Time slowly came to May.
A total of 19 new films were released during the May Day holiday this year, surpassing the record of 12 new films released in 2021, setting a new record for the number of films released in the same period in history, and was called "the most crowded May Day holiday in history."
The new films cover a variety of genres including action, romance, comedy, animation, crime, fantasy, suspense, etc., catering to audiences of different ages and preferences as much as possible.
Among them, the comedy film "Life Is Not Familiar" and the military-themed "King of the Sky" ranked first and second in the May Day box office with box office results of 510 million and 466 million respectively.
In addition to the old faces, the two films also used different new generation traffic stars.
[Life is Not Familiar] used Fan Chengcheng and Zhang Jingyi.
Zhang Jingyi's traffic and popularity are average, but with the support of Zhou Xun and Chen Kun's [Dongshen Future], it is not surprising that she got this opportunity.
Fan Chengcheng is more popular. Although he has few works in the film and television field, he has attracted a large number of fans by being a regular on the variety show "Running Man".
In addition, although his sister Bingbing is no longer active in the domestic entertainment industry, her network of contacts is still there, providing great help to Fan Chengcheng in all aspects.
[King of the Sky] chose Xiaozhan.
Following the same logic, the movie itself needs a young and popular actor as the protagonist to boost its popularity.
If he fails in his first attempt, the cake that originally belonged to him will naturally be divided among others.
Zeng Shunxi took over [Warmth], and [King of the Sky] came to Xiao Zhan.
In terms of the reputation of movies, there were no good films in this year's May Day period. The ratings of "The Unfamiliar Life" and "Lord of the Sky" were not high. The current box office is partly due to the support of fans of traffic stars, and partly because they are the tallest among the short ones.
However, due to the market recovery, the total box office of the May Day holiday still reached 1.5 billion yuan, ranking third in the May Day holiday box office in Chinese film history, close to the level of 2019 before the epidemic.
[Shanghai Tingdong Films] became the biggest winner of this year's May Day holiday.
It is the primary producer of the May Day champion and runner-up "Life is Not Familiar" and "King of the Sky".
It is very confusing that Tingdong Pictures arranged to release two of its own films in the same period, which is a small period at that.
But the result is good, both movies have done very well at the box office, and this operation is correct and wise.
【Tingdong Pictures】The big boss is Han Han.
Han Han hasn't appeared in public for a long time since the flop of "Four Seas". Unexpectedly, she quietly made a comeback in the May Day schedule.
Compared with the May Day period, which has many movies but generally low quality, domestic audiences are obviously more looking forward to the upcoming summer season.
On April 18, the action blockbuster "Exodus" starring Gu Wei, Yang Chaoyue, and Wu Zhenyu released a release poster and announced that it will be released on July 6.
Immediately afterwards, the highly anticipated "Fengshen Part 1: Chaoge Storm" directed by Wuershan was announced to be released on July 20.
The comedy "Warm" directed by Dapeng and starring Huang Bo and Zeng Shunxi is scheduled to be released on July 28.
"Octagon" directed and acted by Wang Baoqiang is scheduled to be released on August 2, and "The Meg 2: Abyss" starring Wu Jing and Jason Statham is scheduled to be released on August 4.
There are also anti-fraud films [All or Nothing], animated films [Three Thousand Miles of Chang'an], drama films [Scholars], comedy films [Super Family], Hong Kong films [Drug War 3: The End of the World], etc., which have announced their release dates one after another, all concentrated in the two months of the summer vacation.
Starting with "Extraction", these movies have successively released posters and officially announced the release dates, step by step raising the expectations of domestic audiences for the summer season.
There are only a large number of movies released during the May Day holiday, and the upcoming summer season will be the one where the real blockbusters are released.
On May 23, Gu Wei and the main creators of "Extreme Rescue" appeared at the 19th Huabiao Awards.
On June 1, the crew of "Extreme Rescue" released the "rescue" version of the trailer, which depicts a cross-border rescue of a kidnapped sister and the intense fighting scenes, which sparked discussion among many netizens.
