Box Office and Victory Banquet
As of December 23, Those Years had been in theaters for 20 days, earning over 98 million yuan in total.
It was clear that the film had nearly exhausted its potential. Since A World Without Thieves opened, its daily box office had fallen to just two or three million yuan.
Thanks to the broadcast of Happy Camp on Saturday evening, the 11th, its box office had bucked the trend on Sunday the 12th, closing at 6.8 million. But Wei Jin knew that was as far as it would go.
Kung Fu had earned 14 million yuan on its opening day, shocking the industry. For a time, Stephen Chow was praised to the skies.
Meanwhile, the daily box office for Those Years had dropped below one million. With another ten days or so before it left theaters, its final total would probably be just over 100 million.
A World Without Thieves had fared even worse. After two weeks in theaters, it had earned 43 million in its first week and 72 million in total. It would probably struggle to break 100 million.
Feng Dapao had suffered a rotten streak of bad luck. He had thought he could stand shoulder to shoulder with Stephen Chow, only to be knocked flat by Wei Jin.
The Huayi brothers were kicking themselves too. They had been beaten down by a college-student director; if they had known, they would have pulled a few underhanded tricks.
Wei Jin had also been invited to the premiere of Kung Fu. He declined, saying he had something to do, and sent Chen Zhiming in his place.
Wei Jin really did have business to attend to. People from Taiwan had come, hoping to distribute Those Years.
In fact, Wei Jin's novel of the same name had already entered the Taiwanese market in October and sold quite well. The songs were also widely sung there.
So, with the film's release, the Taiwanese side was interested in bringing it over.
Wei Jin thought it would be better to leave such matters to Manager Han at China Film Group. He arranged a meeting and went to China Film Group with Manager Liu, the head of the Taiwanese distribution company.
After the matter was settled, Wei Jin began chatting with Han Sanping.
Han Sanping was very pleased with their collaboration. What had originally been a casual move had brought him such a huge surprise.
"It's a bit of a shame this time. The release was rushed. If the release window had been arranged a little better, we might even have had a shot at the top spot."
President Han looked full of regret as he spoke.
"I'm quite satisfied. This box office has actually given me even more confidence in the domestic film market."
Wei Jin looked relaxed. After all, his first commercial film had broken 100 million, making him only the second person in the country to do so.
"Actually, I didn't plan to make commercial films at first. The profits are too low. By the way, President Han, you have to give me a discount on the distribution fee this time."
"You little brat. Fine, since the box office passed 100 million, I'll have a word with the publicity and distribution department. From now on, the distribution fee for all your films will be seven percent."
President Han wasn't angry. After all, both of Wei Jin's films that year had made China Film Group a lot of money.
"By the way, once the film leaves theaters, let's hold a victory banquet. You should also mingle more with people in the industry. The way you're going about it isn't good."
"All right, all right, I'll listen to you. That's just how I am. Once my abilities are there, they'll naturally accommodate me."
Perhaps he had done too much entertaining as an account manager in his previous life, but Wei Jin was already somewhat weary of it. There were certain pleasantries he really didn't want to say, so he simply didn't attend events.
As a result, people in the industry thought him somewhat arrogant about his talent and unapproachable.
"Do you have any projects lately? Don't forget China Film Group."
Han Sanping saw Wei Jin as a money tree and wished he could turn him into a filmmaking machine.
"President Han, even capitalists aren't as ruthless as you, are they? The film hasn't even left theaters yet. Let me take a break, all right?"
Wei Jin wasn't about to indulge him and spoke up in protest.
The two chatted some more. Having had his fill of tea, Wei Jin took his leave.
Before long, it was 2005. Zeng Li had been experiencing life in the countryside all this time. According to her, she probably wouldn't return until after the New Year, and soon after coming back, she would join the cast of The Infiltrator.
Word also came from Teacher Jiang that preparations for the production were going smoothly and they were now looking for actors. If all went well, filming would begin after the New Year.
Wei Jin had no intention of interfering in the casting. This drama wasn't particularly good for making stars; it was mainly meant to win awards.
After the roadshow ended, Wei Jin had moved into 501. The apartment had now become his favorite place to recuperate after a sleepless night.
News had also come from Tangren in the past few days: Chinese Paladin was confirmed to premiere on Taiwan Television on January 24. They would negotiate with mainland television stations after seeing how the Taiwanese premiere performed.
