Chapter 232 Breaking One Billion
On the afternoon of the fourth day of the New Year, Gu Wei had been busy since he returned to the capital by plane.
It is the Chinese New Year period now, and social interactions are essential.
Gu Wei prepared gifts for all the teachers in the Film Academy who had a good relationship with him. He even visited some of the ones he was close to, like Teacher Xu from the Directing Department, in person.
Although it was a little inconvenient, even if Gu Wei was not there, the gifts would still be there. In short, there was nothing wrong with the etiquette.
Film companies that have always cooperated with him, such as China Film, Light Media, and Wanda, as well as companies rooted in the TV drama industry such as Huanrui, Juku, and Noon Sunshine, their bosses and directors familiar to Gu Wei also sent New Year gifts one by one.
As for these simple gift-giving matters, as long as he gave the order, the company's people would naturally take care of it, so he didn't have to worry too much.
After really sorting out his interpersonal relationships, Gu Wei discovered that since he entered the entertainment industry in 2012 with the filming of "The Blade of the Assassin", he has built a network of interpersonal relationships centered on himself in the entertainment industry with his own abilities and continuous successes.
Our interests are intertwined with each other. We are not only friends, but also partners with common interests.
Gu Wei believed that even if he had some major scandal now, as long as it was not illegal, his partners would work together to suppress the matter.
After returning to Beijing, there was one thing that Gu Wei was anxious to do. Of course, to be more precise, it was the brand that was anxious, and that was the shooting of the commercial for his new product endorsement in 2015.
Originally, all the product endorsement contracts were signed at the end of last month, but because Gu Wei was busy filming "Monster Hunt" at the time, followed by the release of "The Monkey King: Hero is Back" and the preparations for the Spring Festival Gala program, he never found the time.
Fortunately, among the 11 new product endorsements he signed this year, 8 were old partners from last year or even the year before. Some of last year’s advertisements and promotional photos can still be used, and he just needs to add some new ones.
Only L'Oréal Men, KFC and Tuborg Beer are new advertisers, so they need to shoot more things.
To be honest, as Gu Wei's fame grows, the fees he receives for endorsements every year are getting higher and higher, and the income from endorsements has become the largest source of his personal income.
Unlike filming a movie which takes dozens of days or even longer, endorsement only requires a few days to shoot some short video commercials and some flat photos, which is very easy.
At most, you just need to participate in and cooperate with the merchant's promotional activities according to the contract, and 10 million yuan can be easily put into your pocket.
For example, Gu Wei’s 11 endorsements this year have a total endorsement fee of 110 million yuan, and the contract is for one year.
Of course, this is also related to his current fame and popularity. If Gu Wei's popularity declines when the contract expires next year, the brand will naturally choose to terminate the contract or reduce the endorsement fee. Otherwise, the endorsement fee under the new contract will still increase.
Currently, the people with the highest endorsement fees in the domestic entertainment industry are Liu Dehua, Zhou Jue and Queen Wang Fei. Their endorsement fees are 20 million/year, 23 million/year and 25 million/year respectively.
The remaining first-line artists, such as Huang Xiaoming and Deng Chao, all earn 10 million yuan per year, just like Gu Wei.
Time passed little by little as Gu Wei was busy, and in the blink of an eye it was the end of February.
"The Monkey King: Hero is Back" has been released for three weeks, from its release on the 13th to New Year's Eve on the 18th, a total of 6 days, and has earned a total box office of 456 million yuan.
On the first day of the Lunar New Year on the 19th, the Spring Festival box office began, with Cheng Long's "Dragon Blade", Chen Kun and Li Bingbing's "Zhong Kui Conquers the Demons: Snow Demon and the Dark World", and Chow Yun-fat's "From Vegas to Macau 2" all released.
Due to the competition from these blockbusters, the screening schedule of "The Monkey King: Hero is Back" has declined.
However, after more than a week of release, the reputation of "The Monkey King: Hero is Back" has really spread widely, and the attendance rate has remained high. Even on the first day of the Lunar New Year, it was able to maintain an 18% screening rate when competing with several newly released movies.
In recent years, the Spring Festival period has gradually replaced the Lunar New Year period to become the most profitable period for movies throughout the year.
On the first day of the Lunar New Year, the national single-day box office exceeded 300 million yuan, among which Jackie Chan's "Dragon Blade" won 107 million yuan in the box office and became the box office champion of the day.
From "Little Big Soldier" in 2010, "Chinese Zodiac" in 2012, to "New Police Story" in 2013, we can only say that Brother Cheng Long is still as good as ever.
The remaining "From Vegas to Macau 2" had a single-day box office of 56.3 million, and "Zhong Kui Conquers the Demons" earned 56 million.
Although the number of screenings for "The Monkey King: Hero is Back" decreased, the box office increased instead of decreasing thanks to the dense crowds of moviegoers during the Spring Festival and its own good reputation and high quality, and it won the second place in the single-day box office of 67.82 million on the first day of the New Year.
