Chapter 419: Subsidized Ticket Price 99

Movies truly are a visual art.

Like the segment in "Black Myth: Wukong" where Sun Wukong battles Yang Jian.

If described in words, the audience would find it hard to imagine how spectacular it is.

With top‑tier special effects, a single "back‑turned defense against Yang Jian" shot is enough to drive fans crazy.

And besides that, there's the super‑shocking "Heaven‑and‑Earth Law".

It's said this divine skill is also impressive; according to the original work, after Sun Wukong transforms he stands ten thousand zhang tall, his head like Mount Tai, his waist like a steep ridge, his eyes like lightning, his mouth like a blood‑filled basin, his teeth like swords and halberds.

In comparison, the heights of the great sorcerers in "Primordial Chaos: Hou Yi Shoots the Sun" are a bit underwhelming.

Of course, after filming and adding effects, these scenes are extremely stunning and enjoyable.

But during green‑screen shooting and motion capture, it's rather boring.

Fortunately, Jiang Heng has Jing Tian by his side; their daily jokes keep things from being too dull.

As for Liu Yifei, after "One Person Under" became a hit, she took on many film contracts and commercial performances, so busy that she can only drop by the set once every few months.

In the blink of an eye it's October, and the National Day slate is packed with films, making competition fierce.

Outstanding Rising Film Company, however, has no film entering this slot; they have to leave some room for others, right?

Huang Dao Tian Ting Fu Mie ultimately scheduled its release for November, perfectly avoiding the "Eleven" and "New Year" periods.

It must give way to other domestic films up front, and later it cannot compete with "Battle Through the Heavens".

One could say that after all these years of making movies, Jiang Heng is finally releasing a blockbuster in such an obscure slot for the first time.

China Film Digital Base, the set.

Yu Dong comes over to report and chat, first to discuss the promotion and distribution of Huang Dao Tian Ting Fu Mie; aside from the novel date choice, everything else proceeds as usual.

Of course, it follows the usual promotional playbook of previous films.

We won't copy the "Primordial Chaos: Hou Yi Shoots the Sun" gimmick of watching movies at the foot of the Great Wall.

"The venue is set at the Olympic arena; invitation letters to the guests have been sent, media reporters are a given. Oh right, besides the usual offline poster‑sticking, we also arranged online group‑buy subsidies, with the lowest ticket price at 9.9 yuan. Pre‑sales are doing great!"

Speaking of it, the domestic internet market already saw group‑buy websites back in 2010.

By October 2011, the number of domestic group‑buy sites had exceeded five thousand, and competition was extremely fierce, historically dubbed the "Thousand‑Group Battle".

In sectors like dining, bathing, and KTV, competition subsidies are common; as for movies, subsidized ticket prices of 9.9 or 19.9 yuan didn't appear until 2014, if we follow the historical trend.

During the 2010–2014 period, domestic movie ticket prices surged, making a cinema outing quite costly for ordinary wage earners.

For Jiang Heng's 3D special‑effects blockbusters, IMAX tickets are 120 yuan, regular 3D costs 90 yuan, and the 2D version is 70 yuan.

A young couple on a date who watches IMAX, then dines, buys flowers, and stays at a hotel ends up spending a truly lavish sum.

Moreover, with no holidays in November, after the film's schedule was set, Yu Dong lamented that the data might look poor for such an obscure slot.

Jiang Heng thought for a moment and said, "Then let's offer some low‑price tickets as a subsidy!"

Yu Dong was taken aback by that remark, still not grasping the meaning.

Jiang Heng then explained how a bunch of domestic group‑buy sites are burning money to grab market share, and suggested letting them subsidize movie tickets, since they care most about "new registered users".

Yu Dong, being a business powerhouse, understood after Jiang Heng's brief explanation.

The more he thought about it, the more feasible it seemed. Jiang Heng's special‑effects blockbusters have very high promotion budgets—at least several tens of millions, and sometimes over a hundred million. Since the money is already being spent, why not allocate a portion to subsidize ticket prices? Of course, the distributor only contributes a part; the bulk still has to come from the group‑buy sites.

And it must be a group‑buy site approved by Broad Sodium Film Industry before it can qualify for cooperation.

After Yu Dong released the news, it indeed shook the group‑buy industry.

Because Jiang Heng and the film Huang Dao Tian Ting Fu Mie already bring their own traffic.

Now the domestic market has over five thousand group‑buy sites, competition is extremely fierce, and service homogenization is quite serious.

To put it bluntly, users see today's discount and use this one, tomorrow they see a bigger deal and use that one.

Using them over and over, they'll probably be unable to tell which is which.

Being too similar leaves no memorable point! But if these sites join the promotion of Huang Dao Tian Ting Fu Mie and offer discounted tickets at 9.9 and 19.9 yuan, they may not necessarily stand out among all group‑buy sites, yet at least they'll be easier for audiences to remember. If they can forge a long‑term strategic partnership with Outstanding Rising Film Company and Broad Sodium Film Industry, focusing solely on movie‑ticket group‑buys, they might survive in this business.

It can be said that the founders of the top‑ranked sites that hold advantage in the Thousand‑Group Battle have all figured this out.

After Yu Dong's news went out, they immediately got in touch.

Following a round of fierce competition, two group‑buy sites ultimately secured the cooperation opportunity to sell subsidized low‑price tickets online.

Subsequently, both sites proposed exclusive cooperation with Outstanding Rising Film Company and Broad Sodium, but Yu Dong, following Jiang Heng's instruction, declined.

"Actually, I think group‑buy sites aren't hard at all; we could do it ourselves!"

Jiang Heng laughed, "It's indeed not difficult, but conquering a realm like this must be done personally; counting on managers won't work. Do you have that time?"

Yu Dong waved his hands hurriedly, chuckling, "I can't keep up with all this!"

"So, we only need to do what capital is supposed to do!"

"What capital is supposed to do?"

"Enter at the right moment, take a stake, and just wait for them to make money!"

"But with so many group‑buy sites, most are doomed to die; if we pick those, the money we invest might go down the drain!"

Jiang Heng smiled without replying, and Yu Dong realized, "You think partnering with these two has more hope?"

"Hard to say; anyway, it'll be a while before they determine a winner, so let's just wait and see!"

Besides the promotion of "Primordial Chaos: Hou Yi Shoots the Sun", Yu Dong also brought up Broad Sodium's production "Macau Storm".

The film began shooting long ago, with most of the funding provided by Broad Sodium.

The female lead is Jiang Yan from Outstanding Rising Film Company, and the increasingly popular Ke Lala makes a cameo.

Of course, Wang Jing, Zhou Runfa and the others most look forward to is Jiang Heng.

"It's just one scene; once you arrive you can shoot it, you won't even need an hour! After all, you only take a break every ten days when you act!"

Jiang Heng laughed, "You know I only rest every ten days; a single trip would waste my day off!"

Yu Dong forced a smile and said, "Money, my great director, if you just do a casual cameo, how much more could you sell? After all, it's your own company, your own money!"

Jiang Heng gave a helpless laugh, "Fine, then let's do it two days later!"

Yu Dong was overjoyed upon hearing that, "I'll go with you then!"

(End of chapter)