National Tide 1980

The next morning, Ning Weimin, who was sleeping on his side, groggily touched his back.

When he found nothing, he woke up immediately, turned around and saw that he was the only one left on the bed.

At this time, he looked at the alarm clock beside the bed and realized that it was almost eleven o'clock.

Yawning and stretching, he was really reluctant to leave the comfortable warm bed.

But there is nothing I can do, I still have to get up when I need to.

He knows that men cannot be obsessed with the feeling of eating soft food, otherwise they will lose their charm.

Keiko probably went to work at the office early, so he also had to go to his Taito Trading Company to check it out.

By the way, I also had to buy two tabloids to observe the response to the movie "Li Xianglan".

Ning Weimin lazily got out of bed and walked to the bathroom naked. At this time, Ning Weimin could still feel the headache from his hangover.

After the film screening yesterday, there was a thank you party for the premiere.

All the people connected with the crew came to support and help promote the film, so the producer naturally wanted to entertain them.

The place for entertaining is also ready, and it is most suitable to watch this movie and have Chinese food.

Ning Weimin invited all the industry insiders, film critics and reporters who came to support the event to Tan Gong Restaurant in Ginza and held a reception in his own restaurant.

As a result, Tan Gong Restaurant instantly became a social gathering place within the circle.

In fact, many people attended the premiere mainly for this reason, so that they could communicate more with colleagues and expand their network.

The key is that Ning Weimin didn't expect that he himself would become one of the protagonists at the reception.

Even though his name does not appear on the film at all, including Shochiku Pictures' president Okumoto and Yamaguchi Shuko, as well as the director and main actors of the crew, everyone knows about his relationship with Matsumoto Keiko and the role in this co-production. role played in.

Naturally, he was frequently toasted and talked happily during the banquet, and because of this, he drank a lot.

That's not all. He drank it at noon, but it didn't count for him because there was still another meal in the evening.

In order to prepare for the subsequent word-of-mouth promotion of the movie and to guide relevant public opinion, he has already made an appointment with Director He and the editor-in-chief of "Daily News" to have dinner at the Tan Palace in the evening.

Moreover, it is impossible for the three grown men to end there after eating. Then they will definitely find a few girls to continue drinking wine and relax.

So Ning Weimin drank the most wine in the evening, so he took a few people to the "Aka Club" in Ginza to continue drinking whiskey.

Think about it, beer, sake, red wine, champagne, whiskey, Erguotou...

Even Ning Weimin himself couldn't count how many kinds of wine he drank that day.

Even though it was not easy for Japanese people to drink at the same table, Ning Weimin had been taking it easy, but the taste was still unpleasant.

No problem, after draining the water in the toilet, the first thing I did was to run to the kitchen and make a cup of honey water to drink.

As for the breakfast Qingzi prepared for him, he couldn't eat it at all, so he could only live up to her intentions.

And just as Ning Weimin was opening the refrigerator to get honey, the phone in the living room rang.

He turned back, but as soon as he picked up the phone, before he could put down the honey in his hand, he heard Matsumoto Keiko's extremely excited voice coming from the phone.

"Amin, are you up yet?"

"Yes, I also ate the breakfast you made. It's as delicious as ever. Thank you for your hard work."

Ning Weimin opened his eyes and told lies.

He leaned against the wall and lazily enjoyed the feeling of the warm sunlight shining on his body through the glass window.

As a result, his sense of leisure completely dissipated in the next second and disappeared.

"Amin, the box office on the first day is out. Far beyond expectations!"

"Ah!" Ning Weimin was surprised, and then he heard the clue from Matsumoto Keiko's excited tone.

"It seems like it should be good news."

On the other side of the phone, Keiko Matsumoto seemed to take a breath, and then said forcefully, "Yes, that's really good news. The box office reached 294 million yen yesterday!"

"What?"

Even though Ning Weimin was mentally prepared, he couldn't help but be slightly surprised.

Of course, he was not surprised by the figure of nearly 300 million yen.

During the golden age of the Japanese film market, there were many films with box office sales exceeding one billion yen on the first day.

The first-day box office of their movie is nothing compared to others.

But don’t forget that the Japanese film market has its own particularities.

Without exception, those movies that cost one billion yen on the first day are all animated theatrical versions.

"Li Xianglan" is a real-life biopic.

From a commercial perspective, not to mention comparing it to animated movies, even police and gangster movies, comedies, and romance movies can't compare.

In particular, there is a rating system for Japanese movies, which divides released films into four categories: G, PG12, R15, and R18.

G is for all ages, PG12 is for those under 12 years old and must be accompanied by a parent, R15 is for those under 15 years old and is not allowed to watch, R18 and so on.

