Huayu: Hard fight against Zhang Weiping at the beginning

Chapter 605 Guo Fan Gets a Pay Raise
The summer movie season is important because students are on vacation.

Young people are the main audience for movies.

In its second week of release, "Gravity" saw a slight drop in box office revenue, but the decline was not significant, remaining around 30 to 40 million yuan.

Zhang Chen had previously estimated the film's box office at 300 million yuan, but "Gravity" actually broke 300 million yuan on its seventh day of release and is currently heading towards 400 million yuan.
A conservative estimate is fine, because it's another weekend coming up.

Some negative reviews appeared online, but they were insignificant and were quickly drowned out by the massive number of positive reviews.

This year's summer movie season is strangely harmonious.

In previous years, Star Entertainment's movies always received negative reviews upon release.

Most of these negative reviews came from film critics and competitors.

This is normal; they're competitors, after all, they smear each other.

Star Entertainment also organizes people to give negative reviews to their competitors' movies.

However, Huayi Brothers has no films released this year and has just repaired its relationship with Star Entertainment, so it's natural that it wouldn't offend anyone for no reason.

Bona Film Group, ranked second, had two Hong Kong films released: "Overheard" and "Empire of Silver," in July and August respectively during the summer season.

However, Bona wisely spaced its two films from Star Entertainment by two weeks.

During the summer movie season, the most profitable period for a film is the first two weeks, or more precisely, the first ten days.

Released at the same time, they are considered competitors, but avoiding release for seven to ten days is standard practice.

Therefore, Bona Film Group did not intentionally smear "Gravity," and the two were not in much competition.

Moreover, if they deliberately smear "Gravity", Star Entertainment will turn around and smear "Overheard" and "Silver Empire".

The remaining film and television companies, Enlight Media and Wanda Group, are all investors in "Gravity". They are too busy protecting and supporting the film to possibly criticize it themselves.

In truth, the huge success of "Gravity" was a perfect storm of timing, location, and people.

Timing:

Gravity's biggest competitor is actually Transformers 2, which will be released on June 6.24.

As a sequel to a major IP and with Michael Bay's involvement, Transformers 2 still enjoys considerable popularity.

It continued the magic of its predecessor, breaking the curse that imported films rarely break 100 million yuan.

1.5 million in 7 days, and over 3 million in 12 days.

According to general box office trends, the box office revenue in the first two weeks can account for 70%-80% of the total box office revenue.

While Transformers 2 was still showing in theaters, its box office revenue had dropped to just over 1000 million per day.

Gravity was released just two weeks later, avoiding most of the competition.

Location:

As the first domestic science fiction film about space, "Gravity" has a huge advantage in terms of publicity, far surpassing that of other films.

Don't let the fact that the director is a newcomer fool you; the producer is Zhang Chen.

At that time in mainland China, Zhang Chen was known as the leading figure in science fiction films, and the films he produced naturally had a high level of recognition.

As for harmony, the greatest harmony is having no one to criticize you.

Due to a combination of factors, Gravity's box office soared, far surpassing Transformers 2.

Some media outlets have even made predictions that "Gravity" is likely to be the highest-grossing film of the year.

But netizens disagreed.

Also coming up in August is Ning Hao's "Train to Busan," the first domestically produced zombie film.

Despite the story being set in a foreign country, it's still a domestic production.

Moreover, there's "Pacific Rim 2" coming out at the end of the year, which is the sequel to "Pacific Rim" and Zhang Chen's only sequel. Netizens firmly believe that "Pacific Rim 2" will definitely break the box office record of "Gravity".

Online, word-of-mouth for the film continues to spread.

I just watched the movie and I totally agree with director Zhang Yimou's point of view: the sound effects in *Gravity* are absolutely amazing, worthy of an Oscar for Best Sound Effects...

The shots featuring the starry sky and Earth are breathtakingly beautiful; any screenshot could be used as a desktop wallpaper. They're just too gorgeous!

What I love most about Gravity is its realism; it unflinchingly portrays how insignificant humanity is in the face of the vast universe.
Looking at older sci-fi movies, they were all about powerful starships and weapons that could destroy a planet with the flick of a finger. People traveled between star systems as easily as they would between cities, and there was an arrogance permeating everything, a sense that humans could conquer nature. Gravity is different. It tells us that insignificant humans are nothing in the vastness of space.

Some people focus on the overall feeling, while others pay more attention to the immediate impression.

