The Birth of the Best Director

Chapter 161 Aiming for $10 billion at the box office! Christopher Nolan faces his mortal enemy.

……

Hollywood studios typically take 40%-50% of the box office revenue from theaters.

It depends on whether the bulk of the box office revenue comes from the North American market or other countries around the world.

For example, in China, only 43% of the box office revenue goes to the producers and distributors.

Imported films can only enter the Chinese market through two distributors: China Film Group and Huaxia Film Distribution.

In fact, despite some imported films having ridiculously high box office numbers, they don't necessarily earn as much as domestic films.

This is because the revenue share for imported films is often halved by the distributor.

It will most likely only be able to take away 20%-25% of the Chinese box office, which is almost half less than that of domestic films.

Fortunately, in the movie "Real Steel," the Chinese investment accounted for more than 40%, and the female lead was a pure-blooded Chinese.

Most of the film's locations appear exotic, but they are actually in Northwest China.

The protagonist's robot, the "Qin Palace Guard," is also full of Chinese elements.

In name, "Real Steel" can almost be considered a domestic film, and does not need to go through the channels of China Film Group or Huaxia Film Distribution.

Starlight Brilliant can be released on its own.

In fact, thanks to Lu Zhiyuan's prestigious reputation, Starlight Brilliant currently enjoys a level of influence in domestic cinemas comparable to that of major Hollywood studios in North America.

Before the release of "Real Steel", Zhao Shanshan had discussed a 45% revenue share with the theaters... although it was only 2% more than the normal 43%.

2% doesn't seem like much.

However, if the box office exceeds 10 billion, this 2% revenue share would amount to 2000 million.

Currently, the top stars in China only receive about 2000 million yuan for filming a movie.

Do you still think this is not enough?
……

"Even if we calculate based on a 40% share of the box office revenue, with a first-day box office of $8000 million, we can recoup $3200 million."

"The star-studded cast of the entire film accounts for 40% of the revenue, which would amount to nearly 1300 million US dollars!"

"Our total investment for the entire film is only $2000 million."

"If you calculate it like this, you can break even in two days!"

This return on investment is simply outrageous.

In this world, there are probably only a handful of industries with a higher return on investment than this.

Zhao Shanshan did a quick calculation and found that the return on investment for this movie was definitely over 1000%, a real windfall.

At this moment, she wished she could worship Lu Zhiyuan.

In terms of monetary income, there's no need to elaborate.

Most importantly, it made me feel incredibly proud.

"After the movie was filmed, the robot called 'Qin Palace Guard' was picked up by a special plane from the relevant authorities in my hometown and taken to the entrance of the Terracotta Army."

"Ah Yuan, to be honest, this kind of treatment is something that even leaders at the department level don't usually enjoy."

[Qin Palace Guards] As long as Zhao Shanshan stayed at the entrance of the Terracotta Army for a day, her face seemed to shimmer with a layer of golden light.

Among her friends in the industry, everyone would give her a thumbs up and shout, "Sister Shanshan is awesome!"
She was only considered average in the second-generation elite circles back home; otherwise, she wouldn't have been assigned to assist Miss Jing Tian.

Now, whether Miss Jing Tian has made it big or not, nobody cares anymore.

Anyway, Zhao Shanshan made it big.

Zhao Shanshan spearheaded the YT Pictures business.

The funding behind her came almost entirely from her family and relatives and friends.

And now, everyone has made a fortune!

Now, some people are even secretly hoping that Lu Zhiyuan and Miss Jing Tian will fall out, and then a girl of marriageable age from their family can take over.

Such a good son-in-law, such a good money-maker, who wouldn't want him?
He is exceptionally handsome, incredibly talented, and has an outstanding character!
He's practically the best son-in-law out of a million!
……

"Adi, you are so beautiful."

"Ati, the way you control the robot in battle is so cool!"

"Adi, why aren't you doing your math test today?"

Hanikezi is temporarily staying in Reba's house. She originally planned to do a math test and post it on Weibo, just like she always does.

Although she has become a big star, Lu Zhiyuan has not yet revoked her identity as a "mathematical seeker".

Therefore, every day when Hanikezi comes back, he has to do a math test.

