Entering the Chinese entertainment industry is like entering a deep sea

Chapter 814 Is he a seasoned veteran or a young heartthrob?

In fact, whether it's "The Breakup Guru" or "The Villain Angel," you can judge the quality of a film based on just one point.

That's the production company.

Deng Chao also bears the deep imprint of Rong Chen's faction, but Li Chen is nowhere to be seen in the production companies of the two dramas.

In Li Chen's opinion, although Deng Chao's two dramas were terrible, they did have a certain audience.

In addition, Deng Chao and his wife have a combined fan base of over 80 million, so even if it's terrible, there will still be a group of die-hard fans willing to pay for it.

It's not difficult to become a good actor, but it's not easy to become a good director.

In the more than 100-year history of Chinese-language cinema, perhaps only Stephen Chow has truly achieved this and been able to stand firm in the industry; Cheng Lung is only half of one.

In three days, Douyin went all out. After all, it was a movie by the major shareholder, and a little bit of using public office for private purposes was fine. Even if the media and peers found out, no one would say anything.

On the afternoon of the 17th, the domestic pre-sale box office figures for "La La Land" were already leaked on Weibo.

Sina Entertainment News

"La La Land's pre-sales raked in a record-breaking 1.5 million yuan! The 'Yi Chen' couple rewrote the commercial rules of art films."

"With 24 hours to go before its official release, the Venice Golden Lion winner 'La La Land' has already surpassed 1.52 million yuan in pre-sale box office, not only breaking the pre-sale record for domestic art films, but also becoming the first Chinese-language art film to gross over 100 million yuan on its opening day."

"This romance film, produced by Rongchen Pictures, directed by Chen Kexin, and starring Li Chen and Liu Yifei, is rewriting the rules of the Chinese film market with its astonishing popularity."

On Weibo, netizens and fans are enthusiastic, and many fans of "Yi Chen Yi Shi" gave the reason for watching the movie: every movie starring Li Chen is one less to watch.

It's as if Li Chen is about to die.

However, the pre-sale figures for "La La Land" did indeed break many people's nerves.

Who says art films have no market? Who says art films have to beg theaters for screen time?

Director Jia and the handsome young man, who once championed special treatment for art films, have now fallen silent.

"1.5 million! Are these people crazy?!" Zeng Jia exclaimed incredulously.

Mimi and Li Yifeng went crazy promoting their CP (couple pairing), frequently appearing in public and seemingly putting in every ounce of effort, yet the box office on the first day was only a little over 2000 million.

However, Liu Yifei hardly appeared in public to promote "La La Land," yet the pre-sale box office was already almost catching up with the total box office of "Fall in Love Like a Star."

“Look at the internet, many people aren’t actually going there because of Liu Qianqian.” In the CEO’s office at Jiaxing Media, Yang Mi crossed her arms. Although she was surprised by the pre-sale box office figures, she appeared quite used to it.

“Before we left Rong Chen, my box office was not bad either. The media called Liu Qianqian the box office queen, but it was just that Rong Chen’s brand was strong enough.”

Zeng Jia and Zhao Ruoyao exchanged a glance: "Li Chen still hasn't given you a definite answer? I've heard that many top-tier actors are putting a lot of effort into 'Under One Person'."

Yang Mi shook her head slightly: "How could you possibly give me a definite answer? Since we left Rong Chen, we're practically outsiders now. I know my senior very well."

"He might have some lingering affection, but he would never act on emotion. Apart from Liu Qianqian, I've never seen him soften his heart for anyone else."

With two consecutive films, "The Witness" and "Fall in Love Like a Star," both grossing just over 200 million yuan, if things continue at this pace, it would be a pipe dream for Jaywalk Studio to fulfill its 410 million yuan bet.

The three women in the office were extremely anxious; they couldn't possibly put all their eggs in one basket with "Legend of Fuyao."

“Honey, you still can’t give up on Rong Chen,” Zhao Ruo said.

"I know, I'm not stupid!"

-

With the pre-sales of "La La Land" going well, Chen Kexin and her Hong Kong team are preparing to travel to the United States ahead of time to cooperate with Warner's public relations efforts.

Chen Kexin couldn't command the two lead actors, Li Chen and Liu Yifei.

"I've never seen a movie where the lead actor doesn't attend the Oscars!" Wu Junru complained as she accompanied Chen Kexin to the airport.

"What do you know! Even a fool can see that Li Chen set up this show for Liu Yifei. She's worth hundreds of billions, I think she's already quite indifferent to fame and fortune. If she wants to guarantee ratings for the Oscars next year, a nomination is practically a sure thing."

"I think after the nomination, Li Chen will probably only make one or two symbolic appearances!"

Chen Kexin guessed correctly; Li Chen did indeed plan to go to the US after the nomination was announced.

With the pre-sale box office of "La La Land" being very promising, Liu Yifei is in a good mood and feels like she's in a spring breeze every day.

The pre-sale data compiled by Yang Siwei from various global markets is equally encouraging.

Especially France, the largest voting bloc in Europe.

