Although this summer vacation was mediocre, let alone blockbusters, there were not even billion-level movies.
Of course, this refers to domestic films. In early July, the imported film "Despicable Me" exceeded 1 billion.
However, two classic marketing cases were born in August.
The movie version of "Three Lives, Three Worlds, Ten Miles of Peach Blossom" adapted from the TV series of the same name had a large-scale lock-in behavior when it was released.
The so-called lock-in means that fans buy tickets for a certain show in the theater in advance, and only buy one or two tickets for each show.
Although the box office is not large, it can be guaranteed that this show will not be replaced by other movies.
Nowadays, advance sales are generally carried out several days or even ten days in advance. However, except for the golden period on the first day, few people will buy tickets in advance for shows at other times. After all, it is not impossible to buy tickets.
With so many shows pre-sold in advance, theaters will make adjustments to their film schedules based on the pre-sales situation when the show is approaching.
However, fans of "Three Lives, Three Worlds, Ten Miles of Peach Blossom", most of whom are also fans of the actors, bought one or two of the evening prime time shows in a large number of well-located movie theaters to ensure that the show would not be removed and replaced with another one after the screening.
Movie.
To put it more simply, if you occupy a seat, even if you only have one ticket, the theater cannot reschedule other movies, ensuring that the movie can be adequately scheduled.
Moreover, fans are organized and have the opportunity to take action. There are a large number of fans on Weibo, Douban, and fan groups taking action.
The effect is also amazing. With the support of high-ranking films, the first-day box office of "Three Lives Three Worlds" reached 150 million, setting a first-day box office record for Chinese films this summer.
However, the movie has a very bad reputation, and the behavior of fans makes it even more disgusting for passers-by and viewers.
The theaters also tried their best to refund tickets, making various excuses, such as machine malfunctions and the like.
This caused dissatisfaction among fans, but the theater machine should still be malfunctioning, so even reporting it to the Consumers Association would be useless.
I got 460 million in the first four days of the weekend, but it dropped directly to 90 million in the second week, and it also dropped by 0 in the third week, leaving only 9 million.
The notoriety of "Three Lives, Three Worlds, Ten Miles of Peach Blossom" has spread throughout the Internet, and the term "lock-up" has also become widely known.
In terms of effect, it must be very good. After all, the box office on the first day was so high, and it also supported it in the first weekend.
However, there was a backlash in the follow-up, and apart from fans, there were not many passers-by spectators.
No matter what kind of movie it is, it mainly depends on the audience. Fans can contribute a few dollars and make the audience disgusted. This is the result.
Moreover, theaters have also begun to implement targeted anti-lockdowns.
In addition to the lock-in, another classic marketing case is "Sha Po Lang: Greedy Wolf".
While the average attendance of all cinemas across the country is around 20 or 30, and even Wanda’s is just over 40, the average attendance of all cinemas under Berner has reached more than 110.
That is to say, injecting water into the box office in the early stage, first to increase the box office, create signs of big sales, attract the attention of the audience, and then allow the theater to increase the film schedule, and obtain higher box office in the later period.
Buying box offices has been around ten years ago, but at the time the public couldn't check the box office. Investors didn't buy it, but reported it falsely.
On the first day, 600 were quoted for 10 million. This kind of operation deceived the audience into thinking it was a big hit in an era when box office statistics were imperfect and slow.
Once the audience is lured into the cinema, the box office will increase later, and the over-reported amount will be made up.
This trick is also an unspoken rule. In the past, it was difficult to use box office statistics. It was normal to report 6 to 7 million to 10 million, and it was possible to double or even more.
It doesn't work anymore. Online ticket purchasing has become the mainstream, real-time box office can be checked, and the special office will publish the data on time every day.
Therefore, it is impossible to exaggerate the box office without spending money. You can only buy it with money.
Bernard added to the box office performance of "Sha Po Lang: Greedy Wolf" in the past few days, and it earned close to 300 million in 4 days.
The movie's reputation is also very good, and Louis Koo finally got rid of the paralyzed acting in "Anti-Corruption Storm", which can be regarded as one of his best acting works in recent years.
It has a good reputation, good quality, high early box office, and high popularity. It stands to reason that the box office trend will be very stable.
However, there was a big dive in the second week and only 170 million was obtained.
For normal commercial films, the second week and the first weekend can be the same. With the reputation and popularity of "Slaying the Wolf: Greedy Wolf", it should at least be higher than the first weekend.
It is because the 300 million yuan that was available in the first weekend was squeezed out in the second week, and the box office driven by word-of-mouth was not enough to make up for the water, so a movie with a score of 70% has gone out of the trend of a movie with a score of 50%.
Bernard is also in a cocoon. The passerby audience saw the box office plummet, and became more and more unsettled. It is a niche genre like Dong Yesterday, and it continued to dive to 60 million in the third week.
