The first 20 days of July 1983 were dominated by "The Five Lucky Stars". Although "Mr. Douce" purchased by Anle Cinema Line from Hollywood did well at the box office, it was only released in four theaters plus two or three consecutive theaters.
Movie theaters can't create much momentum.
After the box office of "Mr. Douce" exceeded 10 million in Hong Kong, it basically failed to sell, and the four theaters of Anle Pictures also joined the ranks of showing "God of Gamblers".
"God of Gamblers" created a crushing situation in the Hong Kong film industry as soon as it debuted. "The Five Lucky Stars", which was released for nearly half a month, immediately suffered from weak box office and had to gradually reduce the number of screenings.
As for New Art City's "Yin Yang", it's not too bad. Despite the huge pressure from "God of Gamblers", the box office on the first day was actually 1.58 million. In the following days, the attendance rate did not decline much.
The cumulative box office in the first week was nearly 8 million, and the director of "Yin Yang", Lin Lingdong, became as famous as Zhang Jianting.
Even though "God of Gamblers" was soaring at the box office, DreamWorks' publicity department did not relax, and various publicity plans that had been prepared were implemented step by step. Promotional advertisements for "God of Gamblers" can be seen everywhere in Hong Kong.
From a month ago to the completion of "God of Gamblers", Kang Jianfei set a publicity budget of 2.5 million Hong Kong dollars. Last year, there were only more than 60 Hong Kong films with a box office of more than 2 million in the local area. The publicity cost of "God of Gamblers" alone was equivalent to many Hong Kong films
The local box office.
Two weeks after the release of "God of Gamblers", the attendance rate still showed a clear downward trend, so Kang Jianfei suddenly made a big move.
In mid-July, a fire broke out in the wooden house area of Chung Tau Village in Aberdeen, Hong Kong. More than 600 wooden houses were burned to the ground, leaving more than 900 Hong Kong citizens homeless.
Maqiao suddenly held a press conference and announced that as long as the local box office of "God of Gamblers" exceeds 30 million, 10% of the box office will be donated to the city council for the resettlement of fire victims.
After this news was announced, some newspapers criticized DreamWorks for making money at the box office under the guise of charity, while some newspapers praised DreamWorks for its social responsibility.
No matter what the public opinion is, the effect of this move on the box office of "God of Gamblers" is very obvious. In the third week of the film's release, due to the charity donation as a gimmick, the attendance of "God of Gamblers" actually increased instead of falling. Many people who watched the movie
Audiences who watched the film chose to buy tickets again to watch it.
The shooting budget of "God of Gamblers" is 7.5 million, and the advertising budget is 2.5 million. If the cumulative box office is 30 million, donating 10% to charity will be 3 million.
DreamWorks' box office share in Hong Kong has always been 50-50 split with fellow theater companies. However, Kang Jianfei's works and the "Royal Sisters" and "Mr. Zombie" series received 60% of the box office.
Calculated in this way, even if "God of Gamblers" has a box office of 30 million, after donating 10% of the box office, DreamWorks can only earn 3 million, and taxes and fees have not been included in it.
But even so, Kang Jianfei will not lose money if he chooses to donate. Firstly, he can gain fame for himself, and secondly, if the box office in Hong Kong exceeds 30 million, distribution and sharing in Southeast Asia, Taiwan, Japan and South Korea will be much easier. Donate
The 3 million I lost can be more than enough to earn back.
Of course, when promoting, you must pay some newspapers to speak favorably for DreamWorks. For example, after donating 3 million yuan to "God of Gamblers", the local box office did not make any money, etc. Anyway, just try to be as good as possible.
In fact, the marketing department still has hidden income that has not been announced at all. For example, the revenue from product placement in "God of Gamblers" was as much as 3.5 million.
The most ruthless one is the sponsorship fees for chocolate brands. People from the DreamWorks marketing department selected five mid-to-high-end chocolate brands, and one after another came to solicit sponsorships. They directly said that this was the work of director Kang Jianfei, and asked for a sponsorship of 3 million yuan.
fee.
Finally, the Italian chocolate brand Ferrero agreed to sponsor. As soon as the two parties negotiated, the Ferrero chocolate family provided an advertising sponsorship of 2.8 million yuan.
