Japanese big things

On June 18, a continuous drizzle began to fall in the gloomy Seoul sky. Raindrops as dense as cow hair fell on the originally dry ground, instantly coating it with a dark surface.

The megabox cinema located in the coex mall in Samseong-dong, Gangnam-gu is the first store of the Korean megabox cinema brand. It opened on May 13, 2000.

Although it has a history of more than ten years, Megabox Cinema has always maintained and updated its equipment and is famous for its advanced audio-visual system and comfortable viewing environment.

At this time, a lot of people gathered at the entrance of the theater, and there were also a few media reporters among them. From time to time, they raised their cameras to take a few pictures of the onlookers and the artists attending the event.

This is the premiere of the movie "Model Student" in South Korea. The people who show up here are all fans of the artist. They are holding signs or supporting slogans, and they all look excitedly at the red carpet in front of them.

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Unfortunately, because it was raining lightly, the red carpet ceremony was relatively simple. The artists in attendance didn't have much thought about taking photos. They just showed business smiles and left in a hurry.

"Well...."

Jin Goyin looked at the figures walking away in a daze, feeling confused in his heart. Is a movie premiere so simple?

She vaguely remembered that when the movie "Yin Jiao" was released, a movie premiere was also held. The scale and scene were cumbersome and much more formal.

"Gao Yinxi, it's time for us to go in..."

The manager's voice broke Jin Gaoyin's reverie. She put back her messy thoughts, responded in a low voice, and followed him into the movie theater.

Although the arrangements for the red carpet ceremony were a bit simple, the premiere theater of "Model Student" was the largest in the entire theater, with about 400 seats.

As soon as he walked in, Jin Goyin saw a dark audience, and hundreds of seats were all filled.

On weekdays, people like to make loud noises, but in places like libraries and movie theaters that require quiet, everyone has a tacit understanding to maintain a quiet atmosphere.

"minister...."

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a figure in the front row. Jin Goyin took two quick steps and sat next to him.

"Gao Yinxi, is something wrong?"

Glancing at Kim Go-eun, Kim Seung-jae, who is a minister, responded to the girl in a very polite manner, without the arrogance of a company executive at all.

"that...."

After a moment of silence with a tangled look on her face, Jin Goyin still couldn't hold it back. She asked in a low voice: "Isn't the premiere of the president's movie "Model Student" a bit too shabby..."

"It's raining, what do you want to do?"

Kim Seung-jae turned his head and looked at the many spectators who were waiting for him. He lowered his voice and replied: "The premiere is decided by Warner. We are only responsible for cooperating."

According to the scope of the production committee, Toho Company took away the Japanese domestic market, Nakamura Masahiro's office retained the copyright for some small country markets, and Warner received most of the overseas market.

Although South Korea is not large in area, its film market has always maintained a relatively prosperous development and has always been in the top ten in the world, so it has received considerable attention from Warner.

Therefore, after confirming the Korean premiere time of "Model Student", Warner started the film's related publicity work in advance.

With the popularity of "Model Student" in Japan, and the case of cheating on the SAT exam being widely circulated in South Korea, the movie "Model Student" has not yet been released in South Korea, but the popularity remains high.

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However, the director Masahiro Nakamura is not well-known in South Korea, and he will not come to South Korea for the time being to participate in movie promotion, so Warner has no intention of making the movie premiere a big one.

While talking, the theater suddenly darkened, which meant that the movie was about to start, so Kim Go-eun and the minister ended their conversation.

As the film company logos flashed in sequence in the title sequence, the screening of "Model Student" officially began.

"The narrative structure of the movie is very compact, the sense of suspense is well laid out, and the photography and editing techniques are not like those of a new director..."

At the same time, in a movie theater located in the Asian community of Los Angeles, Spielberg, who was simply disguised, and his assistant were watching the movie with gusto.

What is shown on the screen is a movie "Model Student" from Japan. Different from the viewing perspective of ordinary viewers, Spielberg is looking at the film from the perspective of a producer.

"The camera movement is very smooth, and it looks a bit like the way of shooting an advertisement... The picture is very visually impactful, and the atmosphere created is also very good."

Thinking of this, Spielberg said to the assistant beside him: "Bill, when you go back, please contact this Japanese director Nakamura. I want to meet him."

"OK...."

The assistant responded in a low voice, looking a little hesitant, and then he asked again: "What about Colin?"

"Continue to keep in touch...don't stop until the director is confirmed."

Spielberg pondered for a moment and then decisively ordered: "Let's talk first. If this Japanese director is not suitable, then Colin Trevorrow can be an alternative."

