Huayu 05, our science fiction movie universe

Chapter 653 The Pinnacle of Companionship

In the past few years, as China's film and television industry has developed rapidly and box office revenue has soared, the salaries of celebrities and most people in the entertainment industry have also increased exponentially.

Sometimes, a single gig, event, commercial performance, or filming a movie can earn hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars, equivalent to a lifetime's work for an ordinary person.

The ever-increasing salaries of celebrities often account for 40% to 50% of the cost of a film or television production, which is undoubtedly a huge burden for investors and producers.

With actors' salaries rising, and given the need to maximize profits without arbitrarily increasing investment, the only option left is to find other ways to make money within the production team.

For example, props, special effects, set design, and even the salaries of extras and behind-the-scenes staff...

Domestic viewers have complained about this.

Movie box office revenue is getting higher and higher, and investment is getting bigger and bigger, but the quality is not improving, and has even regressed.

Even many film and television production companies are helpless in the face of this situation.

It's easy for actors' salaries to go up, but difficult to come down. Nobody complains about having too much money, and those salaries are all tied to their status, influence, and so on.

Unless it's a particularly big production, or a work by a well-known director like Wang Hao, where everyone is eager to film it, actors rarely lower their fees.

So when the higher authorities said they wanted to "limit salaries," many people below looked expressionless, but in their hearts they were applauding and already calculating how much the production costs of film and television works could be reduced, and how much they could save on expenses.

A briefing held by the cultural authorities and the State Administration of Radio and Television served as a warning of the impending downturn in the film and television industry in 2019.

It's impossible to say that those film and television companies aren't nervous.

However, it would be a pipe dream to expect them to quit the industry now just because of some difficulties.

Given the current situation, we'll all have to rely on our own abilities from now on.

After returning to the company from the meeting, Wang Hao convened another meeting with the heads of various departments of the group and informed them of the basic content of the meeting.

"Cheer up!"

This is the sentence that Wang Hao said most often at internal group meetings.

Although Xinghe Group is currently the industry leader, it cannot afford to be complacent during an economic downturn.

Fortunately, the development and financial situation of all the group's subsidiaries are very good. Apart from some loans at [Galaxy Paradise], there are no major problems.

"Honey, will the domestic film and television industry recover in the future?"

That evening, after Wang Hao told his wife Jing Tian about what had happened in the past few days, she asked him with some concern.

This question left Wang Hao silent for a long while.

Even as a time traveler, he didn't have a definite answer.

In 2025, before his rebirth, although there was a domestic film called "Ne Zha 2: The Demon Child Conquers the Dragon King" that grossed 150 billion RMB, which can be described as groundbreaking, the market as a whole was actually stagnant beneath the glory of this single film.

The fact that the box office revenue for the summer of 2025 exceeds 100 billion yuan is something that relevant departments should write about extensively, which shows the overall sluggishness of the market.

So, can Galaxy Group reverse or delay this situation?

Even Wang Hao himself wasn't entirely confident.

After all, when fortune smiles, heaven and earth lend a hand; when fortune turns, even heroes are powerless. Wang Hao might not even qualify as a hero, so how could he possibly have such great abilities?

Perhaps the only thing we can do is go with the flow.

"Probably, at least we'll definitely see that day."

Wang Hao held Jing Tian's delicate body and gently stroked her back.

Jing Tian rested her head on his shoulder and whispered:

"Don't put too much pressure on yourself. This isn't anyone's problem. We just need to do our best. The baby and I will support you."

A warm, pink atmosphere filled the air between the couple.

In the period that followed, Xinghe Group underwent restructuring and adjustments to prepare for the major changes in the film and television culture industry.

Those film and television companies that attended the small meeting basically had similar actions to Xinghe Group. Some medium or small film and television companies, and some who were not clear about the situation, couldn't wait to grab the resources after discovering that the leading film and television companies were adjusting their business and releasing some resources.

Just as the Chinese film and television culture industry was undergoing turbulent changes, April arrived.

The holiday has long since ended, and "The Martian," after a month-long extension, successfully ended its run in mainland China a few days ago with a box office of 63 billion yuan.

