Entertainment: Who still wants to fall in love when there are cheats?

Chapter 229 Global Box Office
No matter how much noise there is outside, even if it involves the famous director Zhang Yimou, it actually has no impact on the box office of "Infinite Terror".

The box office for the movie "Infinite Terror" continues to rise.

Although the director of "Infinite Terror," Li Boda, does not have the same reputation as Cameron, the quality of "Infinite Terror" itself is excellent. In terms of special effects, it is almost as good as "Avatar," but in terms of plot, it completely surpasses "Avatar."

In addition, the domestic film market is much larger this year than last year, with box office revenue even showing a certain degree of improvement, and the number of 3D cinemas has also increased significantly compared to last year.

Therefore, under all these circumstances, the box office growth rate of "Infinite Terror" may indeed surpass that of "Avatar".

When "Infinite Terror" had been released for forty days and grossed one billion yuan at the box office, various opinions about "patriotism" and "we shouldn't let foreign films overshadow our own country's films" began to erupt in major media outlets and online.

Despite the rampant arrogance of various public intellectuals these days, who tout Ganges water as a cure-all and claim that toilet water in small countries is so clean it can be drunk, etc.

However, patriotism can play a significant role at any time.

As a result, people who hadn't originally planned to watch the movie "Infinite Terror" couldn't help but start buying tickets to see it.

Viewers who originally only planned to see the regular version of "Infinite Terror" gritted their teeth and switched to the 3D version.

Some particularly patriotic coal mine owners, in KTVs or other places, would slam their fists on the table while embracing beautiful women, declaring, "No way! We can't let a foreign film dominate our country's box office record. Our own films aren't bad either! How can they lose to foreign films at the box office? I've decided! I'm booking out the entire theater. I'm booking out ten screenings!"

“I’m also booking out the whole theater, just like you, ten screenings! We can’t let foreign films bully our own country’s movies.”

"Exactly! The movie 'Infinite Terror' is awesome, much better than 'Avatar'. So no matter what, we're going to make sure 'Infinite Terror' surpasses 'Avatar' at the box office. I'm buying out ten screenings, and if ten isn't enough, I'll add another ten!"

With the help of many people and the strong support of coal mine owners, the box office of the movie "Infinite Terror" began to soar again.

One billion, one billion, one billion, one billion, one billion, one billion—

When the movie "Infinite Terror" finished its run after sixty days in theaters, its box office had reached a staggering 14.32 billion yuan. This not only surpassed "Avatar" but also exceeded it by nearly 100 million yuan. It directly broke "Avatar's" box office record, becoming the highest-grossing film in China.

"Hahaha, I knew it! Our domestic film market is huge, and its potential has yet to be fully realized. 1.4 billion in box office revenue! That's over 200 million US dollars! Hahaha!" Master Han couldn't stop laughing.

Although Avatar had previously grossed 1.3 billion at the box office, it was Cameron's film after all. Han Sanye never imagined that any film could surpass Avatar's box office in such a short time, well, within five years.

However, now, only a year after Avatar was released, Infinite Terror has emerged and directly broken Avatar's box office record.

This is a domestically produced film! From the lead actor to the director, they are all from our own country.

"【Infinite Terror】 alone grossed 200 million US dollars in our country. Adding that to the box office in North America, Europe, Japan, and South Korea, the total gross definitely exceeds 300 million US dollars," said Mr. Wang of Enlight Media, his expression excited.

"Absolutely! To be honest, I originally thought that with such a large investment, it would be great if the movie 'Infinite Terror' could break even. I didn't expect it to not only break even but also make a profit. Director Li, you are really amazing. I think you are now the best director in China. Even Zhang Yimou can't compare to you." Mr. Zeng from Wanda Pictures laughed heartily, his face almost cramping from smiling.

"You flatter me, you flatter me. I only benefited from the subject matter. One is that the subject matter of 'Infinite Terror' is novel, and the other is that 'Infinite Terror' sets its story on the basis of 'Resident Evil' and 'Alien,' which is why it was able to achieve such high box office results," Li Boda said with a modest smile.

"You can't say that. It's a good subject matter, but it's also because you, Director Li, chose it. Why didn't anyone choose this subject matter before? It's because they didn't have your discerning eye, Director Li."

"Director Li, how are the box office results in other countries and regions? What's the total box office for our film?"

