Huayu: Starting from joining the mainstream entertainment industry in 96

Chapter 451, Page 449: Under the Spotlight

Saturday, December 14th.

The capital city was not yet fully awake in the early morning, but the newsstands were already filled with all kinds of newspapers that smelled of ink.

In stark contrast to yesterday's scene where "Brotherhood of Blades" surpassed 80 million views and dominated the headlines of the economics section, today almost all mainstream newspapers' culture and entertainment sections, and even the front pages of many comprehensive daily newspapers, are occupied by the same name—"Night at the Museum"—and various exclamation marks related to it.

"Night at the Museum" becomes a nationwide sensation on its opening day, with tickets selling out fast! — China Film News

"Wang Sheng recreates a fantastical classic, Jackie Chan leads the 'revival' of cultural relics!" — Beijing Entertainment News

"Eastern wonders captivate audiences, cultural confidence shines on the silver screen!" — Guangming Daily (Culture Edition)
"From 'Brotherhood of Blades' to 'Night at the Museum,' why does Sheng Ying's model always hit the market so precisely?" — Southern Weekly (Culture Edition)
The reports varied in angle, but their core tone was surprisingly consistent: high praise!

China Film News provided a detailed account of the overwhelming success of the opening day in cinemas across the country, citing a large amount of real-time data and user reviews from the "Maoyan" movie platform. The report stated that the film "created a familiar yet unfamiliar fantasy world for the audience with its boundless imagination, deep cultural roots, and Jackie Chan's signature action-comedy style, successfully igniting the nationwide enthusiasm for watching movies."

The Beijing Entertainment News focused on the film's creativity and production, praising Wang Sheng for "once again demonstrating his extraordinary vision and control as a director, screenwriter, and producer," perfectly combining a grand fantasy setting with delicate emotional expression, and specifically mentioning the visual impact of scenes such as the terracotta army's patrol and Tang tri-colored ladies dancing.

A cultural commentator article in Guangming Daily elevated the film's success to a cultural level, arguing that "Night at the Museum cleverly transforms static historical artifacts into dynamic cultural symbols, telling Chinese stories in universally understood cinematic language. It not only provides entertainment but also inspires viewers, especially young viewers, to feel a sense of identity and pride in their own culture, making it a vivid practice of cultural confidence."

The Southern Weekly analysis article went even further, attempting to dissect the core competitiveness of the "Shengying Model".

The article points out that from the precise refinement of the genre film "Brotherhood of Blades" to the grand concept and industrialized production of "Night at the Museum", and then to the channel guarantee of "China Film Grand Cinema Line" and the precise marketing of "Maoyan Platform", Shengying Media has built a complete ecological closed loop from content creation to market terminal.

"This closed loop ensures that high-quality content can reach the widest target audience in the most efficient way, and quickly feeds market feedback back into new creations, forming a strong self-iteration and continuous output capability."

Although the exact opening day box office figures still await final verification from the Special Fund Office, all reports cite industry insiders' estimates based on screening schedules, occupancy rates, and average ticket prices—the opening day box office is highly likely to exceed…

It even surpasses the 765 million opening record set by "Brotherhood of Blades", pointing to an even more astonishing number!

The market seems to have already pre-ordered the birth of another member of the "200 million club".

While China was buzzing with excitement over "Night at the Museum," on the other side of the world, Friday afternoon, December 13th, Pacific Time in the United States, the sun was still shining brightly.

For the North American film market, this was just a typical weekend prelude, but for the quietly released "Night at the Museum," it was a severe test.

At this time, the North American film market was in the midst of fierce competition during the year-end holiday season.

With the lingering success of "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers," Disney's animated blockbusters "Treasure Planet" and "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" continuing to rake in box office revenue, and numerous art-house and genre films vying for awards season space, major North American theaters are generally taking a cautious approach to a fantasy comedy film from China.

Despite the efforts of its distributor, New Line Cinema, to leverage its distribution network, "Night at the Museum" only secured screenings in about 2000 theaters on its opening day in North America, barely cracking the top ten. This is a far cry from its dominant 70% performance in China.

This is partly due to factors such as market environment and cultural differences, but it is also related to the recent market performance of the male lead, Jackie Chan.

Just this September, Jackie Chan launched his sci-fi action film "The Tuxedo," co-starring Jennifer Love Hewitt, in North America.

The film had a production cost of approximately $6000 million, but it only grossed about $5020 million in North America and just over $1 million worldwide, making it a box office failure relative to its budget. Critics generally felt that the film's concept was mediocre and that its over-reliance on special effects weakened Jackie Chan's signature action style.

In recent years, from the success of "West Side Story" and the "Rush Hour" series to the Waterloo of "The Tuxedo," some market observers have begun to question whether Jackie Chan's "action comedy" style has become fatigued in North America and whether his box office appeal is declining.
However, New Line Cinema had different expectations for Night at the Museum.

First, it was based on the trust built upon the huge success of their previous collaboration with Shengying Media on "Kung Fu Soccer." Wang Sheng's team's ability to handle cross-cultural storytelling left a deep impression on the senior management of New Line Cinema.

Secondly, there's the unique selling point of *Night at the Museum* itself. New Line's marketing team accurately grasped the core:

The slogan "100% Pure Jackie Chan Action-Comedy!" was prominently displayed on the posters and trailers.

The promotional materials clearly emphasize that this film returns to Jackie Chan's forte of physical comedy and thrilling action design, distancing itself from the style of "The Tuxedo" which relied on CGI and science fiction settings, aiming to awaken the audience's fond memories of the "pure Jackie Chan" from the era of "Rumble in the Bronx" and "Rush Hour".

Despite its limited number of screenings, "Night at the Museum" achieved surprisingly high attendance rates on its opening afternoon and evening showings in North America, a number that belies its limited number of screenings!
In major cities with large Chinese populations, such as New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, long-absent scenes of people queuing to buy tickets have even reappeared in cinemas.

Among them are loyal fans who came for Jackie Chan, young viewers who were captivated by "Shaolin Soccer" and full of curiosity about Eastern fantasy films, as well as a large number of family viewers attracted by the novel concept of "reviving museum artifacts".

"It was so much fun! The idea of ​​bringing those Chinese antiques to life was brilliant! Jackie is as witty and funny as ever!" A mother with two children excitedly told reporters as she walked out of an AMC theater in Los Angeles. "The kids were completely engrossed, even more so than when they watch superhero movies!"

"It's so surprising that a Chinese director has managed to seamlessly blend Eastern mythology with Hollywood's narrative pacing. Jackie Chan's performance space has also expanded, encompassing not only fighting but also many heartwarming interactions," an Asian film critic quickly updated on his blog.

New Line Cinema's marketing team, with its "spies" planted in various cinemas, has been sending back positive feedback: the film's humor is effectively conveyed, the visual effects are well-received, and the creativity of the Terracotta Army and various "resurrected" cultural relics, in particular, has given American audiences, who are used to superheroes and magical worlds, a refreshing experience.

Afternoon screenings generally had an occupancy rate of over 70%, while many theaters reached over 90% during prime evening screenings!

(End of this chapter)