China Entertainment’s rescue plan is hard to come by

Chapter 873 A lunatic who won't make money [Part 2]

After "Super Interview" aired during prime time on Beijing TV, its ratings exploded.

As the final episode of the year, viewers were really looking forward to it. Unexpectedly, the special guests for this episode were the young couple Sun Yi and Liu Yifei. What surprised everyone even more was that international superstar Tom Cruise was also there.

Sun Yi and Liu Yifei, plus Tom Cruise.

With this lineup, you can easily find no comparable talent in any domestic entertainment program.

After the program aired on Beijing TV, Funshion Media immediately posted the video online, instantly igniting the online world.

Netizens, who were worried about missing the broadcast time on Beijing TV, immediately flocked to video websites.

In just a few hours, the video had been viewed over ten million times.

In the show, a scene where the "Fairy Sister" almost killed Tom Cruise during a car chase had netizens laughing uncontrollably.

"Help! Who knew the fairy goddess drove so recklessly?!"

Tom Cruise's inner monologue: Who am I? Where am I? Why did I get into her car?!

"Liu Tianxian: Basic operation, don't be silly!!!"

Netizens started creating all sorts of funny content, even releasing several versions of memes.

Fans of the celestial beauty were also happy to join in the self-deprecating humor.

"Our sister is a fairy, she travels by flying or riding a mount, she's not good at driving."

"I suddenly felt a tiny bit sorry for Sun Yi. It must be tough having a 'road menace' by your side."

Liu Yifei was both amused and exasperated when she saw the teasing comments from her fans. She was furious at the thought of the "culprit" behind the incident.

"It's all your fault! Look, why did you refuse to ride in my car? Now everyone calls me a 'road menace'!"

I just said one sentence; wasn't the topic started by Tom Cruise?
Sun Yi looked completely innocent, but Liu Yifei was fixated on him.

Tom Cruise traveled all this way to help promote the movie, so we can't blame him.

"It's all your fault!"

"The words have already been spoken, and the program has already aired. What else can we do?"

"You come with me."

"what?"

That evening, Liu Yifei updated her Renren Weibo account.

"Who said they never ride in my car! @SunYi"

A photo was also included below.

Liu Yifei sat in the driver's seat, looking arrogant as she held the steering wheel with one hand and made her signature peace sign with the other.

Sun Yi sat in the passenger seat, his right hand gripping the armrest and his left hand tightly holding the seatbelt, his eyes fixed straight ahead as if facing a formidable enemy.

Her post only made things worse; after she did, her fans were overjoyed, flooding the comments with messages like "I feel so sorry for Sun Yi" and "+1, +1, +1".

This interaction between the two, coupled with the broadcast of the interview program, not only allowed viewers and fans to see the interesting side of celebrities in private, but also pushed the popularity of "Edge of Tomorrow" to a new peak.

Just as netizens were still buzzing with excitement, the trailer for "Edge of Tomorrow" was released.

The shattered post-war city, the intense and breathtaking battles between alien creatures, and the high-octane scenes of Liu Yifei and Tom Cruise fighting side by side, all accompanied by rousing music, make every frame incredibly impactful.

In particular, the scene where Liu Yifei, dressed in mecha, with a sharp gaze, wielding a sword to slay alien creatures, has made netizens' blood boil.

"The special effects are amazing!" "The fairy sister is on fire!" "Tom Cruise is still so handsome!"

The comment section under the trailer was flooded with praise and anticipation, and the number of views and shares of the trailer also increased exponentially. Everyone expressed that they could not wait for the movie to be released. The anticipation value of "Edge of Tomorrow" has reached 5 stars according to statistics from relevant film and television websites.

Sun Yi, along with Liu Yifei and Tom Cruise, joined the rest of the film's creative team and, seizing the opportunity, chose this moment to leave Beijing and launch a nationwide promotional roadshow.

Wherever the team went, fans cheered them on.

Liu Yifei's fans, Sun Yi's fans, and Tom Cruise's fans—the promotional roadshow has almost turned into a large-scale fan meeting.

Every promotional event for Lu Yao occupies a large portion of entertainment news pages.

Sun Yi's actions caught the cinemas off guard for a moment.

Since the release date for "Edge of Tomorrow" is set for Christmas and it will be released simultaneously worldwide, the release date definitely cannot be changed.

