Chapter 44: Spring Festival Blockbuster Season

At the dinner table, everyone gathered around Jiang Heng, discussing the reception and box office of "One Hundred Million Years Ago".

"Ah, who would have thought, Neidi years ago hardly anyone went to the movies, and now a box office of one or two hundred million seems commonplace!" Yuan Hua took a sip of wine, full of emotion.

After more than a month of release, "One Hundred Million Years Ago" broke the 200‑million‑yuan mark in Neidi, settling at 207 million yuan.

This news not only gave Neidi filmmakers great confidence, but also profoundly shocked the Xianggang film scene, letting those lost in Xianggang see another way out.

The reason, of course, is that the Xianggang film industry is just too miserable right now!

On March 17, 99 in the historical calendar—just two months later—a major event occurred in the Xianggang entertainment circle.

That day, all cinemas halted screenings, radio stations stopped broadcasting records and music all day, and nearly 2,000 film‑and‑TV workers took to the streets for a massive parade.

Cheng Long, Liu Dehua, Tan Yonglin and others led the march, shouting slogans against piracy.

The decline of Xianggang cinema has many causes.

Hollywood blockbusters storming the market and pirated discs running rampant are two important reasons.

Moreover, these two factors reinforce each other.

Hollywood blockbusters imported into Neidi and Xianggang usually sell on spectacular visual effects; watching them on pirated discs is unsatisfying—you have to go to a theater to experience the film's essence.

It's like when "Avatar" premiered ten years ago, IMAX 3D tickets were driven up to over a thousand yuan. At that time IMAX screens were scarce nationwide, yet many fans trekked to other cities just to glimpse the legendary IMAX 3D spectacle.

Were there no pirated copies back then? Of course there were!

But this film's draw is its ultra‑spectacular visuals; even if you can't get the IMAX version, you still have to watch the regular 3D edition!

Meanwhile many Neidi and Xianggang films rely on plot and dialogue, with lower picture quality, so even shaky‑screen pirated discs are acceptable.

This leads to the recent trend that Hollywood blockbusters entering Neidi and Xianggang, once they boast top‑notch quality and proper promotion, often achieve very high box‑office numbers.

For example, "Titanic" raked in 115 million yuan in Xianggang, and even many years later no local Hong Kong film has surpassed it.

"Jurassic Park 2" received average reviews but still earned 58.23 million yuan.

That was a foreign‑lead film; if a special‑effects blockbuster starred Chinese actors, the immersion would double and the box office would inevitably be higher!

Xiang Huaqiang, Xu Ke and others, based on this understanding, began planning "Legend of Shu Mountain".

One could say that Xianggang filmmakers now have a clear grasp of future development.

It basically comes down to going to Neidi, making blockbusters, and fighting piracy.

And among these, Jiang Heng's early lead is the most crucial.

"The Matrix" and "One Hundred Million Years Ago" were released in Neidi, and the impact of piracy on the two films was far less than on other low‑budget movies.

At present, pirated "One Hundred Million Years Ago" videotapes are on sale in Xianggang, but because the bootleg quality is so poor, few citizens buy them.

After all, the dinosaurs seen on a TV screen are worlds apart from the awe‑inspiring ones on the big screen.

Especially many school‑age kids, after seeing the promotional poster for "One Hundred Million Years Ago", clamored for their parents to take them to the cinema.

Pirated discs—who are they fooling?

It's like a classmate watching Tang Seng in a red robe while you're stuck with a black‑and‑white version—there's nothing to discuss!

At this moment, everyone present tacitly assumes Jiang Heng's film will become this year's Spring Festival box‑office champion.

One by one they gathered to praise him, hoping that when Jiang Heng launches his next film, they'll have a chance to take part.

Jiahe Company—Zou Wenhuai, Cai Yongchang, and Liang Feng—met again to discuss this year's holiday‑season slate.

"I never imagined a bit‑part actor would become a blockbuster director!"

Zou Wenhuai's gaze was deep as he kept smoking, thinking of "The Matrix"'s global box‑office figures and the viewing frenzy "One Hundred Million Years Ago" sparked everywhere, feeling as if it were a dream.

Cai Yongchang chuckled, "Who says not? Previously A Long and Zhou Xingxing were both outshone by him; this time it's no different!"

Though his words sounded a bit tough, deep down the three inside knew that this Spring Festival season, whether "Glass Bottle" or "King of Comedy", could not match "One Hundred Million Years Ago".

"Glass Bottle" is basically Cheng Long's vanity project.

He had previously broken into Hollywood, filming "Rush Hour", earning 141 million dollars in North America and 244 million worldwide, instantly making Cheng Long a top‑tier Hollywood star.

Returning to Hong Kong to shoot "Glass Bottle" was his way of giving back to the Xianggang market—a pure vanity move.

In this film, Cheng Long unusually does not make action the main selling point; instead he focuses on a romance with the female lead played by Shu Qi, casting Zhou Huajian—who looks outwardly simple—as the villain, and even brings in Zhou Xingxing, Ren Xianqi and others for cameos.

The three, including Zou Wenhuai, have a crystal‑clear sense of just how much box office such a film could generate.

As for Zhou Xingxing's "King of Comedy", there's no need to delve deeper; judging from his recent form, its box‑office won't be high, so how could it contend with Jiang Heng's Jurassic blockbuster?

Only if a high‑definition, legitimate source were released on a massive scale could it significantly cut the box office.

But doing that would be far too underhanded.

No wall is completely airtight; as the dominant force in Xianggang cinema, Jiahe also cares about face.

After a long silence, Liang Feng suddenly said, "How about we talk to him?"

"Talk how?"

"Ask him to release it early!"

"Early?"

Zou Wenhuai's eyes lit up; he roughly understood Liang Feng's idea.

"'One Hundred Million Years Ago' has already been heavily promoted; some impatient fans even traveled to Shenzhen to watch it. In truth, holding it back for the Spring Festival slot isn't very meaningful. It would be better to release it a week early, so the three films don't clash on the same day and cannibalize each other's box office."

Liang Feng spoke at length, then added, "As a condition, we can have 'One Hundred Million Years Ago' shown on Jiahe's cinema chain, guaranteeing it all the prime slots in the first week. As for A Long's 'Glass Bottle', once it's released we'll also allocate a certain number of screenings."

Cai Yongchang said, "If its box‑office does well, sharing the prime slot with 'Glass Bottle' isn't impossible!"

In recent years the Xianggang film market has contracted overall, and the three cinema chains are struggling; Jiahe also needs box‑office hits.

Yet Cheng Long's "Glass Bottle" doesn't look like it will draw much box office.

Zou Wenhuai and the others were also very irritated.

The room fell silent for several dozen seconds; Zou Wenhuai suddenly stamped out his cigarette in the ashtray, exhaled and said, "Alright, let's call Jiang Heng out and tell him we'll treat him to a meal!"

(End of chapter)