The world is in trouble

Chapter 245 Box Office Huge Success! Record Broken!
Zhang Qizhao is still the deputy director, and he will probably retire to the second line in a few years.

A few years ago, he was very ambitious and went to great lengths to jump from the principal of Linshan No. 1 Middle School to the municipal education bureau. He even made great mistakes in his movements.

Looking back now, he almost wants to laugh at himself for being like that.

So what if you get into the Municipal Education Bureau? So what if you become the deputy director?
Isn't it still the same?
Moreover, his son has now become the chairman's assistant at Lightning Group and will be in charge of a region in a few years.

As his children achieved success, his desire for power as a father diminished, and he clearly felt quite detached and at ease.

And now, Deputy Director Zhang has become a loyal follower of the Lightning Group. Whenever a new work is released, he will offer his support.

He had also watched "Crazy Stone" and "Love is Not Blind" before.

honestly……

I don't particularly like it.

He couldn't understand "Love is Not Blind" at all, but his daughter was very moved by it.

Despite the huge scale of the film "The Last Days," he drove his wife and daughter to Hangzhou to watch it, treating it like a holiday.

And this time...

He understood.

And I really like it.

This movie is good.

Even while watching, he felt waves of doubt.

Is this person my student?

Although he was already very outstanding at that time, winning the first prize in the New Concept Writing Competition and ranking first in the city in the college entrance examination.

But when I saw this movie, I still felt a sense of unfamiliarity.

Is this my student's work?

Not only him, but the entire audience was also completely captivated.

Audiences of this era have seen too little of the world, and they were immediately captivated by the grand scenes and the tense and exciting plot.

It's good, this movie is good.

It's much better than "House of Flying Daggers" and "A World Without Thieves".

I didn't want to blink for even a minute.

Two hours later, the movie ended, but many viewers were still reluctant to leave.

Of course, there was no applause; audiences of this era hadn't learned that kind of thing yet. But as they left, they still showered the audience with praise.

"This movie is so good."

"Yes, I'd like to watch it again."

When Xiao Wanli and Li Fangfang walked out of the movie theater, they happened to run into Zhang Qizhao's family.

"Director Zhang?" Li Fangfang asked in surprise, "You're here to watch a movie too?"

Zhang Qizhao said, "Yes, what brings you all here?"

Li Fangfang instinctively wanted to say, "This movie was made by my son Xiaoxiao, of course I have to come and see it."

However, she stopped herself as soon as she was about to say it.

Because she remembered that Zhang Qizhao seemed to have some disagreements with Lin Xiao. When Lin Xiao was given a major demerit by the school, Paopao begged Zhang Qizhao several times, and Li Fangfang even called him personally, but Zhang Qizhao still didn't cancel the demerit.

Of course, she didn't mean to seek revenge. Rather, she thought it was better to avoid trouble.

If we talk about Bubble and Xiaoxiao, then we'll have to invite him to the wedding banquet, which would be so awkward.

Li Fangfang said, "Yes, I came to Hangzhou to stroll around and catch a movie since I had nothing else to do."

She said this with a sense of superiority in her heart.

I won't tell you that my son-in-law made this movie, and that my son Bubble has become a screenwriter.

Zhang Qizhao laughed and said, "What a coincidence, me too."

He also felt a great sense of superiority. I won't tell you that my son is now the chairman's assistant at Lightning Group.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, the two sides went their separate ways.

..........................................

The following day, filmmaker Cheng Qingsong published a film review.

"The End of the World" is more than a decade ahead of Chinese films!
I've seen the first two movies by Er Gou, but I didn't give them very high overall ratings. Even though both movies were of good quality, they didn't contribute much to the film industry.

But "The Last Day" is completely different.

He completely broke free from the constraints of traditional themes and chose the most difficult field.

When he announced this project at the second Facebook Night, I was extremely skeptical.

I even think it's like trying to run before you've even learned to walk.

Science fiction and apocalyptic themes are Hollywood's exclusive domain; no other country can make them well, or even at all.

But once I actually entered the cinema, it brought me more than just surprise; it was truly awe-inspiring.

