Chapter 679 He Can Replace Me
"Farewell My Concubine" was a big hit at the box office, and Lin Weimin was very happy. Never mind whether the box office figures were concealed or underreported, the achievements that had been made were real. With a box office of nearly 70 million in seven days, it should not be a problem to break the 150 million box office of "Once Upon a Time in China III: Return of the Lion King".
Even if we calculate based on a box office of 150 million, with a 6:4 split between the film company and local distribution companies, that's still 90 million yuan.
"Farewell My Concubine" cost 8 million US dollars to make, and the domestic box office alone paid back the investment, and there was still profit.
What's more, this is still a conservative estimate. If the special campaign to crack down on the concealment and underreporting of box office revenue can be implemented as soon as possible, Lin Weimin feels that it should not be a problem to increase the box office by tens of millions.
Now that the ideas have been put forward, it will depend on how Lao Teng and Xu Feng perform.
Lin Weimin walked home leisurely with his bag under his arm.
When I got home, Chen Xujia, whom I hadn't seen for a long time, was sitting on the sofa at home. Her eyes were swollen like peaches, and it was obvious that she had just cried.
Seeing him coming back, Shen Xujia quickly wiped his eyes, stood up and said, "Weimin has finished get off work. Then let's not talk about it. I'll leave first."
"Don't worry! You've come all the way here with great difficulty, how can you just leave without even having a meal?" Lin Weimin said enthusiastically.
Chen Xujia is Wang Shuo's wife. She was a dancer at the Oriental Song and Dance Troupe before marriage. After marriage, she stayed at home to take care of the children. She has a good relationship with Tao Huimin. Now they are both at home taking care of the children. They have common topics and occasionally sit together.
Faced with Lin Weimin's enthusiasm, Shen Xujia declined and insisted on leaving.
Tao Huimin sent her out, and Shen Xujia held her hand and said enviously: "I really envy you for finding such a good man like Weimin!"
Tao Huimin felt uncomfortable listening to her words. When she met Chen Xujia, she had just started dating Lin Weimin.
That year, "Five Daughters Paying Homage to Their Parents" participated in the CCTV Spring Festival Gala. Lin Weimin hosted a dinner party in the Shichahai courtyard and introduced her to his friends. At that time, Wang Shuo and Shen Xujia were not married yet.
In a blink of an eye, their child is almost ten years old. In recent years, Wang Shuo has become more and more famous. Tao Huimin thought that their life would get better and better, but she didn't expect...
While eating, Tao Huimin was absent-minded and Lin Weimin's hand waved in front of her.
"What are you thinking about?"
Tao Huimin came back to her senses and asked, "Tell me, will you ever leave me?"
What did I do wrong?
When Teacher Lin was reflecting on himself, his mind was frantically searching for the standard answer to this question.
Fortunately, Tao Huimin didn't let him get hung up and said, "Do you know?"
"Know what?"
"Wang Shuo has someone outside!"
Lin Weimin was no surprise. Not only did I know that he had someone else, I also knew the mistress's name and what she did.
He was surprised, and his expression was filled with a bit of contempt, "He has someone else outside? That's too much of a jerk!"
Teacher Lin’s performance is so good that even the best actor would have to kneel down.
"Really? You think so too, right? I used to think Wang Shuo had a bad temper, but now it seems he has bad character too! Xu Jia and he have been together through thick and thin. When she married him, he was penniless, and only now have they had a good life for a few years!"
Lin Weimin also strongly condemned: "People like him are like dogs that can't keep two taels of sesame oil in their stomachs. They become bad when they have money. They are really not good people!"
Tao Huimin looked at him, "Do you really think so?"
"Of course, I am ashamed to be friends with such a person."
Tao Huimin rolled her eyes at him and kept going further and further, as if she really thought she didn't understand him.
Lin Weimin smiled guiltily. No matter whether it was true or not, the most important thing was attitude.
