The director starts by learning from the abilities of renowned directors.

The next day.

The two founders of "North and South Brothers Culture Media Co., Ltd.", Chang Song and Xiao Yang, were invited to Magical Films.

After a brief conversation, Shen Qing felt that the two were indeed talented, truly passionate about the industry, and had a pioneering spirit, so he wanted to invite them to join his amazing visual effects team.

"We still want to do it ourselves first."

Chang Song said, "If Director Shen really thinks highly of us, why not invest in our company?"

"51, 51% of the shares."

Since they're investing, they're obviously aiming for controlling stake. Their company is barely able to pay its rent, so an valuation of 100 million is definitely an overpayment.

"make a deal."

Chang Song and Xiao Yang exchanged a glance and quickly made a decision. Investing in Shen Qing's company would not only bring in capital but also orders; the two of them would definitely benefit.

"We've been thinking about changing the company's name recently."

Chang Song added.

"Change it to what?"

"Tiangong Film" is named after the phrase "exquisite craftsmanship surpassing even the work of nature."

"A good name."

Shen Qing agreed. In the future, Magical Films will have two post-production visual effects companies: the wholly-owned Magical Visual Effects and the majority-owned Tiangong Pictures. Let's have an internal competition; whichever one develops better is fine.

……

A restaurant in Guangzhou.

Wang Chen, a sales representative from Enlight Media, hosted a dinner for Manager Yang of a cinema, with the aim of securing screenings of "Taken 2".

"It's too early to say."

Manager Yang said, "Liu Dehua's 'Brothers' will be released on September 13, and Jiang Wen's 'The Sun Also Rises' will be released on September 21. We need to wait for the box office performance of these two films before we can determine the screening schedule for 'Hurricane 2'."

"Of course."

Wang Chen said, "However, I estimate that the box office of these two films will only be average, while 'Hurricane 2' will most likely be a hit. There are definitely more people who know Andy Lau than people who know Shen Qing, but fame and popularity are two different things. Andy Lau's box office appeal is average. Jiang Wen's film this time is an art film, while Shen Qing is truly the hottest film in recent years."

Manager Yang nodded in agreement with Wang Chen's statement. He felt this deeply. Putting aside comparisons with Andy Lau, just comparing Shen Qing with Jackie Chan and Lee Lianjie, how many people know Shen Qing as many as the other two?

Not even close!

However, at this stage, Shen Qing's fans are undoubtedly the most active and the most willing to support their idol with real money.

Everyone knows that Jackie Chan and Lee Chung are connected, but that's precisely why being a fan of Shen Qing is the trendiest thing to do.

Is watching kung fu movies just about watching Jackie Chan and Li Lianjie?

Then you're definitely out of touch. We're all watching Shen Qing now!

You ask who Shen Qing is?

Don't you know? He's an expert fighter; he's the real deal!

Because not many people know Shen Qing, whoever can give a brief introduction to him or talk about his movies is more prestigious.

Manager Yang's daughter is still in junior high school, but she talks about Shen Qing all the time.

"We've allocated at least 65% of our cinema's nine screens to 'Hurricane 2,'" Manager Yang said. "By September 28, even though the box office peaks for 'Brothers' and 'The Sun Also Rises' have passed, we still need to reserve at least 15% of each of those screens, and the remaining 5% for other films."

"Seven out of nine theaters will screen 'Hurricane 2'," Wang Chen said. "Whichever of Andy Lau and Jiang Wen's movies has the highest attendance rate will get a theater slot, and the last theater will be used for movies with lower attendance rates and other films. This configuration will definitely maximize the use of the theater's resources."

"Shenqing is indeed very popular," Manager Yang said, "but with nearly 80% of the screenings, can 'Hurricane 2' really handle it?"

For a cinema with nine screens like this, if the scheduling of a blockbuster movie is mishandled on the day of its release, the loss could easily exceed 50,000 yuan in a single day, so cinema managers have to be cautious.

"Let's drink, let's drink."

Wang Chen didn't put any more pressure on the other party. Today was mainly about building rapport and getting a heads-up; the specific screening schedule would definitely be determined closer to the release date. Cinema managers would need to consider factors such as the film's promotional efforts and public discussion before finalizing the screening ratio.