On June 10, the crew of "Extreme Rescue" was invited to appear at the 2023 Weibo Movie Night. Producer and leading actor Gu Wei, director Wen Muye, and starring actors Yang Chaoyue, Tian Xiwei, and Wu Zhenyu attended the red carpet and ceremony together.
On June 15, the crew released a "Sincere and Honest" version of the creation special and released a set of behind-the-scenes photos.
On June 18, the crew released the "Park Showdown" version of the trailer and the "Everyone Gathers" version of the poster.
On June 20, the crew released the "Burn the Boats" version of the final trailer and officially started pre-sales.
The capital city, [guarding the world of Ming].
The company focused its promotion and marketing efforts for "Extreme Rescue" online, primarily targeting platforms where young people gather, such as Weibo, Douyin, Kuaishou, and Xiaohongshu.
A large amount of money is spent on streaming to ensure the popularity of the movie on the Internet.
The effect is obvious at present.
Taking Douyin as an example, since the release of the release poster for "Extreme Rescue," movie-related topics have exceeded 10 billion in the two months since then. The official account of "Extreme Rescue" has accumulated over 100 million likes, with 187 topics on the list and 274 viral videos.
Several versions of the trailer have been played over 10 million times across the entire network.
Among them, the fighting scenes of you, the boss, and the worship scene of Mr. Wu Zhenyu were the most discussed.
As of today, the number of people who want to watch the movie on Maoyan has exceeded 1 million, ranking first on Maoyan's wish list, more than 700,000 more than the second place.
No matter how you look at it, Exit is the most popular and discussed movie of all the movies scheduled to be released in the summer season."
After listening to Yang Liwen's report, Gu Wei nodded.
"What about the film schedule?"
“We have scheduled the release date for July 6, which is the beginning of this year’s summer season.
Originally, "Drug War 3" was scheduled to be released on the same day, but after "Extreme Rescue" announced its release date, "Drug War 3" changed its release date and adjusted the release time to the Dragon Boat Festival on June 22.
Several other animated series are released in the same period, including "Chang'an: 30,000 Miles Away", "Flying Rabbits: Big League", and "Carrie and the Super Small World".
The only new film released on July 6th was "Extraction".
According to the communication between the company and the cinema chain, "Extreme Rescue" will be able to get at least 40% of the screenings on the day of its release, and most of them will be prime time screenings.
The cinema chain is very much looking forward to this film and believes in the boss's box office appeal."
Don’t think that 40% is not a lot. Although only one movie, "Extraction," was released on July 6, there were actually more than a dozen movies being released at that time.
It’s just that everyone avoided Gu Wei’s movie and didn’t want it to be released at the same time as his.
Speaking of this, Yang Liwen's emotions also became a little excited.
“Actually, the schedule for [Extreme Rescue] is very good.
"Drug War 3" and "The Legend of Chusen" were released two weeks earlier, and "Indiana Jones and the Fall", "Indiana Jones and the Fall" and "The Power Code" were released a week earlier. These movies don't look like they will be big hits.
So as long as [Extreme Rescue] can have a good opening at the box office, the first weekend screening schedule will definitely reach over 50%, and it’s possible it could even be higher!
Gu Wei nodded slightly: "Very good, this summer season is full of blockbusters, so it's relatively crowded.
"Extreme Rescue" has a very good screening schedule, leaving enough time for box office revenue to be harvested, avoiding direct competition with other popular movies."
Yang Liwen smiled and said respectfully: "It's mainly because your reputation as the "Box Office King" is too famous.
Never failed in all these years.
Other companies are also unwilling to release their films at the same time as "Extraction" for profit reasons and compete directly with it.
According to the summer movie schedule.
[Fengshen: The Legend of Chaoge] and [Super Family] were released on the 20th and 21st respectively, two weeks after [Extraordinary Rescue].
