Global Film Emperor

Chapter 183 Return to Hong Kong

After waking up in the morning, Lu Ze checked yesterday's box office figures. The box office of over 30 million yuan was much lower than he had expected, which was largely due to the various negative rumors circulating before the film's release.

It's estimated that many people still consider this movie to be a money laundering film and haven't seen "The King of Fighters," so their opinions won't change. Perhaps these false rumors will only change once word-of-mouth spreads.

Secondly, imported films put too much pressure on domestic films, and their aggressiveness is too strong. However, this is due to the distrust of moviegoers caused by the long-term poor quality of domestic films. This situation is self-inflicted. To be honest, if you are too weak, don't blame your opponents for being too strong.

Yesterday, imported films grossed nearly 60 million yuan at the box office. Most moviegoers commented that they enjoyed watching them. Usually, moviegoers don't delve into the deeper meaning of the films; they're happy as long as they enjoy a visual feast during the May Day holiday.

Theaters have also made significant adjustments to their screening schedules. They don't care which country the film was made in, as long as they make every penny of money. As a result, "Desperate Situation" has jumped to first place in screenings today, reaching an astonishing 41.77%, while "The Boxer" has fallen to below 30%. But even worse off are "Autumn Brocade" and "Starlight Splendor," whose screenings have been greatly affected.

"Starlight" is doing well. It only has one excellent young actor as the lead, and the investment is 50 million. Yesterday's box office exceeded 10 million. It is estimated that it will not be a problem to recoup the cost before it leaves theaters.

But "Autumn Brocade" is a disaster. It cost over 100 million yuan to produce, two-thirds of which went to the salaries of young, handsome actors. As a result, apart from fans, the general public didn't buy it at all, and the movie was a huge flop. Now the director and investors can only pray to God that they can lose less money.

This phenomenon is a disaster for the film "Autumn Brocade" as a standalone film, but a good thing for the market, which Lu Ze is very happy to see.

When the fan economy is no longer powerful enough to destroy the market economy, then media companies should start to consider whether it is still worthwhile to promote young idols.

As the level of spiritual civilization improves, the bubble economy brought about by young, attractive celebrities may have brought temporary prosperity to the film and television industry, but once this glamorous prosperity passes, the market is destined to return to normal, and everything will be based on quality.

Judging from the box office reports of recent years, four or five years ago it was the "little fresh meat economy," where the actors dominated the box office, regardless of the films themselves, thus ushering in an era of bad movies for the Chinese film market.

However, in the past two years, high-grossing films have shown a clear trend of returning to the essence of filmmaking and gradually moving away from the drawback of relying on the star power of the cast.

It is foreseeable that the era of bad movies is not far from its end. In the future, movies that can truly make money will either have a touching story or top-notch special effects that are adrenaline-pumping. Other methods will not work.

From a broader perspective, this represents a transformation and rebirth for Chinese cinema, and as a member of the Chinese film industry, Lu Ze is happy to see it.
On a personal level, the future emphasis on quality in films will be a disaster for popular stars, but a huge bonanza for talented actors.

As long as there is market demand, there will never be a shortage of good scripts. Don't underestimate the creativity that money can bring. As long as there is money to keep people entertained, screenwriters' imaginations can reach the sky.

Yesterday's box office performance was below expectations, but Lu Ze wasn't in a hurry. After all, there was still a long time to go, and he would take it one step at a time. This movie might just help Lu Ze become a member of the billion-yuan box office club.

The box office will definitely be high on the second day of the May Day holiday.

But his most important task right now isn't to keep a close eye on the box office of "The King of Fighters," but to hurry back to Hong Kong to continue filming. Otherwise, that old man Song Qingmin will be extremely anxious.

After packing his suitcase, Lu Ze checked the time and whether the camera had recorded anything last night. Seeing himself sleeping soundly in bed, his anxiety subsided slightly.

Liu Bin called to say he was already waiting downstairs. Carrying a suitcase full of shipping tags, Lu Ze came downstairs and stood at the entrance of the community. He saw two identical Audi A6s parked behind his nanny van. Lu Ze didn't think it had anything to do with him. He just glanced at them and got into the car with his suitcase.

"Brother Lu, the company has assigned you six security guards who will follow you until you board the plane."

Wang Zixuan glanced at the notebook, scribbled a few lines on it, and then reminded Lu Ze to get into the car. She then took out her phone and took a picture of Lu Ze.

"Me? Why would I need security? Like those two Audis behind me? Who arranged that?"

"Minister Wang arranged this. He said the new film has good reviews, and he's provided security so you can be careful."

