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

Chapter 246: $3.9 Billion in Box Office

Although the movie "Chu Xuan" does not feature actors of other races, and the film's investors are only Li Boda and China Film Group.

However, due to the previous two Infinite Terror films and the upcoming Infinite Terror 3, it is not difficult for the film Chu Xuan to be released overseas.

After all, no one knows how much box office [Chu Xuan] will make when it is released overseas. What if [Chu Xuan] becomes popular because of the [Infinite Terror] film series?

Nobody wants to mess with money.

Therefore, after its release in mainland China, "Chu Xuan" also began to be shown in Japan, South Korea, and Southeast Asia. Furthermore, just one week after its release in mainland China, "Chu Xuan" was also released in North America and Europe.

It was just similar to what Li Boda had thought before.

The movie "Chu Xuan" performed very well at the domestic box office. In China, South Korea, and even Southeast Asia, due to the "Infinite Terror" series, its box office performance, while not as good as "Infinite Terror 2," was still relatively good.

Especially in Japan, it grossed 2 billion yen in its first week of release. While it didn't reach the box office heights of "Infinite Terror 1," it was still comparable to the original "Infinite Terror" in Japan.

However, in North America and Europe, its box office performance was significantly worse than that of the first and second installments of "Infinite Terror". In North America, its opening day box office was only a little over four million US dollars.

However, the total investment in the movie "Chu Xuan" was only 50 million, plus 30 million for publicity, for a total investment of only 80 million, which is just a little over 10 million US dollars.

You can easily recoup your costs.

Even the investment-to-income ratio is better than the first two installments of "Infinite Terror".

After all, while the first two installments of "Infinite Terror" did very well at the box office and generated a lot of profits, their investment costs were also substantial.

A film like "Chu Xuan" would be considered a low-budget film in Hollywood. How much can you expect from a low-budget film?

However, despite the poor performance of the film "Chu Xuan" in North America, Europe and other countries and regions, more people wanted to invest in Li Boda's films after the film's release.

This is true both domestically and internationally.

Because Li Boda's movies can make money, especially movies like "Chu Xuan," which features actors with Asian skin and is a low-budget film. Its opening day box office of over four million US dollars in North America is quite good for a low-budget film.

The movie "Chu Xuan" only had an investment cost of 50 million US dollars, but like the "Infinite Terror" series, it still managed to obtain a key extension and continue to be shown in theaters after a month of release. As for how long the extension will last, it is still under consideration.

The main reason is that the movie "Chu Xuan" was released in August, and there weren't any other big movies released that month. Even the new movies that were released didn't perform as well at the box office as "Chu Xuan," which had been showing for a month. So, naturally, the theaters were willing to let "Chu Xuan" continue to be shown in theaters.

The movie "Chu Xuan" grossed 1.2 billion yuan in just one month after its theatrical release, and its daily box office revenue remained quite high.

Many industry insiders estimate that "Chu Xuan" will gross at least 1.5 billion yuan by the time it leaves theaters.

A film with an investment of only 50 million yuan grossed 1.5 billion yuan at the domestic box office. The film was even released overseas. Although its box office performance could not compare with the "Infinite Terror" series, it was still much better than other domestic films exported overseas.

So this time, Li Boda has truly become the most popular director in China.

Even Zhang Yimou, at this moment, had to bow down in front of Li Boda.

"Boda, you're really in high demand now. You have no idea how many people are offering money to have you act in their movies." Master Han sighed as he looked at Li Boda's handsome and remarkably youthful face.

"I'm not short of money." Li Boda shrugged. Back when he was filming "Infinite Terror 1", Li Boda really didn't have that much money on him. But now, Li Boda's net worth is incredibly high. If he wanted, he could even support the filming of three "Infinite Terror" movies at the same time, without affecting the operation of his companies.

All I can say is that mobile phones are incredibly lucrative if you do them well, especially since Li Boda himself possesses a wealth of technical expertise.

"..." Han Sanye was speechless when he heard Li Boda's words. He had forgotten that Li Boda was different from other directors.

Other directors do need to find investors to make movies because they don't have that much money themselves.

But Li Boda is different; his company, 'Magic Cube Technology,' is incredibly wealthy.

Cube Technology has only been established for a few years, yet it has already become one of the top high-tech companies in China.

"Boda, do you have any new filming plans?" Han Sanye stopped worrying about whether Li Boda had money and asked directly if Li Boda had any plans to make a new movie.

As for Li Boda being rich and wanting to monopolize everything? Master Han wasn't worried about that.

Because Master Han knew that Li Boda was a smart man, and of course, Li Boda's own funds were more than enough to support the film he wanted to make.

