Chapter 149: The New Trio and a Rainbow-Like Box Office

At the end of July, *Search* finished its theatrical run, with the box office stalling at 94 million; Wei Jin felt a bit regretful, though fortunately, the overseas rights sold for 6 million, which served as some consolation.

However, his mentor Tian Zhuangzhuang was very satisfied; when they spoke on the phone, he jokingly remarked that this was his highest-grossing film. Wei Jin pondered it for a moment, and it really was true—few directors of the older generation had high box office numbers.

*Transformers* had been in theaters for 20 days, and its box office performance was extremely eye-catching, reaching 280 million; it was the highest-grossing film of 2007 to date, and many production companies had already aimed their sights at China Film Group, accusing them of inaction.

But China Film Group also had grievances they couldn't voice; there were too many imported films this year, and the scheduling simply couldn't accommodate them all, but this was the price of joining the WTO. Five years had passed, and the number of imported films had to increase.

Just as domestic films were in a state of silence, on August 2, *Brotherhood of Blades* held its premiere.

This premiere was handled by China Film Group, and the location was chosen at the Great Hall. Han Sanping was intent on boosting the morale of domestic films, so the premiere was held in an extremely grand manner.

As the producer and director, Wei Jin arrived quite early this time, and the main creative team had all arrived as well, though they looked a bit listless.

These past few days, the actors had participated in quite a few television programs for promotion, and after today's premiere, there were still a large number of roadshows waiting for them.

Yet no one complained of bitterness or fatigue; not to mention that it was already stipulated in their contracts, one had to know that the higher the film's box office, the greater the boost for the actors.

"Director, how much do you think our film's box office will reach? Is there a possibility of beating *Transformers*?"

Wu Jing was very concerned about the box office; the Hong Kong films he had participated in over the past few years had almost all performed poorly at the box office. He had finally waited for a film by Wei Jin and wanted to experience the feeling of becoming a massive hit, but who would have thought it would take nearly a year to be released.

However, it wasn't just him who cared about the box office; the other main creators also looked at Wei Jin. After all, in the industry, Wei Jin's eye for things was famously accurate.

"Be confident. Isn't it just 300 million? No problem."

Wei Jin's words were full of vigor. He was indeed quite confident; regarding the drawing power of current domestic directors, he considered himself second, and no one dared to claim first.

"If it really passes 300 million, Director, I'll down a bottle—the clear stuff."

"Forget it. With your alcohol tolerance, kid, I don't know who it was that got single-handedly taken down by Director Wei at the wrap party and ended up crawling under the table."

"Big Brother, my alcohol tolerance isn't bad, okay? It's just that Director Wei is too strong."

Amidst the laughter of the group, the premiere officially began, and Wei Jin and the main creative team went on stage to accept interviews.

"Director Wei, may I ask why you chose an August release date? This isn't a good slot, especially with so many Hollywood blockbusters."

Wei Jin glanced at the reporter asking the question in the audience. If he didn't recognize him, Wei Jin would have almost thought this was a plant arranged by the company. Wasn't this just handing him an opportunity to show off? "For my films, there's almost no need to look at the schedule. Moreover, you should be the one worrying for those Hollywood blockbusters."

Wei Jin's words made the actors on stage laugh; it was truly quite domineering.

"Then, Director Wei, do you think there is a problem with China Film Group's scheduling?"

"This is the premiere of *Brotherhood of Blades*; I will not answer unrelated questions."

The reporter asking the question had ill intentions; this was an attempt to stir up trouble for Wei Jin. Recently, the industry's outcry against China Film Group had been making a huge stir, and he had no intention of getting involved.

Following the end of the Q&A session, the film began to screen. The beginning of the film was a monologue introducing the story's background: in the late Ming Dynasty, Emperor Tianqi passed away, and just after Emperor Chongzhen ascended the throne, he began to take action against the Eunuch Faction headed by Wei Zhongxian.

Wei Zhongxian was demoted to Fengyang, and Emperor Chongzhen immediately issued an order to hunt down and capture the remnants of the Eunuch Faction.