However, the film's screening schedule has not yet been finalized.

Generally speaking, although the theaters decide on the screening schedule for a movie, the production company and the distributor also need to sign a contract.

The movie is set to be released in just two weeks, and Xingkong hasn't even had a single conversation with the company, let alone signed a contract.

Sun Yi, would he really dare not release it in theaters?!
On December 12, Enlight Media's "Lost in Thailand" was released, but theaters still did not give it more than 30% of the screenings, which was even lower than Huayi Brothers' "Back to 1942", which only had 25%.

After greeting all the female members of the theater chain's staff, Wang Changtian of Enlight Media held back.

Huayi played a double game, seemingly securing screenings from theaters but ultimately gaining nothing in return.

Sun Yi's plan was shattered by the earlier release date of "Wolf Warrior".

Not only did it ruin its reputation, it also failed to make any money at the box office.

He realized that this time, both China Film Group and Starry Sky Entertainment were serious.

Sun Yi was so ruthless that he would rather not make any money himself than let Hua Yi suffer.

He's not that big, he just needs to stick with the production alliance.

Didn't you see? The film investment fund of the production alliance has already started preparations. Sun Yi even generously offered an investment quota of 100 million yuan to everyone, and also promised that it would definitely be a movie he made.

This investment alone could potentially earn more money than producing a film on your own.

He could still calculate exactly where there was more and where there was less.

However, the ever-changing landscape of the film market always catches people off guard.

Wang Changtian was prepared to abandon the film altogether. After all, it was only a 5000 million yuan investment, and he was prepared not to make any money. He was just hoping to break even.

To my utter surprise, the film became a hit.

Not only him, but even the theater chains didn't expect it.

In their eyes, this was just a medium-budget comedy film with an investment of less than 5000 million yuan, merely a small episode in the Lunar New Year film season, and it wouldn't cause any big stir.

But moviegoers didn't think so. At that time, although a number of movies were being released, very few had good reviews and could attract audiences to theaters. Sun Yi and Liu Yifei's "Edge of Tomorrow" was worth looking forward to, but it would be another half month before it was released.

We can't just stay at home all day for the next two weeks.

In this context, moviegoers who wanted to "kill time" and "just take a look" entered the theaters showing "Lost in Thailand".

At least the combination of Huang Bo and Wang Baoqiang is still very down-to-earth; even if it's a bad movie, you can still have some fun.

No one expected that this seemingly ordinary comedy film would give moviegoers a huge surprise.

The hilarious and down-to-earth plot, along with the perfectly synchronized performances of the three lead actors, Wang Baoqiang, Xu Zheng, and Huang Bo, kept moviegoers laughing from beginning to end, leaving them wanting more even as they left the theater.

"It's so funny, I laughed until my stomach hurt!" "I didn't expect it to be this good, it exceeded my expectations!" "Highly recommended, I've already watched it twice!"

The film received rave reviews from moviegoers, and through word of mouth, more and more people went to the cinema to watch "Lost in Thailand".

Media reporters, like sharks smelling blood, rushed to report on it.

In just a few days, "Lost in Thailand" has seen its box office soar, with daily box office records being broken one after another. Despite having only 25% of the screenings, its box office share has continued to climb, even surpassing imported blockbusters with 10% more screenings.

The phenomenal success of "Lost in Thailand" caught not only the production company Enlight Media off guard, but also the theaters, who realized they had misjudged the situation and hurriedly contacted Enlight Media to request more screenings.

Wang Changtian stood up for himself at this moment.

Want to increase screenings?

disagree!
What the hell were you doing all this time?

Seeing that they're making money, they want to increase the number of screenings? No way.

Generally speaking, before a film is released and the screening schedule is finalized, local film studios or individual cinema chains can flexibly increase or decrease the overall screening schedule to a certain extent based on the film's occupancy rate and audience reviews.

However, all these unifications have one prerequisite.

That means the production company agreed.

Of course, I won't use the emission reduction tablets since they're unnecessary. What are you going to do about it?

But increasing it won't work.

The reason lies in the source of the video.

Before the China Film Digital Cinema System was widely adopted across the country 12 years ago, some films used digital keys, while others used physical copies.

Basically, before the film is released, the theaters decide how many screenings to schedule, and the production company or distributor provides that many keys or copies.

