced by Yi'an Cinemas, which is already among the largest cinema chains in the industry, and they can deliver exceptionally impressive results.

Yan Li had just looked at Yi'an Cinema's data for the past six months, and the total box office revenue of the cinema chain is now close to 100 million yuan.

There are still two key periods to go: the summer season and the Lunar New Year season. Doubling the revenue should be no problem, but the exact figure will depend on how well it is managed.

In the current cinema market, Wanda has begun to gain momentum and is expected to compete with China Film Stellar for the top spot this year.

Shanghai United, the perennial runner-up, has now become the third, but its advantage remains stable.

China Film Southern Circuit, mainly based in the Pearl River Delta, can be said to be one of the fastest-growing cinema chains this year, competing with traditional cinema giants like New Film Union for fourth and fifth place.

The above five cinema chains are undoubtedly in the top tier, with outstanding scale and box office performance, which Yi'an Cinema cannot match for the time being.

Its competitor is Guangzhou Jinyi Pearl River Cinema Line, a cinema chain based in South China and expanding nationwide, which has become the absolute leader in the first tier.

Based on box office data from the first half of 2008, the two companies were vying for sixth and seventh place, with Jinyi Pearl River having the advantage due to its concentrated market and more cinema screens.

As for the cinema chains ranked lower, such as Zhejiang Times, Liaoning Northern, and Sichuan Pacific, they are not included.

Although they are all developing well, they are basically regional and still lag behind national cinema chains. Unless there are major changes, they are unlikely to pose a threat.

Having achieved a top-ten ranking in terms of cinema scale, Yi'an Cinema's established goal of becoming a top-ten box office performer in the industry should not be a problem.

But if you want to take another step forward, such as breaking into the top five, it will be much more difficult.

Even New Film Union, which ranks fifth, has a box office of nearly 2 million yuan in half a year and owns about 80 cinemas of various sizes with nearly 250 screens. It had been firmly in the top three for the past two years.

However, every difficulty is a challenge, but we must overcome them one step at a time.

Compared to the increasingly problematic and declining New Film Union, Yi'an Cinemas is developing rapidly and has a much broader prospect and momentum.

...

Compared to Hollywood blockbusters, the industry pays more attention to the domestic blockbuster "Red Cliff Part I".

China Film Group and Orange Sky Entertainment put on a huge show, even contacting Beijing TV for a live broadcast, which is quite remarkable among all the big-budget films.

Considering the prestige of China Film Group and Fan Xiaopang, and also because Yi An is one of the distributors of "Red Cliff", Yan Li also attended.

Although the blog incident didn't pose a significant threat to Yan Li, it still had some impact. For various reasons, Yan Li intentionally avoided the limelight and made few public appearances.

It wasn't until recently, when his report to his superiors was published in the official news, proving that nothing had happened, that Yan Li became active again.

This time, Yan Li made a public appearance with Fan Xiaopang, which excited the media to take photos and imagine a series of palace intrigue dramas.

This year's biggest entertainment gossip is undoubtedly the X-ray scandal involving those involved, followed by Yan Li's blog scandal.

The so-called "blog scandal" originally referred to celebrities who were embarrassed by anonymous comments, but because Yan Li's presence was so high, it later became a one-man show for him, extending to his messy love life of juggling multiple relationships, as well as the commercial conflict between Weibo and blogs.

Yan Li was a little unhappy because of the last point, feeling that it was just to increase the blog's popularity; he preferred to call it "Weibo Gate."

He even considered whether to delete his blog to avoid Sina setting him up again.

However, it seems that blogs don't have a cancellation function, and neither does Weibo. Unlike later features like a 15-day cooling-off period for cancellation, these functions are too useless. We'll have to wait for them to be added later.

However, you cannot cancel the account. You can delete all published content, leaving only an empty account, which is equivalent to canceling the account.

Yan Li's attitude towards the blog scandal has both positive and negative aspects. The positive aspect is that it generates traffic, while the negative aspect is that no one wants to be constantly scrutinized and have their private life discussed.

Creating scandals is for profit; without profit, Yan Li is unwilling to have his private affairs repeatedly discussed.

