Director of Photography Department of Huayu

Chapter 385 Box Office Success: Starry Night Pictures, the Envy of Others
On September 26, "Painted Skin" was finally officially released.

At noon, Yang Hongtao, the factory director of the Ningying Film Studio in Beijing, was restless, constantly rubbing his hands. Several cups of tea had gone cold as he anxiously awaited news from the cinema chain.

In fact, you can see some clues about a movie's potential on the day of its release.

What is the attendance rate?
Once you look at the list of prime-time matches, it becomes clear.

The factory office phone rang almost all day, with Yang Hongtao's voice urging them on and off.
"Old Pang, what's the attendance like for the morning show? Give me a definite answer!"

Have Shanghai Film Group and China Film Group provided any feedback on the current theater occupancy rates?

The answer coming through the phone made Yang Hongtao uneasy. It wasn't until that evening that Ren Zhonglun called specifically to answer:
"Director Yang, don't worry. The two prime-time screenings are almost sold out, and the box office on the first day will most likely be good!"

"That's good, that's good." Yang Hongtao finally breathed a sigh of relief and couldn't help but show an expectant smile, extremely excited.

Of course, this was happening on the other side of the ocean, in Los Angeles, USA.

Jason Blum was also extremely excited.

"Paranormal Activity" is scheduled for release next month on Halloween. Given that it is a low-budget film and the director and actors are not well-known, it is essential to have it screened at horror film festivals and have advance screenings in order to spread word of mouth.

Global Times made excellent arrangements.

However, unexpectedly, "Paranormal Activity" received rave reviews at the recently concluded Austin Horror Film Festival.

This mockumentary, devoid of celebrities and big names, amazed the audience, drawing packed theaters and generating a lot of discussion.

When Jason Blum called Wu Chen, he practically gesticulated wildly as he described the outstanding performance of "Paranormal Activity" at horror film festivals:
"Wu, I feel like we're about to strike it rich! The movie fans are going crazy. At the recent Austin Film Festival, our film attracted a huge number of horror movie fans, who are all asking us to screen it again or have it screened earlier."

"The film is very fresh in the eyes of movie fans."

He's already envisioning the miracles that will happen after the film's release on Halloween in October. This movie might actually have a chance to become the next Blair Witch Project, or even surpass it.

At least that's what Universal's media ads say right now, and that's how movie fans are reacting—it's a huge buzz.

"By the way, are you coming next month?"

"I'll go there. I need to check on the main special effects for 'The Martian' and also discuss the release schedule with Universal."

Wu Chen smiled and replied.

"."

The popularity of "Painted Skin" spread throughout major cinemas in Beijing before the next day.

Around 11 p.m., data feedback from major cinema chains began to come in, showing satisfactory occupancy rates for prime-time screenings. Coupled with positive online reviews, the future prospects were almost certain.

The official box office figures were released at noon the following day: 1820 million!
Although it's just one step away from the 20 million mark, such an achievement is enough to excite all the producers.

Ning Ying was overjoyed and offered Wu Chen enthusiastic congratulations.

"Haha, Producer Pang, congratulations to you too!"

"Director Wu, thanks to you, I really didn't expect this."

Pang Hong looked at the opening day box office figures with disbelief. Ning Ying and his team never dared to dream of such a number before, but now that the moment of its realization had arrived, he was still somewhat dazed.

Major media outlets also reported this news.

This opening day performance is also the best for the National Day holiday.

Ren Zhonglun was also very excited. Although the share was not high, the main distribution was still placed with Shanghai Film Group, even though it was given up because of "The Martian".

While the future of "The Martian" remains uncertain, "Painted Skin" is certainly not bad at the moment; it's an achievement already made.

Lu Yang, along with the main cast members Huang Xiaoming and Zhou Xun, were still promoting the film in Guangzhou when they received the news and were extremely excited.

"Congratulations to Director Lu on joining the ranks of directors with earnings exceeding 100 million yuan. Earning 200 million yuan is just around the corner."

Huang Xiaoming's mind worked quickly. Overjoyed, he immediately congratulated Lu Yang. Zhou Xun and Yuan Quan, seeing this, realized what was happening and hurriedly offered their congratulations as well.

The group burst into laughter.

It's worth noting that movies that gross 100 or 200 million yuan are extremely rare these days. To be the lead actor in a movie that has achieved both box office success and critical acclaim is a huge breakthrough and a career-defining achievement.

Zhou Xun's phone vibrated rapidly.
It was Hu Mei calling. Zhou Xun's eyes lit up when he saw the caller, and he quickly stepped aside to answer the phone, nodding repeatedly.

"Sister Xun, good things can't happen this fast, can they?" Huang Xiaoming couldn't help but ask when he saw Zhou Xun's overjoyed expression.

Damn, is the effect of this box office performance really that obvious?
Why hasn't his film contract arrived yet?
"Hehe, it's true! Director Hu Mei asked me if I wanted to audition for the female lead in 'Confucius'."

"."

The producers of "Painted Skin" were very pleased.

