Best Director in Literature Department of Huayu

Chapter 115 Beijing Film Academy Twin Stars

July 3, morning, Fox headquarters.

If the $1060 million on the first day could only be considered a surprise, then the $3450 million opening weekend performance was enough to be described as stunning.

The phone on the floor where the distribution department is located hasn't stopped ringing since morning. "The Devil Wears Prada" grossed $3450 million in its opening weekend in North America and $6800 million worldwide in its opening weekend.

The film cost $3500 million to make, and most of the cost was recouped in just one weekend.

The latest market analysis scrolled continuously on the large screen in the conference room, and an analyst was giving a report: "Based on the current decline model, the final North American box office estimate has been revised upward from the original $80 million to over $120 million. The global box office is conservatively estimated to exceed $250 million, with a chance to reach $300 million."

This time, even Elizabeth, who was in the front row of the conference room, couldn't help but smile.

What does three hundred million dollars mean?

This means that the film will ultimately generate far more profit for Fox than expected, that Fox will not have to worry about its low-budget annual report this year, and that its position is as solid as a rock.

Meanwhile, North American media have completely changed their tone.

USA Today: "The most surprising thing this summer wasn't Superman flying into the sky, but a young director from China who has won over American women."

Entertainment Weekly: "Meryl Streep may have already secured her a nomination for Best Actress at next year's Oscars."

The Hollywood Reporter: "After Little Miss Sunshine, Hollywood has finally found a true surprise-making machine again."

Fox's internal celebration did not last long.

For the Hollywood Big Six, the success of a film is certainly cause for celebration, but what really matters is the box office performance in the following weeks.

For Fox, the battle in North America is already decided. The long and drawn-out promotional campaign across all states in the US and major overseas markets no longer requires the director to make a fuss about being present.

With the distribution team's coordination, the upcoming promotional trip will be carried out by the two lead actresses in two separate groups. Meryl Streep will lead one team to sweep across the American West Coast and major talk shows, while Anne Hathaway will lead another team to Europe to complete the remaining on-site promotions.

As for Lin Ruiyang, with the film's official release, he, the director, became the most idle person in the entire crew. Most of the major promotional activities had already been completed; now all he needed to do was wait for the box office numbers to keep climbing.

Lin Ruiyang finally has some rare free time, but the domestic film industry is far from idle.

Since its release on Friday, June 30, "The Devil Wears Prada" has grossed over 6 million yuan in the Chinese market in just three days.

Interestingly, this incredibly crazy weekend saw more than just "The Queen" blooming alone in the mainland film market.

In the lower-tier cinemas of major and medium-sized cities across the country, another low-budget domestic film, also released on June 30, is growing wildly in the cracks of the market, riding the wave of popularity of "The Queen".

In Yanjing, in an underground workshop crammed with instant noodle containers and cheap cigarette smoke.

Exhausted, Ning Hao was squatting on a chair, staring intently at the constantly refreshing computer screen.

The ashtray on the table was overflowing with cigarette butts, which gave Yue Xiaojun a headache.

"Can you please stop manipulating the data? The publishing company will only be compiling the statistics this afternoon."

Ning Hao didn't even look up: "I know."

Then keep refreshing.

Yue Xiaojun was speechless. They already knew, yet they were still scrolling through the game...

It's been three days since "Crazy Stone" was released, but nobody knows for sure how it will turn out.

The film was made on a shoestring budget, with a total investment of less than three million. The most expensive actor in the entire crew was Liu Hua, while Huang Bo wasn't even considered an actor at the time.

To put it bluntly, this cast wouldn't even make a splash in the summer blockbuster season. The only redeeming quality is that the producer is Andy Lau.

The problem is that no matter how big Andy Lau is, audiences won't pay for tickets just because he's a producer.

Just then, the phone rang.

Ning Hao suddenly grabbed it: "Feed?"

The voice of the distribution staff came from the other end of the phone: "They're out."

Ning Hao's heart tightened immediately: "How much?"

"Two million in its opening weekend."

Ning Hao paused for two seconds, then asked, "How much?"

Two million.

"6

Holy crap!

The entire office erupted in chaos. Yue Xiaojun jumped to his feet, asking, "Really?"

"real!"

The voice on the other end of the phone was excited: "Moreover, the market reputation is particularly good, and many cinemas have already voluntarily applied to increase the number of screenings."

*Smack!* Ning Hao slammed his hand on the table, nearly sending the ashtray flying.

"I did it! I did it!"

However, after the online reports surfaced, he took a deep drag on his cigarette, exhaled a thick cloud of smoke, and looked at the headline on the front page that "The Devil Wears Prada" had grossed 550 million RMB in its global opening week. He couldn't help but laugh and curse self-deprecatingly: "Damn it, this is really killing us. We're spending three million RMB digging through rocks in a mountain city's toilets, and he goes straight to New York and changes into a Western woman's dress before he even graduates. One stomp, and that's 550 million! My rock was almost crushed into pieces by his high heels."

