Director of Photography Department of Huayu

Chapter 543 The Initial Stage of the Main Theme Gold Mine
The following morning, the weather in Beijing gradually warmed up, with a hint of late spring dust still lingering in the air.

The crew of "Love is Not Blind" has set up cones in an area near Oriental Plaza in Wangfujing.
Liu Yifei was wearing a plain shirt with a trench coat on top. As soon as she appeared, Xue Xiaolu and Shu Chang's hands were still waving in the air.
Suddenly, several reporters and paparazzi emerged from the crowd who had been quietly watching the spectacle, their flashes glaringly bright even in broad daylight.

"No way, it's still there."

Shu Chang was slightly taken aback. "These people are really good at staying put. I thought the hype had died down, and they haven't been around for days. I didn't expect they were hiding in the shadows."

Xue Xiaolu also shook her head with a smile: "It seems that Yifei's 'Interstellar' is really popular."

Reporters rushed forward, handing them microphones and recorders.

"You haven't left yet?"

“We’re having coffee in the cafe across the street,” a reporter pointed to the opposite side. Liu Yifei looked over and smiled slightly.

"Evie, it's rare to see you here. We didn't see you at the premiere of '1939' a few days ago. Could you talk about your feelings about being confirmed as the female lead in 'Interstellar'? Everyone is eager to know."

Liu Yifei smiled softly.

"I'm very happy, especially to be working with Wu Chen; this is our third collaboration."

"Wasn't it twice?" one reporter asked, clearly not understanding.

"Three times, you forgot *Bad Genius*? He starred in it, forgot? That villainous rich kid."

"Haha, it suits him perfectly!"

A burst of laughter immediately erupted from the surrounding area.

After asking around about Interstellar, I found that the information I could get was still very limited. The salary is confidential and cannot be disclosed, and the filming start date has not been announced yet.

So the reporters quickly shifted the topic to "1939".

"What are your expectations for director Wu Chen's new film '1939'? It was released yesterday, and everyone is paying close attention to the opening day box office. Have the opening day box office figures been released yet?"

Liu Yifei shook her head slightly: "I asked him before I left, and he said he hadn't come out yet."

As they were talking, a reporter's phone suddenly rang in the crowd.

Within seconds of answering the call, his expression suddenly changed, and he looked up and said, "The opening day box office figures for '1939' are out!"

"How many?"

More than 3700 million

The air seemed to have been lifted off its surface, and the scene exploded with a "whoosh".

Upon hearing this number, the crew members couldn't help but exchange glances and discuss it animatedly.

"So tall!" Shu Chang's eyes widened, and she opened her mouth slightly.

"It is indeed very high!"

Xue Xiaolu nodded subconsciously.

She knew very well that "1939" was not a film like "The Martian," which would naturally attract audiences, nor was it a special effects blockbuster. Instead, it was a film that slowly built up its audience through word of mouth.

She and her friends had initially predicted it would be around 30 million, but the result was much higher than they had expected.

"Ifi, are you happy? Is this what you expected?" A reporter immediately followed up with the question.

Liu Yifei smiled so hard her eyes crinkled, and she couldn't help but purse her lips: "It exceeded my expectations! But the movie is really good, everyone should go and watch it."

Seeing that Liu Yifei still managed to advertise, everyone burst into laughter.

Meanwhile, the news had already spread throughout the entire industry.

The homepage title of the portal website has already been displayed:
[“1939” grosses 3780 million yuan on its opening day – breaking the record for Chinese war films!]

[Exceeding Expectations! Wu Chen's New Film Nears 40 Million Yuan at the Box Office on Opening Day!]

[A Spring for Mainstream Themes? "1939" Ignites the May Day Film Market!]

【.】

In the editorial department, the young editors stared at the rapidly increasing click count in the background, exchanging surprised glances with their colleagues.

"Such an exaggerated amount of traffic."

"Wow, the hashtag on Weibo is trending really fast. To be honest, I haven't even seen '1939' yet, and I couldn't get good seats."

"Damn it, I have to work on Saturday too, so annoying! I can only see tomorrow."

"."

The corridor of the China Film Building remained quiet, with only cleaners pushing mops past at the end.

Han Sanping arrived earlier than usual. As soon as his car was parked in the yard, he took the latest box office data from his secretary.

