Chapter 294: The biggest dark horse hits the market.
"Zombie movies? That's bad luck!"
When Sun Xianjin heard the report in his office, he raised an eyebrow, feeling that Qin Xiangxiang was getting too cocky and had begun to run the textile factory recklessly.
He found an informant to monitor the Feiyan Textile Factory's movements at all times. This time, he couldn't let Qin Xiangxiang catch him off guard again.
"Factory manager, it's a zombie movie. It's the first time we've partnered with Hong Kong capital, and I heard that Fei Yan Textile Factory is contributing clothing as shares. If the movie makes a profit, the entire factory will receive a share of the box office revenue."
"This is the first time we've seen a Sino-foreign collaboration like this, with a clothing company investing in a film. Many organizations are watching closely and want to see how it goes."
Sun, the inmate, muttered to himself, "How's the box office performance of Hong Kong movies?"
"The problem is that those zombie movies were really bad. I asked around and found out that in the 1970s, over a decade, about three or four zombie movies were made that you could name, and each one did worse at the box office than the last."
"Nobody pays any attention to Mao Shan. I heard he can't get any investment in Hong Kong. He's poor, so he's thinking of cooperating with the mainland... I guess it's to save money."
"Many people could tell that his movie was going to be a money-loser; zombie movies don't make money at all."
Sun Xianjin: "It's not profitable... so why would Qin Xiangxiang get involved?"
"They got carried away. I heard that there's a master craftsman in their factory who personally makes the official uniforms for zombies."
"And they also think that since this zombie movie is set in the Republican era, and their factory is full of old relics from that period, right?"
"Director Sun, don't worry, Feiyan Textile Factory has definitely made a bad move, and Director Qin is about to be in a difficult situation!"
Upon hearing this, Sun Xianjin was immediately relieved. Zombie movies don't make money at all, and Qin Xiang would definitely be made a role model after the movie was released.
——A negative example!
“This young lady who returned from studying abroad, her ‘Western-style dress’ is still not right. I’ll do it, I’ll alter it myself.”
"Factory manager, this part is embroidered incorrectly."
Qin Xiangxiang took the clothes and, seeing that she had made a mistake, embroidered a crooked "coward" character on the back of the zombie official's uniform.
"Factory manager, this is something our workers came up with—a trick cloth."
Qin Xiangxiang: "?"
"These pants are very stretchy and will never tear. They were designed for my apprentice. He was being chased by a zombie, which was actually very slow, but he was so scared that he kept tripping and falling on the spot. It was as funny as it could be."
"And this, a little zombie outfit, a miniature version of a child's official uniform, and here's a little melon-shaped hat made from red scraps."
"This is a 'rattle drum' specially made by Master Gu from the factory for the little zombie. Every time the little zombie appears, it carries a rattle drum. Master Gu specially tuned the sound, and it sounds really funny. Listen to it—dong dong dong..."
...
Qin Xiangxiang: "What is this?"
"This is a 'magical artifact' that Director Mao Shan specifically requested!"
Qin Xiangxiang: "...Isn't this a back scratcher?"
"Yes, this is a back scratcher, a back scratcher magic tool."
...
Qin Xiangxiang looked at the factory's pile of bizarre costumes and props, which were the result of collective brainstorming. She found them very funny, but also felt that they were a bit too unreliable.
When she reread the script written by the screenwriter, she almost laughed until her stomach hurt.
"Hahaha... This is too funny."
Mao Shan: "It's a comedy film, so whatever makes it funny is what we do."
Secretary Li asked in bewilderment, "What educational significance does this have?"
Mao Shan: "It's not educational at all, but the audience loves to watch it, and I, as the director, love to show off."
Mao Shan will personally play an unreliable master in the movie, which will be a self-directed and self-acted work, fulfilling his "dream" of playing a Maoshan Taoist priest catching ghosts.
"Do audiences like watching movies like this?"
Screenwriter: "The box office shouldn't be bad, right? At least we'll break even! I'm very confident we'll break even."
Mao Shan: "Hahaha, just breaking even is enough!"
Qin Xiangxiang: "..."
She originally wanted to say a few words, but then she thought it best to go home, lie in bed, close her eyes, and sleep peacefully.
“Take Sui Sui to the textile factory and let her touch the sewing machine and the textile machine.”
Zhou Aodong: "Qin Xiangxiang, are you practicing feudal superstition?"
"I'm just doing this for the sake of celebration."
Qin Xiangxiang got out of bed and suddenly hugged Li Jianzhi, who was writing documents, from behind. She pretended to be melancholy and said, "...What if the box office loses money? I'm so anxious. Life is full of disappointments."
“I didn’t want things to happen before, but they all happened anyway.”
"I want to make money now, but is it possible that I won't be able to?"
Li Jianzhi put down his pen, hugged his wife, and sighed, "Money really does move people's hearts. Even my lazy wife is thinking of jumping the dragon gate."
"Money can make even the lazy get up and start grinding."
Li Jianzhi: "Don't worry, it will definitely make money. I'll take over Comrade Xiangxiang's career luck."
Qin Xiangxiang smiled and kissed him on the cheek: "What career luck? You're indulging in feudal superstition."
Li Jianzhi chuckled and pinched her cheek. "After we get our dividends, our family will become a ten-thousand-yuan household!"