However, as a 13-year-old girl, she is also very vain.

Despite Lu Zhiyuan's warning that she was not allowed to answer netizens' questions casually, lest she be misled and leave behind a dark history.

But looking at all the praise she receives from netizens, there shouldn't be any major problems, right?

Millions of netizens look at her photos every day, and there are tens of thousands of comments every day praising her beauty and calling her the kind of genius beauty that you fall in love with at first sight.

He has the kind of face that looks very intelligent.

Seeing so many genuine compliments, Hanikezi felt incredibly happy.

"200 million followers!"

"If this trend continues, I'll soon become the second most influential person on Weibo!"

Currently, the top Weibo influencer is not Yao Chen, the queen of trending topics, but Dilraba Dilmurat, the "Fighting Angel," with over 1000 million followers!
Besides that, there's Yao Chen, who has around 190 million fans.

Dilraba is far ahead.

In fact, it is normal.

Yao Chen's breakthrough role was in "My Own Swordsman", and her appearance wasn't particularly beautiful. How can she be compared to Dilraba?
They're not even in the same league.

Now that the movie "Real Steel" has just been released, under the saturation of publicity, Hanikezi, the female lead, has become a sensation for her beauty with her Indian oil paint makeup in just 3 seconds.

For a female celebrity to become famous, she must first be good-looking.

Only if you are good-looking will others want to understand your inner qualities.

First of all, Hanikezi is good-looking. Secondly, Lu Zhiyuan specially created the image of a silly but beautiful girl who is a "mathematical seeker" for her.

Before she became famous, she spent nearly three months diligently working on math tests every day, calling people "brother" and "sister" online, and asking them how to solve a problem.
So adorable and silly, it's absolutely cute!
Just one glance at her Weibo account and her unique style, and who wouldn't love this little girl, Hanikezi?

As a result, on the first day of its release, "Real Steel" raked in 60 million yuan at the box office, breaking various domestic box office records. As a result, Hanikezi's Weibo account naturally gained millions of followers.

In the past two days, Weibo has seen an explosion in new traffic.

90% of new users register for Weibo just to see Hanikezi's Weibo status.

Just how adorably silly is this girl who controls the "Qin Palace Guards" and is invincible in the movie "Real Steel"?

I came in and took a look.

They're both silly and cute!

Super cute.

"Honey, I've received quite a few calls from advertisers asking if you're interested in any commercial endorsements?"

Dilraba posts photos of herself and Hanikezi on Weibo every day, and they look like sisters.

Hanikezi is currently a free person, and outsiders cannot contact her at all.

Therefore, many businesses seeking cooperation called Dilraba's agent, Zhang Tianai.

Zhang Tianai is having a lot of headaches right now.

Dilraba's commercial endorsements are already so numerous that she's almost overwhelmed, and now Hanikezi is another one coming up.

It wasn't that she disliked Hanikezi's commercial endorsements; she couldn't afford to take a cut of the agent's fees. It was just that the fees were too high.

How can hundreds of companies come to quote prices in a single day?

Do you consider yourself a robot?

"Sister Ai, I feel like you can't handle everything on your own. How about we hire a few professional managers to help you share some of the workload?"

Zhang Tianai has been an agent for a year now.

They are already very proficient in the business.

Dilraba noticed that Zhang Tianai had become visibly haggard, and her appearance had declined significantly from her peak.

The main reason is that being an agent is too busy, and Zhang Tianai really doesn't have time to put on makeup. She goes out to discuss work every day with a bare face and just ties her hair in a ponytail.

My clothing style is becoming increasingly androgynous; I wear business suits every day, and I don't even know how long it's been since I went out for a beauty spa.

They are becoming less and less of a threat.

Dilraba began to sympathize with Zhang Tianai and no longer saw her as a potential rival in love; their friendship began to prevail.

"Who can we turn to? Agents in the industry, those who have made it all have their trump cards, they won't easily join our company."

Zhang Tianai also considered finding some helpers.

But after a year in the talent agency industry, she realized that having a top-tier artist as an agent is like having a treasure trove.

As long as you take good care of this money-making machine, you will never lack money or business.

