Chapter 377 Performance in line with expectations
""Mystery of the Spell" was a hit, with a box office of 125.17 million yuan on its first day of release in North America. Cheng Long may surpass Bruce Lee and become the number one Chinese superstar." - "Beijing News".
Across the Pacific in China, the Chinese media are more concerned about the box office performance of "Spellbound" than their Chinese counterparts.
In fact, on the day of its premiere, "The Mystery" took in a box office of 15.265 million U.S. dollars in North America, but many media outlets believed it was true.
Convert U.S. dollars to RMB, and the amount becomes large and eye-catching.
But even without converting it into US dollars, the first-day box office result of US$15.265 million is already quite good.
Apart from the box office, the actors are of course the most talked about.
Needless to say, Cheng Long was already a very popular Chinese movie star around the world before "Mystery of the Spell".
The ones whose fame has increased the most are Bingbing Li and Shu Chang. These two are mainland actors, and their traffic is an explosion within an explosion.
Bingbing Li's sister Li Xue called Bingbing Li three times a day to report on the domestic situation.
"Sister, you are really popular. Now the front pages of the media are all about you."
"Really?" Bingbing Li was actually very excited. The box office was a hit on the first day, so she couldn't help but be excited.
Bingbing Li looked calm on the surface, but in fact he was already too excited to control himself.
"Yes," Li Xue reported excitedly: ""The Mystery of the Spell" will be released in China next week, and I have invited all my good friends to watch this movie to support you.
Sister, now you have truly become an international actress. "
Bingbing Li couldn't hide the smile on her lips, but she understood that when it comes to international actresses, Shu Chang is worthy of her name. After all, she is the starring role in the film.
Because Shu Chang is underage, she is always accompanied by her family when she comes to North America for filming or promotion.
Although she is young, it does not mean that Shu Chang does not understand anything. She understands that movies are very popular. Her father called her just now to tell her how explosive the public opinion in the country was now.
Shu Chang is a little proud and complacent in her heart. She started out as a child star, and of course she knows how difficult it is to win the role of Xiaoyu this time.
So many actors across the country came to compete for this role, and she finally stood out and successfully got the role. Now is the moment of harvest.
Indeed, the media in China has exploded at this time.
Not only the entertainment media, but also the current affairs media and financial media gave a lot of coverage to it.
Why did the film "The Mystery of the Spell" cause such a big response in China, especially the mainland?
You must know that when "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" was released in North America, there was no such a big response in China.
The reason is also very simple. In today's Chinese film industry, to put it mildly, there are basically no actors from the mainland. The most famous ones are the movie stars from Hong Kong Island.
Even mainland directors first choose Hong Kong and Taiwan stars when filming, especially since the era of blockbusters has begun.
The new movie "Hero" directed by Zhang Guoshi stars either a Hong Kong movie star or a Hong Kong movie star. There are few mainland actors participating, and some only play supporting roles.
But "The Mystery of the Spell" is different. One of the leading actors is a mainland actor, and she is also a little girl under the age of fifteen. This is very strange.
There is also Bing Bing Li, who snatched an important supporting role from a group of Hong Kong beauties, which was shocking.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Bingbing Li quickly became famous and became an instant hit. She became a Chinese first-line actress, and she was also a very high-ranking actress.
The praise from the media and public opinion reached Bingbing Li's ears through Li Xue's dictation.
She was very proud and satisfied, and she also had a kind of arrogance that other Chinese movie stars could only do.
This kind of mentality is normal. After all, before starring in "The Mystery of the Talisman", Bingbing Li's most famous role was Ling Chuchu in "Young Bao Qingtian".
It is difficult for anyone to stabilize their mentality when they reach the sky in one step.
On the contrary, she feels comfortable. Because she is still young, although she is also very proud, she has not yet realized what the role of Xiaoyu means to her.
This is her ticket to becoming a superstar. It can be said that if "The Mystery of the Spell" is successfully serialized, no Chinese actress will be able to challenge Shu Chang's status in the next ten years.
A hit Hollywood commercial movie is enough to change the ecological niche of Chinese-speaking stars. In the future, those who go abroad and walk on the red carpet to say that they are international movie stars may not have the qualifications.
Little Gilbert had expected this scene. He had also experienced this stage. When he made "Shark Beach" at the age of 21 and it was a box office hit, the praise from the media could drown him out.
Little Gilbert was also complacent for a while, but he soon sobered up.
Little Gilbert understood what he wanted earlier than those star actors who became famous at a young age, and it was not media praise and praise.
Little Gilbert knew that as long as he continued to succeed, flowers and praise would be inevitable. So he quickly focused on how to make good movies and has been improving.
It can be said that without years of hard work and hard study, but lost in flowers, applause, and media praise, little Gilbert would not have been able to film the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy.
It is also because he understands this truth that out of good intentions, little Gilbert invited the crew of "The Mystery of the Spell" to come to the Melon Manor as a guest to provide some Bingbingli and Shu Chang when the crew of "The Mystery of the Spell" embarked on a North American promotional tour.
