Chapter 198: The First in Film History
In order to maximize the popularity of the film, Qin Chuan deliberately scheduled the official release time of the film half a month after the premiere.

As he expected, the popularity has indeed reached its peak within the past half month.

Weibo was flooded with comments cursing him.

Relying on the huge number of fans, there are quite a few people who support him and those who hate him.

It appears on the hot search list every now and then.

With the help of the marketing accounts and the internet army hired by Qin Chuan, the popularity of the event became even stronger.

This scene made all the filmmakers in the industry jealous.

Why didn’t they think that publicity could be done this way?

We are still naive.

In the past, movie promotions rarely involved these activities. At most, we would find a few TV stations with good ratings, do an interview, and inform fans and viewers that the movie would be released and hope that everyone would support it.

He is nothing like Qin Chuan, who curses people, brags, creates hot searches, and hires internet trolls.

In addition, he has not missed any advertisements on major portal websites. Now when he opens the search software on his computer, the pop-up advertisement is Lost on Journey.

His approach is simply a dimensionality reduction attack on the film industry.

It seems that in the past, when people had sex, only one man would be on top and the other on the bottom.

He bit her ear and licked her…

But anyway, this time, Qin Chuan’s people have indeed gained traffic from Lost on Journey. Based on the current popularity, the movie box office will not be too bad.

Some professionals predict that the box office may reach 200 million.

As for the boast of one billion, no one believed it. They just thought it was Qin Chuan’s deliberate exaggeration to attract attention and create topics.

In the blink of an eye, time flies, and in mid-July, on a Saturday, Lost on Journey was released.

On the first day, 30 percent of the screenings were basically full.

No one finds it strange that this effect can be achieved. It is not a holiday and there are no strong competitors during the same period. They are all small fish and shrimps. It is not surprising that they can have 30% of the screenings.

It is not surprising that the theater is full, after all, the leading actors are Qin Chuan and Wang Baoqiang, and Liu Sisi and Liu Yifei also joined.

After half a month of operation, the popularity is still so high.

So it’s normal that the first day is lively.

“Hahaha.”

“Bao Qiang is so funny.”

“Pfft.”

“I laughed till tears came out.”

“Not bad, I recommend everyone to watch it, it’s a very funny movie.”

“This is the funniest movie I’ve seen in recent years.”

“The laughter never stopped throughout the whole process.”

On the first day, the first show, the audience satisfaction was extremely high, and no one felt that the 30 yuan ticket price was not worth it.

The reviews given after it came out all recommended everyone to watch it.

Qin Chuan even spent money to invite several media outlets to the entrances of several larger cinemas. When he saw people coming out, he would interview them and ask about their viewing experience.

Then post all the good reviews online.

All negative reviews have been deleted.

People tend to follow the crowd. When most people say something is good, even if some individuals think it is not good, they will think it is their own problem.

A movie theater, the last row, in the corner.

Qin Chuan and Liu Sisi wore hats and masks and held small notebooks in their hands.

Every time you hear the audience laugh, record it.

The two of them sat there for the entire day.

I watched six shows of Lost on Journey.

It turns out that the audience’s sense of humor is much lower than that of film critics and media professionals.

When professionals watch a play, they tend to bring their professional perspective into the experience and think about a lot of random things.

For example, shooting techniques, actors’ acting skills, scene matching, plot rhythm and so on.

The audience doesn’t care, as long as it’s interesting and funny.

Qin Chuan sat in the cinema for a whole day and counted six movies. On average, there were more than sixty laughs in each movie.

Evening, twelve o’clock.

Qin Chuan didn’t sleep. He sat alone in the living room, waiting for the first day’s box office data.

The curtains were opened and it was dark outside.

After half an hour of agonizing wait, a phone call came.

“Boss, guess how much the first-day box office will be?”

The call was from Jinlian.

Qin Chuan wanted to hit her at this moment: “I guess your uncle, tell me!”

“Haha, sixty-two million.”

