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

Chapter 150: $3 Million in 10 Days

Los Angeles, USA.

On August 11 local time, Shen Qing and Fan Bingbing attended the North American premiere of "Taken 3".

At the scene, Fan Bingbing looked elegant and poised in a white and blue haute couture gown. She linked arms with Shen Qing, looking at the president of Warner Bros.

Hollywood moguls, including the president of Legendary Pictures, smiled obsequiously at Shen Qing. As they heard fans chanting Shen Qing's English name at the event, they unconsciously tightened their grip on Shen Qing's arm. Shen Qing seemed to sense this, glanced down at them, and the two exchanged a smile.

On Friday, August 12, local time, "Taken 3" was released simultaneously in more than 2900 theaters across North America.

Then, it grossed $1940 million on Friday, $2010 million on Saturday, and $1930 million on Sunday, for a total of $5880 million over the first three weekends, an increase of more than $1500 million compared to $4335 million for Taken 2.

Also on August 12, after five days of large-scale previews, "Taken 3" was finally released nationwide. Due to the popularity of the previous large-scale previews, cinemas had more confidence in "Taken 3", and its screening share on the first day eventually reached 64%, an increase of 11 percentage points from the previous forecast.

《飓3》首映这天《变形金刚3》的排片还剩11%，《哈利波特与死亡圣器下》还剩20%，三部影片合计占当日总排片的95%。

8月12至14日，其在国内的票房分别是7910万、9750万和7360万，首周末三天累计票房2.5亿，算上点映票房，国内累计票房超4.4亿。

The interaction between "Hurricane 3" and "Lost in Thailand" brought a knowing smile to domestic audiences. In "Lost in Thailand," the ladyboy Rose answers a phone call saying she encountered two idiots, only to run into the male lead, Shen Long, when she exits the elevator. Since Shen Long and Xu Lang, the male lead in "Lost in Thailand," are both played by Shen Qing, the movie cleverly designed Rose to be momentarily confused, mistaking Shen Long for the idiot in the elevator. "Lost in Thailand" was only released half a year ago, but domestic audiences still remember it vividly, and seeing this classic scene again brings a knowing smile to everyone's face.

The film did not disappoint audiences, receiving a Douban rating of 8.5, which is considered a high score among domestic films. In addition, the North American box office data showed that it grossed $5880 million in its opening weekend, topping the weekend box office. The second place was "Rise of the Planet of the Apes," which had been in theaters for two weeks, with $2750 million. The third place was "The Help," which, like "Hurricane 3," opened in its first week but only grossed $2550 million, less than half of "Hurricane 3's" earnings.

Shen Qing's films continue to dominate the North American market, leaving Hollywood blockbusters battered and bruised. The success of Shen Qing's films in North America is not luck, but real talent. In the past, only Hollywood blockbusters could dominate in China, but now our domestic films can also sweep through Hollywood!

Inspired by the film's message, many domestic viewers went to see it a second time.

Shen Qing's previous films, whether it was "Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons," "About Time," or "Lost in Thailand," all achieved remarkable box office success domestically, but their overseas performance was mediocre. There's been a prevailing opinion that Shen Qing's history of international box office dominance is over; his previous success was simply due to good luck, and now that luck has run out, his past achievements are destined to be fleeting.

Now, Hurricane 3 has grossed $5880 million in its opening weekend in North America, and all the previous noise has instantly disappeared.

On August 15, Shen Qing and Fan Bingbing flew back to Beijing. After exiting the airport terminal, Fan Bingbing and Shen Qing got into Shen Qing's business car, and the driver, Shen Lei, took them to Shen Qing's home in Panhai International.

The head assistant, Shen Ying, accompanied Shen Qing and Fan Bingbing upstairs with two female assistants. After setting their dinner on the table, they left. Once only Shen Qing and Fan Bingbing were left in the room, Shen Qing sat on the sofa and took out her phone to call Chen Zhixi.

"Make the arrangements; I need to speak with cinema managers across the country."

"When?"

"The more people present, the better. Once 70-80% of the theater chains agree to send representatives, the sooner the schedule is arranged, the better."

"Okay, I'll contact them right away."

Fan Bingbing clung to Shen Qing's arm, asking curiously and coquettishly, "What are you talking about with the theater managers?"

Shen Qing leaned back on the sofa, looking at Fan Bingbing's face, and said, "Of course we're talking about important matters."

Fan Bingbing pounced on Shen Qing, laughing, "How about you take me to see the world then?"

Shen Qing, resting her head on her arm, said, "What's so interesting about a meeting with a bunch of grown men?"

"Please, just say yes!"

Shen Qing had no choice but to agree to Fan Bingbing's coquettish behavior.

That evening, Chen Zhixi began contacting cinema managers across the country. Almost without exception, those who answered the phone assured her they would attend on time. However, these managers were scattered throughout the country, some far from Beijing, others very close. Many cinema chains even had their headquarters in Beijing, so gathering them all would take time. Therefore, the meeting was scheduled for August 18th.

day.

