The director starts by learning from the abilities of renowned directors.

Chapter 119 North American Box Office Miracle

Film Bureau, Director's Office.

"Old Zhang, I had my secretary verify it twice."

Director Tong Gang sat imposingly on the sofa, smiling as he spoke to Deputy Director Zhang Hongsen across from him.

"I had my secretary verify it once, and then I personally called the Special Fund Office to verify it again."

Zhang Hongsen echoed this sentiment.

"A single-day box office of 7900 million has really broken the record of Avatar. Shen Qing has really made such a big commotion that even the highest level has been alarmed."

"Breaking 200 million in three days, even Avatar didn't make this much of a splash. Shen Qing is really something!"

"Young people these days are something else."

"Avatar conquered the world, leaving nothing but devastation in its wake. But unexpectedly, the toughest challenge it encountered was in China."

"We need to keep pushing for more screenings. If Shen Qing can make a big splash, we can give him another push."

"I'll discuss it with Lao Han later. Avatar has been in theaters for over a month now. We should reduce its screenings if necessary. The market always needs new films."

The film was released nationwide on February 14th, the first day of the Lunar New Year. By 24:00 on the 16th, it had grossed 2.04 million yuan. By 24:00 on the 20th, the seventh day of the Lunar New Year, it had grossed over 400 million yuan.

Tickets for the IMAX version of "Gravity" in Shanghai were scalped for as much as 2000 yuan, rivaling the popularity of "Avatar" a month earlier.

Objectively speaking, Gravity is not as good as Avatar, but for Chinese audiences, the fact that a domestic science fiction film can achieve this level, go head-to-head with top Hollywood blockbusters, and even win is of great significance.

Moreover, the film lost because of its details and visual spectacle. If we only look at the plot, Avatar is more like a reflection by the descendants of Western colonists on the massacre of Native Americans. For Chinese audiences, the sense of immersion is just so-so.

Many Chinese viewers even think that the male protagonist of "Avatar" is a traitor.

But Gravity is different. The space telescope and Tianque space station that appear in the movie are clearly our own Chinese story! Tianque is obviously modeled after our Tiangong space station, and the Shenzhou spacecraft that takes the protagonist back to Earth is actually our real-world equipment! The sense of immersion and pride is immediately apparent.

If I don't support this kind of movie, what kind of movie should I support?

Furthermore, with the coordination of the Film Bureau and China Film Group, the screening schedule for "Gravity" was further increased, ultimately achieving this seemingly incredible feat: a box office of over 4 million yuan in seven days during the Spring Festival!

The Chinese internet has been incredibly lively these past few days, with many netizens feeling like they're dreaming and finding it unbelievable.

"I watched 'Gravity' twice to support it and I always had a lot of confidence in the movie, but I was still dumbfounded when I saw its current performance."

"This year's movie fans are amazing."

"I've had high hopes for Shen Qing ever since 'Making a Name for Him'."

For the Chinese entertainment industry, "Gravity" was like a nuclear bomb.

I had heard before that the investment in "Gravity" was over 100 million US dollars, and most people in the industry thought that Shen Qing was bound to lose money this time.

It's not that Shen Qing is definitely not good at big-budget films, but rather that big-budget science fiction films are definitely not good.

Shen Qing, your strength lies in action films! Action movies are the genre that China is most successful at overseas! If you make an action movie, you can recoup some costs domestically and then some overseas, and you might actually make a profit. But if you insist on making science fiction, well…

As a result, Shen Qing actually created a movie that could rival Avatar!

Media interviews revealed Han Han's views on Shen Qing and her new film.

"The movie is excellent. Before watching it, I thought the online hype was excessive, but after watching it, I found that it deserved the online praise. As for director Shen Qing, I can't figure him out. He's the Chinese director I can't understand the most."

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When the media interviewed Feng Xiaogang again, he said, "I've seen the movie. It's not easy for a domestic director to do science fiction like this. I have no plans to make science fiction films. Every director has their own area of ​​expertise."

In an interview, director Zhang Yimou said, "This is something I've been hoping for. I've long hoped that China could produce some directors who can make science fiction films. I used to think it might take another 20 or 30 years to accumulate experience, but now it seems that the situation is much more optimistic than I thought."

Ning Hao said, "Shen Qing is an exception. Shen Qing's success may give people the illusion that the gap between Chinese and American films is not that big, but if you don't look at Shen Qing, you will find that the gap between the two is still huge."

The media also interviewed Lu Chuan, but she refused to be interviewed with a cold expression.

On February 22nd, Shen Qing handed over some work instructions to Chen Zhixi, and he had already booked a flight to the United States for the next day. On February 24th, the North American premiere of "Gravity" was held in New York, and Shen Qing, as the director and lead actor, naturally had to attend.

