Super Zoo

On the third day after the filming of Zootopia was completed, Su Ming received information about the filming of this movie from theaters across the country, and the total screening rate of theaters across the country was about 4%.

It’s funny to say that the filming rates of several major theaters are less than 3%, and the lowest one, Wanda Theater, is only 1.8%. It’s because the screening rates of several small theaters are relatively high, and the largest one, the "Construction Corps Theater", actually gave a 15% screening rate, which raised the overall screening rate.

The purpose of large theaters is to make money, and small theaters, especially those with official backgrounds, are public backstages. In addition to making profits, they also have a political task: letting a hundred flowers bloom in the cultural world. In nature, it is similar to an art theater. The more niche the film, the more it can be released. It is precisely because of this mechanism that a batch of literary and artistic films can survive.

Even so, the total number of screenings is still frighteningly low. The screening rate cannot fully explain the problem. The number of theaters in small theaters is too low. No matter how high the screening rate is, the total number of screenings is limited. A large theater line can increase the screening rate by one point, and even more screenings than a small theater line can show all day. What's more, even a small theater line with "a hundred flowers blooming" only gave Zootopia a screening rate of 15% at most.

Due to the pitiful amount of publicity before, this movie did not cause much response in the country. Most of the audience only glanced at it when booking tickets. Seeing that the director and actors were unknown and it was a small domestic production, they basically ignored it. Occasionally, a few audiences were interested and wanted to book tickets, but found that the screening time was either in the morning or at night, so they gave up.

There was a certain response on Yangchuan Forum and Taoyuan Yiqu Weibo. Su Ming released the movie release information on Weibo and live broadcast platforms.

"Hey, Zoo is showing, let's go watch it in a group!"

"It's Zootopia! It's showing today!"

"I went to Nuomi.com to book tickets, but I can't find it at all. Is there no group purchase?"

"Impossible! I've already booked the tickets!"

"Oh, I found it, at the end. Fuck, there's only one at 1:30 am and one at 8:30 am, I need to sleep..."

"How did the director schedule the screenings? Watching a horror movie at night, the director can really think of it... It's too late, I really can't watch it. Let's go watch Tiny Times..."

"The director doesn't decide the scheduling, the cinema does."

"There are so many blockbusters recently, I'm afraid Zoo will be cannon fodder and won't be able to stand out, what a pity."

"I'll wait for the pirated version to come out and watch it at home..."

Due to the small number of screenings and the screening time, many fans from other places on Weibo, although they wanted to watch the movie, ultimately did not go.

The situation in Yangchuan City Forum was slightly better. After all, it was the first local movie in Yangchuan City. Many people enthusiastically joined the discussion before. Now it is finally released. Although it is a bit late, the die-hard fans of the zoo finally organized a group of movie-watching groups. More than 30 people booked a small show at 1:30 in the morning.

Su Ming asked Guo Zijian if he wanted to watch it together. Guo Zijian shook his head and smiled. After the film was completed, he and Su Ming watched it as soon as possible. Unlike most people in the industry, Guo Zijian is very confident about this film.

"Okay, forget about him, let's go to see it together." Su Ming bought two tickets in the last row, then took out a long peaked cap and put it on his forehead, and put on a big mask.

Nangong Yan looked at his incongruous outfit and smiled, "Aren't you hot?"

"It's okay, there is air conditioning in the cinema." Su Ming said hesitantly with a mask on, and took Nangong's hand from the underground parking lot to the elevator.

Wanda Cinema is on the fourth floor of Wanda Plaza. The last show is at 1:30 in the morning. The underground parking lot is so quiet that it can raise ghosts. I took the last sightseeing elevator that was opened to the cinema. Wanda Plaza outside the glass window really has the flavor of a horror movie. There is no one to be seen. Several eerie mannequins stand at the window, looking out through the window expressionlessly.

Su Ming deliberately timed it accurately. When he arrived at the ticket gate, the usual opening music of Animal World was heard from inside. That's right, due to insufficient funds, the opening music of Horror Zootopia is the background music of CCTV's Animal World. As soon as you hear it, you know that this movie is related to animals.

Hall 8 of the cinema is pitch black. This smallest hall can accommodate 68 people. It looks quite full with more than 30 people sitting there. However, Su Ming knows that this is probably the premiere of Horror Zootopia with the largest number of people in the country. He walked quietly with Nangong from the small passage on the side to the last row and sat down.

Nangong took out several packages of beautifully packaged snacks from his bag like a magic trick and lined them up on his legs.

"It's my investment anyway, can't you be more serious..." Su Ming was speechless; "At least pretend to be watching the movie seriously."

"I'm hungry." Nangong tore open a bag of potato chips, stuffed a piece into his mouth, and then handed it to Su Ming: "Do you want to eat?"

"I don't want to eat!" Su Ming said depressedly: "I want to watch the movie seriously."

"If you don't want to eat, forget it, I'll eat..." Nangong stuffed another piece into his mouth.

On the big screen, a dragon-shaped chart that everyone is very familiar with appeared, and the movie officially began.

Su Ming had watched the content of the movie several times before, and he was not unfamiliar with it. What he paid attention to was the reaction of the entire audience. Movies are market-oriented. It doesn't matter if the theaters are not optimistic about it. It's okay if the scheduling rate is low. Even if your girlfriend is absent-minded, it doesn't matter.

As long as the audience buys it, it's fine! If the audience responds well, the theaters will naturally increase the scheduling in the future!

The film is very fast-paced and initially looks like a family soap opera, with a brother and sister arguing over whether to protect animals.

The brother played by Nangong Huang has to support the family and works very hard. He is already very irritable. He is very disdainful of his sister's "excessive innocence and kindness". During the argument, he said a harsh word. The sister went back to her room crying, and the brother was tired. He lay on the sofa and gradually fell into sleep.

Just when the audience may feel impatient, the screen turns and a new world appears: Zootopia.

My brother traveled to another world: the Animal City of Horror.

Su Ming discovered that the audience was obviously excited at the opening of Zootopia. This was a world dominated by animals that they had never seen before, and it was very novel;

Up until this point, no horror elements had appeared.

With the continuous in-depth observation of this animal city from the perspective of Nangong Huang's brother, the theater often burst out with exclamations and "fuck me"...

A third of the way through the film, Su Ming could clearly feel that the audience in the theater was in a state of extreme mental tension, and a chilling atmosphere gradually filled the theater.

It seemed that the effect was pretty good. Su Ming finally put half of his heart into his stomach.

Speaking of belly, I glanced at Nangong. She held half a bag of potato chips in her hand and kept a fixed posture, staring at the screen without blinking. She even forgot to eat the potato chips.