During my years at China Entertainment

Chapter 730 The Cockroach Crew Arrives in Beijing
"Directed by Wei Jin, the mainstream commercial blockbuster Operation Mekong has grossed 22.13 billion yuan in total box office revenue after four weeks of release!"

"It is reported that the daily box office of Operation Mekong has dropped significantly to just over 25 million. It is expected to continue to fall after the postponement, but it is still very likely to cross the billion box office threshold!"

"Industry insiders predict that by the time the film is released, the seven major producers will receive more than 10 billion yuan in box office revenue."

"The imported blockbuster "Guardians of the Galaxy" ranked second on the mainland movie market box office list in October. After 17 days of release, the box office exceeded 5 million!"

"Rock veteran Cui Jian's big screen debut Blue Bones was forced to be withdrawn by the cinema chain after 10 days of release, and the final box office revenue was 437 million, with no money lost."

Another weekend has ended, and there are only a few days left until the end of October. A series of movie information has been compiled.

Apart from the top two on the box office list, the rest of the movies, especially the domestic ones, all became background and cannon fodder, without making any splash at all.

"Nobody", "Labyrinth", "Lost and Love", "The Raid 2", "The Return", "The Breakup Master", "Cold War 2", "Undisputed 2", "The Fault in Our Stars", and "Operation Mekong"!
The performance of films controlled and invested by Shanhe Media this year was once again put on the table by many film and television company bosses in the industry a few months before the end of the year, and they were all jealous!
This does not include Shanhe Media’s revenue from TV dramas, variety shows, artist management, etc.

In addition, Shanhe Shui Mo is also a goose that continuously lays golden eggs, almost monopolizing nearly half of the special effects business in the domestic film industry.

Including Shanhe Cinema Chain, it is currently the largest cinema alliance in the country. Relying on its prosperous location and high-end decoration style, it not only has a very high market share, but also has a higher attendance rate than other cinema chains.

According to industry estimates, as of the third quarter, domestic movie box office revenue was close to 260 billion, of which Shanhe Cinemas accounted for at least more than %!
With this calculation, Shanhe Media is going to have another good year this year. The revenue must be at least over 10 billion, right?

"Ten billion? Isn't that too conservative?"

Looking at the analysis posts online, Wei Jin smiled and shook his head. Who the hell are they looking down on?

You know, the group’s revenue from businesses related to the film and television industry alone is far more than 10 billion.

What's more, there is Shanhe Technology, the group's largest source of cash flow. Let alone 10 billion in revenue, it would be qualified if it could at least double it.

"Looking back, everything that happened that day seems like a bubble. It turns out that everything will eventually come to an end. At this moment in the evening, I still hope to let you know that the dream is still unsettled."

The phone rang with the familiar voice of the God of Songs. Wei Jin didn't know why, but he always felt that he was getting more and more emotional when listening to these old songs. Could it be because he was getting older?
But when he looked at the caller ID, he raised his eyebrows. It was La Peikang?

Why are you calling yourself when you’re not busy casting for “The Great Wall”?
"La Dong?"

"Wei Jin, shouldn't we consider the celebration banquet in advance? We can't wait until the movie is released in a month, right?"

Listening to the topic raised by La Peikang, Wei Jin was stunned. This was a bit anxious.

But if you think about it, you can understand that it is better to do this kind of thing while it is hot, otherwise once the heat is over, the effect will be greatly reduced.

"Okay, then I'll arrange it there. Um."

As Wei Jin spoke, he flipped through the calendar on his desk and said, "How about setting it on the last day of the month? There are still four or five days left, and it will be easier to coordinate with all parties."

"Okay, no problem. Your company and Golden Shield have already taken care of the premiere. This time, let us state-owned enterprises take care of it. How do you think?"

"Okay, Mr. La is willing to help, I couldn't ask for more."

Wei Jin immediately smiled and nodded in agreement. With several state-owned enterprises taking charge of the project, one can imagine the scale of it. It would probably not be any worse than "Pacific Rim" and "The Martian"!

"Well, there's another thing. The Great Wall has started casting. Does your company have any recommendations?"

This question came a little abruptly, and Wei Jin almost couldn't react, but La Peikang on the other end of the phone immediately added another sentence.

"Of course, the leading cast will definitely have no chance, but for the supporting roles, it's not a big problem, that top star Lu Han..."