Liu Yifei also went with Shen Qing. Shen Qing had only mentioned it casually, and Liu Yifei readily agreed. For Shen Qing, having someone to accompany her was always better than having no one.

On the 23rd, Shen Qing, Liu Yifei, along with Shen Qing's two assistants, three bodyguards, and an executive agent, traveled to the United States.

He attended the North American premiere of "Gravity" on the 24th, and the film was officially released worldwide on the 26th.

It's worth mentioning that this North American release will be shown in 3893 theaters.

April 3st morning.

Shen Qing received a call from the North American distributor at the hotel; the film's opening weekend box office figures were in.

$1.25 billion!

"Have the box office results come out yet? How are they?"

After Shen Qing hung up the phone, Liu Yifei, who was next to her, immediately asked with concern.

"Yes, $1.25 million. It's said to be the highest-grossing film over the weekend since 2010, and apparently the highest-grossing non-sequel film over the weekend in all of Hollywood history. If you include sequels, it's fourth."

"Fourth in film history? In over a hundred years of Hollywood cinema, only three films have surpassed your opening weekend box office?"

"It's said to be true. It seems to be only comparable to *The Dark Knight*, *Twilight 2*, and *Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales*."

few."

"Shen Qing."

"Um."

"I thought you were amazing when I first met you, that you knew everything, but I never imagined you were this amazing."

"So, are you happy that I'm so amazing?"

"I'm so happy."

Liu Yifei sometimes couldn't help but wonder, if Shen Qing wasn't so amazing, would he not be so fickle?

"I have something even more amazing that will make you even happier!"

As he spoke, Shen Qing picked Liu Yifei up in his arms. Liu Yifei gasped in surprise, and Shen Qing carried her to the bedroom.

As of 24:2 on February 28, the domestic box office of "Gravity" officially exceeded 6 million yuan.

On the Chinese internet, netizens are discussing this extensively.

"Breaking 6 million in half a month, that's even faster than Avatar! Shen Qing is really awesome this time!"

"Avatar broke 12 billion a few days ago, so it seems that Gravity will also break 12 billion."

"Breaking 12 billion is a sure thing, 13 billion is also a sure thing, the question is whether we can break 14 billion or even 15 billion."

"That's truly amazing! Last year's top-grossing domestic film barely reached 500 million yuan, and this year two of them are aiming for three times that amount!"

"The key point is that one of them is Cameron! And Shen Qing is actually on par with Cameron, which is too magical."

"What's even more unbelievable is that Shen Qing was able to beat Cameron this time!"

There are people who like Shen Qing, and people who don't. There are die-hard fans, and there are haters.

Haters see Shen Qing's comments about winning against Cameron all over the internet and think these people are idiots.

In China, if you have the chance to beat Cameron, then you beat Cameron? Who doesn't know how "Gravity" achieved its box office success?

There are still so many movie fans who want to see Avatar, but the number of screenings for Avatar has been decreasing and the number of shows has been getting worse. Doesn't everyone know what's going on?

"Gravity can't be called garbage, but comparing it to Avatar is just self-humiliating. Avatar truly swept the globe, while Gravity was promoted by the Film Bureau and China Film Group through administrative means. Do they really think that this piece of trash getting so many screenings is a market phenomenon?"

"With Avatar grossing over $7 million in North America and over $24 billion worldwide, can Gravity take half of that? — Let's not even talk about half, can it take a quarter of its global box office?"

"Stop making things difficult for 'Gravity'! Even a quarter of that is 3 million US dollars. Shen Qing couldn't earn that much even if he worked himself to death in the domestic market."

"What about overseas markets?"

"The overseas market only recognizes Chinese action films. 'Gravity' is indeed excellent among domestic sci-fi films, but compared to Hollywood sci-fi—it's simply incomparable! Your ceiling is just their floor!"

"By the way, I think Gravity has already been released in North America, right?"

"Yes, it landed on February 26th."

"So how much do you think it will gross at the box office?"

"Avatar cost $7700 million at the time, and I estimate that it would be good if it could reach half of that."

"Even half of that is $3850 million. How many Chinese-language films have ever had such a high weekend box office in North America?"

"I feel like we'd be lucky to get a quarter of Avatar's box office. Even a quarter of that is $1925 million. A week with poor stats might still be able to take the weekend championship."

"If it were an action movie, it could probably get half of Avatar's box office, but for a sci-fi movie, it would be good if it got a quarter."

Then, just as these haters were discussing it, the North American opening weekend box office figures for "Gravity" finally came back to China.

It grossed $1.25 million in its opening weekend!

The significance of this box office figure was also conveyed back to China.

The highest-grossing non-sequel film of all time over a weekend!

Fourth on the all-time Hollywood weekend box office chart!