At first, I went to see it expecting it to be a zombie movie.

Audiences may not be familiar with this type of film, but I have watched all the zombie movies. It is a very small genre, and it is also a film type with a low ceiling.

"Dawn of the Dead 2004" is the pinnacle of this genre; it's already Hollywood's top-tier production.

However, I can declare without hesitation that "The Last Journey" completely surpasses the Hollywood production "Dawn of the Dead 2004," and in every aspect.

Whether it's the plot, special effects, visuals, pacing, scope, or scale, etc.

This is not a zombie movie, it's a disaster movie, and a big-budget A-list production at that.

In fact, even in Hollywood, the golden age of disaster films is over. Films like "Independence Day" and "The Day After Tomorrow" seem to have exhausted Hollywood's luck in this genre, making it difficult to come up with anything new.

Moreover, these A-list disaster movies often have a problem: grand scenes but weak plots.

Another problem with zombie movies is that they are narrow, gloomy, and lack a grand scope.

However, The Last Days completely avoids these problems. First of all, as a film, it has an outstanding plot and top-notch acting.

On a grand scale, it also delivers a huge surprise. It spares no expense in key scenes, creating a magnificent and imposing atmosphere.

Therefore, without a doubt, this is a world-class work.

Master Er Gou has delivered a perfect answer sheet, one that exceeded my expectations.

If even a film like this can't break box office records, then it's undoubtedly a tragedy for the entire film market.

Finally, a comparison between the two films, "Kung Fu Hustle" and "The Last Days".

Both of these films are classics and deserve to be recorded in the history of Chinese-language cinema.

If I were to rate it, from an artistic point of view, I would give "Kung Fu Hustle" a higher score.

However, from a commercial perspective, or from the perspective of a very ordinary viewer, "The Last Days" would be considered a better film.

Many scenes in "Kung Fu Hustle" are of artistic quality, and the acting and cinematography are masterpieces, making it a classic teaching material for many film academies.

But if you're a casual viewer, then there's no doubt that "The Last Days" will be much better; it will satisfy all your needs, and even far exceed them.

Moreover, the impact of "The Last Day on Earth" on the film industry is undoubtedly enormous, so I say it was at least ten years ahead of Chinese-language films!

If it's a Hollywood movie, then it's a masterpiece.

But since it's a Chinese-language film, it's a great masterpiece.

Finally, Teacher Cheng gave Er Gou's work an extremely high rating.

..........................................

Starting almost that evening, all the online communities, QQ groups, and forums exploded.

Countless posts and messages were flooded with praise.

Even Lin Xiao was completely surprised by this display of force.

While this movie is indeed of high quality, and because a lot of extra money was spent to add several super-large scenes, does it deserve such high praise?
But Lin Xiao soon understood the reason.

Because this is the end of 2004, not 2016.

When this movie came out in 2016, it caused a huge stir, let alone in late 2004 when people were still relatively unaware of it.

In this era, there is only one blockbuster in Chinese-language cinema.

That was "Hero," which is why it achieved a box office record of 2.5 million yuan a few years ago.

But for domestic audiences, "Hero" is a blockbuster, but not a pleasant surprise. This is because it's a traditional Chinese martial arts film combined with a war film, which isn't novel.

"The End of the World" is unique and refreshing.

Moreover, its plot is far more exciting and thrilling than any other.

So, to some extent, this movie has already enjoyed the same treatment as "The Wandering Earth".

Domestic audiences have great enthusiasm for breakthroughs in subject matter, genre, and film industry.

Even though the quality of "Fengshen 1" wasn't that high, it was the first truly epic fantasy film in China, so audiences showed tremendous enthusiasm and it grossed 26 billion yuan at the box office.

..........................................

With such overwhelmingly positive reviews, the film has gradually gained wider recognition.

The term "going viral" means that many viewers who didn't originally watch movies also went to the cinema.

Almost every upgrade in the film market has been achieved through breakout hits.

The entire creative team also embarked on an incredibly busy promotional journey.

Every day I have to travel to different cities and appear on various television programs and media outlets.

Whether it's director Ning Hao or Wu Jing, Li Duanduan has become incredibly famous.