However, in the entertainment industry, it's completely impossible to keep everything to yourself.

Just like Zhang Weiping, who used to rely on Zhang Yimou to act arrogantly in the industry, he would actually accept other people to invest in Zhang Yimou's movies. No one would break this unspoken rule.

It's fine to eat alone occasionally, but if you think about eating alone continuously, even someone like Li Boda with his current physique will be targeted from all sides.

"Not yet, at most I just have an idea," Li Boda said casually.

"Just an idea? That's enough! Having an idea is enough! With an idea, we can start the project. As for the rest, we can talk about it after the project is approved," Han Sanye said happily.

"...No, I only have an idea, nothing else yet, and you want me to start a project?" Li Boda couldn't help but ask.

"Isn't this you? Your international director status is right here. So what if you just have an idea and you've already started a project?" Master Han said without any attempt to hide his true feelings.

"..." Hearing what Master Han said, Li Boda really couldn't say anything, because that's how rules are broken.

If you are a relatively unknown director and want to get a film project approved, you have to prepare everything in advance. If anything is even slightly incomplete, you won't be able to get the project approved.

But a successful director like Li Boda doesn't need anything. Even if he only has an idea, or no idea at all, just the desire to make a new movie, he can get the project approved directly, and a large group of people will be waving huge sums of money to invest in his film. If he doesn't accept the investment, they won't be happy.

“Let’s hold off for now. I haven’t even come up with a story yet, so there’s no rush to get this project approved.” Li Boda shook his head. “We should at least wait until the movie ‘Chu Xuan’ is finished showing before talking about anything else.”

"Alright then, but Boda, I think your next film, even if it's not part of the 'Infinite Terror' series, could definitely be another big-budget production, a film with an investment of one or two hundred million US dollars. Look at 'Iron Man 3,' that film had an investment of two hundred million US dollars," Han Sanye tempted.

In Han Sanye's view, movies are ultimately big-budget productions.

Only big-budget productions can more easily break through international borders, achieve high box office returns, and gain recognition from others.

"...Two hundred million US dollars? Third Master, you really dare to dream. For Iron Man 3, Robert Downey Jr. alone received a salary of fifty million US dollars. Who do you want me to cast in my new movie? Robert Downey Jr.?" Li Boda was speechless.

“It’s not impossible. After all, Robert Downey Jr. has become a top international superstar thanks to the Iron Man series. If you ask him to make a movie, it might actually be a very good idea.” Han Sanye’s eyes lit up.

"..." Li Boda really didn't want to talk at this moment.

This Third Master Han is really dreaming. The movie "Chu Xuan" was shown in China for fifty days before finally being taken off the screens. In China, the final box office of "Chu Xuan" reached 1.56 billion yuan.

With an initial investment of 50 million, the film secured an investment of 1.56 billion. After deducting profit sharing, taxes, and other expenses, the film ultimately grossed 530 million. A tenfold net profit.

And this is only within the domestic market.

The movie "Chu Xuan" grossed nearly 5 billion yen in Japan, which is about 250 million RMB or about 40 million USD.

In South Korea, the box office of the movie "Chu Xuan" even surpassed that of Japan, reaching 60 billion Korean won, which is nearly 300 million RMB.

In North America, the film "Chu Xuan" only grossed $40 million, roughly the same as its box office in Japan.

Ultimately, the total box office of the movie "Chu Xuan" was approximately 2.8 billion RMB, which is equivalent to 390 million USD.

Although more than 200 million US dollars came from China, which is the largest source of revenue, the global box office was still quite good, even disregarding that.

However, the movie "Chu Xuan," with an investment of 50 million RMB, grossed 390 million USD at the box office. Although it was 20 million USD less than "Infinite Terror 1," many people consider "Chu Xuan" to be more successful than "Infinite Terror 1."

The key difference is the vast difference in investment costs between the two.

One is ten million US dollars, and the other is ninety million US dollars. The difference between them is far more than just a little bit.

Of course, the reason why the movie "Chu Xuan" was so successful is mainly due to the domestic and Asian markets. Whether it is Japan, South Korea, or Southeast Asia, the box office was very high.

On the contrary, the box office performance in North America and Europe was just so-so, similar to the box office performance of Zhang Yimou's "Hero" in those countries and regions.

However, this also made others look at Li Boda in a different light. A low-budget film that did not use period dramas to attract audiences in North America and other places with a sense of curiosity, and did not choose actors of other skin colors, was already quite excellent to achieve such box office success.

If Li Boda had chosen Hollywood stars to star in his films, would his box office have soared even higher?
This is also why Han Sanye even had the outlandish idea of ​​having Li Boda go and film a movie with Robert Downey Jr.