Before she became Dilraba's agent, she didn't know anything, but she was still overwhelmed with business.
She is known in the industry as the Iron Lady.

They're the kind of people who don't give face to anyone; if they say they won't sign, they simply won't.

However, Zhang Tianai knew that her confidence came from Lu Zhiyuan.

The big director is taking Dilraba with him every day. If you don't come to sign her, other companies will naturally spend more money to sign her.

Even foreign companies are coming to compete for their orders.

How is Yang Mi?

Dilraba showed her phone to Zhang Tianai: "Sister Xiaoai, look at Yang Mi's Weibo, what is she posting every day? Your dad isn't a king, so don't act like a little princess."

"She must have run into some trouble. Otherwise, why would she be making sarcastic remarks on Weibo every day, lamenting the injustice of fate and implying that someone is targeting her?"

"Although her acting skills are a bit lacking, she should be fine for idol dramas."

"After the huge success of 'Real Steel,' my brother promised Sister Su Lun that he would invest in her to become a director and start her own projects."

“Now, we have money, projects, internationally renowned directors as our backers, talented young directors who want to start projects, and a reliable production team. I also have an endless stream of commercial endorsements.”

"We're just missing a few reliable underlings to help us make money."

"My brother really likes Yang Mi, right? We can take this opportunity to bring Yang Mi and her agent under our control."

"From now on, all the hard and tiring work will be done by Yang Mi and her agent. Yang Mi must have been targeted and suffered a lot, and now she is single-mindedly striving to become a rich woman."

"Let's make good use of this mentality and dump all the low-paying jobs on her. As for us girls, we'll take on some easy, high-paying jobs, go to beauty spas every day, go shopping together, and be pretty little princesses."

"Sister Ai, what do you think of my idea?"

Dilraba's idea is brilliant!
Her perspective is indeed different now; at such a young age, she already has the mindset of a capitalist.

Zhang Tianai couldn't help but be tempted after hearing this.

Who wouldn't want to just lie there and have someone keep making money for them to spend?

However, after much consideration, Zhang Tianai shook her head.

“Dilraba, I can’t make this decision. As you know, although I’m nominally the company’s artist director, I only manage you, and you’re barely half of Gulnazar.”

"Kun Ge helped me with some important matters."

"Bringing Yang Mi's team in is such a big deal, I need to discuss it with Brother Kun. Let's see if there are any traps waiting for us."

Among this group of girlfriends, Zhang Tianai has the highest level of education.

I graduated from a vocational college specializing in fashion design in Japan. But at least I studied in Japan, so my degree has some value to it.

The other two. Reba, graduated from an art college in Urumqi with a diploma in dance.

Naza, same as above.

None of the three of them had ever seriously studied for more than a few days.

……

12 month 26 number.

early morning.

Miss Jing Tian changed into a Christmas reindeer makeup outfit today. I don't know who told her that after being in a relationship for a long time, you need a little freshness.

Last night was Christmas, and she had prepared a little surprise for Lu Zhiyuan, giving him a fresh date with the Christmas reindeer.

I must say, the effect is amazing.

The two embraced, saying nothing, quietly watching TV and enjoying the tranquility of the moment.

Because it won't be long before Zhao Shanshan calls, yelling and disrupting their time together.

It was just past midnight.

Sure enough, Zhao Shanshan made a phone call.

Miss Jing Tian sighed, "A Yuan, can we not answer? Sister Shan Shan can be really annoying sometimes."

“If I don’t answer, she’ll call you. If you still don’t answer, she’ll call Reba. Do you believe that Reba will come looking for us in the middle of the night?”

Not answering the phone has serious consequences and can be quite troublesome.

Lu Zhiyuan was very empathetic and quickly answered the phone: "Sister Shanshan, let's skip the formalities and just give us the numbers."

Zhao Shanshan laughed heartily. She had a lot to say and wanted to praise Lu Zhiyuan to the skies, to make him feel all tingly.

As a result, Lu Zhiyuan had become numb.

"Then I'll keep it short and not disturb your time together."

Yesterday was Christmas. The young couple must have had something special planned for the evening, otherwise Lu Zhiyuan wouldn't have shown such impatience.