Now that digital cinema systems are widespread across the country, there's no need for the hassle of physical copies. You can download digital film sources with one click on China Film's digital cinema system and play them directly.

However, each theatrical screening requires a key, and if the production company doesn't provide the key, you simply can't download it.

This perfectly avoids the old tricks used by local cinemas to cheat on box office revenue and engage in piracy.

But to everyone's surprise, the production company refused to make money, even though theaters had asked for more screenings.

Beijing, Wanda Pictures headquarters.

It’s the same conference room.

"They're all insane! A bunch of lunatics, crazy people who won't make money!" Zhang Yan, the head of Jinyi Cinemas, cursed. After calming down for a while, he tentatively asked Chen Hongtao, "Mr. Chen, how about we talk to the production alliance again?"

"What, Jin Yi wants to back down? Agree to a 2% profit split?" Chen Hongtao sneered.

"No, no, I didn't mean that." Zhang Yan shook his head like a rattle-drum, then said sullenly, "But this stalemate isn't going to work."

"I originally thought that the production alliance was just making a fuss and that we could easily get rid of them by offering some conditions, but it's been half a month now, and apart from Huayi Brothers, no one has given in. I think they're serious this time."

"Even if they really come, so what? Are we afraid?" Chen Hongtao retorted sharply.

"Mr. Chen, I'm not afraid, but we won't make any money doing it this way."

When the topic of profits came up, Zhang Yan's tone became slightly firmer.

"Nobody expected that a small film like 'Lost in Thailand' would become such a hit. I took the initiative to increase its screenings, but Wang Changtian of Enlight Media didn't appreciate it. I'm furious. The loss in one day is hundreds of millions."

"Yes, Mr. Chen, this can't go on. Wanda is the largest cinema chain in the country. The losses you're in every day must be even greater."

The person in charge of Jiangzhe Times also chimed in, implying that Wanda, with its large and powerful operations, could make up for its losses even if cinemas weren't profitable, unlike us.

Besides, we're all working for the group. If the year-end financial report shows a significant decrease, the boss doesn't care if you have any revenue-sharing battles. If you make less money, it's your fault, and you should be fired.

Although the theater chains are much larger than the production alliances, the people in charge on the front lines are all professional managers working for the group. While the production alliances are not as large, the bosses are all personally involved. As long as they are determined, they can accept even bankruptcy.

Seeing that everyone's mentality was somewhat unstable, Chen Hongtao could only lower his voice and persuade them: "Don't be scared by them. We are losing money, but aren't they losing money too? Please believe me, hang in there a little longer. In the end, it will be those people from the production alliance who will not be able to hold on."

The crowd exchanged bewildered glances, their expressions varied, but one representative from the cinema chain appeared completely relaxed.

Is the production alliance losing money?
It's not necessarily true that we'll lose much money.

But don't forget, they also have their own cinema chains.

Which of the following companies—China Film Group's Stellar Cinemas, Starry Sky International, Enlight Media, Bona Film Group, or even Huayi Brothers—doesn't own several cinemas?

Although the number of these theaters is small and the number of screens is far less than that of the theaters here, together they form a considerable force.

This force may have a limited impact on the overall market, but it should not be ignored when applied to one or two films.

That's just the way it is.

China Film Group's Stellar Media and Starry Sky International gave Wang Changtian the courage to refuse.

Both cinema chains doubled the number of screenings for "Lost in Thailand" to 50%. In terms of box office revenue, it may not reach the original target of 12.7 billion yuan, but it should still easily surpass 10 billion yuan.

Most importantly, Lao Wang had no idea that his company's film would reach a box office of 12.7 billion yuan.

He'd be incredibly lucky to have 5 million.

Now, he's cheerful all the time, and when he talks to Sun Yi on the phone, he always seems full of determination.

"Mr. Sun, don't worry, I, Lao Wang, will never let you down at crucial moments. Even if we didn't have the help of Xingkong International and Xingmei, I wouldn't be afraid."

The words were very well said, and Sun Yi understood them perfectly.

But we should judge by actions, not intentions. As long as the result is good, that's enough.

Looking at the box office statistics since the start of the Lunar New Year film season, Sun Yi felt that the time was right and it was time to give the cinemas another boost.

(End of this chapter)