With the addition of the $800 million box office revenue earned overseas, the film's total box office revenue exceeded 10 billion yuan, once again becoming another milestone in Wang Hao's works.

And that's not all. "The Martian" will also be released on major streaming platforms both domestically and internationally, and the copyright fees for this will be a considerable sum.

However, after the film's theatrical run, related matters will naturally be handled by professionals within the group company.

Wang Hao is currently busy with two main tasks: managing and operating the group, reviewing numerous film and television projects, organizing subsequent works for the Galaxy Cinematic Universe, and preparing for his new film.

During this time, he also took some time to travel to Hangzhou Bay and the other two [Star River Cinemas] in Dunhuang for inspection, and also visited the sets of Guo Fan's "Sky Ladder" and Lu Yang's "The Legend of Shushan Swordsman 1".

The former, judging from the movie title alone and the plot of the "Galaxy Cinematic Universe," is basically a story about the construction of a "space elevator."

Wang Hao mainly drew inspiration for this part from the early part of the movie "The Wandering Earth 2," specifically the scene where the space elevator is destroyed.

Compared to Guo Fan in his previous life, who was eager to launch projects, the planning of the [Galaxy Cinematic Universe] in this life is undoubtedly much easier. Therefore, Wang Hao and his team have more time and energy to focus on the details outside the main storyline and expand the worldview of the entire cinematic universe.

Not only "Sky Ladder," which tells the story of the construction of the "space elevator," but also the Sino-Japanese co-production TV series "Space Cleaners," which is about to finish filming, as well as "Take Her Eyes," "Moving Mountains," "Marathon," and other upcoming films, will all supplement the main storyline of the entire cinematic universe and explore its boundaries.

As for Lu Yang's "The Legend of Shushan Swordsmen 1", it is a small collection of another IP series project of Xinghe Group, "Shushan Cinematic Universe", which is comparable to "The Avengers". It mainly tells the story of the sword fight at Ciyun Temple in chapters 30 to 41 of "The Legend of Shushan Swordsmen", which can be regarded as the first major conflict between the good and evil factions.

Both projects are important and involve substantial investments, and both are overseen by emerging directors from the Galaxy Group.

Wang Hao's visit to the set wasn't out of distrust, but more of a procedural oversight. During the visit, he did notice some minor issues and privately offered them pointers.

Unfortunately, in China today, Wang Hao is truly the only one qualified to teach and guide people in the field of special effects blockbuster production. He definitely has to do more work because he is capable.

By the time I finished this business trip and returned to Beijing, it was almost the end of April.

Galaxy Group doesn't have any projects released this month, because the entire month of April 2019 is almost entirely occupied by the promotion of a movie.

This movie is the final chapter of the Marvel Cinematic Universe after 11 years of planning – Avengers: Endgame.

As Hollywood's counterpart to the StarCraft cinematic universe, they are the only two most popular cinematic universe series in the world.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has a tremendous influence worldwide.

And this "Avengers: Endgame" is the 22nd film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

It primarily tells the story of how, after the devastating events of Avengers: Infinity War, the Avengers, with the help of their remaining allies, reunite to reverse the past and recreate hope.

On April 22, 2019, the global premiere of "Avengers: Endgame" was held in Los Angeles.

2019年4月24日，影片于中国内地、中国香港、中国台湾、新加坡及马来西亚等地区上映，并于4月26日在美国上映。

Prior to this, the film's release had already become a phenomenon in China, breaking numerous box office records and sparking a nationwide movie-watching frenzy.

Within just 10 hours of the pre-sale opening, the box office exceeded 1 million RMB, a speed that even surpassed the record for the fastest box office in Chinese film history set by Wang Hao not long ago.

The final pre-sale total reached 7.74 million RMB, which is more than the 6.25 million RMB of Wang Hao's previous "The Three-Body Problem 1".

When the movie was released, Marvel fans in China went absolutely crazy.

More than 300 million people across the country watched the midnight screenings, with some cinemas showing the films until 4 a.m.

Tickets for an IMAX cinema in Shanghai were sold out even after being resold for 500 yuan each, with fans dressing up as Iron Man, Thanos, and other characters to enter the theater.

This movie did not disappoint its fans, opening with a thrilling scene of Thor beheading Thanos.

