This director is so innocent.

Chapter 183 Breaking Records and Pandora's Box

"What are you talking about?"

"Let's talk about your box office expectations. How much of that is true or false?" Zhou Xun replied in her husky voice.

Upon hearing this, Su Jin smiled slightly and said, "Don't worry about whether it's true or not, just focus on your promotional tour, and you'll know in a few days."

There will be two premieres of "Painted Skin" in Shanghai and Guangzhou on the next two days, but these two premieres will be relatively small.

Jane Zhang, who sang the movie's theme song "Painting Heart," will also be there.

"Painting Heart" is a collaboration between renowned Japanese composer Ikuro Fujiwara and Hong Kong lyricist Chan Siu-kei. The original piece is "Asian Road," a piano composition by Ikuro Fujiwara, written in 2003.

To coincide with the film's release, Mai Kuraki rewrote the lyrics and renamed the song "Idiot".

By evening, major media outlets had already released reports on the premiere of "Painted Skin".

"At the premiere of 'Painted Skin,' the creators did not want to attract audiences with pornography."

"6

"At the global premiere of 'Painted Skin,' the passionate scene between Fan Bingbing and Chen Kun became the focus."

"At the premiere of 'Painted Skin' at the Great Hall of the People, Zhou Xun admitted that she used a body double for her nude scenes."

At the global premiere of "Painted Skin," Su Jin made a bold statement, saying that she would reclaim the box office champion title.

The invited film critics shared their opinions on the film without giving away any spoilers.

"Zhou Xun's performance was as good as ever! There was nothing wrong with it, but there were no surprises either. She probably can't break through her own limits."

When she played Du Xinyu and Princess Taiping back then, I was completely impressed and thought she would never age.

It's not just that she looks young, but more importantly, her eyes—how can they still be so clear at her age?

"I always thought that Fan Bingbing would be overshadowed by Zhou Xun's acting skills when they competed on the same stage, but I didn't expect her to be so good this time."

Especially when she was helplessly running through the streets after being poisoned by the demon, and finally calmly facing death amidst the rotten vegetable leaves thrown at her by the crowd, and when she calmly told Chen Kun, with her white hair and blood streaming from her eyes, that she deserved to die, oh my heart!

"Huang Xiaoming's acting has improved! He's finally not just giving that wicked smile anymore. Chen Kun's action scenes are also quite good."

"Painted Skin" was released nationwide on September 26.

It will be released simultaneously in Korea, Hong Kong, and Southeast Asian countries.

Taiwan's film will be released in December, and Japan's film release has also been postponed to December due to its domestic film protection law.

On the first day, 70% of the screenings were scheduled, with 1500 copies made from film and digital prints.

"Painted Skin" lived up to its screening schedule, taking in 1907 million yuan at the box office on its opening day.

It significantly surpassed the opening day box office records of 1600 million for "The Forbidden Kingdom" and 1500 million for "Assembly".

Seeing the phenomenal success of "Painted Skin," major cinema managers immediately increased its screenings overnight, reaching 80%.

"Painted Skin" will be shown exclusively during prime time.

The following day marked the weekend, and the box office exploded, shocking everyone and raking in 2636 million.

On the third day, the box office rose again, almost breaking 3000 million – reaching 2943 million.

It grossed 7486 million in the first three days of the weekend, aiming for 200 million.

The next two days were working days, but the box office of "Painted Skin" remained strong, staying at around 2500 million.

It grossed 1.2 million yuan in its first five days of release.

Now, many people feel that breaking Titanic's box office record of 3.6 million yuan is not impossible.

It's worth noting that "Painted Skin" received far better reviews than "Red Cliff".

With a Douban rating of 7.4, it's a decent rating for a commercial film, with mostly positive reviews.

"It's so good, I highly recommend it."

"A god-tier cast, Zhou Xun's acting is so spirited, and the song 'Painting Heart' is so beautiful."

"The actor who looks most like a demon in this film is actually Chen Kun, who plays Wang Sheng."

"In this movie, I saw Zhou Xun's acting skills, portraying a heart-wrenching love story. 'A man's infatuation can be escaped, but a woman's cannot.' Love is poison for women, but honey for men."

"The female ghost in this film is a far cry from the ugly ghosts of the past. She is beautiful, innocent, charming, and exudes a captivating, almost demonic aura. She's not a ghost at all; she's a goddess."

"Everyone is praising Zhou Xun's acting skills, but no one is praising Fan Bingbing's acting skills? The scene where the white-haired girl was misunderstood was absolutely brilliant."

"Indeed, Fan Bingbing's acting skills have really improved this time, and she is no longer as affected as before."

"Guys, it's a commercial film, why are you discussing acting? Look at the looks! I love Asa's little fox so much, it's so cute."

"You like people who rip out people's hearts; your values ​​really do follow your looks."

"It's a movie, not reality. I like it, so what?"

On the Korean side, CJ really values ​​"Painted Skin".

Previously, when "Painted Skin" held its premiere at the National Hall of the Korean People's Court, a 50-person media interview and production team was organized.

