The popularity of "The Sixth Sense" actually surprised many people.
After all, although supernatural movies have always performed well in the thriller genre, such movies have always been a niche.
But "The Sixth Sense" has become a different kind, with its opening weekend box office not far behind those big popcorn productions.
This has also led many companies in Hollywood to conduct various analyzes on the reasons for the success of "The Sixth Sense".
This is a very normal thing in Hollywood.
As mentioned before, in recent years, Hollywood movies have actually entered a period of high investment, high risk, and low security. The investment for a movie can easily reach hundreds of millions, and the costs of publicity and distribution are frighteningly high.
Movies themselves are extremely uncertain. Although in the early days when big data first became popular, some people used big data to judge what types and themes of movies had potential. However, the results proved that movies are not related to the preferences of the audience.
Such variable factors are difficult to determine even with big data.
Dean Pictures has made a lot of money this time, so it naturally pays special attention to this movie.
And this time, veteran film critics can also be said to be proud.
Because in the past, with the rise of the Internet and the rise of self-media, the influence of film critics on the box office of movies can be said to be minimal, and the public relations fees have naturally dropped sharply.
In the past, before the 21st century, the status and influence of Hollywood film critics could be said to be outstanding.
But nowadays, even in many cases, the more they watch good movies, the box office results are reversed, which is very embarrassing.
Although this time "The Sixth Sense" also has strong commercial elements, the pace of this movie is obviously not as fast as those commercial movies. In addition, the theme and so on can be said to have hit their mark.
So, it was natural to advocate for the film more spontaneously.
As the box office of "The Sixth Sense" has soared, veteran film critics have also come forward to express their own opinions. One of them said that the success of "The Sixth Sense" lies in innovation.
"The Sixth Sense" is different from any other thriller and supernatural movie nowadays. The director is very restrained and does not use scares as a selling point or deliberately create a scary atmosphere. Instead, he uses supernatural elements to delve deeper into human nature and so on.
It can be said that in the current situation where Hollywood sequels are gathering together and originality is declining, "The Sixth Sense" has successfully broken out of the siege by using a unique way of packaging old wine in new bottles.
Of course, the film and television giants sneered at this. Do they still know what these people think?
It's nothing more than a show of presence. It's not like no one in Hollywood has tried so-called innovation, but investment and return rate are not directly proportional at all.
They feel that the biggest reason why "The Sixth Sense" is such a hit is that they don't need to analyze it so much. They just have to identify the director.
Li Yi suddenly became popular. After all, although Li Yi was a victorious general before and could be said to have never failed in the Chinese film industry, in comparison, Li Yi did not spend much time in Hollywood and did not have many works.
.
They were waiting and watching before, not thinking that Li Yi, a great Chinese film director, could cater to the tastes of North American audiences, but "The Sixth Sense" proved that you are still your uncle.
Therefore, several major Hollywood companies began to target Li Yi.
In their opinion, as long as they cooperate with director Li Yi, it will be OK. What's the use of analyzing so much?
They have always believed that successful people always succeed!
Therefore, successful people must be popular before they fail.
Therefore, when the box office of "The Sixth Sense" exceeded US$300 million, Dean Films specially held a grand celebration party for Li Yi.
Los Angeles Hilton Hotel.
Li Yi and Xu Nannan attended the reception together.
Since it is the celebration party for "The Sixth Sense", it is natural and inevitable that everyone will discuss why this movie is so successful.
This movie is really unexpected.
The first weekend was US$80 million, and the box office trend in the second week was actually very stable. It took less than half a month to get US$300 million in box office, and the key is, this is obviously not "The Sixth Sense"
the end point.
According to predictions from relevant agencies, the final box office hit of "The Sixth Sense" is conservatively estimated to be over $500 million.
And how much was the investment in this movie?
Including actors' remuneration, publicity, etc., the total amount is less than 100 million US dollars.
This kind of return on investment is enough to make people jealous.
"The combination of supernatural elements and social themes is the biggest reason for the success of this movie!" said a media person who attended the reception.
