Full-time actor

Chapter 553 [118] Sky-high premiere ticket prices, crazy premiere!

"know!"

Yu Dong answered straightforwardly.

When it comes to the heads of cinemas across the country, Yu Dong only knows the owners of a few large cinemas, and it is impossible for him to know everyone; but cinema chains are those that distribution companies have to deal with every day.

Account reconciliation, film distribution, schedule, film scheduling...

In 2002, China Reform learned from the Western cinema chain model, relying on several cinemas and using capital and film supply as a link. A distribution entity and several cinemas formed a unified screening mechanism for this cinema chain.

A cinema chain has many cinema alliances under it.

In the United States, there are only 14 cinema chains, but each chain has dozens or even hundreds of theaters, and the number of screens can satisfy one for every 8600 people.

In China, the situation is undoubtedly far behind. Even with Chen Yu's rebirth, there is currently only one screening room for every 10 people.

Moreover, many of them are not included in the theaters.

The relationship between the distribution company and the cinema chain is that of buyer and seller, one sells the movies and the other is responsible for selling them to the audience.

Cinemas do not directly connect with distribution companies, except for some cinemas that have not joined the theater chain, which require distribution companies to make trips. Yu Dong is one of those cinemas that visit these places.

"Mr. Yu, please contact the persons in charge of these 36 stores directly and ask them to open for the Spring Festival!"

"this--"

Yu Dong definitely can’t do it!

Moreover, it was his first time meeting Chen Yu, and he didn't expect this guy to be such a brainless person.

One actor made all cinemas open during the Spring Festival?
What do you think? Is this cinema owned by your family?
Who doesn't want to rest at home during the Spring Festival? !

Chen Yu saw the surprise on Yu Dong's face and smiled, "I will bear all the expenses for opening the door, and during the Spring Festival, the salary will be doubled; of course, the premise is that the box office during the Spring Festival does not meet expectations. What I mean by expectations is twice the usual amount!"

"Twenty-five times?"

"how is this possible?"

Yu Dong was the first one who didn't believe it: "Brother Yu, I now understand what you mean, but Spring Festival movie tickets are really not selling well!"

"No one wants to go to the cinema to watch movies. During the Chinese New Year, people are at home to reunite and visit relatives. Who would go to the cinema?"

"Where is the time?!"

"In fact, we have already tested the waters in the past few years. No one wants to go to the cinema during the Spring Festival. The box office during the Spring Festival is much quieter than usual!"

What Yu Dong said is indeed true.

In later generations, it is said that the Spring Festival box office was driven by Stephen Chow in 2013, but it was actually "Avatar" in 2009!
The earliest Spring Festival schedule was when "Avatar" was released during the Spring Festival. Unexpectedly, the box office exceeded expectations by a lot. There was no publicity, but relying on Cameron's reputation, many people went to the cinema to watch the movie during the Spring Festival.

Then, industry insiders saw the potential of the Spring Festival.

The experiment was just started above, and it was fully implemented during the Spring Festival.

Now, what Chen Yu wants is to make everyone want to go to the cinema; and with his current box office appeal, he should be able to do so.

The reason why no one watched the Spring Festival movies before was because there were no movies they wanted to watch. This is the key point.

Because no one dares to gamble.

What if the box office fails?
And no cinema is willing to cooperate.

Now, what Chen Yu has to do is to get the theaters fully operational. The worst that can happen is a loss, which Chen Yu can still afford. But if he succeeds, he can ascend to the throne of god directly; the future box office in mainland China will be his world.

Jackie Chan, Jet Li... Feng Xiaogang, Zhang Yimou, and Stephen Chow may not have the same influence as him.

So compared to this profit, that little loss is definitely nothing.

Risks and benefits are often proportional; but Chen Yu knew the potential of the Spring Festival period, so he became the first person to try it.

"Try it!"

Seeing Yu Dong's speechless expression, Chen Yu smiled and said, "I plan to release both "The Village" and "The Force Awakens" on New Year's Eve!"

"If Mr. Yu agrees, I'll have someone sign a contract with you right away!"

Yu Dong: “…”

"Two?"

"Yes, two films. If they don't meet expectations, I'll pay for the salaries and theater-related expenses. You can write the specific details into the contract!"

"That's not necessary. Some cinemas are open during the Chinese New Year, especially those in the capital and Shanghai, but there is not much business!"

Yu Dong was smiling, and his suspicion towards Chen Yu faded a little.

Is this a gamble on one's own box office appeal?

"It's okay. If the store is closed, you can negotiate with them and ask them to open during the Chinese New Year. I am willing to pay double the salary!"

At times like this, the people who deserve the most praise are actually the ticket sellers and projectionists.

Not everyone is willing to work overtime during the Chinese New Year, but as long as they can be there, Chen Yu is confident that he can boost the box office; he has plenty of ways to do marketing and publicity.

