wavenovel Chapter 226 Crazy Box Office
Chapter 226 Crazy Box Office
At 7:30 p.m., the lights went out.
The moment the big screen lit up, the entire auditorium fell silent.
No one left the 100-minute movie halfway through.
As the end credits rolled, applause began to spread from the first row and eventually filled the entire auditorium.
It wasn't the kind of perfunctory, sporadic applause; it was the kind of heartfelt, deeply moving applause that lasted for a very long time.
Fu Yibai sat in the first row, next to Han Shanping.
Han Shanping turned around and patted him on the shoulder. His voice was mostly drowned out by the applause, but Fu Yibai understood what he said.
"A good movie."
After the premiere, the film critics' reviews were almost unanimously positive.
"Gravity is not just a science fiction film; it is a poem about life."
"Fu Yibai has redefined the narrative style of space science fiction with his unique Eastern aesthetics."
On its opening day, the film grossed 3200 million yuan.
This number may not seem like much in later years, but in 2007, it broke the domestic opening day box office record.
The next day, 4500 million.
On the third day, 5100.
As word-of-mouth continued to grow, the average screening rate soared from 60% on the first day to 72%.
The subsequent films, "The Warlords" and "Assembly," were alarmed by the phenomenal box office performance of "Gravity."
They all increased their promotional efforts, hoping to gain a piece of the pie from "Gravity" after the film's release.
On its fourth day of release, "Gravity" ushered in its first weekend, with its daily box office exceeding 6000 million.
The entire film industry was stunned by this number.
It's important to know that in the Chinese film market in 2007, a film that grossed over 100 million yuan was considered a big hit, and one that grossed over 300 million yuan was a phenomenal blockbuster.
"Gravity" grossed over 1.5 million yuan in just four days, and at this rate, it could potentially reach 10 billion yuan in total box office revenue.
Industry analysts worked overnight to adjust their forecasting models, raising their box office expectations for "Gravity" from 5 million to 10 billion.
If this figure is achieved, it will once again break the record for domestic film box office, leaving the record of 4.63 million yuan set by "Your Name" far behind.
On December 12, "The Warlords" was released in mainland China.
Chen Kexin's historical war epic brings together three top actors: Jet Li, Andy Lau, and Takeshi Kaneshiro. With an investment of 300 million yuan, it aims to become the champion of the Lunar New Year film season.
The box office grossed 1050 million on its opening day.
The numbers aren't bad, but compared to the 3200 million grossed by "Gravity" on its opening day, the difference becomes apparent.
The media began to describe "The Warlords'" opening day performance as a "disastrous failure".
Chen Kexin looked ashen-faced during the interview.
"The quality of a film should not be measured solely by its box office performance."
That being said, everyone knows that in the battleground of the Lunar New Year film season, box office revenue is the only measure of success.
The box office of "The Warlords" reached tens of millions of yuan, but it only lasted for three days.
Moviegoers came to the theater expecting Jet Li's action scenes, but after watching the film, they discovered that the action scenes only lasted for about twenty minutes.
More often than not, it's a drama that tells a story of human struggle.
Therefore, many people expressed some disappointment after the film reviews came out.
The failure of "The Warlords" gave the producers of "Assembly" an opportunity.
Feng Xiaogang made the decision directly at an internal meeting.
"Our propaganda needs to be more down-to-earth, play the emotional card, and emphasize that this is our own war story."
For a time, posters and trailers for "Assembly" were everywhere on television, in newspapers, and in subway stations, and the slogan "Every sacrifice is immortal" repeatedly struck the hearts of the audience.
However, the market's spotlight seems only willing to linger under that deep, starry sky.
The word-of-mouth for "Gravity" has grown like a snowball. On online forums, discussions about the philosophy of loneliness and survival in the film, as well as its minimalist yet breathtaking audiovisual aesthetics, remain highly popular.
Even many viewers who never watch science fiction films went to the theater after being strongly recommended by their friends and family, and came out in awe.
On December 18, after 13 days of release, "Gravity" officially surpassed the 500 million yuan mark at the box office.
On December 20, "Assembly" was released nationwide.
This time, Feng Xiaogang completely shed the label of his past comedies, using a cold and restrained lens to tell a story about sacrifice and proof.
However, even with policy support from relevant departments, the box office only reached 1800 million on the first day.
This figure would have been enough to make any director grin from ear to ear during previous Lunar New Year film seasons.
But with Gravity sweeping everything, the media only gave it a four-word review – "below expectations".
Feng Xiaogang did not respond to any interviews.
On its 19th day of release, "Gravity" grossed over 6 million yuan.
The entire industry is discussing what this number means.
It's worth noting that the total box office revenue for the Chinese film market last year was only 33 billion yuan.
Even with rapid market growth this year, the maximum will only be 40 billion.
A movie taking up a quarter of the annual box office was unthinkable a year ago.
But now, Gravity is turning the fantasy into reality.
Cinema managers began to proactively adjust their film schedules.
The screening share of "The Warlords" was reduced from 20% to 18%, and that of "Assembly" was reduced from 25% to 22%.
All the extra screenings were given to "Gravity".
Some cinemas even schedule only one film in the main hall all day, while other films are shown in rotation in the smaller halls.
Han Shanping was looking at the box office report in his office, his fingers tapping lightly on the table.
The assistant next to me handed me a cup of tea.
"Chairman Han, at this rate, breaking 800 million, or even 900 million, is no problem."
Han Shanping picked up his teacup, took a sip, and said nothing.
He was thinking about something else.