China Entertainment Mythology 2004

Chapter 143 Released, Unprecedented Box Office Results
On December 2008, 12, the movie "Mei Lanfang", directed by Chen Kaige and starring Li Ming, Zhang Ziyi, Sun Honglei, and Chen Hong, was officially released. With a box office of 5 million in the first weekend and four days, it became the first Chinese literary film in recent years. Best score record.

Weng Li, spokesperson of China Film Group, believes that the final box office of "Mei Lanfang" is expected to reach 1.2 million.

On December 2008, 12, the Kung Fu movie "Ip Man" starring Zhen Zibao officially landed in major theaters. Not only did the three-day box office easily break through 12 million yuan in the first weekend, but it also received almost "one-sided" praise. Relevant agencies predicted that the film The total box office is expected to exceed the 3000 million yuan mark.

Faced with the excellent situation of double harvest at the box office and word-of-mouth, the lead actor Zhen Zibao said modestly in an interview with reporters: "The film has achieved good results. In addition to the joint efforts of everyone, we must also thank the fans for their strong support."

On December 2008, 12, the movie "If You Are the One" directed by Feng Xiaogang was officially released nationwide, and it easily won 18 million box office on the first day of its release. The national box office broke through 1500 million in the first four days of the first weekend. The audience was 8000 million. 230, ranked No.08 in the 3 new film opening record.

January 2009, 1, directed by director Li Mu, starring Tom Hanks, Li Mu, Liu Yifei, Marion Cotillard, Hong Jinbao, Michael Fassbender, Watanabe Ken, and Cillian Murphy "Inception" has officially landed in major theaters across the country, with 9% of the films scheduled, and on the first day of the show, audiences queued up to buy tickets frequently in the newspapers.

The person in charge of UME International Cinemas in Shanghai told the media: "The audience who came to watch "Inception" in the theater was full, and the movie tickets for the day were sold out in a very short period of time, and the theater had to temporarily increase the number of screenings. It still cannot meet the viewing needs of the influx of audiences.

The person in charge of Wanda Cinemas in Beijing said: "The movie "Inception" has completely ignited the enthusiasm of the whole people for watching movies. The theater is crowded with people, and the scene is comparable to Spring Festival travel!"

In Goose City, the reporter came to Xingmei Cinema early in the morning and saw a long queue of audiences waiting to watch "Inception".

In Yangcheng, a viewer told the reporter that he went to five movie theaters in Yangcheng before he managed to get a ticket.

Even CCTV sent a number of reporters to theaters across the country to track and report on the grand opening of the movie "Inception".

On the morning of January 1th, director Chen Kaige and his wife Chen Hong appeared in Wanda Cinemas in Beijing. Looking at the crowds of people buying tickets and the long queue of ticket buyers, director Chen Kaige couldn't help but feel a lot of emotion.

Once upon a time, when his movie "The Promise" was released, it had the same great glory, and it also broke through seven box office records of Chinese movies in a row - the first-day box office record, the first-day box office record, the single-day box office record, and the first weekend box office record.

It's a pity that I later encountered organized smears and attacks. This group of people is simply shameless!But even so, his "The Promise" was still the national box office champion that year!
Recently, when he heard many people discussing Li Mu's new movie "Inception", they often mentioned his "The Promise" in passing.

In fact, in detail, the two films are quite similar.

For example, the two films also have the title of "the most expensive Chinese film in history".

His "The Promise" cost $4200 million to publicize, while Li Mu's "Inception" cost $1.2 million to produce.

For another example, the directors of the two films are also internationally renowned directors.

With the movie "Farewell My Concubine", he became the first Chinese director to win the Palme d'Or at the Cannes International Film Festival.

And Li Mu's movie has raked in $10 billion at the global box office.

When "The Promise" was released, the media said that foreign directors could make "Lord of the Rings" with a large investment, but Chinese directors could only make "The Promise" with that much money!
There is no doubt that "The Promise" is the movie that hurt him the most, and it is also the movie that he cares the most and is the most sensitive.

Recently, he heard some media mentioning during the premiere of "Inception" that he hoped that director Li Mu would not make a new "The Promise" with an investment of 1.2 million U.S. dollars this time. Director's footsteps.

These reports made director Chen Kaige very angry, but also made him deeply curious about Li Mu's "Inception".

"Will it be? Will "Inception" be attacked like "The Promise"?"

"How would audiences rate this film?"

"How will the media evaluate this film?"

"If the film was released and encountered the kind of malicious comments I encountered back then, how much better will Li Mu's response be than mine?"

"I'm afraid he will be even angrier than me! After all, he is just such a young guy who has never experienced a big setback."

With such an extremely complicated mood, Chen Kai brought his wife Chen Hong to Wanda Cinemas.