At midnight on the 18th, "La La Land" premiered in major cinemas across China.

The trending topics on Weibo have already ignited the enthusiasm for watching the movie.

The hashtag #MidnightShow# trended on the hot search list for the first time.

Many online celebrities on Douyin (TikTok) shared photos of the bustling scenes at cinemas in Beijing and Shanghai.

The next morning, Liu Yifei slowly woke up.

She couldn't wait to read the film reviews; she didn't care what box office records it would break.

But she cares a lot about reputation, which she inherited from Li Chen; this is a typical example of a wife following her husband's lead.

Upon opening Douban, there were already 12876 comments.

"Chen Kexin cooked a bowl of Hong Kong-style wonton noodles that tasted like French red wine braised beef. When Li Chen played the piano, I mistook him for Lang Lang! Li Chen's statement back then, 'Playing the piano is not much different from playing cotton,' was definitely not an exaggeration!"

"Liu Yifei is born for art films; her overflowing artistic aura is so contagious!"

"Chen Kexin has transformed the everyday life of 'Comrades: Almost a Love Story' into a Li-style capitalist romance. The most brilliant part is the ending montage, where the two characters achieve great success in parallel universes, perfectly reflecting the current success of Red Star Wu and Rongchen Pictures!"

"In my opinion, Li Chen's screenwriting ability is at least among the top three in the world. Look at how ordinary screenwriters in China write 'first love reunion' stories, they always end up with car accidents or amnesia, but he uses a 5-minute jazz piano dialogue to tell the story of 20 years of Chinese cinema. A master is a master!"

-

Wang, the big boss, was in a good mood. For several days in a row, Wanda Cinema Line's stock price rose continuously, influenced by the pre-sale data of "La La Land".

The share swap with Rongchen won unanimous praise from both inside and outside Wanda, with many saying that Boss Wang had been planning this for a long time and completed the feat of acquiring shares in Rongchen through a share swap.

Xiao Ma failed to accomplish this, Da Ma failed to accomplish this, but in Rong Chen's twelve years, only Boss Wang succeeded.

"Dad, Li Chen is really something else. Even as an entertainment industry reporter, I can't find a chance to criticize him!" Wang Sicong grumbled to his father while eating breakfast.

The boss ignored his son and continued reading today's news.

Wang Sicong, having been rebuffed, continued eating.

-

Unlike Liu Yifei, who was very interested in the film, Li Chen didn't pay much attention to the film reviews.

He'd already won the Golden Lion; he didn't believe any attention-seeking film critic would dare to throw cold water on his project.

As for online trolls? That's a joke.

"Stop watching, Qianqian, finish your meal first!" Liu Xiaoli couldn't stand it anymore and quickly scolded her daughter.

Li Chen couldn't help but smile, but his wife caught him red-handed.

"What are you laughing at!" Miss Liu put down her phone and grinned at Li Chen. "I didn't even show my teeth, what am I laughing at!" Li Chen said with a smile in his eyes.

The mother-in-law couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Liu Yifei was mortified; her husband was clearly making fun of her gums!
"Mom! Why are you laughing at me too!"

"Did Mom laugh? I didn't see her showing her teeth!" Li Chen continued to tease his wife.

Liu Yifei immediately stood up, her pregnant belly protruding: "I'll strangle you! If you laugh again!"

Seeing her mother set off, Xiao Wuxia jumped off the chair and joined the fray.

The family was enjoying a happy time together. Li Chen didn't dare to move, while Liu Xiaoli stood by with a satisfied expression.

The following morning, the opening day box office and Douban rating for "La La Land" were released.

China Film Report
"La La Land raked in 1.75 million yuan on its opening day! A 9.4 rating on Douban has cemented its legendary status; industry insiders predict it will start at 15 billion yuan and potentially reach 20 billion!"

"La La Land, winner of the Venice Golden Lion, officially hit theaters nationwide on December 18. On its opening day, it swept the box office with a 40.6% share of screenings, and its box office revenue exceeded 1.75 million yuan in a single day."

"Even more astonishing is that the film received a 9.4 rating on Douban, making it the strongest candidate for both critical and commercial success in 2015."

"The midnight screenings grossed over 3000 million yuan, and many cinemas added extra screenings, but tickets were still hard to come by."

Judging from the opening day box office of "La La Land", it is almost a certainty that it will surpass the 9.7 million yuan box office record of "Titanic", the highest-grossing art film in Chinese film history.

Now the pressure is on the Deng-Chao couple.

Both being husband-and-wife teams, Deng Chao and Sun Li knew they couldn't compete with "La La Land," but they hoped they wouldn't be overshadowed too badly.

In terms of screen time alone, "Devil and Angel" can't compare to "La La Land".

Rong Chen won over the eight major cinema chains back then, and the consequence was that as long as the box office was good, the number of screenings would increase dramatically.

In addition, there is currently Wanda Cinema Line, which has swapped shares with Rongchen.

"Brother Chao, do you think the theaters won't cut our screenings?"

