Director of Photography Department of Huayu

Chapter 545 May Day, Wu Chen is not good at hype.
After "1939" entered the weekday season, its performance was not as outstanding as on weekends, but its daily box office still remained stable at over 20 million.

There is no doubt in the industry that this film broke the domestic box office record of 400 million yuan; the real concern is where it will ultimately go.

"Avatar's opening day box office was even lower than 1939's."

"Stop joking around. How much are the tickets for Avatar 3D? Can't you be reasonable? Plus, it's naturally theft-proof."

"See? Breaking the record at 400 million is a foregone conclusion. The key question is whether we can reach 500 million."

"It's entirely possible for '1939' to gross over 500 million, especially with the May Day holiday and subsequent corporate and institutional screenings."

"."

At this moment, Wu Chen quietly appeared at the Beijing Film Academy, accompanied by Xiang Zhuo and Park Song-il.

In April in Beijing, the locust flowers on campuses had not yet bloomed, and the air carried a faint scent of earth.

"Graduation is coming again."

"That's a bit fast!"

Xiang Zhuo and Pu Songri looked up at the old teaching building and couldn't help but sigh softly, when the younger female students noticed them and jogged over.

"Senior Brother Wu Chen, could you please sign this for me?"

"."

Before the two could finish their reflections, they saw Wu Chen's pen working non-stop. After the people around them finished greeting them and left, they were indignant.

"I'm going to tell Senior Sister Yifei!"

"Yes, we're going to report you for flirting with a junior high school girl!"

The two of them were cursing under their breath.

"Is it really that big of a deal? It's just that I didn't ask you two for autographs. It's your fault for not coming here more often."

"Is that what I didn't want? It's just that my reputation isn't good enough yet. But in the management department, I'm still a big name!"

Xiang Zhuo muttered to himself as he walked, and the three of them headed straight for the photography department.

Mu Deyuan was not surprised, as he had already prepared the tea long ago, since Wu Chen had informed him in advance.

Hearing Wu Chen's words, he was somewhat surprised, but after thinking about it, he nodded.

"Are you sure? You won't be attending the graduation ceremony two months from now?"

"The production crew is huge!"

“That’s true. If a production like *Interstellar* were to stop filming for two or three days due to personal reasons, the losses would be enormous. Graduation is just a ceremony, it’s alright.” Mu Deyuan pondered for a moment, “October is the school’s anniversary, I’ll give you the award for outstanding graduates then.”

After saying that, he turned to look at Xiang Zhuo and Pu Songri.

"You two are also planning not to participate?"

Xiang Zhuoxian chuckled: "Teacher, I'm in the Management Department now."

Before he could finish speaking, Mu Deyuan raised his hand and lightly tapped him on the head.

"Does the management department have no jurisdiction over you? Weren't you in the photography department before? Weren't you?"

"Yes, yes, teacher, please stop knocking. I wasn't planning on asking for leave anyway!"

Xiang Zhuo dodged repeatedly, but Park Song-il smiled and said, "I want to go with Brother Chen to film and learn about 3D photography."

As soon as he finished speaking, Mu Deyuan's eyes lit up.

"Then you really can't come. Tell your advisor later that after you finish your studies, remember to teach some classes to the junior students in the photography department. We can't explain 3D photography clearly even now; you're a pioneer."

After saying that, Mu Deyuan looked at Wu Chen and Park Song-il.

Wu Chen quickly grasped the idea and immediately patted Park Song-il on the shoulder, saying, "Study hard, I'll be relying on you to teach me when I get back."

"what?"

Park Song-il opened his mouth slightly, momentarily dazed. With the accelerated progress of preparations, the complete filming schedule for *Interstellar* had been finalized, with filming set to begin on May 15th.
We started filming in the studio first, taking care of the indoor scenes first, and then we worked on the scenes involving children, because we had limited time to shoot the scenes with minors, so they had to be filmed first.

Finally, we filmed on location with the team, which was the most arduous part of the journey.

On April 29, "Ip Man 2" was released amidst a flurry of promotions, taking away some of the screenings from "1939".

The posters covered the light boxes, showing Donnie Yen in a sharp, single pose, and his line "I'm going to take on ten of them" became a hot topic again.

However, the box office figures for the first day were less than 15 million.

The figures are even several million lower than those of "1939," which was released a week ago.

At that time, "1939" was approaching the 200 million mark, and the news on portal websites was very direct:

"The '1939' series is expected to surpass 200 million views by the time of reporting, and it took only 7 and a half days."

"Ip Man 2's opening day box office was lower than that of 'Back to 1939' after a week of release, but it is expected to break the series' box office record."

But then a major piece of news came in the evening.

"Iron Man 2" premiered in six European countries ahead of schedule, ranking first at the box office in each. It has already grossed over $1 million in North America before its release. It is understood that the release date in mainland China has not yet been confirmed, and it will not directly compete with domestic films for the time being.

"."

It has to be said that China Film Group's decision to release "Iron Man 2" after the May Day holiday has given many domestic films a sigh of relief.

"Thank goodness, China Film Group held on!"

"Following '1939' has its advantages!"

"."

Meanwhile, "1939" also ushered in its second box office surge with the arrival of the May Day holiday.

The daily revenue, which had originally declined to less than 20 million, was pulled back by the holiday ticket sales, surging to nearly 30 million.

This rebound surprised and impressed the industry.

"It's a pity it's not a 3D movie, so it can't be used for theft prevention." Han Sanping was a little greedy when he saw this, and his voice on the phone was filled with regret.

"Mr. Han, let's wait for 'Interstellar' then."

Wu Chen smiled.

He was helpless against piracy, and could only say that things were much better now than at the beginning of the millennium, but there was still a long way to go in the fight against piracy in mainland China.

At this time, Wang Zhonglei, who was quite concerned about the box office performance of "1939", was eyeing the May Day rebound with a hint of envy in his eyes.

"If our film 'Aftershock' were released during the National Day holiday..."

"The subject matter is not suitable."

Feng Xiaogang rejected Wang Zhonglei's idea almost without thinking. The latter wasn't annoyed; he was just envious of the holiday rebound, but he wasn't really stupid.

Given the subject matter, the atmosphere of the National Day Golden Week holiday is definitely incompatible with the tone of a disaster film.

"It shouldn't be a problem for '1939' to gross over 500 million, right?"

"500 million shouldn't be a problem, but 600 million is hard to say. It depends on the impact of piracy and the attendance of businesses and institutions after the ticket price reduction."

Feng Xiaogang took a deep breath, his expectations for "The Great Earthquake" rising even higher, his heart burning with excitement.

If his film, which is not purely commercial, can reach 500 million, will his "Aftershock" be able to reach even greater heights?

"Speaking of which, Wu Chen is somewhat clueless about publicity and hype. With such a great subject matter and the backing of the Golden Bear Award, it would be a waste not to make good use of it."

Although "1939" is a resounding success, Wang Zhonglei believes that if the unique topic and subject matter could be utilized more to promote and stir emotions in the news, the box office would definitely reach new heights and make a fortune.

Feng Xiaogang pondered for a moment and then nodded.

When it comes to making money, what's wrong with using a few tricks when the time is right? After all, few people will remember the way he came.
(End of this chapter)