Not to mention anything else, Kang Jianfei can make all the directors in Hong Kong jealous with this super high movie sponsorship fee. If it were anyone else, a movie with a sponsorship of 3.5 million would be the limit, which could make an Italian chocolate brand
The main reason why Kang Jianfei paid the money was that all of Kang Jianfei's films have been hits in the past years. Last year, he even made "Home Alone," which was the second highest-grossing film of the year in North America.
In recent years, Kang Jianfei's films have had a lot of product placement, and his cooperation with Japan's Mitsubishi has not stopped. Anyway, not many people care about how many evil things Mitsubishi Heavy Industries has done in the past. A bad talent like Kang Jianfei will not make money. For example
In "God of Gamblers", Zhou Runfa's car and the car that Daozi bought after transferring money were both Mitsubishi cars.
Kang Jianfei did not disappoint his sponsors this time. After the hit release of "God of Gamblers", Ferrero Rocher chocolate's market share in Hong Kong increased by 6 points that month.
Many viewers - especially those who like to play cards, after watching "God of Gamblers", deliberately eat two pieces of chocolate every time they play cards to bring good luck to themselves.
Although Ferrero Rocher chocolate is a world-famous brand, its products also have several grades, and basically everyone who is not too poor can afford it. Because when Kang Jianfei was filming "God of Gamblers", he deliberately borrowed Zhou Runfa's mouth and said it several times.
The name of the brand Ferrero is so popular that now everyone chooses Ferrero when buying chocolate.
Ferrero chocolate's market share increased by 6 points in Hong Kong within one month, which is already a miracle in advertising sales. The 2.8 million sponsorship fee is definitely worth it. Not only that, once the Ferrero brand is linked to "good luck"
, then consumers will habitually consume in the future and subconsciously identify this brand to buy. This kind of long-term benefit is difficult to predict.
Just like the brand Goldlion, its sales were not good at first. Once the brand was changed to "Goldlion", it immediately won the favor of the bosses.
The person in charge of Asia of Ferrero Rocher Chocolate will also come to the rescue. Before "God of Gamblers" was released in Hong Kong, he spent a sky-high price of 300,000 Hong Kong dollars to strike while the iron was hot and hired Zhou Runfa to shoot an advertisement. The slogan of the advertisement was: Eat Ferrero Rocher, and you will be lucky.
Often!
Later, when "God of Gamblers" became a hit in various regions of East Asia, the commercial was redubbed and turned into a multi-national version. However, because Ferrero Company did not inform Chow Yun-fat and Oriental Entertainment Company in advance, a lawsuit broke out. In the end, both parties
A private settlement was reached, with Ferrero compensating Zhou Runfa 500,000 in advertising expenses.
In any case, the cooperation between Ferrero Rocher Chocolate and "God of Gamblers" is definitely a classic case of film advertising. Since then, more and more brands are willing to cooperate with film companies. As long as the film involves famous directors or big stars, they will
It's very refreshing to spend money.
In this regard, both Cheng Long and Hong Jinbao are very embarrassed. Most of their films are early Republic of China films or period films. It is really difficult to insert advertisements, which wastes a lot of financial resources.
On the contrary, it was New Art City's "Best Partner 3". Since Ferrero Rocher made a lot of money in "God of Gamblers", Lei Juokun successfully obtained a sponsorship fee of 3 million after contacting him.
With such a high cost of advertising in movies, those small companies and small directors can only drool while looking at it. Without the support of big-name directors and big-name stars, they are not qualified to make this "windfall".
New Art City's "Yin Yang" has been in theaters for four weeks, with a cumulative box office of 14.65 million, which is a relatively good result. "The Five Lucky Stars", which was released earlier, has a local box office of 22 million.
It is considered to be the highest-grossing movie by Kim Bo Hung since his debut.
"God of Gamblers" was still in theaters after "Yin Yang" was canceled. Until the end of August, the cumulative box office of "God of Gamblers" had exceeded 28 million, just shy of reaching 30 million.
DreamWorks opened a small window in "Oriental Daily" and updated the box office status of "God of Gamblers" every day. Due to the commitment to donate money, after the box office of "God of Gamblers" reached 29 million, it suddenly set off another
There was a rush to watch the movie, and within a few days the box office had reached more than 33 million.
Until September 5th. "God of Gamblers" finally closed more than 40 days after its release, with a cumulative box office of 34.18 million in Hong Kong, once again breaking the Hong Kong movie box office record.
"Movie Weekly" wrote an article and commented: "'God of Gamblers', like 'A Better Tomorrow', will become a benchmark for gambling films in Hong Kong. Gambling films after 'God of Gamblers' will definitely see a series of similar gambling films.
