Huayu: Starting from joining the mainstream entertainment industry in 96

Chapter 172-170: The King of the Box Office

February 20, 1998, Friday.

The chill of the north had not yet completely dissipated, but the conference room in the administration building of the Beijing Film Studio was already enveloped in a scorching atmosphere.

The sky outside the window was gray, while the room was brightly lit, filled with a mixture of smoke and the aroma of tea.

At the oval conference table, Han Sanping sat in the center, a cigarette between his fingers half-burned, the ash about to fall.

He was flanked by key personnel from Beijing Film Studio and Shengying Media, including Wang Sheng, who calmly flipped through the reports that had just been delivered and still smelled of ink.

The head of the publicity department, the head of the finance department, and others had flushed faces and could not hide their excitement.

The meeting's theme was simple and direct: a summary of the nationwide release of "30 Days" and a report on its box office performance.

"Everyone's here, let's begin." Han Sanping stubbed out his cigarette, his voice steady, and his gaze swept over the head of the publicity department.

The head of the publicity department took a deep breath, picked up the thick report, and said in a slightly hoarse voice, "Director Han, General Manager Wang, and all leaders, '30 Days' officially premiered nationwide on January 9th (excluding the first nine locations), and the first round of screenings basically ended yesterday (February 19th), lasting a full forty days. Apart from the approximately 50.96 million yuan in box office revenue from the first nine locations, the box office data for other regions across the country is now basically clear after our continuous efforts of collection, verification, and summarization!"

He paused, as if to calm himself, before reading out the crucial figure in an emphasized tone: "In other parts of the country, the cumulative box office revenue... is approximately 41 million yuan!"

Despite the fact that it was expected, when the number was officially announced, a suppressed gasp and whispers still rippled through the conference room.

"How much? Forty-one million?"

"Adding the previous 50.96 million... wouldn't that be..."

"Ninety-one million, nine hundred and sixty thousand! That's close to one hundred million!"

Han Sanping leaned forward slightly, crossed his hands on the table, and looked sharp: "What about the situation in different regions? Tell me in detail."

"Yes, sir!" The head of the publicity department was invigorated and began reporting by region: "The most eye-catching one is Shanghai!"

He practically shouted the name: "Magic City, separately reported box office...eight million yuan!"

"Huh—!"

The meeting room erupted in chaos.

Eight million yuan? Just for Shanghai?

"It's caught up to one-fifth of the total from the previous nine regions!"

"Damn it... it has to be Shanghai!" A straightforward deputy factory director couldn't help but swear, but his face was full of admiration.

The market potential of Shanghai is undeniable. Despite the controversy surrounding the "movie viewing express" program, which involved screening movies at night for a month and rampant piracy, the city's spending power and openness to new things still allow it to unleash amazing energy.

It seems that Zhu Yongde and his Shanghai Film & Television Group have finally put in some effort in terms of scheduling and promotion.

The head of the publicity department continued his report: "Following closely behind is Guangdong Province, with total revenue of approximately three million yuan. The main contributors are several economically developed areas such as Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, and Fushan. However, Guangdong is also the region most severely impacted by pirated VCDs; it's said that pirated copies of '30 Days' are cheaper than newspapers on the streets. Achieving this result is quite remarkable." He then read out a series of figures from other provinces: "Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces combined, approximately four million… North China (excluding Beijing), approximately two and a half million… Northeast China, approximately two million… Southwest China, approximately one and a half million… Central China, approximately two million… Northwest China…"

The data was presented one by one. Apart from a few major economic provinces or regional centers, the monthly box office revenue of most provinces hovered between one million and two million. When spread out to each province, it was indeed only "around one million".

"Is it outrageous?" Han Sanping suddenly spoke, his voice not loud, but it instantly silenced the noisy conference room.

He looked around at everyone and answered his own question: "I think it makes perfect sense."

He picked up another document and shook it: "This is some internal reference data we obtained. Most provincial film companies still operate with a planned economy mindset. Their cinema facilities are outdated, their promotional methods are limited, and in many places, in order to maintain relationships with provincial companies and local cinemas, they still prefer films that can bring in stable 'channel fees' when scheduling screenings. As 'outsiders' like us who strictly adhere to revenue sharing, their enthusiasm is already low. Coupled with rampant piracy, achieving this average is already a result of our prior publicity campaign and the high quality of the films themselves."

He looked at Wang Sheng: "Wang Sheng, what do you think?"

Wang Sheng closed the report in his hand, raised his head, and said calmly, "Han Chang is right. This data truly reflects the current state of the national film market—huge potential, but rigid distribution channels and deep-seated problems."

The data from Shanghai and eastern Guangdong proves the strong spending power of audiences in economically developed regions, while the 'mediocre' performance in other regions precisely illustrates the direction in which our film studio alliance will focus its efforts on integration in the future.

This is not the end, but the beginning. The value of "30 Days" lies not only in how much money it made, but also in how it acted like a scalpel, cutting open the festering sores of the old system and allowing us to see the root of the disease.

He paused, then summarized: "The first run in nine regions grossed approximately 50.96 million yuan, and with the addition of other regions across the country, it totaled approximately 41 million yuan. As of now, the cumulative box office for '30 Days' nationwide is approximately 91.96 million yuan. It's just one step away from reaching 100 million yuan."

"Ninety-one million nine hundred and sixty thousand..." Han Sanping slowly repeated the number, his eyes gleaming with an indescribable light.

The meeting concluded in an atmosphere of extreme excitement yet restraint.

When everyone left, their steps seemed a little unsteady.

With a box office of over 90 million, in the early 1998 Chinese film market, this was a figure that all its peers could only look up to.

In the following days, just as Wang Sheng and Han Sanping had predicted, when the Beijing Film Studio Alliance selectively "revealed" the total national box office data of "30 Days" to several core media outlets, an even larger media tsunami was ignited.

A domestic film box office miracle! "30 Days" grosses nearly 100 million yuan!

The King of Lunar New Year Films is Born! Director Wang Sheng's "30 Days" Crushes Imported Films of the Same Period!

"Ninety-one million! '30 Days' sets a new benchmark for domestic commercial films!"

Similar headlines dominated the headlines of the culture and entertainment sections of major newspapers across the country, and even some mainstream media outlets reported on them in their main news sections.

The report inevitably mentioned two imported blockbusters that had previously broken box office records in mainland China: "True Lies" (released in 1995, with a box office of approximately 1.02 million yuan) and "Rumble in the Bronx" (released in 1996, with a box office of approximately 9500 million yuan).

"Although '30 Days' has not yet broken the 100 million mark at the box office and failed to surpass the record held by 'True Lies,' its performance is very close to that of 'Rumble in the Bronx.' Considering that the latter is an action comedy with Jackie Chan's strong appeal and enjoys special co-production status, '30 Days,' as a heartwarming comedy that is purely led by a mainland team and tells a mainland story, can be described as a milestone victory for achieving such results!"

"Wang Sheng, this young man in his early twenties, has already been crowned the undisputed 'King of Chinese New Year Films' and 'King of the Box Office' in mainland China, thanks to his keen market sense and outstanding production ability!"

Praises came like snowflakes.

(End of this chapter)