The entertainment industry: My 99 future timelines!

On November 1, 2007, "Love Announcement" officially premiered in theaters nationwide.

This time slot isn't considered top-tier.

With the lingering popularity of the controversial film "Lust, Caution," and two Hollywood revenue-sharing films and two domestic comedies also being released at the same time, the competition was fierce. However, the film's 22.3% screen share gave it a good starting position.

Unlike many directors, Li Xu did not make a "pilgrimage" to the cinema on the opening day.

He was so busy and tired lately that he slept all day at home, even though he was a light sleeper.

The next morning, Li Xu was awakened by the continuous vibration of his phone. It was a call from Wang Jing.

"Director Li! Are you awake?"

"Our film's opening day box office results are in: 890 million! The average occupancy rate was 51%! Especially in several first-tier cities, prime-time screenings were almost sold out!"

890 million!

When Li Xu heard the number Wang Jing utter, a weight was lifted from his heart.

Just by sounding it, the opening day box office figures don't seem very good; it didn't even make ten million on the first day.

But in 2007, this was definitely a brilliant start, far exceeding the original expectation of China Film Group Corporation for around 500 million yuan.

Most importantly, the overall production cost of the movie "Love Announcement" was just over 1000 million yuan, and even with the marketing and distribution costs, it was less than 1200 million yuan.

Based on the current box office trend, as long as the word-of-mouth doesn't collapse, the film should have no problem recouping its costs within a week.

After that, it's pure profit!

In addition, the average occupancy rate of 51% is an extremely good figure in a regular release period that is not a holiday or a blockbuster special effects film. This means that major cinemas will definitely increase the number of screenings for "Love Announcement" the next day, and the box office figures for tomorrow will likely be even higher.

"Just woke up? That's really good news! When this movie finishes its run, I'll suggest giving Producer Wang a bigger bonus!"

"However, the box office performance on the first day is a good start, but Producer Wang, you still need to keep an eye on it, especially the word-of-mouth for our film and its rating on Douban. Be careful not to let some unscrupulous colleagues give it bad reviews by paid trolls."

Li Xu spoke with delight and excitement.

"Okay, okay, I'll definitely keep a close eye on things from now on. Director Shen Ao is also keeping an eye on this matter. If this isn't done well, I'll pay with my head."

Upon hearing that he would receive a bonus, Wang Jing's tone immediately became even more excited, and he began to enthusiastically issue his pledge.

"Don't talk like that. What kind of talk is this, bringing your head to me? What use is your head to me? You could use the oil from your hair to cook! Let's just focus on our work and stop with this nonsense."

Shaking his head, Li Xu remained noncommittal regarding Wang Jing's excited pledge.

After hanging up the phone, Li Xu began receiving calls from China Film Group, Shen'ao Film Group, and even cinema chains for the next few hours.

Faced with the prospect of real financial gain, these people reacted swiftly, decisively increasing their promotional efforts and filming output.

Over the next few days.

With China Film Group continuing to invest heavily in promotion and distribution, the overall box office performance of "Love Announcement" surprised everyone in the domestic film and television industry.

This is completely different from the box office trend of typical movies.

After grossing 890 million on its opening day.

The next day, the screenings of "Love Announcement" increased to 26.5%, the occupancy rate remained at half, and the box office revenue for the day rose to 1062 million.

On the following Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, the daily box office of the movie "Love Announcement" was around 1300 million, and the screening rate increased directly to 31%.

Many cinemas temporarily adjusted their screening schedules, replacing some screenings of films with poor attendance with screenings of "Love Announcement".

In its first five days, "Love Announcement" grossed 5900 million yuan, not only easily breaking even but also making a killing!

This achievement has led to a continuous rise in the perception of Li Xu's status among people in the domestic film industry.

After all, compared to Ning Hao's "Crazy Stone" last year, Li Xu's work now is truly insane.

Not only that.

Meanwhile, discussions about the film are clearly increasing on both news and social media, with enthusiastic recommendations from fans everywhere.

Keywords such as "After watching 'Love Announcement,' I really want to fall in love," "Liu Yifei's acting skills," and "I cried while listening to 'The Things You Don't Know'" appeared frequently.

Amidst this overwhelmingly positive media sentiment, the occasional negative film reviews that surface are met with ridicule and rebuttal from netizens.

