As Tao Mu's first leading role in a National Day movie jointly prepared by Beijing Film Academy and the military, "Soldier King: The Sword is Out of the Sheath" took advantage of the popularity of the TV series, the most popular variety shows of major TV stations, and the publicity of major provinces and cities, plus the huge momentum of theater patch publicity, and it was confirmed that the national screening rate was 55% as soon as it was scheduled. The pre-sale box office before the release directly broke the 200 million mark. While shocking the entire industry, "Soldier King: The Sword Comes Out" also became the most competitive box office dark horse in the eyes of everyone in the industry. Many media and film critics, including online marketing accounts, have expressed their expectations for this film in various ways. So much so that before "Soldier King: The Sword Comes Out" was released, many people in the industry had almost guaranteed that it would be the box office champion of the year.
With this kind of momentum, one can imagine how popular the premiere of "The King of Soldiers: The Sword Drawn" will be. With Beijing Film Studio personally endorsing the film, and Tao Mu's good popularity in the industry, almost half of the entertainment industry came to the premiere. This half of the entertainment industry not only refers to the famous celebrities in the circle, but also many more producers who are unknown to the outside world but have great say in the industry. Even the leaders of the military and relevant departments were present.
In addition, many partners and business allies who have close ties with Feixun.com and the Li family did not attend the premiere in person, but they also supported Tao Mu's film Debut by booking a theater for their employees to watch the movie. More than 60% of the pre-sale box office of "Soldier King: The Sword Comes Out" which exceeded 200 million yuan was contributed by this group of people.
"Mr. Tao, can you predict the box office of this movie?" A reporter asked curiously before the movie officially started.
"As the leading actor, producer and investor of the movie, I certainly hope that the box office can be as high as possible. Let's put it this way, 1 billion is not too little, and 2 billion is not too much." Tao Mu joked.
"Do you think that 'Swords of Legends' can break the box office record of last year's Hollywood 3D blockbuster 'XXX'?" the reporter asked.
As we all know, Hollywood has always been regarded as a holy place by the global film industry. Hollywood blockbusters are also popular around the world and are often a money-making machine. "XXX", which was released last year, is a typical example. As the world's first 3D movie, the release of "XXX" not only raked in nearly 3 billion RMB in box office revenue worldwide, but also set off a 3D movie craze around the world.
During the post-production of "The King of Soldiers: The Sword Comes Out", 3D technology was also used to maximize the adrenaline stimulation of the audience. The domestic film industry is also very optimistic about this movie because of its trust in Tao Mu's production ability. However, no one really took the responsibility of breaking the dominance of Hollywood blockbusters in the Chinese film box office rankings on Tao Mu and "Soldier King: The Sword is Out of the Sheath". The reporter asked this question, in fact, it was just a routine inquiry, and he didn't expect Tao Mu to give a shocking answer.
As a result, Tao Mu did not take the usual path and did not choose to answer the reporter's questions within a safe range. Instead, he said very frankly: "Of course I hope that the box office of "Soldier King: Sword Out of the Sheath" can break the record of "XXX" last year. A soldier who does not want to be a general is not a good soldier. I believe that all people who shoot commercial films hope to use the box office to prove their works. I am no exception. In addition, if our Chinese films can regain the top spot in the Chinese box office rankings, I think this is also very exciting. At least it can show that our local films have more potential and room for development. We Chinese filmmakers are also making continuous progress. "
"Of course, the box office and reputation of this movie will ultimately be determined by the audience. As filmmakers, we are just trying our best to present the best work we can to the audience."
The words were vigorous and ambitious. The media reporters who were still at the premiere were immediately excited. There is no doubt that if Tao Mu made these remarks, it would definitely be another controversial headline news. The reporter who interviewed Tao Mu even thought of a title——
"The sword is drawn and pointed at Hollywood." Tao Mu made a bold statement at the premiere, aiming to be the box office champion.
"Chinese Soldier King vs. M Country Hero, Who Will Win?"
Tao Mu made a big statement at the premiere: China should have its own box office champion
Not to mention the excitement among the media reporters. However, Tao Mu did not continue to answer the questions from other reporters. Instead, he found his seat and sat down, ready to watch the movie. Many film critics and columnists also fell silent. They all heard what Tao Mu had just said, so before watching the movie, they all raised their expectations for the movie in their hearts. After all, since Tao Mu was able to confidently launch an offensive against Hollywood blockbusters, it proved that the quality of this movie should be really good.
Of course, it doesn’t matter even if the movie disappoints people after it comes out. With Tao Mu's words just now, no matter how they write, they will get attention.
