Chapter 1059: Chapter 289: A Triumphant First Battle
Chapter 289: First Victory
Many people are excited today, including Li Yan.
The reason for the excitement is that the box office data from last week has finally been released!
Although Yun Country does not have a strictly authoritative statistic, with the booming domestic market, many websites have started publishing box office numbers. Some calculate national box office from the results of a single cinema chain, some estimate based on experience, some derive numbers from internal sources, and some directly use promotional figures from distributors... However, among all those, Liu Jia, who has been researching domestic box office and compiling box office rankings for the longest time, is relatively trustworthy.
This individual originally published market analysis reports on a cinema chain’s website but was later recruited by a portal site to compile box office rankings, including those for international hits in Yun Country Continent using data converted to International Coin from sites like Si Country’s Boxoffice (which usually focuses on international films). Yun Country films that get tallied on Si country box office sites are few, so they generally only concentrate on international blockbusters.
Overall, Liu Jia’s domestic box office stats, although sometimes conflicting, are considered relatively the most authoritative on the mainland at this stage. Later, her published data also referenced the "National Film Special Fund Office" and combined electronic ticket sales data from major cinema chains nationwide. In other words, she had access to more internal data than others, but the closer those numbers got to reality, the later they were released. By the time she finished compiling and releasing them, it was often the following week’s Tuesday or Wednesday.
This box office ranking differs from Siro Continent’s focus solely on the "weekend box office chart" for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Instead, it calculates a whole week. Of course, the domestic environment is different; while Siro Continent can rank dozens in the weekend chart, domestically, it’s often hard to fill even the top ten in a week, with some movies’ data being too low to be tracked.
The movie market last week mainly consisted of New Year releases, along with a few new Yun Country films hitting theaters. Among them, standout performance came from the romance film "Springtime Leaked," which emerged as a "dark horse," racking up 28 million in four days and claiming the third spot on the box office chart! The first place was claimed by an international release during the New Year season, and second by a Yun Country blockbuster whose sales, despite passing its peak period, still surpassed "Springtime Leaked."
The Yun Country love drama, jointly crafted by stars from the mainland, Cloud Island, and Lan Island, showcases Anders’ storytelling style, linking various warm stories together. It portrays multiple tales like "Dream Love," "Persistent Love," "Hopeful Love," "Pure Love," and "Tolerant Love." The ensemble cast satisfies diverse audiences, offering a sense of getting more value for one’s money. Plus, with Valentine’s Day approaching after a season of blockbusters and comedies, it’s a top choice for many young couples in love or pursuit.
The 28 million first-week box office, while not stunning in today’s market, is relatively impressive. The investment in "Springtime Leaked" was only in the tens of millions, and it was shot quickly. Although there were plenty of stars, each didn’t have much screen time, but in editing, rather than connecting the stories one after another, the different stories were interwoven, giving the impression that the stars were consistently present. This first-week result already almost recouped the investment.
Qiao Pan, who had been monitoring this week’s stable and rising screenings, felt a sense of relief upon seeing this. His efforts weren’t in vain. Apart from the excitement from all involved, he and director Zhou Yuan arranged a tea gathering with Li Yan, Chu Yi, and Mo Yan.
"Last week approached 30 million; this week, it’s almost guaranteed to hit around 50 million. Keep up for two more weeks, and a billion is absolutely feasible!"
Seeing the first-week box office results, Li Yan and the others did not withhold praise and encouragement for Qiao Pan and Zhou Yuan, but when they heard Qiao Pan’s current words, they felt he was slightly inflated.
Observing their expressions, Zhou Yuan felt a bit embarrassed. Though the operation relied entirely on Qiao Pan, he had painstakingly put together the shooting and production. Now, with the movie being profitable, he was satisfied and happy. Yet, hearing Qiao Pan’s boasting, he felt it was a tad too much.
Realizing the mood, Qiao Pan sipped his tea and grinned, "You guys think I’m boasting, don’t you?"
Li Yan laughed, "Although funds have yet to fully return, at least statistically, we’ve basically broken even. Feel free to boast; we all hope your beautiful wishes come true!"
Li Yan’s excitement and happiness came from this being his real investment aside from his other business ventures. Plus, it was evidently going to profit, serving as support for Yurong’s commitment to Heavenly Film, returning the favor so she wouldn’t have to bear the consequences of poor judgment. So, as long as there were results, he didn’t mind Qiao Pan’s bragging.
This was a small-scale celebration among higher-ups; everyone was happy. Mo Yan and Chu Yi, even if they didn’t earn much, were friends with Qiao Pan, and didn’t mind his boasting; they just found it hard to believe.