"Okay, then I'll discuss with these theaters to make sure it's released on February 2th?"

“Well, if Mr. Yu can handle it, I can consider the cooperation between Yu Xin and Bona in the future!”

"it is good!"

This is exactly what Yu Dong wanted.

It will definitely not be a big problem if the film is released during the Spring Festival; no one dares to do that these days.

As for getting all the cinemas across the country to open, that is not a difficult task. Chen Yu has already made up his mind and is willing to acknowledge the expenses during the New Year period. If there is really no business, it is possible to lose tens of millions.

It’s only because of Chen Yu’s credibility that this works. If someone else were to take over, this effect would definitely not be achieved.

Because he can definitely afford it.

Others may not be able to come up with so much money.

"No wonder Brother Yu is so young and can make it in Hollywood; he is really not an ordinary person. This movie will be released during the Spring Festival. If it were me, I would never have thought of it in my lifetime!"

Yu Dong shook his head and smiled bitterly.

This is not flattery.

Although this was the first time he met Chen Yu and he had heard of this person for several years, the conversation just now did make Yu Dong feel the difference between Chen Yu and other actors in China, even those in Hong Kong.

He had also met Cheng Long, but no actor had ever had the confidence that Chen Yu had.

Are newborn calves afraid of tigers?

That’s not the case. Chen Yu is like a newborn calf in age, but the way he acts is not like one at all!
The two chatted there for a long time, and Yu Dong felt more and more impressed. Although she was in her early 20s, her speech and manner were much more mature than her appearance.

"Brother Yu, I hope we can cooperate more in the future!"

"Easy to say!"

After the two men shook hands firmly, Yu Dong stood up and left.

Chen Yu returned to the hotel.

Regarding the Spring Festival period, China Film Group will definitely not help him, only Yu Dong can; the current Bona Film Group is really powerful. Although it has only been established for 5 years, it has released a total of 20 films this year, accounting for 125% of the 16 domestic films released throughout the year, but the box office revenue has reached a terrifying 4 million yuan.

It accounts for more than 7% of the 60 million box office of domestic films throughout the year. It is a private distribution company that is stronger than China Film Group, which only has 2 million. The Promise, which is about to be released, is the highlight of China Film Group this year.

In the ranking of domestic films in 05, among the top ten films, Bona released 3 of them. The first and second place were both released by Bona. There is no need to mention "Initial D" starring Chen Yu, and the second one is "Myth"!
Starring Jackie Chan, the film grossed 1.1 million RMB.

Chen Yu didn’t know how much he had in his previous life, but it seemed that it was less than 100 million.

His rebirth brought about a lot of changes in the butterfly effect, especially the growth rate of box office and the construction of cinemas.

"'Departures', wait a little longer!"

“Don’t be afraid of being late for a good meal!”

Chen Yu is not worried about the box office of this movie. He mainly wants to release it globally and use the marketing of this movie during the Qingming Festival promotion.

April in Japan is also the month for the famous Spring Festival, which is also related to worship.

Two days later, "The Two of Us" also had its global premiere.

Because of Chen Yu's guest appearance, tickets for this theater are still hard to come by; "The Village" was sold out early, and scalpers have already raised the price of "The Two of Us"; but none of them are as outrageous as "Escape Plan", where a front-row ticket has been sold for a sky-high price of 25 yen.

All I can say is that the Japanese are really rich nowadays, and the idol-chasing is pretty crazy. They just wanted to meet Chen Yu, take a photo and get his autograph.

The lead actress of "The Two of Us", Jin Yaqin, did not attend the premiere because of her advanced age of 80, so it was still just Liu Yifei and the director.

After the premiere, the audience burst into warm applause again.

Films about caring for the elderly are also a popular theme in daily life. This is because Japan's aging population has become increasingly serious in recent years. In 1970, the proportion of people aged 65 and above accounted for 7%, and in recent years it has reached 21%!

So in Japan, there are two outrageous phenomena in the film industry, art films and the second dimension.

Two-dimensional movies tend to be more oriented towards their young people and otakus, while the main audience for art films is the elderly in Japan, who also like to watch movies.

Chen Yu doesn’t know how the domestic box office of “The Two of Us” will perform, but Japan is definitely a big market as well.

In the previous life, the film also made money in Japan, and earned 80 in China; but in this life, with Liu Yifei starring, and the promotion by Yu Xin Films, it will definitely not be so miserable.

After finishing the premieres of two films starring Liu Yifei, I took her to see several other masterpieces of nominated films. Before I knew it, it was the last day of the Tokyo International Film Festival; the awards in other categories were also presented one by one.

Several films from Hong Kong and the Mainland that were shortlisted for the Asian Wind Award won the Best and New Director awards, and the award ceremony will start on time at 7: p.m.

However, before the awards ceremony, the world premiere of "Extraction" is about to begin.

