In a spacious hotel suite, Zuo shandiao sat on the sofa, gently rubbing his forehead still aching from a hangover. After last night’s premiere, the China Film Group, as the distributor, had specially hosted a reception party. Inevitably, he drank more than a few cups with colleagues from across the Pacific. But ti waits for no one; no matter how well he tolerated alcohol, he still felt unwell upon waking the next day.
Approaching retirent age, with little chance of climbing higher, Zuoshandiao was very clear about this. In the few remaining years he had left, what he most wanted was to lead China Film Group out to break free from the embarrassing situation of only being respected within the dostic market.
Since he was in this industry, of course he wanted to leave his own indelible mark.
He also hoped that when insiders ntioned his na in the future, they would give a thumbs up.
Hollywood was undoubtedly the best partner for China Film Group to expand overseas, but he knew the terrifying exclusivity of the North Arican film market and did not fantasize that Chinese films could easily break in and rake in hundreds of millions of dollars in box office revenue.
That was just wishful thinking and brought no benefit to the country’s film industry.
Therefore, cooperating with Hollywood companies was currently the wisest choice—for example, this cooperation with Warner Brothers and Duke Rosenberg.
In this collaboration, China Film Group not only invested its own funds into Hollywood but also successfully had two Chinese actors appear in mainstream Hollywood blockbusters. Although they only had a few seconds of screen ti playing minor roles like extras, it was still a good start.
Though older and less interested in climbing further, Zuo shandiao still harbored so ambition and wished to see the Chinese film industry rise.
"Using others’ chickens to lay my own eggs..."
He tapped his forehead with his right index finger and muttered to himself, "This thod has already proven effective."
Of course, whether China Film Group’s step toward internationalization would succeed ultimately depended on the box office performance of Transforrs.
As a leader in the industry, Zuo shandiao knew very well that for the film industry to rise, it was not about winning awards at Cannes, Berlin, or Venice international film festivals. After all, haven’t there been many Chinese films winning awards internationally in recent years? Did those help the whole industry?
And what kind of films were those award winners? They usually showcased the unfinished aspects of their own countries to please foreigners!
"Making films that expose your country’s flaws to be laughed at by foreigners are those even Chinese directors?"
Sotis, Zuo shandiao really wanted to ask those people face-to-face. That’s why he strongly supported banning such films from public release.
In his view, if the authorities had any sense, they wouldn’t allow such movies to be publicly screened.
Such films brought no benefit at all to the developnt of the Chinese film industry. Even if publicly screened, they wouldn’t attract many viewers. For the industry to develop, it needs capital and market. If a film can’t even guarantee basic box office success, how could it attract investnt?
The film industry beca market-oriented decades ago, turning films into commodities. Ultimately, it must rely on market performance.
Sitting on the sofa, Zuo shandiao waited patiently. He knew the dostic market had just started and wouldn’t grow as quickly as North Arica.
After about half an hour, there was a sharp knock on the door. Zuo shandiao’s assistant entered.
"Boss. The latest statistics."
The assistant strode over and handed Zuo shandiao a docunt. Zuoshandiao glanced at it, and his eyes lit up.
"As expected from a Duke Rosenberg movie!"
Even he couldn’t help but smile when seeing this box office number, breaking records in the tough Chinese market.
He knew there were dissenters inside the group—many deliberately downplayed China Film Group’s investnt in Transforrs. This box office figure was enough to silence those idiots.
According to estimates from theaters, the midnight screening box office of Transforrs would not be less than 4 million RMB, surpassing last year’s The Dark Knight with 3.56 million, creating a new dostic midnight screening box office record.
Another important point: the overall attendance rate for the midnight screening exceeded 70%!
And this was the dostic market, not North Arica.
Zuoshandiao fully understood that as an erging film market, dostic audiences were not used to midnight screenings. The number of people actually attending midnight showings was small, nowhere near the quarter or even a third of the opening day’s box office as seen in so North Arican movies.
Putting down the docunt, Zuoshandiao asked his assistant, who had been standing to the side, "How’s the screening situation today?"
The assistant adjusted his glasses slightly, perked up, and reported seriously, "According to the latest information, from today onward, over 90% of screening slots in major theaters in Shanghai have been allocated to Transforrs. This morning, the 3D versions of Transforrs at Yonghua Cinema, Huanyi Cinema, U Xintiandi Cinema, Century Shanghai Cinema, Wanyu Cinema, and others in Shanghai all announced full attendance. The Shanghai IMAX 3D versions at Heping Cinema and International Cinema were even sold out, with tickets hard to co by."