The rating system is in charge of the Japan Film Ethics Committee, which mainly considers three aspects - bloody violence, criminal induction and pornographic level.

Taking the movie "Li Xianglan" specifically, because it is an anti-war historical theme and has a certain degree of reality, it is inevitable that there will be scenes of bloody wars.

In particular, it shows that the whole country of Japan has become a war madman, and he will not hesitate to use violence in order to force his relatives to join the army and sell themselves.

There are also scenes of how brutal and cold-blooded the Japanese soldiers were during their crimes of aggression, many of which are disturbing to watch.

In addition, there are a few right-wing elements in the Screening Ethics Committee, and they will naturally act as troublemakers.

So it’s not surprising that this movie was directly rated R18, the most restrictive audience group.

In addition, the theater chains owned by Songzhu have less complaints to begin with.

It is far inferior to Toho in the ranking of local theaters, almost one-third less.

Even including all the theater chains of its partner Tokyu, there are only more than 160 theaters in total, with a total of less than 600 screens.

Therefore, according to the original predictions of Shochiku Pictures, if the film "Li Xianglan" can get about 150 million yen on the premiere day, it will be basically qualified. If it can get 200 million yen, it will be a huge surprise. .

What surprised Ning Weimin was that the figure Matsumoto Keiko told him exceeded their highest expectations by nearly 100 million yen.

Originally, according to the president, if the first-day box office could reach 150 million yen, it should be able to catch up with the box office level of "The Man on Fire".

That is to say, it may exceed 500 million yen in the first week, and it will exceed 1 billion yen by the end of the entire screening period.

Looking at it now, the local box office in Japan may be doubled, and the target should be raised to 2 billion yen.

For this reason, he couldn't help but asked happily, "Why is the box office so good?"

"I'm also very surprised. I asked carefully and found out that it was your propaganda method that worked. The Women's League we contacted is a national public organization. The demonstration organized by their Tokyo headquarters yesterday was particularly large. It was all on the TV news, not only TBS, Fuji TV and NHK also made relevant reports, and many people from the Women’s League on TV showed their support for our movie posters and worked very hard to help us. The movie is being promoted! A large number of women across Japan are willing to respond and go to the cinema one after another. And just as you hope, many girls who are in love also bring their boyfriends or fiancés to the "test". For example, the cinema in Takadanobaba where we held the premiere yesterday showed five shows from morning to night, and the attendance rate was over 80%. President Omoto just called me to congratulate you. He really appreciates your ability to strategize on this matter."

Matsumoto Keiko's praise made Ning Weimin even happier, but he was also a little strange, "What? Five shows in one day? Doesn't that take more than ten hours?"

"We added a midnight show temporarily. It was shown until midnight and some people were specially invited by their friends to watch it!"

Matsumoto Keiko also talked more and more freely on the phone, "The audience liked it very much, and the market response was very good. It even forced the president to decide to increase the number of screens showing "Li Xianglan" from 300 to 450, and fully promote us. This movie aims to have a box office of over one billion yen in its first week. He also said that if the momentum can be maintained, it should not be a problem for the local box office to double our expectations..."

"That's great. That's what I've been looking forward to hearing from you."

After hearing that his speculation came true, Ning Weimin interjected with joy.

However, he didn't expect that this was still not all good news.

Matsumoto Keiko actually told him, "It should be more than that. There is one more thing I want to tell you. In fact, someone called the office early this morning, and there were also people who came to the office in person to visit. These people are all independent cinemas. My boss, they also hope to show our movie... Guess how many more contracts I have signed?”

"How many?"

"Seven, even independent theaters in Kansai have sent movies, and it's only been one night!"

In this way, Ning Weimin was finally relieved and felt that the film's reputation was going smoothly.

So he said with a smile, "It's not surprising. After all, no one wants to do anything to make money. These independent cinemas also need to survive. I think you will be even busier in the next few days. I believe that independent cinemas are willing to show our movie." There will be more and more.”

"It would be great if this can happen. If we can really sign 50 companies, it will be equivalent to an increase of one-third in the box office."

Matsumoto Keiko also laughed on the phone, but she was a little unwilling to do so. She said regretfully, "It's a pity that Shochiku's theaters are still too few. We also promised President Okumoto that this movie cannot be compared with Toho." , Toei, or even a major theater chain like Sunshine Pictures, otherwise, the box office should be better now.”

This is the habitual greed of women, but Ning Weimin thinks it is unnecessary and still insists on this view.

