China Entertainment 1997

The release dates in Hong Kong and the Mainland are one day apart. When "New World" just premiered in the Mainland, the Hong Kong media was already bombarded by "New World".

"New World" first-day box office in Hong Kong - HK$4.29 million.

This amount may not seem particularly large, after all, there are several movies in the Mainland that have exceeded 10 million on their first day.

But Xiangjiang is not the mainland after all. Since the new century, the local Chinese-language film market has become increasingly declining.

Let’s just talk about last year in 2004. Except for Xingye’s “Kung Fu” which broke the historical box office record of Hong Kong movies and took in an unprecedented HK$61.29 million, the second, third and fourth were all imported Hollywood blockbusters.

The fifth place is "New Police Story", a film jointly produced by two superstars, Cao Xuan and Cheng Long. The box office is less than 30 million Hong Kong dollars, and the last one in the top ten is only 15 million Hong Kong dollars.

The original home base of Eastern Hollywood, last year's total movie box office was less than 1/5 of that in the mainland.

It is true that last year was a year of explosive growth in the mainland, but even a fool can see that the local market in Xiangjiang is declining.

We are already halfway through 2005. Among the top ten box office films in Hong Kong, except for Jay Chou's "Initial D" which is the champion, almost all others are Hollywood blockbusters and Japanese animations. Local Hong Kong films have been overwhelmed.

At the beginning of the summer season, everyone was counting on "Seven Swords" to compete for a spot, but the result was a silent success.

Before August, Hong Kong media even exclaimed in despair that the Hong Kong film market was dead and Hong Kong films were finished.

However, no one expected that at this critical moment, a "pseudo-Hong Kong film" starring, investing and writing Cao Xuan, a pure mainlander, would come forward.

The box office of HK$4.29 million on the first day was already the best start for a Chinese-language film released in Hong Kong in 2005. The box office on the second day was even better, with the single-day box office steadily increasing to HK$6.14 million.

The box office sales exceeded HK$10 million in two days!

Since entering the 21st century, only three Chinese-language films in Hong Kong have achieved this result.

"Shaolin Football" and "Kung Fu" by Xingye, the king of Hong Kong box office, and "Infernal Affairs", which is regarded as the salvation of Hong Kong films.

Therefore, the Hong Kong media went crazy.

Although the shadow of mainland China is heavy in "New World", Xiangjiang has more "blood".

At least on the surface, Cao Xuan's Xiangjiang Company, Yinghuang, Galaxy Image, and Cheng Long took more than 80% of the share.

The male lead, second male lead, and female lead are not Hong Kong actors, but the other characters are all Hong Kong actors, the story is also Hong Kong ***, the director is a famous Hong Kong director, the screenwriting team also has a Hong Kong screenwriter, and at least 60% of the behind-the-scenes team is from Hong Kong of.

This kind of movie is not a Hong Kong movie. Who is a Hong Kong movie?

The Hong Kong media has forcibly ignored many key points, and it is certain that this is a Hong Kong film, or a co-production led by Hong Kong.

There is no way, Xiangjiang movies really need movies like this to boost their morale.

The "Infernal Affairs" series is certainly an excellent work, but it also has other historical responsibilities.

Star has always been excluded by the mainstream of Hong Kong's film industry. He was nominated for the Academy Awards many times before, but he didn't get any. As a result, Hong Kong films declined, and Star was the one to take the lead.

Later, "Shaolin Soccer" won the Academy Award for Best Actor and Best Director. This year, "Kung Fu" won the Academy Award for Best Film and was nominated for Best Actor and Best Director.

As long as the celebrity is more popular in Hong Kong circles, the nomination for "Kung Fu" may become an award.

It can also be seen from this that these people in the Hong Kong industry are going crazy, especially the Hong Kong media.

Hong Kong films are gone, but actors, directors and related practitioners can still go north to the mainland to earn a living.

The media has really ruined their jobs, so even if people in the industry don't care, the Hong Kong media have to promote "New World" to the sky and continue to build momentum for Hong Kong films.

"An undercover masterpiece comparable to Infernal Affairs, the peak showdown between Cao Xuan and Liang Jiahui"

"Li Zicheng, a more realistic undercover"

"Touching brotherhood, "New World" has received a huge reputation"

"Sun Honglei laughed about the Elevator God of War and filmed it several times"

"The box office in Mainland China and Hong Kong exploded, and "New World" outperformed the "Infernal Affairs" series"

"..."

The above are all rainbow farts, and of course they are not without derogation. They mainly revolve around three points.

