Huayu: A Commercial Director

Chapter 106 Breaking Records, Becoming a Father
On the third day, it finally dropped a little, and the change was gone, leaving 1.9 million.

This made other film and television companies grit their teeth in hatred, because it dominated the entire film market.

The rest of the movies all ended in death.

If it weren't for the agreement with the theater chains that prohibited 100% of screenings, it's estimated that all the other movies released at the same time would have been removed, leaving only "The Martian".

Even so, Wanda's 3D and IMAX theaters still maintained an occupancy rate of over 95%.

With the tacit approval of the authorities, the cinemas allocated as much as 60% of the screenings, while other films divided up the remaining 40%.

It monopolized the entire market, with almost all box office revenue concentrated on a single film. As living standards improve, more and more people are going to the cinema to support domestic films.

You keep clamoring to protect domestic films, but why don't you make some good movies?
How can I support you if it's not a good movie?
Why would you want to spend money to make yourself uncomfortable?

Are you saying the audience is so easily fooled and so cheap? Do they think they'll get criticized if they don't watch your trashy movies?

As word-of-mouth spread and official media outlets reported on the film, more and more people went to see it.

On the 12th, the film grossed over 200 million yuan on its seventh day of release, reaching 2.57 million yuan.

It broke the domestic record for the highest single-day box office, leaving countless companies in the film and television industry feeling hopeless.

Looking at the weekly box office figures, all I can feel is drooling envy and jealousy.

1.7 million, 1.95 million, 1.9 million, 1.3 million, 1.41 million, 1.44 million, 2.57 million, totaling 12.27 billion.

In one week, it broke 1.2 billion.

Some people can't do it in their entire lives, but Chen broke even in just one week.

The film had an investment of 400 million, broke even in a week, and made a profit on the rest.

Every day, many reporters come to the film studio building. Actors involved in the film, regardless of their roles, promote it online. They know that this movie is going to be a hit, the kind that breaks records. Even a small role can bring them huge benefits. That's the power of connections.

If someone asks them what movies they've made, all he needs to do is bring out this one, and that's enough to shock them.

As the director, Chen Shouzhe is certainly being invited by various parties. Some programs are inviting him to appear on their shows, and several even want to do a separate interview with him.

The same goes for the lead actors; they received invitations from various brands.

Huang Xiaoming received several high-end luxury brand advertisements in one go, and Liu Yifei was approached by a large number of magazines and luxury brands.

The rest of the people benefited. The potential benefits of a movie are unimaginable. It's no wonder that the stars were envious. Yang Mi also regretted that she should have taken the role of Liu Yifei.

Just then, the cinema chain released an announcement that attracted the attention of the film industry.

[Announcement from the cinema alliance: The total box office of the film "The Martian" has exceeded 12 billion yuan. According to the agreement between the two parties, the box office revenue sharing for the film has been revised to 45%.]

The announcement was immediately reported and saw by film and television companies and directors.

It turns out that Chen Shouzhe didn't actually negotiate the revenue sharing ratio; instead, he used a betting approach, reaching a betting agreement with the cinemas that would increase the revenue by two percentage points, exceeding 12 billion.

It's 12 billion now, is there going to be even higher?

At this point, Shouzhe Pictures also sent a letter to the other six production companies, informing them of the box office bet on the film, meaning that the higher the box office, the more revenue they would receive.

Everyone's eyes were shining; they finally understood why Wanda would support this movie so wholeheartedly—it was all about making money for them anyway.

This prompted the production companies to promote the film even more vigorously, with Chen Shouzhe's godfather, Guo Degang, urging people on stage to go see it.

With everyone putting in their efforts, the record was broken again the next day, which happened to be Sunday, reaching a staggering 2.8 million.

Others work hard their whole lives and make ten movies but don't earn this much. Chen Shou earns 2.8 million a day. Does he even care about playing around?

As the box office continues to rise, it has taken in another 11 billion yuan in the second week, bringing the total box office to 23 billion yuan in two weeks. With two weeks left, movies scheduled to be released in August will be affected.

"Can't Director Zhang do it?" Chen Shouzhe had another task besides publicity.

"Sigh, there was some resistance, but it was successful. The bureau approved it," Zhang Hongsheng's voice came through.

"How long?" Chen Shou asked excitedly.

“One month,” Zhang Hongsheng said.

"Thank you, Director Zhang," Chen Shouzhe said with a sigh of relief.

“No need to thank me, this is what you deserve. Director La has approached me several times, and it only works if the higher-ups agree,” Zhang Hongsheng said.

Chen Shouzhe knew who the higher-ups were. He had gone to see Director Tong a couple of days ago. The Film Bureau was a department under the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, and approval from above was required.

After hanging up the phone, Chen Shou called several of the production companies. He figured they were going to get a severe scolding this time.

Emperor was grinning from ear to ear. They had made a profit from Kungfu, and now Chen Shou was leading them to continue making money. They all wanted to hug and kiss Chen Shou.

The next time Chen goes to Hong Kong, he'll get whatever he wants.

The whole of Hong Kong is envious of Emperor Entertainment Group for having latched onto such a powerful patron, and they are all desperately trying to contact Chen Shouzhe.