Meanwhile, both domestically and even internationally, almost globally, everyone is watching the movie "Infinite Terror 3".

Because the first two installments of "Infinite Terror" laid an excellent foundation for this third one, "Infinite Terror 3" is likely to be a huge hit.

It's worth noting that Iron Man 1 grossed $580 million at the box office.

Iron Man 2 grossed $620 million worldwide, while Iron Man 3 took in a staggering $1.21 billion worldwide.

Therefore, many people are looking forward to the global box office results of "Infinite Terror 3".

This expectation also brought Xu Ke immense pressure.

As a result, Xu Ke has been going to Li Boda's place quite often lately, whether he has something to do or not.

On one hand, she wanted to see the special effects that the Magic Cube effects company did for "Infinite Terror 3". On the other hand, she wanted to talk to Li Boda to relieve her stress.

“Boda, I’m telling you, even though you’re not the director of Infinite Terror 3, you’re one of the biggest investors. You need to put more effort into this movie,” Xu Ke muttered in Li Boda’s ear.

"I took it to heart!"

"But, but you didn't even personally do the special effects for [Infinite Terror 3]!" Xu Ke couldn't help but question.

After all, the special effects for the first and second installments of "Infinite Terror" were all done by Li Boda himself. But now, it seems that Li Boda has completely relinquished control of the special effects for "Infinite Terror 3," which has put even more pressure on Xu Ke, who was already under immense pressure.

"Because our company's special effects level has improved again, and their technology has accumulated, they are fully capable of producing high-quality special effects for [Infinite Terror 3], and I no longer need to do it myself," Li Boda explained.

"However, I still think that you didn't take it that seriously because you weren't the director of Infinite Terror 3."

"..." Li Boda looked at Xu Ke speechlessly: "Xu Ke, if you're under a lot of pressure, hey! Go out and turn right, there's a club not far away, you can go there to relax, or even find a pretty girl to vent your stress, you don't need to stay here and revolve around me!"

"Li Boda, what nonsense are you talking about!" Xu Ke couldn't help but shout.

"Uh, sorry, sorry, it's my fault, it's my fault, I was wrong." Li Boda quickly apologized.

Xu Ke's expression softened a little when he saw Li Boda apologize, but Li Boda continued to speak.

"My bad, I forgot that Director Xu is so old, that thing of yours is no longer useful. Now it can only pee, it has no other function!"

“…Li Boda, you @#%￥*%#…” Xu Ke cursed very rudely at this moment.

Actually, Xu Ke's words weren't entirely wrong.

Li Boda certainly didn't place as much importance on "Infinite Terror 3" as he did on the first two installments of "Infinite Terror".

On the one hand, when filming "Infinite Terror," Li Boda, while not exactly bankrupting himself, did indeed stake most of his fortune on it.

Another point is that Li Boda wants to trigger the cheat code, which naturally means he wants to make the movie as exquisite as possible.

While Li Boda remains one of the largest investors in the film "Infinite Terror 3," the amount of money he has invested is no longer as significant. Back then, the money wasn't enough to invest in just one "Infinite Terror" film, but now he can fully invest in three films of the scale of "Infinite Terror," and even fully fund them.

Therefore, things are different for Li Boda when it comes to investing.

Not to mention that Chu Xuan is not even in "Infinite Terror 3". Li Boda never acted in it and therefore wouldn't trigger the cheat ability. So, naturally, Li Boda didn't value this movie as much as before.

Of course, the last point is that the reason Li Boda didn't personally do the special effects for "Infinite Terror 3" is indeed because the technology of Magic Cube Special Effects Company underwent a comprehensive upgrade after the release of "Chu Xuan".

At this point, creating special effects for movies, at the level of Avatar, no longer required Li Boda to do it personally.

At most, Li Boda would occasionally check the quality of the special effects and then resolve any problems they encountered.

Li Boda is now almost completely free. He no longer needs to work at a special effects company, doing special effects for a movie for months at a time.

Li Boda is now free.

This is also one of the benefits of Li Boda filming the movie "Chu Xuan," although the negative effects are a bit greater every time "Chu Xuan mode" is activated.

This is why Li Boda wanted to make a food or food god-themed film, using food to counteract the negative effects of the 'Chu Xuan mode' on him.

Although Xu Ke always felt that Li Boda didn't take "Infinite Terror 3" seriously enough, after seeing the special effects that Magic Cube Special Effects Company did for "Infinite Terror 3," which were indeed no worse than the first two films, he stopped insisting that Li Boda personally do the special effects for "Infinite Terror 3."

(End of this chapter)