Huayu Entertainment: Tianxian really wants to improve

Chapter 434: 1.25 billion on the first day, the entire National Day holiday was a stage for Gravity to perform alone!

Gu Bei was referring to five hundred million US dollars.
But La La Land's global box office has already approached $600 million.

If Gravity is to become Gu Bei's best-grossing film, it will be close to breaking $600 million.

For a film packed with Chinese elements, this is almost an impossible task.

but,

so far,
Director Gu Bei's films continue to see increasing box office returns.
Whiplash and 500 Days of Summer, both independent films with production costs of less than ten million US dollars in 2007, also achieved global box office results of 6500 million and 7500 million US dollars respectively, and were both dark horses in their respective release periods.

But by 2008, the artists,
Gu Bei collaborated with Leonardo DiCaprio, one of the world's most bankable actors.
He had his first film to gross over $100 million at the North American box office, and his global box office jumped directly to the $300 million mark.

The two films released last year, in 2009, continued to steadily improve, one step at a time.

The Fault in Our Stars in April, backed by millions of fans worldwide, grossed over $1.5 million in North America and over $4.5 million worldwide, surpassing even the artist's box office record.

La La Land at the end of the year,
This became Gu Bei's first film to gross over $200 million in North America.
The global box office also surpassed that of The Star, setting a new record of $5.6 million, the highest ever achieved by the film.

Gu Bei's six works in his career,
Aside from the fact that Whiplash and Summer had opposite filming and release dates,

Each film surpasses the previous one in box office revenue.
If this pattern holds true, then gravity must be even more significant than La La Land's $5.6 million.

But... is that really possible?
Some people believe it, while others don't.

but no matter,
The opening ceremony of Gravity ended with a final fireworks display.
Clusters of fireworks shot into the sky, forming the shape of Tiangong-1, which lingered for a long time before dissipating, allowing millions of people in Shanghai to witness this scene simultaneously.

"is it beautiful?"

Gu Bei smiled and looked at Liu Yifei beside him.

He came to Shanghai to hold the opening ceremony of Gravity because Kyoto did not approve the fireworks show, while Shanghai was hosting the World Expo. The two sides hit it off immediately, and he even helped Gu Bei complete the shape design of the fireworks show.

"Uh-huh!"

Liu Yifei nodded, and secretly squeezed Gu Bei's hand. "I believe you can definitely keep your word!"

Gu Bei took her small hand in his own and said with a smile, "Then I'll believe you can keep your word!"

"How can you do that!"

Liu Yifei rolled her eyes at Gu Bei.

You believe me, I believe you, so why are you creating this self-perpetuating cycle?
"Hahaha!"

Gu Bei laughed heartily.

Han Sanpin and Cheng Long in the first row, and Jiang Zhiqiang and Wang Changtian in the second row, couldn't help but smile knowingly when they saw Gu Bei and Liu Yifei's little interactions.

Young people really are young!
……

Weibo.

"Look! Tiangong-1 has been launched ahead of schedule!"

"I'm so envious of people in Shanghai. They can see such a spectacular fireworks show from home, while we're not even allowed to set off fireworks during Chinese New Year."

"Everyone's tired of seeing Tiangong-1, so how about I show you the autograph I unexpectedly got from Leonardo DiCaprio outside the opening ceremony?"

"Ugh, I'm so jealous! Why weren't they notified Leonardo DiCaprio beforehand that he was coming to China?"

"Because this is purely a personal friendship with no commercial aspect, Director Gu even reserved five minutes for Leonardo's environmental speech, although probably not many people present could understand the English in the speech."

"Damn it, all the IMAX theaters in Kyoto are sold out. Scalpers are charging 1000 yuan for tickets. Gravity is insane!"

Tens of millions of people in Shanghai witnessed the fireworks display from Tiangong-1.

With the deliberate promotion on Weibo, news about the opening ceremony of Gravity spread to every corner of the internet in just a few hours, and the publicity effect and efficiency completely outpaced any traditional publicity method.

the next day.

"Tiangong-1 was launched ahead of schedule, and the Gravity-themed opening fireworks show lit up the opening night!"

"Space dream becomes reality: Gravity opens ceremony and Tiangong-1 launches ahead of schedule, Gu Bei claims he will win 4 billion yuan at the box office!"

"A romantic collision between film and spaceflight: A detailed analysis of how gravity constructs a realistic space world!"

Traditional media followed suit.

There's already a lot to explore in the realm of gravity as a film theme.

Moreover, Gu Bei had many more topics to discuss at the opening ceremony.
For example, Li Bingbing from Huayi School of Performing Arts arrived unexpectedly.

