Chapter 411 Something is about to happen

It’s August now, and “Detective Chinatown 2” is in its second week of release.

Due to the explosive box office in the first week and the film's continued good reputation, as its fame spread, the performance of "Detective Chinatown 2" remained strong in the second week.

On Monday, due to being a workday, the box office fell from over 300 million, but still closed at 195 million. On Tuesday, it remained stable at 187 million.

The box office revenue of nearly 400 million yuan in two working days shocked everyone in the industry.

Everyone can see the shadow of "The Mermaid" at the beginning of the year in the box office trend of "Detective Chinatown 2".

Some movie box office prediction platforms have raised their predictions for the final box office of "Detective Chinatown 2", changing the initial 2.5 billion to 3 billion.

Now everyone is optimistic that "Detective Chinatown 2" will surpass "Monster Hunt" to become the second in domestic film history. As to whether it can catch up with "The Mermaid" and win the box office championship, it is still an unknown.

At this time, Gu Wei was very confident in his movie.

The original time and space Liu Haoran version of "Detective Chinatown 2" was released during the 2018 Spring Festival, at the same time as two other blockbuster movies "Monster Hunt 2" and "Operation Red Sea".

Even so, the original version of "Detective Chinatown 2" still achieved a good box office result of over 3 billion yuan.

The reason why [Detective Chinatown 2] was a big hit at the time was almost entirely due to the good foundation laid by the first [Detective Chinatown], coupled with Wang Baoqiang's fame and the advantage of the Spring Festival schedule.

In Gu Wei's version, the male lead has been changed to himself, who is much more famous and popular than Liu Haoran. The female lead has been changed from a little-known actress to the highly popular Liu Yifei, and the second female lead is also the current top female star Nazha.

Whether in terms of plot or fame of the actors, this version far surpasses Director Chen's version, and Gu Wei can't figure out why he lost.

The only slight difference might be that it was released a year and a half earlier, and that it was released during the summer vacation instead of the Spring Festival.

But this problem is not really that big. To be honest, in 2016, the hardware construction of the domestic film market has basically reached its peak. Cinemas are almost everywhere in the country, from super first-tier cities to third- and fourth-tier small towns.

The main reason affecting movie box office sales now is no longer that people can’t find a suitable cinema, but whether the audience is willing to go into the cinema to watch movies.

Another thing is that the summer season is not necessarily inferior to the Spring Festival season, because the upcoming movie "Wolf Warrior 2" with a box office of over 5 billion yuan was released in the summer season of 2017.

And now that "Detective Chinatown 2" is in theaters, there is not a single decent competitor around.

In the third week of its release, Jackie Chan's "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds" has seen its daily box office drop to around 20 million. "Investiture of the Gods" is even worse. On the fourth day of its release, its daily box office was only 25.4 million. By Tuesday, it had almost dropped below 20 million. The box office has been plummeting almost since the first day of its release.

"Detective Chinatown 2" almost dominates the market. The box office of a single movie has accounted for more than 60% of the national daily total box office for 6 consecutive days, and it seems that it will maintain this level for a long time.

"I'm sorry, Xiaolu, I'm currently in Tianjin with my team on a roadshow, and I won't be back in Beijing until next week at the earliest. I can't go to the premiere.

I’ll ask you out when we get back, and I’ll invite Brother Chao and Chen He along, so we can get together.”

After coming out of an event, Gu Wei received a call from Lu Han.

He was a little surprised at first, but after picking up the phone he found out that the movie "Grave Robbers' Chronicles" starring Lu Han would be released on Friday, and tomorrow was the premiere of the movie. Lu Han wanted to invite Gu Wei to attend.

Unfortunately, the entire process of Gu Wei and his team’s roadshow, including the dates and arrival dates for which cinemas in which cities, had been arranged in advance, so there was no time at all.

"Is there a movie coming out for Xiaolu?"

Nazha, who was sitting next to him, asked curiously when she heard Gu Wei answering the phone.

She just filmed "Fighter of the Destiny" with Lu Han in the first half of the year, and the two are quite familiar with each other.

Gu Wei nodded.

"Big IP [Grave Robbers' Chronicles], starring Xiaolu and Jing Boran"

As he was speaking, he received another message on his phone.

