Huayu: King of Kung Fu

The box office success of a film is often the result of a combination of favorable timing, location, and people.

The quality of the film itself is not the decisive factor.

If a film is released during a social hot topic that ignites public sentiment, its box office revenue often experiences explosive growth.

Wu Jing's "Wolf Warrior 2" broke box office records precisely because it ignited the audience's patriotic sentiments.

Therefore, the primary task of making movies is actually to follow social hot topics.

However, the film production cycle is too long, while hot topics often flash by and are difficult to grasp.

After Bona Film Group's "Operation Red Sea" reaped huge profits, Yu Donggua continued with "Operation Jiaolong," but the social environment changed, and the film flopped at the box office, a bloody lesson.

Lin Hu's film "Ong-Bak 2" uses the template of "Tom Yum Goong".

He changed the plot of Tony Jaa's rampage in Australia to his rampage in the United States, originally intending to replicate the route of "Rumble in the Bronx" to break into Hollywood.

However, his move coincided with a period of intense public interest in the embassy incident.

The bombing of the embassy was a great humiliation for countless Chinese people, but they were powerless to do anything about it.

When Ong-Bak 2 was released, it was instantly dubbed "Tiger 2" because of the scenes in the movie where the characters beat up the Americans.

Countless viewers felt incredibly relieved and exhilarated watching Lin Hu beat up the Americans in the movie theater, finally venting their pent-up frustrations.

After watching it, they were still eager for more and invited their friends and companions to watch it as well.

Once word-of-mouth spread, tickets became extremely difficult to obtain in major cities, with long queues of people waiting to buy them.

At the Peace Cinema, the largest cinema in Shanghai, the queue to buy tickets stretched for half a street.

"This scene is just like when people used to buy stock subscription certificates, with people lining up as early as three or four in the morning."

A Shanghai resident who works near the Peace Cinema described it this way in front of a reporter.

Many office workers queue up to ask for leave, but they are quickly turned away.

Someone complained in front of the reporters who came to interview them: "They sold out in less than half an hour. I took half a day off to queue up for nothing."

The same applies to Beijing; some people queue for hours in the sweltering heat, but still might not be able to buy a ticket.

One student said that it took him three days to successfully buy a ticket.

Left with no other option, the Capital Cinema began preselling movie tickets for half a month in advance.

As a result, after the pre-sale began, at least two thousand people lined up in front of the ticket windows...

Faced with such a booming scene, scalpers couldn't sit still, and tickets for prime-time movies were being resold for 50 yuan each, up from 15 yuan.

Newspapers across the country have given extensive coverage to the phenomenal success of "War Tiger 2".

The Capital Morning Post: Tickets are in high demand and the movie-going craze in Beijing has reached its peak once again!

Xinmin Evening News: Surpassing the Titanic phenomenon! Shanghai residents queue overnight to grab tickets for Ong-Bak 2!

Chutian Metropolis Daily: Cinemas in Wuhan are packed to capacity as the nation enthusiastically embraces "Ong-Bak 2," showcasing Chinese style!

Yangcheng Evening News: Expedited film prints and soaring box office: "Ong-Bak 2" sets a new record in Chinese film history...

This situation was somewhat unexpected, not only for China Film Group, but even for Lin Hu.

He knew he would reap some patriotic benefits, but he never expected to get so much.

After all, it wasn't a patriotic film he made; it just had a scene involving fighting Americans.

China Film Group is working overtime to develop and print copies; the original 100 copies are simply not enough.

So, following the scale of Titanic, they increased it to three hundred at once.

In addition, hundreds of ticket inspectors were dispatched across the country to strictly investigate box office fraud in cinemas across the country.

The box office performance of "Tiger 2" is absolutely phenomenal. In just half a month since its release, it has already grossed 200 million yuan, and it is only a matter of time before it catches up with "Titanic"'s 360 million yuan.

……

In a hotel, Lin Hu held Zhou Xun in his arms, looking at the news about "War Tiger 2" on TV with a worried expression.

The phenomenal success of "Tiger Warrior 2" has attracted countless people eager to invest in Lin Hu's new film, with the Lin family's doorstep practically being worn down by visitors.

Others tried various channels and methods to contact Lin Hu.

