I'm just trying to ride the wave of popularity!

Chapter 324 Great Defeat

That year, Li Zhengtao's "Qin" burst onto the scene, stunning the film industry with its magnificent war scenes and Eastern aesthetics, and setting off a commercial frenzy for domestic period dramas.

That year, Li Zhengtao, one of China's three great directors, became the second Chinese director, after Hollywood director Ann Chen, to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, which shocked the entire film industry.

That year, the industry already tacitly agreed that he was about to reach the pinnacle of the "Five Generations of Chinese Directors" and become a leading figure among Chinese directors, enjoying unparalleled popularity...

That year...

……

Li Zhengtao's success has had a tremendous impact on the Chinese film market, with almost the entire industry praising him: Li Zhengtao will lead Chinese films into the era of blockbusters.

This praise puts immense pressure on the other two directors, who are also considered among the "Three Great Directors of China".

When a peer who was originally on the same starting line suddenly declares that they want to rush to the international stage and lead the times, no one will feel good.

Chen Kai is one of them. He ambitiously filmed "Extreme" in an attempt to prove his status in the film industry, but the film was a complete failure and he has not recovered from it to this day.

However, the failure of "Extreme" did not dampen other directors' pursuit of "blockbusters".

While privately mocking Chen Kai for his poor storytelling, they also threw themselves into filming big-budget movies.

Liang Xiaogang is the most representative of these.
His ambitions were immense. He not only wanted to recreate the glorious achievements of "Qin", but also to forge a completely new creative path, determined to create a monumental work that could rival or even surpass "Qin".
Unlike Li Zhengtao's pursuit of dazzling visual effects, Liang Xiaogang believes that the key to a film that can truly resonate with audiences both at home and abroad lies in achieving "cultural integration."

He has always believed that this fusion must be based on Eastern aesthetics while incorporating the core story of Western art films. He firmly believes that this unique creative concept can not only bring the audience a stunning visual experience but also provoke profound reflections on human nature, thereby achieving a box office hit at home and abroad and making him an instant star...

It was with this in mind, after countless sleepless nights, that he finally launched the "Feast of Kings" project...

……

7 month 2 day.

in the office.

Deathly silence.

The assistant pushed open the door and handed over a box office report. Then, he stood aside, not daring to breathe.

Liang Xiaogang sat silently in the chair, took the report, glanced at it, and then closed his eyes.

This highly anticipated film achieved a pre-sale box office of 3400 million RMB, setting a new record for Chinese films.

However, the box office on the opening day was only 2800 million, far below expectations, a result that caught everyone off guard.

When he opened his eyes again, his eyes were slightly bloodshot.

He grabbed the phone abruptly, his fingers trembling as he dialed the theater manager's number: "Did Zhou Yang tamper with the screening schedule? Why is the box office so bad on the opening day!"

The voice on the other end of the phone replied helplessly, "Director Liang, according to market research, we really didn't manipulate anything. A 75% screening rate is already very high... We've put almost all our resources into this movie. This morning, the movie's occupancy rate was amazing, but this afternoon, some theaters only had 40% occupancy, and there were also quite a few ticket refunds..."

"Are you sure it's not Zhou Yang?"

"Director Liang, even if Zhou Yang is stupid, he knows what this film represents for the Chinese film industry. With instructions from relevant departments, he wouldn't do something like this..."

"..."

The response on the other end of the phone made Liang Xiaogang tremble slightly. He then took a deep breath and turned on his computer.

After hanging up the phone, he stared intently at the computer screen...

The hashtag #TheFeastofKingsIsUgly# is trending wildly on the hot search list!
Each viewer comment pierced my eyes like a knife...

[The plot is fragmented, and the elements of East and West are forced together], [The grand scenes are piled up like a nouveau riche renovation], [I wanted to get a refund halfway through]...

His throat tightened slightly as he stared at his assistant: "Investigate immediately! Is Zhou Yang manipulating these negative comments behind the scenes? This guy loves doing this kind of thing!"

The assistant nodded, then left the office with his head down.

The office fell into a deathly silence, a suffocating stillness that made Liang Xiaogang feel inexplicably uneasy.

He paced back and forth in the office unconsciously...

A feeling of unease began to grow stronger and stronger.

Around four o'clock in the morning, his phone rang.

"Director Liang, according to our investigation, Zhou Yang's side has neither the possibility nor the motive to suppress this film."

"After all, our film is produced by [Huashang Brothers], and Zhou Yang recently acquired a 20% stake. From a business perspective, if this film becomes a hit, he will also receive a share of the profits. Moreover, their cinemas have already cleared all their screening slots in July. If the film flops, it won't benefit him at all!"

"Unless, he's gone mad..."

After hanging up the phone, Liang Xiaogang slumped into a chair, the call plunging him into even deeper despair.

Since the possibility of Zhou Yang interfering has been ruled out, the only explanation is...

The problem lies with the film itself...

He continued to monitor the comments on the internet!
..........................................

Early July... was an extremely painful month for the entire Chinese film industry, and even for relevant Chinese departments.

The film "The Last Supper," which was highly anticipated by the entire Chinese film industry, did not follow the expectations of countless investors and filmmakers. Instead, it did not break the 4000 million yuan mark at the opening weekend, nor did it continue its meteoric rise to the top of the Chinese box office, before venturing abroad and into overseas markets...

The film grossed only 2800 million RMB on its opening day, then dropped to 2100 million RMB on the second day, and further to 1400 million RMB on the third day…

……

The plummeting box office figures plunged everyone at [Huashang Brothers] into an unprecedented abyss...

