Huayu: A Commercial Director

Chapter 169 One Superman, the rest are trash.

How would you describe this year's Spring Festival film season?

One superpower and many weak powers.

For WALL-E the robot, there's no one he can fight.

Bona Film Group has given up hope. Seeing other theaters making money, they immediately adjusted the number of screenings for WALL-E, increasing it to 45% and cutting it from other movies.

It's clear that Chen Shou is going to devour the entire market; the data from the cinema chains doesn't lie.

Major analysis agencies have all given the final box office figure of 30 billion.

Breaking even is no problem, and you might even make around 500 million. The real money comes from subsequent copyright issues and such.

Box office revenue continued to rise on the third day of the Lunar New Year. On the first day, everyone was in the festive atmosphere, and on the second day, people might be visiting relatives and friends. On the third day, people were really free, and the box office revenue broke the historical record again, reaching 3.85 million yuan.

It left countless production companies in despair; an animated film grossed a total of 9.58 million yuan in just three days.

What kind of change is this? The era of breaking one billion in three days is about to arrive.

The whole Lunar New Year holiday was filled with excitement for this movie. Many parents were recommended it and took their children to see it, even worried that their children wouldn't have anything in common to talk about at school.

In addition, the cinemas have been very supportive. Since last year's incident, the practice of stealing box office revenue has been eliminated. Some smaller cinemas have even allocated 80% of their screenings to this practice.

Too many people went to see it, and too many people liked it.

Good news has also come from overseas. Southeast Asian countries are doing well, especially those countries that have the tradition of celebrating the Lunar New Year, where people are going to the cinema to watch movies.

In Europe and America, thanks to Chen Shouzhe's established reputation and Columbia Pictures' strong distribution efforts, the film grossed over $100 million in just three days.

The frequent good news shocked both the film and television industry and the internet industry.

Ten billion in three days—this insane level of wealth accumulation has opened their eyes to the fact that they're being ripped off with a knife.

Chen Shouzhe had been restless since the fourth day of the Lunar New Year. He had already paid New Year's respects to his elders, and now it was finally his turn to receive New Year's greetings from others.

Fortunately, the horse farm was big enough that the first wave of people who came to pay New Year's visits had already arrived. Yang Mi also brought her child back. Although the two were not husband and wife in name, they had a daughter, so she was considered half the mistress of the house.

No matter how much Huang Xiaoming plays domineering CEOs, his conduct and actions are impeccable. He arrived early in the morning with his wife, Yang Ying, and brought a case of fine wine.

"Happy New Year, Director Chen! You've truly opened my eyes. In just three days, you broke all records, and those records were yours to keep," Huang Xiaoming said upon meeting him.

Chen Shou was naturally very happy and laughed heartily: "No, no, it's all just good luck. Happy New Year, and I wish you a baby soon."

"Thank you, Director Chen." Yang Ying looked at Chen Shouzhe with awe.

With nearly a billion yuan in box office revenue in just three days, if this were a live-action film, the characters would become famous worldwide.

According to some statistics, the global box office revenue reached $300 million in three days, which is almost enough to break even.

I initially thought it would be difficult to break even, but now it seems like I've made a fortune.

Even the film's message is excellent, promoting environmental protection, and it incorporates elements of science fiction, along with strong marketing and Chen Shouzhe's reputation.

The movie became a global hit, and more and more people are going to the cinema.

As you can see, many celebrities in Europe and America are also recommending this animated film, which is the effect of Columbia Pictures' promotion.

After Huang Xiaoming and his wife, Huang Bo also brought his family, followed by Wu Jing's family, Jiang Wen's family, Huo Wenxi from Emperor Entertainment Group, and Xiao Wang also came.

Since there were many people, Chen Shouzhe invited Guo Qilin, Meng Hetang, and Yue Yunpeng to come and help entertain them and build their network of contacts.

Many of Master Yu Qian's friends also came, from the rock music scene, the film and television industry, and the antique collecting circle, such as Ma Weidu and Cui Jian. Everyone was able to sit together and chat.

They specially hired a chef to cook, the woman took the child to play with the small animals, and the adults sat together drinking tea and chatting, mainly talking about the movie.

“There is still a market for animated films. Little Dream has launched a new animated film project and will try to produce one excellent animated film every year or two. Little Dream has also set up a dedicated animation department, and may produce other animated films in the future,” Chen Shouzhe said.

"You can't even make enough money from movies, are you going to try your hand at TV dramas?" Jiang Wen laughed.

"Director Jiang, your information is outdated. Director Chen's company already has a TV series," Huang Xiaoming said with a smile.

"Oh? When did a TV series start? How come I didn't know?" Jiang Wen asked in surprise.

"Our company produced and invested in the project, but the main filming was done by Yang Mi's studio," Chen Shouzhe said.

"Oh, I see. What about movies? What film plans does your company have for this year?" Jiang Wen then asked.

"There are two movies going to be released, one is the Ghost Blows Out the Light series, and the other is A Chinese Ghost Story II. If we're going to film, the Ghost Blows Out the Light series will continue to be filmed, and A Chinese Ghost Story III will also be filmed. Then there's a science fiction film. Brother Wu Jing, please make sure to reserve your schedule." Chen Shouzhe said to Wu Jing.

Wu Jing, who was suddenly called out, was stunned for a moment. She looked up at Chen Shouzhe and said, "Director Chen, I'm planning to shoot the second part this year, and it's expected to start filming in June."