……

At the beginning of the movie, Tom Hanks woke up from a beach, was taken to a villa, and saw a gray-haired old man. With the memory of the old man, the story officially began.

"What is the most powerful parasite? Bacteria? Viruses? Intestinal worms?"

"Mr. Cobb means..."

"It is an idea, extremely tenacious and highly contagious. Once an idea is formed in your mind, it is almost impossible to erase. As long as the idea is complete and understood, it will be deeply rooted there, somewhere deep in the brain. a place."

"And people like you come to steal?"

With the sudden and hurried departure of the rich man Saito, everything in the room began to vibrate slightly.

Then everything in the camera, Tom Hanks is sitting on a chair and sleeping soundly, while the rich man Saito who has just left in a hurry is lying on his side on the bed in the same room, the camera turns again, and the character played by Li Mu is also in a deep sleep state.

Director Chen Kai suddenly had a flash of inspiration:
"Could the dialogue scene just now in the movie be in a dream? Could it be that the two protagonists seem to be introducing how to steal dreams to the rich man, but in fact the rich man himself is the target of the two protagonists? Yes! The two protagonists are basically Come to steal the rich man's dream!"

"Do you understand?" Brother Chen Kai whispered to Chen Hong beside him.

Chen Hong shook her head.

Brother Chen Kai suddenly thought pessimistically: "A good movie needs a good audience to get a good box office and a good reputation. Director Li Mu has real skills. I'm afraid he will make the same mistake as I did back then, which is to overestimate the audience. understanding ability.

Sometimes even if it is a good movie, if it cannot be understood by the vast majority of audiences, it will still be scolded to pieces!

The next thing is that the protagonist Cobb's wife suddenly appeared and disrupted the protagonist's plan. The character played by Li Mu was tortured by Cobb's wife who shot a non-crucial shot, and Cobb decisively shot Li Mu's character in the head.

It turns out that when a person dies in a dream, he will wake up from reality.

Inception failed, Li Mu played the role to wake everyone up, the assistant started to shake the protagonist Cobb, and then the camera shot everything, suddenly there was a big shock in the dream.

At this moment, Director Chen Kai's heart suddenly moved, and he thought: "This is——parallel montage? It's interesting!"

It is obvious that the reality and the scenes in the dream are interrelated. When a certain situation occurs in the reality, there will be a certain change in the dream.

Then in reality, the protagonist Cobb was slapped across the face, and Cobb flew sideways in the dream over there.

Originally, whether it was a plot in reality or a plot in a dream, it wasn't too tense in itself, but when the two time and space were connected together, the tension was instantly full.

Brother Chen Kai lamented that the kid Li Mu really has something to do as a director, and at the same time thought rather regrettably: "I'm afraid there won't be too many audiences who can understand this, and if the audience doesn't understand it, they will scold you. It's still a bit obscure."

In the dream, Saito was crushed to death by the collapsed beam, and then he woke up immediately in reality.

In reality, Cobb is pushed into the bathtub filled with water, here a slow motion is used, and then the camera cuts to the dream.

Cobb stood in the hotel lobby, and there was a faint sound in his ear.

At this moment, almost all audiences have felt the connection between reality and dreams, and everyone is looking forward to what will happen in the dream space.

Almost everyone started holding their breath.

At the moment when Cobb officially entered the water in reality, in the dream, the flood suddenly poured in from the windows in all directions of the hotel.

Brother Chen Kai thought to himself: "Well, this montage is very cleverly used, not bad..."

"Brilliant!"

The discussion next to him interrupted Director Chen Kaige's train of thought.

"Damn! Looks good!"

"The two time and space are constantly switching but not chaotic at all. People can understand the connection between the two time and space at a glance. In reality, the protagonist enters the bathtub, but in the dream, the protagonist is flooded. I look forward to the suspense that will be revealed soon. .”

"Complicated stories are simple to tell - Director Li Mu has improved again."

"It's awesome, but can it be more enjoyable? How about a dream within a dream?"

"Ah? Understand everything?" Brother Chen Kai lowered his head again and asked his wife next to him, "How is it? Did you understand this time?"

Chen Hong nodded: "If there is a situation in reality, there will be a reaction in the dream. Reality and dream are related together. This movie is very good!"

"Damn, it's really a dream within a dream!" At this moment, someone next to Director Chen Kai suddenly said.

It turns out that the real space that everyone thought just now is still a dream, it turns out it is really a dream within a dream!It turns out that the real real world is actually on a speeding high-speed rail!

After the failure of Stealing Dreams, Saito found Cobb, the purpose of which was to help him implant an idea into a giant corporate heir, and in exchange, Saito could allow Cobb to return to the United States legally-so the main line of the movie officially began .

Cobb asked his father-in-law for help, and his father-in-law recommended a talented female Chinese student from China played by Liu Yifei, who was responsible for playing the role of a dream builder.

