Director of Photography Department of Huayu

Chapter 106 Pleasant
In the early morning of March 25, just as the sky was getting light in Los Angeles, Wu Chen and Jason Blum drove to ArcLight Cinemas in Hollywood.

This is one of the most attractive cinemas in Los Angeles, especially popular among movie fans. It is located on Hollywood Boulevard, not far from the Walk of Fame. It has modern decoration, comfortable seats and first-class sound system. It is often the choice for premieres and popular movies.

The two of them pushed the door open, ordered two cups of coffee, and sat in the corner by the window in the hall. They lowered their heads and sipped the steaming drinks, with the sounds of discussion from the audience passing by their ears.

Outside the window, Hollywood Boulevard gradually became lively, and passers-by hurried past in thin coats.

Wu Chen was somewhat nervous. After all, this was his real debut in Hollywood. With the film showing in more than 1800 theaters at the same time, today's box office and word of mouth were the most critical.

People were coming and going in the hall, there was a queue in front of the ticket window, and a list of films in the schedule was scrolling on the screen.

In addition to "Buried Alive," there's also "Guess Who," a comedy starring Bernie Mac and Ashton Kutcher, which was also released in North America that day. It focuses on lighthearted jokes and the collision of racial cultures.
The other is "Robots," an animated film that was released on March 11 and is still a hit, relying on family audiences to support the box office.

Wu Chen glanced at the team: "There's a lot of competition today."

Jason shook his head: "It's okay, this time slot is not crowded, there is enough time for our movie to play."

As they were chatting, a young couple walked out of the cinema, holding hands, with excitement on their faces.

The girl in the denim jacket whispered, "The person in the coffin was so scary! I was sweating the whole time!"

The boyfriend next to her nodded and continued, "It's really fast-paced. I heard it was directed by a Chinese director. What a great story! I thought they only made kung fu movies."

"By the way, do you think the protagonist really died in the end? He seemed to be buried alive in the sand in the end?"

"Of course!"

The two walked away while talking, and their voices gradually became blurred.

After hearing the real feedback from the audience, Wu Chen and Jason smiled at each other, and their inner anxiety was slightly relieved.

The two continued to sit here, and after a while they listened to the mutterings of several groups of people.

Jason asked the ticket seller about the morning sales of "Buried Alive," then sat down, raised his coffee, and said optimistically:
"Wu, the situation is promising. As long as the first day's sales are no less than five million, twenty million won't be a problem."

Wu Chen smiled and said, "I hope so."

For a movie that cost only a few million dollars to make, a box office of over 20 million is already a considerable profit.

Wu Chen looked at the sky over Hollywood, then said seriously, "Jason, I've made up my mind. I'm going to make a movie about a crime using magic."

Jason was stunned: "Magic crime?"

He chewed on the words, revealing a strong interest: "This subject is quite fresh and attractive.

But this kind of subject matter requires a lot of budget, do you have a rough budget range?"

Wu Chen thought for a moment and said, "About 30 to 40 million US dollars."

Jason frowned. "That's certainly not small, but given our situation, we probably can't finish it all. We'll have to bring someone in."

"Well, there's no rush. Let's communicate after I finish the script." Wu Chen took a sip of coffee and continued to sit here leisurely, watching the people coming and going.

The next day, early in the morning, the first-day box office data of "Buried" came out, with a first-day box office of 580 million US dollars. The reputation of IMDB and Rotten Tomatoes did not fluctuate much and remained the same.

Lionsgate immediately took the opportunity to increase publicity.

Wu Chen and Jason Blum's hearts finally settled down, and they high-fived to celebrate their great success. Christian Bale, who had already returned to the crew, also called to congratulate them.

"Wu, congratulations! Twenty million is no longer a problem. It all depends on whether we can reach thirty million dollars."

"Thank you, Bell. It's all thanks to you. Let's have a drink together next time we come to Hollywood." Wu Chen responded with a smile.

"Of course, you have to treat us." Bell responded cheerfully. The two exchanged a few pleasantries before hanging up the phone.

At this time, it was already night in China. Han Sanping was sitting in the living room of his home. Outside the window, the night was dark and the street lights cast a dim light.

He had just made a cup of tea when his cell phone rang. It was his secretary Gao Chengsheng.

"Mr. Han, the North American box office figures for 'Buried' are out. It's $580 million on its first day. According to predictions, the final tally for 'Buried' won't be less than $2000 million."

When Gao Chengsheng was reporting, he felt quite emotional.

Twenty million US dollars, according to the current exchange rate, is equivalent to 1.6 million RMB, and this achievement was actually achieved by a young man in his early twenties.

Han Sanping was silent for a moment, then asked, "Well, have you contacted Wu Chen? When will he return to China?"

"Director Wu said he'll be back the day after tomorrow to wait for the first weekend's results to come out."

"Okay, make an appointment with him. It would be best if you could find out about his new movie in advance."

Gao Chengsheng smiled bitterly when he heard this.

He knew that based on Han Sanping's personality, he would definitely keep an eye on Wu Chen's new movie. The previous one had not been finalized yet, and the new one was about to come.

"By the way, how's Brother Chen Kai doing? Is the recording done? Will it affect his schedule in Cannes?"

"Director Chen personally went to someone to resolve the issue. It won't affect the screening of the extended trailer for 'The Promise' in Cannes in May."

"That's good. I wonder how much The Promise will earn at the overseas box office."

Han Sanping muttered to himself and slowly hung up the phone.

At the same time, in Chen Kaige's study, the dim desk lamp illuminated the desk. He stared at the domestic reports on the screen with a strange look on his face.

"Buried" grossed $580 million on its first day and is expected to reach $3000 million!

"Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" grossed 1.2 million, "Hero" 5300 million, and "Rumble in the Bronx" 3200 million. Wu Chen is expected to climb to fourth place in the overseas box office for a Chinese director's single film with "Buried."

【.】

The box office on the first day was 580 million
Brother Chen Kai couldn't help but think of his own film "Killing Me Softly", which was not released in theaters due to cultural differences between the East and the West, and was only released on DVD.

In comparison, there is a huge gap between the two.

"I'd like to go and see what kind of movie an actor can make." Brother Chen Kai muttered to himself. Suddenly, the door was gently pushed open, and Brother Chen Kai quickly turned off the news report.

Chen Hong walked over quietly, took a look, and found that it was news related to "The Promise", and breathed a sigh of relief.

She was afraid that Brother Chen Kai would be obsessed with Wu Chen's performance in Hollywood.

After all, they had complained before that Wu Chen’s career in Hollywood would not be so smooth, but Wu Chen came up with "Buried" with a budget of 20 million US dollars, which was a slap in the face to them.

She just had to pretend that this matter didn't exist and not mention it to Brother Chen Kai. Thinking of this, Chen Hong chuckled and said, "Are you still worried about The Promise?

The reports are all exaggerated. Once the matter is resolved and the extended trailer from Cannes is released, the media will naturally shut up."

"Yeah!" Brother Chen Kai nodded slightly.

The domestic box office of "Buried" was influenced by media reports, and the box office on the first day was also quite encouraging.

Although the subject matter is not particularly popular in China and the release date is not a popular one, it still won nearly two million in box office, which is much higher than the first-day box office of "The Dark Side".
(End of this chapter)