"June? No problem. Filming for a sci-fi movie is pretty fast. It's mainly post-production that's going well. The movie has already started preparations. If all goes well, we'll start filming in April and finish your scenes before June. If we need to move it forward, we can have you come over and do some extra work later," Chen Shou nodded.

“No problem.” Wu Jing was also happy. Having a movie to shoot, and a sci-fi movie by Chen Shouzhe at that, with the potential to go international, would benefit her own film. The other actors present looked at Wu Jing with envy; Chen Shouzhe's sci-fi film was destined for international success, and everyone was envious.

"Let me make this clear first, I'm not the director of the film. I'm the screenwriter and producer. The director is Guo Fan, and the estimated investment is around 400 million, similar to The Martian," Chen Shouzhe said.

"Guo Fan? Isn't he an animation film director?" Jiang Wen asked in surprise.

With the release of the movie WALL-E, many people became familiar with the name Guo Fan.

The director who was one of the first to join Shou Zhe Film Studio spent two years honing his craft, and now that he has unleashed his talent, he has made a stunning debut.

Besides Chen Shouzhe, Guo Fan was the main figure behind the film's promotion.

The two occupied half of the advertising space in the newspaper.

Everyone knows that Chen Shouzhe will definitely promote Guo Fan, this newcomer, and create hype for him.

Unexpectedly, he was put in charge of a sci-fi film with a budget of 400 million yuan, which would be impossible for any other company.

Even Wu Jing felt it was risky; Chen Shou was too bold to entrust this to a new director.

"Who said that? I had him make animated films so he could learn how to make science fiction films. Last year when I went to Hollywood to make a movie, he worked with me. In the future, I will try to hand over science fiction films to Guo Fan. Wu Ershan has enough for fantasy films. If we start the Journey to the West project, Wu Ershan may take over." Chen Shou said.

The others present were incredibly envious. Fortunately, Wuershan and Guo Fan weren't there. However, these words would get out, and the film and television industry was starting to get anxious.

Of course, there's no fear of them getting arrogant. Chen Shouzhe's movies are known for their ability to simply be good tools; they don't need to think too much.

The director doesn't need to add anything; just filming according to his ideas will be successful.

"I really envy them," Jiang Wen sighed. He recalled how difficult it was for him to make a movie back then. He relied on his old flame to raise money for him. Although they broke up later, Jiang Wen still couldn't forget him and got a role from Chen Shouzhe for him.

The relationship between the older woman and younger man caused a sensation in the entertainment industry back then, and many people who follow movies never expected that the two would have an affair.

"Does Director Chen have any roles in his sci-fi films?" Huang Xiaoming asked.

"The auditions will still be announced to the public. Our company doesn't have many artists," Chen Shou said, shrugging.

Huang Xiaoming smiled and said that the reason why the film company had a good reputation among actors in the industry was because it was relatively fair.

Aside from Yang Mi's studio, there are no other artists.

Unlike Huayi Brothers, which is a large and complex company, taking a role from them comes at a price. Back then, Liu Yifei was tricked by Huayi Brothers, but luckily her mother also managed to get something for nothing. After some back and forth, she was almost blacklisted. During that time, there were all sorts of scandals, and Huayi Brothers was behind them.

"Director Chen, don't forget me! There's still my movie to look forward to," Huang Bo joked from the side.

"Haha, I almost forgot about you. What are your plans for this year, Brother Bo? If not, how about making another movie?" Chen Shou laughed.

Upon hearing this, Huang Bo immediately shuddered and said, "My movie hasn't even been released yet, and I'm already preparing for the next one?"

"Do you not believe in yourself, or do you not believe in me?" Chen Shou asked.

“Of course everyone believes it,” Huang Bo said.

“Since you believe in it, you definitely won’t lose money. Let’s keep filming and accumulate more profits later,” Chen Shou said with a smile.

“Alright, another one. Now there are four directors,” Jiang Wen said.

"Forget it, I don't have any suitable scripts for you," Chen Shou said, shaking his head.

"I'll go look for it in your study later," Jiang Wen chuckled.

The group chatted and laughed, had lunch together, and most of them didn't dare to drink alcohol. They were going to other places in the afternoon, and most of them had already left. They needed to use connections during the New Year, and Chen was definitely not the only one staying here.

Chen Shouzhe drank a little wine and walked to the horse pen, where he saw Xiao Wang riding his Shire horse.

"Your horse is really nice," Xiao Wang said with a smile.

"Get out of here, how can you talk like that?" Chen Shou said irritably.

Xiao Wang realized what was going on and laughed, "I lent you my car that day too."

“No interest. I’m not that interested in cars. As long as it can be driven, that’s fine. By the way, I heard you started a girl group. Is your body able to handle it?” Chen Shou waved, and Sharma walked over to him.

"Of course I couldn't stand it. It's so much more peaceful here. It makes me want to open a pet park." Xiao Wang said with a smug smile.

“Don’t you have a dog? Opening a pet shop would be great. There are cat and dog owners everywhere in the city now, it’s very profitable,” Chen Shou said.

"That's fine, but I still prefer investing in the internet, and live streaming is a good option," Xiao Wang said.

Chen Shou then remembered that Xiao Wang had established a live streaming company at the end of last year and had started taking on game competitions and events.

(End of this chapter)