With an opening day box office of nearly 20 million, in today's terms, unless the word-of-mouth collapses or is siphoned off by another film, it would easily be 200 million, and it might even reach 250 million, as Wu Chen said at the premiere, with a projection of 300 million.
The directing department of the Beijing Film Academy was also filled with rare jubilation. "Haha, finally one of them has made something of himself! Two hundred million shouldn't be a problem."

"It's a pity, Lu Yang is no longer a student."

"Haha, we can't expect too much from this. To achieve this in the first year after graduation, even with Wu Chen's help, is already quite good."

"Let's see if we can get Lao Mu to let Wu Chen come back to school more often. Our directing department has quite a few good students, let's see which one is worth nurturing."

"."

The professors in the directing department finally breathed a sigh of relief. After all these years, they finally had a decent director who had emerged from their department, instead of being completely suppressed by the cinematography department.

However, not everyone was happy about the success of "Painted Skin." The most unhappy were the various production companies that had not participated in it or even in any of the Starry Night productions. They felt a pang of bitterness and sighed in disappointment.

"How can we compete like this? At this rate, Starry Sky Pictures will have three directors who can guarantee box office earnings of over 100 million yuan each."

"Starry Night Pictures has made a fortune again. I thought Starry Night Pictures wouldn't have much output this year since they didn't have any movies released, but they came in with a big wave of profits near the end of the year."

"How is this fair? There are only five directors in mainland China with a total of 100 million yuan in box office revenue. Lu Yang will soon be the sixth, and Starry Night Pictures alone has taken three of them!"

"."

Starry Night Pictures' current achievements and the lineup of its partners are the envy of many.

It's worth noting that even Huayi Brothers, which is currently making great strides and preparing for an IPO, only has one stable source of talent: director Feng Xiaogang.
New Pictures has a single-line ownership of Zhang Yimou, while Chen Kaige, although not yet tied to any company, mostly collaborates with China Film Group.

"These people just can't stand to see others do well, and they're never willing to spend money to train new directors; they just want to reap the benefits of what's readily available."

Ning Hao swore and cursed on the phone.

Many voices within the industry, seemingly unintentional yet extremely deliberate, have been spreading rumors in an attempt to exert public pressure on Starry Night Pictures.

"That's normal; those who aren't envied are mediocre."

Wu Chen smiled; he had long seen through this.

The business battlefield has never shown any mercy, and there are many things even more extreme than this.

In fact, production companies had been trying to bypass Xingchen and contact Luyang directly.

But Lu Yang is neither stupid nor a clueless newcomer.

Even disregarding the fact that he already has a clear contract with Starry Sky Entertainment, the resources and creative freedom that Starry Sky Entertainment provides him are unmatched by other companies.

After all, getting a newly graduated graduate to direct a fantasy blockbuster is an opportunity that would be almost impossible for any traditional film company.

Moreover, the success of "Painted Skin" was not solely due to him; the quality of the script and the overall production strategy also played a decisive role.

Meanwhile, the box office performance of "Painted Skin" was still gaining momentum.

On its second day of release, the box office exceeded 2000 million; on the third day, it continued to rise steadily, always remaining above 2000 million.

In just three days, the cumulative box office exceeded 6000 million yuan, completely igniting the somewhat quiet National Day film season.

Major media outlets followed suit, with headlines that made no attempt to conceal the hype:

[Painted Skin Box Office Soars! 6000 Million in Three Days, Aiming for 2 Million and 3 Million, Domestic Fantasy Films Rise!]

[Lu Yang is about to join the ranks of directors with earnings exceeding 100 million yuan; will Starry Night Pictures alone occupy three spots?]

[With a surge in domestic blockbusters, is StarChip Visual Effects the biggest winner?]

[Is Starry Night Pictures truly the undisputed leader in the box office success of "Painted Skin" during the National Day holiday?]

【.】

The news sparked a flurry of discussion both inside and outside the industry. Many people were extremely envious and secretly expressed their dissatisfaction with Starry Night Pictures having several directors with earnings exceeding 100 million yuan. Industry insiders subtly criticized Starry Night Pictures for excessively concentrating film and television resources and attempting to monopolize the industry.
Inside the chairman's office at the China Film Group Corporation building, the secretary reported the news to Han Sanping, who frowned slightly upon hearing it.

Every director who earns over 100 million yuan is painstakingly cultivated. What's the use of being envious if you're unwilling to spend money to cultivate your own?

Of course, he knew what these people wanted to do; they simply wanted to get in and get a piece of the pie.

While Starry Night Pictures doesn't operate entirely in isolation, its collaborative network is indeed more streamlined compared to most film and television companies in the industry.

The reason for this is that it has "money, content, and distribution channels," so it doesn't need to split its market share and band together for mutual support. Instead, it prefers to push forward in a single direction.

Of course, this also means that many people have never been able to get a piece of this meat in all these years, just like New Picture, but the other party only has one Zhang Yimou, while now Xingchen directly has three.

Thinking of this, Han Sanping couldn't help but scoff, "These people really do... do they even know who spread this rumor?"

"I'm not entirely sure. It just started circulating in the industry, saying that one of director Wu Chen's companies alone has three directors with earnings exceeding 100 million yuan, and other smaller companies can't survive like that."

(End of this chapter)