"No, no, no, I don't think so. Movies with supernatural elements and social themes are not uncommon in Hollywood, but why is it that only "The Sixth Sense" has created a box office miracle? I think the most important thing is the film's
With the reversal ending, it can be said that this is an ending-style movie. Without that stunning twist, I believe the movie would be a lot less interesting!" said another person who attended the reception.
"There are a lot of movies with reverse endings, right? It would be ridiculous to say that "The Sixth Sense" was a hit only because of the ending!" Others sneered at this.
In fact, there are indeed many Hollywood movies with dramatic ending twists like "The Sixth Sense", but none are as stunning as "The Sixth Sense".
At this time, everyone's eyes were focused on the door.
Li Yi and Xu Nannan arrived hand in hand, and many representatives of the Hollywood giants who were talking immediately apologized to the people around them, and then came forward to greet them.
As the host, James Dean was naturally always vigilant.
Of course he knew why these competitors suddenly came so early today.
Although competition and cooperation coexist among the major Hollywood giants, the investment in many movies, especially Hollywood movies nowadays, is getting higher and higher. They have to share investment risks, so cooperation is the norm.
But Li Yi's movies are not included in this list, because there are no "big risks" in Li Yi's movies. In addition, Li Yi himself is also an investor in Li Yi's movies, so his share is even smaller.
On the Dean Pictures side, James Dean naturally doesn’t want anyone else to get a piece of the pie.
“Hi Lee, I’m Geralt from Cheetah Pictures and your The Sixth Sense is really great!”
Representatives of several major Hollywood giants came forward to say hello to Li Yi.
Of course, in front of James Dean, they were not in a hurry to poach him!
But this also made James Dean extremely vigilant.
After all, Li Yi is very popular now, and although Li Yi and Dean Pictures cooperate very well, there is no guarantee that other companies will offer better terms.
Therefore, James Dean was naturally very wary.
"Li, do you have any ideas for the next step?" James Dean finally asked after some polite exchanges with Li Yi.
Li Yi looked at James Dean with a strange look on his face: "James, are you too impatient? "The Sixth Sense" hasn't been offline yet!"
"Haha, I'm impatient, but if you have any new ideas, don't forget about Dean Films. Our cooperation has always been very pleasant, hasn't it?" James Dean said with a haha.
Li Yi naturally understood what the other party meant. In fact, he had no idea of cooperating with other companies.
After all, it is indeed very pleasant to cooperate with Dean Pictures, and for now, even if Li Yi cooperates with other giants, it will be difficult to get any better conditions.
After going back, Li Yi quickly received calls from representatives of several giants at the reception. Li Yi did not refuse directly, but just said that the current cooperation with Dean Pictures was very pleasant, and there was nothing new for the time being.
If he has new ideas, he doesn't mind working together, but the prerequisite is to seek the opinion of Dean Films.
Li Yi has already considered this, and he will never stay in Hollywood for too long.
Even if I have an idea, I can only make one or two movies at most. This is still not my territory.
Even though "The Sixth Sense" achieved such a high box office, Li Yi's income was definitely not low, but in fact, most of it was taken away by Dean Pictures.
You know, in Hollywood, a movie's box office revenue accounts for a very small proportion of total revenue.
As for other income, such as peripherals, DVDs, streaming media, etc., Li Yi lacks key channels. In addition, these are long-term income. Without channels, giants such as Hollywood and even Dean Pictures cannot
Let it go.
For Xu Nannan, she certainly hopes that Li Yi can stay here for a while.
So, tonight, later!
Xu Nannan leaned into Li Yi's arms and couldn't help but ask: "Are you going back?"
Li Yi smiled and said: "Let me stay with you for a while longer!"
"Then will you continue filming here?" Xu Nannan asked.
"Well, as you said before, you can try subjects that cannot be filmed in China, like "The Sixth Sense"! It's also quite interesting." Li Yi said with a smile.
"Then what are your next thoughts? What type of film do you plan to make?" Xu Nannan asked curiously.