The haters who were previously engaged in heated discussions are now completely dumbfounded.

It raked in a staggering 1.25 million in just three days over its opening weekend, a truly astonishing achievement.

The famous "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" only grossed $1.3 million in North America, almost being overtaken by "Gravity" in just three days.

Avatar only grossed $77 million in its opening weekend, just 60% of Gravity's.

This is utterly upside down!

"Fuck! $1.25 million? Are you kidding me? Are North American audiences idiots?"

"Is the news accurate? That high? Higher than Avatar?"

"Avatar only grossed $7700 million in its opening weekend, but now its global box office is almost $24 billion. Gravity..."

How much can they get? 40 billion US dollars? That's absolutely outrageous!

Shen Qing's haters were completely taken aback by the North American box office performance of "Gravity".

One's outlook on life, world, and values ​​will all collapse.

Shen Qing's die-hard fans and casual fans were overjoyed.

Previously, die-hard fans had been hearing from those haters that Gravity's overseas box office would definitely be bad, and the die-hard fans themselves were starting to believe it. They even retorted by saying, "Isn't RMB box office ...

"Holy crap! When I first saw the report, I thought the editor had made a mistake. $1.25 million is impossible, it must be $1250 million."

Tens of thousands of US dollars. I stared at it and counted it several times; it really was 1.25 million US dollars!

"You're not the only one who can't believe it. What normal person would believe that a movie directed by a Chinese director and starring Chinese actors could gross such an outrageous $1.25 million at the Hollywood box office?"

"Judging by this momentum, will it really become the number one box office in the world?"

"Let's see how it performs. Avatar was number one for seven consecutive weeks, and the weekly box office drop was minimal. Normally, the box office in the second weekend should be halved compared to the opening weekend."

"Whether he's number one, number two, or number three in the world, whatever the final result is, Shen Qing has achieved legendary status this time."

Upon seeing the box office figures for "Gravity" during its opening weekend in North America, Tong Gang, the director of the Film Bureau, couldn't help but slam his hand on the table, his palm turning red without him even noticing.

The investors, including China Film Group, Bernard, and Enlight Media, were all stunned.

Everyone who invested was mentally prepared to lose money, but they ended up pushing the opening weekend box office to 1.25 billion.

One hundred million US dollars!

Shen Qing is terrifyingly strong!

Fan Bingbing's personal studio also invested in "Gravity". After the box office results for the first weekend came out, Fan Bingbing made a phone call to Shen Qing's cell phone and chatted for half an hour.

In North America, the CEOs of Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures visited Shen Qing at her hotel, displaying an even more humble attitude than before.

On March 2, Shen Qing brought Liu Yifei back to China.

On March 3, Shen Qing returned to Shenqi Film and Television Company.

The moment he stepped into the company, all the employees stood up and applauded enthusiastically, including Vice President Chen Zhixi.

The huge success of "Gravity" has made every employee of the company proud.

Shen Qing returned to his chairman's office amidst the applause and admiring gazes of his employees, with Chen Zhixi following him in.

There was a click.

Chen Zhixi casually locked the door, followed by the sound of high heels clicking on the floor. Chen Zhixi jogged a few steps and suddenly hugged Shen Qing from behind.

Shen Qing turned around and looked at Chen Zhixi's already flushed cheeks, a puzzled expression on her face.

The two gazed at each other until Chen Zhixi suddenly tiptoed and kissed Shen Qing's lips.

Shen Qing was surprised for a moment, then took the initiative to kiss her. About two minutes later, the two finally separated.

"Zhixi, what are you doing today?"

Shen Qing touched his lips and smiled.

"Boss, I need to take a few days off."

Chen Zhixi suddenly changed the subject.

"A request for leave? You're the vice president, what kind of leave do you need?"

"Blind date."

"A blind date?" Shen Qing's voice suddenly rose.

"Well, I'm not getting any younger," Chen Zhixi said cautiously, looking at Shen Qing.

"No!"

Shen Qing frowned, her face displeased.

She just kissed him, and the next second she's saying she's going on a blind date? Is she kidding me?!

Seeing Shen Qing's displeasure, Chen Zhixi felt relieved and said, "Even if it's not good, I'm going. I'm working for you, not selling myself to you. Besides, I'm a woman too. I need someone to understand me, care for me, and love me. I can't be a bachelor forever, can I?"

"I love you!"

After saying that, Shen Qing pulled Chen Zhixi into his arms, looked at her blushing cheeks, and kissed her heavily again.

After get off work that day, Shen Qing and Chen Zhixi left the company together and got into the same car. The car went straight to Shen Qing's house. Once inside, Shen Qing stopped being polite. She actually said she was going on a blind date—she just needed to be taught a lesson! Tonight, she was going to make her behave herself.

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