Fortunately, gossip is inevitable in the entertainment industry. Yan Li now has a Weibo account, so with a little guidance, things will calm down once this wave of hype passes.

If all else fails, he can push some typical examples to help him share the firepower and maintain Weibo traffic, such as the four young masters of Beijing who provide intelligence every year.

Young Master Wang is keeping a low profile these days, and Wang Ke has also quieted down a bit since getting married.

Wang Le and Wang Xiaofei are quite the ladies' man. The former has been involved in numerous scandals with several actresses, while the latter has recently been getting close to Zhang Yuqi, the rising star of "CJ7," putting on quite a show of a wealthy young actress.
Yan Li is too busy to engage in self-promotion every day, and the general public is getting tired of it. Some new faces are more welcoming to everyone.

For the production team, Yan Li was considered a guest; he would make a brief appearance on the red carpet, say a few words, and then proceed to the venue.

The main focus of the film crew, including Fan Xiaopang, was the opportunity for him to make an appearance. Fan Xiaopang spent most of the day getting his hair and makeup done, and his clothes were specially ordered.

The effect was excellent; with her looks and fame, she captured countless photos.

However, Yan Li thought Lin Zhiling was alright. Although she was a bit dark-skinned, she was tall and had a good stage presence, which gave her an advantage on the red carpet.

It's tough on Song Jia, who plays Li Ji, and the actresses who play Lady Mi. Their limelight was completely stolen, and their presence was pitifully low.

Once the main cast and crew entered the venue, Yan Li strode over to greet them, said hello to Director Wu, ignored Fan Xiaopang, and looked at Hu Jun with some concern.

"What's going on with you?"

This guy was pushed in a wheelchair today, which startled Yan Li.

The new Three Kingdoms is about to start filming. The previous episodes were all about Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei, so they can't wait for more people.

Hu Jun tapped the wheelchair and said with a wry smile, "Don't mention it. I got injured while filming a Tang Dynasty movie."

Yan Li asked about it and found that the situation wasn't particularly serious, but Hu Jun couldn't stand up for the time being. Hu Jun thought that using crutches didn't look good, so he was in a wheelchair.

However, Hu Jun's recovery will definitely delay the filming of "New Three Kingdoms", but the timeframe is still manageable.

The key is for things to go smoothly. If the recovery doesn't go well, or if Mr. Hu wants to rest for a longer period, then it's hard to say what will happen.

Moreover, the filming schedule for Guan Yu is quite demanding, with many action scenes, and it remains to be seen whether Hu Jun, who has just recovered from illness, can handle it.

Yan Li chatted with Hu Jun, reassuring him to take good care of his health, and said he would inform the "New Three Kingdoms" production team later.

Judging from Hu Jun's words, he still wants to play Guan Yu in "New Three Kingdoms". After all, it is a role that has a special appeal to actors, and he is also relatively optimistic about his physical recovery.

However, the production team cannot act solely on the actors' personal ideas; they must have a backup plan. If Hu Jun is not suitable, they must quickly find a replacement, such as Yu Rongguang, who previously competed with Hu Jun.

From a personal perspective, Yan Li hopes that Hu Jun can play Guan Yu.

Putting aside fame, although Hu Jun's image is slightly off, he has a strong advantage: his acting skills.

Because of his role as Qiao Feng, many people habitually regard Hu Jun as a martial arts actor, but in reality, he graduated from the Central Academy of Drama and is excellent in dramatic roles.

Whether it's Qiao Feng, Zhu Yuanzhang, Fuchai, or films like "Infernal Affairs," "Lan Yu," and "Assembly," they all deliver outstanding performances and brilliant character portrayals.

There are very few actors like Lu Shuming who possess both spirit and appearance; the rest either resemble him in spirit or in appearance.

The reason why Hu Jun was chosen for the new Three Kingdoms was because he had an absolute advantage in acting skills among all the actors. He could portray Guan Yu's pride, loyalty, righteousness, benevolence and strategy in a lifelike way.

His rival, Yu Rongguang, was slightly better looking than Hu Jun, except for being shorter, but his acting skills and understanding of the character were rather superficial.

