After a bustling day, "Shaolin Temple" has entered thousands of households. The term "preview screening" made the film companies that released their films on the same day grit their teeth, and it also attracted the attention of film companies all over China. In particular, it became a hot topic among movie fans.
While attracting attention, the preview screenings also had an amazing effect. "Shaolin Temple," which had only a little over 30 million yuan in pre-sale box office, raked in 121 million yuan that night, second only to "Men in the Galaxy" with 135 million yuan. It far exceeded "National Fortress" with 98 million yuan and "The Last Bullet" with 86 million yuan. The low-budget romance film with 23 million yuan was naturally ignored.
Netizens, always eager for drama, have caused an uproar online:
"Zhang Minghao was absolutely right. Watching 'Shaolin Temple' really got my blood pumping. After watching it, I did a set of boxing moves on the street, and I haven't had to cook for the past few days. It's awesome!"
"Hey upstairs, does watching this movie mean I can instantly become an immortal and abstain from grains forever?"
"Don't listen to him, everyone. After watching the movie, this guy got so excited that he went to eat barbecue, got drunk, and got into a fight with the guy next door. He's still locked up now and probably won't be out for the next few days."
"Ahem, upstairs, could you tell me what kind of boxing you were practicing yesterday, and where you learned it?"
"Arhat Fist, who are you?"
"Hehe, I'm the one you beat up yesterday."
"Hahaha, it's you, kid. What's wrong? Got beaten into submission?"
"I was just asking."
"Sure, I'll teach you when I get out. It's no big deal."
Haha, I was amused by the spectacle. There are always oddballs every year, and this year it's my neighbor's turn. These two became friends after a fight!
"To be honest, after watching 'Shaolin Temple,' I also want to learn a couple of moves. It's much better than Taekwondo, and it must be super cool."
The topic has finally returned to the main point.
"I'll drop the charges against you tomorrow, and you should be out by then."
"Haha, that's great!"
"Everyone, if you still want to learn martial arts, you can sign up here. I teach you the authentic Shaolin Luohan Fist, and I guarantee you'll learn it."
"Oh, may I ask, does Shaolin really have seventy-two unique skills?"
"Yes, that's why they say all martial arts under heaven originated from Shaolin!"
"Holy crap, is this for real?"
"It must be true! Didn't you see how Senior Brother Xu Peng started learning martial arts at the age of five and has been practicing it for sixteen years without fail, rain or shine? His Arhat Fist routine is so powerful!"
"You're talking about Senior Brother Xu Peng, is he the one from 'Shaolin Temple'?"
"Yes, he is my senior brother, who entered the sect five years earlier than me."
"Master, please accept my bow!"
The popularity of "Shaolin Temple" has also led to a surge in enrollment for martial arts schools. Countless parents are bringing their children to nearby martial arts schools to inquire, even if they can't become kung fu masters, it's still a great way to improve their physical fitness.
The next day, "Shaolin Temple" soared to the top of the box office, with a box office of 223 million yuan that dazzled film companies and movie fans.
"Men in the Stars" saw a slight increase, with box office revenue reaching 145 million, while "The Last Bullet" also broke 100 million, reaching 101 million. "National Fortress," however, suffered a major setback, dropping to 65 million.
The summer holiday season has shown its true power. This period coincides with the time when high school graduates, who have just finished their college entrance exams, come out to relax and go to the movies together. This is the main force behind the surge in movie box office revenue!
To find out the strength of their opponents, Fang Yang and Zhao Liang watched every movie the next day and compared it with today's box office figures, which gave them a better understanding of the situation.
"Men in the Stars" follows the consistent filming style of the United States. You can't say what's bad about it, nor can you say what's good about it. It's purely the American tradition of individual heroism. The plot is simple, and it relies on the fight scenes and special effects to carry it. But some people like it, and there's no way to explain that.
"The Last Bullet" is a Hong Kong-style crime thriller with a strong plot and good acting. Relying on the powerful performances of two Best Actor winners and one Best Actress winner, in Fang Yang's opinion, it is better than "Men in Black". However, due to market preferences, its box office performance may be worse than "Men in Black".
"National Fortress" is hard to describe. It is a romance film disguised as science fiction. The whole film shows the male lead showing off and his sweet talk with the female lead. There are also five-cent special effects that are hard to describe. Fang Yang can't see where the 500 million yuan filming budget was used.
Fang Yang has sentenced "National Fortress" to death. This kind of movie is purely disgusting. I don't know what Yuehai Film & Television was thinking. It's bound to lose money!
The remaining time will likely be a competition between "Shaolin Temple," "Men in the Galaxy," and "The Last Bullet." At this point, Fang Yang is incredibly grateful for the surprise screening strategy. If it weren't for the overwhelming audience response on the day of the screening, which attracted the attention of moviegoers and generated word-of-mouth, "Shaolin Temple" would still be struggling at the bottom. After all, word-of-mouth takes time to spread!
The box office success of "Shaolin Temple" is now unparalleled, and the resulting herd mentality shows that "Shaolin Temple" has been in a favorable position from the very beginning. With just a little spark, it can start a prairie fire and shine brightly this summer!
At this time, Yuehai Media was also holding a meeting. With an investment of 500 million yuan in filming and 200 million yuan in advertising, Yuehai Media had high hopes for this movie and wanted to turn things around. However, judging from the box office results of the first two days, the first day was okay, but the second day was a complete disaster, with the box office dropping by more than 30 million yuan. Was this going to be a flop?
The outcome was certainly not what Sun Hai wanted. Now, even recovering the initial investment of 700 million yuan would be difficult, let alone making a profit. He feared he wouldn't be able to withstand the investors' wrath!
"Tell me, what happened? Didn't they say it was guaranteed to be a box office hit? It's only the second day, and the box office has plummeted. Can anyone give me a reason?"
Director Zhang Dawei sat trembling in the corner. When he first received the script, he was indeed full of ambition and wanted to make a science fiction film with Chinese characteristics. But everything started from the casting process, and the wheel of fate began to deviate from its course.
From the start, the investors designated a popular celebrity as the male lead, and then the heir recommended a female lead. Their combined salary reached 200 million yuan, accounting for 40% of the total investment. That's not all; the male and female leads couldn't act at all. They acted like divas on set, bossing everyone around and demanding changes. The script went through numerous revisions, and even the screenwriter couldn't take it anymore and resigned. Who can you complain to? The key issue is that their acting was so awkward you could dig a three-bedroom apartment out of it with your toes!
"I think we have to blame Fang Yang for this. Everything was going so well, but then Fang Yang organized some kind of preview screening, which drew the whole country's audience to that 'Shaolin Temple' movie. It's ridiculous. A monk and a woman falling in love? Isn't that laughable? How could anyone buy into such an absurd movie? Isn't that just a fantasy?"
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