This includes four well-known Korean media outlets, covering various media such as print, online, and television.

This marks the first time that Korean media has promoted a Chinese-language film on such a large scale. "Painted Skin" is practically a household name in Korea.

There are 500 theaters showing the film, which is quite a lot; even the film "Red Cliff" only has 600 theaters.

However, it was unlucky and ran into Ruolan's "The Dark Knight" and was brutally defeated.

"Painted Skin" has attracted over 70 viewers in five days since its release in Korea, firmly holding the top spot at the box office.

The box office was 46 billion, which is equivalent to 2478 million yuan.

After recouping its investment in just five days, CJ's Jim Casey was ecstatic and was already looking forward to the release of "Ip Man".

In Hong Kong Island, the box office performance was poor, with a first-day gross of HK$870,000 and less than HK$4 million in five days.

"Connected," which premiered on the 25th, didn't do well at the box office in Hong Kong either, grossing only HK$526 million in five days.

The box office performance in mainland China was even worse.

The number of copies sold did not reach 10 million in the first three days, only reaching 736 million.

In Southeast Asia, the film grossed $98 over five days, with Singapore accounting for one-third of the box office.

The web-based game "Painted Skin," launched by the game company, attracted three million registrations in five days.

The game company is called TiMi. I was too lazy to think of a name, so I just borrowed it. Anyway, TiMi Studio hasn't been released yet.

October 10st, the first day of National Day.

Some were traveling, some were watching movies, and quite a few were going on dates.

The box office for "Painted Skin" returned to 2700 million yuan, and the next day it rose by another million yuan, reaching 2848 million yuan.

On the third day, the Hollywood blockbuster "Journey to the Center of the Earth" was released, and the box office dropped somewhat, but it still grossed 2600 million.

It grossed over 200 million yuan in just eight days.

Everyone in the film industry was shocked; the speed at which "Painted Skin" broke 200 million was too fast.

With the support of big stars from Mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong, "Red Cliff Part I," with an investment of 80 million US dollars, grossed over 200 million yuan in just 11 days.

With a big-name director, big stars, and huge audience, "Curse of the Golden Flower," a film with an investment of 45 million US dollars, grossed over 200 million yuan in just 15 days.

The government sponsored the entire event, and the production of "Assembly," which cost 80 million yuan in RMB, grossed over 200 million yuan in just 23 days.

This shows just how astonishing it was that "Painted Skin" grossed over 200 million yuan in eight days, leaving many filmmakers speechless.

After the initial shock, they were all studying how "Painted Skin" broke 200 million in box office revenue so quickly.

In terms of lineup, Zhou Xun, Fan Bingbing, Chen Kun, and Huang Xiaoming combined are no match for Fa Zai alone.

The plot is passable, with no major flaws, but it also doesn't have many strengths; it's just a story about a mistress rising to power!

In terms of special effects, the only commendable part is the scene where Zhou Xun tears off her mask; the rest are just average.

The martial arts moves were passable, nothing particularly outstanding, but Yang Mi's magic and hand seals were quite impressive.

In terms of publicity, scandals, billing order, theme songs, and hype surrounding New Oriental Magic are all acceptable, but they are not the key factors.

Finally, they discovered that "Painted Skin" was able to break 200 million in box office revenue so quickly because of ticket subsidies.

Yu Dong, Xiao Wang, Wang Changtian, and other heads of major film and television companies remained silent as they looked at the information they had collected.

According to the above, Su Jin spent 4000 million yuan on ticket subsidies, resulting in a large number of movie tickets priced at 19.9 yuan appearing online.

Movie tickets aren't cheap these days. In first- and second-tier cities, tickets in downtown shopping malls cost between 50 and 60 yuan.

In more remote areas, the ticket price is between 30 and 40 yuan.

In other words, unless it's a half-price day on Tuesday, movie tickets are almost never less than 30 yuan each.

What does a 4000 million ticket subsidy mean?

If a movie ticket originally costs 40 yuan and is subsidized by 20 yuan, that means 200 million movie tickets were subsidized, which represents 200 million moviegoers.

Two million people flocking to the cinema to watch a movie in its early stages of release will inevitably create a huge buzz for the film.

Others see that so many people are watching this movie, so it must be really good, and then they get hooked too.

Jianmu Ticketing gained widespread recognition with a subsidy of 4000 million yuan, attracting over 500 million registered users.

Yu Dong, Wang Changtian, and Xiao Wang have all risen to their current positions, so they are certainly not simple-minded people.

They saw the enormous potential of online ticketing websites, believing that if they invested heavily, they could even influence how theaters schedule movies.

Therefore, the previously neglected online box office market has also ushered in an industry boom.

Enlight Media made a high-profile entry into the market, spending 20 million yuan to acquire Gewara, a platform for artsy young people that was just established in Shanghai this year.

Following that, Huayi announced a joint venture with Dadi Cinemas, investing 1000 million yuan to acquire a 40% stake in "Hapiao.com".