Streets of Paris, coffee houses.

Liu Yifei: "How realistic must the details of a dream be to make the other party believe that they are in reality?"

Cobb: "When we dream, it always feels real, right? We only realize something is wrong when we wake up. Let me ask you a question. You never remember the beginning of a dream, do you? It's always like being in it all of a sudden. "

Liu Yifei: "I think so."

Cobb: "Then how did we get here?"

Liu Yifei: "We just came from..."

Cobb: "Think carefully, Ellen, how did you get here, where are you now?"

Liu Yifei: "Are we dreaming?"

……

Suddenly the streets of Paris started to explode, everything exploded, windows, booths, tables, benches, grounds, buildings.

"If this is just a dream, why did you cover it!" Before the words fell, the two of them were already submerged by the explosion.

……

The static explosion on the streets of Paris, the mirror moment of the heroine Liu Yifei, the weightless struggle in the revolving corridor, the upside-down city, the deepest dream "Lost Realm", the collapsed building that looks like a doomsday scene, and whether it will stop at the end the spinning top.

"Gone?"

"Did the spinning top fall at the end?!"

"It should be down! I remember that it seemed to have started to turn unstable at the end!"

"It's absolutely unstoppable! Maybe the hero's wife is right. In fact, the whole movie is just a dream of the hero, and now his wife is waiting for him to wake up in reality!"

"Damn, I feel like this is really possible!"

"It must have fallen! After the screen went dark, there was the sound of the top falling to the ground!"

"Is there? Why didn't I hear it?"

"there must be!"

"Isn't this the best movie directed by Li Mu?!"

"Director Chen Kai can only make the epic bad film "The Promise" with 4000 million US dollars, while director Li Mu can make the epic sci-fi blockbuster "Inception" with 1.2 million US dollars! I think maybe we used to Director Chen has been wronged, if his budget is as much as 1.2 million US dollars, maybe "The Promise" can also be made into a classic!"

"You can pull it off! Really give director Chen Kai 1.2 million US dollars, he can make a 6-hour version of "The Promise"!"

"Maybe it's the production of 3 "The Promise"?"

"Hahaha, brilliant!"

"This movie is too awesome! No, no, I want to rewatch it!"

"This movie will definitely go down in the annals of history. Personally, I think it's even better than "The Matrix"!"

"Better than The Matrix?"

"Yes, but this is just my personal feeling!"

"It's not your personal opinion, because I also think this movie is better than "The Matrix"!"

"I feel that the degree of classics can be ranked among the top ten in the world!"

"Is it too exaggerated?"

"No, top five!"

"The top three are all possible!"

"Anyway, Director Li is so awesome this time, I feel that Director Li has directly become a god this time!"

In public places like this, Chen Kaige and his wife are of course fully equipped with peaked caps and masks, so no one around will recognize them.

At this moment, almost all the audience were full of praise for "Inception", and Chen Kai's mood became extremely complicated when listening to everyone's discussion.

On the one hand, he knew that the movie was really awesome, but on the other hand, it wasn't that awesome, right?

and:

"This movie has so many layers of dreams, isn't the structure complex enough? It stands to reason that such a complicated movie should not have many audiences who can understand and are willing to watch it, but why is "Inception" not only not seen but not Audiences who understand are scolded and even blown to the sky?"

"Compared to "The Matrix"? This is purely overthinking!"

"Moreover, there are also a large number of audiences who can't understand, so why do the audiences of "The Promise" start to scold because they can't understand the movie, while the audience of "Inception" start clamoring for a second shot because they don't understand the movie? Three brushes? Why?"

The most important thing is that the big screens are all dark, and at least [-]% of the audience is stuck in their chairs. Everyone is discussing the plot with the friends who came together.

This... is too exaggerated, right?Are you really that reluctant to leave?

Can't you see the movie is over?

It wasn't until Auntie Cleaning came in to clean up that part of the audience reluctantly left the screening hall.

Director Chen Kai has been making movies for a lifetime, and to be honest, he has never seen such a situation.The movie was obviously over, but most of the audience didn't want to leave until the cleaning came in, and most of the audience, especially the male audience, were almost all discussing the plot they had just watched.

"If You Are the One" seems to have a box office of over 3 million, but Li Mu's "Inception" seems to have a box office of 4 million!

……

At 12:35 in the morning, Li Mu was already meeting Zhou Gong’s daughter at night, but Liu Yifei was woken up by Li Mu’s sudden nervous twitch. When I took it over, I found that it was an email from China Film Group.

Liu Yifei knew that this must be the first-day box office data of the movie "Inception", so An couldn't help opening it curiously, skipping other unimportant analysis parts and directly scanning the most important figures in that line.

"7800 million!"