Countless crazy fans of Chen Yu lined up early in front of the newly opened Shochiku Cinema in Akihabara; it was also luck, as Chen Yu originally wanted to premiere the film at the opening ceremony, but the theater in Roppongi could only accommodate more than 600 people at most.

At the moment, the Shochiku Cinema where the closing ceremony is held has 1288 seats, and can sell about 1100 tickets.

But even so, all the tickets for the Tokyo Film Academy were sold out within 5 minutes of opening; and the most expensive ticket, a middle ticket in the fifth row, was sold for 68 yen, equivalent to more than 10 yuan per ticket, which is simply crazy.

When Chen Yu heard the news, he was a little dumbfounded.

He finally understood why it was not in China, a developed country, that a ticket to a X-boys concert could be sold for 200 million yuan in the future.

Tickets for Zhou Jielun’s concerts are often sold for 5 to 10 yuan each...it seems like they learned this from Japan and South Korea.

If you don't learn the good things, you will learn the bad things. This thing must be hyped up by scalpers.

All I can say is that where there is profit, there is no shortage of people who can make money.

“These Japanese are so crazy!”

Liu Yifei looked at the fans queuing outside. Many of them were obviously well prepared; some were holding posters, diaries, glow sticks, and even dolls and homemade Chen Yu poster T-shirts... Chen Yu really never thought that one day he would have such a group of fans.

The impact of fan culture on Japan and South Korea is really too obvious. Things like cheering, fans, and light boards have been very popular in Japan and South Korea in recent years.

"too frightening!"

Jiang Wen was also shocked and couldn't help but worry about his daughter.

As soon as the ticket gate was opened, a group of fans rushed into the theater; the theater was obviously fully prepared and set up a circle of cordons around the seats to prevent fanatical fans from rushing to the stage; there were also security guards standing around.

It was the first time for Chen Yu to see security guards on duty while watching a movie.

However, he had heard of people going crazy while watching movies in his previous life; there were even crazier shootings.

At the premiere of "The Dark Knight Rises", a guy brought a submachine gun and 6000 rounds of bullets. He imitated the Joker and shot everyone in a theater, then ran out to the street and continued shooting.

In the end, more than a dozen people died and more than 100 were injured... This news caused a big stir at the time, but it still did not stop the movie from being a box office hit.

Some movies are really addictive.

But it was obvious that they hadn't even watched the movie yet, but they had already started celebrating. Chen Yu couldn't help but worry about himself. He was really addicted to "The Man from Lone Star". He hoped these fans wouldn't riot, even though many of them were Japanese girls.

There may not be riots, but there will be unrest.

The entire theater was noisy, with countless people discussing the matter.

"Let's go, we have to go even if it means grit our teeth!"

Chen Yu teased the people around him. In addition to Liu Yifei and Jiang Yilang, Ye Weixing, Wu Jing, Chen Huilin, Zha Zha Hui... all the main actors were present.

The closing ceremony and premiere of "The Man from Nowhere" was arranged quite grandly by Eastern Film.

Not only are there huge promotional posters dozens of meters long on the building outside, but there are also various arrangements and door decorations. The sign is even more grand than the premiere of "A One Man's Journey".

boom!
The appearance of Chen Yu and everyone else really set off the entire theater.

"Ahhhh!"

"Yusang——"

"Chen Yujun!"

"..."

Countless people were screaming, and the entire theater seemed to be in resonance. Seeing the situation, the security guards quickly formed a human wall in front of the stage to prevent anyone from rushing onto the stage.

Fortunately, these fans were quite well behaved. Although they looked crazy, they did not do anything out of line. This was understandable, because if they were kicked out, they would not be able to get Chen Yu's autograph after the movie.

They cheered Chen Yu's name over and over again.

"Thank you, thank you everyone!"

“So enthusiastic!”

Chen Yu greeted everyone with a smile and led all the members of the crew to appear. At this time, the chairman of the jury, Zhang Yimou, also walked into the theater with a group of guests attending the award ceremony. They were outside and had actually heard the sound of the sky breaking inside the theater.

Seeing such a scene, many people were obviously frightened.

Fortunately, the front rows were occupied by invited film critics and colleagues from the film industry. After everyone sat down, the theater finally became a little quieter.

"Your current popularity is truly greater than any local movie star in Japan!"

Zhang Yimou whispered to Chen Yu who was sitting down. Chen Yu smiled bitterly and said, "It's mainly because our previous works received great response in Japan!"

"Especially Initial D!"

"Well, we still have to pay attention to the Japanese market. It is currently the largest voting base in Asia. I never thought you could have such an influence!"

"..."

The two people were whispering to each other, and the lights in the theater dimmed.

The theater, which was originally filled with whispers, suddenly became quiet.

Even Chen Yu's fanatical fans sat there concentrating on looking at the big screen in front of them that was starting to light up.

"Extraction", the world premiere, officially begins!
(End of this chapter)