The plot has an incorrect outlook. The protagonist eventually becomes a mafia boss and kills people without punishment. However, Xiangjiang doesn't pay much attention to this, and no one except a few defenders cares about it.

There is another one that is a bit modeled on "Infernal Affairs" and is suspected of plagiarism.

To be honest, there is no trace of reference at all, which is definitely not objective, but the plot structure of the two movies is completely different, and plagiarism is definitely over the top.

Moreover, it is an unspoken rule that Hong Kong films copy each other and follow suit. If this is really pursued, more than 50% of Hong Kong films are plagiarized, and even many Hong Kong films are copied from others.

This is not to say that plagiarism is right, but these plagiarism madmen are holding up the chess pieces of justice, which is really hard to watch.

The last point is that the villain in it deliberately sabotaged the return plot and was suspected of smearing friendly people in Hong Kong and causing adverse effects on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.

Cao Xuan publicly refuted this directly through his blog——

[You know that the Kinmen Group is fake, and Li Zicheng, you know that it is fake. Why do you think what the villain does is true?

A fictional plot, where do you think of mapping and discrediting friendly people.

No way, no way, no one would take the plot of the movie seriously, right? 】

Cao Xuan scoffed, but he didn't take these people to heart. His connections in Xiangjiang were not built up. He dared to show the film without fear of trouble. It was really a rhythmic tearing. It was not him who was unlucky when some things were exposed.

Hong Kong audiences don’t care about the scale. Mainland audiences don’t get too involved because the story is not set in the mainland. They pay more attention to the story.

Fanxing and Yinghuang control the direction of public opinion, and the rest is to watch the box office take off.

On August 2, "New World" was released at the mainland box office. Fanxing Cinemas achieved a 68% screening rate, and other cinemas also gave high filming rates.

The box office on the first day was 15.15 million yuan.

Although it did not break the 16 million first-day box office of "House of Flying Daggers", it was Fanxing's best opening result to date.

"Seven Swords", which is struggling to hit the billion-level box office, has an even more difficult path to rise, while "New World" has undoubtedly become the overlord of the summer season in August, sweeping the same period.

It only took fifty hours for the box office to officially exceed 30 million, and when the box office exceeded 50 million, it only took five days.

On August 9, "New World" was released for one week, with a cumulative box office of 72 million, officially breaking the first-week box office record of 64 million set by "Kung Fu" just a few months ago.

On the day the record was broken, many authoritative media gave it heavy coverage, and the influence of "New World" began to spread widely.

………

Black Province, Harbin City

"Hong Lei, you did a great job."

"I really like your role as Ding Qing, can you sign your autograph for me?"

"You really give our Northeast a good face."

"The Elevator God of War, awesome."

"..."

Sun Honglei narrowed his eyes and happily signed autographs with his hometown elders, with a naive smile on his fierce face.

Before "New World", participating in the program was almost a unified action, and the national road show was divided into several teams.

Sun Honglei, who had just returned from the crew of "Seven Swords", led a team by himself, mainly responsible for the Northeast. He happens to be from the Northeast, and he can also play the fellow player card to get closer.

As the saying goes, wealth does not return to its hometown, just like walking at night in brocade. This time "New Vision" is a big hit, and to catch him on the road show in Black Province is to be in the limelight.

Sun Honglei ran to several theaters a day. His body was as tired as his third grandson, but his heart was full of joy.

Not only because I feel respected by my parents in my hometown, but also because of the good results of "New World".

In order to squeeze into the crew of "Seven Swords", he went through a lot of trouble. To put it bluntly, he secretly flattered the producer and Mr. Xu in Xiangjiang.

But there is no way. There are only a few big commercial productions in China every year. If you want to catch up with others and enter the film industry, you have to make them comfortable.

In comparison, Lu Yi is much more popular than him. Apart from Cao Xuan, there are several young actors who dare to say that they can suppress Lu Yi among the serious Mainland A-list actors. Small.

As a result, Sun Honglei never expected that "Seven Swords", which he had given great hope for, would pounce.

It cannot be said that it is a success. The box office data of nearly 100 million yuan is actually very impressive, but compared with the investment cost, it is difficult to call it a success.

More importantly, the movie has a bad reputation. Such a movie that loses money and has a bad reputation obviously cannot help Sun Honglei become famous in the film industry.

But what Sun Honglei personally never expected was that he would be valued by Cao Xuan and participate in "New World".

