Chapter 810: Release

In early July, Linghe once again launched a film into the market.

This time, it was an Italian art film they were responsible for distributing, *Breath*.

On its first day of release, the box office was only 800,000.

Someone teased: "Linghe wouldn't be claiming they're profitable and haven't lost money with an 800,000 box office, would they?"

Linghe, however, reposted this update and said: "Dear, we have reached a framework cooperation with the Italian company Yuerke, responsible for the distribution of their three art films in the Chinese region. The cooperation model did not adopt the traditional transfer of distribution rights; there is zero guarantee, only revenue sharing. This means that even if there is only 1 yuan in box office, we at Linghe are still profitable! Thank you for your concern for Linghe. It is precisely because of your concern that so many foreign film companies trust the Linghe brand and are willing to try new cooperation models with us."

To put it plainly, Linghe did not spend a single cent on copyright fees to distribute *Breath*. They only invested in publicity and distribution costs, while the Italian company Yuerke could enjoy a higher revenue-sharing ratio than typical film copyright holders.

For an art film like *Breath*, this was a form of exploration for Linghe.

Under the traditional distribution cooperation model, Chinese film companies basically would not do theatrical distribution for these art films; the loss rate is as high as 99%.

Therefore, Linghe proposed this kind of cooperation model.

And the other party was also happy to try it.

The summer season is the largest film season in the country, second only to the Spring Festival season.

Linghe, of course, would not only distribute art films during this period.

In fact, for this season, Linghe arranged a headlining film for both July and August.

July was *Summer Night Villa Thriller*, starring Wang Jing.

August was *The Classic*, starring Yan Lingyu, Yang Shiyi, and Zhang Chun.

And Lu Yan He himself had *Storm Calmer No. 1*.

Chen Yin had high hopes for *Summer Night Villa Thriller* because he believed the film's largest audience was the group of college and high school students currently on summer break.

This film tells the story of a group of students who, while on a study tour, check into a villa, only to accidentally discover a corpse in the villa, with the killer still inside.

Wang Jing plays the teacher leading the students and is the absolute protagonist of the film.

Everyone else is a newcomer, a real student.

For this film with a production cost of only 10 million, Linghe invested 10 million in promotion and marketing.

Because they judged that the film's selling points were very suitable for promotion and marketing.

The facts were indeed so.

The gimmick was too strong.

This subject matter became the first choice for students gathering during the holiday to watch a movie.

On its first day of release, it raked in over 30 million RMB at the box office, ranking fifth on the daily box office chart. If one ignores the ranking, the performance was actually extremely outstanding.

Of course, the fifth place in the daily box office during the summer season actually carries a lot of weight, especially for a film that cost only 10 million and had only Wang Jing as a star to carry the box office; such a result was very beautiful.

It can be said that it broke even on the first day of release (not counting promotion and marketing costs).

And this film was indeed very popular among students—

Not just because of the subject matter, but also because of the film's male lead, 17-year-old Zou Xuan.

Because he is handsome and had a highlight scene in the film where he saves the teacher, he became an overnight sensation. Not only did many girls get him on the trending searches, but it also led many people to start shipping his CP with Wang Jing.

Linghe had to "generously" introduce Zou Xuan, emphasizing that he is currently a student preparing for his third year of high school, is preparing for art exams and the college entrance exam, and is at a critical time, so he will not participate in the film's promotional tour. They also asked everyone to give the minor some space for protection and not to disturb his normal life.

Wang Jing also directly announced her non-single status to cut off the imaginations of CP fans as early as possible.

There was absolutely no scene in the film implying any ambiguity between the two, but that didn't stop people from thinking so.

There was no other way.

Linghe could only try their best to adjust the direction of the promotion.

And besides the 17-year-old Zou Xuan, the girl in the film who likes him, Jiang Ting, also received a lot of attention.

Lu Yan He watched the film and also felt that this girl acted with great spirit.

On the fifth day of the premiere, the film broke 100 million.

On social media, there was a lot of discussion about this film, especially among the student crowd; this film became one of the topics they discussed heatedly.

Wang Jing has already starred in several films with a box office exceeding 100 million. From *Late Spring* to *Phone*, and now *Summer Night Villa Thriller*, she has collaborated with Lu Yan He on several films and is a proper film actress. She is now basically on par with Ji Miao's status and is one of the few recognized so-called film actresses under the age of thirty.