And Leonardo DiCaprio made a surprise appearance.
And Gu Bei said he wanted to surpass La La Land's box office.
There was even a Tiangong-1 fireworks display that went viral on Weibo.

If the media wants to, they can provide countless topics, and the key is that readers love to read them.

Even the foreign media present, such as The Hollywood Reporter and The New York Times, felt that the trip was worthwhile. The news value of Leonardo DiCaprio and the Tiangong-1 fireworks show was enough to cover the cost of this field mission.

After keeping movie fans around the world in suspense for a whole day
Gravity finally officially hit theaters worldwide on October 1st.
In particular, all IMAX theaters in China and North America have removed blockbusters such as Resident Evil 4, Wall Street 2, and Avatar from their shelves and replaced them with Gravity. This is because the exclusivity agreement between Gu Bei and IMAX has begun to take effect.

fiery!

Gu Bei had no idea what the situation was like in North America.

But at least domestically, wherever Gu Bei and Liu Yifei go, it's like a frenzy; the audience's enthusiasm is almost ten times greater than when the rumors were first circulating.

He was also unaware that this was because science fiction films primarily attract young people.

Or perhaps sci-fi fans in the country have simply been starved for too long.

Judging from the audience's reaction at least, Gravity's box office performance will definitely not be weaker than The Message.
The lower limit has already been set.

The upper limit then depends on overseas box office revenue.

On the morning of October 3rd, the third day of the film's release, Gu Bei received a call from Han Sanpin.

Before Han Sanpin could speak, Gu Bei said with a smile, "Chairman Han, it seems you have good news to tell us?"

"How did you guess that?"

Han Sanpin was puzzled.

“If it were bad news, it would be the distribution manager from China Film Group calling, not you,” Gu Bei replied with a smile.

"Guess how much Gravity will gross on its first day of the National Day holiday?"

Han Sanpin's tone revealed barely suppressed excitement.

"Don't guess!"

Gu Bei wasn't fooled. "Chairman Han, just give me a surprise number!"

"1.25 million! The box office on the first day of the National Day holiday has more than doubled the daily box office record!"

Han Sanpin didn't pay attention to these details. He excitedly said, "Director Gu, at least in China, Gravity is absolutely a success!" The last time China Film Group invested so much was with Red Cliff Part I and Part II, which cost 80 million US dollars. In the end, the two films only brought in less than 700 million at the box office. China Film Group can be said to have suffered a huge loss.

It's important to know that the investment in Chibi took place in 2006.
Back then, the exchange rate of the Chinese yuan was above 8; now it's almost reached 6.6.

The $80 million for Red Cliff and the $100 million for Gravity are basically the same value.

However, Gravity is clearly much better than Red Cliff. The Best Director and Best Actress awards at Cannes are enough to prove that Gravity is not a bad movie, and its box office performance is so good that tickets are hard to come by.

Tickets for all IMAX theaters in China for the next month are sold out!

A month is not the limit for the audience, but the limit for the key.
Because the key is only authorized for one month, you have to wait for the key to be extended before you can sell it.

"not bad."

Gu Bei smiled and said, "We should also thank Director Chen. He helped us clear out the National Day film schedule."

"Hahaha!"

Han Sanpin couldn't help but laugh.

The box office success of "Aftershock in Tang City" was truly terrifying.

If even Chen Kaige is like this, then how terrifying must Gu Bei be?
After witnessing the devastating earthquake in Tang City, almost all the major films scheduled for the National Day holiday were wiped out, with many fleeing to the summer season or moving up their release dates to avoid the gravity of the earthquake.

Gu Bei's rumors from last year,
The film's initial screening schedule was also squeezed by "1942" and the inability to be moved by "The Founding of a Republic".
In comparison, Gravity's stage this year was much bigger, scaring away other films. The entire National Day holiday was Gravity's solo performance stage!
After hanging up the phone, Gu Bei smiled and said to Liu Yifei, who was still lying in bed scrolling through her phone, "The domestic box office figures are out. It's 1.25 million on the first day, and breaking 1 billion is basically a done deal."

Whether it can surpass Avatar depends on whether the audience likes it.

"They definitely love it! The feedback has been great so far!"

Liu Yifei showed it to Gu Bei.

Gu Bei looked down and saw that Liu Yifei was using a secondary account to browse Weibo, which was full of real-time feedback from ordinary viewers.

"Out of ten, the opening long take really felt like I was being pulled into space. How can Indian satellites be so unreliable?"

"The beginning was a bit dull, supposedly it was filmed in one continuous shot, which I don't quite understand, but it got more and more exciting as it went on. Liu Yifei's will to survive was just too strong. If it were me, I would have died in space long ago!"