Almost all the cinema chains in major cities sent representatives to Beijing. The vast majority of these representatives were managers, with only a small number being deputy managers.

The fact that "Taken 3" raked in nearly 2 million yuan at the box office in just five days of preview screenings has sent chills down the spines of cinemas across the country, signaling that the rules of the game are about to change.

No one could have imagined that the preview screenings would be so large-scale, and that they would have grossed 2 million yuan in just five days. 2 million yuan in box office revenue?! This is just a preview screening?!

The second unexpected thing was that this directly fractured the cinema alliance. Cinemas that obtained the qualification for preview screenings could enjoy the early benefits of hundreds of millions of yuan in box office revenue before the official release, while cinemas that did not obtain the qualification for preview screenings could only wait for the official release, but by the time the official release was released, the hype had already been harvested by the preview screening cinemas, and many viewers had already seen it.

If you don't cooperate or meet the other party's requirements, there are plenty of others who will cooperate, and cooperation can secure hundreds of millions in box office revenue in advance!

Shen Qing has already got the theater chains under his control, but no one can learn this trick because no one can consistently make blockbuster movies like him. Just like Zhang Weiping can use Zhang Yimou's movies as leverage to demand that theater chains increase their revenue share, otherwise they won't let theaters show Zhang Yimou's movies, while other film companies can only take the initiative to give theater chains a few percentage points in exchange for more screenings. This kind of thing varies from person to person.

Nine o'clock in the morning, in the conference room of Magical Film and Television Media.

Nearly 40 cinema managers and deputy managers from all over the country have taken their seats. Chen Zhixi, as the host, is talking with these bigwigs who can decide the screening schedule of a movie.

A moment later, Shen Qing arrived, accompanied by Fan Bingbing. The two entered the conference room, and Shen Qing nodded to several familiar managers before sitting down in the main seat. Fan Bingbing sat next to Chen Zhixi.

Shen Qing nodded to Chen Zhixi, and Chen Zhixi began to formally explain to the group of theater managers the purpose of inviting them here.

In short, Magic Investment Company has created a new company called Maoyan Movies. The new company's main business is online ticketing, and its main feature is online seat selection. Online seat selection cannot be done without the support of more than 3,000 cinemas across the country.

Normally, this should develop from the bottom up. First, you should sign contracts with cinemas one by one. Once you have signed contracts with a large number of cinemas, the cinema chains will naturally come to you.

But going from the bottom up is too tiring and too slow. Since Shen Qing has already secured the theater chain, then they can try going from the top down.

Having the cinema chain coordinate with its theaters and connect with Shen Qing's Maoyan Movies team, acting as a mediator, would be much more effective.

After Chen Zhixi finished her introduction, Shen Qing summarized: "In the three months of October, November and December this year, Shenqi Film and Television Media will have three films released: 'Sewing Machine Band', 'Breakup Buddies' and 'The Great Wall'. All three films will continue to adopt the large-scale preview screening model, and the preview screening tickets will be sold exclusively on our Maoyan Movie APP one or two weeks in advance. Our idea is that during this period, apart from Maoyan Movie, you will not be able to buy our preview screening tickets anywhere else."

Shen Qing paused for a moment, then continued, "I would also like to ask all the managers for their strong support. Please help persuade your affiliated cinemas to connect with the cinema's ticketing system. Maoyan Movies will provide the ticket machines, technical standards, and business terms free of charge."

"What if this Maoyan movie doesn't sell out of preview tickets?"

The person asking the question was Zhang Yang, the manager of Shanghai United Cinemas. The online seat selection function is not unfamiliar to cinemas in Shanghai. Gewara is currently developing this model in Shanghai and has already signed agreements with dozens of local cinemas. It is expected that the annual revenue will reach 6000 million yuan.

However, Gewara only allows you to buy tickets and select seats online; it doesn't sell exclusive preview tickets for popular movies!

Shen Qing said, "Our Maoyan Movies will go on sale one or two weeks in advance. Only when there are still unsold tickets on the Maoyan platform in the last two or three days will cinemas be allowed to sell them offline."

"So, which cinema chains can join this preview screening partnership?"

A theater manager asked nervously.

Shen Qing smiled and said, "Of course, there are more cinemas under our umbrella that have reached cooperation agreements with Maoyan Movies."

"With such a large-scale preview screening, and online seat selection being much more expensive than buying tickets at the venue, it's no wonder that tickets will be in high demand at the physical store. If you only sell online, how many viewers will actually download your system?"

Shen Qing looked at the cinema manager whose name he didn't know and said, "Our Maoyan Movie system will have both an app and a web version, but the app will be the primary one. And I'm confident that our preview tickets will definitely sell on the app!"

"What makes you so confident?"

At this moment, all eyes were on Shen Qing's face.

Shen Qing looked around and said, "First of all, I have confidence in my film. Secondly, even if it doesn't sell, I'll take out 1..."

