Chinese Entertainment: Directors Start with the Fairy Sister

Chapter 65: First-day box office results are in! Investment in "Painted Skin" secured!

The following day, Enlight Media contacted the media and released the data it had obtained from the relevant departments.

[Crazy Stone grossed 8.2 million yuan on its opening day, and its total box office is expected to exceed 100 million yuan!]

Many industry companies and filmmakers believe that "Stone" will do well at the box office.

But no one could say for sure how high it would go. Many people inside and outside the industry were watching, but no one expected that "Stone" would reach such a high level.

Eight million two hundred thousand!

The investment in "Seven Swords" was 140 million, which is about the same amount.

Even with Liu Yifei in the lead role and support from book lovers, "Those Years" only sold 8.6 million copies.

The stone can be this tall!

Zhao Yanxi even went to Douban to check the audience's comments. Douban has now updated its star rating and score functions.

"Stone" received a score of 8.6 on its first day. Although it will drop as more people rate it, this score is enough to express the fans' love for the film.

"The Chongqing dialect version is so down-to-earth, it's absolutely hilarious!"

"It's a different feeling, which is great and beautiful."

"That's how I swear, it sounds really friendly and satisfying."

"It's really quite good, a humorous yet profound work! Every character is very distinctive!"

"The first pee of 2002 came later than usual —"

"BWM, don't touch me! Did BMW pay Director Ning's fee?"

Zhao Yanxi laughed when she saw the last news item.

And believe it or not, this viewer was right; BMW really was one of the vendors who provided the trailers for "Stone".

If "Stone" grosses over 8000 million, BMW's sponsorship fee will be at the maximum—50, which is the highest sponsorship fee the company has received for these two films!

"Haozi, congratulations! You did it!"

"Haha, thank you, thank you~"

Even through the phone, I could imagine Ning Hao's beaming smile.

"You wouldn't believe it, my phone has been ringing off the hook all morning, all trying to get me to invest. I'm practically ready to change my number."

"Then congratulations! You won't have to worry about funding for your movies anymore."

"Hehehe, but I still want to thank you, Yanxi. If it weren't for you investing this money in me, I'd probably still be begging people to invest in me."

"No matter what happens to me in the future, you'll always be my mentor. If I ever need anything, just say the word. I might not have money, but I'll definitely be there if I need you!"

"Hahaha," Zhao Yanxi said with a laugh, "Stop being so mushy. Don't always think about ideals and literature. You've seen it yourself, the market only cares about box office revenue now."

Only box office success will earn you respect and investment. Once you've gained fame, secured your position, and made enough money, it's not too late to pursue your ideals and awards.

"you're right!"

The box office figures for mainland China are out; now we'll see what the Hong Kong and Taiwan results are.

The distribution of "Stone" in Hong Kong and Taiwan was once again handled by Ying Wong.

Zhao Yanxi hadn't thought about this before, because the audience for "Stone" wasn't very large. Not to mention Southeast Asia, sometimes even Hong Kong and Taiwan in mainland China might not be suitable.

Therefore, Zhao Yanxi only focused on the mainland at the time, because he knew that the film would not have a high box office in Hong Kong and Taiwan.

But since Ying Wong had this intention, they eventually handed it over to them, and Ying Wong bought the distribution rights for "Stone" in Hong Kong Island for HK$500 million.

The film's release in Hong Kong and Taiwan will be a few days later than in mainland China. As for promotion, the production team is powerless to do anything about it; the focus will definitely be on the mainland.

Zhao Yanxi understood Yang Shoucheng's meaning.

It's nothing more than investing in Jiang Wen's "The Sun Also Rises," an art film that was filmed, stopped, abandoned, and then resumed. It's said that Yinghuang has invested forty to fifty million yuan in it.

The reason Yinghuang was willing to persist was simply to show his attitude of "spending a fortune to buy a horse's bones".

Zhao Yanxi also fell for this. He did have quite a few films in mind, but due to their style and genre, they were indeed not suitable for filming in mainland China.

If you want to film on Hong Kong Island, the best way is to find a big shot in Hong Kong to work with; otherwise, there will inevitably be many twists and turns during the filming process.

More importantly, the company doesn't have enough production teams and directors to take on the filming of these scripts.

No matter how much Hong Kong Island has declined, it still has a richer pool of production teams and directors than the mainland.

Therefore, after Yinghuang's copyright fee was transferred, Zhao Yanxi also sent a message to Huo Wenxi.

Once he finishes his current work, he will go to Hong Kong Island to personally discuss film collaborations with Yang Shoucheng.

On the afternoon of the 2nd, Zhao Yanxi also enjoyed the treatment of a top-level big shot.