My goodness, Wei Jin thought that La Peikang was compensating him, and it turned out that he was also aiming for a "win-win" situation!
"Boss La, thank you for your kindness, but didn't you say that we need closed-door training? His schedule doesn't fit. As for the others, they have almost made arrangements, too. There are movies and TV series starting at the end of the year."

Wei Jin had read the script of "The Great Wall" produced by Legendary Pictures, and the role played by the supporting characters was hard to describe.

I'd better decline La Peikang's "good intention".

And since he has already refused to direct, it’s better not to bother with him anymore or have any further contact with him.

However, when talking about "The Great Wall", Wei Jin thought of another Sino-US co-production.

"Boss La, the crew of Interstellar is expected to come to Beijing in the next two days. Do you think China Film Group has any other plans?"

"Huh? Didn't you say you'd come over for the premiere early next month?"

"Hey, it's all about that."

When talking about this, Wei Jin kept shaking his head. It was really embarrassing.

The last stop of the "Interstellar" crew's original Southeast Asia itinerary was Hong Kong.

After discussing with Warner, Nolan had to cancel this trip and come to the mainland for promotion in advance.

"Oh, it's a bit messy."

When this topic was mentioned, La Peikang also sighed, but he felt somewhat relieved in his heart.

Because the cooperation with Legendary Pictures and Universal Pictures was finalized before this incident happened, otherwise there might have been more trouble.

"But this time, the higher-ups will not let it go easily. Some of those who are exposed will face sanctions."

Hearing this, Wei Jin was not surprised.

These cockroaches, every one of them, should never think of coming to the mainland to make money again.

Retracting his thoughts, Wei Jin continued the previous topic.

"La Dong, what do you mean?"

"Oh, I can't spare the time here. I'll leave the reception and follow-up arrangements of the crew to you and Ye Ning."

Wei Jin understood that in La Peikang's heart, "The Great Wall" produced by China Film Group was his own son, so he nodded.

"Okay, I'll discuss it with Mr. Ye."

"Ah."

The handling of this group of cockroaches has not yet been put on the agenda, but the effect of the previous "Ban Order for Bad Artists" is gradually becoming apparent.

On a new day, Huayi and Shanghai Film Group announced that Big Brother’s film "Ghost Blade" would be withdrawn from the Lunar New Year schedule and moved to the Spring Festival schedule.

Logically speaking, this movie is indeed more suitable for the Lunar New Year period. After all, the Spring Festival period is usually family-friendly, and the temperament is a bit out of place.

But there is no way. If the producer does not change the release date, we will now face the problem of publicity.

It's easy to guess that the media, which has no moral standards and loves to stir up trouble, will never miss such an opportunity.

However, if the film is rescheduled to the Spring Festival, there will be no such concern. Although "The Lion King" withdrew from the Lunar New Year promotion due to the reschedule, the other blockbusters are coming on strong.

It's only the end of October, and everyone is already rubbing their hands, waiting to enter the market.

Jiang Wen shouted to the public: "One Step Away" will definitely break the record of "Let the Bullets Fly" and allow him to join the 10 billion director club.

Wu Baige also stated loudly: The magnificent "The Crossing" will overturn the entire Chinese-language film industry, and the box office will start at at least 10 billion!
Even Xu Ke was not immune this time. As the producer of "The Three Young Masters' Sword", he said this in an interview with the media.

"Operation Mekong set an example for all mainstream commercial films. I am confident that Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy will shine with unparalleled brilliance during the Lunar New Year holiday and add another billion-dollar box office work to my portfolio!"

Wow, three famous directors in the industry are all aiming for 10 billion, this Lunar New Year box office is going to be really exciting.

But no one expected that at this time, China Film Group would take time out of its busy schedule to join in the fun.

A movie that was a big hit in South Korea, "The Battle of Myeongryang", was unexpectedly released during the Lunar New Year holiday, and the release date was set for December 12.

This drama was released in South Korea at the end of July and achieved remarkable box office results. It was popular throughout the entire summer!

The moviegoers covered all walks of life in South Korea, and the number of viewers reached a terrifying 17 million, breaking the film history record previously set by "Avatar" in South Korea.

You know, South Korea’s current total population is only 5200 million.

Nearly one-third of the moviegoers not only brought in more than 90 million US dollars in box office revenue, but also established this film’s unprecedented status in Korean film history!
In fact, it may be difficult for anyone to catch up with this data in the future.

