Director of Photography Department of Huayu

Chapter 171 Business Concept Setting, an Invitation I Cannot Refuse

What is the concept of 2235 million?
On December 15, 2005, "The Promise" premiered and grossed 2115 million yuan, breaking the premiere box office record of 18 million yuan set by "Titanic".

Stephen Chow's "Kung Fu" set a record of 2200 million in a single day.

This means that Now You See Me surpassed the first-day box office of The Promise on its premiere day, setting a new first-day record in China.

Han Sanping suddenly became happy.

After hearing the translation, Michael Burns' face lit up and he asked from the side, "Close to 300 million US dollars?
A very good first day result.”

As soon as this number conversion came out, it immediately poured a bucket of cold water on Han Sanping's hot head.

According to the current exchange rate of RMB 7.99 to US dollar, it is indeed less than 3 million US dollars.

"Mr. Han, our market is developing very quickly. According to the development trend, China will soon become the largest box office in Asia and the second largest box office in the world. Who knows, in the future, our first-day box office may not be worse than Hollywood's."

Wu Chen leaned sideways and spoke to Han Sanping in a low voice.

"I look forward to that day." Han Sanping's passion was rekindled upon hearing this.

The development speed of the film market in recent years is obvious, almost doubling every year.

In previous years, it would have been impossible to achieve a result of 2200 million on the first day, but now it has come out, and this will not be the highest daily box office.

Because yesterday was Friday and today is Saturday.

The highest point of the daily box office is on the second or third day after the premiere.

At this time, everyone noticed that the unstoppable momentum of "Now You See Me" caused theaters across the country to push aside all films to make way for it in order to satisfy the audience's surging demand for movies.

"Now You See Me" grossed 2235 million yuan on its first day, surpassing last year's "The Promise" and setting a new domestic box office record.

"Now You See Me" exploded at the box office, grossing 2200 million nationwide!

"Now You See Me" breaks multiple box office records and is a huge success nationwide!

"Now You See Me" is a box office hit, and it's only a matter of time before it breaks 200 million!

【.】

There is indeed an essential difference between commercial films and art films. If the latter is destined to be "highbrow", then the former is destined to maintain the reputation of "lowbrow".

Before the release of "Now You See Me", many domestic audiences did not know Wu Chen. They might have occasionally seen news reports about him, but had never seen his movies.

Although the box office of the first two films exceeded 10 million, the audience was ultimately a small number. Even if they won awards, they were not targeted at the general public.

But things are different now.

In the streets and alleys of China, anyone interested in watching movies will probably have a conversation similar to this one.

"Let's go to the movies. The latest Hollywood magic blockbuster, 'Now You See Me'."

"Who took the photo?"

"Our domestic director seems to be called Wu Chen"

"Hey, I thought it was Zhang Yimou, who is this?"

"."

Compared to ordinary audiences who just go to watch a movie for fun, people in the industry have a lot more to think about.

"Luckily it was pulled from the theaters. Damn, it really was a box office hit."

"There's no other film competing with it during this timeframe. Breaking 200 million yuan will only depend on how many days it takes, and also how long it takes for pirated copies to appear."

People in the industry are speculating.

The time point when the box office breaks 200 million and the time point when it is pirated will determine whether this movie has a chance to challenge the box office of "Hero" and the huge mountain above it in the country, "Titanic" with 360 million.

"Xiaogang, where do you think this movie will go?"

Wang Zhonglei was also amazed at the first-day box office of "Now You See Me" at this time.

He knew from the premiere the night before that the movie was good and looked unusually comfortable, but he didn't expect it to be so attractive to watch.

"Wu Chen chose a good subject." Feng Xiaogang leaned back on the sofa, expressionless. "A few days ago, I read some foreign media's audience reviews of the premiere, and they were spot on.

Magic crime is a very interesting concept. Even Hollywood doesn't often produce this type of movie, let alone in our country, where there is no trace of it at all.

Domestic audiences are attracted by the freshness of the story and the visual effects.
Feng Xiaogang paused and said, "Let's see how well China Film's anti-theft system works. If it does well, it might be possible to charge forward a few more times."

Wu Chen didn't expect that Feng Xiaogang's views on commercial films were very similar to his. After he came back from China Film, Zhang Huijun called him over and he went straight to his office.

At this time, in addition to Zhang Huijun, Xie Xiaojing, Mu Deyuan, Tian Zhuangzhuang and others were also present.

"Are you saying that before a commercial film is released and before the audience watches it, what drives the audience's expectations is the concept setting?" Zhang Huijun and others asked with some confusion.

“Yes, in fact, whether the audience watches a movie or not is indeed influenced by marketing, such as big scenes, big stars, and of course some famous directors are also driving factors.

But getting people who don't normally have a strong desire to watch movies to go to the cinema to watch a movie depends on whether your concept meets the audience's expectations.
Of course, marketing also plays a part in this.

You said "Now You See Me", how good is the story? Not necessarily!

Many stories in commercial films cannot stand scrutiny, unless they are adapted from true events. However, the setting of magic crime is definitely novel in China. Even in Hollywood, there are actually not many such settings over the years.

People are also extremely curious about magic, as can be seen from the fact that everyone is eager to uncover its secrets."

"In this regard, you and Lao Mouzi are indeed ahead of us." Tian Zhuangzhuang couldn't help but sigh deeply upon hearing this, and then looked at Mu Deyuan jokingly, "You said that even if we racked our brains, we couldn't think of making a magic movie."

Mu Deyuan laughed when he heard this: "We business people are so clueless, don't even think about this kind of concept."

"Wu Chen, what other concept settings are there like this?" Xie Xiaojing asked.

Wu Chen thought for a moment and smiled, "Like humans exploring the vast sea of ​​stars and the universe, exploring the world under the ten thousand meter deep sea, and some interesting settings in physics;
Regardless of whether this type of concept film is good or not, as long as it is not too shoddy, there will still be many audiences willing to go to the theater to watch it first."

"The sea of ​​stars, the universe, the underwater world." Several people shook their heads upon hearing this. "You're really imagining things. The cost alone of these films is a huge problem."

"Wu Chen, I think your theory on commercial films is worth learning for all teachers and students. How about this, when the movie is almost over, you come to the auditorium and give us a lecture."

Zhang Huijun took the opportunity to propose.

Upon hearing this, Tian Zhuangzhuang immediately agreed, "That's a good suggestion! The students in the directing department should listen to it. None of them have made any progress in recent years. I suspect there's something wrong with the teaching methods!"

Mu Deyuan raised the corner of his mouth slightly, smiled, and said nothing.

Regardless of whether Wu Chen agrees or not, it is a matter of great honor for him to be a teacher.

"Dean Zhang, this isn't good. I haven't even graduated yet."

"What's the big deal? This is a school tradition. When your senior brother Zhang Yi finished filming 'Hero', he also told everyone about it.

After this movie is released, even if your school doesn’t invite you, other schools will have to invite you. We can’t let other schools take all the benefits, so we’ll talk about it in our school first.

I will also invite some professors from neighboring sister schools to strengthen the friendship between schools and have more exchanges."

Wu Chen finally didn't refuse. After all, who could refuse to give a public lecture at his alma mater?
(End of this chapter)