Huayu: This producer has no bottom line.

Chapter 149 The things that need to be done cannot be stopped.

Not right.

Friday is a workday, but it's also the start of the weekend.

Moreover, the number of screenings has increased, so today's box office should not be less than 500 million.

Ren Pingsheng quickly accessed the China Film Data Information Network and retrieved the national box office figures for that day.

After watching it, I leaned back in my chair.

It's not a problem with "Lost in Thailand," because "Prince of Persia," which was just surpassed by it, also flopped.

Daily box office revenue plummeted from 480 million the previous day to just over 200 million.

Iron Man 2, which is already in its final countdown to being taken off the screens, fared even worse, with sales of less than 10,000 copies, making it no different from not having been released at all.

The national box office evaporated by nearly 40% overnight.

Ren Pingsheng's fingers stopped on the table.

What could possibly cause a nationwide audience to simultaneously turn away from the cinema?

He picked up his phone and opened Weibo.

A screen full of green football fields.

"2010 South Africa World Cup Grand Opening"

"Opening match: South Africa 1-1 Mexico"

"Argentina vs. Nigeria tonight at 22:00" —

World Cup.

Ren Pingsheng closed his eyes and rubbed his face.

How could I have forgotten about this?

Actually, it's not that he forgot.

This is a black swan event that is unprecedented and will never be repeated in the history of Chinese cinema.

He has no memory of that at all.

This World Cup, running from June 11th to July 11th, has a time difference that is extremely favorable for Chinese viewers.

In 2010, smartphones were not yet widespread in China, and the only option for watching the World Cup was television.

In an era of limited entertainment, when the world's number one sport's grandest event appeared on television screens, no film could compete with them for viewership.

Men don't go to the movies, women have no one to accompany them, couples' dates turn into watching sports together, and family outings are even more impossible because Dad has to watch the game.

Throughout June, movie theaters will be deserted.

Why did no one anticipate the World Cup's impact on box office revenue?

Because there was no precedent to follow.

During the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup, the annual box office of the Chinese film market was only 900 million yuan, and the number of screens was less than 2,000. The base was too small, so there was no difference whether or not there was a World Cup.

The 06 FIFA World Cup in Germany had matches concentrated in the late night and early morning hours, which coincided with the opening hours of cinemas, so the impact was minimal.

By the time of the 14 Brazil World Cup, the time difference was similar to that of South Africa, but by then mobile internet had already taken off, and you could watch the games on your phone. The World Cup and movies were no longer an either-or choice.

As for the 18 Russia and 22 Qatar World Cup, they are the two tournaments that Ren Pingsheng remembers most clearly. At that time, short video and live streaming platforms had already turned watching the games into a fragmented activity.

You can scroll through Douyin (TikTok) and watch a goal highlight reel, or go watch a movie and not interfere with each other.

Therefore, in his past life's professional memories, the World Cup was never something that required special attention; in fact, many blockbusters specifically chose to release during the World Cup.

Unfortunately, in 2010, the time difference was just right, and mobile internet was also absent, creating a disastrous release window that could not be replicated.

Ren Pingsheng finally understood why this highly acclaimed film in his previous life only earned 3700 million yuan before it was hastily concluded.

It's not that the movie is bad, it's just that its fate was too tragic.

In June, God closed the doors of cinemas across China.

Ren Pingsheng leaned back in his chair, rubbing his temples as he began to calculate just how ugly this debt really was.

During the month of the World Cup, the market shrank by at least 30% to 40%.

By the end of June and the beginning of July, a bunch of big-budget blockbusters with big IPs, such as "Toy Story 3", "The Karate Kid", "Triple Tap", "Shrek Forever After", and "Knight and Day", will be released in quick succession, making the summer movie season extremely competitive.

By then, how many screenings will a domestic comedy that has already been showing for five or six weeks still have left?

Just look at what happened to Iron Man 2.

In other words, the effective box office window for "Lost in Thailand" has now entered its countdown.

Ren Pingsheng stared at the film schedule, extinguishing the last glimmer of hope in his heart.

A small goal of 100 million for my first work?

It's impossible.

He reopened EceI and pulled up the data.

After 7 days of release, the film has grossed approximately 2500 million yuan.

In the coming month, the average daily box office will most likely drop below 200 million, sometimes reaching 300 million, and sometimes less than 100 million.

Optimistically, this month could bring in another 3500 to 4000 million.

The total box office will most likely fall between 6000 and 7000 million.

The production company will receive 36% of the revenue, approximately 2000 to 2500 million yuan, after deducting 320 million yuan for marketing and distribution.

The remaining profit accounts for 70% of the total, which translates to between 1176 million and 1526 million.

After deducting the buyout expenditure of 800 million, the net profit is approximately 500 million.

Including the 800 million online copyrights already sold, as well as subsequent overseas distribution and audio-visual products, the overall profit could reach nearly 150 million.

0 million.

A return rate exceeding 100% would be considered excellent in any normal investment project.

But for the perspective of his life at this moment, it is far from enough.

Because there are too many places to spend money.

《鬼吹灯》7月1日前要付2100万启动金，《失恋33天》的500万投资款下个礼拜一就要支付。

Although they acquired an 8% stake in Guevara, the group-buying war intensified, with Meituan, Lashou, and Wowo burning money like mad dogs.

If he wants to keep his 8% stake from being diluted, or even make additional investments at crucial moments to gain more say, he must have a steady stream of cash flow.