This movie is going to lose money!
When the opening week box office of "The Last Supper" finally settled at 1 million RMB, and the daily box office had already exceeded 800 million RMB...

Everyone is finally forced to face a harsh reality!

This "Eastern epic," which cost 2.3 million yuan, has become a complete tragedy!
The film attempts to replicate the tragic core of Shakespeare's Hamlet, but awkwardly grafts the story's background onto the court of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period.

Zhang Yi plays an empress struggling between power struggles and lust, Ge Hui's emperor roars out lines in a Western theatrical style, and against a backdrop of a magnificent palace, the characters, dressed in Tang Dynasty costumes, dance a modern dance.

This ambition to "blend Chinese and Western styles" ultimately turned into an aesthetic disaster—film critics sarcastically remarked: "It's like using a famous Chinese porcelain to serve steak, ruining both the blue and white porcelain and neglecting the beef."

Even more fatal is the film's tearing apart of commerce and art. In order to highlight "intellectual depth," Liang Xiaogang deleted all the straightforward conflict scenes in the original script, resulting in a fragmented power struggle plot;

In an effort to please the market, they also crammed in erotic bathing scenes and slow-motion fight sequences.

Viewers gave it a 5.8 rating on Douban: "I thought I was going to see a blockbuster upgraded version of 'Qin,' but what I got was a half-cooked meal of 'Qin' mixed with 'Hamlet.'"

After its first week, theaters urgently cut its screenings from 75% to 35%. [Huashang Brothers] stock price plummeted in response, and Zhang Zhonglei angrily slammed his glass at the board meeting: "2.3 million yuan for a shoddy mess! I should have invested in President Zhou's 'Demonic Knight'!"

When pressed by the media, Liang Xiaogang stubbornly insisted that "audiences need time to understand avant-garde aesthetics," but netizens discovered that many of the film's "original" shots "borrowed" composition from the famous Japanese director Akira Sawa's "The Turbulent Times"...

This defeat served as a mirror, exposing the superficiality of the Chinese blockbuster era. When capital blindly believed in the formula of "big director + big investment = big box office," it forgot the most basic truth of film: even the most expensive imperial robe cannot conceal an empty story...

After its second week, "The Last Supper" only grossed 3500 million RMB, bringing its total box office to a mere 1.35 million RMB.

The film's disastrous failure completely disrupted the plans of the three major cinema chains and even the entire Chinese cinema market. Originally, the cinema chains had reserved prime release slots in the hope that "The Last Supper" would achieve great success and pave the way for the major August release "Chrysanthemum Terrace," thereby laying the foundation for the industrialization of Chinese cinema.

However, reality was far harsher than expected; the film's occupancy rate plummeted to 25%, and its market performance completely collapsed...

And only half a month has passed!

The theater chains could no longer sit still.

With the summer movie season halfway through, the disastrous failure of "The Last Supper" has plunged the entire market into a slump. Cinema managers are receiving a barrage of calls, and shareholders are anxiously watching the daily box office reports plummet.

"Director Li, 'Chrysanthemum Terrace' must be released ahead of schedule! The market needs a rescue!" The vice president of Huaying International personally flew to Tianyu's private office and almost pleaded with Li Zhengtao to stop him.

"That's right, Director Li, if this drags on any longer, the summer movie season will be ruined!" Deng Baichuan of Tianyu Media also stepped in to put pressure on the company, even hinting that they could add tens of millions in publicity fees.

However, Li Zhengtao simply shook his head.

He stared at the film reel on the editing table, his voice calm but undeniable: "Release in August, not a day earlier."

"But the market can't wait!"

“What the market needs are good movies, not emergency medicine.” Li Zhengtao pushed open the conference room window and pointed to the huge poster of “The Last Supper” downstairs—the four gold-plated characters “Eastern Epic” on it were peeling off under the scorching sun. “If the publicity is not in place and the audience is not prepared, a hasty release will only repeat the same mistakes.”

He turned and stared at everyone with a sharp look in his eyes: "Either wait, or change gears, but my movies will never be compromised."

"But the summer movie season is the golden time to make money, this is the time."

"I disagree with releasing the film earlier than scheduled! The release date for this film has already been agreed upon with the investors, and I have the final say. If the film is forced to be released earlier, I will refuse to participate in any promotional activities!"

"..."

....................................

Because of Li Zhengtao's refusal, the cinema chain had no other options.

On July 15, cinemas urgently adjusted their screening strategy, drastically reducing the number of screenings for "The Last Supper" and instead releasing five domestic films, including "Summer Love Song" and "Jianghu Night Rain," to fill the gap in the release schedule. However, these hastily launched films were either art films that had been shelved for many years or low-budget comedies, with almost no promotion.

On the first day, the attendance rate was less than 30%, and the director of "Summer Sonata" looked disappointed when he saw that there were not many people in the theater at the roadshow.

In just one week, the total box office of the five new films was less than 2000 million yuan, with the worst performer, "Beijing Drifters," earning only 17 yuan in a single day.

Looking at the lackluster summer movie season, cinema managers finally realized that this July, the Chinese film market was experiencing an unprecedented winter.

There are quite a few foreign films, but the problem is that it's currently the "Domestic Film Protection Month." Although there are no explicit regulations, if you dare to screen foreign films, wouldn't that be a slap in the face to the relevant departments?

And at this moment...

The cinema chains, in a state of panic, heard the news from [Xuan Shi Entertainment].

A youth film titled "Kung Fu Basketball," for which Zhou Yang had only mentioned the idea, seems to have just finished editing...

At that moment, without thinking twice, they immediately dialed Zhou Yang's number...

(End of this chapter)