Then the movie exploded, not only breaking box office records, but more importantly, the character of Ding Qing he played was very charming and brilliant, making Sun Honglei famous.

To give the simplest example, Sun Honglei's previous salary for each drama was only tens of thousands. After "Conquer", it increased a lot, and he could earn hundreds of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands.

Now, "New World" has just become popular, and the crew contacted him, offering him a salary of 20,000 per episode, for a total of 40 episodes, which is a salary of 800,000.

The salaries of TV series and movies are different, and the salaries of actors in Mainland China and Hong Kong and Taiwan are also different. In 2005, mainland actors could get a salary of 800,000 yuan for a single film, which is comparable to some ordinary first-line salaries.

And this is just the beginning. Sun Honglei believes that as the influence of "New World" continues to grow, his salary can easily reach 1 million, or even more.

What does it mean to become famous overnight?

This is overnight fame!

Sun Honglei signed in his hand, already planning to buy a new apartment for his mother in Harbin City after taking on the new drama. He could also start buying one in the capital.

At this moment, Sun Honglei felt unexpressible gratitude to Cao Xuan.

He is a bit arrogant. Although it is sometimes difficult to bow to the situation, it is still difficult to convince him.

What he respects most in his life is his mother who raised him alone. After entering the entertainment industry, Zhao Baogang, his mentor and supporter in the Chinese drama industry, and others are the ones he is very grateful to.

Nowadays, Cao Xuan is considered another noble person in his heart.

Although it was not a timely help, the benefits "New World" gave him could definitely establish and change his career.

After signing, Sun Honglei chatted with several other actors and the theater manager, and prepared to go back to the hotel to rest before heading to the next road show tomorrow.

Back at the hotel, Sun Honglei called home. He was actually from Harbin. The road show was a serious task, so he took the time to go home and take a look. After he was done with the work, he would go home to rest.

Just after making the call, a young man with short hair came over holding a magazine: "Brother Hong Lei, look, our movie has exceeded 30 million box office in Hong Kong."

This young man's name is Zhuang Lei, a native of Guangzhou, Guangdong Province. He was originally filming at TVB in Hong Kong, but later returned to the mainland to develop.

As mentioned before, there are not many mainland actors in "New World", and Zhuang Lei is one of the few.

He had acted in Stars before and knew an assistant director. It happened that the crew needed someone who knew Cantonese and had preferably lived in Hong Kong. He was very qualified, so he got a good role.

Do you still remember that there was an undercover agent who lurked next to Ding Qing and Li Zicheng and was later killed by Ding Qing? It was played by Zhuang Lei.

He and Sun Honglei both have the same name with the word "thunder" in their names, so they are naturally compatible. And because he had many rival scenes, frequent private exchanges, and a good relationship, the road show was originally arranged for him to be in the south, but he went to the northeast to find Sun Honglei.

"Is this result good or bad?"

Although Sun Honglei also pays attention to this information, he is not a data emperor after all. The relevant data in the mainland is okay, and he barely has an impression, but it is difficult for him in Xiangjiang.

In contrast, Zhuang Lei, who has been in Xiangjiang for several years, knows a lot, not to mention having the information and data analysis listed in magazines.

"This box office performance is extremely good."

Zhuang Lei shouted excitedly, then organized his words and introduced with the magazine.

"The number one box office hit in Hong Kong's history is "Titanic" in 1997, with a box office of HK$115 million. This is too much, so we won't discuss it for now.

Ranking second is 1993's "Jurassic Park" with a box office of HK$62.23 million, and third is last year's "Kung Fu" with a box office of HK$61.27 million.

In less than ten days, the box office of "New World" exceeded HK$30 million. Based on this momentum, it is very promising to break into the top three. "

"So fierce?"

If you didn't have an idea just now, this has hit the top three box office in Xiangjiang history, and Sun Honglei also realized how powerful it is.

However, the impact of those classic Hong Kong movies when he was a child still made him a little unbelievable.

"These are the top three, are they reliable?"

"Anyway, I read in the magazine that many people are optimistic about "New World". Even if it doesn't make it into the top three, it will definitely be more than the HK$55 million of "Infernal Affairs" at this rate."

Now Sun Honglei really believed it, and his heart was filled with fire.

"Infernal Affairs", how popular it has been in the past two years, even "New World" couldn't help but take advantage of the momentum during the promotion period, and now it is expected to surpass it at the box office.

Even if time and inflation are taken into account, the box office value is not the same, but it also shows that the popularity of "New World" in Hong Kong will not be too different at least.

