Chapter 80: Domestic No. 1 Cinema Chain

At the end of the year, the Pacific Rim production wrapped in Toronto.

Regarding VFX, Jiang Heng assigned about one‑tenth of the film's special‑effects shots to Vita Digital.

The requirement was simple: finish within four months so the movie could hit the summer schedule on time.

Vita Digital Studio, on par with Industrial Light & Magic, is headquartered in Wellington, New Zealand; it recently took part in The Lord of the Rings VFX, and although still relatively unknown, its capability is already impressive.

Being able to receive Jiang Heng's VFX order made them very pleased, and they pledged to deliver quality and quantity on schedule.

Afterwards, Jiang Heng also split a small batch of VFX shots to his own Beautiful Times VFX company and gave some orders to two VFX firms in Japan and Korea; together they accounted for about 30 % of the film's total VFX shots.

In other words, 70 % of the film's VFX shots were completed by Jiang Heng's Super Microcomputer.

This alone could net fifty million dollars in profit.

In Hollywood, a big‑budget film with decent visual effects spends at least 60 % of its total production budget on VFX.

For example, Ready Player One cost $175 million, with $100 million on VFX; Transformers 5 cost $217 million, with $130 million for VFX; Pirates of the Caribbean 3 cost $342 million, with $200 million for VFX—each a massive investment.

Yet some so‑called domestic VFX blockbusters fail because 90 % of the budget goes to fresh‑face talent, and most of it uses body doubles.

The remaining 9.99 % covers other costs, leaving only a cheap five‑cent allowance for VFX, making a good film unlikely.

Over Jiang Heng's side, although the actual VFX expense isn't high, the crucial VFX shots are done with the Super Microcomputer, sometimes even "over‑delivering" with finer detail—raising the film's brightness and making the mecha and monster details clearer.

Don't underestimate these minor tweaks; the increased brightness is entirely propped up by burning cash.

That's why many blockbusters love night‑battle scenes—it really saves money!

With post‑production issues allocated, Jiang Heng finally isn't that busy.

First he went to the Kill the Wolf crew and cameoed as the officer cut by Wu Jing's knife.

Then he partnered with China Film to establish the China Film Crimson Cinema Chain.

Jiang Heng originally planned to cooperate with Ai You Teng Company and China Film, but Old Han Sanping said the name sounded improper.

Jiang Heng, reluctantly, registered a Crimson Film company, invested one hundred million, and co‑built the China Film Crimson Cinema Chain with China Film.

Regarding equity, the state‑owned stake is natural: China Film holds 51 %, Crimson 49 %.

But China Film can't front that much cash, so it promised to secure a plot of land for Jiang Heng to build a tower on.

The main‑city land in Jingcheng before expansion can only be described as exceedingly precious.

Not even at market price; even at a premium, it's not something ordinary people can snatch.

Thinking it will be usable in a few years and that he'll have his own tower in Jingcheng makes him feel even more motivated.

Yet the China Film Crimson Cinema Chain's establishment aims to recruit cinemas nationwide, and its biggest lure is naturally Jiang Heng's VFX blockbusters.

After the cinema‑chain reform, where a film screens becomes a tug‑of‑war between distributors and cinema chains.

If Jiang Heng's VFX blockbusters play only on the China Film Crimson chain, those not joining will just watch others feast while they sip cold wind.

In an instant, cinemas across the country rushed to apply to join the China Film Crimson Cinema Chain.

Han Sanping, while beaming, naturally "selects the best," only absorbing cinemas with good locations, nice décor, and solid equipment.

The other cinema chains, seeing this, can't tolerate it.

"You, China Film, are a state‑owned enterprise; the others are too!"

"Sue!"

They appealed to the regulatory authority, accusing China Film Crimson of unfair competition and undermining the cinema‑chain reform.

"You've absorbed all the good cinemas; how can the other chains survive?"

"Just unify everything; domestically, you'll be the only one left!"

The regulators, seeing this, naturally told China Film Crimson to think big, saying it's fine to take a few more bites of meat, but you can't hog the whole pot and deny the brothers even a sip of broth!

Han Sanping, helpless, could only return part of the applications, letting the higher‑value cinemas join other chains.

Even so, China Film Crimson swiftly became the nation's largest cinema‑chain company.

Besides absorbing existing domestic cinemas, the China Film Crimson Cinema Chain actively builds new theaters, with Jiang Heng brokering a partnership with North America's second‑largest chain AMC to import the latest cinema equipment and construct new venues in Jingcheng, Shanghai, and Guangzhou.

Simultaneously, it is in active talks with IMAX to import projection systems and create the country's first IMAX theater.

Historically, IMAX announced its IMAXDMR patented technology in March 2002, successfully converting Hollywood blockbusters to IMAX format; the first IMAXDMR film, Apollo 13, premiered in September that year.

Since then, IMAX has become synonymous with premium auditoriums, a status that endures today.

IMAX entered the mainland early, first appearing at the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum; later, museums in Beijing, Guangzhou, Chongqing, and Nanjing each acquired their own IMAX theaters for high‑definition science documentaries.

By 2003, the nation's first commercial IMAX system was installed in Shanghai's Peace Cinema, marking IMAX's official arrival on the mainland.

Counting the timeline, now is the perfect moment for negotiations.

Of course, Pacific Rim can't be shown in domestic IMAX halls, but the next film should make the cut.

As for the specific shooting subject, Jiang Heng has already decided: he'll film "Yang Jian Splits the Mountain to Save His Mother."

Legend has Second Uncle donning helmet and armor, wielding a three‑pointed double‑edged blade, his heavenly eye opening as a heroic score plays—quite majestic.

As for the concrete plot and antagonists, he'll have to ponder carefully; even without foes as formidable as the Three Demons of Lion‑Camel Ridge, he still needs a suitably challenging opponent.

While finishing Pacific Rim's post‑production, he rewrote the script, drafting several versions until a story outline finally emerged.

In the blink of an eye, Pacific Rim's post‑production wrapped; Han Sanping selected the best hall of a newly renovated cinema under the China Film Crimson chain, summoned senior China Film executives, senior managers from several of Jiang Heng's companies, and a representative from Columbia Pictures, to watch together.

After more than two hours of viewing, everyone in the hall remained in utter shock.

It should be noted that historically, Transformers 1 didn't appear until 2007.

Yet the 2013 release of Pacific Rim 1 was still lauded by countless fans for its explosive VFX and ultra‑exciting plot.

Advancing such a film to 2001 would have given audiences an unimaginable audiovisual shock.

In an era when cars were scarce and Santana ran the streets, watching heavy mecha battle monsters must have set countless boys' blood boiling.

(End of chapter)