To put it bluntly, the actor who played Guan Yu had his eyes practically glued to his forehead; he was even more deserving of a beating than Lü Bu.

Actors aren't afraid of bad acting skills; they're afraid of not using their brains and not understanding the character. The harder they try to act, the worse the result.

Yan Li silently wished Hu Jun a speedy recovery. If he were to be used as a substitute for Rong Guang, he would have to worry a lot.

For the rest of the time, Yan Li was quite transparent, so transparent that some people were quite surprised.

Since most people know that he is going to film "New Three Kingdoms", and given the huge popularity of "Red Cliff", it would be strange if Yan Li didn't try to ride the wave.

Yan Li remained calm. He had originally considered trying to piggyback on the film, but after watching the original "Red Cliff" film once, he gave up on the idea.

He was afraid of ruining the reputation of "New Three Kingdoms".

Even if "New Three Kingdoms" can't compare to the CCTV version of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms," the plot is still based on historical sources and has been polished, so it's not so bad that it's put on the same level as this kind of "cute and adorable" bad show.

Seriously, what was they thinking with that line?!
When Yan Li saw this line, he specifically looked at Han Sanye's face, and his lips twitched twice, probably because he was also shocked.

After the video was released, a reporter asked a question, and Yan Li couldn't ruin the event in public: "The war scenes are magnificent and grand, and some of the costumes and props are also very exquisite, incorporating many traditional Chinese cultural symbols. The actors are also handsome men and beautiful women. I learned a lot from them."

The sets and costumes were good, the actors were good-looking, and the cultural promotion was commendable; everything else was garbage.

However, Yan Li's last sentence wasn't just polite talk; if you truly learn something, even learning the opposite is still learning.

He plans to organize the cast and crew of "New Three Kingdoms" to watch "Red Cliff" together to see how Director Wu made mistakes, so they can avoid those mistakes when filming "New Three Kingdoms".

Putting aside personal feelings, Yan Li really should thank Director Wu.

Regardless, "Red Cliff" sparked a Three Kingdoms craze, paving the way for the market success of "New Three Kingdoms".

At the same time, it also provides a safety net for "New Three Kingdoms," ensuring that even if it's bad, it won't be worse than "Red Cliff." In fact, it might even benefit from the contrast with "Red Cliff."

Therefore, Yan Li made a special trip to the banquet after the premiere of "Red Cliff" to toast Director Wu and thank him for his help with "New Three Kingdoms".

By the way, let me arrange an exclusive interview for Weibo. Despite how bad "Red Cliff" is, its popularity is undeniable, and Weibo should benefit from it.

Besides Director Wu, Yan Li also chatted with Jin Chengwu.

The July Weibo male god competition has begun, and in addition to the people mentioned before, this one is also a hot topic with extremely high popularity.

That's normal. Kim is universally acknowledged as handsome, and not only women but also many men agree. These past two years have been a period of career advancement. Although his national recognition is relatively low, his fan base and popularity are still considerable.

Yan Li also wanted him to open a Weibo account, but Jin Chengwu said he had to listen to his agent.

These days, Hong Kong and Taiwan celebrities are more advanced in commercialization, especially top-tier stars. Everything is about money, and they also distrust or are not interested in the internet.

It's a bit better here in mainland China. Unless there are special circumstances, people generally value face, and some even open accounts voluntarily because they think it's fun.

Yan Li has experience with this and said that it is not necessary to open an account in person; it is also acceptable to open an account in the name of a studio, company, or official fan club.

This doesn't involve the artist's personal business, but it can represent them indirectly, serving as a channel for expression and a window for interaction with fans.

Yan Li used this roundabout strategy to indirectly attract a host of big names, including the Four Heavenly Kings, Stephen Chow, and Zhou Jielun, to join Weibo.

Once these people experience the benefits of Weibo, they will naturally use it more and more, and the influence of related accounts will grow. They may even use it to publicly release official information about celebrities. Even if it is not a personal account, it is equivalent to semi-entering the platform.

This time, Jin Chengwu didn't refuse. He could refuse on a business basis for a personal account, but personal relationships and money had to be kept separate.

But they've already backed down, only asking for an official account for a studio or fan club, which would be beneficial and harmless to us. It would be impolite to refuse again.