Gu Wei picked it up and saw that it was from Ma Sichun, inviting him to attend the premiere of "Grave Robbers' Chronicles".

Gu Wei scratched his head.

He didn't know much about the "Grave Robbers' Chronicles" starring Lu Han. He didn't know whether Jing Boran was the lead actor or not, as Lu Han had just told him on the phone. He didn't expect that Ma Sichun would also be involved in this clip.

[Left Ear] After leaving the film industry, Gu Wei was too busy with work and rarely had the chance to meet Ma Sichun and others. However, they still interacted with each other by sending WeChat messages and liking their Moments, and their relationship has always been good.

Last week, "Detective Chinatown 2" was a big hit at the box office, and Ma Sichun even called him to congratulate him.

Gu Wei didn't reply in a hurry, but checked the Internet for information about the recently released movies and "The Lost Tomb" starring Lu Han.

As expected, Ma Sichun plays the heroine "Aning" in the film. She has short hair on the poster and looks much more capable and dashing than the original "Li Bala".

After thinking about it, Gu Wei replied with a rejection WeChat message in a tactful tone.

"I just checked, and there are several new movies coming out this week, including 'Grave Robbers'. Will this have an impact on our movie's box office later in the week?"

Although she is familiar with Lu Han, Nazha is still most concerned about her own movies.

Gu Wei smiled.

"Don't worry. Even the film with Cheng Long and Li Lianjie didn't do well, let alone others. Even if it's Xiaolu's big IP "Grave Robbers' Chronicles", they should be thankful if the final box office can achieve the same results as our first week."

Gu Wei really didn't care. Although he had seen very few movies that would be released in August, he had the impression that none of them were big hits. Only "The Lost Tomb" performed well, but if he compared it with "Detective Chinatown 2", it would be a disgrace.

Capital city.

After Lu Han finished talking to Gu Wei, he shook his head at the film producer Zhang Zhao beside him.

Zhang Zhao patted Lu Han on the shoulder when he saw this.

"It's okay. I actually expected it. The crew of Detective Chinatown 2 has been on a roadshow recently, with news breaking every day. Asking you to call was just a trial run.

Originally, "Detective Chinatown 2" was a huge hit, and we wanted to leverage Gu Wei's fame to hype it up, but now he can't come, there's nothing we can do."

It turned out that Lu Han made the call at the producer's instruction.

They didn't know that the movie's heroine, Ma Sichun, had privately invited Gu Wei again.

"Mr. Zhang, our movie is quite popular right now, there's no need to piggyback on Gu Wei's fame."

Another leading actor in the room, Jing Boran, said somewhat unconvinced.

Because of Ni Ni, he didn't have a good impression of Gu Wei, but the gap between their current status and fame was too big, so even if he was dissatisfied with Gu Wei, he only dared to complain in private.

Zhang Zhao frowned when he heard this.

He was originally the president of Light Media. Later, he had disagreements with Wang Changtian and separated from Light Media. He was persuaded by Accountant Jia to join LeTV and is now the CEO of LeTV Media.

[Grave Robbers' Chronicles] is a film produced by LeTV Media.

Gu Wei already has a lot of traffic, and the recent popularity of "Detective Chinatown 2" has made him the focus of everyone's attention.

Zhang Zhao wanted to invite Gu Wei, on the one hand to get some attention, and on the other hand to show his attitude.

The market is big enough now, and he hopes to cooperate with Gu Wei for mutual benefit. If he can interact with "Detective Chinatown 2" during the promotion, then one point of promotion may have a tenfold effect.

But these words cannot be said to actors like Jing Boran.

He planned to call back and have a good chat with Gu Wei.

They are all bosses of big companies in the film and television industry. Although Weiming Tianxia is now competing fiercely with Light Media and Wanda, maybe one day they will cooperate with LeTV.

It’s the same old saying, there are no eternal friends, only eternal interests.

In the evening, after returning to the hotel, Gu Wei changed his clothes and took a shower. After coming out of the bathroom, he turned on the TV and hummed a song happily while wiping his head with a towel.

Since the premiere of "Detective Chinatown 2", he has been in a very good mood.

The doorbell suddenly rang.

Gu Wei wondered who would come so late at night. Because he was very busy with activities these days, Nazha didn't come to see him.