However, having a drink and getting some fresh air beforehand is still quite necessary. China is a society that values ​​personal relationships, and cinema managers cannot completely ignore these factors when scheduling screenings, especially on the opening day.

This is also one of the advantages of Enlight Media's distribution: a nationwide ground promotion team that goes directly into cinemas to track screening data, supervise the distribution and use of materials, etc., unlike other distribution companies that only deal with theaters.

In most Chinese cinemas, the scheduling of screenings is still determined by the cinema managers.

The practice of Enlight Media's on-the-ground promotion team directly entering cinemas to track screening schedules is happening all over the country.

……

Starting from the end of August, China Film Group and Enlight Media, the distributors of "Taken 2", successively invited managers of major cinema chains and theaters across the country to preview the film.

In mid-September, Andy Lau's "Brothers" and Jiang Wen's "The Sun Also Rises" were released one after another. The former grossed 3 million yuan on its opening day and 11 million yuan in its opening weekend; the latter only grossed 6.5 million yuan in its opening weekend and also caused considerable controversy, with most viewers saying they did not understand it.

Large-scale publicity has already begun, and Shen Qing took some time to go to China Film Group to find out the latest number of copies of "Hurricane 2".

"Its reputation isn't as good as the first one."

Han Sanping said, "Nearly half of the theater managers felt that it wasn't as amazing as the first movie. The fight scenes are more refined, and the filming techniques are more skillful. Fan Bingbing's journey from being rescued to rescuing her husband, using grenades to set distances, and delivering weapons through the exhaust vent are indeed surprising, but it doesn't seem as shocking as the scene where she was kidnapped from under the bed in the first movie."

"Then the copy?"

Shen Qing was somewhat unsure of himself, because the views of these theater managers were exactly the same as his own.

"The copying record has been broken."

Han Sanping said, "As of now, we have 514 film prints and 377 digital prints. We will definitely surpass 900 prints in total, and we even have the opportunity to become the first film to surpass 1000 prints in total."

"what?"

Shen Qing was taken aback: "Wasn't it less amazing than the first one?"

"Hahaha."

Han Sanping laughed and said, "Although there were quite a few movies released in September and October this year, there weren't any big ones. Andy Lau's 'Brothers' performed moderately at the box office, and by the time 'Hurricane 2' is released, it will probably have little momentum left; 'The Sun Also Rises' performed very poorly. 'Hurricane 2' is only considered by some to be less amazing than the first one, but the film quality is still excellent, and it has the popularity of the first film, plus you, the lead actor, are much more popular than in the first film."

……

Xijing.

A private cinema.

Cinema owner Wang Jianguang is testing his son Wang Yupeng.

"If you were in charge of scheduling the films this time, how would you do it?"

Wang Jianguang said, "Especially when a blockbuster is released, if the scheduling is wrong, the loss in a single day can be as high as 30,000 to 50,000 yuan."

"We have a total of 8 theaters. Seven of them are showing 'Hurricane 2,' and the remaining theater is showing 'Brothers,' 'The Sun,' and all other films," Wang Yupeng said. "After 'Ip Man,' Shen Qing is already a top authority in action movies. Besides, this time we have the popularity of the first film."

Wang Jianguang shook his head, his expression turning serious. He said, "Shen Qing isn't that famous yet. Go ask anyone on the street who makes the best action movies in China. The answer will be either Jackie Chan or Li Lianjie. Occasionally someone might mention Chow Yun-fat or Vincent Zhao, but how many people would mention Shen Qing? You absolutely cannot let your own preferences dictate the film scheduling."

"Dad, how would you arrange them?"

"Five theaters will screen 'Hurricane 2,' two theaters will screen 'Brothers,' and one theater will screen 'The Sun' and others. You'll see when 'Hurricane 2' is released in a few days. This is the safest way to schedule the screenings."

"Dad, if we arrange them like this, Hurricane 2 will only have 62%."

"Is 62% low? If we rank it at 80%, can it bring in 8% of the day's revenue? Shen Qing is very popular, but can his movies bring in 8% of the day's revenue?" Wang Jianguang shook his head and continued, "Most of the people who attended the internal screenings said that this second film is not as amazing as the first one."

"But……"

"You don't understand now. Once the box office figures for the first day come out, calculate how much money you would lose according to your scheduling, and you'll understand how to schedule screenings properly."