Yi An is now a powerful figure in the industry, and Yan Li also owns a sizable cinema chain, making them true film and television tycoons.

If you don't give him face now, Yan Li won't give you face later either, and then it will be too late to regret it.

...

Halfway through the banquet, Yan Li left, and Fan Xiaopang left with him.

With the movie "Red Cliff" in theaters, she'll be doing promotional tours, which will take at least a week or two, and she plans to go back and ask for more government funding.

Xinghewan

Yan Li, who was neither full nor hungry after the dinner, planned to have a late-night snack. The nanny wanted to make it, but he stopped her, saying that he was in a good mood today and would do it himself.

Qin Lan and Dong Xuan both hired nannies, but for various reasons, the nannies did not live at home. They came over every day to buy groceries, cook, and do housework. Yan Liduo often went home at night and had not seen her many times.

Wang Ou simply hires hourly workers only when needed, as her place is too chaotic with people coming and going, making it inconvenient for outsiders to visit frequently.

Xinghewan is too big, and Fan Xiaopang is too busy, so he hired a live-in nanny to look after the house and do chores. Yan Li even used the system to verify her, and she is considered a decent person.

Seeing Yan Li cook for himself, Fan Xiaopang, who originally didn't want to eat a late-night snack, also became interested.

"Make some for me too."

Yan Li cooks less and less these days. He treats any opportunity to cook as a bonus, regardless of how the food tastes. Having a billionaire cook for him personally satisfies his vanity immensely.

Adding some ingredients, Yan Li glanced at Fan Xiaopang and said, "Be careful, you're going to film Diao Chan later. If you're too fat, you might be associated with Dong Zhuo."

"Shut up. Even if I weigh 200 pounds, I'll still seduce you."

Fan Xiaopang was unhappy that Yan Li kept bringing up her weight, and was full of resentment.

Yan Li was speechless. This woman was turning the tables on him. She was the one who started nagging as soon as she got fat, blaming him for not stopping her. Now that he was stopping her, she said he thought she was fat.

Ha, women! But Yan Li's words still had an effect on Fan Xiaopang. He only ate a little bit of supper to taste it, and then went to the living room to do aerobics with the TV.

Yan Li sat on the sofa, casually flipping through the script of "New Three Kingdoms". He hadn't filmed for more than half a year, and he was really starting to miss it.

I enjoy acting, but I'm also tired of working and socializing every day. Acting feels more comfortable and relaxing.

Humans are all inherently base.

If Yan Li doesn't cherish his current life and longs to be far away from it, he'll probably miss his peaceful days of working and socializing in the capital after filming for half a year.

Fan Xiaopang took a break after jumping for a while, as there was still a tough battle to come and he couldn't waste his energy.

"Hey, I saw on Weibo that Dong Xuan got a cat?"

Yan Li didn't even look up: "Mm."

Seeing that Guan Yue had a child, Dong Xuan was envious, but Yan Li didn't show any interest, so she got a cat instead. After Qin Lan's Teddy dog ​​son, she now had a Ragdoll cat daughter.

I must say, Ragdoll cats are definitely much cuter than Teddy dogs, and they're less clingy and much easier to care for.

Fan Xiaopang snorted: "Once she got a cat, that lackey Tong Yaya also got one. I think Qin Lan has formed a female dog group, and that guy surnamed Dong wants to imitate it and write a female cat cult."

"puff--"

"What kind of 'female dog' and 'female cat' are these? They're too offensive," Yan Li said, looking at Fan Xiaopang with annoyance.

"You interfere with other people's pet ownership of cats and dogs. If you're so capable, why don't you own one too?"

"I'll raise one if I want, and I'll raise a powerful one. What do you think about me getting a python?"

Yan Li shuddered involuntarily: "You can raise it, but I won't come back after you're done."

He is not afraid of anything except snakes, big snakes and small snakes. He has no special experience with snakes, it is just a physiological fear. He gets scared when he sees them, and even just thinking about them makes him feel uncomfortable.

Fan Xiaopang chuckled. Ever since she learned that Yan Li was afraid of snakes, although she didn't dare to tease him, she still teased him quite a bit.

