Japanese Entertainment: From special effects actor to action superstar

Chapter 560: This question is somewhat pointed.
Based on the current situation of most movies, the opening day box office is generally one-eighth of the final box office.

Based on this calculation, the film's final box office revenue should be around 6 billion yen. With a 55% allocation, the pre-tax allocation revenue would be 3.3 billion yen.

Of course, Gu Ming had made a statement long ago in order to promote the Killing Array Masters Association, saying that no matter how much the movie made, he would donate 20% of his share of the revenue to the Killing Array Masters Association’s operating expenses.

Even so, after deducting one-fifth of the donations from the Killing Masters Association and the necessary production costs, the final pre-tax revenue steadily reached over two billion yen.

—Gu Ming still owes Kadokawa Haruki about 3 billion yen, but he can pay it all off in one go now.

But on the third day, the fourth day... Gu Ming soon discovered something to his astonishment.

The reports that came back each day exceeded his expectations.

Logically speaking, if the opening day box office was 700 million yen, the film's opening week box office should be 1.5 billion yen.

but now.

The box office figures for the first three days have already reached approximately two billion yen.

"hiss……"

This news made Gu Ming fall into deep thought.

What exactly is the reason?

"What else could it be for? Of course, it's because it's amazing!" Kadokawa Haruki's voice rang out as he walked into the office as if no one else was there, casually handing his trench coat to Tanaka.

Tanaka understood.

He understands! You have to hang up your trench coat like a flight attendant serves caviar to a VIP!
Looking at that linen trench coat, Gu Ming always felt that Kadokawa Haruki was wearing it with the same style as Van der Ippiao.

It's unclear whether Fan De Yipiao was ahead of the curve or whether Kadokawa Haruki was late to the party on the path of fashion.

Haruki Kadokawa plopped down opposite Taniguchi and exclaimed, "I never expected this film to reach this level. It's even better than the original Satomi Hakkenden!"

Satomi Hakkenden earned 2.2 billion yen in revenue and approximately 4 billion yen at the box office.

Currently, the revenue from Onimusha's distribution has reached at least one billion yen.

Gu Mingdao: "So, you're here to ask for money?"

"Of course not, I'm not in a hurry. Besides, judging by this momentum, I'm afraid you'll be able to pay off all your debts with this movie." Haruki Kadokawa sighed.

When he initially agreed to a five-film contract, he thought it would be difficult to achieve. Not every film can be successful, and even if it is successful, he would have to ensure that each film would return an average of 800 million yen to him.

This means that a film needs to generate at least one billion yen in revenue to ensure profitability.

Unexpectedly...

The first two movies were just average, but this third one seems to have paid off all the debts in one go!

This is partly due to rising ticket prices in Japan. A few years ago, a ticket cost less than 1,000 yen, but now the average price has reached 1,200 yen, and in some areas and for some shows, tickets can even cost 2,000 or 3,000 yen.

In the Tokyo area, there are screenings where the lead actors interact with the audience in person, and some movie tickets even cost more than 5,000 yen.

But from another perspective, it's also because the Japanese are starting to have money now!

Because they have money, they spend it without hesitation; a mere movie ticket is nothing to them.

"Then our contract ends here, and Kadokawa Group will no longer seek repayment of the outstanding amount..."

Just as Kadokawa Haruki was about to say that, Gu Ming suddenly shook his head: "Speaking of which, now that I have such a large sum of money, I'm not in a hurry to pay you back."

Haruki Kadokawa looked up instantly.

"You want to donate money and run away? To America?"

"Why go to America! I mean, I want to use this money to do something big! To make a big-budget, truly epic movie! To find big stars, big directors, and big casts from America, Hong Kong, and even Europe!"

Haruki Kadokawa couldn't help but rest his chin on his hand.

He likes big things!
Even when driving, you have to drive an off-road vehicle; you can't possibly drive a small car.

"I have no objection, but when it comes to spending money, if the film is ultimately unsuccessful, you'll have to bear the consequences. Furuya-kun, are you really thinking about this?"