The assistant couldn't help but roll his eyes. When Colin Trevorrow's film "Safety Not Guaranteed" was released, Spielberg had made him his first choice.

As a result, the Japanese director who was an alternative director released the film "Model Student". Before watching the movie, Spielberg demoted Colin Trevorrow back to the alternative position.

Although he also admitted that the movie "Model Student" was indeed well shot, if it were replaced by Hollywood actors, it would most likely become a box office bomb in the film market.

However, an all-Asian cast is destined not to be favored by many audiences. Perhaps Warner also knows this, so it focuses on screening the film in theaters near Asian communities.

Just like the original "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and "Heroes", although the actors are all Asian-faced, because the marketing and screening groups are very targeted, they still achieved good box office results.

"By the way, how much is the box office of Colin Trevorrow's movie now?"

When the assistant was thinking a lot, he suddenly heard Spielberg ask another question, so he quickly gathered his thoughts and replied: "It seems to have just passed 1.5 million US dollars."

"Exactly $1.5 million?"

Upon hearing such a low number, Spielberg frowned subconsciously, obviously not satisfied.

However, he immediately became relieved when he thought that the production cost of the film was only US$750,000.

Given the film's production cost, we can't expect $750,000 to earn tens of millions at the box office. That would be unrealistic.

From the perspective of the film's profit and loss, the box office of Colin Trevorrow's film is currently twice the production cost, and it has already achieved profitability ahead of schedule.

"How much box office does this Japanese director have now?"

The assistant frowned and thought carefully for a while before replying word by word: "In Japan alone, the box office has now exceeded 100 million US dollars. According to the predictions of relevant organizations there, there should be some room for growth.

..."

"In addition, this movie has now begun to enter the film market in other countries, and it is expected to receive the same box office revenue."

Spielberg raised his hand to adjust his glasses. Although his eyes were still on the screen in front of him, he was constantly making calculations in his mind.

Colin Trevorrow is certainly a good choice, but it seems that this new director from Japan is more cost-effective?

Thinking of this, Spielberg turned to his assistant and told him: "Pay attention to the box office trend of this movie, and then do a questionnaire with a market research company to see how big the market potential of the movie is..."

When Nakamura Masahiro learned that there was a cooperation invitation from Hollywood in the United States, it was already a few days later. He was currently attending a local promotional event in Fukuoka.

Although the movie "Model Student" continues to be released, and there is good news from overseas markets that the box office is rising, it is undeniable that the popularity of the movie has begun to gradually cool down.

Ordinary viewers may not feel this subtle change, but the survey and analysis conducted by Toho and Warner indeed show that the popularity of the movie has begun to decline.

So, after discussion, Nakamura Masahiro took Saki Takei and Masaki Suda, who were the main protagonists of the movie, to Shikoku, Kyushu and other regions for promotion.

Generally speaking, since Japan's economy and population are concentrated in the Kanto and Kansai regions, the focus of movie promotions is often based on these two regions.

It's not that they don't want to go further afield to promote, but it's not cost-effective, it may take a lot of effort, and it will have limited impact on the movie's box office.

Just like it is difficult for movie promotions on the other side to go to the southwest and northwest regions, they basically stay in the central region and coastal cities. Only economically developed places will get the attention of film producers.

“I am very happy to come to Fukuoka. If I have the chance, I would like to experience the local scenery and food of Fukuoka...”

The cinema located on the fifth floor of Aeon Department Store in Chuo-ku, Fukuoka is quite famous locally and was chosen as the venue for this promotional event because the cinema can accommodate more than 500 people.

In fact, most of the movie's promotional activities are the same routine, without much novelty. The main thing is for the artists and the audience to meet, chat about interesting things during the filming of the movie, and finally take photos or hold activities.

After delivering some remarks, Nakamura Masahiro handed the microphone back to the host. Then, the host shifted the focus of the topic to the film's protagonists, Takei Saki and Suda Masaki.

Although the behind-the-scenes profession of supervisor has slowly begun to move toward the front, overall, it is definitely not as attractive as the starring role in a movie.

"Director Nakamura, should we go there now?"

The movie's promotional activities ended successfully. As soon as Nakamura Masahiro stepped off the stage, a middle-aged man with a smile on his face quickly approached him.

"Still, you should take a rest first..."

"Let's go..."

Nakamura Masahiro glanced at the other party, feeling a little irritated, but seeing that the other party's company had given him a generous reward, he still responded politely with a smile.

There is no other way, just make money, it’s not shabby!