Especially Wu Jing, by the time the movie was being promoted, he had already slimmed down again and become very fit.

His role in this movie is so easy to make stand out.

So fierce, so strong as an ox, yet so gentle.

Actually, Lin Xiao was a little disappointed when he watched the finished film. Wu Jing's performance was ultimately not as good as Ma Dong-seok's. There was nothing that could be done about it; it was really just because of their appearances.

Only Ma Dong-seok could portray such an extreme contrast.

However, because there is no comparison, there is no harm done.

In the eyes of all viewers, the character Wu Jing is already extremely outstanding.

The entire creative team went to Hong Kong and Taiwan to promote the project. In just a few days, they appeared on Phoenix TV, TVB, and several programs in Taiwan.

Ning Hao said, "Making a film of this caliber is a blessing, but it is also a source of great suffering."

"Because after prosperity comes deep loneliness."

"Because you want to climb to even higher peaks, but such works are rare and hard to come by."

"Crazy Racer was already a very high starting point, but The Last Days has directly raised me to such a high level, but in a sense, this level doesn't actually belong to me."

"So I need to calm down completely next."

Wu Jing said, "Yes, I need to completely forget about this movie now. That way I can get into a new state. Director Ning, isn't the company asking you to direct a comedy film next? Can you include me in 'Breakup Buddies'?"

Ning Hao: "I don't want you. You have absolutely no comedic talent. You should go back to playing villains in 'SPL: Sha Po Lang'. You have a bright future there."

Wu Jing made a gesture of crying.

The host asked, "Breakup Buddies? Is this a pure comedy?"

Ning Hao: "It's a comedy, and it's also a romance film, but it has a very good structure. After all, the script was written by me and Er Gou. Everyone knows how important Er Gou is."

The host looked at Li Duanduan beside him: "Were you the female lead in 'Breakup Buddies'?"

Ning Hao: "No, she's too beautiful."

The female lead in "Breakup Buddies" seems tailor-made for Yuan Quan; she exudes an artistic vibe, is somewhat attractive, but not quite that stunning.

..........................................

The night of the 24th is Christmas Eve.

These days, Christmas is the most popular time of year in China.

That evening, the movie theater was packed to capacity.

Then Christmas Day is on the 25th, and Sunday is on the 26th.

Looking at the huge crowd at the movie theater, many people couldn't help but start looking forward to next Tuesday.

Because at that time, Manager Liu of Sichuan Pacific will announce the box office data for the previous week.

Whenever a phenomenal movie appears, a lot of box office experts emerge.

Even people who don't usually pay attention to movies will keep an eye on box office figures.

This was true for Wolf Warrior, The Wandering Earth, and Ne Zha 2.

Manager Liu also felt an immense responsibility on his shoulders.

Starting almost on the 27th, she was in her office urging various cinemas to provide box office data.

"hurry up……"

Do you know how many people are waiting for the box office figures?

"If I can't deliver the data on time, how can I live up to the expectations of so many movie fans?"

As a result, starting on the evening of the 27th, the official website of Sichuan Pacific Cinema almost crashed because countless people were frantically refreshing the page.

Normally, box office figures won't be available until the following Tuesday or even Wednesday.

This time was particularly special; the data was almost completely compiled by 10 p.m. on Monday night.

Looking at the form in his hand, Manager Liu couldn't help but say, "It's like cinemas all over the country are celebrating the Chinese New Year."

Then, she simultaneously posted the box office data on the Sichuan Pacific Cinema website and on Facebook.

"The Last Days" grossed 1.39 million yuan in its opening week!
Kung Fu Hustle grossed 8700 million in its opening week!
This data shocked all movie fans.

It's truly a feast for the film industry! The previous opening week box office record was 8500 million!
Now, not only has "The Last Days" far surpassed this record, but "Kung Fu Hustle" has also directly broken it.

When Zhou Xingchi received this data, he breathed a long sigh of relief, and was even excited.

The opening week box office figures were much better than he had expected.

