Huayu special effects started in 97

The version of "The Great Wall" directed by Zhang Yimou earned a huge box office of 2.78 million yuan on the first day of its release, which not only shocked Jiang Heng, Du Huan and other senior executives of iQiyi, Youku and Tencent Pictures, but also shook the entire Chinese entertainment industry.

Because based on the film's current reputation and first-day box office estimates, the final result will definitely be over 3 billion.

This means that Zhang Yimou will be the third director in the Chinese entertainment industry after Jiang Heng and Zhou Xingxing to have a single film grossing over 3 billion yuan.

At the same time, it proves that monster blockbusters are feasible. As long as the adaptation is appropriate and reasonable, it can not only make money, but also make a lot of money.

This instantly stimulated many investors and directors to think about how to follow suit and make a similar film.

China Film Group, Han Sanping went to visit the crew of "Nine-story Demon Tower" with a smile on his face.

In fact, he felt that monster blockbusters had great potential a long time ago.

It’s just that Jiang Heng has never been fond of filming this type of film, and in all these years he has only made one film, "100 Million Years BC".

In addition, in recent years, Jiang Heng's films have no longer accepted investment from China Film, so Han Sanping has been looking for directors capable of directing monster special effects blockbusters.

In his opinion, Director Lu Chuan is a good candidate.

First, he is relatively young, although he is nearly ten years older than Jiang Heng.

But compared with the fifth generation directors such as Zhang Yimou, Chen Kaige and Feng Xiaogang, Lu Chuan is very young.

The most important point is that Lu Chuan knows the preferences of young audiences and is very creative.

The two parties hit it off immediately, with China Film taking the lead in taking up most of the investment and producing this monster special effects blockbuster "Ghost Blows Out the Light: The Nine-story Demon Tower" written and directed by Lu Chuan.

The crew started work in August this year and is currently filming in a desert town in the western part of the country.

Because the distance is too far, Mr. Han is too lazy to visit the set on weekdays.

However, due to the excellent box office performance of "The Great Wall", Han Sanping felt it necessary to take a look at the filming of "Nine-story Demon Tower".

The crew, led by Lu Chuan, warmly welcomed the presence and guidance of Chairman Han Sanping.

After a brief tour of the filming base, we came to Lu Chuan’s temporary reception room.

"I guess you've heard about the box office performance of The Great Wall?" Han Sanping sat down, lit a cigarette, took a puff and said with a smile.

Lu Chuan became more energetic after hearing this, and sat on the sofa, leaning forward slightly.

"Of course I've heard of it. With 2.78 million in one day, the total box office should be over billion!"

Han Sanping sighed, "Yes, three billion, Jiang Heng made a profit again this time. Of course, Zhang Yimou's dividend will not be small!"

Lu Chuan said, "The Mermaid by Stephen Chow made over 3 billion at the box office. The Great Wall also made over 3 billion. So, this kind of monster-themed special effects blockbuster is still very popular in the market, and this is a subject that Jiang Heng is not very good at, so it is the most suitable for us to cultivate!"

Han Sanping smiled when he heard this and agreed with it deeply.

Lu Chuan continued, "Our movie not only has outstanding special effects, but also has the blessing of the original novel, so the box office will definitely be good!"

In fact, before "The Great Wall" was released, Lu Chuan always said that "Nine-story Demon Tower" would perform better in the market than it when talking about this movie.

But now, no matter how thick-skinned he is, he dare not say that "Nine-story Demon Tower" will surpass "The Great Wall" and win more than 3 billion at the box office. After all, the investment gap is too big. "The Great Wall" has a total investment of hundreds of millions of US dollars, while "Nine-story Demon Tower" only has 90 million, and it claims to have an investment of over 100 million.

In his original conception, "Nine-story Demon Tower" would be a great success if its box office could exceed 1 billion.

But "The Great Wall" gave him confidence and made him feel that a box office of tens or twenty billion was not impossible.

Of course, you have to pay extra.

"Director Han, I think we can consider increasing the investment in the film to make the special effects more sophisticated and shocking!"

Unexpectedly, Han Sanping shook his head slightly and said with a smile: "Adding to the budget midway is a taboo. You have done very well so far, just follow the previous shooting plan!

I came all the way here to tell you that you should shoot well. This type of film has a very good box office prospect. The company also supports you to continue to work on this type of film. The budget for the next one will be even higher!"

"One hundred million US dollars?" Lu Chuan said with shining eyes.

Han Sanping was stunned when he heard this. This young man is still too impatient!

"At least 300 million to start!"

"Three hundred million, that's fine!"

Lu Chuan smiled awkwardly. Although the investment amount was a little lower than he expected, it was still acceptable.

Beijing, Huayi Company.

After seeing the first-day performance of "The Great Wall", the Wang brothers were extremely envious and regretted that they did not act faster and poach Director Zhang when Zhang Yimou and Zhang Weiping were having a conflict!
Now it seems that Zhang Yimou really has some talent, as he can make such a great commercial special effects blockbuster.

It’s too late to regret, but fortunately they have a backup candidate, Xu Ke.

Xu Ke has been "jumping" back and forth between Huayi and Bonanza over the years. After shooting a movie for Huayi, the next movie will most likely be with Bonanza. And after working with Bonanza, of course he has to work with Huayi!
So Mr. Wang called Xu Ke and invited him to come to Huayi for a visit.

Xu Ke is not very busy at the moment. "Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy" will be released on Christmas Eve, December 12. The premiere ceremony has not been held yet, and the preview promotion has not started yet!
After receiving the call, I agreed without much hesitation and arrived before getting off work.

After sitting down in front of the tea table, Mr. Xiao Wang first asked about the new film. Xu Ke was full of confidence, saying that the special effects were super shocking and it would not be a problem for the box office to exceed 1 billion.

Wang Zhonglei nodded. "With your ability, it's no surprise that you can make a billion! But I have to say that it's a waste of your talent to make a mainstream movie. It limits your imagination!"

Old Monster Xu chuckled, "What can I do? Director Jiang suggested that I shoot this! But then again, this movie is really cool, especially the tiger-fighting scene in the movie. I suggest that Mr. Wang go to the theater to watch it!"

Wang Zhonglei smiled, "I will definitely support your film and go see it!"

He picked up the teacup and took another sip. "You've seen the current market situation. If you want to have a super high box office, you have to make a special effects blockbuster. But Director Jiang has made too many science fiction, mecha, and mythology films. It's hard for ordinary people to compete with him in these fields. After all, monsters are still the best!"

Xu Ke nodded, "I didn't expect that The Great Wall would do so well. The monster genre is indeed promising!"

Wang Zhonglei smiled when he heard this and refilled Xu Ke's tea. "How about we work together again and make a monster movie?"

Xu Ke also had this idea, "No problem, as long as the investment is in place, there will be no problem on my side!"

Wang Zhonglei's expression froze when he heard this. He felt pained when he mentioned investment, because he really didn't dare to give so much! (End of this chapter)