Huayu: Female celebrities are looking for treasures in me

"Get up, everyone get up quickly."

"Our movie is about to take off!"

Liu Yifei is indeed full of energy, and it's not just talk.

She changed her clothes and went to each of their rooms to wake up Nazha, Zhao Liying, and Song Yi to share her joy.

Fortunately, Zhang Li had the foresight to send Na Zha back to her room in the middle of the night. In addition, with three +1 physique repairs, she did not show that she was very tired, otherwise she would have been caught.

"Put your best during the roadshow."

"If our movie really breaks 1 million at the box office, I'll give you a gift."

Liu Yifei was making empty promises to the three women.

Actually, she's not a big spender; she's known for being very generous in the industry.

This time, however, he's prepared to be more generous, after all, he's also a character in the movie "Investor".

With her current status and fame, she could easily command a salary of two to five million for a single film.

If it's a work by a famous director, the price can be lowered accordingly. But if it's a work by a lesser-known director or a small production that relies on her reputation, then more than five million is acceptable.

"Love is Not Blind" is a low-budget film made by a new director. Normally, it would be difficult to get third- or fourth-tier actresses to participate, let alone Liu Yifei, who is competing with the "Double Ice" and "Four Dan" actresses.

However, given the relationship between Liu Yifei and Zhang Li, she certainly can't ask for too high a price.

Zhang Li was very generous, allocating one million out of the ten million investment to Liu Yifei's share of the investment.

If "Love is Not Blind" ultimately grosses 33 million yuan, the investors and distributors will receive more than 1200 million yuan in box office revenue alone, and Liu Yifei would receive 1.2 million yuan, which is one-tenth of that.

This figure is more than double her current market salary.

As long as the final box office exceeds 50 million, she will receive more than the salary she originally asked for.

Zhang Li's move can be seen as returning a favor, and Liu Yifei certainly has the right to give out red envelopes.

"set off!"

After breakfast, everyone headed to Huairou Film City.

Even on the first day of the Lunar New Year, people still come here to play, not to mention the roadshow for the movie "Love is Not Blind".

Because of Zhang Li and Liu Yifei's performance on the Spring Festival Gala stage the night before, they received a lot of support from fans, and the area around the temporary stage set up in the square was packed with people.

First, they played some games to liven up the atmosphere.

Next comes media interviews or questions from the audience.

"The role of Huang Xiaoxian is a new experience for me," Liu Yifei said in an interview. "My own personality is actually completely opposite to that of this character."

"I don't have that much pride. I'm actually quite casual about my birthday."

“，，，,”

After Liu Yifei's interview, it was Zhang Li's turn.

"It was a challenge for me." Zhang Li said in an interview, talking about interesting things on set and her feelings about playing the role: "After all, I'm too handsome."

Everyone: ?
"Someone as handsome as me would feel out of place acting like a jerk."

Everyone: "."

"Luckily, I don't have any idol baggage. I take acting seriously. When you're watching a show, please don't project yourselves onto the character. Wang Xiaojian is Wang Xiaojian, and I am me."

Everyone: "!"

No, you are Wang Xiaojian.

"That's enough." Liu Yifei said with a look of disgust, "Sometimes I really feel like I'm not silly enough, so there's a distance between us."

Everyone: !?

There's no need to be so modest; you two seem to be playing your true selves.

"Zhang Li, one last question, what do you think the final box office of 'Love is Not Blind' will be?" A reporter asked, "The famous Gao Xiaosong said that your movie should be able to gross over 40 million, but 50 million is a bit doubtful."

"Over 40 million?" Zhang Li frowned slightly, but said calmly, "Based on the current box office trend, it's not a problem for the movie to reach 20 million today. It will surpass 'The Message' and 'The Founding of a Republic'."

"So, does Gao Xiaosong think I'll be canceled halfway through next year, then canceled halfway again on the third day, and then I'll be completely ruined?"

Due to the limitations of their subject matter and release dates, "The Message" and "The Founding of a Republic" did not perform strongly at the box office on their opening day, but their subsequent performance was very stable.

"Love is Not Blind" is a romantic comedy that young people are willing to watch, and it's released during the Spring Festival when they have time to watch it. Plus, the popularity of Zhang Li and Liu Yifei makes it easy to expect high box office on its opening day.

However, to say that the opening day's box office accounts for half of the entire film's box office is blatant pessimism and a lack of confidence in its prospects.

Only movies with poor ratings can have a good opening day box office because of gimmicks, and then their performance will plummet.

This is done with extreme malice.

Zhang Li wasn't going to tolerate that, and scoffed, "Please tell the other person that calling him 'Ai Dajin' is not a reason for him to be narrow-minded and unable to see the view from a higher perspective."

"We will reach his predicted box office figure in just two days with 'Love is Not Blind'."

"As for the final box office, I predict it will be ten times his prediction."