"Wow, it's so big here..." Shu Chang and Bingbing Li Chenglong followed the housekeeper Xingzi to visit the melon manor.
This residence, the most coveted by Hollywood actresses, covers a large area. It only takes ten minutes to walk from the gate of the manor to the central area. There is a garden at the back. Beyond the garden is a private beach and a pier with yachts docked.
Bingbing Li also noticed that some of the places have a sense of Suzhou garden design.
She asked Xingzi: "Have garden designers from China been hired to design these places?"
"Yes," Xingzi nodded: "My husband is obsessed with Chinese culture and also likes the design of Chinese gardens, so he specially invited design masters from China to design the manor.
These rockeries, bamboos, and courtyard designs all come from China. "
"Understood," Bingbing Li looked at this place full of Chinese classical charm, and for a moment he couldn't tell where he was.
After visiting the manor, the group returned to the Chinese living room, where little Gilbert had already prepared tea waiting for them.
As the number one mistress of the manor, Naomi Watts was naturally by her side, and Anne Hathaway and Scarlett came to join in the fun.
"This is..." Cheng Long noticed the sheep's head placed on a shelf at a glance: "Is this a sheep's head?"
The concept of bronze heads of the twelve zodiac signs has been hyped in the past two years. In order to recover these bronze heads, China Poly Group has repeatedly taken action and recovered a few, but it also cost a lot of money.
Little Gilbert shrugged and said, "I took this from Prince Charles. He also had another one, but it's a pity that he didn't give it to me."
"Then, do you plan to collect it?" Cheng Long asked.
"To be honest, I don't really appreciate antiques. After all, the value of these things is given by people." Little Gilbert said: "Let them be kept here for a few years. I heard that the National Museum of China is collecting them. Cultural relics lost overseas.
When the time comes, I will find an opportunity and donate in a low-key manner. "
Cheng Long laughed when he heard this and said: "Donate it in a big way no matter what, at least let the Chinese people know about your achievements."
"No," little Gilbert waved his hand and refused: "Just keep a low profile. I think many people don't want to see this scene."
Cheng Long thought the same thing. Little Gilbert's status was special and he had to do some things in a low-key manner.
Little Gilbert then changed the subject and said: "The same goes for you, don't look at the popularity of Chinese Kung Fu in Hollywood nowadays, but nothing is eternal.
I don't know if you can survive in Hollywood, it might be difficult.
But I hope you can stabilize your mentality and not be complacent. Hollywood can allow people like me to continue to be successful because I am one of my own.
But you are different. After all, you are outsiders and will never become mainstream in Hollywood.
Therefore, it is good for both of you to keep a low profile. "
Little Gilbert's words were a warning to Bingbing Li. Shu Chang was still young and could only understand them half-heartedly.
Little Gilbert said to Cheng Long again: "Old Tian has always asked me how the future of Chinese-language films will develop, and I said I didn't know much about it.
But one thing I know is that having a strong local market is the only hope to support a country's film industry.
No other place has this potential, except China. I am optimistic about the future of this market.
So you Chinese filmmakers have to work hard on your own, because if you don’t occupy the local market, the world will be dominated by Hollywood movies. "
Little Gilbert's words could be considered sincere. How could a big shot in Hollywood say this to Cheng Long?
Cheng Long was older and more knowledgeable. He knew that what little Gilbert said was the truth, so he kept it in his heart.
This time when they visited the Melon Manor, the creators of "The Mystery of the Spell" each gained something. They got a lot of tips from Little Gilbert and also enjoyed an authentic Chinese meal.
Only then did Bingbing Li and Shu Chang realize that it was not that there was no authentic Chinese food in North America, but that they were all in the cantaloupe manor.
This is not surprising. The Chinese chef was specially hired by Little Gilbert from China. He came to the United States to make a living and immediately hired several chefs with good skills. One of them was the proud disciple of the chef at the state banquet.
After the first day's 15.265 million, "The Mystery of the Spell" earned 22.3 million US dollars on Saturday and 17.384 million US dollars on Sunday. Including the midnight screening, it created a box office of 59.209 million US dollars in the first week.
This is a pretty good result. A few years ago, it would have been the first-week box office that a high-quality commercial film could achieve.
Of course, the quality of "The Mystery of the Spell" is excellent, and you can tell from the average audience rating of A- that the film is still very popular.
But nowadays, hot commercial movies often gross 80 to 90 million US dollars in their first week, and there are also "Return of the King" and "Spider-Man" whose first week box office exceeded 100 million US dollars. The box office of "The Spell" is nothing. .
The only special thing is that most of the leading actors in this film are Chinese.
But the North American media were not surprised when they saw that the starring role was Jack Cheng. In the past two years, Jack Cheng has become a first-line action actor in Hollywood with the "Rush Hour" series.
It is actually normal for the movies he starred in to be successful. Some media even said that the box office results did not meet the expectations for Cheng Long.
Rather than the movie's box office, the North American media is more willing to discuss the plot of "The Mystery of the Spell" and the performance of a Chinese actor, which is different from its Chinese counterparts.
(End of chapter)