Chapter 402: Movies that break the upper limit of gift films
The last scene of the movie is a tank battle in the desert.
I have to say that it really made Sang Shaolong happy.
It even diluted some of the previous sad atmosphere.
Of course, at the end of the movie, the Dragon Team completes the rescue mission.
It’s just that those teammates who sacrificed their lives will never come back.
It's a good ending, but not a happy ending.
But Sang Shaolong still thinks highly of this movie.
......
In fact, it is really difficult to make a movie with such a main theme.
If you are not careful, it will give the audience a sense of preaching.
In particular, many similar movies have deliberately sentimental parts. Although the purpose is good, the audience feels so embarrassed that they want to be deported on the spot.
In this comparison, Xu Ji's "Operation Red Sea" appears to be very valuable.
From beginning to end, it is basically a very smooth and tight-paced gunfight action scene.
But it is not completely without any drama, and the fanning part is very restrained.
But the effect was beyond imagination.
Just like the stone sacrifice scene that Sang Shaolong found most touching after watching it.
The foreshadowing seems to be casually laid out at the beginning, including the relationship between Shitou and Tong Li, as well as the details of their love for eating sweets.
It seems like a useless plot.
Until the last time the stone was sacrificed, it burst out with huge energy.
This kind of technique is really not something that ordinary directors can learn.
The main reason is that it is difficult to control.
Of course, it has long been recognized that Xu Ji’s script is excellent.
In fact, Sang Shaolong came with high expectations before coming. In the end, he can only say that Xu Ji is indeed trustworthy.
What really surprised Sang Shaolong was Xu Ji's control of the action scenes.
It’s more than enough to satisfy him.
This kind of scheduling and modern war scenes are definitely at the top level in China.
Even compared to the few short action scenes in "Wushuang" before, the level has increased too much.
Moreover, Xu Ji was actually very good at filming literary dramas.
"Infernal Affairs" can be regarded as the other party's peak level.
In addition to the wonderful performance of the actors, the role of director Xu Ji is naturally self-evident.
This is the scariest thing.
From this point of view, Xu Ji, as a director, does not seem to have any special shortcomings at all.
Various types and styles, the other party seems to be able to control them easily.
In the entire Blue Star, Sang Shaolong seems to be the only one who can do this, Xu Ji.
Going back to this "Operation Red Sea", Sang Shaolong felt that Xu Ji broke the box office record of a gift film, and the box office of more than 1 billion should not be a problem.
Now that he has finished watching it, he feels that he still underestimated Xu Ji's new movie.
The rhythm of "Operation Red Sea" is excellent, and the various gunfight and action scenes are all very attractive.
It is completely in line with the standards of commercial blockbusters. Such a movie has almost no worries about selling.
More importantly, in addition to taking into account the business attributes, there are also many details and connotations.
This greatly increases the upper limit of the movie itself, and the box office may be more than what I previously predicted.
......
On the day "Operation Red Sea" was released, it earned 150 million at the box office thanks to the advance pre-sales and the support of the audience on the day.
This achievement is actually not an exaggeration.
Of course, it’s because after all, it’s not a popular time like the National Day and Spring Festival stalls.
It’s even just barely caught up with the end of the summer season.
At a time like August 1st, it is really not easy to achieve the box office on the first day.
If it were replaced by a director with average appeal, he might not be able to do it.
Of course, these are not the key.
On the day "Operation Red Sea" was released, apart from the box office, the most popular thing was actually the discussion about the plot of the movie itself.
"Salute to the hero! Xu Ji is really good at filming! The filming is so good. This is the only main theme movie I like."
"In the context of a propositional composition, Xu Ji can actually come up with such a work. I really have nothing to say except that it is awesome."
"Everything was fine, but Xu Ji was still too harsh. I cried so hard in the theater that I couldn't breathe."
"The war part was shot very smoothly, and it was very enjoyable to watch. In addition, the literary and dramatic aspects were also well managed. It was not abandoned, but made people feel just right."