Zhao Shanshan is very knowledgeable.

At this moment, she immediately started reporting the numbers: "Domestic box office, just as I expected, has exceeded 100 million! I will issue a public announcement tomorrow morning."

Breaking 100 million yuan in box office revenue in a single day—what a tremendous achievement!

Zhao Shanshan couldn't wait for the whole world to know that they, Starlight Entertainment, had struck gold, with an incredibly high concentration of gold, so that others could be envious and jealous!
Especially Feng Xiaogang's buck teeth.

When "Aftershock" grossed 6.7 million yuan, he went around criticizing everyone, mocking Jing Tian and saying that Starlight Entertainment was just lucky.

Grandma’s legs!

So what if I got lucky?

I dug out this gold mine of Lu Zhiyuan with my own hands! If you're so capable, you go and dig one yourself!
Have you heard of the strategic plan of "forcing seedlings to grow"? It's our top-secret operational plan, "Starlight Brilliant"!

I am the commander-in-chief!
"It really broke 100 million?"

Upon hearing that the daily box office had exceeded 100 million yuan, Lu Zhiyuan was momentarily dazed.

Avatar's highest single-day box office record: 1.3 million.

Looking at this era, it's practically like a myth or legend.

I never imagined that a year later, I would be so close to that record.

“Absolutely true! I asked around several times. I even suspect that some theaters are cheating on box office revenue. In fact, we may have already broken Avatar's record.”

Zhao Shanshan hired several people to work part-time as ticket checkers in cinemas across major cities in China to check the actual attendance of "Real Steel" as soon as possible.

Many people have reported that "Real Steel" is almost always sold out.

The scene was exactly the same as during the release of "Avatar" last year.

"Moreover, thanks to you, even though it was the weekend, the box office of 'If You Are the One 2' was halved."

Both "Real Steel" and "If You Are the One 2" are genres that young people like to watch.

Many of the people there are young couples on dates, watching movies and enjoying their time together.

Then naturally, you should choose a more popular movie.

Pursuing fashion is always a lifestyle for young people.

When the first season of "If You Are the One" aired, it was still quite novel.

But to be honest, the reputation of the second movie has declined a bit.

If there's a 50% chance of getting a bad experience if you choose to watch "If You Are the One 2," then you might as well not choose it at all.

Turn left to watch "Real Steel".

This is a sequel to the Hollywood blockbuster, directed by China's top commercial film director, and starring an Oscar-nominated actress, the super sci-fi movie "Upgrade".

The male lead is Harrison Ford, the famous Indiana Jones series.

With so many factors combined, the probability of encountering a problem is almost extremely low.

If not "Real Steel", should we choose "If You Are the One 2" instead?
For moviegoers who can't possibly learn the Shadow Clone Technique, and who can only watch one movie tonight, of course they'll choose to watch "Real Steel"!
"What?! Little Bucktooth fell flat on his face! Serves him right! Who told him to laugh at me back then? I've been waiting for this day to come!"

Miss Jing Tian was originally bored and lay in Lu Zhiyuan's arms, just waiting for Lu Zhiyuan to finish his phone call so he could beat her, the little Christmas reindeer.

But then, they heard about Feng Xiaogang's fall from grace.

She suddenly perked up, took out her phone in the middle of the night, and risked being criticized to deliver a fierce retort: ​​"Some people's movies choose this release window just to be funny."

After sending it, Miss Jing Tian felt completely refreshed.

"What about North America? What are the figures for North America?"

As long as he gets enough box office revenue in North America, Lu Zhiyuan is guaranteed to be the world's top-grossing film for at least one week!

If nothing unexpected happens, he will sweep the world in January.

Then, we can open the S-class grand prize again.

"In North America, the box office is consistently around $4000 million! It's just like last year's Avatar. It's really amazing!"

Zhao Shanshan couldn't help but start praising Lu Zhiyuan again.

But Lu Zhiyuan thought about it and said, "This box office figure is indeed a bit exaggerated. However, considering that today is Christmas and there are no other particularly strong competitors in the same period."

"Moreover, from a certain perspective, this is a sequel to 'Upgrade,' so the box office performance is actually quite reasonable."