"No way!" Deng Chao exclaimed in horror.

“Why not!” Sun Li retorted.

"If I were a theater chain, and I had to choose between our 'The Villain Angel' and 'Mr. Six,' which do you think I would choose!"

This left Deng Chao speechless!
Wang Changtian was powerless to stop the cinemas from doing this!
Everything depends on how well the box office performs on the first day.

Over the next two days, Saturday and Sunday, "La La Land" continued its strong performance in China, raking in a whopping 5.9 million yuan at the box office in its opening week.

On Monday night, box office figures for Europe, the United States, Japan, and South Korea were also released, bringing the global total to $1.55 million.

North America contributed $2800 million, Europe contributed $1850 million, and Asia and other parts of the world contributed a total of $1750 million.

Wang Zhonglei was drooling as he looked at the impressive box office figures.

Especially considering the box office performance in Europe and America, if "Mr. Six" could achieve such results in Europe and America, Wang Zhonglei would be laughing in his sleep.

But everyone knows that Feng Xiaogang's films can't cross the Shenzhen River to the south, nor can they cross the Great Wall to the north.

They can only act arrogantly in mainland China, and that's only if Rong Chen doesn't interfere.

With La La Land currently enjoying such a box office success, Wang Zhonglei is also worried that theaters might squeeze out the opening day screenings of Mr. Six.

-

Beijing Huayi Headquarters
Wang Zhonglei stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window in his office, clutching a newly printed copy of the box office data for "La La Land".

In the first week, global sales reached US$1.55 million, and sales in mainland China reached RMB5.9 million.

Outside the window was a gloomy winter night in Beijing, and Wang Zhonglei's face was even more grim than the weather.

"Bang!" Wang Zhonglei slammed the report on the table and turned to stare at Chen Ke, the trembling director of the distribution department.

"What did the theaters say?" Wang Zhonglei asked with a grim face.

Chen Ke swallowed hard and said cautiously, "Wanda, China Film Stellar, and United have all given feedback. The number of screenings for 'Mr. Six' was indeed reduced a bit on its opening day, but..."

"How many were cut?" Wang Zhonglei interrupted directly.

"The drop from 35% to 28% is mainly due to 'La La Land' taking up prime-time screenings. However, 'The Villain Angels' fared even worse, plummeting from 25% to 12%!"

Wang Zhonglei raised an eyebrow and sneered, "So our 'Sixth Master' is no match for that 'scoundrel' Deng Chao?"

Chen Ke broke out in a cold sweat: "That's not what I meant, boss! The theater managers said that La La Land is currently over 90% full, and not showing it would be a waste of money."

"But with director Feng Xiaogang and the fan base of actors Wu Yifan and Li Yifeng, they won't cut the budget too much."

Wang Zhonglei grabbed the purple clay teapot on the table and took a big gulp: "That bastard Li Chen! He's fucking domineering! He even tries to steal movie slots! Damn it, if a wolf wants to eat a person, even if you smile and beg and plead, he'll still eat you!"

Just as Chen Ke was about to slip away, Wang Zhonglei added, "Find a few big influencers, write some copy, release a lot of press releases, and buy a few trending topics! The copy needs to be ruthless, even more ruthless than Feng Xiaogang's insults towards the audience!"

"I'll get on it right away, boss!"

-

Compared to Wang Zhonglei's anger that he dared not speak out, Deng Chao, Yu Baimei, and Wang Changtian were even more helpless.

The cinema chains have their own set of rules, which won't change just because Enlight Media is one of the top five private cinemas and Deng Chao and Sun Li are first-tier cinemas.

"Chao, I've negotiated with the theater chains. Except for Wanda, the others have all indicated that they won't drastically cut our screenings. They'll still give us 25% of the screenings on the first day, but what happens after that depends on our box office performance!" Wang Changtian told Deng Chao the final result.

Deng Chao said helplessly, "President Wang, what kind of situation is this? The one who hurt me the most is actually my boss!"

Wang Changtian chuckled twice: "You'll get used to it. I've known your boss for so many years, haven't I suffered enough?"

Deng Chao laughed heartily: "President Wang, I didn't mean to mock you!"

The screenings of "The Villain Angel" were cut, but Deng Chao and Enlight Media did not react excessively.

But the small cannon is different.

Upon learning of the cuts to his screenings, Feng Xiaogang posted his usual sarcastic remarks on Weibo that very night.

The accompanying image is a poster for the movie "Mr. Six," with the caption: "The rules of the underworld? Now it's all about money!"
Feng Xiaogang's Weibo post quickly became a trending topic.

Netizens, always eager for drama, have revealed that the screenings of "Mr. Six" were cut because of "La La Land".

Some netizens even tagged Li Chen, hoping that Li Chen would also retaliate.

But Li Chen didn't make any move.

It wasn't until early morning of the 23rd that Li Chen updated his Weibo.

This immediately propelled Feng Xiaogang, this veteran, to the top of the trending searches.

Is it "Mr. Six" or young heartthrobs?

(End of this chapter)