More film critics and media outlets, regardless of whether they acknowledge Li Xu's talent or not, have begun to publicly praise and endorse the film.

Many film critics have even begun to offer various interpretations of the reasons for the success of this low-to-medium budget romance film from different angles:

"A perfect fusion of music and narrative," "Liu Yifei's metamorphosis, showcasing her acting skills," "Li Xu: A rising director who uses romanticism to combat urban anxiety, with keen insight and fast-paced editing"...

The late-night bookstore in Beijing featured in the movie "Love Announcement" is now packed with people taking photos and checking in after watching the film.

at the same time.

Liu Yifei, who had only been a top-tier figure in the television industry and had never been able to truly step onto the big screen, also rose to prominence with this opportunity.

Many film directors who had previously been hesitant about her have now sent her script offers.

Commercial endorsements and brand offers poured in like snowflakes, many of which offered astonishing prices and generous terms.

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Given the astonishing performance of the film's box office.

Aside from participating in two well-known talk shows that could significantly increase the exposure of his films, Li Xu didn't seem to care much about the outside world's commotion.

Because Jing Tian had already sent them a contract for a film studio, or rather, a small film company.

This clause is extremely favorable to him:

He can hold shares not only as a director, screenwriter, and core creator, but also has veto power over the film projects he directs.

Jing Tian was responsible for capital operation, resource connection and administration (actually, Zhao Shanshan and others did the work).

As a signed artist and one of the partners, the specific percentage of shares Liu Yifei will receive in the film company will depend on further negotiations.

Shen Ao, on the other hand, was the company's first signed director.

After carefully studying and considering the contract, Li Xu, standing by the window of his studio, sent Jing Tian his reply agreeing to establish a film company together.

Soon, his phone vibrated. Jing Tian replied: "It looks like our movie will break 100 million without a doubt. I've looked at a few venues for the celebration party, I'll send them to your email."

"Also, when are you free? Besides talking about company details, I'd like to talk to you about that youthful love story called 'You Are the Apple of My Eye'—your 'Shen Jiayi'."

Seeing the words "Your Shen Jiayi" at the end of the text message, Li Xu's lips curled up slightly, and he quickly typed a reply: "Okay, Ms. Shen Jiayi, Ke Jingteng has prepared this story."

-

The box office figures for "Love Announcement" in its first week stopped at 8235 million.

After a weekend box office explosion, the film's box office curve finally began to decline at a normal pace on Monday and Tuesday.

However, both Li Xu and Liu Yifei and Jing Tian knew that this trend was inevitable.

Therefore, for the next week, the daily box office numbers for the movie "Love Announcement" continued to decline.

The exact figure is 102,347,850 yuan.

It skyrocketed to the top of the 2007 annual box office charts, becoming the biggest dark horse of the year, without exception.

The media was in an uproar.

"Li Xu, the youngest director in the 100 million yuan club!"

"Is a fourth top-tier director about to emerge in China, following Zhang Yimou, Chen Kaige, and Feng Xiaogang?"

"A box office miracle in 2007!"

"Liu Yifei makes a triumphant return," "A new benchmark for musical romance films"...

All sorts of praise were lavishly bestowed upon Li Xu and Liu Yifei by these media outlets and netizens.

Domestic film and television giants such as Huayi Brothers, Bonhams, and Enlight Media are also getting restless.

One after another, people extended olive branches to Li Xu through their own channels. Some wanted to poach Li Xu directly, while others wanted to invest in his next movie, with each offer more generous than the last.

Even some TV stations that had previously been indifferent to "Love Announcement" after it won the Busan New Currents Award began to actively discuss with Lee Wook about purchasing the TV broadcasting rights for the film.

At the general public level, the impact of "Love Announcement" has a longer tail effect.

The two songs from this movie, "The Things You Don't Know" and "Midnight Bookstore," have been consistently ranked in the top ten of various music charts and have become hits played everywhere.

Liu Yifei's outfits and scenes in the movie have become topics of discussion.

"Taking someone you like to see 'Love Announcement'" has become one of the most popular date options at the end of the year.

Late-night bookstores, a dating option and location that few people would have chosen before, have begun to be favored by many artistic young people.

Another half month passed.

By December 5th, "Love Announcement," whose daily box office had dwindled to around 500,000 yuan, was finally pulled from theaters, with its final box office totaling 1.37 million yuan.

