New Century Anime Warrior

Chapter 110 He's got a really big heart.

Perhaps it's because Si Hua is now very famous in the industry.

The news of his return to China spread without warning.

Not only did leaders from the official cultural sector come to visit and offer their congratulations, but CEOs from major entertainment companies also extended formal invitations to meet with them.

Even some large investment and financing institutions sent letters of inquiry to Sihua through various channels, asking whether he needed venture capital funding.

"These people are truly incredibly resourceful."

Si Hua toyed with the various fancy business cards and invitations in his hand, and teased Lin Xiaoxia, who had come to report on her work.

"There's no way around it. With Frozen's phenomenal success, how could these capitalist wolves possibly ignore such a lucrative opportunity?"

"And this piece of fat is so green and naive, it looks like it's easy to fool."

"Xia-jie, you should probably spend less time with Wanqiu-jie."

Si Hua hesitated for a moment, then suddenly remembered that Lin Xiaxia was still the executive planner of the game team.

He quickly added, "Even if you have to follow her, don't try to imitate her way of talking."

The box office results for Frozen's opening weekend were released a few days ago.

$1.35 million in North America in its first weekend, $1.62 million in Europe and the Americas excluding Asia, and $2.97 million globally.

This is an achievement that lacks a significant portion of the Asian market!

It has taken a clear lead over all animation categories this year, and its reputation continues to grow.

According to some media reports, the family audience of "Frozen" even exceeded 70%, truly appealing to men, women, young and old, and has been listed as a super blockbuster family-friendly movie.

"By the way, Xia-jie, when will the opening weekend box office figures for Frozen be released?"

"Probably tonight or tomorrow." Lin Xiaxia wasn't entirely sure either.

Because Si Hua is currently in seclusion studying for the make-up exams at the start of the new semester, some matters that require his attention have been temporarily handled by Lin Xiaoxia.

"In addition, Chairman Takayuki Matsutani, representing his colleagues in the Japanese film and television industry, consulted us about the possibility of releasing 'Perfect Blue' ahead of schedule."

"Ha, as expected of an old-fashioned capitalist country, their sense of smell is really sharp."

"After all, '5 Centimeters Per Second' had a pretty good reputation and market performance in Japan."

"Furthermore, you also said that 'Perfect Blue' is an R15 film, which basically means that you are abandoning the domestic market and choosing to release it in Japan first."

"Some of them have been eyeing this for a long time."

"It's just that most people are arrogantly watching and waiting for us to come to them and beg us."

Si Hua remained noncommittal, but still said, "Let's leave them hanging for now. We're not short of money. We'll talk about it after Frozen's opening weekend results in North America come out."

"The balance of power will shift then, and they will have their day of reckoning."

While no official release date has been announced for "Perfect Blue," the team has indeed discussed the possibility of a late August release.

As things stand, August is no longer a suitable time.

Because we also need to consider the influence of "Frozen," which, like other works bearing the Si Hua brand, will be affected to varying degrees regardless of when it is released.

Meanwhile, the ratings for Frozen have also been released, reflecting its current reputation.

The Rotten Tomatoes score jumped to 96% freshness immediately, and the 1MDB score also jumped to 9.0.

This is a sign of a double harvest in both reputation and market.

High ratings can also pique the curiosity of more people, encouraging them to watch the movie and find out more.

Although the score may slowly decrease over time, it is still enough to make those regions that have not yet opened the film eagerly await its release.

The internet, especially in the three East Asian countries, has been buzzing with excitement.

The Japanese side is eager to capitalize on the gap before "Frozen" opens in Asia and use "Perfect Blue" to grab a share of the box office benefits from Siwagao's popularity.

Otherwise, it would have to wait until "Frozen" finished its theatrical run before it could be released, which carries the risk of being used for comparison and disparagement. If its quality is indeed inferior to "Frozen," it might flop.

Moreover, the time lost in between will also be factored into the cost, and islanders cannot afford such losses.

"By the way, has the domestic release date been set?"

Si Hua clearly asked about Frozen.

Lin Xiaxia replied without hesitation, "It's most likely the first day of National Day. I heard that Disney is confirming the details of its import with China Film Group and will make an official announcement soon."

Si Hua nodded. "What about Japan and South Korea? Any news?"

