Chapter 52: The Battle for the Box Office (Part I)
Sister Mei's villa is big enough to accommodate everyone, not to mention that everyone doesn't have the heart to go home. Uncle Zeng and Li Jiaxin made a phone call home and reported the family, and everyone was excited to eat supper in the living room.
How can you not drink when you're happy? When the wine is high, how can people not forget their form?
Zhou Xingxing was already drunk, and while looking at this luxurious villa with envy, he boasted and set it in front of Li Jiaming, and swore that he would buy such a mansion in the future.
Uncle Zeng and Uncle Tart also drank high, both of them were born in TVB. Uncle Tart is because he is good at gambling, Uncle Zeng is because he has a high heart, both of them have experienced the trough of life, and they have ushered in the climax of life again, why don't they let the two of them admire the wonder of life?
Liu Weiqiang is also drunk, and he is promising his grandson that he will definitely shoot the sequel equally well. Zhang Hong doesn't drink, she is excitedly taking Sister Mei's phone and negotiating with her parents.
Even outsiders like Li Jiaxin laughed with Hu Juan. Li Jiaxin relied on her height to be taller than Juanzi, pressed her on the sofa, and forced her to promise to compensate for hiding herself. The two girls laughed and played for a while, and they were very busy.
Only Sun Ziming was holding a wine glass and sipping red wine slowly, visiting the courtyard at night, thinking about when to buy such a building for Juanzi. When the time comes, I will invite my parents' tablets and watch my children grow up in such a house.
Sister Mei and Rong Shao were reminiscing about today's movie, and suddenly found Sun Ziming by the pool, lying on a deck chair watching the stars. Looking at the room full of people, they are all a little out of shape, they are all excited, only this young man actually has the leisure to look at the starry sky.
"Rong Shao, this brother of yours is terrible!"
Zhang Guorong's growth environment is more simple, he has not fully learned Sister Mei's ability to see people, and he thinks that his friend is praising his newly made brother.
"That's it! Sister Mei, I really want to be a movie queen and go to him! Let me tell you,I've seen the book he invited Fa Ge.,That's the book that will definitely make Fa Ge win another award! β
"Huh?"
Zhang Guorong leaned his head over and said in a low voice: "It's true, the script alone moved me to tears!" β
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At half past two o'clock in the afternoon of the next day, Sun Ziming and the others, with the help of Sister Mei and Rong Shao, finally sorted out all the possible answers to the questions and appeared in front of the reporter.
"Mr. Sun, the morning show of Home Alone is full, what do you think of this situation that has never happened?"
"I have to ask the audience this question, but I think it's because the audience likes this film, so they will watch it in the morning."
"Mr. Sun, last night's box office of "A Plan for the Sequel" was 650,000, while "Home Alone" was 560,000, of course, "Home Alone" had 4 fewer theaters. Do you think your film is on par with the sequel to "A Trick and Strategy"? Do you have the confidence to come from behind? β
Sun Ziming smiled bitterly: "To be honest, I don't know what to do!" As you know, I'm a rookie director, and this is my first time directing a film solo. I'll wait until I have experience to answer these questions."
"Mr. Sun, will there be a sequel to Home Alone? When will the sequel meet the audience? β
This reporter was invited by Uncle Zeng, and Sun Ziming had a smile on his face.
"This gentleman asked well, the script for the sequel to "Home Alone" has been written, it will be performed by the original cast, and the director and cameraman will be my assistant Mr. Liu Weiqiang."
"What about you?"
"Me? I'm going to make another movie, in fact, more than half a month ago, I invited Miss Zhang Aijia and Mr. Zhou Yunfa to star in "The Story of Ah Lang". Due to Sister Aijia's accidental injury, we temporarily changed the female lead, but I believe that Miss Liu Jialing can play this role well."
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After dealing with reporters, Sun Ziming gave up the limelight to the actors, and this kind of occasion was a good time for the actors to be in the limelight. If it weren't for his age being too scary, "Home Alone" happened to be on the line with "A Ji Lu Draw Sequel", which became a bargaining chip between Jiahe and Shaw Brothers, how could these reporters go to besiege a director?
"Ziming, you come out."
Sun Ziming sued the reporters and followed Uncle Zeng to the back, where Aunt Fang was waiting for him with a smile on her face.
"Ziming, congratulations!"
"Aunt Fang, congratulations too!"
"Rejoice and rejoice".
The box office of "Home Alone" in the morning came out, with a total of 310,000 Hong Kong dollars, and all the tickets for the first show in the afternoon have been sold out. This is a grand scene that Shaw Brothers has never seen since the rise of Jiahe.
Aunt Fang is here to discuss the distribution in Southeast Asia, the Shaw Brothers Group still has 74 theaters in Southeast Asia, and "Home Alone" is popular in Hong Kong, so she will naturally not let go of the Southeast Asian market.
Although the theater was leased to Debao, there was an agreement at the beginning, and Shaw Brothers had the right of first refusal. Unexpectedly, the Shaw Brothers themselves discontinued the movie, but it was used on Sun Ziming and them!