Bona, seeing that both online ticketing platforms had ceased operations, wanted to partner with Jianmu Ticketing, intending to invest 2000 million yuan to acquire a 30% stake.

But Su Jin didn't agree at all, and then turned around and partnered with Yida to develop a new ticketing website.

As for the three internet giants, BAT (Baidu, Alibaba, and Tencent), they did not enter the market.

They are not very interested in the entertainment industry now and are content to focus on their own businesses.

Su Jin was extremely pleased to see three companies entering the online ticketing market.

I don't know if opening the Pandora's box of "ticket subsidies" ahead of time was the right thing to do or the wrong thing.

Seeing how much "ticket subsidies" boost movie box office, they'll definitely spend money on future movie releases.

The publicity and promotion expenses will be at least 20 to 30 million yuan.

At the height of the online ticketing wars, "Lost in Hong Kong" spent nearly 100 million yuan on ticket subsidies, and "Legend of the Demon Cat" also spent nearly 100 million yuan.

Of course, you can choose not to spend money.

But if you don't spend money, who's going to watch your movie?

A movie ticket costs 30 or 41 yuan, but with the discounted price of 19.9 yuan, even a fool would know which one to choose.

Audiences aren't particularly fixated on watching a particular film; this only applies to a small minority.

People watch movies as a form of entertainment.

Actually, a movie ticket priced at 19.9 yuan is only average.

When the price drops really high, movie tickets are priced at 6.6, 8.8, or 9.9 yuan, cheaper than a cup of milk tea.

I originally intended to order the 9.9 yuan one, but after thinking about it carefully, I felt it wasn't necessary.

There's no one competing with him, so why sell it at such a low price!

19.9 yuan is enough to crush them.

To be fair, Wang Changtian has a really sharp eye and is incredibly decisive.

In the original timeline, Wang Changtian saw the potential of online ticketing.

In order to gain control of Maoyan, 23.83 billion yuan in cash and 23.99 billion yuan worth of Enlight Media stock were exchanged for 57% of Maoyan's shares.

4% equity.

It's strange that Huayi has suddenly decided to invest in HaPiao.com instead of getting into real estate.

Polybona is basically following the trend this time; since everyone else is doing it, they certainly can't fall behind.

With "Painted Skin," Wuershan became the sixth director, following Zhang Yimou, Feng Xiaogang, Chen Kexing, Wu Baige, and Su Jin, to have a film gross over 200 million yuan.

With box office revenue entering the 300 million era, directors with 100 million yuan in box office revenue are no longer considered very valuable; 200 million yuan in box office revenue is now the standard for a great director.

These past few days, Zhou Xun, Fan Xiaopang, Chen Kun, Huang Xiaoming, and the others have been extremely excited and full of energy, like they've been injected with chicken blood.

Breaking 200 million in eight days, this is on track to break the box office record of "Titanic".

Keep in mind that there are still four days of holiday in October. If we can get another 100 million yuan in box office revenue during those four days, then it's a sure thing.

When they become the lead actors in the movie, their salaries will definitely skyrocket, and they will be inundated with endorsement deals, commercial performances, and acting offers.

Don't even mention the future; they've already received calls from their agents, and quite a few male celebrities have been approached with offers for endorsements, commercial performances, and acting roles.

Yang Mi and Asahi's popularity soared thanks to their outstanding performances in "Painted Skin," officially entering the ranks of second-tier celebrities.

Asa's portrayal of the little fox was so adorable that even though the character wasn't great, it still garnered a lot of fans.

Zhao Liying gained some recognition because of her role as the maid Xiao Rou.

The film "Painted Skin" grossed over 200 million yuan, and several of the main creators also shared their thoughts on Weibo.

Han Sanping: "As a commercial film distribution company, there is no more exciting news than 'Painted Skin' grossing over 200 million yuan. The 200 million yuan box office is now history, and we will strive to create an even higher box office record."

Huang Jiaqiang: "The 200 million yuan box office we have achieved so far is an encouragement and a spur to all those who participated in and supported 'Painted Skin'."

I have only one wish now: that the creation and market of Chinese films continue to prosper, and that our next film will create another miracle.

Wuershan: "The success of 'Painted Skin' is something to be happy about, but I think one success doesn't mean anything. I will continue to work hard in the future!"

Zhou Xun: "Painted Skin has grossed 200 million! That's really fast! I'm still thinking about why this movie achieved such a high box office."

All I can say right now is that our lead director, Wuershan, and our collaborators, including Chen Kun and Fan Bingbing, have a unique chemistry that makes this film shine.

Fan Xiaopang: "Painted Skin' has surpassed 200 million yuan at the box office, I'm just overjoyed! As an actor, box office success is equivalent to gaining recognition from the audience."

Jane Zhang: "Congratulations! Congratulations! When I walked into the theater and watched the movie alone, I knew that the success of 'Painted Skin' was inevitable."

Huang Xiaoming, Chen Kun, Yang Mi, and Asa also shared their thoughts.