Director of Photography Department of Huayu

Chapter 173 Zhou Guan, criticism from Korean netizens
"A celebration banquet, one hundred million?"

When Wu Chen heard what Gao Chengsheng said on the other end of the phone, he was stunned while holding the phone, and felt a little amused and helpless for a moment.

If this is three hundred million, it must be opened three times.

The problem is that our actors are not in the country. It’s just him and Han Sanping celebrating. It’s okay to celebrate once, but celebrating multiple times is too exaggerated.

"Brother Gao, there's no need to do it so frequently. Tell President Han that we can just celebrate once domestically when the box office hits 200 million. Lionsgate said we'll hold a celebration once North America breaks 100 million.

If it really breaks 300 million, the China Film Publicity Department can just issue a press release."

Wu Chen declined, saying that it would be fine if there were a large number of domestic actors.

Celebration banquets have indeed become popular in China many times.

Often, we would hit 50 million once, 80 million once, and finally we would hit 100 million. We would have to celebrate the key points and hit it again.
Not long after I hung up the phone, the next day’s domestic box office figures came out and media reports flooded in.

"Now You See Me" has been a hit for two consecutive years, with a box office of 2580 million, setting a new record in mainland China!

The "magic blockbuster" took over the box office, breaking box office records on its second day. It's being hailed as the most impactful new commercial film in the industry!

[Winning both box office and critical acclaim, "Now You See Me" leads the wave of Chinese directors conquering Hollywood! ]

Even the Beijing Film Academy quickly issued an internal announcement:
Warm congratulations to Wu Chen, a 2003 graduate of our university's Photography Department, for his film Now You See Me, which achieved great box office success in both China and the United States!
The work is jointly produced by China Film Group, Lionsgate, Blumhouse Films and Obsidian Films, and is a model for our teachers and students to participate in international film cooperation.

The North American box office exceeded 15 million US dollars on the first day, and the two-day box office in mainland China exceeded 48 million. We look forward to the film continuing to achieve better results!

The newsletter was then printed out and quickly posted on the school bulletin board.

Zhang Huijun is full of enthusiasm:
"Hey, Old Xu, yes, Beijing Film Academy will hold a lecture next month. We are sister schools, so we can exchange ideas together. Which master will give the lecture?
I can't really call him a master, but Wu Chen, his understanding of commercial films is already better than that of the teachers at the school, so he's a good fit. The time hasn't been decided yet, but it's probably early next month, before summer vacation."

After Xu Xiang hung up the phone, he pursed his lips.

Zhang Huijun was almost showing off like this. They were from brother schools. Damn, is this how brothers act?

"Commercial film," Xu Xiang murmured. In recent years, the trend has actually been quite obvious. The domestic box office has been rising all the way. It is impossible to open up box office space by relying on art films.

"Forget it, let's get some people to listen. It would be nice if we could learn something."

Xu Xiang sighed, it was all because the people in his own school were not up to standard.

There is a Jiang Wen who has been banned from directing for many years. He has just finished filming a movie, but it has not yet been released.

At night, the second day box office data in North America was finally released.

The performance was even better than the previous day - $1720 million!
Wu Chen received congratulations from Jason Blum and Michael Burns on his phone.

At this time, he was sending Liu Yifei back. Liu Xiaoli couldn't come today because of an urgent matter, so Liu Yifei had made a reservation with him early.

"What do you think? Don't answer the phone while driving in the future. It's very dangerous." On the passenger seat, Liu Yifei was giving the warning while gathering the hair that was messed up by the night wind around her ears.

"Well, the box office is higher than yesterday, 1720 million US dollars!" Wu Chen responded with a smile.

"Wow!" Liu Yifei opened her mouth slightly, "Congratulations, great director!"

"."

Wu Chen's lips curled up slightly.

At this time, the car window was slightly open, and the evening breeze blew in, mixed with the fragrance of flowers, carrying the unique gentle atmosphere of a June night.

The two of them talked and laughed all the way.

As the car slowly drove into the familiar villa area, Wu Chen glanced at the houses around him and suddenly whispered, "By the way, do you know how much the villas here cost?"

Now that "Now You See Me" has been released and the box office is doing well, you don't have to hold on to the idle funds in your hands so tightly and can use them.

House prices are not too high these days, but they will really soar after the Olympics. If you want to buy a house, you have to save some money in the next one or two years.

Liu Yifei's eyes lit up, and she leaned over. "Go ahead. Drive ahead, I'll tell you."

Wu Chen gave her a wicked look and said, "In front? Isn't that near your home?"

Liu Yifei raised her head stubbornly, snorted softly, and looked at Wu Chen: "I don't know anything else, I just heard my mother talk about the prices near my home."

"Alright." Wu Chen took it seriously. He drove forward for a while and then slowed down. "Go ahead, expert!"