"I'm not sure. The timing for the entire Asian market hasn't been officially announced yet. They're probably still discussing the details, but it should be around the same time."

Si Hua is somewhat disappointed that it couldn't be released simultaneously worldwide this time.

But there was nothing they could do; just a few months ago, Frozen was a project whose fate was uncertain.

Naturally, there wasn't enough time for the marketing team to discuss a simultaneous global release.

"Then let's ignore that and wait for the first week's box office results." Si Hua casually put down the invitation in his hand. "Then tell that old bastard Matsutani to prepare to send someone to discuss distribution."

"Hmph, these deer have some nerve!"

Matsutani Takayuki launched into a tirade of abuse at Sasaki Takashi.

However, he wasn't scolding the disciple in front of him, but rather Toho Films.

A few months ago, when he learned that Si Hua was involved in the remake of "Frozen", he conveyed to Toho Pictures his attitude of wanting to complete the import of "Perfect Blue" as soon as possible, in his capacity as the chairman of the Japan Film Industry Promotion Organization and the chairman of Teka Productions.

The other party said that, judging from the script of this R15 work submitted to the Japanese Film Ethics Committee, it should be a work with the core themes of the Japanese idol industry ecosystem, Japanese social psychology, and East Asian spiritual dilemmas.

The rating system also includes elements such as psychological thriller and the dark side of the industry. Such themes are not only niche but also have extremely high cultural barriers.

"So, teacher, Toho believes that 'Perfect Blue' has absolutely no commercial potential globally, except perhaps in niche art-house theaters in Japan?"

"That conclusion is too hasty."

Takashi Sasaki looked puzzled.

Although he knew that Toho Pictures, because it controlled the top theater chains in Japan, had always held a condescending attitude towards films from other East Asian countries.

But Si Hua had already joined Disney at that time.

Given the nature of their island nation elites, at that time Si Hua was no longer a person from a neighboring country in a cultural wasteland, but rather a representative of his stepfather, America.

"These bastards!"

Matsutani Takayuki snorted again: "They don't even feel the need to take the initiative to contact Si-kun to discuss cooperation."

They even confidently asserted that even if such films were introduced, they would only be low-budget art films used as a trial, not worth the industry's resources, and therefore there was no need to lower themselves to engage with them.

97

"They're a bunch of useless trash."

"They only see immediate, petty gains and have no sense of the bigger picture!"

When Sasaki Takashi heard his teacher's revelations, he was speechless.

This is like taking an open-book exam where you can bring your own books, but Toho Pictures tore up their textbooks as soon as they entered the exam room.

"So now—was that an urgent call from Toho Pictures?"

Sasaki Takashi asked about the phone call that had just made Matsutani Takayuki so furious.

"It's all because Si Jun's 'Frozen' slapped them in the face, now they're panicking."

Matsutani Takayuki pressed his forehead in annoyance, another day of being amused and exasperated by his incompetent teammate.

"The total box office figures for the first week have just been released, and the company has raked in nearly $3 million worldwide."

hiss!

Takashi Sasaki gasped.

The first week's figure was nearly 300 million US dollars, which translates to 353 billion Japanese yen.

This figure is enough to shatter the established perceptions of the island nation's film industry and completely overturn all previous prejudices.

Why?

According to the Film Industry Association's estimate last year, Japan's total box office revenue for the entire year was only close to 200 billion yen.

With just one film, "Frozen," Si Hua achieved nearly 18% of the island nation's total annual box office in its opening week.

This is only the box office for the first week, which means that Si Hua has already demonstrated the value of global box office dominance.

This is something that the animation industry and even the entire film industry in Japan have never seen before.

A person like that could easily make some weird short film and send it to the world.

If it can also possess some artistic value, it could even challenge film festivals worldwide and art-house cinemas in Europe and America.

Moreover, he also has Disney's streaming service behind him, which is the resource that Matsutani Takayuki values ​​most.

This could be the last savior for the island nation's animation and film industry under the onslaught of Netflix.

"Oh, what an idiot! If only I had known then what I know now."

Thinking of this, Takashi Sasaki also started cursing along with his teacher.

"Forget it, let's find a way to make up for it—Chong, notify the people on the list that we're going to the capital."

"Hi!"