In early July, the Ministry of Radio, Film and Television issued a special action document titled "Assisting the healthy development of the film market and combating the phenomenon of concealing and underreporting box office revenues", and jointly launched a special action against the phenomenon of concealing and underreporting box office revenues with the public security, propaganda and other departments.
Many authoritative media including People's Daily and Guangming Daily reported on the launch of the operation on the day it was launched, and the massive special operation was officially launched across the country.
Youtian dispatched from Mingju, and the intensity and scope of the special operation were much greater than Lin Weimin had expected.
The Ministry of Radio, Film and Television drew more than 200 people from all over the country, plus 100 people organized by the "Farewell My Concubine" production team, a total of more than 300 people were scattered across the country.
On the first day alone, nine cases of stealing and concealing box office revenue were reported and investigated, involving a total amount of 368,700 yuan.
For three consecutive days, several cases of concealment and underreporting were caught on the spot almost every day, and the amount involved easily exceeded one million.
In just three days, the amount involved in the case exceeded one million, which shows how huge the chain of interests is.
Among the victims of these cases are not only the popular film "Farewell My Concubine", but also almost all the movies released during the same period.
The higher the attendance and the higher the box office of a movie, the more rampantly these theaters steal box office revenue.
In some theaters, it is the personal behavior of individual ticket sellers, in others it is the collusion of middle-level and lower-level employees, and in others it is an organized theft of box office revenue from top to bottom.
All of a sudden, all kinds of bizarre cases emerged one after another.
As more and more cinema chains and distribution companies were caught in the act, many domestic distribution companies and cinema chains were suddenly in a panic.
It took only a few days from the announcement of the launch of the special campaign to the discovery of dozens of cases of concealing and underreporting box office revenues. Many distribution companies did not even have time to react.
Faced with the special operation directly initiated by the ministries, this group of "mountain kings" who thought they had their own way finally became afraid.
In just a few days, more than 20 distribution and theater staff suspected of illegal activities were arrested, and hundreds of people were warned, reprimanded, or expelled. Once the iron fist of dictatorship arrives, it will surely fall with thunderous force on the heads of those who are hoping for luck.
After the short-lived thunder operation, the hands of lawbreakers and criminals were cut off and they dared not commit crimes against the wind. The number of cases of concealment and underreporting investigated and dealt with on the spot decreased immediately.
Whatever is done will leave traces.
Hundreds of staff members across the country conducted open and secret investigations in theaters across the country. After a few days, many previous cases of concealment and underreporting were also discovered, and the amount involved has exceeded 10 million yuan.
Although Tian Congming felt a little regretful, he also knew that with the power in his hands, he could only do this to the limit.
At least in the short term, the chilling effect created by the special operation should not be able to be eliminated. Eradicating and deterring a group of lawless elements can be regarded as injecting new vitality into the film industry.
Moreover, the most crucial thing about this action was that it severely dealt with some disobedient provincial distribution companies and expanded his voice in the Ministry of Radio, Film and Television, which was of great benefit to the subsequent film reforms.
Thinking about the pros and cons of this special operation, Tian Congming's mind flashed through Lin Weimin's mind again.
This is another good move!
He really would not be willing to give up if he couldn't get this man!
In a blink of an eye, "Farewell My Concubine" has been released for more than three weeks, and the special campaign to combat theft and underreporting has been completed for four or five days.
The box office statistics for the third week of "Farewell My Concubine" have just been released, which is 33.962 million. The box office in the second week was 42.661 million, and the decline trend is very healthy.
The cumulative box office in three weeks has reached 145 million, surpassing the 150 million box office of "Once Upon a Time in China 3: Battle of the Lion King" at the beginning of the year, and it is just around the corner to top the Chinese mainland movie box office list in 1993.
During these twenty days, Xu Feng and Yanying Studio overcame all obstacles and won over more than 20 city and county distribution companies. The distribution scale of "Farewell My Concubine" has set a record since the film reform. Many theaters in small places are just now showing "Farewell My Concubine".