This water injection ruined the reputation and quality of the movie. They probably regretted it themselves. They originally just wanted to cheat the early box office, but they didn't expect that the reputation was quite good.
It could have been a long-term project, but it was deceived by the inflated box office in the first week.
However, unlike other flooded movies, "Slaying the Wolf: Greedy Wolf" has not been criticized.
It's just that the movie has a good reputation, the lead actors have good acting skills, and the quality is pretty good.
I tried it with a well-known bad movie, and it was already criticized by the entire Internet.
Differential treatment is normal. Food is the original sin. Good movies can offset many negative things.
For example, our national football players will be scolded as scum if they eat barbecue beer and egg cakes.
But if they qualify in the World Cup qualifiers, let alone barbecue and beer, even if they go to float and block, everyone will excuse them.
Two classic cases in the summer, one with mixed success and one with more than a few successes, have also attracted major companies to study.
Li Qian also held a meeting to discuss targeted marketing methods for different movies in the Internet era.
There are only so many marketing methods, the main thing is to use them in the right place.
"Operation Mekong" Bernard not only did not add water, but deliberately kept a low profile on the first day and focused on the second day. The purpose was to attract audiences with high reputation and a sharp increase in the box office the next day.
That's confidence in the movie.
"Sha Po Lang: Greedy Wolf" was a miscalculation. I lacked confidence in the movie, so I injected water in the early stage, hoping to trick people into running away. However, I didn't expect that the movie's reputation was very good. It was self-defeating. Instead, the trend seemed to dive, and it was driven away.
audience.
"Don't play so many tricks with the National Day movie "Shameful Iron Fist". The quality of this film is much worse than "Charlotte". Pay attention to the communication with Penguin."
After the meeting, Li Qian also arranged the movies released by the company for National Day.
Li Qian got involved in the Mahua team's second film, but he only co-controlled the distribution with Penguin and didn't invest much in it.
Nowadays, most popular movies must be jointly distributed by two online ticketing platforms. After all, online ticketing has become mainstream, and it is one of the four major movies of tomorrow, so there is no shortage of distribution business.
"I also think it's funny. The soul of this team is Shen Teng." Du Yang also agreed.
Although "Shameful Iron Fist" is one of the most popular movies this year, and it is also a comedy, after watching the finished film, it is much different from "Charlotte".
"But that one billion or even two billion is simple, don't underestimate it. After all, the reputation of the previous movie is there. It is also a comedy, and it will be treated like a normal blockbuster. The focus is on the National Day holiday. "
There's nothing much to say about this movie. It's an ordinary comedy movie. Anyway, it mainly promotes Shen Teng. The posters are absolutely C-rated. It can swindle a box office of more than 10 to 2 billion without any problem.
There is nothing else to do with the rest. The directors under the banner are all busy working on three main theme movies, and even their own films have slowed down.
"Ghost Blowing the Lamp 2" is in preparation. Xu Ke has to finish filming "Di Renjie 2" before he can come over. After that, he has to film the Battle of Jincheng.
Ning Hao has just started filming "Detective Chinatown 2", and it can only catch up with the Spring Festival at the earliest. The preparation of the previous "My Motherland and Me" was delayed.
Xu Zheng's "囧" hit him hard, and he has no ideas for his next movie.
Deng Chao also quit directing. Although he was confirmed to star in Zhang Yimou's "Shadow", Zhang Zhao, who was happy, was unwilling to let Li Qian participate. He only invested 10 million symbolically and went to hug the penguin's lap.
Zhou Xingchi's "The Truman Show 2" is the main investor and the main distributor, and the copyright belongs to Li Qian.
The storyboards for "Flight of Destiny" haven't been finished yet, and the storyboards haven't been started yet.
However, when two new directors were added, Huang Bo and Wang Baoqiang learned the professional knowledge of directing while working on their own scripts, and they were all finished.
Li Qian also made an appointment separately to help take a look.
During the phone call a few days ago, Li Qian knew the general situation of the two of their scripts, and based on the principle of bitterness first and sweetness later, he made an appointment with Wang Baoqiang first.
When he took over the script of "Havoc in Tianzhu" from the somewhat excited Bao Qiang, Li Qian even turned to the first page and wondered if he should just deal with it casually.
He really didn't want to watch the script of such a bad movie.
"Havoc in Tianzhu", the male protagonist is Wu Kong, and the supporting roles include Tang Sen, Zhu Tianpeng, and Wu Jing
Anyone with some brains can see that this is Tang Seng and his disciples.
Tang Zong, the president of Shengtang Group, suddenly passed away and left a will. His son Tang Sen, accompanied by the poor boy Wu Kong, went to Yinyindu to find the will.
In India, they happened to meet Zhu Tianpeng, a narcissistic but beautiful but loyal man, and Wu Jing, a beautiful and sexy beauty who hides a deep secret. After going around and around, the four of them formed an alliance and began an adventure.
The modern version of Journey to the West is solid.