Then comes the reunion of the heroes, their time-traveling adventure to save the day, the hardships and pain along the way, the final chaotic battle, Captain America picking up Thor's hammer, and Iron Man's epic sacrifice.

When Tony Stark put on the Infinity Gauntlet, shouted "I am Iron Man," and snapped his fingers, he truly proved with his actions what it means to "stand shoulder to shoulder with gods despite being a mortal."

In the movie theater, the audience would burst into laughter, gasp in surprise, or shed tears every ten minutes or so.

Many viewers choked up when Iron Man Tony Stark sacrificed himself.

Not to mention the ending of the movie, where Captain America gets old and the Avengers go their separate ways.

When the final scene is pitch black, the metallic clanging sound of Iron Man Tony Stark hammering his armor in the cave can be heard.

An era belonging to Marvel and the Marvel Cinematic Universe has come to a complete end.

Yes, countless Marvel fans cheered for the brilliance of Avengers: Endgame, shed tears for Tony Stark's sacrifice, rejoiced at Captain America and Carter's reunion, and were excited about the film's second-highest global box office ranking.

However, this still cannot conceal the fact that the Marvel Cinematic Universe has now reached its peak and will inevitably decline in the future.

Many people are unaware of this.

Although Avengers: Endgame only grossed 42.5 billion yuan at the Chinese box office, it was still less than Wang Hao's Martian and The Three-Body Problem.

However, Avengers: Endgame achieved a landmark box office record worldwide.

The film grossed $27.9 billion worldwide, a figure that made it the highest-grossing film of all time when it was released in 2019, surpassing Avatar.

It is also worth mentioning that the film broke opening weekend box office records in many countries and regions around the world, and performed strongly in markets such as South Korea and the United Kingdom.

This achievement is truly a resounding success, representing the pinnacle of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Of course, this outstanding achievement is inseparable from the emotional impact of the film as the final chapter of Marvel's "Infinity Saga," as well as its epic narrative of 181 minutes and stunning visual effects.

However, sometimes, when something reaches its peak, it often means that its glory will eventually give way to decline.

This is something that has been noticed online.

"Big Eyes Watching Movies," a well-known film commentary and analysis blogger on Douyin, expressed some concern after creating a trailer clip and movie recommendation for "Avengers: Endgame":

"Avengers: Endgame is undoubtedly a very good movie, but after watching it, I can't help but worry about what the future holds for the Marvel Cinematic Universe after the departure of Iron Man and Captain America, the two souls of the Avengers."
Clearly, Marvel seems to have consciously tried to make Doctor Strange and Spider-Man the core of the Marvel Cinematic Universe in its past series.

But the question is, can Doctor Strange, with its fantasy style, be compatible with the realistic science fiction style that the Marvel Cinematic Universe has always maintained?
We don't know what will happen next in the Marvel story, but it's clear that when Avengers: Endgame brings the Infinity Saga to a perfect close, the changing of the guard between old and new heroes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe will inevitably bring more twists and turns to this grand cinematic universe.

Ultimately, I just hope that Marvel won't end up like other film series, where it has to one day bring back characters that have already left the franchise to continue selling nostalgia.

"Big Eyes Watching Movies"'s comments still caused quite a stir online and among his fans.

After all, his words were essentially a cold shower for "The Avengers" or Marvel in general.

Some fans who were excited about Avengers: Endgame even mocked him in the comments, saying that he was worrying unnecessarily.

"That's a production from the best Hollywood film studio, with the best screenwriting team in the world. Instead of worrying about them, we should worry about domestic films."

"Look, that's what makes Hollywood movies so great. They always give heroes a dignified ending, unlike some domestic cinematic universes that are long, tedious, and full of moral lessons."

I am Iron Man!
This is the perfect embodiment of individual free will.

So don't worry, even if Iron Man is gone, there's Spider-Man, and other superheroes.

"You can tell what kind of person he is just by looking at his movie commentary."

He even lavishly praised *The Martian*, the movie that plagiarized *Cast Away*.

It can only be said that these people were ultimately too optimistic. But in this most glorious period of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, who could have predicted the future?
(End of this chapter)