Lu Ze sat up straight and glanced back. Two cars were following behind him, which was quite professional; they didn't get separated while waiting for the traffic light.

"That's enough for today. They're not coming to Hong Kong with us, right? They shouldn't follow us anymore. I can walk on my own without being noticed, but having six bodyguards with me is quite conspicuous."

“Okay, I’ll report to Minister Wang later.” “Alright, that’s settled then. Pick out a few boys’ clothes, choose the good ones, and also buy some Lego toys. Send them to Song Guiyuan along with this.”

She pulled out a red gift box from her pocket. Inside was a pure gold longevity lock that Lu Ze had specially picked out last night. Song Guiyuan had a son, born in April.

Lu Ze originally wanted to go over when Lao Song's wife gave birth, but Song Guiyuan stopped him, telling him not to bother since he was filming in Hong Kong and the baby was at home. He could visit whenever he wanted, and his good friend didn't need to make such a fuss.

Whether it's a regular friend or a good buddy, Lao Song is the kind of person who avoids troubling others if possible. He felt really bad about letting his friend take time off work to come and congratulate him, especially since Lu Ze was in Hong Kong and it wasn't worth flying all that way to see the child.

As for Lu Ze, Song Qingmin's requirement was that as long as the filming went well, it didn't matter if you went to bars at night or went out with girls, as long as you could work the next day, he wouldn't care about you after work.

But taking leave is a real pain for him. If it's not something serious, he won't even consider letting you go. If you say, "Director Song, my good friend is having a baby, I have to go see him," he won't get angry with you. Instead, he'll frown like an old bitter gourd and keep urging you not to leave, not to rush, and to finish filming soon so you can be there to watch your child grow up.

So Lu Ze really couldn't find the time to see the child, but he kept it in mind. Lao Song didn't accept the red envelope he gave when the child was born, but now that the baby is almost a month old, if he doesn't go over and make any other gesture, is that something a good friend would do?

Lu Ze was quite embarrassed when he called Lao Song, and he stumbled over his words. On the contrary, Song Guiyuan was very generous. They were all actors and everyone knew the hardship of not having time. He told Lu Ze to relax and that they could go to the capital for a good drink after filming was over.

She kept telling him not to buy anything for the child, saying that they had everything at home, which made Lu Ze feel increasingly embarrassed. As soon as he finished filming, he went to the capital to see his nephew, and this became his top priority.

Upon arriving at the airport, Lu Ze finally saw his bodyguards. Unlike the bodyguards he had in mind, they weren't wearing suits, ties, or sunglasses; they were simply wearing uniforms.

Moreover, they weren't tall at all, not even as tall as Lu Ze. As for the claim that they were disciples of some martial arts family, Lu Ze didn't believe it at all. Would real martial arts masters come to be his bodyguards? Lu Ze was well aware of this.

These people are just ordinary people, but they have a lot of presence. They look more like gangsters than the extras playing gangsters in Hong Kong.

As expected, the six people attracted a lot of attention after entering the airport. Although Lu Ze is not a household name, he is still somewhat well-known in the public eye and was quickly recognized. People started taking pictures of Lu Ze with their phones.

"Excuse me, no photos allowed, thank you."

"Please don't take pictures, thank you. Please take this."

"Put your phone away!"

One of the bodyguards shouted, startling Lu Ze. When he turned around, he saw the bodyguard pointing at a girl with a fierce expression, which frightened the girl, leaving her completely bewildered.

Lu Ze was quite angry. He had simply worn a mask and a hat and behaved himself at the airport, which would have prevented him from attracting so many people. But now, a bunch of gangsters had been assigned to him, not only drawing attention but also causing him trouble.

He really disliked this kind of security, after all, he had been shoved by such security personnel before. Even though he was an artist, he didn't like this kind of security. He turned around and patted the security guard on the shoulder.

"Dude, she's still a girl, no matter what. You guys came here to prevent me from getting acid thrown at me or something, not to cause me trouble, right? If that's the case, I'll file a complaint against you. Apologize to the girl. Sorry, he was a bit agitated just now, I apologize on his behalf. I'm in a bit of a hurry, I have to take a picture and then I have to leave. Okay, there are a lot of people here, be careful."

Lu Ze returned the phone that had taken the photos to the girl, shook hands with the bewildered girl, waved to the people present, and turned to leave.

"Tell Minister Wang that either he shouldn't hire security, or he should find me a few martial arts masters. If that's not possible, at least they should be of higher quality. What kind of trash are these?"

After whispering something in Wang Zixuan's ear, Lu Ze checked in his luggage, picked up his ticket, and boarded the plane.

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(End of this chapter)