"I originally thought that Xu Ji would shoot around the protagonist, but after watching it, I found that he is still good at group portraits, and the characterization is a big plus for me."
"In addition to showing the professionalism and powerful abilities of our Chinese warriors, the most valuable thing is that they are not filmed as cold tool characters, but as real people with flesh and blood!"
......
There are too many related discussions on the Internet, and the popularity of the movie has directly swept the screen on Bibo and other major websites.
"Operation Red Sea" is very popular. Although it is not a popular movie schedule, it relies on word-of-mouth and popularity to attract a large number of viewers to take the initiative to go to the theater for a movie.
The box office on the second day even exceeded the first day of the premiere, directly reaching 230 million.
Such a day's box office performance, even if it is placed during the Spring Festival, is very promising to compete for the box office championship.
In addition, the rating on Huaban.com once exceeded 9 points, but then dropped to 8.9 points.
But it’s already a very good score.
Especially since it is a gift film, it is even more valuable.
In the past, when some gift films were released, the market response was actually not good.
Usually at this time, some official organizations will arrange for people to book a movie theater.
Treat it as a mandatory task and contribute a lot of box office revenue to the movie.
But this time "Operation Red Sea" was not used at all.
Even if the official side doesn't take the initiative to arrange it, people are still willing to take the initiative to go into the theater and spend money to buy tickets.
Instead, there is no need for official help with reimbursement.
Such a situation is indeed very rare.
......
Even the official Duan Shengyu never expected it.
"Operation Red Sea" can be so popular, and its box office performance is so amazing.
After all, when had I seen such a scene before?
"You said, the box office won't really break through three billion as that guy Xu Ji said, right?"
Hu Lan looked excited at this time. When Xu Ji mentioned it before, he actually didn't take it seriously.
I feel that Xu Ji is just young and energetic. How can it be so easy to achieve this 3 billion box office?
But now, Hu Lan suddenly felt that it might not be completely impossible.
"If this trend continues, it is very possible."
"It's even more."
Duan Shengyu opened his mouth to answer.
He has been responsible for a lot of official gift film projects, and he also has a good understanding of the current Chinese film market.
Putting aside the title of a gift film, it is considered a commercial film released normally.
If this trend continues, it will be too easy to exceed 3 billion box office by the time it is released.
There is no difficulty at all.
"I was worried before, thinking that this task was too difficult and I might not be able to complete it."
"It turns out that this is only the first movie. It seems that the task given by the above is almost completed?"
Hu Lan said with emotion.
In fact, when he took on the task of making a gift film for the 100th anniversary of the founding of the People's Liberation Army, what worried Hu Lan the most was the task of box office targets.
What I said above is that only box office results can positively reflect the scope and extent of a movie’s spread.
Of course, this seemed to Hu Lan to be a bit embarrassing for him.
After all, it is a gift film, and it usually does not do well at the box office.
It is quite successful if it can not lose money, not to mention the average box office of each movie exceeds one billion.
The difficulty level is directly maxed out.
Who would have thought that Xu Ji’s movie could basically solve most of its box office problems.
"Xu Ji is indeed different from others."
Duan Shengyu also spoke.
He and Xu Ji have known each other for a long time.
In the past, Xu Ji had many official collaborations with them.
Therefore, Duan Shengyu felt that he knew Xu Ji relatively well at this time.
"In fact, the most important reason why some other directors are willing to take on these official projects from us is to leave a good impression."
"But whether it's a movie or a TV series, most of them are actually not very serious. They are all done to complete the task."
"But what's different about Xu Ji is that that guy takes it very seriously every time and treats it as his own company's project."
......
Duan Shengyu’s words are actually not difficult to understand.
Hu Lan also reacted quickly.
After all, there is not much money to be made from official projects.
Even the director's fee is not very high. For many directors, making such a movie will definitely lose money.
I just agreed because I couldn't refuse the official invitation.
Therefore, it is a prerequisite to complete the goal from the beginning.
"When that guy showed me the movie budget, I was shocked."