However, the industry is not too worried about this drama. After all, the content of the film is too trivial compared to domestic history.

Only Koreans, who have lacked famous generals in history, would be so excited because 12 warships had slightly dampened the morale of the Japanese invaders.

The next day, "Maze Runner", which performed very well in North America, was officially released.

Since it was produced by Summit Entertainment and sold well all over the world, the theater chains, whether out of respect for Wei Jin or because they recognized the film's prospects, tacitly guaranteed the screening.

Led by Shanhe Cinemas, allies such as Wanda and Shanghai New Film Association have almost given nearly 30% of the screenings.

The share of partners including Dadi Cinemas, China Film New Media and others is no less than 20%.

To the extent that a Hollywood blockbuster film actually received an average screening share of 25%!
Unfortunately, sometimes we have to admit that not every movie that sells well around the world can adapt to the land of China.

The Maze Runner, a film with a dystopian tone, took in just under 2947 million yuan on its first day of release, closing at million yuan.

This data is almost the lowest box office in the country for movies produced by Summit Entertainment in recent years.

It's comparable to the original "Twilight".

Many colleagues in the industry were gloating, as if they were secretly happy to see Wei Jin being humiliated.

But Wei Jin didn't care about it at all, not to mention that the play had already made huge profits, and it only cost two million to get a quota for the film release.

In addition, the promotion and marketing did not require much effort, and the first day's performance actually achieved profitability.

Although the movie’s box office on the first day was not very good, its online reputation was quite good, with an online rating of 7.1 points and mostly positive reviews in the comment section.

Based on this situation, we can’t say that the box office will be a big hit, but at least 2 million should be achievable.

After instructing the publicity and promotion department to pay more attention, Wei Jin looked at the time, left the office, and told Lao Zhu to drive to the airport.

Also accompanying us were several business vehicles arranged by the administrative department.

Because the crew of "Interstellar" is coming.

On the way to the airport, Wei Jin was updating the news in the industry, and the casting of "The Great Wall" was still high on the headlines.

Judging from media reports, after these days of auditions, the competition for roles has entered a white-hot stage.

Actors from the mainland and Hong Kong went to the China Film Studio to report one after another. Many of them went in with great expectations, but walked out with disappointment on their faces.

These scenes were all captured by the media and they were quite spectacular.

"Haha, I don't know who will win in the end."

Wei Jin muttered a few words quietly, and then the car slowly stopped and they arrived at the airport.

Compared to the high-profile publicity of "Inception" when it came to China, the crew of "Interstellar" was much more low-key because of the temporary change of schedule.

And because of the casting auditions held by China Film Group over the past two days, there were a lot of celebrities coming and going at the airport, which distracted the reporters' attention.

When Wei Jin hugged Nolan, Matt Damon and others in the VIP channel, many media reporters realized that big news had occurred.

Unfortunately, before they could gather around, a group of people quickly left the scene surrounded by security guards.

Only a group of media reporters were left behind, beating their chests and stamping their feet, lamenting in helplessness!

"Interstellar crew, did you guys get to shoot it?"

"It's barely possible. The angle isn't very good. I was just taking pictures of King Liu. Who knew they would arrive today?"

"Whatever, no matter what angle, just post it first."

I have to say that the media is really efficient. Wei Jin and his group had just arrived at the hotel, and related reports were already on the headlines of entertainment information!

"The crew of Interstellar has arrived at the Beijing airport at 4pm today."

"The billion-dollar director Nolan Christopher and director Wei Jin had a great conversation at the airport."

"Matt Damon, the top Hollywood actor, and director Wei Jin are arm in arm. Their relationship is extraordinary!"

"The newly-crowned Oscar winner Matthew McConaughey is dressed simply and is approachable."

"Anne Hathaway is the perfect Hollywood goddess with a sweet smile and stunning style!"

"Young actress Liu Shishi is walking with a bunch of Hollywood big names, and her noble temperament is not inferior to others!"

Following media reports, many colleagues in the industry remembered that this US$1.7 million Sino-US co-production blockbuster would be released in less than two weeks!

Countless female stars also recalled the moment when they were devastated by the news that Liu Shishi had been chosen in September last year.

Looking at the pictures leaked by reporters online, Liu Shishi and Anne Hathaway were holding hands and smiling, and I couldn't help but grit my teeth!

"Why are you so proud? It's all because of a man. Without his support, you wouldn't have a chance to star in The Great Wall."

(End of this chapter)