Could we sell a 100 million yuan package to offer discounted movie tickets? The original ticket price was 35 yuan, but with online seat selection through our Maoyan Movies app, you only need to pay 9.9 yuan, or even 6.9 yuan or 3.9 yuan. Don't you think audiences would be tempted?

The meeting room erupted in a buzz of discussion as the theater managers began to murmur amongst themselves.

"If a movie costs 3.9 yuan, how much will the cinemas get?"

"Of course it's the same as before! The ticket subsidies are provided by Maoyan, and the revenue sharing between the theaters and cinemas is still based on the ticket prices of 35 and 40 yuan. The money that the audience spends less of is naturally coming out of my pocket."

"This amount of money will be very large."

"My determination to develop Maoyan Movies is even stronger!"

Shen Qing then looked at Chen Zhixi and asked, "If I wanted to allocate two or three hundred million yuan annually to subsidize moviegoers, could our company afford it?"

Chen Zhixi said, "Even if we stop making money from now on, it shouldn't be a problem to subsidize it for three to five years."

Shen Qing's movies are a cash cow, how could they not make money?

"That's good!" Shen Qing said firmly.

The entire conference room was unusually lively.

You can play it like this?

Then everyone started to have a heated debate in small groups. After a while, they suddenly realized that Shen Qing's film wouldn't need subsidies.

Given Shen Qing's fame and influence, his movies are all super blockbusters with extremely strong appeal. Even without subsidies, just the "perk" of watching Shen Qing's blockbusters a week or two in advance is enough to make audiences flock to them. If there were subsidies as well—Shen Qing would definitely make this happen!

Regardless of whether they can persist or how long they can persist, they will definitely create a buzz in the early stages.

Now that Shen Qing is so determined, how can theater chains and cinemas that don't cooperate expect to have a good outcome?

It seems Shen Qing won't act like Zhang Weiping: "If you don't agree to this or that, like increasing the revenue share, I won't let you screen my movie." That would offend everyone.

Shen Qing's approach is to not punish, but only reward. However, when the box office of the preview screenings reaches hundreds of millions, wouldn't the theaters that did not receive the preview screening rewards be punished?

The theaters that got the preview screening rights for "Hurricane 3" raked in 2 million yuan in box office revenue in advance, while the theaters that didn't get the preview screening rights could only watch helplessly. The living example is right in front of us. Who isn't afraid of ending up like those few theaters? Not only did their share of the revenue increase to 46%, but they didn't get any benefits at all!

"I'll go back and talk to all the cinemas under my management—one by one!"

"So are we."

"And we are here too."

The voices of theater managers rose and fell in the conference room, with almost everyone eager to participate.

"You were really awesome just now."

After the meeting ended and the theater managers had left, Fan Bingbing hugged Shen Qing's arm happily.

"Is there?"

"have!"

"real?"

"Of course it's true. That plan to spend hundreds of millions to invite people to watch movies is really too domineering."

"No problem."

从8月14日至8月21日，《飓3》在国内市场再拿3.7亿票房，至此影片内地总票房增长——

Up to 8.1 million.

The film has been in theaters for 15 days since its preview screenings began on August 8, or 10 days if we only count the theatrical release.

Meanwhile, its box office figures for its second weekend in North America also came back, with a total of $2830 million earned over the three-day weekend. Including the box office from Monday to Thursday of this week, as well as the box office from last weekend, its total box office in North America has officially surpassed the $1 million mark, reaching $1.068 million, and its global box office (excluding Greater China) is $1.85 million.

The film performed well at the box office in Hong Kong and Taiwan, and with the box office in Greater China, the film's global cumulative box office has officially surpassed the $3 million mark.

After 10 days of global release, the film has grossed over $3 million, a very respectable achievement.

However, one thing is certain: its box office performance in China will never surpass that of "Lost in Thailand".

The film "Lucy" is about to start filming. Before leaving Beijing, Shen Qing made a special trip to meet with the Maoyan Movies team. At this time, their number of people had exceeded that of the long-established Shenqi Film and Television Media, reaching 50 people.

I gave the Maoyan team some encouragement, and then I paid attention to the casting of "Empresses in the Palace".

Most of the actors that Shen Qing had previously suggested were retained, which Zheng Xiaolong found hard to believe.

For example, Jiang Xin, who played Consort Hua, was originally very unwilling by Zheng Xiaolong, but since Shen Qing specifically requested her, he still gave her an audition opportunity, and Jiang Xin's performance was really outstanding.

Sun Li's audition performance also surprised Zheng Xiaolong.

There are many other similar cases.

Before filming began for "Lucy", Shen Qing also kept an eye on the post-production progress of "City of Rock", "Breakup Buddies" and "The Great Wall". "City of Rock" finished filming the latest, but its post-production was completed the earliest, which was just in time for its October release. "Breakup Buddies" and "The Great Wall" had both entered the final stages of finishing, and there shouldn't be any problem with their release before the end of the year.