The original "Love is Not Blind" was released in November 2011, and its final box office was 350 million yuan. At the same time, a bunch of small and medium-sized domestic films were released, not to mention Hollywood blockbusters such as "Rise of the Planet of the Apes", "Real Steel" and "Immortals", so it was not favored. Industry insiders said that the final box office might not exceed 12 million yuan.

Some people are blindly worshipping foreign things, but many others are drawn by box office data. The movie "Starry Night" grossed over 10 million yuan in its opening week, making it the top-grossing domestic film. "Kora" and "Hello! Mr. Tree" only grossed around 2 million yuan each. The combined box office of these three newly released films is less than that of the Japanese animated film "Detective Conan: The Movie," which grossed 19.9 million yuan.

Therefore, "Love is Not Blind," which was scheduled to be released on November 8, was also not well-regarded. This film, with an investment of less than 10 million yuan, was considered a small-to-medium-sized project and was not expected to be successful, not to mention that there were many competitors.

However, the film achieved remarkable success in the end, grossing 2000 yuan on its first day and 3.5 million yuan in its final day, resulting in a return of nearly twenty times.

In terms of time, the original version was broadcast two years later than it is now. At that time, the number of cinemas and screens had increased significantly, reaching approximately 9000, while now there are only slightly over 6000, a decrease of more than half.

However, at that time, "Love is Not Blind" had fewer screenings than the Zhang Li version, and its broadcast period was in November, a relatively unpopular month, which was completely different from the Spring Festival season.

In addition, Zhang Li and Liu Yifei's current fame and appeal to young people are far greater than that of Wen Zhang Bai Baihe.

Zhang Li and Liu Yifei had just appeared on the Spring Festival Gala, so they had received an epic promotional boost.

Because of the existence of Avatar, and the absence of other competitors.

After more than a month in theaters, Avatar has exhausted its box office potential after grossing 12 billion yuan.

With the right timing, location, and people, the box office shouldn't be lower than the original, right? Even if it's only 3,000 fewer in number of screens.

Zhang Li spoke with righteous indignation and full of confidence.

However, his words stunned everyone present, including Liu Yifei and the other girls.

Gao Xiaosong said the box office would be between 40 million and 50 million, and ten times that would be between 400 million and 500 million.

If it reaches that number, it could surpass "The Founding of a Republic" to become the box office champion and also beat "The Message," but this movie's investment was less than ten million.

I wouldn't even dare to fantasize like that.

To be honest, this movie is adapted from a "diary novel" that a newcomer casually serialized online. The director is Zhang Li, also a newcomer, and the cast is only slightly better than that of other newcomers.

Its competitor is Avatar.

As long as the box office can break even, which is more than 30 million, it will be enough for him to brag for a long time and be called the pride of the post-90s generation, better than many post-80s and post-85s directors.

If he can earn more than 50 million, he can be compared to Ning Hao, who directed "Crazy Stone" back then.

If it can gross over 100 million yuan at the box office, it will join the 100 million yuan club.

He is the number one among the younger generation, not only the first and only one among those born in the 90s, but even directors born in the 80s have been proven wrong.

Most importantly, he crossed over into a different field!
The difficulty is evident.

"You're crazy!"

Back home, Liu Yifei and the other girls were still marveling at the experience.

Judging from Zhang Li's expression, he was genuinely convinced that "Love is Not Blind" was likely to gross over 400 million yuan.

Is this even possible?!
The interview video was immediately reposted and published by major media outlets, accompanied by various controversial tags.

Shocking! Zhang Li actually said these things during a roadshow.

What Zhang Li and Liu Yifei had to say at the roadshow

Zhang Li publicly addressed Gao Xiaosong: Being short isn't your fault, but it's wrong of you to embarrass yourself by not being able to see the bigger picture.

Is it Zhang Li's arrogance or Gao Xiaosong's jealousy that's causing this conflict between two seemingly unrelated people? Please...

Is this confidence or arrogance? Is it overly optimistic about box office returns or unrealistic ambition? Let's find out.

The media were ecstatic.

Who would have thought that Zhang Li, who received so much attention because of the hit TV series "Chinese Paladin 3" and her excellent performance on the Spring Festival Gala, would say such things in public?

During the Lunar New Year, everyone is eating watermelon instead of eating dinner.

[He's gone mad! Zhang Li is absolutely insane! Was he doing this promotional tour while drunk?]

I thought Zhang Li and Liu Yifei were funny at first, but I was completely dumbfounded at the end.

[Four hundred million to five hundred million? I'm telling you, if it surpasses one hundred million, I'll do a handstand while washing my hair.]

[This is absurd. A movie with a budget of tens of millions wants to earn over 400 million yuan? Do you think it's like "Crazy Stone"?]

[It's clear that Zhang Li has lost sight of herself after becoming famous, showing disrespect to her seniors and lacking a deep understanding of herself.]