Considering the fierce momentum of "New World" in the mainland now, Sun Honglei can't help but think about it.

You won’t be able to rush to the front line in one go with this movie, right?

………

"It's really possible."

Jiang Yue looked at the large number of reports on "New World" in front of her. Many pages were devoted to Ding Qing/Sun Honglei, and she couldn't help but feel a little distressed.

What a great opportunity, but it turned out to be an advantage for outsiders.

But looking back, she saw that Cao Xuan had more reports, and she felt a lot more comfortable.

Although Ding Qing in "New World" is very lovable, the most outstanding one is the male protagonist Li Zicheng.

Especially the darkening counterattack at the end directly elevates the entire character. This character also has a high degree of topic discussion and character arc, and is the first core C position of the entire movie.

Cao Xuan is already very popular, and with this role, he has directly swept through major film and television forums and related media reports.

Many people compare him and Li Zicheng with Liang Chaowei and Chen Yongren of "Infernal Affairs".

Between the two characters, who is better and who is worse, and whose choice is more correct, has become the most popular topic in film and television forums in recent times, and it is not uncommon to write long film reviews of less than 10,000 words.

Many people think that "Infernal Affairs" is very deep, and "New World" is too commercial and has made many compromises.

But many people think that "Infernal Affairs" is the compromise, and "New World" is the most realistic undercover choice and is more in line with the audience's psychology.

Although at present, more people think that "Infernal Affairs" is more classic, but "New World" can be compared with it, which is also a victory to some extent.

The previous "When a Man Falls in Love" had limited influence, while "Xiu Chun Knife" was popular, but to be considered a classic, it was still a little short of a hit.

Now this "New World" can be regarded as the most beautiful answer Cao Xuan has produced since he participated in the movie.

We must have quality, we must have reputation, we must have results!

Actor Cao’s reputation is soaring!

Last year's series of works such as "The Spring Knife" and "New Police Story" have greatly improved Cao Xuan's status in the film industry, but it has not yet been completely stabilized.

Although he is very popular in the film industry, aside from his status as a producer, from the perspective of an artist, Cao Xuan relies more on his popularity to overtake others. His actual achievements and professional level are not enough to be on an equal footing with those top actors.

But this time with the outbreak of "New World", Cao Xuan's status, qualifications and reputation in the film industry have finally been completely sublimated.

This new generation of super-popular superstar can now finally keep pace with established celebrities such as Tony Leung, Sing Yeh, and Fa Ge with his works.

Although the qualifications and grades are slightly inferior, they are still at the same level.

From now on, when the outside world mentions Cao Xuan's movies, popularity and popularity are not the biggest criteria. His acting skills and the quality of his works are also the top priority.

As a popular superstar, such a transformation is difficult.

For example, Chef Xie, although his acting skills are not top-notch, they cannot be summed up purely as a vase.

But just because he received too many benefits from popular celebrities in his early years, even if he was somewhat capable later on, it would be difficult for him to be recognized by most people.

Including Cao Xuan, he has many good works and even won the Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Best Actor, but there are still many people who are prejudiced against him.

There is no choice but to slowly gain qualifications, hit one movie after another, and prove himself as one of the best actors one by one. When he is full of classics, he will have countless best actors.

Even if there are still people who are dissatisfied, speaking out is just humiliating themselves.

Cao Xuan is young and strong, which means that the future is unlimited. Even if it is not as good as it is now, it will be hard to say in a few years.

Even now, it may be difficult to say in other aspects, but purely in terms of box office appeal, Cao Xuan is definitely the first echelon of Chinese actors.

Even if I bring Star Master here, I dare not say that I can beat him. After all, the momentum of "New World" is even worse than last year's "Kung Fu".

As Cao Xuan's manager, even if she can't control him, Jiang Yue is honored to have such a powerful superstar under her.

As long as Cao Xuan doesn't retire for a day, she, Jiang, will firmly hold the top spot among Chinese agents.

Even if Cao Xuan retires, as long as the stars are clear, few people can threaten her position for a while.

Jiang Yue couldn't help but look at the other newspapers, which showed Fan Bingbing's pictorials.

Although Fan Xiaopang doesn't have many roles in "New World", she is the heroine at least.

It is naturally better to be able to stand out with the role, but if Fan Xiaopang does not stand out, with Fan Xiaopang's current business and exposure resources, Fanxing can also achieve the effect.

The so-called billion-dollar movie heroines are nothing new in the past two years.