Despite the criticism, Ning Hao's eyes showed no sign of dejection. No matter what, they were all from the Beijing Film Academy, and it was unlikely that they would develop any animosity after never having met.

Online discussions about "Crazy Stone" have also begun to spread rapidly: "It's fucking hilarious."

"Bao Shihong is simply a genius."

"Huang Bo's dark skin is amazing."

"Chinese films have finally learned how to tell a story."

Who says low-budget movies can't be good?

"The biggest dark horse of the year is destined to be here."

A popular post on Baidu Tieba also appeared: "The two most surprising movies of the year".

First place: The Devil Wears Prada

Second place: Crazy Stone

Someone replied below: "One conquers overseas markets, the other saves domestic comedies."

In just a few hours, it received over a thousand likes.

However, just as the industry was buzzing about Stone's comeback, Han Sanping also saw the data.

In his view, the importance of "Stone" and "The Queen" is not much different.

The latter proves that Chinese directors are now capable of competing in the global market, while the former proves that the domestic market has finally begun to nurture its own new forces.

Thinking of this, Han Sanping suddenly smiled: "Interesting."

The head of the distribution department next to him thought he had misheard: "Chairman Han?"

"Have you noticed that these two films have something in common?"

"What do they have in common?"

"They don't resemble mainstream domestic films today."

"People used to say that the market was immature and that audiences couldn't understand new things. Now it seems that it's not that the audience doesn't understand, but that these filmmakers haven't produced anything good."

After he finished speaking, he looked at the box office report again. "The Devil Wears Prada" had grossed over 20 million in three days, showing an extremely healthy trend.

Although "Crazy Stone" is far smaller in scale, as long as theaters are willing to give it screenings, its staying power is often astonishing.

"Notify the theaters to add some more screenings for 'Stone'."

The person in charge was somewhat surprised: "Now?"

"Now, if we don't give these kinds of movies a boost, who will be willing to seriously make low-budget films in the future?"

Meanwhile, the campus forum at Beijing Film Academy became incredibly lively.

"The Devil Wears Prada" was a huge hit in North America, while "Crazy Stone" made a comeback in China, with both films almost simultaneously dominating the homepage.

A student posted: "I suddenly realized something."

"The two most popular directors right now."

"One is currently studying literature at Beijing Film Academy, and the other graduated from cinematography at Beijing Film Academy."

Someone immediately replied: "The directing department strongly condemns this."

"I suggest the directing department seriously reflect on this. The literature department is training directors, the cinematography department is training directors, so what is the directing department training?"

Meanwhile, inside the Beijing Film Academy's office building, the dean and department heads had been on the phone almost non-stop since morning.

In the conference room, Principal Zhang Huijun looked at the documents in his hand, unable to suppress the smile on his face.

"US$68 million globally in the first week, and US$34.5 million in North America."

"Excellent, very good."

Many teachers nearby also had complicated expressions. A year ago, who would have thought that this literature student would go to Hollywood to make a movie? What's even more unexpected is that he actually made it.

The principal put down the documents and glanced at everyone: "Incorporate this case study into this year's student recruitment campaign, especially for the literature department. Tell students that screenwriters can also become directors, and literature can reach the international market."

Sitting next to him, Liu Yibing was grinning from ear to ear. In previous years, the directing and cinematography departments were always the most prominent at the conference.

The Literature Department? Most of the time, it's just a logistical unit that supplies screenwriters to the Directing Department.

This year, fortunes have turned around, and Lin Ruiyang has managed to get his literature department's nameplate displayed in Hollywood.

Just then, Mu Deyuan, the head of the photography department, suddenly chimed in: "Principal, if we're going to promote something, let's not just focus on the literature department. Our photography department also produced a Ning Hao, you know."

A burst of laughter immediately filled the conference room.

"Oh right, I almost forgot about that."

A teacher nearby joked with a smile, "Looks like our directing department is under a lot of pressure this year."

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone in the conference room quickly joined in the banter, exchanging lighthearted banter and indulging in some lighthearted banter. After all, the directing department receives the most funding throughout the year.

Tian Zhuangzhuang looked helpless: "Don't just target the directing department. Strictly speaking, these two are both outliers."

Zhang Huijun waved his hand and said, "Well, this just shows that film education shouldn't be too rigid. Cinematography can train directors, literature can train directors, which means that film is a comprehensive art form."

, 7

After the meeting, these words were quickly spread by some teachers as a topic of conversation.

Industry media also keenly noticed this phenomenon. The Beijing Youth Daily quickly published a report: "Beijing Film Academy's Twin Stars: One Conquers the World, the Other Stirs Up the Domestic Film Market."