"What are you afraid of? You raise them yourself."

Yan Li was stunned for a moment, then realized: "Dude, this is a dragon, a black-bearded red dragon."

"cut."

Fan Xiaopang pouted and stopped being stubborn, otherwise she was afraid Yan Li would shove the dragon into her mouth.

Keeping snakes was just a joke; she wasn't that afraid of them, but she was still a bit disgusted by them.

She had quite a few other pets, but none of them particularly appealed to her, or were inconvenient to keep. After thinking it over, she decided to keep one.

“I keep both cats and dogs, so I’m better than them.”

Upon hearing this, Yan Li thought of Yang Mi instead. He had previously heard Qin Lan say that Yang Mi also had a Teddy dog. Now that Dong Xuan was raising a cat, and Tong Yaya was following suit, she would probably follow suit too.

He was already two-timing, and if Fan Xiaopang also kept a cat and a dog, and the two of them bumped into each other, it would really confirm that they were spies for three parties.

When Yan Li told Fan Xiaopang this funny story, she laughed too. She didn't care about bribing Yang Mi, but she was happy to give Chairman Qin a hard time.

"By the way, has Yang Mi's contract been finalized?"

"almost."

Ultimately, one cannot fight city hall. Rong Xinda dared not turn against Yi Anzhen, and after some backing down, he gave in.

Rong Xinda didn't ask for much money, but instead exchanged some resources with Chen Kun, the top leader.

It was originally agreed that the money would be given to Li Xiaowan's son, but whether it was because Li was magnanimous or Chen Kun found out something, Rong Xinda was forced to appease and win him over.

However, for Yi An, helping Chen Kun was more cost-effective than helping Li's son. On the one hand, befriending a popular young actor would also benefit the project.

What does Chen Kun want to act in?

Fan Xiaopang was quite curious. In fact, before the emergence of the "Four Great Kings," Chen Kun was one of the most popular young actors, and he had transitioned from television to film.

Tong Dawei's "Struggle" became a huge hit, and Yi Anqiang promoted Deng Chao, removing him from the list of the top four actors. However, although Chen Kun is in an awkward situation, his popularity remains and should not be underestimated.

“I originally wanted to arrange for him to act in a movie, but he himself set his sights on Zhuge Liang.”

"He, Zhuge Liang, was a bit too effeminate, wasn't he?"

Fan Xiaopang raised questions, and Yan Li thought so too. However, Chen Kun went to the set to audition for the role, and many people gave him good reviews.

Huang Xiaoming is still the most popular choice for the role of Zhuge Liang in the new Three Kingdoms TV series.

With his appearance, acting skills, and fame all being presentable, Huang Xiaoming himself hinted that he didn't care about the billing order and was willing to take the role, but Yan Li was still not quite satisfied and also didn't want to give Huayi Brothers a free pass.

Then there are Huang Haibing and Li Guangjie.

The former is an all-rounder who can guarantee a minimum standard, while the latter was selected through auditions and performed well, but his presence was weak and his image was slightly inferior, leading to some controversy within the production team.

Now, with the addition of Chen Kun, who has both popularity and good performance, we'll have to discuss this for a while longer.

Thankfully, Zhuge Liang appeared late, giving us plenty of time; otherwise, the costume and styling teams would have been furious.

Fan Xiaopang only asked a simple question; she wasn't very interested in who would play Zhuge Liang, since she wouldn't have any scenes with him anyway.

In "New Three Kingdoms", she had a guest role, with slightly more screen time than Chen Hong in the CCTV version, but not by much.

After the highlight of the beauty trap, she had a few scenes with Lü Bu in the inner quarters.

There's also a scene where Lü Bu commits suicide after being captured by Cao Cao, but it's not decided whether to film it yet. It's also possible that after Lü Bu is captured, he will either commit suicide or go into hiding.

It's worth mentioning that the script for "New Three Kingdoms" didn't elaborate too much on the romantic relationship between Lü Bu and Diao Chan.

Diao Chan was grateful to Lü Bu largely because he protected her and gave her a period of peace during a chaotic time.