This is a number that no one, not even the most optimistic forecasters, could have imagined before the official release of the movie "Love Announcement".

An investment of 1200 million (including marketing and promotion).

As a result, the film grossed 1.37 million yuan at the mainland box office and 2100 million yuan in overseas copyright sales. With some product placements and subsequent revenue, this movie was simply a huge money-printing machine, a textbook example of a low-budget, high-return film.

It's enough to make everyone who invested in this movie a fortune.

Liu Yifei's mother, Liu Xiaoli.

She was initially filled with anxiety during the filming of this movie.

Even after the film was completed and I saw the finished product, I still felt uneasy.

After winning the New Wave Award overseas, I gradually became excited.

But now, her words are full of pride and gratitude and praise for Li Xu. She has also made several phone calls to Li Xu recently to congratulate him and maintain their relationship.

She even took the initiative to cook some home-style dishes for Li Xu when he was too busy to eat, and asked Liu Yifei to deliver them to him.

This made Li Xu sigh, realizing that only by being sufficiently radiant and shining can one inspire goodwill in others.

In the extremely realistic film and television industry, only those with high status can see good people everywhere they look; otherwise, they can only see one cold backside after another.

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The celebration party for "Love Announcement".

Under Jing Tian's arrangement, the venue was chosen to be a stylish private club in Beijing, understated yet luxurious.

In addition to the film's creators, core staff, and investors (representatives from China Film Group and coal tycoon Mr. Qian), the invitees also included representatives from the distribution company, several important theater managers, and a few media friends with close ties.

That evening, the city was ablaze with lights, and the air was filled with the fragrance of fine clothes and the elegance of women.

Dressed in a well-tailored suit and holding a glass of champagne, Li Xu, flanked by Jing Tian and Liu Yifei, immediately became the center of attention, receiving congratulations from all sides.

Coal mine owner Mr. Qian, his belly protruding and face ruddy, exclaimed, "Director Li, Brother Li! My eyes, honed in the coal mines, are spot on! I knew you were a talent from the start!"

"Miss Jing asked me to invest five million with you back then, but unfortunately you didn't use that much and even returned two million to me. I, Old Qian, really lost out!"

"Even so, this three million investment is still the wisest decision I've made in recent years! Next time you have a project, you absolutely have to include me. No need to read the script, just tell me what to do, and I'll send the money!"

Mr. Qian's loud voice drew good-natured laughter from those around him.

Upon hearing what Boss Qian was saying, Li Xu glanced at Jing Tian beside him. Only then did he realize that this young lady had been involved in Boss Qian's earlier offer to increase the investment from 300 million to 500 million.

He felt Li Xu's gaze.

Jing Tian didn't back down, only giving him a smug look before smiling slightly.

The two have already reached such a point in their collaboration that subtle romantic feelings have begun to develop.

If Boss Qian brings this up now, it won't be a problem; on the contrary, it will only accelerate the progress of their relationship.

Liu Yifei watched silently from the side, her eyes sweeping over Jing Tian and Li Xu without saying a word, but she took a step closer to Li Xu.

Li Xu did not notice Liu Yifei's subtle little action.

After clinking glasses with Mr. Qian, he didn't exchange many pleasantries. Instead, he greeted representatives from China Film Group and various cinema chains, trying to build relationships.

The director's talent is undeniable.

Personal relationships are a unique aspect of Chinese society, and no one can avoid them.

After a victory celebration banquet ended.

Shen Ao had drunk a bit too much. He put his arm around Wang Jing's shoulder and loudly recounted the funny things that happened during filming. Finally, with red eyes, he threw a drunken tantrum at Li Xu and shouted, "Brother Xu, I used to call you my junior, but from now on I think I should call you brother! I'll work with you, it'll be awesome!"

"I'm only a junior, not even graduated yet, and I've already achieved so much, far surpassing all the graduating seniors. All the credit goes to you! From now on, if you tell me to go east, I'll never go west; if you tell me to beat a dog, I'll never chase a chicken!"

Upon hearing Shen Ao's words, Liu Yifei and Jing Tian, ​​who were standing nearby, couldn't help but burst into laughter, covering their mouths and giggling, completely losing their goddess demeanor.

Seeing Shen Ao in this state, Li Xu shook his head, smiled, patted him on the shoulder, and didn't say anything more.

He also values ​​this senior highly, considering him a good candidate for a standard assistant position and a good director in the future.