Pretending to read it carefully, Li Qian closed the script, considered it for a moment, and then spoke with Wang Baoqiang's expectation.
"Road comedy?"
"Yes, Director Li, what do you think?" Wang Baoqiang asked expectantly.
Li Qian smiled and said, "It's good. It's great that the first script can be written like this."
Wang Baoqiang also smiled sheepishly and a little proudly.
For a layman, this script is indeed just so-so.
In a road comedy, the protagonists are usually two or three people who want to do something together, but have different personalities. There will be conflicts in the middle, and then they will quarrel, part ways, and then flash back to the happy time together in the past, as if they have realized something. Then when someone rebels and fights someone, another person will jump out of nowhere and join in the fight. Of course, it will be a perfect ending with tears of joy.
Just follow this routine and copy it.
It's not easy for Li Qian to fight against the wall, and the director is really not that easy. Even if he is given a good script, there is a high probability that he will not be able to film it.
"Well, I will make two suggestions."
"Director Li, please tell me."
"Your character alone is a bit absurd and funny. Although the whole film needs to be unified, there must be a certain degree of absurdity. Don't turn the absurdity into pretending to be crazy and acting stupid, just like Brother Chao, which will lead to collapse.
The comedy of road comedies comes from conflicts. External conflicts and internal conflicts coexist. External conflicts lead to internal conflicts. Internal conflicts trigger external chain reactions. There are also characters' failures that cause the audience to smile and feel happy. "
"People on the Road" and "囧囧" are similar, and one of the lines in "The Road to Love" is also the same."
Li Qian just talked about some superficial things and didn't mention anything higher level. If it can achieve these two points, this "Havoc in Tianzhu" is already a passable comedy.
"Then how should I change it?" Wang Baoqiang listened carefully. After all, the person sitting in front of him was the best commercial film director in the country.
"After all, what others say is not yours. So, go back and make a film of these road comedies, and then look at other people's films. Record all the internal contradictions, external contradictions, and the laughter caused by the characters' failures, and observe
The connection between his rhythm and these three points.
Then spread out your script, compare it one by one, and follow the rhythm, as well as the internal contradictions, external contradictions, and the laughter caused by failure, and then add it."
Li Qian would be surprised if a basic rhythm routine can do this, as long as it doesn't go crazy.
Baoqiang took the script and went back to study it. When he saw Huang Bo's script in the afternoon, Li Qian felt a little better.
In comparison, Huang Bo's "A Good Play" is more than a little better, both in terms of creativity and the play itself.
It’s a story about a group of people living on an isolated island. There are many such films abroad, but there don’t seem to be any in China.
The biggest highlight of this type of movie is the way each person behaves and changes when laws and morals cannot restrain them.
Small people and company bosses, from having nothing to winning the lottery, to living on an isolated island, unable to redeem their lottery tickets, still have nothing.
Waiting for these conflicts to replace the ugliness of human nature, to avoid being stabbed by light and electricity.
What's even more surprising is that the changes in different teams fit the different systems and provide a deeper insight.
It's a very mature and excellent script.
"An absurd micro history of social development." Li Qian did not comment on the quality of the script, but just said this sentence.
Huang Bo's eyes lit up, "Director Li thought the same as me. That's what I planned. When I watched "2012" a few years ago, I thought about what kind of development mankind would go through if the end of the world returned to modern civilized society.
.”
"Brother Bo is very ambitious, but we still have to be careful not to preach too much. This kind of film should not be purely preachy. It is best for the audience to realize after watching it, in retrospect,
Better results."
There isn't much to say about the script alone, unless it's like "Havoc in Tianzhu".
"The photo is a little more subtle, right? I'm afraid I can't explain it clearly," Huang Bo said.
"Brother Bo, don't treat the audience as fools. It has to be subtle to achieve the best effect. If it's too straightforward, it's like holding the audience's head in front of them."
"Then I'll think about it again."
"In addition, this is definitely a film that focuses on people. You need to avoid the characters being too stylized and emotional. They strictly follow the changes you arranged. It's not good if it's too rigid."
The film "A Good Show" definitely has a lot of shortcomings, some of which are deliberate, resulting in not much writing being devoted to the main conflict.
There is also a problem with the pacing, and the supporting characters basically have nothing to show off.
However, if these problems can be solved, "A Good Show" can be called a classic. Even with these shortcomings, it is still a good film.
It is a genius to be able to make a good film for a debut film, but to have higher requirements is a bit unrealistic.
The script is just like that. Mainly we have to wait for their storyboards to be released before we can really see anything.
After leaving the company, Li Qian went to meet with Chen Wu from Penguin and said they had something important to discuss.
However, Chen Wu didn't get down to business first. Instead, he chatted for a while, talking about "Fortress", the leading actor Lu Han, and several young talents who are now famous all over the world.
"Director Li, I wonder what you think of "Fortress"?" Chen Wu asked with a smile.