Ren Pingsheng closed the notebook and let out a long sigh.

The dream of a 100 million yuan box office has been shattered.

But what's done is done, and the World Cup won't end prematurely because of his change of heart.

My lifelong dream of achieving my small goal with my first theatrical release has fallen through, so be it.

Since we can't attack, we'll defend.

He picked up his phone and called Zhang Wenbo first.

"Mr. Zhang, stop all additional advertising in traditional media."

Zhang Wenbo on the other end of the phone was visibly taken aback. "Stop? Director Ren, now's the time to really push things out! The screenings are just starting to pick up!"

"World Cup."

Those three words struck, and Zhang Wenbo fell silent.

"I've done the calculations. No matter how much money we spend on advertising over the next month, we can't compete with the World Cup for players. Instead of wasting money, we should save it."

"What about offline activities? Will the 'Lost in Thailand' package continue?"

"We'll deliver the materials until they're all gone; no more will be added." Ren Pingsheng's tone was crisp and decisive. "We've already broken even; the rest is pure profit. There's no need to throw money at an uncertain increase."

There was a few seconds of silence on Zhang Wenbo's end. "Understood. I'll have the teams in various locations scale back."

After hanging up Zhang Wenbo, Ren Pingsheng transferred the money to Huang Qunfei.

"Mr. Huang, I'd like to discuss the film scheduling with you."

"Please go ahead, Mr. Ren."

"Over the next month, the attendance at prime-time screenings won't be good, but afternoon and evening screenings have a better chance. What I mean is, could we have representatives from various regions communicate with the theaters to see if they could allocate some of their prime-time screening slots to more afternoon and 6:7 pm screenings?"

This request is somewhat unconventional. Normally, film studios fight tooth and nail for prime-time slots; why would they voluntarily give them up?

But Huang Qunfei was an old hand; he figured it out in a second.

The dismal attendance at prime-time screenings during the World Cup is a headache for theater managers. Rather than embarrassing themselves by stubbornly occupying prime-time slots, they might as well take a step back and secure more screenings during less competitive times.

The total amount remains the same, and may even be more.

"President Ren has thought this through very well," Huang Qunfei chuckled. "I'll handle the coordination."

After making the two calls, Ren Pingsheng threw his phone on the table.

The publicity campaign has shifted from offensive to defensive, saving money wherever possible and picking up the scraps whenever possible.

For a film bought to make money, empty titles and honors are meaningless; preserving profits is the real priority.

As for which number "Lost in Thailand" will ultimately land on, that's up to fate.

But he can't stop.

The World Cup froze the film market for a month, but he still had a ton of things to do.

In BaseFX's studio, Xie Ning pushed a 30-second special effects sample in front of Ren Pingsheng.

In the image, raindrops hang suspended in mid-air, each droplet reflecting a faint light. Young Li Xianji is frozen in a gesture of reaching out, while the world behind him continues to move.

"The final solution is to combine live-action footage with keyframe CG and digital matte painting," Xie Ning pointed to the screen. "The problem of solving the fluid particles has been solved. Look at the trajectory of these raindrops; there are slight tremors. They are not perfectly still, so it won't give us away."

Ren Pingsheng leaned closer to take a look.

The texture is right. It's not the kind of fake CG floating that's obvious at a glance, but a real pause with gravity, inertia, and changes in light and shadow.

"How much?"

"The final figure comes to 62."

"It's 12 more than what you reported before."

Xie Ning shrugged. "There are a few more scenes to add, which you requested yourself."

Ren Pingsheng didn't hesitate. "Okay, the balance will be in your account tomorrow."

The post-production special effects for "Li Xianji" were his last major concern.

Now that this issue has been resolved, the next steps involve Li Yang's animation segment, as well as sound design and final synthesis.

Based on the current progress, there should be no problem completing the final cut of the entire film by early July, just in time for the July 20th deadline for submitting the Youth Image Project film.

After leaving Xie Ning's place, Ren Pingsheng got into a taxi. Looking at the street scene rushing past the window, his mind had already turned to something else.

Ghost Blows Out the Light.

搜狐那边的7500万已经确认，第一笔20%的立项启动金1500万，7月1日前到帐。

However, Shengping sees his share as 35%, with an initial investment of 21 million, which also needs to be paid out before July 1st.

With 20 million in the account, after paying 5 million for "Love is Not Blind", only 15 million is left. The 8 million copyright fee from iQiyi has been contracted, but it will take at least two to three weeks from the approval process to the payment, and it is very likely that the money will not arrive before July 1.

Time difference.

Ren Pingsheng closed his eyes and mentally reviewed all the cash flows.

The box office revenue sharing for "Lost in Thailand" will not be received for another six months, which is not enough to solve the immediate problem.

Dapeng Baike's commercial performance income this month may bring in several hundred thousand yuan, but it's just a drop in the bucket.

The customized drama series for Changyou has been settled.

The only large sum of cash that could arrive before the beginning of July was this eight million.

He had to get Gong Yu to speed up the process.

But the real problem is that the massive project "Ghost Blows Out the Light," with a budget of 3 million yuan, simply cannot be supported by Sohu and Shengping Vision alone.

The original plan was to bring up the achievements of "Lost in Thailand" and "Li Xianji" to make the negotiation.

Now...

"We should think of a new way to drag China Film Group and Wanda Group into this."

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