In fact, this figure is about 20 to 30 million higher than the opening weekend box office of "Kung Fu Hustle" in history. It is really because of the mutual promotion between "The Last Days" and "Kung Fu Hustle" that aroused the audience's enthusiasm, which made both films a huge success at the box office.

Because both sides strongly recommended each other's movies.

This is why many people couldn't resist buying tickets for "Kung Fu Hustle" after watching "The End of the World," and vice versa.

....................................

Inside Huayi Company, the faces of the two CEOs, Mr. Wang and Mr. Feng, were all ashen.

After the release of these two films, the box office of "A World Without Thieves" was not just halved, but its value was drastically reduced.

Although "Kung Fu Hustle" was distributed by Huayi Brothers Media Group and made a fortune, "A World Without Thieves" was the true original.

Of course, to be honest, the quality of "A World Without Thieves" is actually quite good.

Historically, its box office was around 1.26 million yuan, but now it's stuck at around 1 million yuan. Even so, it's still profitable. The film's investment was around 3000 million yuan, and the domestic box office alone was enough to recoup the costs. Moreover, Feng Xiaogang's films don't even need a theatrical release to break even; his films have an unusually large number of in-film advertisements.

But there's a saying: watching the enemy succeed is more painful than losing money yourself.

And "The Last Days" is more than just a success.

If things continue like this, the Lightning faction will become increasingly dominant in the entertainment industry.

At that time, the Beijing circle, the Northwest circle, and the Hong Kong circle will all be thrown into chaos.

then……

An article has appeared on the internet.

Master Er Gou, ask yourself honestly, is "The Last Days" a Chinese-language film?

This movie was filmed in South Korea, and most of the actors are Korean, even one of the directors is Korean. How can you tell me it's a Chinese-language film?

Many viewers actually cheered?

Does the success of "The Last Days" have anything to do with Chinese films?

This is clearly a victory for South Korean films; this is clearly an invasion of South Korean culture into China.

Don't you know how much South Koreans look down on Chinese people? Don't you know how much Chinese culture South Koreans have plagiarized? Don't you know that South Koreans are America's lackeys, following America in containing China?

The leader of the "Two Dogs" cult is selling out his country for personal gain. Does China really not have a good filming location? Does China really not have a good actor or director? Why then does it spend money to promote Korean films?
This is clearly a traitor, and you are still cheering for a traitor?
How shameful, laughable, and pathetic!
With the help of someone with ulterior motives, the article quickly spread across the entire internet and began appearing in newspapers and on television, immediately sparking a war of words.

Moreover, this war of words is escalating.

One side argues that the film was written by Er Gou, with Chinese capital, a Chinese director, and two of the three lead actors being Chinese.

Moreover, even though Lee Jung-jae, the male lead, is a Korean of Chinese descent, he communicates with his daughter in Chinese, and most of the dialogue in the film is in Chinese. Why can't it be called a Chinese-language film?

Is it because this movie was filmed in South Korea? Then I'd like to ask, even if Er Gou (the author) wants to film it in China, the key question is, is it even possible to film it there?
But neither side could convince the other.

Extremists believe the film should be completely removed from circulation.

Some voices even said that the movie was too bloody and how it was able to pass censorship? That's a huge joke. What kind of psychological trauma would such bloody and cruel scenes cause to minors?
Faced with this information war, CCTV finally got involved once again.

And it happened on the evening news.

The news reports showed scenes of packed cinemas, cited Pacific Rim box office data, and then moved on to the film and cultural industries.

Then, the scene shifts to the Chinese Theatre in the United States, which is also covered with posters for "The Last Days".

Interviews with Columbia Pictures Global President Amy Pascal and Sony Classics' Tom Bernard were also featured.

"This is the first time a Chinese film has been screened on a large scale in North America, but I firmly believe it will not be the last."

"In the future, both Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures will actively embrace Chinese films."

“We hope to see more and more Chinese films like ‘The Last Days’ appear in North America.”

"We hope that cooperation between Chinese and American films will become even deeper."

The news report ended with a mention of a high-ranking official from the cultural department.

Good cultural works are meant to reach the world.

“The End of the World represents the bold, innovative, and pioneering spirit of Chinese filmmakers.”

