China Entertainment's whatever you want

This summer, starting in July, the hottest movie in the global film market was undoubtedly "Extraction".

A Sino-US co-production action blockbuster starring Chinese actors sparked a global movie-going frenzy in the first two weeks of the 2023 summer vacation.

It wasn't until late July, with the release of Oppenheimer and Barbie, that Exit was overshadowed by these two highly anticipated Hollywood blockbusters.

Oppenheimer was released on the 20th, and its box office revenue in its first week was over 8000 million yuan, which is similar to the opening week data of The Rescue.

The movie "Barbie," which was released a day later, was even more impressive, raking in a whopping $1.62 million in its opening weekend in North America.

Affected by the two blockbuster films, the box office of "Extraction" dropped significantly in its third week of release. However, due to their different genres, it still earned $3745 million in the North American market in its third week, ranking third in the weekly box office chart.

Back in China, Oppenheimer and Barbie didn't cause much of a stir, but the release of Fengshen and The Incredibles still took up a lot of screen time.

As July came to a close, the last film to be released, "Barbie," became the biggest winner in the North American market, grossing $3.66 million in its first ten days.

[Extraction] grossed $2.4 million in North America, ranking second in the monthly box office.

Oppenheimer ranked third with $1.88 million.

Mission: Impossible 7 has only grossed $1.4 million in North America after more than three weeks in theaters, ranking sixth.

As of July 31, "Extraction" had been in theaters for 4 weeks and 26 days, grossing 42.5 billion RMB in China, 5.86 million USD in North America, Europe, Japan, South Korea and other regions, and 83.3 billion RMB worldwide.

#【Extraction】A Hit in North America, Breaking Box Office Records!#
#Gu Wei's words proved prophetic: [Extreme Rescue] triumphs over [Mission: Impossible 7] in North America!#
#【Extreme Rescue】Breaks Japanese box office records; Gu Wei's appearance at the promotional event causes a stir among fans, one of whom faints from excitement!#
#The cast of "Extreme Rescue" arrived in Seoul, where tens of thousands of fans gathered, causing airport traffic to be paralyzed.#
#Extraction surpasses 80 billion RMB in global box office, surpassing Jurassic Park to enter the top 40 of film history.#
#Chinese action blockbuster a global hit, [Extreme Rescue] may reignite a global kung fu craze!#
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Since the release of "Extraction" in early July, domestic media outlets and various platforms have been reporting on the film non-stop.

Some of the buzz was due to paid marketing for "The Guardian of the World," but most of it was generated through discussion and reporting because of the film's success.

Especially in the later stages, "Extreme Rescue" became a global bestseller, breaking all sorts of records.

The internet erupted in cheers, with countless enthusiastic supporters emerging.

Its huge sales in North America and other countries around the world have sparked a sense of pride among Chinese people.

John Wick 4 was a huge hit worldwide, but it was clearly a Hollywood blockbuster, just with Gu Wei in the lead role.

【Extreme Rescue】is a Sino-US co-production, with 【Lionsgate】as a production company, but it is clearly controlled by 【Guardians of the Sky】, so there is no problem in calling it a domestic film.

During the summer movie season, besides "Extraction," there were many other highly anticipated films released in China, some of which performed well at the box office, but none of them achieved the same level of popularity as "Extraction."

For example, the movie "The Investiture of the Gods" which was released in late July.

Wuerfan, a film eight years in the making, only grossed over 10 billion RMB in its first two weeks of release.

When the movie "Fengshen" was being prepared, it was said to have an investment of 30 billion yuan. Of course, this was the total investment for the trilogy. Even if the first movie cost 10 billion yuan, it would still need 30 billion yuan in box office revenue to break even.

Even if we remove the hype and cut costs, the box office would need to be at least 20 billion to break even.

Based on the current box office trend of the film, it only grossed 10 billion yuan in the first two weeks, and there are still many competitive new films to be released. Whether the final box office can break 20 billion yuan is a big question.

The box office performance of "The Investiture of the Gods" was not ideal, partly because the film itself was not exciting enough.