Her suicide and seclusion were not, at least not entirely, for love of Lü Bu, but rather a reflection of her awareness of the chaotic world and the plight of beautiful women, and her unwillingness to remain adrift like duckweed.

This can be considered a highlight for Fan Xiaopang, and its scope goes far beyond simple romance.

Moreover, it makes sense. Diao Chan was originally scheming against Lü Bu, so her feelings for him are understandable. The CCTV version handled it quite well, with Diao Chan leaving the stage directly after the beauty trap. The new Three Kingdoms added more details and richness, but it still follows the same formula.

Therefore, besides Lü Bu, Fan Xiaopang only had scenes with Dong Zhuo and Wang Yun, and he didn't care much about the other actors.

Instead of wasting her time, she might as well get some dragon for Yan Li. Collecting this livestock's "feed" is difficult; if she doesn't use some tricks, she might easily get herself into trouble...

...

As expected, "Red Cliff Part 1" was met with a barrage of criticism.

Before its release, it was hyped up so much, but after its release, it was criticized so harshly. Just like the famous Hollywood director Chen Yi-chen's "The Promise" a couple of years ago, Wu Bai-ge, has made a huge blunder and ruined his reputation in his later years.

However, given that it is a star-studded blockbuster, the publicity and distribution teams and theaters have provided tremendous support.

Therefore, despite being met with countless criticisms, "Red Cliff Part I" still achieved great success at the box office.

Box office surpasses 100 million in four days!

Box office surpasses 2 million in ten days!
Judging from the current momentum, "Red Cliff Part I" is very likely to become the first Chinese-language film to break 3 million yuan at the mainland box office.

For commercial films, box office success comes first!
Regardless of how bad the reviews are, or how much funding and resources were used behind the scenes, the fact that "Red Cliff Part I" has achieved this result and refreshed the market upon its release means there will be plenty of people singing its praises.

At least Yan Li's evaluation of "Red Cliff" is better than before, after all, he made money.

As one of the distributors of "Red Cliff", Yi An received several million yuan in box office revenue, even if she was just cooperating and didn't receive much.

Moreover, Yi An is not only making money from distribution, but Fan Xiaopang is also starring in a film that is expected to gross over 3 million, which will boost his star power and commercial value.

Don't talk about her being the second female lead, or that Sun Shangxiang has little presence and is just there to make the box office afloat.

Celebrity marketing isn't about lecturing you or making things go as planned. Give someone a stick and they'll fly to the sky, let alone a ladder. It doesn't matter if you don't believe it, as long as someone does.

Fan Xiaopang was initially a bit cautious, but now, seeing the box office success of "Red Cliff" and its potential international success, he's gone all out.

They stopped associating with Lin Chih-ling and instead focused on competing with core creators Liang Chao-wei and Jin Cheng-wu.

Their methods were somewhat unseemly, but the high profits were undeniable. The advertisers who came to them were asking for exorbitant prices, and the business began to spread from mainland China to Asia, and even to the European and American markets.

It's no exaggeration to say that the boost a record-breaking top-tier commercial film can give to an artist is terrifying.

Of course, it also depends on who it is.

Others might not be able to hold onto this wave of opportunity, but Fan Bingbing is already one of China's most popular actresses, with a mature team and distribution channels, and has sufficient foundation and influence in all aspects.

Rather than saying she's reaping the benefits of "Red Cliff," it's more accurate to say that Fan Bingbing used this opportunity to summarize, catalyze, and unleash the full potential of her rapidly developing career over the past few years.

Fan Xiaopang's studio was short-staffed, so Jia Qian personally led a team to provide support and fully cooperate.

If this wave of benefits is properly capitalized on, coupled with the release of "Painted Skin" during the National Day holiday, Yi An will become a true superstar.

For this reason alone, Yan Li has to give Director Wu a thumbs up, feeling that he didn't offer enough toasts at the premiere banquet.

While "Red Cliff Part I" was dominating the box office, a dark horse comedy quickly emerged from the corner of the summer movie season—

Perfect in every way

Yan Li had to admit that he had misjudged the situation this time, but he sincerely hoped that there would be more such misjudgments.

I don't know if it's because they were angered by "Red Cliff Part I", or if the market is currently craving comedies.