Last year alone, there were Gao Yuanyuan in "The Sword", the international chapter in "House of Flying Daggers", Huang Shengyi in "Kung Fu", Liu Milk Tea in "A World Without Thieves", Yang Cainiduo in "New Police Story" An artist achieved an achievement.

But the effects vary from person to person.

International Chapter can enter Hollywood, Huang Shengyi became famous overnight, while Gao Yuanyuan and Liu Milk Tea have relatively weak returns, let alone Yang Caini. I am afraid that many viewers do not know her name at all.

So in this matter, the key lies in the growth of the character and the subsequent hype.

The role of Zhou Miaotong in "Xiu Chun Knife" is not likable, but the reason why she can be compared with Liu Milk Tea is not only the popularity of the movie, but also the support of the stars.

The so-called heroine of "New World" is not outstanding, but Fan Xiaopang is very popular, has high commercial value, and all parties are willing to cooperate. This billionaire movie heroine can bring her great benefits.

To be honest, "New World" plus "Xiu Chun Dao 2" at the end of the year, there is also an all-out drama "The Legend of the White-haired Witch" with a female protagonist, and there is also an urban love drama in which Guolan participated in the investment.

With this series of works, coupled with various commercial exposures, Jiang Yue is confident that by the end of this year or early next year, Fan Xiaopang will be able to completely push Fan Xiaopang to the top of the A-list.

To be honest, if I hadn’t made an appointment with Huayi, and I had been putting great effort into promoting [Four Dan Double Soldiers].

Jiang Yue really wanted to kick Li Bingbing away and get a four-dan-one soldier.

She didn't even pay attention to the Fourth Dan. She wanted to turn the Four Dans' two soldiers into one soldier and four Dans.

But unfortunately, one of the four wives is Mrs. Hu. If she and Fan Xiaopang don’t want to get out, it’s best not to imitate Wu Dalang’s drinking nai - dancing with their feet.

Seeing that Fanxing's movie shipments were booming, but Fanxing's artists did not get much benefit, Jiang Yue was really anxious and planned to go back to the boss to give hints.

Don't patronize people outside, but also praise your own family more. You can't play the leading role, and you can't choose supporting roles...

While Jiang Yue was wondering how to bring this matter up with Cao Xuan, the box office of "New World" was also going crazy in the Mainland and Xiangjiang.

On August 11, the box office of "New World" in the Mainland exceeded 100 million, surpassing the struggling "Seven Swords", and officially won the box office championship of the Golden Year summer season.

2003 "When Men Love" - ​​52.4 million

2004 "Embroidered Spring Knife" - 150 million

2005 "New World" - 100 million+...

For three consecutive years, Cao Xuan has won all the summer box office titles and is the king of the Chinese-language summer box office.

At the same time, in the past two years, Cao Xuan was the runner-up at the annual box office twice, but failed to do so. This time, "New World" is gaining momentum, and Cao Xuan also wants to have a taste of being the annual box office champion.

In Hong Kong, due to the crazy momentum created by the Hong Kong media, the box office performance of "New World" was even crazier than that of the mainland.

As of August 15, "New World" has been released in Hong Kong for two weeks, and the box office has officially exceeded HK$50 million.

It is only a matter of time before it surpasses "Infernal Affairs". Now more people are curious about whether Xingye's two HK$60 million movies can block "The New World".

At this moment, the entire Hong Kong film industry and Hong Kong media have mixed emotions.

From a market perspective, they hope that "New World" will soar at the box office, the higher the better, in order to invigorate the industry and stimulate the market.

But from an emotional perspective, if "New World" really surpasses Xingye's "Kung Fu", then "New World" will become the highest-grossing Hong Kong film \u0026amp;amp; Chinese film in Hong Kong's history.

The film industry in Hong Kong has been ups and downs for half a century, and it’s just that the highest box office record was taken by "Titanic". Anyway, Hong Kong is not the only place in the world like this.

But now even the highest domestic box office record may be occupied by a co-production film led by a mainlander. The entire Hong Kong circle has mixed feelings...

————

ps: I have explained it several times, but let me say it again. In the future, the plots of non-important movies will be abbreviated, but the plots of important movies will still be written.

There are few descriptions in the movie, which affects the sense of immersion, so it needs to be of a certain length. I will remind you in the [Chapter Head] or [Chapter Title] about similar situations in the future, so please subscribe carefully.

And there is a sentence that I am a bit unhappy about. I don’t like watching the movie, I don’t like the rainbow fart data at the end, and I don’t like watching the plot of the movie itself. Can some friends teach me how to write it...