Before watching it, everyone said it was the Eastern version of "The Lord of the Rings," but after watching the movie, I realized that it was overhyped and completely undeserving of the title.

The content lacked innovation, and the visual language wasn't particularly impactful; in other words, it failed to ignite the audience's emotions and thus couldn't generate much buzz.

On the other hand, the competition during the summer movie season is too fierce.

I thought Gu Wei's movies would be popular, but I never imagined that "Extreme Rescue" would be this popular. Even two weeks after its release, it still took away a significant share of the box office from "The Investiture of the Gods" in its opening week.

As for "The Incredibles," which was released in the same week, it was a terrible movie that used Shen Teng's name as a selling point, and its reputation collapsed immediately after its release.

Not only did it not do well at the box office, but Shen Teng was also criticized by many viewers.

After the box office of "The Investiture of the Gods" failed to meet expectations, the production company tried every means to promote the film. The director and the main cast and crew traveled all over the country for promotional tours, playing the victim to gain sympathy while promoting the film.

The script was polished for five years and went through several revisions; the actors were selected from 15000 people to enter the Investiture of the Gods training camp, and the training was extremely arduous; the costumes, props, and sets were meticulously recreated to reflect history, and so on.

In short, the point is that "Investiture of the Gods" is a film made with a lot of hard work by many people, and it's very good. I hope everyone can give it a chance to support domestic fantasy films.

As for why the box office is not good now, what Wu Ershan was implying was that the promotion of "Fengshen" was not done well, and it was not as good as other movies, but its quality was far superior.

A reporter asked Ursan what he thought of "Extraction," which has grossed over $80 billion worldwide.

Ursula is very cunning.

He first affirmed the achievements of "Extreme Rescue", praising the movie extensively. Then he said that he had initially invited Gu Wei to play "Ji Fa", but unfortunately they could not reach an agreement.

Finally, in a sarcastic tone, he said that although "The Investiture of the Gods" failed to attract any superstars and didn't spend much on marketing, they put all their money into the film itself, perfecting everything from set design and actors to special effects.

At Wanda Plaza in Beijing, Jing Tian and his best friend Ying Er were walking out after shopping.

"I didn't expect Wang Baoqiang's 'In the Octagonal Cage' to be so well shot!"

I thought it would be another movie on par with "Buddies in India."

The two went out very early, shopped at the mall for a while, and then went to see a movie.

Yinger originally wanted to watch Wu Jingxin's new film "The Meg 2", but Jing Tian suggested watching "The Octagon".

"Haven't you seen the related reviews lately? [In the Octagonal Cage] has been showing for a long time and has received excellent reviews."

Moreover, Gu Wei had recommended this film to me before.

Yinger suddenly remembered something: "I think Gu Wei is listed as a producer in the movie credits. He invested in Wang Baoqiang's movie?"

Jing Tian nodded: "I heard him say before that when Bao Qiang was filming this movie, he didn't have enough funds, so he called him and Gu Wei invested tens of millions to make up for the remaining funding gap."

After "Buddies in India," Wang Baoqiang's reputation suffered, and many people were skeptical of his next self-directed and self-acted film, making it difficult to secure investment.

Yinger exclaimed, "Wang Baoqiang is really lucky. I feel like Gu Wei is his benefactor. He got him to act in the 'Detective Chinatown' series, and he can lend a helping hand when he encounters difficulties."

I saw the news about him borrowing money to fight his divorce and pay taxes; Gu Wei helped him back then!

Jing Tian smiled and nodded.

"By the way, when will 'Joy of Life 3' be filmed? Has 'Wei Ming Tianxia' sent you any news?"

"The preliminary plan is for the second half of the year, around September or October. We will notify you about a month in advance."

Did your husband not receive the script?

In the TV series "Joy of Life", Jing Tian plays "Lin Wan'er", while Ying Er's husband, Fu Xinbo, plays "the eldest prince".

Not yet~

"I saw that he has a role in the script, so I expect to receive it later."

The two chatted as they walked to the underground parking garage.

"Let's have dinner together tonight, at my place. You know how good my husband is at cooking."

Yinger extended an invitation.