And Yan Lingyu is the "top film actress" of their age group.

She is too popular.

Among the current actresses under thirty, no one can compare to her.

Whether it is popularity, heat, or actual work performance.

You talk about awards? In the face of absolute commercial value, awards are just things that are nice to have, and their absence doesn't affect anything at all.

Lu Yan He couldn't even imagine how thick Yan Lingyu's BUFF could stack after *The Classic* was released.

Her debut work was a major award-winning masterpiece at the Venice International Film Festival like *Late Spring*, and then *Chinese Paladin*, and *Those Years, We Were Chasing After That Girl*. In another time and space, there weren't many female characters who could explode to this level and charge an actress into a big blood-tank. And *The Classic* is the "thick-blooded masterpiece" of Son Ye-jin, who is known as "Son Fairy" in South Korea.

Actually, these films should have been given to different actresses to play.

That way, a few more first-tier actresses could have been exploded.

Originally, this film was also written for Su Xiao, to let Su Xiao write it.

However, because Su Xiao's agent signed her for two idol dramas, the schedules clashed and couldn't be coordinated, so Yan Lingyu was invited to save the day.

This film couldn't keep waiting for Su Xiao.

Standing from a God's-eye perspective, Lu Yan He could only sigh that Yan Lingyu's luck was too good.

How did these roles all end up with Yan Lingyu?

In terms of acting, three Yan Lingyus added together couldn't compare to one Wang Jing.

However, the roles and resources Yan Lingyu can get in film are just more than Wang Jing's.

Lu Yan He couldn't help but sigh.

As the summer season officially kicked off, *Storm Calmer No. 1* also began its intensive pre-release promotion.

However, the promotion for *Storm Calmer No. 1* did not take the route of large-scale marketing.

For this cinematic masterpiece, its reputation was already loud enough.

Especially on short video platforms, *Storm Calmer No. 1* did not release any clips of highlight scenes.

There was only one trailer.

All clips regarding the film's actual footage were strictly kept confidential.

The promotion mainly focused on the main creators like Liu Bige, Miao Yue, Lu Yan He, and Wen Shengming communicating with everyone at Zhenhua University and screening venues.

As soon as Wen Shengming, who had just experienced the previous public opinion storm, appeared, he was met with cheers, applause, and loud encouragement from the entire audience.

The two women who previously reported and accused Wen Shengming have now "disappeared" and no longer make a sound.

How the situation turned out like this is actually already clear at a glance.

The voices that previously appeared on the internet about boycotting *Storm Calmer No. 1* have also disappeared.

Long Yan took advantage of this to create a topic called #Wen Shengming stars in a movie again after eight years#.

They wanted to open up the market for audiences over forty.

Wen Shengming's appeal among this crowd is extraordinary.

Seeing this promotional tactic by Long Yan, Lu Yan He thought of another time and space where a marketing tactic once appeared, saying we all owe XXX a movie ticket.

Regardless of evaluating the nature of this tactic, in the end, it exchanged for real money at the box office.

The set that Long Yan is playing now has the same effect.

Of course, Long Yan can also play it this way.

Indeed, Wen Shengming has just experienced such a wave of scandal attacks, which is exactly when public favorability is at its highest.

Using the gimmick of a Chinese film leader like Wen Shengming starring in a movie again after many years to promote it will definitely attract many middle-aged and elderly audiences.

Moreover, this is a dual-male lead film that won the "Double Egg" Best Actor award at the main competition unit of the Venice International Film Festival.

The first collaboration between the older generation and the younger generation of top-tier Chinese actors, acting together in the same frame.

No big scenes, no special effects, and it's not the kind of subject matter that sells well.

However, no one would think that this is not a blockbuster.

From director to screenwriter, from lead actor to winning at the Venice International Film Festival, everything indicates that this film is a top-tier domestic blockbuster.

Therefore, all parties have high hopes for the film's box office.

Everyone feels that the film's box office will start at at least 500 million.

Otherwise, it would be a disservice to this lineup.

Such a number is actually not everyone's "praise-killing" of them.

Even Long Yan feels that the film's box office must be over 500 million.

