Chapter 75 "The Tang Dynasty" hits the theaters
Patriotic feelings can be possessed in any era. In 1981, there was no lack of patriotic sentiment at Beijing University.
The students who have watched "The Tang Dynasty" are so emotional that they can't let it go for a long time. They walked out of the theater, still discussing the plot of "Datang" and telling the story between Guo Yuanzheng and Lu Shishi.
Liu Hongmin did not expect this to be the case. He looked at Zou Shifang next to him, "Is "Datang" a hit?"
Zou Shifang nodded vigorously, "Of course. Can’t you see it?”
Liu Hongmin’s expression was complicated, of course he could see it. But, he didn't expect it to become so popular.
He is just a student and does not have a theater. Watching "Datang" received rave reviews but he could not get half a cent, which really made Liu Hongmin uncomfortable.
How much does it cost?
Within two days, various theaters in Beijing began showing "Datang". Relying on the reputation of the original work, many viewers can't wait to enter the theater to see it.
However, after entering the theater, the audience almost couldn't get out. Except for those who are biased against the film, every viewer who has watched it was impressed by the two veteran actors. They never expected that Cheng Qiang, who had a bad image, would die in the desert for other people's dreams.
The despair shown in the film makes the audience empathize with it. Especially Lu Shisi fell outside Qiuci City on the eve of his success.
The emotions of grief and indignation have reached their peak, and many viewers have found it difficult to calm down.
Unable to love is the most unforgettable thing.
This is how the audience feels about "Datang". The tragedy of Lu Shishi made many people indignant, and they even did not hesitate to publish comment articles in newspapers to criticize the cruelty of Beijing Film Studio.
No matter what time of year the audience likes to watch the ending of Family Fun. The same is true in this era. People have gone through a special period and what they want to see more is harmony and beauty. The ending of "Datang" is obviously against the audience and will naturally anger some people.
These criticisms did not improve the evaluation of "Datang", but brought "Datang" to the forefront.
Controversial works will be more popular.
The controversial ending of "Datang" frequently appeared in newspapers and aroused the audience's enthusiasm for watching the movie. With the movie-watching craze, many people once again took out the original work of "Datang" and compared it with the movie.
So, a few months after the publication of "Datang", it once again became a popular novel that people discussed.
Unfortunately, "Datang" is a short story and cannot be published as a single book.
Peking University Press rose to the challenge and obtained the distribution rights from Liu Hongmin. Together with Chen Jiangong's "Floating Flower Headband" and other works, it directly published a "Peking University Short Story Collection".
An additional 100,000 copies were printed overnight, and taking advantage of the popularity of "Datang", they were quickly sold out.
Short story collections are also considered to be excellent works. Whether it is "The Tang Dynasty" or "The Flying Flower Turban", they are both very good works. When readers buy this collection, they are exposed to several excellent short stories. For literary and artistic young people, this is simply a welfare.
As a result, Peking University Publishing House took advantage of the east wind and made a lot of money. The major movie theaters also made a lot of money. They bought a copy for 10,000 yuan and played it back and forth in three or four theaters. They made back the cost in less than two days, and the rest was pure profit.
At this time, there is no such thing as a schedule. As long as you buy a copy, the movie can be released at will. Even if your copy is no longer clearly visible, you can put it wherever you want.
So, movie theaters these days are ultra-low-cost, but they can make a lot of money, which makes Liu Hongmin greedy just looking at them.
After "Datang" was released, Liu Hongmin took back the copy he bought. The first novel adapted into a movie can achieve such an achievement, making this copy very valuable for collection. Even if he doesn't sell it, Liu Hongmin will keep it for the rest of his life.
After watching "Datang", Liu Hongmin and others were immersed in it.
People with ideas are writing their thoughts silently and mailing them to major newspapers, hoping to make their thoughts public.
However, Liu Hongmin and Zou Shifang devoted themselves to creation and continued to write their novels.
Zou Shifang has already written the fifth story, but due to the aftermath of the hit "Datang", there are many mistakes. Liu Hongmin had to treat Zou Shifang severely and let him devote himself to creation as soon as possible.
Liu Hongmin himself accelerated the creation of "Ming Dynasty 1566". He has smoothed out his creative ideas and writes very quickly. If I didn't have to help Zou Shifang review the manuscript, this speed would be even faster.
Amidst all the turmoil, April passed and so did May.
Beijing Film Studio contacted China Film, and China Film contacted various theaters and made a rough calculation of the movie box office. It was about 80, 90, 100 million.
In 1981, movie tickets were generally 10 cents, and the best movie theaters were 15 cents at most. "Datang" was able to earn about 100 million at the box office, and the number of moviegoers reached at least 670 million.
This result is very good, indicating that many people have watched "Datang". But this result is not outstanding. Last year's box office champion "405 Murder" exceeded 100 million, and there was no water in it.
Although "The Tang Dynasty" and "405 Murder" are two types of movies, it is not easy to compare them together. But in terms of box office, "405 Murder" is indeed better.
This is mainly because the viewing threshold of "Datang" is relatively high. After watching it, many students wanted to immediately join the army and go to the frontier to defend their country.
But "405 Murder" is different. It is adapted from real events and is naturally curious.
Liu Hongmin is very happy that "Datang" can achieve its current achievements.
What makes Liu Hongmin even more happy is that Huang Qiang came to the capital again after hearing that "Datang" was released. He came not for the adaptation of the TV series this time, but for "Datang".
After leaving last time, Huang Qiang has been paying attention to the situation in the mainland. After "Datang" was released, he immediately collected information about "Datang". When he saw that almost all media across the country had praised it, Huang Qiang couldn't sit still.
He purchased a copy of the movie from China Film and prepared to play it on RTV. Although there were no TV movies at this time, it did not prevent movies from being shown on TV.
Ten thousand yuan to buy a copy is equivalent to buying a treasure. Huang Qiang is very satisfied with this. Even if "Datang" receives a cold reception in Hong Kong, RTV will not lose anything. Ten thousand yuan is a big number for the mainland, but for RTV, it is nothing. It is not as much as it costs to adapt a TV series and hire Liu Hongmin as a consultant.
(End of this chapter)