[There's a scene where the female lead rolls towards the endless starry sky, and that scene really sent chills down my spine. It was so immersive; I was so afraid she wouldn't come back~]

The sound effects in this movie are truly top-notch. There are strong sound effects during the subtitles, but once the main feature begins, it instantly transforms into a vast, ethereal space—it's incredibly immersive!
Furthermore, when switching from third-person to first-person perspective, the sensory experience immediately changes, making it feel so realistic that you'd think you were playing a first-person game.

Another group of viewers, who are more sensitive, were delighted by the large number of Chinese elements appearing in the film.

Finally, there's a sci-fi movie about China's space program! I was so excited to see Tiangong-1 in it. The only downside is that it would have been even better if Fan Bingbing had played a Chinese astronaut!

The moment I received the Earth signal, my heart leaped with joy along with the protagonist's!

The final scene of passing through the atmosphere was so thrilling! And the moment he kissed the beach after landing—if I were the protagonist, I would have done the same!

There are many comments, and the number is increasing.

These reviews will draw hesitant people into the theaters, contributing to box office revenue.

Some of these comments are genuine, while others are posted by Star Entertainment insiders, but they are generally quite serious.

The inappropriate comments appeared in North America.

The most popular comment about "Gravity" in North America reads as follows:

This film is absurd and seriously illogical. I believe it deviates significantly from reality in certain aspects. A physics professor at the University of Pennsylvania even discovered a huge, anthropologically and scientifically illogical flaw in the film:
How could George Clooney in real life possibly chat with a woman for so long without doing anything?

haha~
It seems George Clooney doesn't have a very good reputation in North America.

Or perhaps he's just too popular, and everyone can tease him freely.

Zhang Chen was amused when he saw this comment.

Fan Xiaopang has also developed the habit of reading movie reviews these past few days, because she always sees praise for her outstanding acting skills.

In her past works, no matter how hard she put her heart into acting, there were always negative comments.

Some say she lowered the film's prestige, that her acting was terrible, and that she ruined a good subject matter.

The only exception is "Gravity," a film that is purely a one-man show. The only supporting actor is gone after the first ten minutes, leaving Fan Xiaopang to carry the show for the remaining 80 minutes.

Seriously, if the acting were even slightly off, this movie would have flopped.
But she persevered.

No one says her acting is bad anymore; even many of the most critical film critics praise her for her tremendous improvement.

These guys are actually pretty nice; I misjudged them before.
……

On the last day of its second week, "Gravity" finally surpassed 4 million yuan at the box office. However, its daily box office also plummeted to around 1000 million yuan.

At the same time, Transformers 2 finally left theaters, with a total box office of 4.55 million yuan, setting a new record for the highest-grossing Hollywood blockbuster in China.

However, China Film Group is not worried, because "Gravity" has already grossed 4200 million yuan, and it is only a matter of time before it surpasses "Transformers 2".

Foreign films are unlikely to become the annual box office champion, and they can't even beat domestic science fiction films of the same genre.

Han Sanping was greatly pleased.

Following Zhang Chen, China has finally produced another director who can guarantee box office success.

Star Entertainment was very excited about breaking 400 million, but they didn't know how far they could ultimately go.

This depends on two factors: the release date and piracy.

Piracy in China is rampant.

The only thing Star Entertainment can do is to vigorously promote the idea that such movies have a better viewing experience in theaters.

Is it really better? Not necessarily.

Some cinemas have really basic equipment.

This is the same principle as novels. You might ask if you can't read a txt file? Of course you can.

But those who don't follow the official version will never experience the charm of chapter comments and following updates.

In particular, this chapter says that this thing is sometimes even more exciting than the main text.

.........

With the film's box office entering a stable period, Star Entertainment gradually shifted its focus to "Train to Busan," which was to be released in two weeks, leaving only a small amount of resources to continue promoting "Gravity."

Guo Fan has been in high spirits these past two days. In just over ten days, he has gone from being penniless to becoming famous.

It's incredibly magical.

I've been actively adjusting my mindset these past two days, and trying to put on a smile.
Because his former friend suddenly didn't like him anymore.
Breaking 400 million!
Not just Starry Sky Entertainment, no director in all of China has ever done this, except for Zhang Chen.
What makes this kid so special?
Lu Yang and Ning Hao, these two friends, were extremely jealous.

Our best result was only 300 million, and you came in with 400 million. Isn't that leaving the organization?