"In North America, 'Infinite Terror' just broke 100 million dollars at the box office. In Europe, it was much lower, only 40 million dollars. But in Japan, the box office was pretty good, with 6 billion yen, which is 40 million dollars. And then there's South Korea... All in all, 'Infinite Terror' has grossed about 410 million dollars," Li Boda said with a smile.

"410 million US dollars! That's 3 billion RMB! 3 billion! Who else can achieve such a high box office? Who else in China can do that?"

"Director Li, these days, Zhang Yimou, Feng Gangpao, and Chen Kaige aren't even worthy of carrying your shoes!"

"Exactly! Even Zhang Yimou's highest-grossing film, 'Hero,' only grossed $1.75 million worldwide, which isn't even half of what our 'Infinite Terror' made!"

"You can't say that. Box office is box office, but there are many other things in movies, such as art and awards. Moreover, the reason why 'Infinite Terror' had such a high box office is entirely because our domestic box office market is so good. It directly grossed 200 million US dollars. Our country alone has equaled the total box office of all other countries. I also benefited from this."

"Director Li, you are good in every way, but you are too modest."

"Yes, yes, Director Li, you're too modest."

The people around Li Boda were all praising him to the skies. The reason they were so eager to curry favor with Li Boda was naturally because he had achieved great success, and they wanted to join the train of the [Infinite Terror] sequel to make another fortune.

If Li Boda gets upset and kicks one of them out, then there will be real tears.

Moreover, although these people were currying favor with Li Boda, what they said wasn't actually wrong.

After all, domestic films these days only gross around 600 million yuan at the box office, and even including global box office, it's still just so-so. Then look at Li Boda, with 1.4 billion yuan in domestic box office and a global box office of 3 billion yuan, or 400 million US dollars.

These numbers are truly astounding.

So at this time, many people really regarded Li Boda as a super director who was even more awesome than Zhang Yimou.

However, both Zhang Yimou and Chen Kaige have their own fan base, and they both bring up film awards as a point of discussion.

Zhang Yimou's films have won various awards. Chen Kaige's films have won various awards.

Li Boda's films have never won any awards, so Li Boda is far inferior to Zhang Yimou and Chen Kaige, etc.

Feng Gangpao, well, his situation is a bit more dire.

Although Feng Gangpao's films have indeed won many awards in China in recent years.

However, Feng Gangpao doesn't have many international awards to his name.

This is why, despite being called one of the top three directors in China, Feng Gangpao is actually ranked third.

Feng Gangpao was able to make "The Third Brother" entirely because of its box office success.

Now, Li Boda's film box office has completely crushed Feng Gangpao's, and Feng Gangpao's current situation is extremely awkward.

Feng Gangpao went directly from third to fourth place, or some people even wanted to remove him from the list of the top three directors in China.

When Feng Gangpao learned of this news, he was so depressed that he almost vomited blood.

So, Feng Gangpao, who hadn't said a word when "Infinite Terror" was released, suddenly couldn't help but jump up and down in front of the reporters, launching a tirade against Li Boda.

What do you mean, 'Li Boda has some ability, but actually not that much'?

"The reason the box office was so high is entirely due to the excellent story itself, coupled with outstanding special effects. However, the story's excellence stems from the original novel; Li Bo's contribution is hardly noteworthy."

'Li Boda does have some ability, but it's only average. Everyone overestimates him.'

"【Infinite Terror】Ignoring the special effects, it's just a very average movie."

After Feng Gangpao's words were leaked by reporters, they not only failed to garner much support but also drew ridicule, leaving Feng Gangpao even more embarrassed.

Having almost become a laughingstock, Feng Gangpao simply shrank back and disappeared from everyone's sight.

As for Chen Kaige, his attitude was very firm. He believed that Li Boda was too young and did not have enough strength. No matter what others said, he gritted his teeth and refused to acknowledge that Li Boda was capable.

On the contrary, Zhang Yimou, despite being humiliated by the child's situation, still managed to say, under constant questioning from reporters, "Li Boda is a very talented director. I've seen 'Infinite Terror,' a particularly good movie, especially the special effects—they're amazing!"

Besides Zhang Yimou, there was also Jiang Wen, who, during an interview, repeatedly gave a thumbs-up to the camera, praising Li Boda's films for their excellent special effects.

Regardless, Li Boda has now become one of the top directors in China.

After all, not everyone can make movies that achieve such high box office returns overseas.

(End of this chapter)