Huayu: Starting from joining the mainstream entertainment industry in 96

Chapter 157, page 155: Where Did the Box Office Go?
Friday, December 5, 1997.

As dusk falls and the winter chill deepens, warm streams of people gather early in front of numerous cinemas, theaters, workers' cultural palaces, and even better-equipped club screening rooms throughout Beijing and seven major cities in Jiangsu Province.

For many ordinary citizens, watching a movie on a weekend night, especially the "first national cinema-level New Year's film" that has recently been hyped by the media, is undoubtedly a very attractive pastime.

Dahua Cinema, located on Xinjiekouwai Street in Haiding District, is one of the oldest cinemas in Beijing, with nearly 1200 seats (upper and lower floors combined).

At 6 p.m., the main screening room, which can accommodate more than 800 people, was over 95% full.

The air was filled with the aroma of popcorn, sunflower seeds, and even braised pork, along with the white breath exhaled by people. The noisy conversations were filled with anticipation.

Wearing a thick down jacket, a woolen hat, and gloves, Gao Yuanyuan followed her parents and brother Gao Yong, fully armed.

Her face was flushed, whether from the cold or excitement, it was hard to tell.

Beside them were Fan Xiaopang and Cecilia Cheung, who were also bundled up tightly.

Out of consideration for their daughter's colleagues, Gao's parents picked them up from the Beijing Film Studio's residential area.

Fan Xiaopang chattered away, curious about everything; Zhang Bozhi, on the other hand, was quieter, trying to listen to the rapid Beijing accents around her, occasionally showing a thoughtful expression.

Their positions were slightly behind the center, giving them an excellent view.

Meanwhile, at the Capital Cinema in the Wangfujing area (with approximately 900 seats), Li Xiuxiu bought a ticket and walked into the screening room alone.

She arrived in Beijing a little later than her sister Li Bingbing, rented a place on her own, and was trying hard to find an opportunity to enter the industry.

Watching this film, directed by Wang Sheng, was a complex experience for her, almost like "spying on the enemy."

The hall was also packed with people, and laughter could be heard sporadically even before the film started.

As the capital and cultural center, Beijing has a high level of acceptance of new things among its citizens. Moreover, the promotion of "30 Days" was extremely effective. Stephen Chow's appeal, coupled with gimmicks such as "New Year's greetings" and "Beijing-Hong Kong cooperation," attracted a large number of young couples, students, young employees, and some people in the cultural circle.

Roughly estimated, the major cinemas in Beijing that night involved in the prime-time screenings of "30 Days," such as Dahua, Capital, Youth Palace, and Geological Auditorium, had a total of about 1.5 seats, with an average occupancy rate of over 90%. In addition, the contributions from other district and county screening units, such as some screening units under New Film Union Film Co., Ltd., which was established in 1996, were relatively fewer in number but more numerous, bringing the total number of seats to an estimated 1, with an occupancy rate of about 80%.

In the Beijing area, the total box office for the opening day of "30 Days" is estimated to be over 400,000 yuan, including prime-time screenings and subsequent screenings on the evening of December 5th (until midnight).

Calculation basis: Core cinemas with 1.5 seats * 90% occupancy rate * average ticket price of 20 yuan ≈ 27 yuan; District and county cinemas and other cinemas with 1 seats * 80% occupancy rate * average ticket price of 18 yuan ≈ 14.4 yuan.

Considering that some cinemas have additional seats, standing tickets, and different screening times, the estimates are rounded up and made conservatively.

In reality, tickets for some popular cinemas can cost up to 25 yuan, but some cinemas with poorer conditions or during off-peak hours have tickets for around 15 yuan.

……

In Jiangsu Province, the flames of rebellion were simultaneously ignited in the territories of the seven "rebel kings".

This "rebellion-style" screening, spearheaded by seven municipal film companies, also achieved unprecedented success.

Each city used local media to conduct intensive pre-event announcements, and the public's enthusiasm for buying tickets was high due to curiosity and public opinion guidance.

As the provincial capital, Nanjing saw almost all evening screenings at several major cinemas, including Dahua Cinema (approximately 1000 seats) and Heping Cinema (approximately 800 seats).

With a population of over one million, Nanjing has a potential movie-going population (including university students, employees of government agencies and enterprises, and business owners) with strong purchasing power and a high demand for cultural products. It is estimated that this number is at least two to three hundred thousand.

Major cinemas across the city (estimated total seating capacity of approximately 8000) generally had occupancy rates exceeding 90% during peak screenings. The total box office revenue for a single screening was roughly estimated at 120,000 yuan.

Suzhou is an economically developed city, and its Kaiming Grand Theater (which also houses cinemas, with about 900 seats) and People's Cinema (with about 700 seats) on Guanqian Street are bustling with people.