This news story, though only a little over two minutes long, set the tone for the entire story.

It is a Chinese film.

Because Hollywood giants and top leaders of domestic cultural departments all recognize it as a Chinese film.

To promote the film, lead actor Lee Jung-jae frequently switched to Mandarin during his promotional tour in China. Director Yeon Sang-ho and director Ning Hao also often used Mandarin in their conversations.

Even so, the online controversies and public opinion battles will not stop.

It's difficult to persuade someone in real life, let alone online.

However, this did not prevent "The Last Days" from being a box office hit.

Because the New Year's Day holiday comes right after Christmas, at least judging from the scene in the movie theater ticket hall, it was still crowded with people.

The power of breakout films has already been demonstrated.

..........................................

Lee Mi-kyung of CJ Entertainment doesn't seem to care much about the controversy this film has caused in China.

She only cares about one thing: box office revenue.

Although she invested a good amount of money in the production of this film, she put a lot of effort into its distribution and promotion.

Therefore, she still has high expectations for the box office.

However, she was still surprised when the first week's box office figures came out.

398 million visits in the first week!
The film grossed approximately $1950 million in its opening weekend!
This data far exceeded her expectations.

If this trend continues, it's not impossible for it to surpass "Taegukgi".

To reiterate, some films released in late 2004 were more impactful and successful than those released in 2016.

Even South Korean audiences were no exception. At that time, The Host had not yet been released, and the entire South Korean audience had not yet been exposed to Korean blockbusters.

While "The Host" received significantly lower ratings than "Train to Busan," its box office performance surpassed both "Train to Busan" and "Taegukgi."

Therefore, the impact and sense of national pride that "Train to Busan" brought to South Korean audiences was greater than that of the historical "Train to Busan".

However, in the eyes of South Korean audiences, this is purely a Korean-language film.

CJ Entertainment won't tell them that the script for this movie was written by a Chinese company, and that the Chinese company was the main investor.

Because South Korean audiences are much more extreme than Chinese audiences.

........................

Shortly after, the opening week box office figures for Japan were also released.

18 billion yen, equivalent to 1636 million US dollars.

This achievement surpassed the opening weekend box office record of "Hero" in Japan, setting a new record.

When Lin Xiao received this data, he was truly overjoyed.

After all, Train to Busan only grossed 18 billion yen in Japan.

This time, "The Last Days" blurred the Korean background, replaced it with Japanese dubbing, and with the production background of Sony and Columbia, it immediately changed, and the box office reached 18 billion yen in its first week.

Then comes the first week's box office in Hong Kong.

Kung Fu Hustle grossed HK$2600 million in its opening week.

"The Last Days" grossed HK$2100 million in its opening week.

These two films not only created a win-win situation in the domestic market, but also in the Hong Kong market.

Since Hong Kong is Zhou Xingchi's absolute home turf, it's perfectly normal for him to lose to "Kung Fu Hustle." However, the opening weekend box office of HK$2100 million is still extremely high.

Not only is it the second-highest grossing film this year, but it's also the second-highest grossing film in its opening week in the past two or three years.

The market in Taiwan is the slowest to release data.

But the data that came out was equally shocking.

"The End of the World" grossed over NT$1 million in its opening week in Taiwan, equivalent to US$312 million.

………………

These box office figures caused a sensation once again after they were transmitted back to China.

Of course, most people don't understand, but someone immediately started explaining how amazing these data are.

Apart from the Hong Kong market, all the other markets were number one at the box office.

Not only is it number one this week, but it's also among the top performers in this market year.

The box office figures, especially in South Korea and Japan, have stunned domestic moviegoers.

Depend on!
The 1.39 million RMB box office in the first week in China is already incredibly impressive; it has broken records.

But unexpectedly, it's not even comparable to South Korea, and is only about the same as Japan?
After conversion, the first-week box office in South Korea is actually around 1.6 RMB?

China has 14 billion people, while South Korea only has over 40 million.

Next, box office data from Southeast Asian countries and other countries will be released later.

However, according to statistics compiled by professionals, the global box office for "The Last of Us" reached approximately $6000 million in its opening week, based solely on the countries that have already released their first-week box office figures.