"No joke, my wish honestly stands a chance!"
Qiao Pan started counting on his fingers, "Our last week had just four days, averaging 700,000 daily!"
"So what? The first week is always the most watched; opening night plus the weekend, averaging 700,000 a day. Where’s that kind of audience this week?" questioned Chu Yi.
"Many fans rush to watch early. Starting the second week, unless the word-of-mouth is exceptional, typically, occupancy begins to drop, which is quite normal. But don’t forget, last week we had two films ahead of us, mostly earning from the last tails of the New Year season before we released, and now they’ve passed their heyday. Post our release, we’ve taken a lot of their screenings. According to these past days’ observations, our occupancy rate is decreasing, but the decline in other films is more pronounced, hence our screen count is actually rising!"
Qiao Pan came prepared, pulling out several simple handwritten reports.
"The increase in screenings can compensate partially for the decrease in occupancy. Most importantly, compared to last week, we have a major sales point this week — tomorrow’s Valentine’s Day! Plus, we have Lantern Festival later. If things go well, a doubling during Valentine’s isn’t out of the question, combined with Lantern Festival pulling back a bit, that should offset the weekend fatigue. Also, there’s half-price Tuesday, which boosts occupancy and popularity.
So, overall consideration, maintaining last week’s average performance isn’t strange. Even if it stays at an average of 700,000, a week later, it’s close to 50 million, with a surge tonight and tomorrow for Valentine’s, along with Lantern Festival, gradually being packaged as Yun Country’s traditional Valentine’s Day by merchants, not just a traditional holiday but with a trendy vibe. By the end of this week, approaching 80 million is set! If I’m lucky, next week it’ll hit over a hundred million!"
After hearing Qiao Pan’s analysis, everyone began to take it seriously. Among those present, Qiao Pan had researched this field the most. If it was merely exaggerated boasting from his confidence, they’d laugh it off, but considering the conventional and data-driven analysis led to such conclusions, they took it differently.
Initially, investing in this film for Li Yan and Heavenly Film was only a test. Chu Yi simply wanted to connect Chuyi Culture with Paradise Group by investing, while Mo Yan helped out a friend, Qiao Pan. Therefore, none expected to earn much money. So achieving breakeven in a week was already an unexpected reason for celebration, but they had estimated final box office would be about double that of the first week. Now, according to Qiao Pan’s calculations, getting over a hundred million is feasible, ultimately it’s down to how far above one hundred million it can go.
The 10 million investment in "Springtime Leaked" consisted of Li Yan representing Heavenly Film investing 6 million for a 60% stake, with the remaining 4 million shared among Chu Yi, Mo Yan, distribution, and cinema lines with each investing 1 million for a 10% stake respectively. How much would they earn? Initially, breaking even and earning a little profit seemed good, but with over one hundred million potential box office, plus small amounts from Cloud Island, Lan Island, and Dong Robin recouping some copyright money, eventually recovering 50 million is possible! That’s fivefold income, fourfold pure profit!
Moreover, besides Qiao Pan’s extensive efforts and preparation over time, their few investors had not committed funds for long; even if returns weren’t immediate, overall it’s much faster than recovering investments in big films planned for ages. While the total funds weren’t massive, the investment recovery ratio was indeed remarkable, surprising and demanding attention from them!
"Old Qiao, Old Zhou, you guys rock! Stirring things up for multiple times the return; we need to hurry and sign more contracts to collaborate in several projects. Otherwise, other big companies will come poaching!" Li Yan said half-jokingly.
Feeling somewhat proud, Qiao Pan said, "By the current trend, crossing over a hundred million isn’t difficult! The market ahead is quite bland, with no impactful blockbusters. Domestic films wouldn’t release until the Labor Day season. Spring season is off-peak in Siro Continent too, globally mainly importing outdated non-Anders films, causing minimal impact on us. Even though the decline in revenue will be notable starting next week, it should sustain through the fourth, fifth week. I’m estimating around 1.1 billion to 1.3 billion range; with additional revenue from selling some rights, covering 50 million is hopeful. This investment ratio is comparable only to the likes of the Pleasant Goat series and films by Ning Hao and Feng Xiaogang."
"Let’s toast with tea! Cheers to you!" They all raised their teacups.
Zhou Yuan didn’t feel outshined by this; considering his resume, this opportunity offered by Qiao Pan to back him as director, although partly due to not being able to hire a top director, was also a chance for him to shine. Undoubtedly, from start to finish, the one who devoted the most was Qiao Pan.
(Two more Chapters are coming soon) (To be continued, for more information, please visit www.qidian.com, more Chapters support the author, and endorse legit reading!)