Jinlian was not angry at all. Instead, she laughed out loud and felt extremely happy.

I invested 15 million and made my money back on the first day, earning more than 20 million.

Previously the media reported that Lost on Journey made 100 million yuan, but now it seems too little, as it was more than half a hundred million yuan in just one day.

According to the current trend, at least 500 million.

What a concept! Feng Xiaogang, Zhang Yimou and others have never made a movie with a budget of 500 million yuan, but Qin Chuan, a newcomer, immediately beat these old predecessors and created a box office myth.

To become famous overnight is more than just to be able to gain a foothold in the film industry, it is enough to become a huge star.

Capital pursues profits, and Qin Chuan became famous. Many bosses, investors, and producers were willing to hire him as the leading actor in their movies.

“call!”

Qin Chuan breathed a sigh of relief, and his excited heart calmed down. He arranged: “Continue to increase publicity, and take out another 20 million, all of which will be spent online.”

“Ah, this, is not necessary.” Jinlian did not understand Qin Chuan’s strategy: “Now that we have popularity, box office, strength, and reputation, it would be a bit of a waste to spend more money.”

She could understand the crazy hype before the movie was released.

After the movie was released, the box office performance was so good that it slapped the faces of those who were pessimistic about it.

In her opinion, there is no need to spend more money.

Naturally, a large number of audiences will enter the cinema next.

“It’s necessary.” Qin Chuan’s goal is not 300 million or 500 million. If it is just this small goal, the current reputation and popularity are indeed enough, but what he wants is 1 billion.

“The money in the company’s account is not enough for me to approve, so I will spend until there is no more money.”

The higher the box office, the more publicity is needed. Many people don’t understand this principle.

In later generations, where do those movies with billions of box office come from?

If you look closely at their publicity and promotion costs, you will find that they are higher than the filming costs. Some films cost 300 million to produce, of which 200 million is spent on publicity.

Those who play it more ruthlessly will buy 200 million box office revenue right from the start.

When the audience saw it, they were like, wow, this movie is so awesome and so widely discussed, they have to go and check it out.

Invisibly, it contributes dozens of dollars in box office revenue to the cinema.

Jinlian asked uncertainly, “Are you serious?”

“Do as I say!”

“Okay, whatever you say is what it is!” Jinlian gritted her teeth and said, “It’s not my money anyway.”

The first time she made a movie, she understood what it meant to spend money like water, and it really was like water flowing.

Especially the publicity part.

It’s not surprising to spend millions a day.

The 20 million approved by Qin Chuan will only be used for one week at most.

After ending the call with Jinlian, Qin Chuan called Wang Baoqiang.

The call was connected within three seconds of ringing. Wang Baoqiang was still awake at this hour.

He knew how much money Qin Chuan had invested, so how could he sleep well? Naturally, he had to wait for the box office results to come out before he could sleep.

“Guess how much the box office is.”

“Fuck you, tell me!” Wang Baoqiang cursed, “I fell asleep, and you called me to tell me this?”

“Hurry up and tell me, I need to go to sleep after that.”

“Sixty-two million!”

“How many?”

“Sixty-two million. You heard it right.”

“Fuck!!”

By twelve o’clock, Baoqiang, who was a little sleepy, was no longer sleepy. He had never filmed a movie that grossed over 60 million on the first day.

This wave might just break his movie box office record.

“I won’t disturb your sleep.” Qin Chuan said with a smile, “Meet me at noon tomorrow, and we’ll continue the roadshow for another week.”

“OK, I’ll be there on time!”

Wang Baoqiang can’t wait to go on the roadshow now.

That night, it was not just Qin Chuan and Wang Baoqiang who had trouble sleeping. Co-stars Liu Yifei and Liu Sisi also had trouble sleeping because Qin Chuan called them one by one to announce the good news.

Liu Sisi was ecstatic. The first movie she starred in in her life had such a high box office. She was so excited that she talked to Qin Chuan for more than an hour.

Liu Yifei had mixed feelings.