In short, after its release, the film quickly gained traction and its box office revenue soared, exceeding 2000 million yuan in just a few days.

It seems that the box office of "Perfect Imperfection" is vastly different from that of "Red Cliff," but that's not how you compare them.

Although "Red Cliff Part I" is aiming for a box office of 3 million+, its production cost exceeds 6 million RMB.

According to conventional calculations, a movie needs to gross three times its cost to make a profit. "Red Cliff" is divided into two parts, and each part should gross 9 million.

Of course, this includes revenue from overseas box office and other copyrights; domestic box office revenue is only a part of it.

However, given the current performance of "Red Cliff," recouping its costs will be quite difficult.

While "Perfect Imperfection" didn't perform well at the box office, its low production cost made up for it.

The entire film cost less than 800 million, and the current box office revenue has basically covered the cost. The remaining box office revenue and other income are pure profit.

The most crucial thing isn't making money; that revenue is nothing compared to selling a TV series or cultivating advertising. The important thing is that Yi An gets exposure and solidifies the company's public image.

Following "Crazy Stone" and the "Call Forward" series, Yi An has created another low-budget dark horse that made money.

This proves that Yi'an continues to leverage its unique strengths and advantages, maintains stable profitability, and expands its territory in the film industry.

This kind of character is perfect for storytelling!

If Yi'an Marketing becomes the "King of Low-Budget Films" in the film industry, the retail investors in the stock market will desperately try to boost Yi'an's stock price.

The only downside is that "Perfect Imperfection" wasn't a dark horse. Judging from its current performance, it's only worth around 50 or 60 million. If it had broken 100 million, it would have been worth much more.

When will we catch another dark horse? That would be the real surprise.

Inspired by "Perfect Imperfection", Yan Li even went to visit his lucky general Ning Hao.

"Crazy Racer," a sister film to "Crazy Stone," officially began filming in July in Xiamen, Fujian Province.

The male lead is Huang Bo, an artist from Yi'an.

Compared to other artists, Huang Bo has been acting since joining Yi An, but his presence has not been very prominent until this time when he made a name for himself.

Ning Hao is no longer the small-time director he once was. Many people are eyeing his new movie. Even though Ning Hao said he didn't want handsome men and beautiful women and wanted to find actors specializing in comedic roles, a large number of comedic actors and established actors offered their services.

Putting aside other things, Xu Zheng, Liu Hua, and Guo Tao were all considered for roles in "Crazy Stone," and none of them were inferior to Huang Bo.

Ning Hao's first choice was not Huang Bo, but Liu Xiaoguang from Zhao Benshan's troupe. He only considered Huang Bo after the audition because he felt that Huang Bo was not suitable, but he was still hesitant.

Later, the people in the artist management department quit. They said they wouldn't say anything if the role wasn't suitable. Yan Li had personally delegated the decision to let Ning Hao choose the roles himself.

But if there are suitable candidates, why not use one of your own people!

Jia Qian personally went to Ning Hao to try and persuade him, and Huang Bo also went to talk to Ning Hao, which finally convinced Ning Hao to make up his mind.

After securing the male lead role of Huang Bo, the company didn't interfere further. Ning Hao found many people himself, including an artist from the company, Zhang Songwen, who played a policeman.

Ning Hao's closest personal relationship with the company's artists is with Huang Bo, followed by Zhang Songwen. The two get along very well and often hang out together.

As for female celebrities, they were useless. There was nothing we could do. Apart from a rich woman, there weren't many female characters in the movie. They were just fleeting extras, so there was no need to send someone out specifically for a cameo.

When Yan Li arrived in Xiamen, Huang Bo was being chased by someone with his blond hair.

I don't know who did the styling, but Huang Bo was already... well, on top of that, he had a head of yellow hair, and when he grinned, he looked like a weasel that had come to life.

The crew happened to have reporters interviewing, and when they saw Yan Li visiting the set, they certainly wouldn't let it pass.

"President Yan, why did you give up Jing Tian's role in 'Crazy Racer'? There are rumors online that Yi An is preparing to sign her, is that true?"

Yan Li was completely bewildered. Who was Jing Tian?
(End of this chapter)