[Hot] will be released on the 28th, [The Meg 2] on August 4th, [All or Nothing] on August 8th, and several other films such as [Dad] and [Burning Winter] will be released in mid-to-late August.
Everyone tacitly gave [Extreme Rescue] two weeks, and then the summer season will become increasingly crowded.”
Yang Liwen thought of something as she spoke, her brows furrowed slightly. "There's just one thing. Director Bao Qiang's 'Octagon Cage' is set to be released on August 2nd. It's preceded by 'Investiture of the Gods' and 'Hot Shots', and followed by 'The Meg 2' and 'All or Nothing'. This film is also a realistic drama, so I'm afraid it won't have a good schedule or box office."
[In the Octagon] Gu Wei is the largest investor besides Wang Baoqiang, holding one-third of the shares. [Wei Ming Tian Xia] is also the promoter of this film.
It is called realistic because it is adapted from real events. To be more precise, it should be a sports inspirational movie.
“The promotion and marketing of [In the Octagon] will rely on word of mouth.
The film was scheduled to be screened nationwide starting in early July.
One month is enough time for the film's reputation to fully ferment!"
Gu Wei certainly knew what the selling point of [Octagonal Cage] was.
Wang Baoqiang is very popular among the people, but his box office appeal cannot be reflected if he does not make comedy movies.
Moreover, his last film "Journey to India", which he directed and acted in, had eroded the audience's trust in him, which was also the reason why he lacked money and could not get investment when filming "Octagon Cage".
However, his filming of "Octagon Cage" is really good, and it is far superior to "Journey to India".
As long as word of mouth spreads about this movie, the box office will not be a problem.
On July 4, "Extreme Rescue" held a grand premiere at the Beijing Gymnasium.
On that day, hundreds of celebrities from the entertainment industry attended the event, and there were as many as 5,000 ordinary audiences.
"Boss Gu, I'm afraid your movie is going to break records again.
There are still two days until the official release, and the pre-sale box office has exceeded 600 million. It's incredible!"
Inside the venue, Wang Changtian, CEO of Guangxian, was chatting with Gu Wei, his words full of envy.
"Mr. Wang, you are too kind. It's all thanks to the audience.
Everyone believes in me, I believe in Director Wen, and I believe in "Wei Ming Tian Xia", which is why the pre-sale has achieved such good results.
I'm a little nervous, but I hope that "Extreme Rescue" won't disappoint the audience after its release."
Wang Changtian smiled and said, “Mr. Gu is too modest.
I talked to Director Yuan before, and he said that the fighting scenes in your film are particularly good and are among the best in the world.
With you in the lead role and Director Wen directing, the movie is bound to be good.
I think there is hope that it will surpass [Changjin Lake]!"
Gu Wei smiled and didn't respond.
The two chatted for a few more sentences, and Wang Changtian mentioned "Detective Chinatown 4" again.
"The script is still being revised, but filming will definitely start next year at the latest!"
After sending Wang Changtian away, Gu Wei went on to greet other friends from the film and television industry who were present.
There are too many people here today, including bosses and presidents of major film and television companies, big directors and stars in the circle, and some artists and stars who have worked with [Wei Ming Tian Xia].
Wu Jing has also been promoting "The Meg 2: Abyss" recently, but as there is still a month before the movie is released, he is not too busy.
“How did it happen in North America?”
He specially wore a very formal suit today to show support for his good brother.
“Lionsgate is responsible for the promotion and marketing there, and the current focus of publicity is on the internet, which is working quite well.
Because of the songs I released before and the release of "John Wick 4" last year, I am still a little famous there.
You also know some of the settings of my movie. The main promotion in North America is the spin-off of "John Wick 4".
All I need to do is wait for the movie to be released and go on a few roadshows there."
Wu Jingzhi nodded and said with some envy, "You are still quite famous in North America, but I am finished."
"[The Meg 2] was promoted over there entirely by Jason Statham, no one knew me."