Li Yi shook his head and said: "Not yet! However, maybe I will try to shoot some types of movies that I haven't done before."
Li Yi does have this idea. After all, if he keeps making such dramas, he will indeed get tired of it.
But sometimes, Goldfinger is so nonsense, always pushing itself in the direction of a tear-jerking director.
Of course, there are exceptions, such as "Dark War" and "Infernal Affairs", but they are not.
As a director, especially a successful director, Li Yi actually doesn't have many pursuits now. Most of the time, he enjoys his job.
Being a director and using the lens to create dreams, what is the greatest sense of accomplishment?
Naturally, you can stand from God's perspective, use movies, and use light and shadow to control the emotions of the audience, just like what Li Yi said when "The Story of Hachiko" was produced: "I just like to see you cry!"
"
But it doesn’t necessarily mean crying. Human emotions are very rich, and so are the types of movies.
Of course, Li Yi really has no idea about popcorn movies and the like for the time being.
This doesn’t mean that he can’t make movies, but this kind of movies are the real “routine” movies!
He wants to play with flowers!
For example, this time's "The Sixth Sense" is very interesting, especially the shooting of supernatural elements.
In the following time, Li Yi was naturally not in a hurry for the next movie. After all, the production team's donkeys were not used in this way, and he was not in a hurry, so he accompanied his wife and children to play everywhere every day.
On the other hand, "The Sixth Sense" was officially released more than 40 days after its release. The movie's box office exceeded everyone's imagination, with a box office of more than 600 million US dollars.
In Hollywood, even some hit sequels cannot match such achievements.
At the same time, when the news spread back to China, the media was also in a collective climax.
After all, this result can be said to be the highest box office record created by a Chinese director in Hollywood.
Although the previous record was also held by Li Yi, the North American box office of this movie is still amazing.
And Dean Pictures is becoming more and more eager for Li Yi's next movie. Not only Dean Pictures, but also several other Hollywood companies have been keeping a close eye on Li Yi and Dean Pictures.
Even if they can't monopolize it, at least they hope to get a share of the pie.
And what is Li Yi doing at this time?
After the little guy was sent to school today, Li Yi and Xu Nannan walked aimlessly together.
When passing by a pottery shop, Xu Nannan suddenly pulled Li Yi and ran inside.
There is nothing he likes or dislikes about Li Yi, she is just the woman who accompanies him anyway.
And it’s better than going shopping, right?
Women are all the same. Li Yi is not afraid of accompanying her to go shopping in old streets and old shops. What he is most afraid of is accompanying her to go shopping in various shopping malls. That really shouldn't be too unpleasant.
Inside the pottery shop, it seemed a bit deserted, with only a few people.
"Welcome! Do you want to give it a try?" The store manager is a blond woman about forty years old.
"Let's play together?" Xu Nannan said with a hopeful look on her face.
Naturally, Li Yi would not refuse.
Soon, with the help of the store manager, the two began to make pottery embryos.
To be honest, this thing is just a novelty for Li Yi and Xu Nannan.
However, looking at Xu Nannan tinkering there, a picture appeared in Li Yi's mind for some reason.
So he stood up, walked around behind Xu Nannan, and then clasped their fingers together. Under the caress of his hands, the clay embryo was gentle, well-behaved, and obedient.
While rotating, it rises, kneads the soil, draws the mold, adds glaze... it slowly takes shape, just like the flow of life.
This lifeless, moist mud seemed to be endowed with aura and stories at this time.
At the same time, a scene from a movie also appeared in Li Yi's mind.
Li Yi couldn't help but shake his head and laugh. He didn't expect that his trip to Hollywood would really be related to the supernatural.
This is actually another supernatural movie!
The only difference is that this time it is the real eternal theme "love!"
To be honest, the genre of this movie is not new in this era, but with the supernatural and romantic overtones, it seems to be a bit outstanding.
"I hate it! It's all broken!" As soon as Li Yi was distracted, his hand movements froze. As a result, Xu Nannan's nearly finished pottery was completely broken, which made her complain for a while!