The guy trying to lose weight has started living off a woman again.
"I, Li Jianzhi, have a naturally weak stomach."
"You've partnered with Factory Director Qin? Then I'll invest an additional 100,000!"
Upon hearing that Mao Shan had gone to the mainland, had a film exchange with Director Qin, and had invited Fei Yan Textile Factory to produce film costumes, Chen Qidong immediately decided to invest HK$100,000 to get involved in the business without asking any other questions.
"Chen Qidong, are you crazy?! I'm already on this pirate ship and haven't gotten off yet, and you've invested so much money?" Chen Qidong's friend Ge Chunjiang completely didn't understand him. "I invested some before, it was all as a friendly investment. How about I transfer the shares to you?"
Chen Qidong: "Are you sure? Okay, give it all to me. I also need to contact Mao Shan and add another 100,000 to make sure he does a good job filming."
Ge Chunjiang was dumbfounded: "So you all won't shed a tear until you see the coffin!"
"Let me tell you, this zombie movie is definitely going to make a profit!"
Filming for "Mr. Vampire: The Movie" officially began in the early summer of 1980. Thanks to director Mao Shan's passionate enthusiasm for filming, coupled with the mature industrial system of Hong Kong films, the entire filming process, including post-production, was completed in just two and a half months.
In late summer and early autumn, the completed film "Mr. Vampire: The Movie" was released in major cinemas in Hong Kong on a relatively ordinary day during a less popular release period.
"Another zombie movie? Last year's one was a complete flop, it almost bankrupted me! This poster is so ridiculous, how many dogs will it even fool?" The theater manager wasn't optimistic about this zombie movie, and didn't care much about it, only wanting to get rid of this plague as soon as possible.
Because of their lack of confidence in zombie movies, theaters didn't promote them much, instead focusing on promoting another romance film.
On the first day of release, during the early morning screening, there were only a dozen or so people scattered in the theater. Although the zombie movie flopped, there were still a few die-hard fans who were traditional zombie movie enthusiasts.
They came expecting a traditional horror movie, and their expressions were very serious.
Of course, there was also a less serious one in the corner, a couple, a young couple on a date, watching a horror movie.
A book titled "The Love Bible" states: Romantic movies won't make your girlfriend love you more, but horror movies can make her throw herself into your arms and whine...
“Baby, if you’re scared, just run into my arms.”
I'm so nervous!
Hearing what the young couple in the back row said, the expressions of the audience in the front row became even more serious, and everyone prepared themselves for a horror movie.
Ten minutes into the movie, a sudden burst of laughter rang out from a corner in the front row, and then the laughter started in a chain reaction, with the entire theater laughing.
When the word "coward" appeared on the back of the zombie, the whole audience burst into loud laughter.
When the lazy zombie king was comically bouncing around in the mud on screen, some viewers laughed so hard they almost slid off their chairs.
The couple who started the movie were laughing so hard they were practically falling over, each of them lying on their own, not exchanging a word, completely absorbed in the movie's plot, behaving like complete strangers.
After the movie ended and I left the theater, I suddenly realized, "Oh, so you were here too?"
So we came here on a date?!
The first group of people who finished watching the movie walked out of the theater, all with flushed faces, some even clutching their stomachs, telling everyone they met:
"It's so funny! It's not a horror movie, it's a comedy! I'm dying of laughter, I want to watch it again."
"That zombie was so unlucky! But there was a little zombie, so cute! Honey, I want to take this little zombie home and raise it!"
...
By the afternoon, some cinemas had started to have 20 or 30 people waiting in the waiting area, including a family with a small child—an audience that traditional zombie movies would never attract.
On the second and third days, the situation changed dramatically.
"Sold out? Sold out? Should we ask for more shows?"
"What? Everyone's here to see 'Mr. Vampire'? What about the romance movie?"
Theater managers' phones were ringing off the hook with calls from audiences demanding more screenings. The managers, who had previously complained, were now stunned by the current success. Could combining zombie films with comedy really work so well? Are audiences buying into it?
The poster for "Mr. Zombie's Comedy" has been moved to the most prominent position, and even the tagline has been changed to: "The whole city will be laughing! The most unexpected surprise of the year!"
During peak movie-going hours on weekends, long queues stretching for hundreds of meters form outside cinemas, and the cinemas themselves are lit up with red "full" signs. Scalpers also specialize in reselling movie tickets, and even at double the price, demand still exceeds supply.
"I've watched this three times already, and it still makes me laugh so hard! I want to watch it again... This movie is very well made. On my second viewing, I paid special attention to the official robes of the zombies. They are exquisite and definitely cost a lot of money to produce."
"This movie doesn't skimp on the audience at all! The costumes, props, and sets are excellent."
"I can see a kind of luxury, a splendor within the horror... I'd like to see more."
"Mr. Vampire" grossed less than HK$100,000 on its opening day, a very dismal start. However, its box office performance gradually improved in the following days, eventually reaching HK$1.8 million.
Even more astonishing was the box office performance in the second week, where the hype exploded, taking in three million Hong Kong dollars in a single week!
After a month and a half of release, the film achieved a miraculous box office of HK$7.2 million in Hong Kong, far surpassing all other films released at the same time, becoming the biggest dark horse in the Hong Kong film industry in 1980.
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