Huayu Entertainment: The Birth of a Succubus Top Star

The film "How Long Will I Love U" had an investment of approximately 30 to 40 million yuan.

Gu Zhiyan's current asking price for a single film is no less than 50 million.

Even before the salary cap was introduced, top-tier celebrities were already asking for outrageous pay.

After "Wolf Warrior 2" grossed over 5 billion yuan, some investors even offered 80 million yuan to have Gu Zhiyan star in the film.

Overnight, the topic of "Gu Zhiyan bringing 500 million in box office revenue" became a hot topic.

Some marketing accounts have started analyzing various data from different angles to prove Gu Zhiyan's current box office appeal.

He spoke so logically that Gu Zhiyan almost believed him herself.

The key point is that this statement has actually gained the approval of most people.

In Gu Zhiyan's view, some people are deliberately praising him in order to expand the "traffic" pie.

Another group of people either blindly follow the trend or are swayed by public opinion.

It's important to understand that most people on the internet lack independent thinking and the ability to make their own judgments.

Gu Zhiyan was fully aware of the ins and outs of the situation. Don't be fooled by the way some people are praising him now; it won't be long before they want to kill him.

Moreover, the film market still has doubts about Gu Zhiyan's box office appeal.

He played a minor supporting role in "I Belonged to You," while Deng Chao was the one who carried the box office.

The main character in "Wolf Warrior 2" is Wu Jing, who is only the second male lead. Moreover, Wu Jing is in charge of the entire movie from beginning to end, and he has little to do with Gu Zhiyan.

Although Gu Zhiyan's fans have also demonstrated strong purchasing power, "traffic" is different from "appeal".

In the past, a single superstar could carry a movie, but now audiences are becoming more sophisticated and discerning.

A movie that relies solely on a popular celebrity but has a poor script and production quality is likely to flop.

The drama "Three Lives Three Worlds, Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms" starring Liu Yifei and Yang Yang is an example of this situation.

A later film starring a top celebrity based on a Jin Yong martial arts novel proved this point once again. Despite the overwhelming hype from fans, the film's box office actually experienced a bizarre negative growth.

Box office appeal refers to the ability of a film's creators, such as actors, directors, or an IP brand, to attract audiences to actively buy tickets and go to the cinema to watch a movie by leveraging their own fame and public influence.

Simply put, audiences decide to buy tickets because "this is a movie starring so-and-so".

In the past, Jackie Chan and Stephen Chow were box office guarantees during certain periods.

The participation of actors like Wu Jing, Shen Teng, Zhang Yi, and Huang Bo can bring huge attention to a film during its initial planning and promotion.

Audiences believe that the director, actors, or a particular series of works are of high quality and worth spending money and time on.

For example, seeing Shen Teng would suggest a high-quality comedy; seeing Wu Jing would suggest a thrilling action film or a patriotic blockbuster.

This type of content is expected to precisely attract the target audience.

Audiences actually vote with their feet, voting for the "promise" that can bring them the best overall experience.

And the one who makes this "promise," whether a person or an IP, possesses genuine box office appeal.

Gu Zhiyan urgently needs a movie where he plays the male lead to prove his box office appeal.

The movie "How Long Will I Love U" is perfect; I'm the male lead, and it's a low-budget romance film.

As for the female lead, it's not important; so far, no actress in the Chinese entertainment industry has been able to carry the box office.

Nowadays, apart from big-budget productions, most movies can't afford to hire Gu Zhiyan if they're offered a real salary.

It's not just Gu Zhiyan; they can't afford to hire many actors who can carry the box office or even some top-tier celebrities.

This led to the model of fixed actor salaries plus box office revenue sharing.

Xu Zheng intended to adopt this model for the movie "How Long Will I Love U".

As for the final salary and box office revenue share, that needs to be discussed carefully. Ideally, no salary should be paid at all, and all revenue should be counted as box office revenue.

Xu Zheng had a clever plan.

"Brother Yan, our movie is definitely different from the mainstream romance films on the market. What do you think?"

After giving a detailed introduction to the movie, Xu Zheng asked a question.

His use of "Brother Yan" was much smoother than Wu Jing's, and his words were as fluent as Wu Jing's after months of honing his skills.

"Sounds pretty good, but the female lead for this movie hasn't been decided yet?"

Gu Zhiyan had already decided to take on the film, but he couldn't let Xu Zheng think he was too easy to get, otherwise it would be difficult to negotiate the price.

"Director Xu, the female lead must be a match for Xiao Yan's status, even if she's not quite there, she can't be too far off," Xiu Xiu said.

"Don't worry about that, Brother Yan. I've already found several leading ladies, and they're definitely not bad," Xu Zheng said decisively.

Actually, he didn't really look for anyone. The film's investment wasn't high to begin with. Originally, he planned to find a newcomer or a TV actor who was quite famous but didn't have much influence in the film industry. That way, the salary would be cheaper.

However, if Gu Zhiyan is now willing to take on this film, and the other party has already raised the issue of choosing the female lead, then things can't be done this way.

However, once the news of Gu Zhiyan joining the film is released, the choice of the female lead will not be a problem at all.

There are so many actresses who want to act alongside Gu Zhiyan right now.

The entertainment industry is a place that believes a lot in metaphysics.

Gu Zhiyan has been a hit since her debut, with every drama or movie she's starred in becoming a success.

"My Sunshine", "The Journey of Flower", "Wu Xin: The Monster Killer", "Love O2O", "Eternal Love", and "Princess Agents" were all huge hits.

Even "Legend of Nine Tails Fox" and "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" had impressive viewership ratings.

The two films in which he starred, "I Belonged to You" and "Wolf Warrior 2" have grossed over 1 billion yuan and 5 billion yuan respectively.

Gu Zhiyan's fans made this list. Originally, this was just a product of fans' self-entertainment, but as soon as the topic came out, it immediately sparked a huge discussion among netizens, and self-media and marketing accounts also jumped in to promote it.

Many people in the industry were quite excited, as this was a truly solid achievement!

There's definitely something special about Gu Zhiyan.

In other words, Gu Zhiyan is blessed with good fortune.

Look at all the female celebrities who have worked with Gu Zhiyan; their careers are booming.

Tang Yan's role in "My Sunshine" solidified her position as a top actress among the post-85 generation.

Zhao Liying rose to the ranks of top-tier actresses with "The Journey of Flower" and became one of the leading actresses of the post-85 generation with "Princess Agents".

One actress, with her role in "Love O2O," has become a leading figure among the post-90s actresses, with a status comparable to that of popular post-85s actresses.

The drama "Eternal Love" solidified Yang Mi's reputation as a ratings queen and propelled Dilraba Dilmurat to the top of the female entertainment industry.

Several other TV series also greatly increased the popularity of many actresses such as Jin Cheng, Chen Yao, Li Yitong, and Meng Ziyi.

This claim is absurd. Many actresses in these TV dramas are completely unknown or even nonexistent.

But people just want to see what they want to see.

As a result, Gu Zhiyan's reputation as a "lucky charm for women" began to circulate within the industry.

This is incredible! Gu Zhiyan instantly became the object of desire for female celebrities in the industry, with everyone wanting to pounce on him and take a bite!