HuaYu97: Starting as a Singer

Chapter 345 [345] What media? A bunch of dogs who want me to throw bones at them!
"Am I really not seeing things? Are you sure there's no decimal point? Earning 20 million in a day? I can't even earn 2,000 yuan in three months of working."

"Let me correct you, it's not 2000 million, it's 2196 million, which is 2200 million after rounding."

"Is making US dollars this easy? Holy crap! What does it mean to be the pride of Chinese singers! I declare that from now on, any singer in China who wants to piggyback on Qi Yuan's fame can first go abroad and earn 20 million a day to prove their strength."

"Don't be too envious. They're only calculating sales figures. There are various costs associated with an album. The record company takes the lion's share, and Qi Yuan has to pay taxes on the remaining amount. So Qi Yuan might not earn as much as you think... But then again, no matter what, Qi Yuan earns thousands or tens of thousands of times more than us."

"Damn! I was feeling a little sorry for Qi Yuan when I saw the beginning, but the part that comes later is just stabbing us in the heart, isn't it?"

"It serves Qi Yuan right to make money, no matter how much he makes from foreigners, I'll accept it!"

……

These figures shocked not only outsiders but also insiders!

Chen Kaige, standing in the neon lights, was full of vigor and high spirits.

"The Bouquet" grossed 8100 million yuan at the Chinese box office, ranking second for the year.

Hong Kong box office: HK$4300 million, second highest of the year.

Taiwan's 2000 million nod in approval.

The Japanese market performed even better, reaching a peak of 2 million yen in box office revenue in 16 days of release, and has not fallen below 1 million yen since.

"Bouquet" topped the Japanese box office for two consecutive weeks, grossing approximately 24 billion yen.

Currently, 100 million yen can be exchanged for approximately 6.8 million yuan, or about 1.63 million yuan.

South Korea is also interested in this film; Qi Yuan's last trip to South Korea garnered a lot of exposure.

Leaving aside South Korea, as of today, this film has grossed over 3 million in total across Asia.

Chen Kaige is ecstatic! Anyone who says he can't make commercial films, step forward and speak up!
Do you understand the significance of a 3 million yuan box office? This is the first film in mainland China to reach a total box office of 3 million yuan.

This film is different from "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon"; it doesn't try to pander to foreigners.

The release of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" in China was quite controversial. If it hadn't won an Oscar next year, it definitely wouldn't have been so popular.

Han Sanye has prepared the posters for Chen Kaige, ready for the media to hype them up.

"Director Chen, how about we release the good news in a few days? Someone else is more popular than you today and sold more copies."

Chen Kaige was completely incredulous: "Impossible, absolutely impossible! Apart from Li An, who could beat me this year?"

"Yes, Qi Yuan, Warner Music has released an announcement. The album sold 3.9 million copies in 16 days, generating 350 million in sales, which is 50 million more than 'Bouquet'."

"..."

Chen Kaige immediately felt relieved: "Then it's not surprising, then it's not surprising."

He decided not to release the battle report for "Bouquet" for now, as it's pointless for his own people to fight each other.

If we wait a few days until Qi Yuan's battle report loses its popularity before releasing it, we can generate another wave of buzz.

Qi Yuan's advance into Europe and America was successful, and Chen Kaige was happy for Qi Yuan, but at the same time, he was somewhat melancholy.

As the top director in mainland China, he spent a month running around doing promotional tours and finally achieved a box office of 3 million yuan.

Moreover, a film is created by dozens or even hundreds of people working together, much like a sophisticated machine where every part is important. One cannot say that the success of a film is entirely due to the director's efforts.

Qi Yuan's record was a success, and Qi Yuan dared to say that it was all his own achievement.

Because Qi Yuan wrote the lyrics, composed the music, arranged the music, produced the music, added the harmonies, and mixed the tracks for "22" himself, and even played the guitar himself.

The Chinese music scene is not standardized enough, and music arrangement is basically a one-off deal, with very few arrangers receiving a share of the profits.

Releasing an English album is different; the arrangement is subject to a share of the profits, so Qi Yuan simply did everything himself to try and earn every penny.

Even Chen Kaige thought this was a bit unbelievable! One person was doing everything behind the scenes, no wonder Qi Yuan dared to be so tough when he went to America.

This is Qi Yuankuang's advantage; he doesn't need to ask any Western musicians to write songs for him.

Beijing.

Jiang Wenjia.

Jiang Wen's nose tingled.

Dude, I was comforting you a few days ago, worried you might do something rash, and now you're telling me you've made a fortune again?
Looks like I can only fool Ning Hao again. Qi Yuan makes so much money releasing English songs, he must be crazy to team up with him to make a low-budget movie.

……

New footage.

While writing a letter, Zhang Yingmou learned from Zhang Weiping that Qi Yuan's record was selling very well in the North American market. His hand holding the pen trembled, and he wrote a word crookedly.

"Old Mou, are you sure you still want to write to Li Lianjie and Li Zhi? I heard that Li Lianjie's title of King of B-movies is just hype from the Hong Kong media."

To put it bluntly, his films weren't doing well at the box office; he made money from videotapes. If he could really carry a film at the box office, why would he be making B-movies? He'd be getting offers to make A-movies already.

Zhang Weiping mentioned it briefly.

B-movies are positioned a level below A-movies in the market.

What is a B-movie? It is a low-budget film with little investment and a short production cycle.

If he's really that good, why be the king of B-movies? Wouldn't it be better to act in A-movies like Jackie Chan?

It's not that I don't want to act, it's just that the box office performance isn't good enough. American film companies are very realistic; everything is judged by results.

Zhang Yingmou fell into deep thought and began to seriously consider the matter.

Qi Yuan's progress is too fast. A year ago, Qi Yuan's influence in Japan and South Korea was very limited.

A year later, Qi Yuan became a sensation in Japan and South Korea, and even across the ocean in the United States.

What's causing Zhang Yingmou's hesitation now is whether North American audiences will accept Qi Yuan's appeal. He's not worried about the domestic market, as Qi Yuan has proven himself with films like "The Mission," "Infernal Affairs," and "The Bouquet." But the situation in North America is less certain.

……

At the same time in the United States, a state-run media outlet sent a reporter to conduct an exclusive interview with Qi Yuan.

A few days ago, the official media couldn't speak up for Qi Yuan, but now Qi Yuan's achievements in the US have dazzled countless people, and they can now vouch for Qi Yuan.

"Can I say anything?"

Taking off her sunglasses, Qi Yuan asked a question.

“Speak freely.”

The reporters who conducted the interview knew that Qi Yuan had been holding back a lot of anger these days. Before they came, they had received the green light and were free to let Qi Yuan do as he pleased.

Qi Yuan was quite humble in China before. Even if she got angry, she probably wouldn't say anything too harsh, right?

"Your trip to the United States has sparked a lot of discussion in China, both positive and negative. What are your thoughts on this phenomenon?"

As a reporter from an official media outlet, one should be as careful with one's words and avoid expressing emotions.

Qi Yuan's reply was blunt and full of fire: "Just a bunch of dogs. When I was weak, they wanted to tear me apart. When I was strong, they wagged their tails and begged for me to throw them bones to live on. They were disappointed. I climbed to the top of the mountain again. This story tells everyone that barking dogs will not bring people down."

"..."

The reporter on the other side was rendered speechless.

Everyone says Qi Yuan is quite humble, right? You call this humility? The media would explode if they heard that.

(End of this chapter)