"Aunt Fang, do as you say."
Sun Ziming agreed to Aunt Fang's request, and if possible, he wished that Aunt Fang would handle the distribution of Southeast Asia. Only Shaw Brothers, who only want to fight for their breath, will offer such a generous treatment, and if they are replaced by other companies, Sun Ziming and they will have to pay at least 8% of the issuance fee, instead of the current 3%!
Sun Ziming and their side are excited about the box office, but Jiahe is very nervous, although last night's box office was a small victory, but the discerning people know that there was a tie on both sides of the road.
"Uncle Zou, the statistics for the morning session are out, 286,000."
Well, it's not bad, and the morning session can have more than 70% attendance.
"What about the Shaw Brothers?"
The plain and capable assistant hesitated for a while, and said in a low voice: "It's full, and there is no discount."
Zou Daheng, who was also close to his prime, was stunned for a moment, before he reacted, the coffee in his hand spilled on the table, and the assistant hurriedly went over to wipe it. Zou Daheng was silent for a long time, and finally realized that "A Plan Sequel" may be in big trouble.
"You quietly go and see, where do people win?"
"Yes".
β¦β¦
What Zou Daheng was worried about finally happened, and as soon as the box office statistics of the two sides came out the next day, Jiahe's people were stunned. When Cheng Long saw the statistical table, his face was even redder, and he couldn't wait to find a crack in the ground and get in.
- "A Trick Sequel" 850,000, "Home Alone" 1.48 million broke the Hong Kong single-day box office record.
Major newspapers also reported the grand release of "Home Alone" on the front page, and the long queue at the ticket office in the photo was so dazzling in the eyes of Jiahe's people.
Since the third day, the box office of "Home Alone" has been overwhelming "A Plan and a Sequel". On the third day, the box office of "Home Alone" reached 1.58 million on the same day, once again breaking the single-day box office record in Hong Kong, while "A Ji Lu Plan Sequel", which had 4 more theaters in theaters, dropped by 50,000 to 800,000 on the second day.
'1.1 million overwhelms 12 million (according to the amount of investment advertised)! Is Sun Tzu Mingtai a genius? Or is Jiahe too incompetent? βThe Sun.
As soon as I saw this title, I knew that Lu Dao was Aunt Fang's pony, and Sun Ziming felt numb when he looked at such a title. Your old man is breathing a bad breath, and I still have to find food in the circle.
'The Contest of Wisdom and Violence' β Oriental Weekly......
'Hong Kong comedy gets rid of imitation for the first time' - Ming Pao Film Review.
This article is a bit interesting, it starts from the analysis of films such as "Best Partner", pointing out that Hong Kong commercial films have been imitating foreign films such as Hollywood, and have been taking people's creativity and localization of bridges, but in fact, there is no innovation of their own at all. "Home Alone" is the first real Hong Kong commercial comedy film, and every scene in it is localized, and there is no trace of imitation. From this point of view, "A Plan Sequel" is not unjust at all! β¦β¦
'The Future of Hong Kong Cinema is Innovation'ββSing Tao Daily Film Review.
The essence of movies is to tell stories, and "Little Ghost" tells a very good story to the audience. From the very beginning, the film swayed the audience's emotions and brought the audience into the story of a battle of wits between a little boy and a stupid thief. I will not repeat the wonderful points.
In order to present the audience with shocking scenes, "A Plan Sequel" has increased its investment in special effects, as well as investment in large scenes, which are all desirable. However, none of these things are more effectively integrated with the plot, which instead weakens the excitement of the story itself.
To be fair, "A Ji Lu Plan Sequel" is also an excellent film, but Cheng Long's level of storytelling is too far behind that of Mr. Sun Ziming, which may be the difference in the level of top students and primary school students at Yan University.
On the fourth day, the box office of "Home Alone" exceeded 1.6 million to reach 1.61 million, once again setting a single-day box office record, and major media have portrayed it as Bruce Lee's miracle. In contrast, the box office of "A Plan Sequel" fell to 700,000, and it completely fell victim to "Home Alone".
In fact, aside from other factors, "A Plan Sequel" is still popular with action movie fans. It's just that "Home Alone" is too rebellious, and all the praise that "A Plan Lu Plans Sequel" has received has been drowned in the tide of popularity of "Home Alone".
Zou Daheng looked at the report in his hand and smiled bitterly, this matter really can't be blamed on Cheng Long's lack of hard work, only blamed on his company's bad luck, and bumped into a miracle like "Little Ghost" that is rare in ten years! Looking at the ashamed Cheng Long at the desk, Zou Daheng felt that this superstar was indeed inferior to the young man, just because of the bearing of Mount Tai and not changing color, the young man was completely better than the action star he was supporting.
"Aaron, don't think about it. Where is the spirit when you overpowered your senior brother with "A Plan"? Be a man and be able to afford to lose! β
"Uncle Zou, I"
"Nothing, isn't it just a movie? We have failed in Hong Kong, and there are other cities that can't lose."