Jing Tian smiled and shook her head. She looked around and saw the black van not far away, and her face lit up with joy.

"I have something to do tonight, I have to go now, let's meet again next time."

After saying goodbye to Ying'er, Jing Tian walked over and got into the nanny van.

Standing there, Ying'er saw the car door open, and a familiar figure vaguely appeared inside.

She blinked, somewhat surprised but not too surprised.

Inside the van, Da Tiantian happily jumped into Gu Wei's arms and leaned down to breathe on him.

"Are you a puppy? Why are you sniffing all over me?"

Gu Wei put his arm around Jing Tian's waist and said with a smile.

Today, Jing Tian wore low-rise pants and a crop top, making her soft waist appear exceptionally slender against the backdrop of her full bust and perky buttocks.

Gu Wei could vaguely feel the abs on her waist when he placed his large hand on her.

"I just like the smell of you, is that wrong?"

When she's alone with Gu Wei, Da Tian Tian's voice is always sweet and delicate.

"Of course, do whatever you want."

What would you like to eat tonight?

After snuggling against Gu Wei for a while, Da Tian Tian looked up and said, "I'm on a diet lately, let's go eat Japanese food."

Gu Wei nodded, and then the van started.

Before long, the two were sitting in a private room at a high-end Japanese restaurant in Beijing.

The small house is in the style of a Japanese house. There is a small wooden table in the middle of the tatami room. Gu Wei and Jing Tian are on opposite sides of the table, which is full of Japanese delicacies such as sushi and sashimi.

"Do you drink sake?" Gu Wei asked.

"Just a little bit more."

The two chatted over dinner and drinks, with Jing Tian telling Gu Wei about the interesting things that had happened at work recently.

When the conversation turned to the movie Jing Tian and her best friend watched today, Gu Wei asked, "So, did you enjoy 'The Octagonal Cage'?"

"Yeah, after we came out, Ying'er even told me that she didn't expect Baoqiang's movie to be so good."

"He was very well prepared for this film shoot; he put in a lot of hard work and determination."

Moreover, Baoqiang is truly talented in film and television.

Jing Tian nodded in agreement.

Don't be fooled by the fact that all sorts of people have tried to become directors these days; actually, it's quite difficult to make a truly good film.

If being a director were easy, there wouldn't be so many bad movies in the film industry.

"I've recently seen many media outlets and netizens speculating online whether 'Extreme Rescue' can break 100 billion yuan."

Do you think there's any hope?

Gu Wei picked up his wine glass and took a sip: "Currently, [Extreme Rescue] has been in theaters for over a month, with a domestic box office of 45.8 billion yuan and a global box office of 90.57 billion yuan."

Box office revenue in markets other than China, such as North America, Europe, Japan, and South Korea, has actually stopped growing.

To break the 10 billion yuan box office mark, the domestic market needs to generate nearly another 100 billion yuan in revenue.

"The movie has been in theaters for over a month, it's too difficult for it to gross another 10 billion yuan."

Jing Tian frowned slightly. She wasn't worried about the release date of "Extreme Rescue." For a blockbuster like this, it could be shown for a long time as long as an application was made, even until the National Day holiday.

However, the longer the film is shown, the lower the daily box office will be, and in the later stages, it may only be a few million in box office revenue per day.

"Is there nothing we can do?"

This is the first domestic film with the potential to break 10 billion yuan at the box office; it would be such a shame if it fell short by just a little bit!

Gu Wei smiled and said, "Didn't you say you saw a lot of people online discussing whether [Extreme Rescue] could break 10 billion?"

These are the actions taken by the company's publicity department.

Many of the online discussions about the film breaking 10 billion yuan are actually driven by our spending.

The first domestic film to break 10 billion yuan at the box office, and its attempt to break into the global box office charts—these momentums will naturally draw in audiences with a sense of national pride, prompting them to spend money to see it.

"Uh, you businessmen are too cunning." Jing Tian blinked his innocent big eyes, never expecting that marketing and publicity could be done like this.

Gu Wei smiled. Although this marketing strategy did indeed exploit the audience's national pride, the achievements of "Extreme Rescue" were also real.