This Christmas, there are no formidable competitors.

This is the biggest positive factor.

Lu Zhiyuan chose to release the film on Christmas Day, and even the executives at Universal Pictures thought that he picked the perfect time!

Other great movies are either nearing the end of their theatrical run or haven't been released yet.

At this time of year, the remaining competitors are all mediocre.

However, it's also possible that his competitors knew Lu Zhiyuan was going to release his film on Christmas Day and deliberately adjusted their release dates to avoid a direct confrontation with him.

There are certain tacit understandings among the major Hollywood studios.

They won't confront each other directly.

“I remember that when Avatar was released last year, its opening weekend box office was not good. In North America, it only grossed $7700 million in its first three days.”

"You have broken this record."

Zhao Shanshan did not disclose the global box office figures for Avatar's opening weekend.

Because it's just too exaggerated.

Avatar grossed $4.35 million in its first seven days worldwide, averaging $6000 million per day!
The first two days of "Real Steel" were indeed quite exaggerated.

But barring any unforeseen circumstances, box office figures will definitely plummet after the weekend.

I just don't know how long they can hold out.

But even so.

They've already made a fortune!
"Yesterday, 'Real Steel' grossed nearly $8000 million worldwide. Today, thanks to the surge in the Chinese market, it has grossed nearly $9000 million."

It grossed $1.7 million in just two days!
Barring any unforeseen circumstances, it should gross close to $8000 million at the box office tomorrow!

In its opening weekend, the film grossed $1.2 million in North America, around $4000 million in China, and $2.5 million worldwide!
What an amazing start!

It's almost identical to Alice in Wonderland and Harry Potter 7.

Both of these films grossed nearly $10 billion at the box office!
……

Next, it seems that "Real Steel" has the potential to reach $10 billion in global box office revenue.

Universal Pictures' publicity department began to go all out.

On the third day of its release, influential media outlets around the world began writing reviews of "Real Steel".

—The Hollywood Reporter: "Amid the roar of robot boxing, director Lu Zhiyuan successfully captured the delicate emotions of family relationships. Harrison Ford's old hero and Hanikezi's inspiration collided, making this seemingly 'steel-clashing' film full of human warmth."

—Variety: "Real Steel, with a production budget of $5000 million, has created a visual feast comparable to Avatar. The post-credits scene is absolutely brilliant!"

—Variety: "This is the ultimate gift for the gaming generation and movie fans! Every frame challenges the limits of visual appreciation!"

……

In addition to reports from major media outlets and magazines.

Apple published a short article on its social media.

—[VR gaming glasses have achieved a hardware technology breakthrough. Internal testing shows they can achieve a 90Hz refresh rate and a 110° field of view. Currently, they are testing loading a fighting game version of "Real Steel".]

——【Stay tuned!】

Just like in last year's movie "Upgrade", Dilraba's line "Welcome to the new world" directly introduced the concept of the artificial intelligence voice assistant "Siri".

Apple became the first company to take the plunge.

Stocks soared, and products sold like hotcakes.

This year, Real Steel once again stands at the forefront of the technological wave of the times.

VR glasses!

This thing isn't actually anything new.

Since 2000, VR technology has been widely used in professional fields such as military and medical fields.

However, the consumer market has remained stagnant.

The key bottlenecks are: insufficient display resolution (generally below 720p), low computing performance, and high cost.

Now, Apple has announced a breakthrough in hardware technology.

In other words.

Can VR gaming glasses achieve virtual reality interaction like in the movies?

Even if it only has 10% of the visual effects and impact of the movie, it's enough to make people look forward to it!
In an instant, Real Steel became a symbol of an era!

On December 26th, the box office exploded once again.

It wasn't just the two major voting blocs, China and the US, but the entire world that experienced a collective surge.

This allowed "Real Steel" to gross over $1 million in a single day!
It grossed a staggering $2.7 million in its opening weekend!
After the news was announced, it instantly made headlines in all entertainment sections around the world.

"Lu Zhiyuan! He was once a failed art student, but now he is a world-class director!"

Christopher Nolan has met his nemesis!

"James Cameron, your challenger has arrived!"

(End of this chapter)