Then I saw the news this morning, and I was even more devastated.
The news was broken by Sohu Entertainment Channel, which said that with Guo Fan's current box office success of 400 million yuan, the director's fee for his next film should be around 15 million yuan.

1500 million! That's top-tier in China!
"No, you have to treat me to a meal, you absolutely have to!"

The two continued shouting and wouldn't give up.

Guo Fan raised his hands in surrender: "I'll treat, I definitely will, I absolutely have to!"

The so-called jealousy was just a joke, but there was definitely some resentment in my heart.

Their current director salaries are all 15 million yuan, which is basically a consensus in the industry. If the box office exceeds 300 million yuan, then the director can justify this salary.

But they all received this salary after filming two or three movies. Guo Fan is different; this is his debut film.

When Zhang Chen arrived at the company, he happened to witness this farce.

"What's going on here?"

"This kid, I heard online someone offered him 1500 million to direct a sci-fi film~"

Before Lu Yang could finish speaking, Guo Fan quickly interjected, "No, no, it's all a lie. You can ask Manager Dong if you don't believe me!"

Dong Jianqiang smiled and shook his head: "Indeed, no one has contacted us."

"See, I told you it was nonsense!"

Zhang Chen stroked his chin and thought for a moment: "With 300 million in box office revenue, a 15 million yuan salary is reasonable. If I direct another sci-fi film in the future, I can use this salary."

When he said that, the others at Star Entertainment didn't find it strange.

Star Entertainment has always prioritized box office performance, and people like Lu Yang and Ning Hao are no exception.

If your film has a high box office, then the director's salary will increase accordingly, and it will definitely be the highest in the industry.

"Ah~"

Guo Fan was dumbfounded; he hadn't expected his salary to actually increase.

Previously, he served as the executive assistant director of "2012," and his salary was 120 million, which was already the maximum.

In typical film and television companies, a senior executive assistant director's salary is only around 30 to 80 yuan. If it is a director's fixed base, he may be able to get a figure of 100 million yuan.

Other casting or assistant directors don't even earn as much as executive directors, usually only around 200,000 to 300,000 yuan. If it's a big production, they might get around 500,000 to 600,000 yuan.

Of course, these are legitimate income, not gray income.

When he directed "Gravity," he was a new director, and his salary was $50, which is about 400 million RMB.

This is already an extra amount given because of Zhang Chen; when Michael Bay was filming "Bad Boys," it only cost $25.

Guo Fan never expected that after "Gravity," his director's fee would jump to 1500 million yuan, which certainly seemed surreal.
15 million is truly the ceiling for domestic directors. Feng Xiaogang's "If You Are the One" broke 300 million, and he only received this much.

Zhang Yimou, who previously worked with Zhang Weiping, didn't even receive such a high salary.

Of course, this only applies to big-budget science fiction films.

If it were a low-budget romance film, he definitely wouldn't have gotten this price.

Even so, Guo Fan was very satisfied.
Are there any directors in China with a fee higher than 1500 million? Of course there are, and that would be Zhang Chen, whose director fee was 2000 million.

But this only applies to market trends.

Because Zhang Chen no longer works on purely domestic films; he now handles Sino-US co-productions, and his fees are calculated in US dollars.

Zhang Chen's current market price in Hollywood is $2000 million plus 10% of the box office revenue.

This box office revenue sharing is actually the net profit sharing, which is the remaining income after deducting production costs, marketing expenses, cinema revenue sharing and other financial expenditures.

Hollywood's top directors and actors are basically at this level.

But Pacific Rim 2 is different; it's the soul of the series, just like Cameron was to Terminator.

With the huge success of "Ultraman 1", Warner Bros. made concessions for "Ultraman 2", allowing Zhang Chen to receive 20% of the net profit, and his $2000 million was not paid in cash, but rather converted into an investment.

This can be considered a deep integration, linking the director to the film's box office performance. This can reduce the financial pressure in the early stages and increase the director's initiative.

This is just the director's salary. Zhang Chen is also a producer, enjoying producer's share of the profits. He also enjoys a share of the profits from DVDs and videotapes, as well as a share from toys.

For Transformers 2, Hasbro signed a contract with Michael Bay, under which Michael Bay would receive 8% of the toy revenue for every movie-related toy sold.

The same principle applies to Pacific Rim. Zhang Chen receives a share of the profits from the sale of those monster and mecha toys, with a share even higher than Michael Bay's, because Pacific Rim is Zhang Chen's original creation.

(End of this chapter)