In the following days, the reputation of several movies released on the first day of the Lunar New Year gradually fermented, and there were dramatic changes in the box office.
[Zhong Kui Conquers the Demons] was criticized as a bad movie, with a Douban score of 4.4. The box office continued to decline. As of the seventh day of the Lunar New Year on the 25th, it had grossed a total of 230 million yuan.
"From Vegas to Macau 2", which was also criticized by the audience as a bad movie, strangely enough, had a continuous rise in box office, and achieved a good result of 460 million in 7 days during the Spring Festival.
Although "Dragon Blade" had an amazing start, it did not maintain its momentum afterwards. Although it had a good reputation, it may have been limited by the subject matter. It was not a kung fu comedy, which is what Jackie Chan is best at, but a costume action war film. It earned 380 million yuan at the box office in 7 days, which was a high start but a low end.
After "The Monkey King: Hero is Back" took second place in the single-day box office on the first day of the Lunar New Year, the screening schedule rebounded again and the box office remained stable. As of the seventh day of the Lunar New Year, it had earned a total of 547 million yuan at the box office, undisputedly winning the title of Spring Festival box office champion.
From its release on the 13th to the end of the Spring Festival period on the 25th, "The Monkey King: Hero is Back" was released for 13 days and grossed a total of 1.003 billion yuan, setting a record for the fastest domestic film box office to break 1 billion yuan.
This domestic animated film, which was not favored by anyone when it was first released and had to rely on Gu Wei's fans to boost the box office, became a nationwide hit during the 2015 Spring Festival!
On the 26th, [Jenmin Daily] published an article commenting on
"[The Monkey King: Hero is Back] is a rare phenomenon-level Chinese animated film in the past decade!"
Other media outlets also spoke out and gave high praise to "The Monkey King: Hero is Back".
In a short time, this movie became a work that opened the door to Chinese animated films.
The person who was most happy about this result was director Tian Xiaopeng, who became the most sought-after director in the film industry during this period.
Some media also mentioned Gu Wei in their news reports, saying that he had a keen eye for talent and was able to choose such an excellent film in his first time as a producer.
That evening, a celebration banquet was held in the grand banquet hall of the Wanda Hotel, organized by Light Media, to mark the box office revenue of "The Monkey King: Hero is Back" exceeding 1 billion yuan.
In addition to all the main creative staff of the animated film, major domestic media were also invited.
To put it bluntly, the movie has broken the 1 billion mark, so while celebrating, we should also promote it to get the name out there, maintain the popularity and attract more viewers to watch it.
"Although I have repeatedly said in previous interviews that it was not easy to make "The Monkey King: Hero is Back", I think this is also the reason why the film has achieved such excellent results.
When I was making movies, it was entirely because of my love for animated films that I was able to persevere.
If you ask me what I should pay attention to when making animated films, I think the most important thing is to let go of my concern for gain and loss.
If you enter this industry simply because of the current high box office or future box office, then I advise you not to come.
It's not that I don't want you to spend this money, but animated films are too risky, with high investments and long cycles. If you do it simply to make money, you will unconsciously fall into a state of quick success and instant benefits. In the end, the quality of the film will not be up to standard, and the possibility of losses will be greater.
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At the celebration party, Tian Xiaopeng, as the absolute protagonist, said a lot to the media.
As investors, Gu Wei and Wang Changtian sat in the shadows beside the stage. The main seats were specially arranged for the director and other main creators to facilitate interviews with reporters.
"Mr. Gu, I really admire your vision. The success of The Monkey King: Hero is Back really exceeded my expectations.
You succeeded again~"
Wang Changtian said with emotion as he looked at Tian Xiaopeng who was being interviewed on the stage.
"I have to thank Mr. Wang. If you hadn't introduced this project to me, I wouldn't have been able to make this money.
Besides, we are partners, we are all investors, we make money together, and my success means your success too."
Gu Wei replied modestly.
"To be honest, when I first introduced Tian Xiaopeng to you, I also had doubts about this project. If Mr. Gu had not invested at that time, Guangxian might have had to find a way to sell off its investment.
Mr. Gu, your joining me has given me confidence. After all, we have been working with you for such a long time, and Guangguang has never lost money. Compared with Director Tian, I trust your judgment more."
"Mr. Tian, you're overpraising me. I'm just lucky. I don't have the judgment you're talking about."
After hearing what Gu Wei said, Wang Changtian did not insist, but changed the subject.
"I heard that Mr. Gu's company is also producing a new animated film?"
"Indeed, I'm very optimistic about the future development of domestic animated films. Since we were able to produce 'The Monkey King: Hero is Back', it shows that we're technically quite good. So, as long as conditions allow, it's not impossible for us to surpass it!"
Gu Wei talked freely. The animation production company under his name was no secret in the industry, and Director Jiaozi's team itself was very famous in his circle.
"Great minds think alike. Guangxian is also preparing to enter the animation production field and will establish a new subsidiary in the future.
I plan to call it [Colorful House Pictures].
(End of this chapter)
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