Regarding this, when interviewed, Lu Yan He said: "I don't know how much box office *Storm Calmer No. 1* can eventually achieve. This is not what I am most concerned about right now. What I am most concerned about is whether the film itself can be recognized by the audience. Once recognized, the box office will naturally be good. If not recognized, a high box office doesn't count as a success. *Storm Calmer No. 1* was never a film aimed at the box office. If it were for the sake of box office, it wouldn't have been changed to its current style in the first place. Initially, the producers hoped to make this film a spy thriller with stronger commerciality, rhythm, and twists. I think everyone should not be misled by some promotions. This film is essentially an art film that is not so good in terms of visuals and viewing stimulation."

As soon as Lu Yan He said this, it made Long Yan's promotional team very unhappy.

They immediately came to communicate with Lu Yan He, hoping that Lu Yan He could cooperate with Long Yan's rhythm during the promotional stage instead of "singing a different tune."

Lu Yan He: "..."

He didn't expect that just by saying a few words like this, he would be defined by Long Yan's promotional team as "singing a different tune."

Wang Biao said: "Little Brother Lu, but what they said actually makes sense. You directly accusing the current promotion of misleading the audience really makes their work very difficult."

Lu Yan He: "Fine, then I won't say it."

However, it is fine for Lu Yan He not to say these things, but he will never follow Long Yan's intention to say things he does not agree with.

Long Yan, in any case, has no way to force him.

On the first day of the release of *Storm Calmer No. 1*, Lu Yan He posted a Weibo asking everyone to support it, and then flew to the United States.

Because the release date of *Storm Calmer No. 1* in the United States is the same as in China.

Lu Yan He also needs to go there to do promotion.

Green Valley is the distributor of *Storm Calmer No. 1* in the United States.

They already have very rich experience in distributing Lu Yan He's films and Chinese-language films.

Plus, Schmidt-Lowry himself has watched this film and likes it very much.

He opened *Storm Calmer No. 1* in 924 theaters in the United States, which is a very high treatment for a serious foreign film.

The first-day box office of *Storm Calmer No. 1* in China was 78.24 million. This data was achieved on Friday, and everyone believes that the single-day box office the next day will break 100 million.

And the box office of *Storm Calmer No. 1* in the United States was also very outstanding, with over 900 theaters opening to a box office of 1.57 million US dollars.

Schmidt-Lowry told Lu Yan He: "The box office of this film in North America should be able to break 10 million US dollars."

Lu Yan He nodded.

If the box office of *Storm Calmer No. 1* in North America can really break 10 million US dollars, then Lu Yan He would really wake up laughing in his dreams.

Lu Yan He knows very well that in the past, when his films were released in North America, they all took many shortcuts, either the subject matter was attractive or they caught up with a certain social trend.

Everyone says his record in Hollywood is visible, but Lu Yan He knows very well how much of it is his own attraction.

Now, *Storm Calmer No. 1* in North America is basically relying on him alone to sell the box office.

Being able to carry nearly 10 million US dollars in box office like this, how could Lu Yan He not be happy?

Not long ago, he said box office was not the focus of his consideration—

Heh, box office is too important.

Lu Yan He felt that he was really being slapped in the face.

The box office of *Storm Calmer No. 1* fell quite a bit on the second day, not even breaking 100 million, and the trend was worrying.

"Why can't *Storm Calmer No. 1* sell at the box office?" As soon as the second day's box office results came out, various analysis posts appeared on short video platforms.

Some even pointed the finger at Lu Yan He.

"Lu Yan He has been too popular in the past two years. I'm already tired of seeing him. Why is every movie related to him? Everything has to do with him."

Lu Yan He sneered silently.

It was clearly the audience who went to see it on the first day, and after returning, told their neighbors that this film was not that good, which is why this situation occurred.

Lu Yan He thought to himself, he had said long ago that *Storm Calmer No. 1* could not be promoted and marketed like a commercial blockbuster. Facts have proven that for many audiences, they simply cannot understand this film; there are a large number of detailed foreshadowings in the film."

There are more and more analysis posts for *Storm Calmer No. 1*.

The acting duel scenes between Lu Yan He and Wen Shengming are even more widely praised.

And in order to sell more box office globally, Lu Yan He and Wen Shengming ran to eight countries to promote the film. (End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 811 =====