After all, most of the time they arrive at the hotel very late and have to get up early the next morning. Nazha is also a person who knows the importance of things, and she will take the time to rest in her room every day.

Walk to the door and open it.

Wang Baoqiang was standing outside the door wearing the same clothes he had worn during the day, his hair was a little messy and his eyes were red.

You should know that the crew returned to the hotel early today, and Gu Wei had already washed up, but it seemed that Wang Baoqiang didn't even change his clothes.

Seeing Gu Wei open the door, he forced a smile.

“Bao Qiang?

What's going on so late? "

Gu Wei asked doubtfully, and Wang Baoqiang was about to open his mouth.

"Come in and talk"

Gu Wei interrupted him and let Wang Baoqiang into the house.

"Please sit down first. I'll pour you a glass of water~"

"Director, don't bother."

Wang Baoqiang sat on the sofa in the living room. Gu Wei went to get him a cup of warm water and placed it in front of him, then sat down opposite him.

“Thank you, Director~”

Wang Baoqiang took the cup of water with both hands, took a sip, and his frown relaxed a little.

"Director, I'm sorry to come here so late to disturb your rest. I have two things to ask you."

As he spoke, Wang Baoqiang raised his head, his face full of worry and bloodshot eyes.

"Something happened at home, so I have to go back tomorrow and won't be able to finish the week with the crew.

Sorry, Director, I’m really sorry.”

Wang Baoqiang said this with an apologetic look on his face, and lowered his head again.

Gu Wei frowned when he heard this.

It’s not a big deal that Wang Baoqiang can’t continue to stay with the group. He is a little worried about the other party’s current condition. It seems that the worst case scenario in his mind is about to happen.

"It's okay, Baoqiang. From the production to the promotion of our film, you have been diligently completing every task. I have seen it all.

No matter how big the matter at home is, or if you have any difficulties, just let me know. I will never refuse to help as long as I can.

By the way, you said you were leaving tomorrow, have you booked your flight yet? If you’re in a hurry, you can take my private jet.”

After hearing what Gu Wei said, Wang Baoqiang raised his head, his face full of emotion.

“Thank you, Director. I have already bought the plane ticket.

But I do have something else to ask of you, and that is the second thing I have come to tell you today."

At this point, Wang Baoqiang opened his mouth, wanting to say something but didn't say it, as if he wanted to say something but hesitated.

"Baoqiang, we are not outsiders, just say whatever you want to say."

Seeing his condition, Gu Wei comforted him again.

Wang Baoqiang on the opposite side looked embarrassed, but finally gritted his teeth.

"Director, I... I want to borrow some money from you."

After saying this, Wang Baoqiang's face, which was originally a little dark, turned slightly red.

Gu Wei suddenly realized that he wanted to borrow money, which was why he was too embarrassed to say it out loud.

In the adult world, borrowing money is a big deal, both for the borrower and the borrower. If you are not careful, you may lose friends or even relatives.

"How much?"

Wang Baoqiang didn't expect Gu Wei to be so straightforward. He was still wondering whether he should tell him the truth if Gu Wei asked him why he borrowed the money.

“Three million will do.”

Gu Wei touched his chin. If he guessed correctly, during this period of time, all of Wang Baoqiang's property and liquid funds were in Ma Jinlian's hands. His purpose of borrowing money should be for the lawsuit.

He had the impression that it was the scumbag Chen who lent him the money in the original time and space.

"Baoqiang, I don't know why you would borrow money. Considering your wealth, you should be able to afford 3 million.

But since you've opened your mouth, given our relationship, I have no reason not to accept it.

I'm not going to talk about your affairs now, and I won't ask, because I trust you.

So, just to be on the safe side, I'll give you 5 million, so that no matter what you do, you'll have more money on hand."

Wang Baoqiang was deeply moved by Gu Wei's words.

"Director. I. I."

Gu Wei patted his shoulder and said with a smile.

"No need to say more, a real man doesn't need to be fussy. Send me your card number and I'll have someone transfer it to you."

"Um!"

Wang Baoqiang nodded.

"Director, I'm leaving early tomorrow morning and won't be saying goodbye to everyone. Please apologize to everyone else for me."

"Don't worry, just focus on your own business. Don't worry about this. As I said, if you need any help, just let me know!"

(End of this chapter)