Huo Wenxi jumped up when she received Chen Shouzhe's call. Emperor Entertainment was really lucky. If she weren't so old, she would have thrown herself into his arms. She immediately made a call.

"Antiques and calligraphy? Women are out of the question. By the way, does he like horse racing? I saw him grooming horses at the racecourse," Huo Wenxi said.

"Okay, horse racing, right? Let me look for it." He nodded.

[Announcement from the cinema alliance: The total box office of the film "The Martian" has exceeded 20 billion yuan. According to the agreement between the two parties, the box office revenue sharing for the film will be revised to 47% after exceeding 20 billion yuan.] People in the industry are completely speechless. They also wanted to make a bet, but they didn't have the confidence to do so.

Which director can claim that their film has grossed over a certain number of dollars?

There are even countless directors who voluntarily reduced their screen time in order to secure more screenings.

Faced with the powerful theater chains, only Chen Shouzhe was able to manage to win them over.

"Luckily, I got on board this time. Even though it's only 10%, at least I got a share."

Inside the theater, Wang Changtian watched the box office soar. The theaters had made concessions, and the distribution ratio had also been reduced because they were making too much profit. Some of the money from distribution and promotion had to be given back.

The pie has grown so big that giving up a little bit is enough to feed them; just look at the stock market, it's already risen quite a bit.

Wang Changtian was in a good mood when his phone rang. After reading the message, he picked it up without hesitation.

"Director Chen, is there anything you need?"

"How could I dare to give any orders? Why are you all like this?" Chen Shou said with a smile.

"Haha, aren't you happy? Do you need to increase publicity?" Wang Changtian asked.

"No need, I'm here to inform you of something," Chen Shou said.

"What is it?" Wang Changtian asked seriously.

"I have applied for an extension, and the extension key can be made now," Chen Shouzhe said.

"Really? How long?" Wang Changtian asked excitedly.

“One month,” Chen Shou said.

"Hiss!" Wang Changtian was dumbfounded.

Although the box office has declined, the one-month delay means the movie will be shown for two months. It seems that the 3 billion yuan box office is a sure thing. If the delay continues, it is possible that another 1 billion yuan could be added.

With overseas box office revenue already exceeding $200 million, the film's final box office revenue could reach $900 million.

A tenfold return on investment? That's insane!

"What do you need light for?" Wang Changtian asked hurriedly.

"Just cooperate with the publicity," Chen Shou said.

"Fine, I'll kill anyone who dares to lay a hand on me." Wang Changtian was determined and wouldn't allow the painted skin incident to happen again.

Wanda also issued a warning, and China Film Group is also eyeing the film closely.

With box office revenue climbing steadily, the film finally broke 3 billion yuan in domestic box office revenue after 20 days of release, officially ushering in the 3 billion yuan era for the film market.

Countless media outlets reported on it immediately, even the evening 30-minute segment covered it.

This shows just how popular the movie is, leaving countless film and television companies struggling to keep up.

Another thing that left them feeling helpless was that the Film Bureau had just issued an announcement a couple of days ago extending the deadline for the film project, meaning it would be extended for another month.

Nobody knows how much the movie will ultimately gross.

But everyone knows that this is the order from above, and no one can act recklessly.

In addition, the movie itself is flawless, so there's nothing to criticize.

If this were an adaptation of a fantasy novel, they could at least find an excuse to criticize it.

At first, many self-proclaimed film critics nitpicked, saying the story lacked emotion and was just a popcorn movie, but now they've all shut up.

If they were truly talented, they wouldn't be film critics. Are film critics doing it out of love? No, they're doing it for the money.

Chen refused to give them red envelopes, so they ruthlessly cheated them. It's that simple.

July was dominated, and August continued the onslaught. Currently, 3D screens still have a 70% occupancy rate, while regular screens have seen a significant decrease. Movie box office revenue has already dropped by 100 million, with daily revenue hovering around 60-70 million, which has countless film companies gritting their teeth in frustration.

Envy, jealousy, and hatred are rampant, but they can't act because they're protected from above. Even if some companies know something, they don't dare to release it, since it wouldn't have much of an impact, especially since they're all single men and women.

Once they find out, they'll retaliate in kind, or even more drastically. They might arrange for a movie to come and harass you when your company's movie is showing. What will you do then?
They had to swallow their pride and watch helplessly as the others made money, hoping to be included in the profits.

While everyone was looking for Chen Shouzhe, he disappeared. No one knew where he went except for a few people who knew the inside story, but they wouldn't tell anyone.

At the entrance of a private hospital in the suburbs, Chen Shou sat inside, wearing a mask and disguising himself very well.

Not long after, a doctor in a white coat walked up to Chen Shouzhe and handed him a report.

“Biomedically speaking, she is your child,” the doctor said.

"Thank you, doctor. Is it a boy or a girl?" Chen Shou asked in a low voice.

"You're welcome. It's a girl, and both mother and child are safe," the doctor said.

Chen Shouzhe picked up the report in his hand and began to read it, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

Be careful with this. If it's not his, he'll take back everything he gave her and make her disappear from the entertainment industry.

(End of this chapter)