Outside the premiere, as media reporters who attended the premiere sent their reports back to their offices or directly posted them online, many eagerly awaited moviegoers and fans became more and more excited. Of course, the haters have more to say. And he firmly believed that the quality of the movie "Soldier King" could not be compared with Hollywood blockbusters at all, and Tao Mu was just talking nonsense, using this sensational way to build momentum for the movie. Trick more audiences into going to the cinema.
Some people even ridiculed Tao Mu for "making up for the lack of quality with sentiment", deliberately exaggerating the sentiment that "Chinese people should support Chinese films", with the ultimate goal of inducing more people to watch the bad movie "Soldier King: The Sword is Out of the Sheath".
Tao Mu was too lazy to pay attention to the various opinions outside. The lights in the cinema suddenly went out, and the big screen lit up slightly. After a dragon logo opening, various producers and production units began to appear on the big screen. Then the camera flashed, and what appeared on the big screen was an architectural street with very African characteristics. Accompanied by an extremely intense and realistic gun battle and explosion scenes, the first thing that came out was the classic soundtrack from the TV series "Soldier King", which immediately brought the people in the cinema back to the familiar atmosphere of watching the TV series a few months ago. And I felt vaguely excited to see the protagonists again.
It was like meeting old friends again.
At the beginning of the film, the background of the whole story is explained. That is, a riot broke out in an African country. Zhan Feng, played by Tao Mu, and several other special forces received orders from their superiors to carry out the evacuation mission.
"This is quite a big scene!" Seeing the big scenes of house bombing, car explosion and car chase on the big screen, a military enthusiast and columnist who loves explosive and action scenes in movies sat up straight, subconsciously estimating the cost of filming this scene, and whether the models and usage methods of all the weapons and props appearing on the screen are appropriate.
"I actually saw the actors acting out the impact of recoil!" After watching a certain scene, this military enthusiast's eyes lit up again. I feel that no matter what the plot of this movie is, the explosion and action scenes at the beginning are already very sincere.
Another professional filmmaker looked down at the time and said: "Three minutes into the film, none of the leading actors appeared. But the adrenaline-stimulating plot still instantly attracted the audience to continue watching."
After a five-minute long explosion scene that feasted the eyes of all action movie fans and satisfied them, the camera turned again and a pair of military boots appeared. The camera slowly moved up, along a pair of long legs wrapped in combat uniforms, and finally stopped at Tao Mu's overly handsome face. The ultra-clear and large close-up shots made many audiences and film critics in the cinema sigh involuntarily, and once again felt the visual impact that Tao Mu's face brought to everyone.
Some female stars said on the spot that it was definitely not smaller than the fierce gun battle just now.
As a commercial film, the rhythm of "The King of Soldiers: The Sword Comes Out" is very tight. Director Cheng Baodong has almost abandoned all inner dramas that would make people feel verbose. There are no lengthy discussions of human nature, nor any pretentious and sentimental connotations. The main theme of the whole film is "Don't be afraid, just do it."
However, even in such fierce battles filled with smoke and gunfire, the protagonists either looked up at the night sky in rare peace under the stars, or had a few chats in front of the campfire, or gave a few words of advice and instructions in a crisis situation, which instead triggered tears in many viewers. I even feel sincerely that real war is so cruel that there is no chance for me to make a long and sincere confession to you. Many times, people may not be able to say a word until they die.
This kind of commercial blockbuster mainly tests whether the plot and explosion scenes can stimulate adrenaline. The requirements for the actors' acting skills and the theme of the film are relatively not that profound. So the film critics here are relatively relaxed. Don't think too much about art films.
Because of this, many film critics are able to appreciate movies from the perspective of ordinary audiences. After investing in it, I found that "The King of Soldiers: The Sword Comes Out" is definitely an excellent commercial film. The pace is tight, the scenes are grand, and most importantly, the special effects are well-priced. Watching this movie feels like taking a cold shower and eating a big bowl of ice cream in the hot summer. There is only one word to describe the feeling: exhilarating.
So much so that two hours later, the audience who had watched the film with rapt attention throughout was a little bit in disbelief. It is rare for them to watch a domestic film without having to go to the bathroom or lose focus during the film.
“What a fast pace!”
“The plot is so exciting!”
"Although I didn't mean to be sentimental, when I saw Zhan Feng and several other special forces soldiers holding the national flag and carrying those overseas Chinese across the battlefield unharmed, I actually cried."
"There were many people crying in despair because they lost their passports. I also cried when they sang the national anthem to prove that they were Chinese."
Hearing the whispered conversations among a small number of audience members in the cinema, experienced film critics and industry insiders immediately realized that this movie was going to be a hit!
After the premiere, an invited overseas distributor immediately approached Tao Mu to discuss matters related to overseas distribution rights.
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