Just like the proliferation of hero movies in Hong Kong now. The God of Gamblers played by Chow Run-fat has become a classic image of gambling movies. In the past, when people mentioned Zhou Runfa, people would think of Hui Wenqiang. Later, when people mentioned Zhou Runfa, people would think of Brother Ma. Now when people mention Zhou Runfa, the first thing people think of is
It’s Gao Jin, the god of gambling.”
"Ming Pao Weekly" is more entertainment gossip, but this issue's special topic takes a different approach. It begins to summarize the main female roles in Kang Jianfei's movies since his debut, and euphemistically calls them "flying girls". From the original Li Saifeng
, Wen Bixia, later Guan Zhilin, Zhong Chuhong, Hui Yinghong and others, and now Lin Fengjiao, Li Yufeng, "Ming Pao Weekly" all commented on them one by one:
"Kang Jianfei has the magic power to turn stone into gold. Even if the actresses who have appeared in his movies are not famous, at least their fame will soar. And under Kang Jianfei's lens, the potential charm of these actresses will be stimulated.
, people are stunned by it. The most outstanding one is Lin Qingxia. Who would have thought that Lin Meiren, who has always played the heroine in literary and romantic films, would have such a heroic side? Whether it is in "Swordsman"
Her graceful demeanor, or her arrogance in "The Royal Sister", all of them fully revealed Lin Qingxia's heroic spirit, allowing the audience to appreciate her other style... Lin Fengjiao was as famous as Lin Qingxia in Taiwan before, and this time Kang Jianfei
Bringing her to Hong Kong for development, Lin Fengjiao's brief appearance in "God of Gamblers" should be just a test of the waters. The author is very much looking forward to how Lin Fengjiao will show her new side under the lens of director Kang Jianfei..."
More Hong Kong media are paying attention to the box office of "God of Gamblers" and Zhou Yunfa's wonderful acting skills. The day after "God of Gamblers" broke the Hong Kong box office record, the entertainment pages of all Hong Kong newspapers published this news on the headlines. People lamented
, there are both envious and envious people, but the unanimous tone is to celebrate Hong Kong’s box office reaching a new high.
The two most eye-catching movies in this summer's season are "The Five Lucky Stars" and "God of Gamblers," and Hung Kam-bo and Kang Jianfei are often compared and discussed together.
The funniest thing is the actor Chow Yun-fat. Because a reporter accidentally photographed Chow Yun-fat having a quarrel and conflict with Chen Yulian, the next day a piece was published titled "Chow Yun-fat and Chen Yulian are about to break up, or because Brother Fat is in love with Lin Fengjiao".
How did the quarrel between Chow Yun-fat and Chen Yulian involve Lin Fengjiao? Naturally, it was because the two played lovers in "God of Gamblers", and there were some specious intimate scenes. The result was that Lin Fengjiao had very few scenes, but after the film was released, he was involved in scandals
Exposure greatly increased.
Not only that, Huang Qiusheng's pursuit of Li Yufeng during the filming was also revealed by a crew member, and the outside world speculated whether the two were dating.
Huang Qiusheng was harassed by reporters every day. After being annoyed, he said it quickly: "Ms. Li Yufeng already has a boyfriend, but this man is not me."
Huang Qiusheng was scolded by his agent because of this statement. As a member of a girl idol group, Li Yufeng would naturally lose her charm if she had a boyfriend. Oriental Entertainment Company quickly came out to clarify.
Anyway, throughout August this year, the pages of Hong Kong's major entertainment newspapers and magazines were often occupied by the main creative staff of "God of Gamblers". Huang Qiusheng, who plays the role of Daozi, has become famous, which is not the same as the fast-rising star Liu Dehua from TVB.
Shang and Xia were listed as two new generation niches by newspapers.
Even Xiang Huaqiang, who played the role of Long Wu, suddenly became a well-known star. Some small directors who didn't know the details even wanted to hire him for filming scenes.
On the morning after "God of Gamblers" was released, DreamWorks held a press conference. Reporters from Phoenix TV also came to the scene with cameras, and in front of everyone, Ma Qiao donated 3.5 million Hong Kong dollars to charity on behalf of Kang Jianfei.
payment.