Gu Wei patted him on the shoulder and said, "As long as your film is successful, it will be different next time."
The number of celebrities who came to the premiere was almost comparable to some small parties and ceremonies.
Many people who know each other gathered together to greet and chat.
"Director Zhang Yimou is here too. That's Director Chen Kai and his wife, right? Didn't they say they don't get along with Brother Wei? Why are they here to support Brother Wei's movie today?"
Reba arrived very early and sat next to Yang Mi, observing the celebrities present around her while chatting with Yang Mi.
"I guess Gu Wei's company sent Director Chen an invitation as a courtesy, but they didn't expect him to come.
However, Director Chen's arrival also dispelled the outside world's speculation that the two were not getting along.
Scene people."
Yang Mi said in a low voice.
She noticed Arthur next to Chen Kaige and his wife: "Of course, it could also be for the future development of his son.
After all, with Gu Wei's current status and the size of his company, it is very difficult for people who have conflicts with him to get far in the circle.
Brother Chen Kai doesn't care, but his son doesn't.
Arthur is still young, and it is impossible for him to only make movies. He has to make idol dramas.
Several major platforms have good cooperative relations with [Weiming Tianxia]"
Reba blinked and asked curiously, "I heard that Director Chen and Brother Wei had a disagreement during the filming of 'The Battle at Lake Changjin'. Is this true?"
Yang Mi thought about it and nodded: "It's true.
The main issue was who held power within the crew at the time.
Director Chen is a famous director. During the filming, he found that Gu Wei, the leading actor and producer, was more effective in speaking than himself, and everyone else listened to him. Naturally, he was not very satisfied.
In addition, after the movie was released, everyone attributed the credit for the movie's huge success to the two leading actors, Gu Wei and Wu Jing, which made him even more unbalanced.
During the interview, I couldn't help but make a few sarcastic remarks.
I heard that after the release of "Changjin Lake", he prepared another film on the same theme to fight against the US and aid Korea. Everyone knows why.
Reba nodded, and she suddenly noticed a figure in a black long dress appearing next to Gu Wei.
"Sister Mi, Liu Yifei is here!"
Yang Mi squinted her eyes and glanced at him, curling her lips in disdain: "She's gained weight again. She really doesn't take care of her figure when she's not filming. She's really conceited!"
Reba has a pretty good impression of Liu Yifei. She was still in school when "The Return of the Condor Heroes" and "Tian Long Ba Bu" were popular.
But she also knew that her sister and Liu Yifei did not get along.
Although she thought that the plump Liu Yifei was still very beautiful, she couldn't say this in front of her sister.
“Huh?
Why didn’t Nazha come today?
There is no reason for her not to attend such an occasion."
Reba looked around but didn't see Nazha.
In the past two years, due to her busy work, she has had less and less contact with Nazha, but their relationship remains.
She felt somewhat guilty towards Nazha.
"He must be doing some other work." Yang Mi guessed.
Reba nodded.
She didn't know that her best friend was already far away in France taking care of her pregnancy.
"How was your trip?" Gu Wei asked Liu Yifei beside him.
“Everything went smoothly, I was very happy.
Slipper Island is really beautiful, with sunshine, beaches, and waves, and the specialties at the island restaurants are also delicious.”
"So this is why you gained weight again?" Gu Wei laughed.
"Hate it, my mom said I was fat, and you said I was fat too."
Liu Yifei pouted in dissatisfaction.
"Jingying asked me to thank you for your hospitality~"
Gu Wei waved his hand: "She should thank you."
Liu Yifei smiled brightly: "Also, my mom asked you when you have time to come to my house and have dinner together."
“Well, maybe after a while.
I've been busy lately with the release of my new movie.
After the premiere today, we will start the roadshow and then go abroad for promotion."
"Have you finished filming that TV series?"
"We just finished filming two days ago~"
Liu Yifei nodded and said, "Keep going! I wish your film [Extreme Rescue] will be a huge hit worldwide!" (End of this chapter)
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