The film's global success and Gu Wei's immense popularity worldwide have, to some extent, increased the Chinese public's awareness of him.

Therefore, Gu Wei has no qualms about making this money.

The two chatted for a while longer when Gu Wei's phone suddenly rang.

He took it out and glanced at it; it was a call from Dilraba.

Without any hesitation, I answered the phone.

"Hello……

"I'm not busy, I'm eating."

When the call connected, Dilraba didn't act coquettishly like she usually does when she calls him; instead, she communicated normally. Gu Wei immediately realized that she must be recording a program on the other end.

Variety shows often feature segments where celebrities call their friends, and Gu Wei has received such calls several times.

"Oh, no problem, leave it to me, it's a piece of cake."

Where are you now?
"Don't move, I'll have someone contact you."

After saying that, Gu Wei hung up the phone.

Across from her, Da Tiantian looked curious, but she didn't say anything as she saw Gu Wei still fiddling with his phone.

Gu Wei thought for a few seconds and then made a phone call.

The entire conversation was conducted in English. After the matter was clearly explained, the other party readily agreed. Gu Wei thanked them and hung up the phone.

Jing Tian speaks excellent English, and she asked him about it out of curiosity after Gu Wei hung up the phone.

"Is your friend filming a TV show abroad?"

Gu Wei nodded and explained to her, "Dilraba is filming 'Divas Hit the Road 5,' and the production team gave them some difficult challenges. To save on travel expenses, she asked me for help."

Of course, this is also allowed by the rules.

Luckily, I had some connections in Riyadh, so the problem was easily solved.

"Riyadh? That's not the capital of Saudi Arabia."

Do you know anyone there?

Jing Tian wasn't surprised that Reba sought help from Gu Wei; instead, he was curious that Gu Wei also had friends in the Middle East.

Gu Wei picked up a slice of tuna sashimi and put it in his mouth, saying casually, "Amanthu, just an ordinary Arab lad."

When the movie "Extraction" was on fire recently, he invited me to Riyadh during the global roadshow.

Unfortunately, the Middle East was not part of the plan.

"How's it going? Is it okay?"

At this moment, in a guesthouse in Riyadh, Middle East, Reba finished her phone call, and Qin Lan, who was next to her, asked in a hoarse voice.

She had a problem with her throat before and had been receiving treatment, so her voice sounded a bit high-pitched.

There is a 5-hour time difference between Riyadh and the capital. It is night there, but it is just past noon here.

"No problem, Gu Wei just told us to wait."

I've already sent him my phone number and address. He said someone will contact me later to come pick us up.

Dilraba explained to her friends around her.

"Then what else is there to say? If Gu Wei tells us to wait, then we'll wait. There's nothing he can't do."

On the other side, Xin Zhilei, who had worked with Gu Wei before, casually sat down on the sofa, took a banana from the fruit basket next to her, peeled it, and ate it, no longer worried about the matter.

The fifth season of "Divas Hit the Road" invited a total of 7 guests. The 5 "flowers" are the eldest sister Qin Hailu, the second sister Qin Lan, the third sister Xin Zhilei, the fourth sister Dilireba, and the youngest sister Zhao Zhaoyi, and the two brothers Wang Anyu and Hu Xianxu.

Riyadh was the first stop on this trip. As for why Dilraba asked for help, it was because of the show's production team's questionable tactics.

The old rule of "Divas Hit the Road" is that the production team will give the guests travel expenses before they go to a place, but this money is usually very tight, so as to see how the guests arrange the itinerary and how they handle conflicts under such circumstances.

After all, less money means more trouble, and if you spend money recklessly when you go out, you'll miss out on a lot of interesting things to see.

When Dilraba and her friends flew over from China, their luggage was overweight and they spent a lot of money. Today, the production team arranged for the "Divas Hit the Road" team to visit a local family in Riyadh to experience the unique Arab culture and taste local delicacies.

Of course, these expenses will all be deducted from their travel budget.

The production team told them that if the "Youth Over Flowers" team could use their personal connections to contact local Arabs and solve this problem, they could avoid spending money.