"Don't say that, the bond between Shochiku and you is too deep. Whether you, the agency or the studio under your name, have actually been imprinted with Shochiku's brand. And as Shochiku's number one actress, you If you do something detrimental to Shochiku for profit reasons, your reputation will be completely ruined, and your fans will be disappointed in you. No matter what, your career can only be tied to Shochiku. Don't be confused by immediate interests. You should also think about it. If it weren't for your relationship with Shochiku, President Omoto would not be so supportive of our movie. , they cooperate with us with the best resources and best sharing conditions. Those other film companies you mentioned will definitely give us a hard blow, isn't it? . In fact, neither we nor Songzhu had a choice. From the beginning, it was destined that we both had to go hand in hand..."

The situation is now very good, and naturally everything Ning Weimin says is right.

Coupled with the special filter of beauty being in the eye of the beholder, Matsumoto Keiko was also willing to obey.

So she immediately changed her tune.

"Well, you're right, Amin, I was too naive. Sorry, I won't have such thoughts again. I just said it casually. You can rest well and leave the rest to me!"

There's no doubt that the film's stellar start has given her a boost of confidence.

Although I don’t know whether she rolled up her sleeves on the other side of the phone, but from the tone of her voice, I knew that she felt more and more delicious the harder she did it.

You should be ready to take advantage of the victory to pursue it and have a good fight.

So Ning Weimin couldn't help but joked, "President Matsumoto, you must be very happy to see your own factory logo on the movie screen for the first time. Now, others will not laugh at you, but will only envy you." You're gone."

Matsumoto Keiko really fell for his trick and said happily, "Of course, who will let me have the most capable and talented fiancé to help make plans. I'm just telling you, what I'm looking forward to most now is Hurry up and get the box office dividends. That will be my happiest moment."

Now that it comes to this, Ning Weimin, a man who really loves money, naturally instinctively cannot avoid asking in detail.

"Ah, by the way, if we follow the contract ratio, how much can we get from last night's box office revenue?"

Matsumoto Keiko is no longer a newcomer in the film industry. Although she has just become the boss of making films for herself, she already knows these basic knowledge.

She answered fluently, "In terms of box office revenue distribution, the National Cultural Development Fund has to take 3.5%, which is mandatory. Yinglun is a public welfare organization, and you can give it or not, but by default, you have to assist them with a sum of money. The film industry union also needs to You will get a share of about 0.5% from the box office, plus national taxes, but this will be refunded as a cultural subsidy. Finally, plus the 4% you promised to the Women's League, the overall calculation is about 13%. The rest is divided between us and the theaters. Shochiku Cinemas takes half and we take the rest, which is about 128 million yen. Don't tell me, I now think that it is better to cooperate with Shochiku Pictures. Chosen. At least Shochiku will not delay the payment, and the conditions for the share ratio are the most generous. Under normal circumstances, Shochiku Cinemas would ask for at least 60% of the box office share if it plays other people's movies. He attaches great importance to friendship and gives me face.”

Ning Weimin was silent for a while on the other end of the phone before echoing.

For no other reason than because he felt that he was being taken advantage of. Others thought that film companies made money by making movies.

But in fact, cats and dogs, whether they have heard of it or not, come to share the money, which is really speechless.

But that's okay. Overall, it seems that he can get a little more than 40%, at least higher than he expected.

He thought about it in his mind for a while. In this case, if the box office can really reach 2 billion yen, then he and Matsumoto Keiko will be able to earn 890 million yen.

Then, coupled with the sales of the film copyright in Southeast Asia and the income from future video rentals, he might not only be able to equalize the shooting costs and publicity expenses, but also make a profit of one to two hundred million yen.

The sales of movie soundtrack albums, movie brochures, and income from movie peripherals are pure profits.

He didn't ask any more questions. He said goodbye to Keiko Matsumoto, who was already in a super excited state, on the phone. He turned around and started doing his own business - putting on his clothes and heading straight to Takadanobaba.

For no other reason, he arranged for people from Tan Palace to sell noodles, sugar paintings, candied haws, as well as Chinese snacks and tea in some of the largest movie theaters in Songzhu.

The cheapest sugar painting costs 500 yen, a small jar of peanut paste costs 1,000 yen, and a box of Kyoba pieces costs 2,000 yen.

In addition, he can also take the opportunity to arrange for people to sell various handicrafts he brought from the mainland, so you can imagine how profitable it is.

He was going to the cinema where the premiere was held yesterday to see if these things would sell well.

As soon as he arrived at the place, he discovered that the situation was not a small one, but a great one.

Because his employees came over to report when they saw him, "Mr. Ning, there is not enough to sell, there is really not enough to sell! We are thinking that these things have been sold. Should we go back to the restaurant or give you a call? I didn't expect you to come. Yes! Look, this is today’s sales revenue..."