Upon entering the office, he paced back and forth on the carpet without even taking off his coat, while looking at the printed document.

The numbers were clear and striking: 37.8 million in box office revenue on the first day. He stared at them for a few seconds, then couldn't help but laugh out loud, the sound echoing in the empty room, like a long-suppressed floodgate finally being torn open.

Since the beginning of the year, China Film Group has suffered five consecutive defeats.

Although China Film Group is not particularly concerned about profits and losses.

However, since Avatar swept nearly 14 billion yuan at the box office in mainland China, the entire mainland film and television industry has not even produced a single film with significant profits.

At this time, China Film Group was still leading the way in losing money, which was a heavy blow to the mainland film and television industry.

He had been feeling a heavy weight on his mind these days.

But now, as the numbers in front of me come to life, I finally feel a long-lost sense of ease and joy.

"Hahaha," he couldn't help but laugh again.

What does 37 million mean?
This means that as long as the word-of-mouth remains stable, "1939" can easily break the record set by "The Founding of a Republic".

How can a work that has just won the Berlin Golden Bear suddenly experience a sharp decline in reputation?

almost impossible.

Moreover, there are also subsequent bookings from enterprises and institutions.

That means the box office performance is already a foregone conclusion.

This is not only a turnaround for China Film Group, but also a shot in the arm for the entire industry.

Meanwhile, Weibo exploded.

#1939BoxOffice# quickly climbed to the top of the trending topics list.

The comments section was buzzing with activity:
"Holy crap! Over thirty-seven million?!"

"There aren't any particularly big events, so how come sales are so strong?"

"The main thing is that the immersion is too strong. I'm thinking if this movie were made in 3D, wouldn't it be like putting the audience into the scene? Wouldn't that be even more exciting! I strongly suggest making a 3D version later!"

"Whether it's 'The Founding of a Republic' or '1939,' it shows that audiences do like watching patriotic films. As long as it's good, everyone will buy tickets."

"."

Several well-known film critics also quickly followed suit:
"The Founding of a Republic and 1939 marked a turning point, signifying that the box office power of domestic films might be regained by mainstream films, rather than by commercial comedies and imported blockbusters."
Now the pressure is on Feng Xiaogang's "Aftershock"!

The atmosphere in the entire film and television industry seemed to change abruptly on this day.

In the past, patriotic films were more of a synonym for "political significance outweighing market significance," serving as a mere formality, a task, and a way to meet targets.
Now it has suddenly turned into a glittering gold mine.

Enlight Media, Bona Film Group, Wanda Group—each of them is secretly pondering: since the audience is buying into it, should they accelerate their expansion in the mainstream genre?

Of course, Huayi was smiling happily at this moment, but of course, pressure also followed.

Wang Zhonglei then summoned Vice President Xu Li in front of Feng Xiaogang.

"We will continue to increase investment in the publicity and distribution resources for 'Aftershock,' and a new publicity plan has been developed for your reference."

Wang Zhonglei didn't name names, and Xu Li immediately understood, inwardly groaning in despair.

Reference? Reference what?
"1939" is a Golden Bear winner, and since February, it has been receiving free publicity from global media.

This momentum cannot be created by simply throwing money at it.

The only advantage it has now is that "Aftershock" is a purely commercial film, which "Back to 1939" can't compare to. But unfortunately, Wu Chen's name is bigger than Feng Xiaogang's.

But facing the gazes of Wang Zhonglei and Feng Xiaogang, Xu Li still forced a nod: "Okay, I'll do it as soon as possible."

Meanwhile, at Wanda Cinema on the East Third Ring Road in Beijing.

The afternoon screening had just ended, and the crowd surged out of the theater.

In the crowd, a man wearing a baseball cap walked out alone, his expression solemn, but he couldn't hide the light in his eyes.

Wu Jing.

He had just finished reading "1939".

Standing on the steps, sunlight fell on his face, but his heart was filled with turmoil.

The impact of the film was still reverberating, and he murmured to himself:
"So patriotic themes can be this successful?"

But then he shook his head and gave a self-deprecating smile.

The losses from "Wolf Fang" had already wiped out his meager savings.
"Let's make money first. Who knows how many more years it will take to polish the script?"

He pulled his hat brim even lower and walked into the heart of the crowd.

(End of this chapter)