"If it were someone else, I would probably reject it directly."
Hu Lan said truthfully.
He didn't dare to tell the directors of several other gift film projects before.
Xu Ji's "Operation Red Sea" this time has an investment of over 200 million.
And that’s not counting the various filming support from their military.
If all are included, the total cost is estimated to exceed 500 million.
Duan Shengyu actually knew about this.
I kept it secret before.
But now that the movie is released, it's no longer a secret.
Many of the various big scenes inside were shot in real life, and the smell of money-burning can be seen everywhere.
"That guy Xu Ji is probably used to it."
"After all, he is the boss of the company, and no one will have any trouble with the film investment budget."
Duan Shengyu answered.
He knew that Tongji Entertainment, as Xu Ji's company, had the same strong style as his boss.
You can spend money but you can make more money.
The budgets for projects such as movies and TV series are often very high.
This can be seen from some of the submitted approval materials.
"I'm curious now about how other directors feel now."
Hu Lan suddenly thought of something, and then said with interest.
After Duan Shengyu and him looked at each other, they both laughed in unison.
This gift film project involves not only Xu Ji, but also four top-tier directors.
And among the few people, Xu Ji is the youngest in terms of seniority and age.
When I first heard about the one-billion-dollar box office target, several people argued about it for a long time, but there was no good way to allocate it.
As a result, it seems that Xu Ji has completed more than half of the targets by himself.
Although several other directors no longer have this pressure.
But it’s true that I can’t show it on my face.
......
In Zang Sheng's movie crew, he had just returned from the cinema.
Although he was pressed for time, he still found time to watch the premiere of "Operation Red Sea".
My mood at this time is a bit complicated.
Although I don't want to admit it, I have to say that Xu Ji's movie is better than his in every aspect.
What he found most incomprehensible was that Xu Ji wrote this script in one day?
Isn’t it a little too incredible?
In comparison, he felt that he hired a few first-line screenwriters and planned the script together for more than a month, which was like a crappy defense.
"Young people are still brave."
"Oh, I'm getting old."
Zang Sheng could only sigh helplessly.
He can naturally see how big the investment in "Operation Red Sea" is.
This is an official project, how dare Xu Ji play it so big.
If the box office is not satisfactory, all the losses will be borne by the official side.
This is not Xu Ji's own company. Even if it is Zang Sheng, if a movie with such a large investment suffers a loss, he will definitely not be able to explain it to the investors.
What's more, this is official money.
If the higher authorities investigate, there is a possibility that Xu Ji will be held accountable by the authorities.
Of course, although it won’t make Xu Ji lose money.
But it is very likely that the relationship with the official is at loggerheads, and then there will be no chance of contact with similar official projects in the future.
For directors, participating in official projects like this is actually not about making money.
It's more like an invisible amulet.
Although I have no money, this thing cannot be bought with money.
"Forget it, let's do our own thing first."
At this time, Zang Sheng had completely given up on the idea of competing with Xu Jibi.
Even if his film is highly completed in the end, there is no guarantee that it will be able to compare with Xu Ji's film.
So there is no need to continue to embarrass yourself mentally.
......
Various discussions about "Operation Red Sea" are still going on online. Coupled with the 100th anniversary of the founding of the army, it does feel like the entire Internet is paying tribute to Chinese soldiers.
Of course, in addition to this, the biggest profit this time is actually Tianwu Entertainment.
That's right, it's not Tongji Entertainment, but Tianwu Entertainment.
Because in this drama, except for Ji Yiyang and Chen Kang, the other members of the Dragon Team are all young actors from Tianwu.
Especially Tong Li, the only female team member, left a deep impression on the audience.
He Yifei, a young actress who plays Tong Li, actually gained nearly 800,000 fans in just a few days.
Before that, I was obviously just a transparent third- and fourth-tier actor.
It is not an exaggeration to say that it became popular overnight.
From all aspects, this time "Operation Red Sea" can be regarded as breaking the various upper limits of gift films.