While fulfilling his promise, Ma Qiao also announced on the spot: "Mr. Kang's filming of "God of Gamblers" is purely a film commercial entertainment act. It is not intended to glorify gambling and gamblers. On behalf of Mr. Kang, I solemnly declare that "God of Gamblers"
Not only in Hong Kong, but also in all regions where this film is shown, we are willing to donate 10% of the box office to support local charities!"
"Pa bang bang..."
There was roaring applause at the press conference, and long guns and cannons began to target Maqiao with indiscriminate bombing.
It's not that Kang Jianfei's conscience found out, but that after the release of "God of Gamblers", it did bring many bad social impacts.
Gambling has always been popular in Hong Kong. Not only playing mahjong, playing cards, betting on horse racing, Mark Six lottery is also very popular. After the movie "God of Gamblers" came out, it once again ignited the enthusiasm for gambling among Hong Kong people. It made the neighbors
They gather for gambling and disputes from time to time.
Not only that, there are also some teenagers who practice gambling hard after watching "God of Gamblers". Naturally, they can't practice gambling, but many people go astray because of this. "God of Gamblers" is just like the future "Ancient Gamblers".
"Dangerous Boy" has also harmed many young people.
Although Kang Jianfei is a bitch, he doesn't want to be criticized by others, so he takes the initiative to give away 10% of the box office for charity. On the one hand, he can accumulate bad virtue and good reputation for himself, and on the other hand, he can offset the negative public opinion against him.
However, Kang Jianfei's concerns were obviously unnecessary. On the third day after "God of Gamblers" was released, Typhoon "Allen" hit Hong Kong, causing heavy casualties of 10 dead, 333 injured and 12 missing. The economic losses were even more incalculable. According to the Hong Kong media
All eyes turned to Typhoon.
After the impact of the typhoon passed, news of the breakdown of the second round of Sino-British negotiations came again. Not only did Hong Kong's stock market and property market plummet this time, but even the Hong Kong dollar devalued crazily. In less than half a month, the exchange rate of the Hong Kong dollar against the US dollar fell to 9.60.
The Hong Kong dollar hits a record low against the U.S. dollar.
For the citizens of Hong Kong, it is like the end of the world, and it seems that the People's Liberation Army on the other side will attack at any time. Ordinary citizens began to frantically buy daily necessities. First, they can reduce the losses caused by the continued depreciation of the Hong Kong dollar. Second, they are afraid that they will not be able to buy them in the event of a war.
to something.
There are always long shopping queues in front of all department stores and daily necessities stores in Hong Kong. Especially the old ladies are the craziest. They not only rush to buy oil, salt, sauce and vinegar, but even buy boxes of toilet paper to save.
Soon, rumors spread from unknown sources that in order to take back Hong Kong, the mainland would blow up the High Island Reservoir, cut off Hong Kong's water supply and force Britain to submit. Citizens bought large tanks and began to store water frantically, resulting in insufficient water pressure on many high-rise floors.
Even daily water supply has become difficult. The water outage was obviously caused by insufficient water pressure, but it was taken as proof that the reservoir was bombed, and panic quickly spread throughout Hong Kong again.
Hong Kong was in chaos in September. Movie release plans of major companies were temporarily canceled because not many people would go out to watch movies during this period. Most people rushed to buy things and watch TV at home.
What was a disaster for the film company turned out to be a blessing for the TV station. Both TVB and Phoenix TV's ratings increased, so both TV stations were preparing to release their own high-quality TV series.
What makes Kang Jianfei dumbfounded is that this time TVB actually took the lead in broadcasting "Bao Qingtian".
This has always been the case among the big guys in Hong Kong's film and television industry. After a fight breaks out, it's almost like they go head-to-head with each other.
This was the case when Shaw Brothers and TVB competed for box office. When TVB was preparing to film "Butterfly Lovers", Shaw Brothers immediately rushed to film and release "Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai". This was also the case before when TVB and LiTV competed for ratings.
, when Lishi found out that Shao Yifu recruited Zheng Shaoqiu to come back to film "Chu Liuxiang", she immediately rushed to film "Chu Liuxiang" and broadcast it.
Before Kang Jianfei filmed "Bao Qingtian" this time, he spent a lot of time preparing costumes and props. Naturally, it was impossible to hide it from tvb. As a result, Phoenix TV's "Bao Qingtian" has not yet started broadcasting, and tvb's "Bao Qingtian" has not yet started broadcasting.
》 already had good ratings.
In the case of preconceptions, if the quality of the two TV series were not very different, the Phoenix TV station that broadcast later would have lost. (To be continued...) rt
