"Boss, should we add a few more screenings at our cinema to meet audience demand? After all, so many people are watching Mr. Vampire right now. It would be a shame to miss out on this great opportunity to make money." At this time, the manager in charge of Golden Harvest Cinemas called Zou Wenhuai's office.
"Is the box office of "Mr. Vampire" so good on the first day? How is the word of mouth?" After receiving the call, a hint of surprise flashed in Zou Wenhuai's eyes.
They previously invested in "Mr. Zombie" and "Uncle Zombie" because the film directed by Zhang Qiurui was shortlisted for the Berlin Film Festival. They decided to invest and support it. They did not expect that this low-budget horror film could achieve such results.
He had originally prepared himself for a loss on his investment, but he didn't expect that the box office of "Mr. Vampire" on the first day would be so impressive, far exceeding his expectations.
He quickly calculated in his mind that the box office on the first day was more than 100,000. According to past experience, the box office would not be less than 3 million, and the profit would be more than 1 million. The investment was only a few hundred thousand, so he could make a small profit. Thinking of this, Zou Wenhuai's mouth corners rose unconsciously.
"From the audience's reactions so far, many people have said that this movie not only has a good horror atmosphere and a good soundtrack, but also has a tight plot and a perfect blend of humor and horror elements, making it both tense and enjoyable to watch.
Especially the zombie images and action designs are novel, unique and impressive.
In addition, there were a dozen children at the entrance of our cinema shouting slogans: Mountains don’t have to be high, as long as there are fairies, they are magical; blood doesn’t have to be much, as long as there is something, it is magical; if you are timid, don’t come to watch "Mr. Vampire".
It seems to have attracted quite a few people to buy tickets to watch the movie." The manager of Golden Harvest Cinemas continued on the other end of the phone.
Zou Wenhuai was even happier after hearing this, as he knew that good word-of-mouth was the key to a film's continued appeal to audiences.
He immediately ordered, "Immediately arrange to increase the number of screenings, especially on weekends and during prime time. We must do our best to meet the audience's needs. At the same time, we must also do a good job of publicity and use the existing good reputation to attract more audiences to the theater."
"Okay, Mr. Zou, I'll arrange it right away." The manager responded and then hung up the phone.
Zou Wenhuai put down the phone, feeling uneasy.
He realized that this investment might not only recoup the cost, but might even make a fortune.
Afterwards, he called the office of Shaw Brothers' Run Run Shaw, and after a brief exchange of pleasantries, he got down to business, requesting Shaw Brothers Cinemas to arrange more screenings for "Mr. Vampire".
"Mr. Vampire" was originally filmed by Zhang Qiurui's company. He was worried about not being able to get in touch with her before, but now that he had the chance, he naturally agreed. Besides, "Mr. Vampire" had a box office of over 100,000 on the first day, which showed that the attendance rate was not low. As long as he could make money, what else could he not agree to?
Nowadays, there is no such thing as a screening rate in movie theaters. One reason is that there are not as many movies as in later generations, and there are not many opportunities to choose movies. After a movie is released, a certain number of screenings can be guaranteed every day.
If the attendance rate is high and the reputation is good, more shows will be arranged, and the time will naturally be arranged during prime time.
Secondly, the companies behind each cinema produce and sell their own films. For movies produced by their own companies, they can arrange more prime time slots and screenings.
Several major cinemas in Hong Kong are either partners of Zhang Qiurui or want to cooperate with Zhang Qiurui. In addition, the attendance rate and reputation of "Mr. Vampire" are good, and there are signs that it will be a big hit and can make money. Therefore, they have arranged more screenings of "Mr. Vampire".
On the second day, the box office of "Mr. Vampire" soared to HK$275,000.
The box office on the third day was 350,000.
The box office on the fourth day was 450,000.
On the fifth working day, the last day, the box office was 513,000.
The sixth and seventh days were rest days, and the box office soared to 775,000 and 913,000 respectively.
After one week, the total box office reached more than 3.4 million.
Li Shaohong, who filmed "Mr. Vampire", gradually came into the public eye and caught the attention of the bosses of major film companies.
The actors who starred in "Mr. Vampire" also became famous one by one.
When Lin Zhengyin and Hui Guanying went out, movie fans saw them. Although they didn't know their names, they could call out the names in the movie, such as "Uncle Jiu" and "Wencai", and they called them particularly loudly.
The role of "Uncle Nine" played by Lin Zhengyin is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people with his calm, sophisticated, profound Taoist and straight-browed image.
Xu Guanying's character "Wencai" won the audience's love with his honest and cute image, timid but often making funny faces.
When Hong Jingbao saw that her good friend Lin Zhengyin became famous for playing Uncle Nine in "Mr. Vampire", she specially called Zhang Qiurui to express her gratitude.
........
"Yimou, this is the script I adapted for A Chinese Ghost Story. Take it and take a look. I've already drawn up the storyboards and polished the script.
As for the main roles, I've marked them all and invited those actors to come over and take a look. If you have any questions, let me know. "That day, Zhang Qiurui finished adapting the script for "A Chinese Ghost Story" and handed it to Zhang Yimoudao.
"Okay! Hey, Qiu Rui, why hasn't the heroine of "A Chinese Ghost Story" been chosen yet?" Zhang Yimou took a look and saw that all the roles had been decided except the heroine. He asked curiously.
"I looked around for people, but there didn't seem to be anyone suitable, so the role was left vacant." Wang Zuxiancai is only thirteen years old now, so she definitely can't star in "A Chinese Ghost Story". It's obviously impossible to wait until she grows up before filming.
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