After The Return of the Condor Heroes, she worked hard in the film industry and spent several years gradually working her way up from supporting roles to leading roles, but the box office results were not very ideal, and several of her films had extremely low ratings.

As a result, she just made a cameo appearance in Qin Chuan’s film, and the film was not taken seriously. The box office results far surpassed those of her other films.

Fate is so wonderful.

It’s not just Liu Yifei who has mixed feelings. The film critics and media professionals who had previously criticized the film feel worse than swallowing a fly.

They said that this play could make at most 100 million yuan, but they made 60 million yuan in one day. With this momentum, I’m afraid it would take 300 million yuan to make it.

“It’s only the first day. I guess I’m just lucky. There was too much publicity before.”

“Right, that is it.”

“Qin Chuan has a lot of fans. There were quite a few people willing to show their support the day before, but there weren’t that many after two days.”

“Sixty-two million, who knows how much of that was paid for by Qin Chuan himself.”

“Movies are not judged by the box office in just one or two days. Only when the tide recedes can we tell who is naked. Let’s wait and see for another two days.”

“He can do it for a day or two, but I don’t believe he can do it for a week.”

The purpose of boosting movie box office is to make money, not to lose money. Under normal circumstances, the box office will be boosted in the first few days to create momentum.

No one will brush it anymore from now on.

We are not stupid. Once the popularity is high, those who want to watch it will naturally watch it. Those who don’t want to watch it will not watch it no matter how much advertising is done.

Qin Chuan made more than 60 million at the box office in one go, and many people thought that he must have cheated on the ticket sales.

Because they themselves can’t make such a high-grossing movie, how can Qin Chuan, a newcomer, do it?

……

The next day, Qin Chuan and Wang Baoqiang started their roadshow.

On the first day, I visited three cities.

Day two, four cities.

On the third day, six performances were held.

The cinema’s single-day box office data is sent on time at 12:20 every day.

Sixty-five million, sixty-eight million, seventy-two million, seventy-eight million…

In one week, the total box office reached 500 million.

When Wang Baoqiang was on the roadshow, his voice was a little trembling. Five hundred million, it was the first time he had made such a high-grossing movie.

His old employer has been calling him every day these days, asking him to go back. He said his share of the profits would be 20% higher, and the shares he was promised would be several million more.

He also said that he would be given the leading male role in several films.

Ever since he left Huayi, his connections there have basically been cut off, and the artist friends who used to get along well with him no longer contact him.

In the past two days, we have been in frequent contact, with people congratulating him on Weibo and sending him blessings through text messages. Some people have invited him to dinner and drinks, and the number of times they have contacted him is more than in the past six months combined.

It seems that Baoqiang is on the way to becoming the top comedy star.

It’s like this on his side, not to mention Qin Chuan, his phone is about to explode with calls.

Lost on Journey had only been released for a week when investors asked him when the second part would be released and they wanted to invest money.

They give as much as you ask for.

As for cinema chains, the number of screenings has also been soaring. The previous maximum was 30%, and now it has reached 50%. The highest cinema is showing Lost on Journey eight times a day.

Basically from morning to night.

However, those film critics and media have already turned their guns on Qin Chuan.

“In fact, after watching the movie at the premiere, I knew that this movie was going to be good. The rhythm was tight and not watery at all. The jokes were dense and the characters were portrayed vividly.”

“I watched Lost on Journey three times yesterday. The more I watched, the more I felt that this drama has depth. The description of human nature is simply the pinnacle. When I think about it carefully, it is even more terrifying. There are too many hidden foreshadowings…”

“I won’t watch the Golden Horse Awards next year if Qin Chuan isn’t there.”

“On the three elements of road comedy… the founder of Qinchuan comedy films…”

Seeing such good box office results, Qin Chuan and Bao Qiang, who were already very tired, added another week to their roadshow schedule.

Liu Sisi and Liu Yifei were also invited to some shows.

Because of the good box office performance, it was much easier to perform, and there were many variety shows and TV stations actively inviting them to join.