Dedicated driver, official car, chauffeured service to high-ranking officials – the benefits are top-notch.

"Mr. Han, you're being so polite, I'm a little uncomfortable with that."

"If you're not comfortable with it, just ask Yang Siwei to lower the price of 'Buried Alive.' He's asking for ten million right off the bat," Han Sanping complained.

"Sure," Zhao Yanxi said with a smile, "Let's give it a 20% discount, to make it an auspicious number, eight million eight hundred and eighty thousand?"

"I think 6.66 million sounds better!"

"Mr. Han, that's a film that won the Silver Bear at Berlin after all," Zhao Yanxi said helplessly. "Selling the copyright for too low a price will also affect the international price of my art films in the future."

Some things can't be hidden; China Film Group also releases financial reports every year.

"Alright, eight million it is. Judging from the reactions in Europe and America, I shouldn't lose money."

"Buried" has already been released in Europe and America, and no distributor has said they lost money buying it!

After casually finalizing the matter of "Buried Alive," Han Sanping finally got down to business.

"The person who asked me to make this appointment with you today is Chairman Yang Hongtao of Ningying Film Studio. He's here because of your film 'Painted Skin'."

"Huh?" Zhao Yanxi smiled and said, "President Han, with one more person, China Film's share will be reduced. This isn't something you'd normally do."

"Sigh, they're all brother departments. Chairman Yang has come knocking on our door, we can't just watch them close down," Han Sanping said helplessly.

Among all the state-owned enterprises, apart from China Film Group and Shanghai Film Group, which have benefited from geographical advantages and have enjoyed talent, economic, and policy dividends, they are still managing to make a living.

The rest, such as Xi'an Film Studio and Ningbo Film Studio, are now on the verge of bankruptcy.

As Han Sanping walked through the door, a figure greeted him warmly. The person was about forty years old, not very tall, and his slightly rounded figure made even a white shirt look rather simple and honest.

He extended his hand with a broad smile, his voice loud yet warmly appropriate: "President Han, Director Zhao, we've been waiting for you! Welcome, welcome!"

"Chairman Yang, General Manager Hong."

"Chairman Yang, General Manager Hong..."

Zhao Yanxi followed Han Sanping and called for servants. Hong Wei was also known as "Han Sanping" in Ningying, who was the vice chairman and general manager.

After eating, drinking, and exchanging pleasantries for over an hour, they finally got down to business.

"To be honest, it was when Director Zhao's company was scouting locations in Zhenbeibao that we learned you had 'Painted Skin' here."

That's why I asked General Manager Han to give a presentation on this project.

Yang Hongtao, with the straightforwardness of a man from Northwest China, spoke without reservation.

"We at Ningbo Film Studio can't offer many resources, but I can guarantee that as long as Director Zhao is willing to accept Ningbo Film Studio's investment, at least in terms of screenings in the Northwest, there will definitely be some policy support."

"Secondly, we at Ningying Film Studio can handle any obstacles encountered during filming in Ningxia!"

With Han Sanping involved, and given that the high cost of "Painted Skin" meant a low profit margin, Zhao Yanxi never intended to make money from this film; she only wanted to achieve high box office returns.

More supporters are a good thing for the box office.

Zhao Yanxi looked at Han Sanping, then at Yang Hongtao, and after thinking for a moment, said, "Chairman Yang, President Han, to be honest, Ye Ning from Wanda Cinemas also came to see me yesterday. They also want to sponsor a project."

"I've done the math. It's a total of 2000 million US dollars. I'll contribute 800 million, which is 40%, Wanda will contribute 15%, and how will Ningbo Film Group and China Film Group split the remaining 45%?"

"Then Ning Ying should take 15%, and Mr. Han, 30% shouldn't be a problem, right?"

"no problem!"

"Thank you, Director Zhao. I, Lao Hong, offer you a toast!"

Now that things were settled, the atmosphere became much more relaxed.

When discussing the filming locations for "Painted Skin," including not only the desolate deserts but also the scenery of Jiangnan, Yang Hongtao laughed and said, "It seems that Director Zhao still doesn't know much about our Ningxia province."

"Our region isn't just known for its vast deserts and lone plumes of smoke rising straight into the sky; it also boasts the reputation of being a 'Jiangnan beyond the Great Wall.' Any Jiangnan-like scenery you can find in Hengdian, we have it all in Ningxia!"

"Um?"

Zhao Yanxi hadn't expected this. He hadn't thought of this either, and the staff who went to Zhenbeibao to scout locations probably hadn't expected the name "Jiangnan beyond the Great Wall" either.

"I'll have to take a look when I have time. If Ning Province meets the requirements, it will save the film crew from having to travel back and forth!"

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