As the Blades, the emperor's personal guards, they naturally became the sharpest blades in the emperor's hands. As the plot progressed, fight after fight began, and the martial arts style of the film *Brotherhood of Blades* began to unfold.

Clean and neat, sharp and decisive, with every blow landing on flesh—this was a solid, realistic style.

The plot advanced step by step, and everyone watched with great focus. Finally, the three figures galloping on horseback gradually moved into the distance, seemingly merging into one, carrying an infinite sense of loneliness, and the film drew to a close. "Clap, clap, clap."

Not knowing who started it, a large number of audience members began to offer applause. Wei Jin led the creative team onto the stage to express their thanks. After the premiere ended, Wei Jin returned to the villa in Yanjiao with Liu Yan, accompanied by Xiaobai.

As the film's director, wasn't it only right for Wei Jin to enjoy the company of the lead actress and the supporting actress? At first, Xiaobai was still a bit shy; after all, she knew Liu Yan, unlike that time in North America where no one knew anyone.

However, under Liu Yan's lead, Xiaobai slowly opened up, and the two's coordination gradually became tacit, bringing Wei Jin a brand-new experience.

In the bathroom, Xiaobai was burying herself in hard work.

Liu Yan had always known of Wei Jin's love for her "talents," so she usually did plenty of maintenance in that regard. Wei Jin was naturally unable to keep his mouth off them, and his large hands were also tightly gripping Liu Yan's "talents."

One had to admit, this woman was truly well-endowed; even Zhou Xiuna from Hong Kong, who was known as a "ball star," was slightly inferior.

Thinking of this, Wei Jin couldn't help but sigh at his own good luck in having taken her down early; otherwise, he wouldn't know who would have benefited. His interest also gradually grew high.

Xiaobai, who was working away, also sensed the man's change and slowly rose, preparing to provide a deeper level of service.

For a time, the bathroom was filled with the songs of pleasure. The characteristic of the film *Brotherhood of Blades* was that it was character-driven, with the main story line firmly locked onto the three brothers, distinguishing it from traditional martial arts films that focused primarily on plot.

At the same time, the martial arts style was primarily realistic, with fight scenes hitting flesh and using real blades and guns; although it lacked the ethereal quality of past martial arts films, it gained a sense of reality.

Coupled with the sincere effort put into the special effects, the overall quality of the film was very high, and in terms of reviews, the majority were positive.

The cinema chains' scheduling for this film was also very supportive, with the total screen share of Shanhe Cinema Line and Wanda Cinema Line approaching 70%.

In addition, China Film Group was also an investor and participated in the distribution work; whether it was New Film Association or China Film Xingmei, China Film Group held shares in them, so the screen share was naturally guaranteed.

One must know that the combined market share of these four major cinema chains was nearly 70%, so the overall screen share for *Brotherhood of Blades* could be described as frighteningly high.

With high film quality, good special effects, good word-of-mouth, and a high screen share, the result was that *Brotherhood of Blades* reached a box office of 31 million on its opening day, setting a record for opening-day box office.

The next day, Saturday, the box office was even more terrifying, reaching 38 million directly; the Sunday box office fell back slightly, but it was still as high as 33 million.

The opening weekend's three-day box office broke 100 million, reaching 102 million, which was even more terrifying than *Transformers*, and it set the record for the fastest time to break 100 million at the box office. For a time, many netizens touted Wei Jin as the savior of domestic film.

Additionally, this type of historical martial arts film had a very large audience throughout the Confucian cultural sphere, so this distribution was released simultaneously in Southeast Asia, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, and these places also sent back reports of victory.

The opening weekend's three-day box office in Hong Kong was 5.6 million, 12 million in Taiwan, and 22 million in Nanyang; the opening weekend's Asian box office reached 141.6 million.

Seeing such a violent box office performance, the several main creators who were on the roadshow were in pain yet happy, gritting their teeth and insisting on continuing to the next stop.

The second update for today. I earnestly request all book friends to reward me with subscriptions, follow-up readings, and collections. You need to flip to the last page for the follow-up reading, thank you everyone! There will only be two updates for these few days of the holiday; I need to take care of the children, there's really no way around it. I will make up for it after the festival, please forgive me!

(End of chapter)