Huayu became famous overnight

Chapter 237 Things change and people change
9 month 28 day.

The Legend of the White Snake was released and grossed 613 million yuan on its opening day.

As a big-budget film starring Jet Li, the total investment was advertised by the production company as 180 million yuan, but even if it's inflated, it's still close to 100 million yuan.

Moreover, the Legend of the White Snake is a major IP, as it is a Chinese mythological story that has lasted for thousands of years.

Under these circumstances, the fact that the box office was so low on the first day is truly astonishing to industry insiders.

It's worth noting that Cheng Xiaodong's other film, "Kung Fu Jungle," is still showing in theaters.

Compared to each other, it's like comparing heaven and earth.

The latter is still widely recognized in the industry as a declining genre of kung fu films.

The lineup of Cheng Xiaodong, Zhao Wenzhuo, and Xu Ming actually overpowered the lineup of Cheng Xiaodong, Huang Shengyi, and Li Lianjie. I don't dare to think about this too much, otherwise I would think that Xu Ming is better than Li Lianjie.

"It's normal for audiences to be hesitant about this kind of fantasy film on the first day, especially since it's a Wednesday. Our promotional efforts haven't been sufficient. The numbers will definitely surge tomorrow," the secretary said.

Yu Dong's expression was not good, but he nodded in agreement.

Otherwise, given the current trend, "The Legend of the White Snake" might not even be able to recoup its costs.

Even with the risk-sharing of Juli Films, the failure of this film will still be a significant blow to Bona Film Group.

The owner of Juli Film and Television is Yang Zi.

This is a huge investment in his wife's career; the two of them are still dreaming of becoming international superstars.

Little did they know that more than ten years later, they would all gather on a variety show, be tormented by the god of music, and cause a huge farce.

The next day, "The Legend of the White Snake" grossed 999 million yuan, not even reaching 10 million.

"Ahem, word of mouth is spreading," the secretary said.

Yu Dong's expression was uncertain, and he didn't respond.

On the third day, "The Legend of the White Snake" grossed 1246 million yuan, and the total box office for the three days did not even reach 30 million yuan.

It doesn't even reach the box office of "Kung Fu Jungle" in a single day.

"We are targeting the National Day holiday period. Today is the Saturday of the National Day holiday, and the audience will be 100% concentrated on these two days to watch movies."

The secretary wiped her sweat, silently praying that the movie would be a huge success.

Yu Dong thought about it and realized that holidays are when audiences' enthusiasm for watching movies really explodes.

On October 10.1st, the box office reached 1707 million.

It was like a hard slap across Pian Fang's face.

This achievement would be a pleasant surprise for any small or medium-sized film production.

The only exception was the big-budget production, "The Legend of the White Snake," with a total investment of over 100 million yuan, which marked a major failure.

If the box office can't even get going in the opening weekend, then there's no need to worry about it going any further.

Not every film can be like "Titanic," with its box office performance remaining stable for a month after its release, which is only possible under conditions of explosive word-of-mouth.

In contrast, "The Legend of the White Snake" received a score of 4.6 on Guangying Ticketing Network and 4.8 on Douban, with its reputation plummeting to the point of being a box office flop.

Yu Dong stared blankly at his secretary, who looked as if she were constipated.

He could always find something to make up for it, no matter how small.

It just so collapsed that it was unbearable to watch.

"I think the audience's enthusiasm for watching movies has been almost exhausted in the second half of this year. Look at the movies released during the National Day holiday, our movies are already leading the pack."

"The fault doesn't lie with us, it lies with the entire market."

The secretary racked her brains and managed to round it off.

Yu Dong, unsure whether he believed it or not, then asked, "When is Xu Ming's new film scheduled for release?"

"You're probably referring to 'How Long Will I Love U,' the movie he co-starred in with Yang Mi. Qiming officially announced its release date as November 11th," the secretary said cautiously.

"Look again."

A flicker of hesitation crossed Yu Dong's eyes.

He wanted to see if the overall market environment was bad, or if Xu Ming's environment was good.

……

Regarding Bona Film Group's "The Legend of the White Snake".

Xu Ming didn't pay much attention, but it was Director Cheng's work nonetheless.

Even if he doesn't ask, someone will always pass the message on to him.

Seeing the box office of 6100 million in the opening weekend, I still couldn't resist showing off my pearly white teeth.

Sometimes, the enemy's defeat is more gratifying than one's own success.

On the surface, his past grievances with Yu Dong seemed to be in the past.

But in reality, he believes that when given the opportunity to deal with each other, including the other side, they would not hesitate.

"What a pity for Director Cheng. He was on track to successfully transition into directing, but now he's back to square one," Xu Ming said, shaking his head.

