Huayu: A Commercial Director

Chapter 253 Market Concession, Dominance

Chen was busy playing with his daughter and didn't take the matter to heart.

He was slow to realize it; he hadn't thought much about it when he initially planned to cooperate with Emperor Entertainment.

Unexpectedly, when it comes to issues concerning the Hong Kong entertainment circle, the mainland side immediately reached a consensus: to suppress them and not give them any chance.

Even if they want to cooperate, they can only take the lead.

At first, Chen Shouzhe and Emperor Entertainment didn't have much of an opinion on the cooperation. At most, they just wondered if others could get a share of the profits since they were the only ones cooperating.

When the film was approved, they realized that there were very few mainland Chinese actors in the movie; they were all from Hong Kong, making it a typical Hong Kong film.

They were not satisfied. How could a film mainly funded by the mainland use Hong Kong actors? They felt that Chen Shouzhe had gone too far in terms of the actors.

There was a lot of dissatisfaction, and many people approached Chen Shouzhe, demanding that he replace some of the actors and consider actors from mainland China, saying that there are many excellent actors from the mainland who would be suitable for the roles, and even recommending actors to him, etc.

This shows that both sides secretly wished the other dead sooner.

Hong Kong was naturally overjoyed, with many media outlets praising Chan Sau-cheung and even rumors circulating that he was planning to immigrate, since Hong Kong does indeed offer certain advantages.

Chen Shou could only say that these people were overthinking things. He was too lazy to explain, but if they dared to push their luck, Chen Shou would naturally not give them the chance.

Forget about the Hong Kong Film Awards, it's impossible. Emperor Entertainment Group wouldn't risk offending him for the sake of those people.

I spent the whole day at home playing with my kids, while the news outside was still all about yesterday's premiere and celebration banquet.

As it is a patriotic film, major mainstream media outlets also gave it positive coverage, providing a popular science report on the incident, emphasizing the rationale for deploying troops, the dangers encountered by the troops in their duties, and how many police officers sacrificed their lives for border security, etc.

Chen Shouzhe certainly doesn't have high expectations for the film's box office, but Wu Jing's film has successfully finished its run and has already surpassed the 56 billion yuan box office mark. Therefore, many film companies and institutions believe that Chen Shouzhe's "Operation Northern Myanmar" can achieve a super high box office of 3 billion yuan.

The movie was released as scheduled on the 28th. Before the opening day box office figures were even released, Wu Jing's movie and Yang Mi's movie had already appeared on the headlines of major portal websites.

Wu Jing's film grossed 56 billion yuan, breaking the domestic film box office history. When the box office reached 49 billion yuan, Chen Shou had Xiao Xiaomeng produce a poster featuring the robot WALL-E and another robot EVE, dressed in clothes from Wu Jing's film, holding submachine guns, and shouting the slogan "49 billion yuan, keep charging forward."

Yang Mi's film successfully reached its finale, grossing 7.78 million yuan at the box office, and her company is about to go public.

Both trending topics are about the movie, and they share a common investor.

Chen Shouzhe was undoubtedly trending on social media, along with his film "Operation Northern Myanmar".

Faced with the successive attacks from three films, the film industry had no choice but to grit its teeth and keep fighting, leaving it with no other option but despair.

They can't avoid each release window one by one. After the National Day holiday, there's the November release window, followed by the Lunar New Year holiday. The only time left for them is the November release window.

Moreover, quite a few movies have been released, including The Sewing Machine in the greenhouse, Sky Fierce with Another Ice and Her Boyfriend, Iron Fist starring Ma Li from Mahua FunAge, The Foreigner starring Jackie Chan, Guilty Mind starring Deng Chao, Chasing the Dragon starring Andy Lau, and Fang Hua starring Feng Xiaogang.

Many blockbusters are released during the National Day holiday, but the difference is that Chen Shouzhe's film will be released on the 28th, while most of the others will be released on the 30th. Moreover, barring any unforeseen circumstances, Chen Shouzhe's film is very likely to be postponed.

After all, it's a mainstream film, and it's quite different from other people's movies.

As expected, the box office figure of 1.9 million yuan on the first day of release made all the film production companies about to be released feel their scalps tingle.

They couldn't help but increase their efforts to promote their film, hoping to capture the box office. However, faced with the theaters giving Chen Shouzhe an extremely high number of screenings, several companies began to increase their film promotion and constantly hype up various news stories.

The competition is fierce, with each company pushing their marketing like crazy. Chen Shou's film, ironically, has received the least publicity, despite being promoted by numerous media outlets. Film review websites have even given it an 8.5 rating.

"No dull moments throughout."

"Chen Shouzhe's mainstream commercial films are more exciting. They can bring real-life stories to the big screen and let more people know that there are people on the edge of our country who are carrying the burden for us."

"They really dare to film this. I don't recommend bringing children in because there are a lot of bloody scenes."

"After watching the movie, I couldn't forget the elements hidden in it. While our children were still in elementary and middle school, the children there were already exposed to drugs and guns, trained to be suicide squads, and controlled with drugs. It was shocking. I am grateful for the strength of our country."

"We are fortunate to live in a safe and civilized country, and we are grateful for our powerful nation."

"I suggest that the faint of heart not watch it; it's a miracle that the movie even passed censorship."

"This is the best patriotic film I've seen in recent years, much better than The Taking of Tiger Mountain."

"The film is based on a true story."

The high praise on the first day made other films feel threatened, prompting them to intensify their promotional efforts.

The box office reached 170 million on the second day. The increase seemed small, but it was short-lived because the 29th was a Friday. The National Day holiday film season actually started on Saturday the 30th, and Sunday was October 1st.

On the 30th, all the movies were released, igniting the entire film market.

The result was naturally disastrous. The market is only so big, and despite so much pressure, Operation Northern Myanmar managed to gross 2.2 million yuan on its third day.

All other films were squeezed out. After all, with so many other films competing, securing 45% of the theater screenings is something no one else can achieve.

Moreover, after the first day's reviews came out, other movies were even more suppressed.

Da Peng's movie received good reviews, but his first film damaged his reputation. It was released on the 29th, grossed 30 million yuan on its opening day, and is expected to gross around 400 million yuan.

Mahua's Iron Fist is good, but its reputation is relatively poor. It's the only one that can rival the Northern Myanmar Operation.

The rest are okay for a day or two, then their reputation gradually declines, and they eventually become cannon fodder.

The scheduling was terrible. Because of Chen Shouzhe's strong influence, the theater chains definitely prioritized his screenings. Plus, because it was a patriotic film, the higher-ups gave their approval, and the theater chains maintained a 75% screening share on the 28th and 29th, only dropping to 45% on the 30th.
Chen Shou was already quite satisfied with this. He couldn't eat too much, otherwise his eating manners would be unsightly, and he would be attacked by the crowd.

Chen Shouzhe's concession also relieved other film and television companies.

They knew that as long as they didn't provoke Chen Shouzhe, he was still good at dealing with people and wouldn't actively bully other movies.

Otherwise, he could have gone far enough to make those cinemas more willing to give him face.

Over the years, Chen Shou has not been selfish and has given them room to survive; otherwise, he would have been the first one to be dealt with by the higher-ups.

A monopoly is not a good thing.

The fact that the entire film market is dominated by one person only shows how useless everyone else is.

(End of this chapter)