Gu Ming shrugged.

why not!
Jackie Chan's fees are exorbitant; he can't get a role without a big-budget film. Even if he were willing to offer a discounted rate, Ho Koon-cheung probably wouldn't agree. So, getting a big cast really requires a lot of money.

In the mid-1980s, with the yen to dollar exchange rate at approximately 200:1, 100 million yen was roughly equivalent to 500,000 US dollars. Gu Ming estimated that if he could obtain 2 billion yen, that would be 10 million US dollars!

That's no small sum! US dollars! US dollars!
Money in the 1980s and money in the 1990s are not the same thing.

Ten million dollars in the 1980s could do so many things.

Seeing Gu Ming's insistence, Kadokawa Haruki simply acquiesced.

"Then let's do it this way... Why are you looking at me like that?"

Gu Ming chuckled.

"There's nothing I can do. I have the money, but it's not in my hands right now, and it will take a year or two to get the money back. Of course, I'm going to try to find a way to get a loan from someone."

Haruki Kadokawa was slightly taken aback, then greatly alarmed.

Don't come any closer! Don't go near him!

……

……

Therefore, Gu Ming ultimately agreed to an investment with Haruki Kadokawa, with a production cost starting at 2 billion yen. This money would be paid by the Kadokawa Group and the corresponding investors, and the corresponding profits would be paid to them after the production was completed.

If the film production fails or is not satisfactory, then Gu Ming will have to pay for it himself.

This is actually a very normal behavior. On the contrary, it's quite unusual for Gu Ming to use all his earnings to make films.

No one makes a movie by paying for it all themselves! Everyone contributes money and shares the risks.

"We have the blockbuster, we have everything we need, the next step should be to prepare a suitable script."

Gu Ming straightened his tie.

I have a social engagement tonight, and I'll be attending a banquet. Naturally, I'll have to bring up the matter of donating to the Assassin Masters Association.

If this money is to be donated, then there must be a real reason for it.

At the banquet, Gu Ming spoke at length about this.

"I never expected the film to reach this level. So, as previously agreed, I will donate 20% of the allocated revenue to the Assassin Masters Association as operating funds and will make the operating accounts public!"

Gu Ming brought up the matter again.

"This money will be used to systematically train assassins and assassin actors, provide assistance in their lives, offer necessary medical advice and services, and introduce assassins to relevant film crews, etc."

As Gu Ming was speaking, a reporter suddenly raised his hand.

When Gu Ming asked him a question, the reporter raised his microphone.

"This film is performing very well at the box office. Industry insiders predict that it could very well reach around 8 billion yen. This is the first time such a film has ever been made in Japan. Mr. Furuya, did you ever imagine that this film might become the first Japanese film to break the 10 billion yen mark at the box office?"

Gu Ming focused his attention and looked at the reporter who had asked the question.

Whether this was a form of flattery to kill, a provocation, or a genuine problem, Gu Ming couldn't tell for the time being.

But those words really bothered Gu Ming.

Yes.

No film in Japanese film history has ever grossed more than 10 billion yen.

The reporter added, "To date, the highest-grossing film in Japan is an American film, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial! It grossed nine billion yen! This signifies that, to date, no domestic film has been able to surpass an American film. Do you, Mr. Furuya, believe you have the ability to challenge American films?"

Gu Ming clicked his tongue.

Now, this question can be described as sharp and pointed.

"But I didn't expect that E.T. had already been released!"

Gu Ming took a deep breath.

That was truly a miracle in film history. Before Titanic, E.T. was the first film to showcase America's powerful production and distribution capabilities, achieving excellent box office results all over the world. Scenes of humans touching hands with aliens and flying over the moon are classics in film history.

"And these ET aliens ultimately stopped at 9.6 billion in Japan..."

Gu Ming secretly clenched his fingers.

Now, even he couldn't help but start to feel nervous.

(End of this chapter)