There was no helping it. As the first domestic television drama adapted from a game, the major television stations were unsure of its market and offered very low prices, nowhere near enough to cover the costs. As it happened, one of the investors was a Taiwanese company, so they decided to test the waters in Taiwan first. After all, it was a market of tens of millions.
After the New Year's holiday ended, Those Years finally left theaters with a total box office of 118 million yuan. The holiday had brought a rebound, an unexpected windfall.
The victory banquet was set for January 5, with Wei Jin Fengliu Studio taking charge of it.
Wei Jin had Chen Zhiming prepare a numerical ice sculpture in advance. This kind of celebration was a first in the country.
On the evening of the fifth, representatives from nearly all the major film and television companies arrived. The hotel venue was a veritable vanity fair.
It seemed as though every entertainer in Beijing had come: Li Bingbing, Fan Bingbing, Deng Chao, Huang Xiaoming, Chen Kun...
Famous and unknown alike came one after another to greet Wei Jin. Unfortunately, he didn't recognize quite a few of them, and his face cramped from smiling.
But that did nothing to dampen everyone's enthusiasm. After all, he was the second major director in the country to pass 100 million at the box office. His art film had won a Silver Bear in Berlin, and his commercial film had broken 100 million. Wasn't that better than Feng Dapao?
As the host took the stage, Wei Jin and the rest of the main creative team also went up to thank the guests and the people who had made the film. After a whole spiel of blah, blah, blah, staff members wheeled the ice sculpture onto the stage, bringing the atmosphere in the venue to a climax.
The actors were also extremely excited. After all, the film had passed 100 million at the box office. How many films in the country had done that?
Wei Jin called everyone over to pick up small hammers, and together they struck the ice sculpture. The string of digits, 118000000, was smashed to pieces in an instant, symbolizing the film's box-office breakthrough.
It was also the first time the people below the stage had seen a celebration like this, and they found it very novel. The reporters present snapped away with their cameras.
With the ice sculpture smashed, the banquet officially began.
President Han from China Film Group had come too, along with Wang Changtian of Guangxian and Yu Dong of Bona. Wei Jin wasn't very familiar with the latter two; they were barely more than nodding acquaintances. By accepting his invitation, they had shown him considerable respect.
Of course, it was more likely that they had come seeking cooperation. Both companies' main businesses included film and television production, and they also handled publicity and distribution.
At the main table, Wang Changtian chatted eagerly with Wei Jin, and Yu Dong was unwilling to fall behind.
"Director Wei, you've made your name in a single battle! If you have any projects in the future, you can always consider Guangxian. We can handle distribution too."
Wang Changtian was somewhat emotional. The young man before him was no longer the greenhorn who had just won a Silver Bear.
"Manager Wang, you flatter me. What I've done is just small-time stuff, not worth mentioning. We still have to rely on you big brothers to do the heavy lifting."
Wei Jin spoke with a sincere expression.
Wang Changtian pursed his lips at that. You fucking call this small-time? With an investment of ten million, and no more than twenty million including publicity and distribution, the film had earned nearly 120 million at the box office. Wei Jin and China Film Group had made a killing.
The current domestic box-office split was calculated as follows: first, a five percent special fund and a 3.3 percent business tax were deducted. That meant that of the 118 million yuan in box-office revenue, only 108 million was available to be split.
That portion was then divided with the theater chains. The current split was 43–57, with the film's producers receiving 46.44 million. After deducting ten million in publicity and distribution costs and a seven percent distribution fee, the producers would receive 33.89 million, of which China Film Group would get 10.17 million.
China Film Group had invested three million, and with the distribution fee included, its total return exceeded 13.4 million—an astonishing profit margin.
Wei Jin's side had invested seven million, of which he had actually put up only four million. In less than four months, the return was 23.72 million, a truly impressive result.
But there was no getting around the fact that the base was too small. He had earned less than six million a month on average, not even as much as a single ringback tone could bring in. As Wei Jin saw it, wasn't that small-time?
"Manager Wei, you're too modest. Didn't you see President Han? He's grinning from ear to ear. Old Wang and I are terribly envious."
Yu Dong of Bona chimed in with a word of praise.
"If the chance comes up, Manager Wei, don't forget yours truly. Haha..."