Most importantly, the Chinese box office only accounted for about a quarter of the total.

This is too scary.

Most importantly, it hasn't even been released in North America, the world's largest market and the highest battleground for films.

At least in this era, North American box office revenue is considered one of the greatest honors by domestic moviegoers.

A film's success in North America is a true triumph.

Unlike ten or twenty years later, when a single film like "Ne Zha 2" could easily surpass the North American box office champion in China.

Being number one isn't enough; one "Ne Zha 2" surpasses the combined box office records of the first and second highest-grossing films in North American history.

However, to be honest, the Chinese people still yearn to see the day when domestic films conquer the North American market.

........................

On December 5th, "House of Flying Daggers" was released in North America. It started with only 15 theaters showing the film, and the data per theater was quite good. Then it expanded to about 12 theaters.

The distributor, Sony Classics, wants to replicate the success of "Hero" and "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," so they have high expectations for this film.

But the box office results ultimately disappointed them; although it hasn't finished its run yet, it has basically stopped at around $1100 million.

It wasn't bad, but it was far less than the $50 million grossing film "Hero".

This immediately worried Amy Pascal and Tom Bernard, because the decision to open "The Last Journey" in 2300 theaters was made by the two of them.

Isn't that too risky?

An Asian film, given such a large opening.

This is an extremely rare premiere scale, even for a foreign language film.

Moreover, Flash Entertainment, Columbia Pictures, and Sony Classics together invested nearly ten million in promotional expenses for this film.

This amount of publicity money is negligible for a big-budget production. But for a film with a production budget of only $1300 million, it's a huge gamble.

12 month 29 day.

"The Last Days" has officially premiered in North America.

At that time, the North American market was much more mature than the Chinese and South Korean markets.

Viewers value reputation and quality more, and word-of-mouth doesn't carry much weight for television and newspapers. In this godforsaken place, these newspapers will sing your praises to the heavens if you pay them.

For example, many major newspapers directly touted "House of Flying Daggers" as one of the best films in the world in the past 20 years.

North American audiences value two things: Rotten Tomatoes and IMDb.

There are also those highly authoritative film critics.

next day!

Data has appeared on Rotten Tomatoes!

Fresh tomatoes have a 94% rating!

This is already an extremely high score, and it's similar to the historical score for "Train to Busan".

The IMDb rating is 8.2.

This is a very high score; at least among films from 2004, it ranks very high.

Immediately afterwards, two heavyweight film reviews appeared.

One is Quentin Tarantino, a renowned director who loves Hong Kong films.

Before making "Bruce Lee," this person was quite friendly towards Chinese-language films and was the American director who would say "awesome" in memes every day.

He is not only a top director in North America, but also a world-class director.

It achieves a perfect balance between art-house and commercial films.

Countless top stars, including Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt, are eager to work with this director.

This director not only enjoys kung fu movies, but also bloody and exciting ones; he even directed two "Kill Bill" films himself.

Lin Xiao really liked his Pulp Fiction and Kill Bill.

In his review, Quentin Tarantino concluded that this is the best zombie movie ever made, bar none, and one of the best post-apocalyptic films ever made.

Another heavyweight film review comes from Zack Snyder, the director of "Dawn of the Dead 2004".

In his film review, he wrote: Believe me, it's better than Dawn of the Dead! At least better than the one I made!

Besides these two heavyweight film reviews, many other authoritative film critics also gave it almost unanimous praise.

"I really didn't expect that this movie came from China."

"I always thought that China had nothing to offer except kung fu movies, but 'The Last Days' truly brought me an unparalleled surprise."

"It presents a completely different kind of zombie movie vibe; it's much more vibrant and positive, and I love that vibe more."

"I never imagined that an Asian film could have this kind of pacing, and they actually managed to make a zombie movie that doesn't feel like a B-movie. Hollywood colleagues, you should learn from the Asians."

October 2005, 1!
The North American box office figures for "The Last of Us" have been released.

$2300!
………………

Note: Finally finished writing, I'm starving! My benefactors, please remember to give me your monthly votes! I bow in gratitude!
(End of this chapter)