This is another one who's bound to act like a diva sooner or later.

I used to like him quite a bit after watching "Meteor Garden" and "Chinese Paladin 3," but now...

[You call this number a wishful thought? I think you're daydreaming. And you actually say it with such seriousness, it's hilarious.]

Just because others can't do it doesn't mean Zhang Li can't. How many miracles has he performed so far?

[Zhang Li is the man who brought in 100 million yuan at the box office for "The Message," so what's wrong with having even higher expectations for the movie he stars in?]

[You fans are really brainless. Your support lacks basic logic. No one argues that Zhang Li brought in 100 million yuan for "The Message," but that doesn't mean his presence alone increased the film's box office. Rather, it's because he was popular at the time, generating buzz, and his reunion acted as a marketing tool, bringing publicity and drawing more attention to "The Message," thus attracting more people to the cinema.]

[The comment above is correct. I also like Zhang Li and Liu Yifei. However, a movie with an investment of tens of millions of yuan would have been considered a big deal in the past if it grossed over 100 million yuan, which would have been considered joining the 100 million yuan club. Now, with the development of the domestic film market, it's possible for it to gross 200 to 300 million yuan, but it must be a top-notch film with excellent production values ​​in all aspects, like "Love is Not Blind".]

[These people are unreliable and blindly supportive. I'm putting this out there: if this movie grosses over 400 million yuan, Zhang Li will be my husband.]

I don't even know if you're a fan or a hater.

【.】

Online, various discussions are emerging one after another.

Online trolls joined in, leading some netizens to express their disapproval of Zhang Li's remarks, and even criticize them.

They even started criticizing Zhang Li himself, feeling that he was arrogant and had become conceited after becoming famous.

Zhang Li's fans are divided into two camps: one group blindly helps, and the other group provides rational analysis.

In short, the vast majority of people do not believe his "prediction" and think he is just speaking recklessly out of spite.

However, amidst such discussions, the popularity of "Love is Not Blind" has reached a very high level.

February 15th, the morning of the second day of the Lunar New Year.

Many people's first thought upon waking up is to check the box office of "Love is Not Blind".

"Wow, that's pretty awesome!"

Back home in Shanghai, Hu Ge, the third male lead, gasped as he looked at the news headline.

The reason is that "Love is Not Blind" suddenly reached a staggering 2287 million yuan in box office revenue on its opening day, setting a new record for opening day box office.

Based on the revenue sharing ratio, this box office performance is enough for Zhang Li to break even on his investment.

If you include all copyright fees, you've already made a profit.

But this was only the first day of the movie's release.

Before word-of-mouth has truly taken hold, the second day's box office will easily surpass half of the first day's.

"And what about reputation?"

Hu Ge logged onto Weibo to see the related comments.

[Two words: Beautiful!]

After watching this movie, I realized that true heartbreak goes through three stages: First, utter loss of self-esteem, unbearable pain, even hearing the other person's name makes you jump. Second, pretending to forget, avoiding the topic, but secretly caring deeply! Third, just like a stranger, nothing more than a name, with no special meaning whatsoever.

"If she ever sees this, I hope she can forget me forever." What moved me most about this movie was the interview at the end. It was so real, devoid of any dramatic flair, typical of Chinese tropes and climaxes, presented in a straightforward manner, yet it resonated with me deeply.

From the perspective of cinematography, color scheme, editing, plot development, and soundtrack—all aspects that test a director's skill—Zhang Li's film is exceptionally well-made, deserving of Jiang Wen's description of him as a "genius." No wonder he was the assistant director of "Let the Bullets Fly."

[A movie where all the actors delivered excellent performances. As a fan of "Chinese Paladin," I was most pleasantly surprised by Hu Ge's performance alongside Liu Yifei, which made me feel their growth as actors.]

[The name Wang Xiaojian is very realistic. He tricked Huang Xiaoxian's ex-boyfriend at the wedding, fabricating stories and talking nonsense. I found it very satisfying to watch from the perspective of the male and female protagonists; it even made my breasts hurt. People who have just broken up probably felt relieved when they saw this. The takeaway is that love without dignity is absolutely unacceptable.]

[Zhang Li is really handsome. Finally, after watching a movie and TV series, I can understand why the female lead doesn't choose the male lead. Of course, I don't really know how Zhang Li and Hu Ge should choose, but in this movie, the male lead is definitely more reliable than the ex-boyfriend, so Hu Ge, don't worry, I'll try my best to choose you next time.]

[Upstairs, if you didn't like Bai Tofu more after watching "Chinese Paladin 3," then I'll believe you; your Weibo post gave you away.]

【.】

Hu Ge's eyes widened after reading most of the positive reviews.

This movie is indeed very good, but does it deserve such praise?
He took out his phone and called Zhang Li.

"Ah Li, are you doing marketing now?" (End of Chapter)