The movie ticket prices have just been liberalized. Before the large-scale promotion of VCDs and DVDs, movie piracy was only available in videotapes and was not so rampant. It also experienced a wave of crackdowns on concealing and underreporting box office sales, coupled with Xu Feng's unremitting promotion, which resulted in "Farewell My Concubine" having such an outstanding box office performance.
In the fourth week, the box office of "Farewell My Concubine" was 14.465 million yuan, and the cumulative box office reached 160 million yuan, successfully breaking the box office record of "Once Upon a Time in China 3: Return of the Lion King" and firmly sitting on the throne of this year's box office champion.
Not only that, but without taking inflation into account, "Farewell My Concubine" also became the highest-grossing film in the history of the Chinese film market.
If calculated by the number of moviegoers, "Farewell My Concubine" probably wouldn't even make it into the top 50. Any random movie from the 1970s and 1980s would beat it.
Thanks for the rising prices and thanks for the film reform!
The movie has been released for a month, and judging from the box office in the fourth week, it has dropped by more than half compared to the previous week, proving that the box office potential is basically exhausted. It would be good if the movie can gross 20 million in the next month.
"Farewell My Concubine" is an art film after all, and the fact that it has achieved its current box office results is enough to make everyone involved in this film proud.
On a weekend in late July, Xu Feng held a celebration party for the film, and the venue was chosen to be the Maxim's Western Restaurant.
Song Huaigui is very good at socializing and has close ties with many people in the film and music circles. Leslie Cheung even spent the New Year here during the filming of "Farewell My Concubine".
Tonight, Xu Feng spent a lot of money to book a celebration banquet. All the famous people in the Yanjing film industry came, and many people from the music industry also came. Some were invited, and some came with friends.
Lin Weimin and Xu Feng sat at the same table. She had also invited Teng Jinxian today.
The success of "Farewell My Concubine" today is inseparable from the help of Teng Jinxian. Unfortunately, Teng Jinxian had to consider the impact and did not attend.
Also sitting at the table were Zhang Yimou, Cheng Kaige, Gong Li, Han Zhuangzhuang, as well as Cheng Zhigu, director of Yanjing Film Studio, and Manager Xu of Yanjing Distribution Company.
Xu Feng spared no expense on the celebration banquet and specially invited several popular singers to perform, making the scene grand and lively.
The song being sung on the stage is "I Will Never Understand Your Tenderness". The singer is Chen Lin. This song was released in March this year and directly made Chen Lin, a little-known figure in the music industry, famous.
Xu Feng seemed to be in high spirits as he was happy. He swayed his body gently as he listened to the song and was obviously in a very good mood.
Zhang Yimou was chatting with Cheng Kaige, and the topic they were talking about was movie box office.
Cheng Kaige has been secretly competing with Zhang Yimou in his heart for a long time. This time, "Farewell My Concubine" won the Palme d'Or and the box office successfully exceeded 100 million, making history. Cheng Kaige was very proud and felt that he was better than Zhang Yimou. The little thoughts in his heart had long disappeared, and he spoke with great vigour and confidence.
"Our idea is to see if we can strive for the Golden Globe Awards and the Oscars. After all, it would be a shame if we didn't strive for these two awards after winning the Palme d'Or. This will also help the box office of the movie in the United States." Cheng Kaige said half-boasting and half-seriously.
Zhang Yimou has always been a good guy. He showed some surprise at the right time and congratulated him a few words, which made Cheng Kaige very happy.
Not far away, Wang Shuo and Jiang Wen were sitting together. Wang Shuo was watching the performance on the stage with great interest. Next to him sat a young and beautiful girl, who was Xu Cairen.
Jiang Wen, who was standing aside, looked at Cheng Kaige, who was sitting at the next table and was in high spirits, and had only one thought in his mind.
He can take his place.
(End of this chapter)
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