"Snapped!"

Liu Yifei directly slapped Li Mu awake.

"What are you doing?" Li Mu, who was suddenly awakened by the patting, said a little unhappy.

Liu Yifei said excitedly: "The box office results on the first day are out, 7800 million!"

"7800 million is 7800 million, why are you so excited?" After speaking, Li Mu turned over and fell asleep again after a while.

It's only 7800 million, why are you excited?The box office of "Detective Chinatown 3" on the first day was 10 billion!

Liu Yifei was speechless looking at Li Mu who was fast asleep again!The box office on the first day was 7800 million!Just this reaction?

"Actually, Li Mu didn't fully wake up at all!"

Early the next morning, Li Mu looked for his mobile phone immediately after waking up. He wanted to check the box office data of his own movie yesterday. The data must have been released.As for the brief waking up in the middle of the night last night, he had long since forgotten.

Things done and said while half asleep and half awake are the easiest to forget.

"7800 million? Awesome!"

Li Mu woke up Liu Yifei when he got excited.

"What are you doing?" Liu Yifei yawned and asked.

"Our movie's box office on the first day was 7800 million!" Li Mu said excitedly.

Liu Yifei turned over and continued to sleep and said: "Well, 7800 million is 7800 million, why did you wake me up? I don't know if people don't get enough sleep and are disturbed, they will get angry when they wake up?"

Li Mu: "?"

"7800 million, just this reaction? Still getting angry?"

The outside world is also paying attention to the box office results of "Inception" - Han Sanping, Wang Zhonglei, Wang Zhongjun, Wang Changtian, Chen Kaige, Zhen Bullet, Wu Yusen, Feng Xiaogang, everyone looked at the 7800 million figure for a short while.

Especially those few filmmakers whose movies are being released or will be released soon, these few people have shown extra concern to the box office performance of "Inception".

So when the first-day box office results of "Inception" finally came out, almost everyone in the movie circle was taken aback.

"There are as many as 7800 million!"

"The data shouldn't be wrong, but our country's box office can already have so much?"

Next, on January 1th, Saturday, "Inception" won a total of 10 million box office in the whole country!
On Sunday, January 1, the national box office of "Inception" reached 11 million yuan!

The single-day box office has exceeded [-] million!
""Inception" raked in 1.01 million box office on the third day of its release, and the first movie in the mainland film market with a box office of over [-] million in a single day was born!"

As soon as the news came out, the whole country was in an uproar.

……

almost the same time.

The crew of "Ip Man" is throwing a banquet in Beijing to celebrate the film's total box office breaking through [-] million.

More than a month after the movie was released, the box office finally broke through [-] million, and Zhen Zibao finally saw that a bright future was waving to him. As a result, he immediately saw this report on the box office statistics of "Inception".

"Well, 1.01 million yuan—what? A single day? A box office of over [-] million in a single day?"

Zhen Zibao watched the news over and over ten times. He read word by word like a reading comprehension question in the college entrance examination. He was afraid that he had misunderstood it. Maybe it wasn't a single-day box office that exceeded [-] million, but the total box office that exceeded [-] million?
But the most amazing thing is that even if the total box office exceeds [-] million, it is an exaggerated figure, isn't it?

Because the movie "Inception" has only been released for three days so far!
Is the domestic movie market really that big?
Should not be!

……

Director Chen Kaige also saw related reports.

At that time, he was browsing the news aimlessly, but when he glanced inadvertently, he suddenly saw the words "Inception" and Li Mu, and of course, that astonishing number - 1.01 million!
"Single-day box office—1.01 million—fuck—breaking [-] million in a single day?!"

"Could it be a mistake? Did the editor confuse the total box office with the single-day box office?"

……

Director Feng Xiaogang is also paying attention to the box office data of "Inception". At this time, "If You Are the One" has already created his best box office performance since he started filming. The news of breaking 6 million in [-] days ago caused quite a stir nationwide. It was also on the national hot search, and it turned out that Li Mu's single-day box office directly exceeded [-] million?

Over 2.7 million in a single day, with a box office of 8 million in the first three days of the weekend, this total box office is heading for [-] million!
……

Director Wu Yusen, who will have "Red Cliff" released soon, also saw the relevant news, and also found it very strange.

Once upon a time, it was a very awesome honor in the Mainland China Billion Dollar Club. Once upon a time, there were not a few movies with a box office of over 1 million yuan every year, but now it is said that the single-day box office has reached the level of [-] million yuan in the blink of an eye!

Has the mainland film market developed to this extent?

If this development continues, it is possible to surpass the North American market in the future!

……

Director Jiang Wen blurted out after seeing the relevant news: "It's really awesome!"

　Thanks to "boring middle-aged man" "樘Di Baiyuan" for their reward.

　
(End of this chapter)