Huayu: King of Kung Fu

By May 1999, except for Taiwan, Ong-Bak had been screened in all Asian markets.

其中中国大陆1200万美元、中国香港360万美元、新马合记260万美元、日本800万美元、韩国200万美元，其他国家约50万美元。

All in all, Ong-Bak grossed $2870 million in Asia.

It far surpassed the $2000 million global box office of Tony Jaa's "Ong-Bak" in the original timeline.

This is the overwhelming advantage of Chinese-language films compared to Thai films!

Tony Jaa's Ong-Bak was certainly well-made, breaking box office records in Thailand.

Even so, the Thai domestic market only provided him with $250 million in box office revenue.

Lin Hu, on the other hand, earned $1200 million in mainland China alone.

Coupled with traditional Chinese-language film markets such as Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, and South Korea, Lin Hu's box office performance far surpassed that of Tony Jaa.

Given the strong performance of the Asian market, James hopes that Ong-Bak will be released on a larger scale in North America.

Instead of relying on independent theaters and Chinatown markets like traditional Chinese-language films, it chose to release them through independent cinemas.

So James began frequently flying to the West Coast to seek distribution opportunities in Hollywood.

He even hoped to take Lin Hu to meet Hollywood producers.

James hoped that Lin Hu could use this opportunity to break into Hollywood and become the next Chen Long.

So, they made a fortune from Ong-Bak 2, which they had a stake in.

In the past, he certainly wouldn't have thought of helping a Chinese person successfully break into Hollywood.

But in recent years, Chen Long's performance in Hollywood has been too strong.

Starting in 1996, Chen Long's films "Rumble in the Bronx", "Police Story 3", "Mr. Nice Guy", "Drunken Master II", "Police Story 4", "Twin Dragons", and "Operation Condor" were released in the United States.

These are all older films that have already been released on DVD in North America.

But each of them still grossed over ten million US dollars, with a total box office of over one hundred million US dollars.

After Chen Long, Jet Li also got his chance. He first played a supporting role in "Lethal Weapon 4", and then he landed a leading role in the action film "Romeo Must Die".

However, Romeo Must Die hasn't been released yet, so not many people know about him.

If Chen Long and Li Lianjie can become leading actors in Hollywood, why can't Lin Hu?

……

Lin Hu wasn't particularly interested in meeting with Hollywood producers at the moment.

He's not famous now, and those old-timers in Hollywood won't take him seriously. Going there would only be humiliating for him.

Jet Li was offered a supporting role in Lethal Weapon 4, and the initial offer was $100 million.

At that time, Jet Li's film salary in Asia had reached HK$20 million, so US$1 million was considered a 50% reduction.

He initially disagreed, but after some hesitation, he agreed in order to get into Hollywood.

When the other party saw that he had agreed too quickly, they immediately changed their mind and lowered the price, saying, "You'll do it? Then it'll be 50."

This was utterly humiliating, but in order to get his ticket to Hollywood, Jet Li swallowed his pride and accepted it.

Lin Hu had no intention of swallowing his anger, as it would damage his reputation.

In China, he could do all sorts of outrageous things without any problem, like going to university just to pick up girls.

He's willing for the sake of sexual happiness!

But that won't work abroad!

James arranged to meet with a Hollywood producer, asking Lin Hu to go instead. Lin Hu refused and advised James not to rush things.

Just then, another piece of good news arrived.

After being acquired by Luc Besson's EuropaCorp, Ong-Bak was heavily promoted and released in France in May, where it grossed $300 million in its opening weekend and received positive reviews.

This means that Ong-Bak's total box office in France will definitely not be less than $800 million.

Lin Hu was not surprised that Ong-Bak was a big hit in France.

The original Ong-Bak grossed $640 million in France.

France is the world's third-largest film market and also the most inclusive film market in the world.

Any movie can be shown in France and still achieve great box office success.

Chinese-language films often achieve great box office success in France, and Bruce Lee was a box office king in France.

Later, Ang Lee, Zhang Yimou, and Wong Kar-wai also achieved great box office success in France.

Wong Kar-wai's "In the Mood for Love" grossed over $1000 million at the French box office.

If Tony Jaa can get $640 million in France, Lin Hu should get $1000 million.

He felt 800 million was a bit too little.

The news of Ong-Bak's huge success in France caused a stir at independent production companies in New York.

What does it mean to make a movie that cost only $40 to produce and grossed over $3000 million worldwide?

Ang Lee's "The Wedding Banquet" had the highest global return in 1993, but it only turned $75 into $3200 million.

Ong-Bak hasn't finished its global run yet; it has a chance to gross $5000 million worldwide.

New York is the headquarters of European film capital in North America. Once the box office of "Ong-Bak" in France was good, the copyright could be sold in New York without having to go to Europe.

A movie that sweeps the film market is a lucrative opportunity, and Good Machine Company got there first, securing the distribution rights for "Ong-Bak," making a killing.

Now it's James's turn to shine. He's busy negotiating with various European and American companies every day.

He used to go to Hollywood to find people, but now he doesn't need to go anymore; he can get things done sitting in New York.

The success in the French market means that it is very likely to succeed in other European and American markets as well, and the balance of power has shifted.

……

Lin Hu didn't bother with selling the copyrights, since the distributor had already provided good machines.

He was single-mindedly focused on making his film, which featured more and more complex fight scenes than the first one.

Lin Hu no longer only used Angquan, but also used more boxing styles such as Hungquan and Bajiquan.

There was even a fight scene where he specifically demonstrated Bruce Lee's Jeet Kune Do.

There was also a battle between Chinese Kung Fu and Brazilian Capoeira, with the two fighting in the water, which was extremely effective.

They even invited Chang Wei, who was working in Hollywood at the time, to fight against him.

Zou Zhaolong used a knife technique, while Lin Hu used swordsmanship; their duel was extremely fierce.

In fact, if Lin Hu had wanted to, he could have won more gold medals at the 8th National Games, and the fencing championship would have been a given.

However, he rose to prominence too late, winning all the cards in just over a year, which was too incredible.

Therefore, three medals were chosen, which is a good result but also within reason, and not an outrageous number of medals.

Filming was progressing smoothly, and the rights to Ong-Bak were selling like hotcakes.

While filming, Lin Hu was also making a fortune, quickly earning over three million US dollars and becoming financially well-off again.

That day, James brought good news: the North American rights to Ong-Bak had been sold to Universal for $150 million.

Universal's promise is to release Ong-Bak on a scale of no less than 1000 theaters!

Lin Hu had previously told James that he would rather ask for less money, but the issuance scale must be guaranteed.

Lin Hu was fairly satisfied with the outcome James had discussed, considering he was just a newcomer; it was already quite good.

With this, Ong-Bak will finally be released in the world's largest market.