Suzhou's urban area is densely populated, its economic growth rate is the highest in the province, and its citizens have cutting-edge consumption concepts.

全市主要影院（总座位数估算约6000个）黄金场上座率超过95%，甚至出现一票难求。单场总共票房粗估约10万元。    梁溪市，工业重镇，大众影剧院（约800座）、红星影院（约600座）等同样热闹。市民消费能力同样不俗。全市主要影院（总座位数估算约5000个）黄金场上座率约九成。单场总共票房粗估约8万元。

Pengcheng City, located in the center of the Huaihai Economic Zone, has a large population base, and its People's Stage (approximately 1000 seats) and Pengcheng Cinema (approximately 700 seats) have astonishing attendance rates.

Although the average spending level may be slightly lower than in southern Jiangsu, the enthusiasm for watching movies is higher due to their "scarcity." Major cinemas throughout the city (estimated total seating capacity of approximately 5500) achieved over 90% occupancy during prime time screenings. The total box office revenue for a single screening is roughly estimated at 80,000 yuan.

Longcheng, Jinghai, and Guangling are all economically vibrant cities with rich cultural atmospheres.

Major cinemas such as the Hongxing Grand Theater in Longcheng City, the Gengsu Theater in Jinghai City, and the Workers' Cultural Palace Cinema in Guangling City have seats ranging from 4000 to 5000, and their occupancy rates during prime time are all between 85% and 90%.

The estimated total box office revenue for each of the three cities is approximately 5 to 6 yuan, totaling about 17 yuan.

The total box office revenue for the first day in the seven cities of Jiangsu Province is roughly estimated at 55.5 yuan.

Theoretically speaking, if the main cinemas in the eight locations combined achieve an occupancy rate of 90% for a single screening, they could generate over 1 million in box office revenue.

If they played "30 Days" all day long.

Aside from the morning and noon times, the screenings begin at 2 PM, with one showing from 1 PM to 3 PM, another from 3 PM to 5 PM, another from 5 PM to 7 PM, and yet another from 7 PM to 9 PM.

With such a high screening rate on Saturdays, and considering the individual tickets sold at other times, theoretically, the daily box office should definitely exceed three million.

Of course, this is just theory.

For example, today is Friday, and many cinemas are not open for morning or midday screenings at all.

There is one show from 3 PM to 5 PM, and another show from 6 PM to 8 PM.

Even with only two screenings, given such high attendance, the combined box office revenue from the eight locations on the first day could easily exceed 2 million yuan.

However, under a box office statistics and distribution system that has been in operation for many years and has "local characteristics," this figure is unlikely to reach the eyes of the production company.

After movie tickets are sold, the proceeds are first collected by the cinemas and screening companies.

According to unwritten "rules," these organizations would first set aside a portion as "operating costs" and "employee benefits"—this is almost an open secret.

The methods include, but are not limited to: falsely reporting maintenance costs, exaggerating water and electricity expenses, or more directly, in popular shows, such as the 6 pm show, falsely claiming that "some seats have been reserved" or "tickets have been sold out," while actually locking in some good seats for those with connections or for subsequent price increases, and then putting this part of the "hidden" income into their own slush fund.

This practice is even more common in the seven cities of Jiangsu Province, since the film was released "bypassing" the provincial company, and the city-level companies also need to appease their superiors and subordinates and reassure their internal staff.

After being "filtered" at the cinema level, the remaining box office revenue is reported to the municipal film companies.

City-level companies are not to be underestimated either; they need to "negotiate and allocate resources" with relevant local management departments such as the cultural, publicity, and broadcasting authorities.

These departments may not be directly involved in operations, but they provide "support" or need "communication" in areas such as film import, promotion, scheduling, and even maintaining screening order, and therefore also want a share of the profits.

After these layers of skimming, the final "net box office" that is prepared for revenue sharing with the production company has often shrunk considerably.

Taking a city in Jiangsu Province as an example, if a cinema's actual ticket sales revenue for "30 Days" that night is 5000 yuan, the cinema may retain 500-800 yuan first.

The amount reported to the municipal company is 4000 yuan. After the municipal company "coordinates" with relevant departments, only about 3000 yuan may actually be included in the accounting base.

The process is largely the same across different regions, with only slight differences in the retention ratio and distribution method.

Therefore, the "officially recognized box office" that will ultimately be presented to Beijing Film Studio, Forbidden City Film Group, and Sheng Ying Media as the basis for their 40% revenue sharing will inevitably not meet their expectations.

The rebel king doesn't care if you're from this capital or that capital; when he gets angry, he'll even rebel against himself.

(End of this chapter)