Unable to bear the harassment any longer, he had no choice but to retreat to a hotel.

Zhou Xun is busy filming all day, so this is a time she took to spend with him.

Zhou Xun nestled in Lin Hu's arms, stroking the stubble on his chin, and asked, "Why don't you seem happy at all?"

Lin Hu said expressionlessly, "You've really stolen the show this time!"

Zhou Xun understood Lin Hu's concerns. Lin Hu had become a tempting target for profit, with countless people wanting to take advantage of him.

But Lin Hu had no background or foundation, making him easily manipulated.

Zhou Xun comforted him, saying, "If all else fails, go abroad for a while. You can do what Brother Chen Long did and go to Hollywood to make movies!"

"Breaking into Hollywood takes time, and besides, I can't give up on the domestic market. I'll try collaborating with China Film Group first!"

Lin Hu's plan is: if "Ong-Bak 2" can successfully enter the North American market with the help of Universal, then he will alternate between making one domestic film and one Hollywood film.

Domestic films aim to consolidate the domestic and Asia-Pacific markets, while Hollywood films target the entire international market.

After breaking into the international market, he became undoubtedly the number one actor from mainland China.

With this international influence, it can be considered as having a protective charm.

Of course, being just an action star is too simplistic.

Lin Hu also plans to expand into the domestic entertainment industry and build an entertainment group, which is another safeguard.

As time progressed into 1999, several well-known private film and television companies, such as Zhang Weiping's New Pictures, the two Wangs' Huayi, Yu Donggua's Bona, and Wang Changtian's Enlight Media, began to emerge.

However, apart from New Pictures and Huayi Brothers, Bona Film Group and Enlight Media have not yet entered the film production business. Bona Film Group is engaged in film distribution, while Enlight Media is engaged in television program production.

After determining the production direction, Lin Hu began to incorporate artist management into his business scope.

This is basically following in the footsteps of Chen Long, who also has a talent agency in Hong Kong.

At its peak, more than half of Hong Kong's most popular artists were in Chen Long's company, such as Cheung Suet-yau and Maggie Cheung...

Lin Hu's first target for expanding his brokerage business is, of course, the most influential "Four Dan Double Ice Bun Tangyuan" of the millennium.

Of these nine people, Xun Ge'er and Yuan Yuan are already Lin Hu's people.

As for Zhao Yanzi, they didn't even give her the time of day when they asked her to act in a movie last time, and they didn't want her anymore.

After filming "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," Zhang Ziyi became an international star; she worked in Hollywood.

Tang Wei is a porn star, forget it.

Liu Baozi is still a little girl, we'll talk about that later.

Is Da Bingbing someone Hua Yi's person? Lin Hu wasn't really sure.

Let's lock in Little Ice Ice first!

Lin Hu didn't expect to bring all the talents under his command; that would be too bloated and he wouldn't be able to manage them all.

Having made up his mind, Lin Hu first asked someone to find out about Fan Binbin's recent situation.

It turns out that Fan Binbin has recently run into trouble.

She's in a lawsuit with Qiong Yao, trying to terminate her contract, and the termination fee is... one million!

This was undoubtedly a huge sum of money for Fan Binbin, who was still a newcomer, and she simply couldn't afford it.

Lin Hu thought to himself, "This is a good time. I'll help her solve the problem, and she'll sign with my company. It'll all fall into place."

Lin Hu called Fan Binbin, who was quite surprised: "Director Lin, why did you think of calling me?"

Lin Hu said on the phone, "I heard you've been in trouble lately?"

Fan Binbin was even more surprised: "How did you know?"

"I overheard this from someone. Let's meet and talk; maybe I can help you!"

"Really? I'm available anytime!"

Fan Binbin's voice was full of surprise. Lin Hu was a superstar, and if he was willing to help, his little problem was nothing at all.

Lin Hu hummed in agreement and said, "Then let's do it at eight o'clock tonight!"

Lin Hu gave him his hotel and room number, then added, "A lot of people have been looking for me lately, it's been quite a hassle, so please be discreet when you come!"

Fan Binbin never expected that Lin Hu would ask her to meet him in his hotel room, especially at night.

She hesitated for a moment, then gritted her teeth and said, "Okay, I'll be there on time!"