“I think Director Cheng should thank you more. Without your collaboration on that film, his future as a director would have been even more difficult,” Xiao Juan said from the side.

That's true.

Since that movie, it seems like this guy hasn't had any movies released.

Hmm, he remembered. Later, he also directed a film called "Jade Dynasty 1" starring Xiao Zhan, which was a box office flop, similar to the current "The Legend of the White Snake".

It also won the Golden Broom Award.

As for why he could still direct such a big-budget production after failing in several films.

Xu Ming thought this guy's nickname should be changed to "Xi Mi Dong" (meaning "Rice Washing Dong")...

time flies.

The failure of "The Legend of the White Snake" brought a rare period of silence to the film industry.

Without Xu Ming, the entertainment industry has become incredibly quiet, which has left many viewers and media feeling uneasy.

10 month 11 day.

Optoelectronics companies are making policy adjustments regarding television drama advertising.

One of the core provisions is that commercials are prohibited from being inserted into TV dramas during the prime time slot of 19:00-21:00.

Second, the duration of commercial advertisements per hour shall not exceed 12 minutes.

Each of these measures was a huge blow to satellite TV stations, while video websites, on the contrary, emerged as a dark horse.

Youku Tudou's stock price surged 20%, officially kicking off a copyright war among video websites.

This makes Blueberry TV's ban on Qiming a joke.

They are too busy taking care of themselves to deal with Qi Ming.

Most importantly, prime-time dramas have been hit hard, but variety shows still have loopholes to exploit.

At this time, Qiming's large-scale music variety show undoubtedly reminded the TV stations that had previously dared not approach it.

Before the shoe drops, their collaboration with Qiming on the music production, and Xuming himself, doesn't seem to have much to do with it, right?

It shouldn't be involved.

Suddenly, Xu Ming, who was on set, started receiving frequent phone calls again.

"Hey, Yoshita, I'm sorry, it's not that I have other ideas, but I've already signed an exclusive cooperation contract with Sohu, so I'm really sorry."

"Oh my, why would someone as high-ranking as you make a phone call personally? What, you even urinate in person? That's so down-to-earth, haha, no joke. We really can't collaborate with 'The Voice of China,' but of course, I have no objection if Sohu is willing."

Xu Ming chatted with the deputy director of the Beijing-Taiwan TV station for a long time, agreeing to everything but refusing to agree to anything.

He wasn't angry; it was purely due to contractual restrictions with Sohu.

Originally, this contract was intended by Xu Ming to demonstrate his firm support for the video website and to express his sincerity to Zhang Chaoyang.

I never expected this advertising restriction order.

In my previous life, it was after this regulation that the survival environment for domestic video websites improved dramatically, leading to fierce competition.

Less competitive satellite TV channels were not even worthy of being considered competitors. Popular channels like Hunan TV were overwhelmed by the impact and later launched 'Mango TV' to cope with the situation.

Under these circumstances, unless Sohu is completely out of its mind, it's impossible for them to share a variety show like "The Voice of China" with exclusive copyrights.

It was the perfect time to compete for market share. Immediately afterward, a call came in from Liaoning and Taiwan.

Xu Ming had to explain at length before he finally convinced these people to go and discuss the matter with Sohu.

Unexpectedly, company-related issues came knocking again.

"Zhuo Wei, what's wrong?"

"We've gathered enough information about Yao Dazui, and we're ready to get started."

Zhuo Wei's words startled Xu Ming, and his expression turned serious.

Is it completely foolproof?

"No, let's test the knife on her first. If it's not good, we'll sharpen it again."

"The company won't step in; you'll have to rely on yourselves."

Although everyone knows that Zhuo Wei is backed by himself, personally taking action and having an agent do it are two different things.

From the moment this guy jumped out and joined Li Xiaowan and the others in causing trouble, he was put on his blacklist.

The other party's status was neither too high nor too low, making it the perfect opportunity for Qiming to establish his authority.

"I understand. If anything happens, I will cut ties with the company immediately," Zhuo Wei said frankly.

He had done this kind of dirty work many times and was already used to living a life of hiding like a rat.

"That's not necessary. Just make sure no one finds out the whole story. As for funds and resources, feel free to allocate them as you see fit, and do it well," Xu Ming said in a deep voice.

With the boss's words, Zhuo Wei felt more confident.

At least my boss isn't someone who's afraid of trouble.

That's why he was willing to follow the latter. If Qiming Network was afraid of this and that, he might as well continue running his own Fengxing Studio.

He hung up on Zhuo Wei.

Xu Ming let out a long breath and continued filming.

Whether it's Qiming Entertainment or Qiming Network, they all depend on his position.

When he reached the top, the company benefited as a result.

When he's finished, the company collapses along with him.