"I spent several hundred yuan on scalped tickets for the IMAX theater. Although it hurt a little, it was definitely worth it. The immersive experience was amazing. When Sisi was thrown into space, the breathing sounds mixed with heartbeats in the background made my hands tremble slightly."

Unanimously positive reviews

The original Gravity received only so-so reviews in China; movies about surviving alone aren't particularly entertaining.

However, the original Gravity film is already the second largest box office market in the world, even though China Film Group didn't promote it much.

The current version of Gravity stars Liu Yifei, one of the most popular actresses in China, and the story is set in China and spoken in Chinese, which greatly enhances the sense of immersion.

Not to mention that China Film Group has invested the entire group's resources in Gravity.

It's important to know that the global marketing budget of $100 million doesn't include domestic marketing expenses. Han Sanpin is practically sparing no expense in promoting Gravity.

After all, this might be his only chance. With Linlang Entertainment, Gu Bei will definitely prioritize Linlang Entertainment for future projects.

The key is,

Chinese people love special effects.

Because movie tickets are expensive nowadays, and unless it's a blockbuster with special effects, people often feel like they're getting ripped off when comparing them to cheaper pirated copies.

Therefore, Gu Bei brought out special effects and 3D effects that are currently unmatched in the world, even better than Avatar.

Only Gu Bei's top-tier directing skills could achieve this effect with a budget of one hundred million US dollars.

There are many negative reviews online about the boring plot of Gravity.
Having a dark-skinned female lead is too much of a nuisance.
No one dares to say that the gravity effects are bad!
"Now we just have to wait for the North American box office results."

Gu Bei was still somewhat uneasy.

The box office in China far exceeded expectations, but the box office in North America is unlikely to be as explosive as in China, as North American audiences are inherently arrogant.

Gu Bei didn't have to wait long.
That very evening, a call came from across the Pacific from Summit Entertainment President Eric Figo.

Eric's tone was slightly excited:
"Bruce, Gravity is doing well. It grossed $1300 million on its opening day, easily taking the top spot at the daily box office, a full ten million dollars more than the second-place Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps!"

"Gravity has a chance to compete for the record for the biggest weekend box office in North America in October!"

October is considered a slow release month in North America.
The summer movie season has just ended, but Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas are still a long way off.

October only has one public holiday, Columbus Day, but it's only a federal holiday. In places like California, there are no holidays on weekdays, so it doesn't contribute much to box office revenue.

Although Gravity is a Chinese subject, science fiction and space are not unpopular themes and have a stable audience in North America. Gravity is, after all, a $100 million A-list production and also had a large investment in marketing and distribution.

The key is,

Gu Bei and Liu Yifei also have a large fan base in North America.

This group of fans should be able to support the box office for the opening weekend without any problem.

"not bad!"

Gu Bei finally breathed a sigh of relief.

With $13 million on its opening day in North America, the Gravity theme didn't experience the dramatic drop seen in films like Starship Troopers and Twilight. This opening day box office is more than enough to propel the North American box office to over $100 million.

That's enough; at the very least, it's definitely not a box office failure.

"Bruce, when are you coming to North America? I can arrange for you to be on a few shows!"

Eric urged Gu Bei, "I have a feeling that the box office potential of Gravity could be further explored."

"Let's wait a while. On the first day, it reached nearly 20 million US dollars in China. Gravity's largest vote bank should be in China," Gu Bei said calmly.

"so tall?"

Eric was also surprised. "Bruce, it seems your decision was right. China is indeed a film market with great potential, and you have become the king of the Chinese film market!"

After Gu Bei finished talking to Eric, he hung up the phone.

He and Liu Yifei continued their promotional activities across the country.

The entire National Day holiday film season was a solo performance by Gravity.
After breaking 100 million on the first day
The box office for Gravity continues its rapid growth.
It broke 100 million on the first day, 200 million in two days, 300 million in four days, 400 million in five days, and 500 million in six days. Finally, the box office for the seven days of the National Day holiday was locked at a slightly disappointing 5.99 million.

However, it broke the National Day box office record of 550 million yuan set by The Message in just seven days, and the Chinese film box office record of 700 million yuan set by Aftershock will soon be in jeopardy.

This result left all the films that had moved up their release dates feeling both fortunate and regretful.

Thankfully, the box office success of "Gravity" was as terrifying as they had anticipated, breaking all sorts of records like a bulldozer.

The only downside is that while big-budget films might be a problem, mid-budget movies are perfectly fine to watch.
The best-selling theaters at Gravity are the IMAX and 3D theaters.
They could definitely try to secure screenings in regular theaters; who knows, they might be able to steal a significant amount of box office revenue, just like the movie "Lost in Thailand" did during this year's Spring Festival!

(End of this chapter)