June 21, 1988, 5 p.m.

It wasn't dark yet.

At the major cinema stores of Shaw Brothers in Hong Kong, many citizens who have just finished school and got off work have lined up in front of the cinema.

"The sequel to Court of Avalon is out!"

"I heard that it's not a sequel, "Avalon" is a side story. "Fate/Stay Night" is the main sequel to this series. ”

"No matter! Anyway, as long as you can see my king, the external biography or the main biography is a subsection. ”

The fame of the "Fate/Stay Night" movie has been heard by many people. At least, the previous work "Court of Avalon" not only sparked a wave of animation industry around the world, but also began to try to use computers to create anime.

Moreover, the heroic Artoria version of King Arthur can also be regarded as a long-lasting topical character.

It's not just Japan's Heisei Dead House, but when I see my king, it's like I have found the meaning of life.

Hong Kong has accumulated popularity for many years, and the female version of King Arthur has gradually become a deeply rooted role, especially young people now, who accept all kinds of animation, games, film and television influence, and are already more picky than the early middle-aged and elderly people. After getting tired of seeing the same routine, I suddenly saw that King Arthur was a girl's idea, and quickly entered the house.

At the same time, the characters such as the Knights of the Round Table and Merlin in the Arthurian story also have a lot of popularity.

"Fate/Stay Night" has the foreshadowing of the previous work, so when it was first released, there was already a phenomenon of full cinemas.

In particular, the two digital screening halls are even more difficult to find. Many people are lucky enough to buy a ticket for 20 Hong Kong dollars, and they can sell it for 80 yuan.

and Shaw Brothers' Hong Kong cinema chain, although there are only 27. But basically they are all large screening halls, 500 seats are considered less, many screening halls are more than 1,000 seats, and even two or three thousand large theaters.

The entire Shaw Brothers cinema chain in Hong Kong can accommodate 30,000 spectators if the seats are full. Of course, this kind of grand spectacle of all the movie theaters being filled was unimaginable before.

However, this evening......

All!

The 27 movie theaters operated by the Shaw Brothers Cinema Line are all full!

"I'll never go to see "Fate/Stay Night", "Avalon Court" is already a classic, and making a sequel is purely for money!" said a viewer to a friend before passing by the cinema, "Since ancient times, sequels have not escaped violent death!"

"Alas, there's a King Arthur poster over there!" the friend pointed to the promotional poster outside the movie theater.

Holding a big sword, a promotional image of the EX curry stick is released.

The audience still bought the high-priced tickets in the hands of scalpers because of the lack of time.

An hour and a half later, the audience member walked out of the cinema, found a friend who was eating barbecue outside, poured a sip of beer, and said, "Let me tell you, "Fate/Stay Night" is so good! Not only will my king always be my wife, but Rin Tosaka is also my wife, Sakura Makiri is still my wife, and Medea is still my wife...... No, I can't stand it, there are too many wives, what should I do?"

"......" friends don't know what to say anymore, what about the festival?

……

"Yesterday, the premiere only started at 6 o'clock, and there were three shows, with a box office of 1.07 million!" Huang Jianming, the general manager of the Shaw Brothers Cinema Line, reported to Run Run Shaw excitedly.

"Good! good!" Run Run Shaw felt very happy, although the theater chain itself can only get 50% of the box office revenue, but as long as the box office is booming, it is definitely a profiteering business.

"Also, drinks and snacks were sold for more than 500,000 yesterday. Huang added.

The business model of movie theaters, in addition to the main business of movie ticket revenue, in addition, snacks and beverages are also the growth points of the movie theater line to increase profits.

"Well, it seems that the previous operation of the cinema chain was indeed too conservative!" Shaw said, "This is already a new era, and the high-tech animated blockbusters and new projection equipment are much stronger than the old ones! Other old movie theaters are also restoration facilities, and those tattered seats can be thrown away and replaced with new ones!"

"Yes!" Huang Cianming said, "This time thanks to the help of the new entrepreneurship department, especially the Felix animated film, the exclusive release qualification in Hong Kong!"

Run Run Shaw thought for a while and said, "That kind of movie is about the same scale as our entire theater chain. We can't afford to make films, but in the future, we will cooperate more with the new startup department and distribute more of their films. ”

……

A few days later, "Fate/Stay Night" continued to rise at the box office. At the same time, the Shaw Brothers Cinema Line can only be launched in Hong Kong, and it is not good to eat alone.

With more cinemas in the Hong Kong area, the screenings were added.

The daily box office exceeded 3.5 million.

"It is expected that this film will reach at least 50 million in the local market in Hong Kong!" Huang Xizhao, general manager of the new venture film and television company, is also more emotional, "Felix Animation Company has really risen." The attractiveness of the animated characters is no less than that of the top real-life stars!"

Lin Qi looked at the data and said, "Animated films can occupy a place, that's for sure." Instead of live-action movies, it may not be, and the future film market will still be dominated by live-action movies. However, the good production of animated films must also be a great advantage, and the technical accumulation of an excellent animation team is not necessarily lower than the moat of a big star!"

If "Court of Avalon" is just an accident, another sequel, relying on the IP of the previous work, kills and kills. This proves that the IP of virtual characters is no less than the IP of real stars!

This is also the reason why Disney, which was relatively weak at the beginning, had the last laugh and became the largest media and entertainment giant in the United States in the competition of Hollywood's pattern!

Most of the other film giants rely on live-action films, and when they encounter factors such as celebrities' salary increases, job hopping, and outdated weather, their income will fluctuate greatly.

However, Disney's animated characters such as Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Cat and Mouse, etc., have to make Disney profits for at least more than a hundred years, and never mention remuneration. Moreover, these virtual characters, as long as they are not angry, then basically never need to retire!

This is where the IP of a virtual character has an advantage over a real IP.

And after the hit of "Fate/Stay Night" in Hong Kong, the film is still taking the global distribution route. Overseas markets such as Japan, the United States, and Europe all need to pay a lot of publicity energy.