Director of Photography Department of Huayu

Chapter 174 The Hundred Million Yuan Director Club

Trolls from all over the world are very aggressive.

South Korea is a small country with fierce social competition. From education to the workplace, the whole society bears enormous pressure, which makes the trolls even more aggressive.

The comment sections of several major South Korean portal sites were flooded with headlines like "Why don't we have Wu Chen?", and many South Korean entertainment reporters were forced to write articles to refute, explain, and find reasons, but ultimately, they couldn't hide the underlying message:

"We have fallen behind."

Meanwhile, Lionsgate's Asian promotional team also began urgently preparing for the Asian promotional tour for "Now You See Me"—

The promotional trips to Japan and South Korea are scheduled for the first two days of July.

Wu Chen and the "Four Knights" traveled together, staying in each country for only one day, walking a red carpet, attending a meeting, and giving an interview to a major media outlet.
Both domestically and in North America, box office revenue declined to varying degrees on weekdays.

The domestic decline is between 30% and 40%, leaving 1800 million a day.

In the North American market, "The Heist" suffered a similar fate to other blockbusters, with its Monday and Saturday box office figures halved to around $700 million.

However, the battle lines in North America will be stretched longer than those in China.

Moreover, box office revenue tends to rebound significantly on weekends, and the release schedule for blockbuster films can be extended by two to three months, resulting in substantial box office revenue in the first month and overall cumulative box office.

At this time, someone in the industry revealed that Li Lianjie and Cheng Long would be collaborating for the first time.

The news of the "Double J" collaboration caused a stir in the industry.

"If you can afford one, who can afford two?"

"Really? The two of them are going to collaborate? I don't think they've ever collaborated before."

"Is this a collaboration with Hollywood? Jackie Chan and Jet Li are both getting paid over ten million US dollars each. This is definitely another A-list production."

"."

Opinions within the industry are varied, and companies with strong capabilities are becoming increasingly active in their strategies.

After all, there are already successful examples.

Wu Chen's "Now You See Me" has taken the top spot at the North American box office for the week.

Moreover, for a typical A-list commercial film, assuming it doesn't suffer from poor reviews, its overseas box office is generally 1.5 to 2 times that of its North American box office. For specific genre films like "Pirates of the Caribbean" and "Harry Potter," it can even reach 2 to 4 times.

What you get here is pure US dollars.

Everyone in the industry envies Wu Chen; he can make a fortune from just one movie, which is equivalent to what they would earn from several blockbuster movies in a row.

Now that this opportunity has arisen, everyone in the industry is putting in their best efforts.

When facing reporters, Cheng Long was equally forthcoming, confirming the matter but stating that it was currently only in the initial stages of contact.
This really caused a stir in the industry.

Hua Yi, Wang Zhonglei had just finished a call with Cheng Long, still carrying a hint of worry:
"Brother, this news has spread throughout the industry, making it even more difficult for us to secure the deal."

"It's good that word has spread. There are actually only a handful of companies in the industry that can secure this project. The competition is already within those few companies. Han Sanping still wants to monopolize it. Isn't he afraid of choking on his own?"

Wang Zhongjun stood up.

Wu Yusen's "Red Cliff" has been rumored for the past six months. Now that Poly Huayi has withdrawn and China Film Group has taken over, it's not surprising, since this isn't the first time China Film Group has made such a large investment in recent years.

However, Wu Chen's "Now You See Me" broke the industry's defenses.

With excellent word-of-mouth, outstanding box office performance, and most importantly, a surprise ending – a blatant sequel.

Based on the box office trend of the first film, there is no doubt that the second film will be another A-list production, possibly even a top-tier A-list one, and China Film Group will most likely be involved in it.

Han Sanping has already secured two big-budget productions, and now he wants to take on a third.

Not only Huayi Brothers, but also many other production companies such as Shanghai Film Group have expressed their opinions.

So, Han Sanping, you're not planning to leave a single drop of soup behind? The news has spread like wildfire, and it's a lie to say no one was behind it.

"By the way, what did Jackie Chan say? Has the script been completed?" Wang Zhongjun asked.

"I heard from Jackie Chan that the first edition has been released."

"."

"The script is out?"

Wu Chen also received a message from Lionsgate. Michael Burns was still unwilling to give up and wanted Wu Chen to participate as well, so he made a special phone call to inform him.

“Wu, I just finished reading the script. John Foske added elements from Journey to the West, and Jackie Chan’s Drunken Fist perfectly balances the elements of East and West. I think you can give it serious consideration.”

Upon hearing this, Wu Chen couldn't help but smile wryly.

Isn't that the reason for the failure? The integration of East and West is not as simple as just putting on a background; it's about fitting a framework under a set of values ​​that are recognized by a global audience.

Trying to please everyone, without considering the East or West, will ultimately result in not being a true audience for anyone.

Michael Burns is clearly eager to move things forward quickly and has decided to come to China next week to discuss the matter.

With Tuesday's box office figure of 1802 million yuan, there is no doubt that China's fourth director to achieve a box office of 100 million yuan has emerged.

From this moment on, following Zhang Yimou, Feng Xiaogang and Chen Kaige, Wu Chen's box office has exceeded 100 million yuan. Although Wu Chen's films have actually already broken the 100 million yuan mark in North America, the significance of 100 million yuan in China is ultimately different.

Major domestic media outlets immediately released enthusiastic reports.

[Wu Chen's "Now You See Me" surpasses 100 million yuan at the domestic box office, making him the youngest director in mainland China to achieve this milestone!]

[Wu Chen, a current student majoring in cinematography at Beijing Film Academy, breaks box office record, surpassing 100 million yuan!]

【.】

In the scorching afternoon sun of Beijing, the cicadas chirped intermittently from the dormitory balcony.

Wu Chen had just hung up a congratulatory call from Han Sanping when the screen lit up again.

It was Ning Hao calling.

As soon as the call connected, a familiar, cheerful voice came from the other end: "Congratulations, junior brother, you've joined the 100 million yuan director club!"

Ning Hao's words still revealed a great deal of envy.

Because there are very few films that can break 100 million yuan at present, and every director of such a film is a highly respected figure in the industry.

Wu Chen jokingly added, "Senior, when are you going to start writing your new script? You said at the celebration party that you were working on a new script this year, but it's been half a year and there's still no news."

Ning Hao was uncharacteristically embarrassed for a moment, then chuckled and tried to brush it off: "I've been busy in the first half of the year, so I plan to go into seclusion for the second half."

Wu Chen smiled but didn't expose him.

The power of 100 million yuan is still considerable. At this important moment, some friends, acquaintances, and investors in the industry called, either to offer their sincere congratulations or to take the opportunity to build closer relationships.

For a time, the phone was ringing non-stop.

Just then, Xiang Zhuo suddenly walked over.

"Brother Chen, it seems that Teacher Zhang and Teacher Liu want to talk to you. They wanted to ask when you might be available?"

"What's wrong?" Wu Chen looked up and asked in confusion. Nothing had happened with "Black Peony" recently, and all the reports were normal.

"I think I recently overheard Teacher Liu and Teacher Zhang talking about how the progress seems to be faster than they expected; I guess that's what it is."

Wu Chen's eyes narrowed. "Yes, the sooner the better. Let's do it this afternoon."

(End of this chapter)