Seeing his boss nod with satisfaction, the assistant continued, "Nationwide, although Transforrs only launched at midnight last night, its screening situation is also very promising."
Recalling what he saw before coming, he said, "Many northern theaters reported that the midnight premiere sessions of Transforrs were fully booked, with even the 3 a.m. sessions reaching over 60% attendance. In southern regions, for example, at Hangzhou Wanda’s IMAX theater, the advance ticket sales already reached 1.5 million RMB—a record-breaking number. Many theater managers said the viewing craze brought by Transforrs will keep heating up, and they expect the weekend to usher in a viewing peak."
Although June 1st yesterday wasn’t a holiday, it was a Sunday. Zuoshandiao originally thought that even if Transforrs was popular, the peak would have to wait until the weekend, but he didn’t expect such a hot trend to appear on a Monday.
"Get things moving quickly..." Zuoshandiao instructed, "If the film can break records, I want to make sure it gets a renewal key."
"Yes." The assistant nodded.
In fact, what the assistant said was still on the conservative side. The enthusiasm after the official release far exceeded this.
Shijingshan Wanda, located in the western part of the capital, is Asia’s first cinema equipped with digital IMAX, making it one of the preferred theaters for Transforrs fans. By around 4 p.m. yesterday, tickets for all versions of Transforrs were already sold out.
By 7:30 a.m. today, before the cinema even opened, there were already viewers knocking to request early ticket purchases. The Shijingshan Wanda Cinema schedules six daily screenings of Transforrs in the IMAX hall, and tickets remain extrely hard to get.
On a popular movie forum, soone offered an additional 200 yuan to buy an IMAX 3D ticket for Transforrs that night but received no response. anwhile, soone selling a 3D version ticket for that night at a 20-yuan markup sold it within five minutes.
So fans even complained that buying Transforrs tickets now is almost like buying train tickets during the Spring Festival travel rush.
In addition, all cinemas in the capital have canceled the Tuesday discount policy for the 3D version of Transforrs.
In June, whether in the south or the north, the weather is already very hot, but the enthusiasm of the audience for watching far exceeds the heat of the air.
The Warner and China Film joint venture’s central cinema in the capital had a 100% attendance rate at the midnight premiere, and even the 3 a.m. screening reached 65% occupancy.
At the Xidan New Capital Cinema, only a single-digit number of ticket holders gave up watching the midnight screening. By the morning session today, the attendance rate reached 80%, with full houses starting from the afternoon, and evening tickets had been sold out three days ago.
Regarding Broadway Cinemas, the midnight screenings across several theaters only reached 60% occupancy, but attendance began to approach full houses starting this afternoon.
At the Dongguan IMAX cinema, reputed to be the largest in Asia by area, presales for Transforrs reached 3.2 million RMB.
"With Transforrs coming from Cybertron, there’s no need to watch any other Earth movies," joked an industry insider here.
Regarding scheduling, Transforrs has an overwhelming advantage. In the Shanghai area alone, 66 cinemas are showing it in 3,244 screenings, surpassing the total screenings of all other films combined. The second-ranked film has fewer than 300 screenings, which is less than one-tenth of Transforrs’ screenings.
The crazy audiences, extrely high scheduling rates, and sufficient screen numbers all guarantee Transforrs’ box office success on its first day in China.
Due to the ti difference, Transforrs actually premiered earlier here than in North Arica, making Chinese audiences among the first in the world to see the film.
By Tuesday, all cinemas had canceled the regular Tuesday discounts for the 3D and IMAX 3D versions of Transforrs. The box office and flood of viewers from yesterday gave cinemas ample confidence.
Preliminary estimates show that Transforrs’ midnight premiere plus Monday’s full-day box office exceeded 35 million RMB. Driven by Transforrs, Monday’s total dostic box office hit a historic peak of over 37 million RMB.
At the sa ti, thanks to extensive promotion and the herd ntality, audiences’ "thirst" for the 3D version of Transforrs is exceptionally strong. Many fans line up early in the morning to buy tickets.
In this hot season, there are crowds as packed as during the Spring Festival travel rush, only the stations and airports have been replaced by cinemas.
To welco Transforrs and allow more dostic audiences to enjoy the visual feast of 3D, many cinemas have actively prepared to increase digital 3D equipnt in recent months. By the eve of the film’s release, there were about 700 3D screens nationwide, and nearly 20 IMAX cinemas.
However, facing the surging crowd enthusiasm, supply is simply unable to et demand.
....
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