There was no way around it; from the very beginning, Qiming had his personal mark deeply etched into his mind, an indelible foundation.

When he finished work in the evening, Xu Ming returned to his hotel.

After finishing a round of Tongbei Quan, feeling his body becoming increasingly stronger, he slowly withdrew his attack.

Xiao Juan prepared the medicine in advance and handed it over.

Once it had cooled slightly, Xu Ming pinched his nose and gulped it down into his mouth.

The suffering is beyond words.

buzzing-

"It's Chairman Zhang from Sohu on the phone," Xiao Juan said.

"catch."

Xu Ming spoke concisely, but his mouth was really bitter, and he was afraid he would spit it out if he said any more.

"Xiao Xu, that's not fair of you. You received the news so early and didn't let me know a word," Zhang Chaoyang said tentatively.

Sohu was bombarded with calls from various TV stations today, keeping him extremely busy.

Agree? That's impossible. Seeing other video websites making frequent moves, Sohu naturally has to follow suit.

Refusing would be too offensive, leaving me in a lose-lose situation.

On the contrary, the instigator remained uninvolved, which made people grit their teeth in anger.

"What's going on?" Xu Ming asked, puzzled.

"What else could it be but the advertising restriction order? If you didn't know, why would you have approached Sohu in advance?"

Zhang Chaoyang wondered to himself, "Could it be a fluke?"

That shouldn't be the case. He was previously puzzled as to why the other party would choose to cooperate with Sohu instead of other satellite TV stations.

I initially thought it was a conflict, but now it seems that Xiao Xu has clearly outmaneuvered me.

"You mean that matter? I really don't know anything about it. I'm just a kid from the countryside. Even someone of your status can't get information from me. Who would be able to tip me off?" Xu Ming said sincerely.

The more sincere he was, the more uncertain Zhang Chaoyang became about his feelings.

You need to know what the other person does; they're an actor.

The dialogue is so natural, there's no trace of artificiality.

Zhang Chaoyang was convinced that Xu Ming must have a powerful background, which explained the latter's short but rapid rise to prominence.

"I understand, okay? I won't ask anymore. When you come to Sohu, I'll treat you to a drink."

Zhang Chaoyang hung up the phone and rubbed his chin.

After thinking for a while, he asked his assistant, "How effective has our business with Qiming been so far?"

"For specific details on the benefits, you'll need to consult the relevant person in charge to review the latest reports, but I've checked them, and they're all profitable," the assistant said.

And you still say you have no connections?

Without hesitation, Zhang Chaoyang instructed, "Announce this to the entire company. Going forward, the Group's business cooperation with Qiming can be appropriately compromised, and it's fine to deepen the partnership even further."

“Uh, the extent of this concession is…” the assistant hesitated.

"Breakthrough is sufficient."

After Zhang Chaoyang finished speaking, the corners of his mouth turned up, as if he had once again led the group in the right direction.

the other side.

Hearing the busy tone on his phone, Xu Ming scratched his head.

He really just stumbled upon it by accident; he didn't expect the other party to think so deeply.

It is even more unclear that because of this misunderstanding, Sohu's cooperative relationship with Qiming has been elevated to the highest level.

But with his guidance as a reborn individual, Qi Ming's projects would be difficult to fail in unless he wanted to swindle people.

It's a case where the entire process is wrong, but the answer is all correct.

……

10 month 15 day.

Ling Xiaosu's agent, Ju Chunlei, was the first to start the conflict.

A lengthy post on Weibo has kicked off another round of public opinion battles.

The related topic quickly rose to the top of Weibo's trending topics list.

Although Yao Dazui did not respond at all, it did not stop Zhuo Wei and others from taking the next step.

Various press releases were issued, and online public opinion surged.

At this point, a reporter, for reasons unknown, went to interview Liu Ye, who had worked with Yao Dazui on "Love in Disguise" last year, and whose current boyfriend was the cinematographer on the set.

And Liu Ye's mouth is notoriously leaky...

But Yao Dazui wasn't fighting alone; after all, he was a member of Huayi.

The problem is that Qiming Networks isn't just sitting idly by either.

Especially after Xu Ming agreed that Zhuo Wei could freely access the company's funds and resources, the two sides went back and forth.

When those in the industry realized something was amiss, they suppressed their urge to take sides and began to observe.

This is not just a matter of feelings; it also involves competition between the new and old factions.

Looking at the increasingly one-sided public opinion trend, I immediately understood what was going on.

Qi Ming's knife is indeed sharp.

Xu Ming, who said he wouldn't get involved, couldn't help but post a blog entry the next day: "Things have changed, people are no longer the same."

It's unclear whether this refers to emotions or the overall landscape of the Chinese entertainment industry.

(End of this chapter)