Qin Chuan transformed himself into a foot massage shop technician and accepted everyone who came.

August.

After half a month of release, Lost on Journey’s total box office reached 900 million yuan, a slight decrease compared to the previous week.

Because as time goes by, those who want to see it will see it, and those who don’t want to see it will not see it.

Another thing is the pirated version.

There are already handheld versions available on the Internet, and there are also shaky disc versions on the market with unclear image quality.

There is nothing we can do about it, it cannot be prevented.

It’s not just music copyright that’s not taken seriously these days; the same is true for movies. Pirated copies appear before the films are even released.

Some even openly carried cameras to the cinema to record videos.

Some cinemas are even pirates.

However, the box office of 400 million in the second week was beyond everyone’s expectations. Based on this trend, it is certain to break 1 billion.

Lost on Journey, the highest-grossing movie in mainland China’s history.

Qin Chuan is the director with the highest box office for a single movie in the history of mainland China.

Qin Chuan and Wang Baoqiang are the actors with the highest box office in mainland China’s history.

Another half month has passed.

In late August, Lost on Journey came to an end.

The total box office is 1.15 billion.

Qin Chuan’s Weibo continues to receive congratulations from posters of previous movie box office champions.

Every time a record is broken, the person who set the previous record will make a poster to congratulate them. This is a tradition that symbolizes the passing of the torch.

Someone counted and found that Qin Chuan broke twelve film records this month.

Someone sends me posters every now and then.

Peking, a five-star hotel box.

Qin Chuan invited all the employees of the company and the main actors of Lost on Journey to hold a celebration party.

A large box was prepared at the scene, and Qin Chuan distributed bonuses on the spot.

Recently, not only he is busy, but everyone in the company is busy, promoting the movie non-stop and creating hype.

Keep an eye on the hot search list 24 hours a day.

Whenever there is negative news, public relations is immediately carried out in all channels, and many people stay up all night without sleeping.

After hundreds of red envelopes were distributed, Qin Chuan came to sit at the main table, patted Wang Baoqiang on the shoulder and said, “I won’t distribute your red envelope anymore.”

“When the box office revenue is shared, I might even ask you to give me a red envelope.”

Wang Baoqiang did not receive any money for this play, but used his film remuneration as investment.

His salary for the film was several million, and this time, the return was at least ten times.

Qin Chuan’s return was even greater, earning more than 300 million.

On the wedding day, Wang Baoqiang was slightly tipsy and held a glass of wine and said, “Brother Chuan, thank you for helping me make money. I won’t say anything else. I’ll raise a glass.”

“If there are any movies in the future, call me and I will be there anytime. I don’t want any pay.”

He is a relatively pure actor. The money he earned from this play has made him completely financially free, and he can’t spend it all in his lifetime.

From now on, just focus on making the movies you like and don’t worry about compromising yourself for a living.

“What kind of words are you talking about? How can you suffer if you follow me?” Qin Chuan also poured himself a cup and said, “Money is earned to be spent. Next, buy a luxury car and a mansion and spend it as much as you can.”

Bao Qiang smiled naively and said, “I can’t spend it all, so I’ll save it for marrying a wife in the future.”

Qin Chuan said with a straight face: “No, you have to spend it. It’s too early to get married. Don’t think about these things before you are thirty.”

A rich man will never lose love because of his age.

When it comes to love, you need to talk more about it.

Talk to a few and you’ll know what you want.

Baoqiang is still too naive. His thoughts are like most men and he has little experience in love.

When I met a woman when I was young, I felt it was true love. During the relationship stage, I wanted to hand over my salary to her and treat her as my wife.

In the end, nothing was done, and both people and money were lost.

Baoqiang said helplessly: “But I really can’t spend it all.”

He is not a luxurious person and has no interest in luxury cars and mansions. He will get used to it after living there for a while.

“Then invest in the company and I’ll save it for you.”

Qin Chuan provided him with a plan.

“This is good.”

(End of this chapter)