Dilraba and the other six are all celebrities in China, but they are basically unknown abroad.

Not to mention a country like Saudi Arabia in the Middle East.

At this moment, Reba remembered what Gu Wei had told her before, so she decided to give him a call and see what would happen.

"I never expected that Brother Wei would know people in a place like this. He truly deserves to be my idol, the number one superstar in the Chinese entertainment industry!" Zhao Zhaoyi, the youngest member of the group, is the least famous among the contestants, but she has a very cheerful personality and gets along well with the other women.

"Sister Lei, isn't Brother Wei super handsome in person?" Xin Zhilei has a very outgoing personality, and Zhao Zhaoyi is her closest friend.

"You've never met Gu Wei in person?"

"No, I've watched both the movies and TV series."

Before we came here, I went to the cinema to see "Extraction".

"I've never seen her in person." Zhao Zhaoyi had the expression of a little fangirl.

"Didn't you film 'Joy of Life' with Brother Wei?"

"He's definitely very handsome, but it's hard to describe just how handsome he is."

Anyway, she's even more perfect in person than on camera.

"I wonder when I'll be able to meet my idol." Zhao Zhaoyi said with longing.

Hu Xianxu laughed and said, "That's easy. Just work hard and attend more parties or award ceremonies. You might just see Brother Wei there sometime."

Wang Anyu chimed in, "For example, at this year's Weibo Night, I sat in the back row watching Wei Ge win the King award, and also watched Liu Yifei, whom I really like."

While the young people were chatting, Dilraba's phone rang.

She answered the call, said a few words, and then told everyone to go outside.

The group was surprised to see the car that had come to pick them up when they came out of the guesthouse.

"Wow, that's a Rolls-Royce extended wheelbase!"

After Wang Anyu finished speaking, Hu Xianxu had already circled the black luxury car once.

"To be precise, it's an extended Rolls-Royce Phantom."

This should be a model from last year; the base version costs around 1000 million.

The person who met with Dilraba was a middle-aged white man dressed as a butler. He spoke a few words with Dilraba and the production crew, and then opened the car door and invited them into the car.

"Starry sky roof, welcome pedals, rear airline seats, refrigerator, wine cabinet." Hu Xianxu, a car enthusiast, looked at each accessory after getting into the car and remarked, "With all these, it's worth more than 1000 million."

After everyone got into the car, the Phantom slowly started moving, with the film crew's car following behind.

The Rolls-Royce drove through the city and slowly entered a huge manor house with a distinctly Arabic style.

The group of people in the car looked at the scenery and buildings outside and wondered what Gu Wei's friend did in the area, since he could live in such a place that clearly belonged to the wealthy and powerful.

The Rolls-Royce stopped in front of a luxurious building that resembled a palace.

The door opened, and the group got out of the car and entered the house under the guidance of the butler.

The interior decoration of the building was extremely luxurious, perfectly matching the nouveau riche style of Arabs. The group of people were led inside like country bumpkins visiting a grand garden.

After passing through a white corridor, a door opened, revealing a young man dressed in local-style clothing.

It's like those characters on TV, with a piece of cloth on their head saying they're the richest person in the world.

"Hello, I'm Amantu, a friend of Gu Wei. He asked me to take care of everyone. Please let me know if you need anything."

"Hello, my name is Dilraba~"

Because it was Dilraba who approached Gu Wei, she was the first to step forward and respond.

"You are Dilraba. Gu Wei told me that you are just as beautiful as he described."

I know you're filming a show. Whatever you need, I can arrange it.

The young Arab man spoke with great arrogance. After he finished speaking, his steward promptly explained, "This is Prince Ammantu, son of King Abdul."

In Riyadh, none of your needs will be a problem for him.

After he finished speaking, everyone was in an uproar.

I knew before I came that Gu Wei's friend must be a rich man, but I didn't expect him to be a Saudi prince.

At this moment, the program director, who had followed them in, also became excited. Experiencing the local customs and culture at the prince's home—that's the highlight of this episode of "Divas Hit the Road"! (End of Chapter)