"Hmm" Liu Yifei pouted and thought hard, "Hmm"

"What do you mean? You knew it was near your home even though I didn't tell you just now? Now it's near your home," Wu Chen asked with a smile.

Liu Yifei rolled her eyes and finally managed to utter, "It seems to be more than 30,000 yuan per square meter."

"Nonsense!" Wu Chen said angrily. "I've checked the average selling price of villas in Beijing in the first half of this year. It's around 2 yuan per square meter. It's unlikely that this location would be priced at 4 yuan."

"You already know, and you're still asking me." Liu Yifei pouted. "Hmph, then where are you planning to buy? I'm telling you, mine is pretty good."

"Come on, tell me what's good about it." Wu Chen asked.

The car slowly stopped.

Got home.

Liu Yifei got out of the passenger seat, staring with wide eyes and pouting, waving a finger. "Don't you think the scenery is good? Isn't there enough greenery?"

Wu Chen glanced at it. "Is that it? Which villa in Beijing isn't like this?"

Liu Yifei stamped her foot angrily. Her dress swayed gently in the moonlight, and her long hair fluttered slightly in the wind. Her eyelashes trembled, and she was indescribably charming.

"Why are you so annoying!"

After returning home, Liu Yifei still didn't give up and asked again on Penguin, "Have you decided? Which one are you going to buy?"

After a long while, when she finished her shower and changed into a light set of pajamas, she opened her phone and saw Wu Chen's reply: "Not yet."

"Oh"

At this moment, Liu Yifei clearly heard footsteps. Her eyes lit up, and she ran out with a pair of soft slippers on her feet. "Mom, you're back."

Liu Xiaoli was standing at the entrance with her bag in one hand. She had just taken off her shoes and looked at her daughter rushing out in surprise.

"Mom, how much is the price per square meter near here? Do you still have the phone number of the salesperson you used to contact?"

After a while, Wu Chen received another message from Liu Yifei.

"Hey, this is the contact number for the villa salesperson. They can get a discount. I suggest you contact them as soon as possible."

Wu Chen couldn't help laughing when he saw the news, and then replied, "Is it true? Can I get a discount?"

"You don't believe me? I told you it took me a lot of effort to get this!" Liu Yifei finished sending the message and was about to continue typing when Wu Chen's message appeared in the chat box:

"Auntie actually still has the contact information."

"I," Liu Yifei angrily rolled around on the bed, yelling at the air, "I'm so annoyed. My junior brother is too smart. What should I do?"

The single-day box office peak of "Now You See Me" did not stop on Saturday. The Sunday data released on Monday rose again, and the single-day box office of 2704 million once again broke the domestic single-day record.

It exceeded 7500 million in the first three days of the first week.

Relatively real-time news can still only be seen on the Internet, and the print media is still a day late, but this does not prevent people in Pingzhou Street, Wu Chen’s hometown, from talking about it.

Yuan Xiaoqin went out to buy groceries. As soon as she returned, she was called by a neighbor holding a newspaper, with an incredulous look on her face:
"Xiaoqin, your child is very promising. Movies now make over 2500 million a day."

"That's the box office, you can't make that much money." Yuan Xiaoqin smiled and shook her head.

"Then there's this news: they're selling in the US, and they're making 1500 million a day. How come that's still lower than in China? Isn't the US supposedly rich?"

"Grandma, what they sell is US dollars, not RMB!" someone explained.

"Xiaoqin, a TV station is here, looking for you. It's a reporter from Pearl River TV."

"."

It was not until the afternoon that Wu Chen learned about this from his mother Yuan Xiaoqin. He was a little surprised when he heard it.

"What did the TV station ask?" Wu Chen asked curiously.

"I asked you about your childhood, school days, and your educational experience. Don't worry, I didn't tell you anything embarrassing."

Yuan Xiaoqin said cheerfully, then thought of something, "Summer vacation is over, you must be a senior now."

"Uh, yes!" Wu Chen was stunned.

"You're a senior now, where's your girlfriend? It's time to talk about it. It won't interfere with your career."

"I understand." Wu Chen nodded and replied with a smile.

"You'll know when you leave."

"."

However, compared to the domestic third-day box office, Hollywood's box office usually declines on Sundays.

According to information from Lionsgate, the film only earned $1462 million on Sunday, but the overall decline was kept within 15%, showing a steady performance.

It grossed $4712 million in its first three days.

This result undoubtedly made "Now You See Me" the champion of the North American weekend box office, surpassing "Cars", which entered its second week and won a box office of 3000 million US dollars.

The last time a Chinese director topped the North American weekly box office chart was in 2003 when Zhang Yimou's "Hero" was released in North America, with a box office of only 1800 million US dollars.

Li An's "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" has never won the weekly box office championship in North America.

Major domestic newspapers and websites updated their headlines immediately:
Wu Chen's first Hollywood film swept North America: Now You See Me topped the box office with $4712 million in its first weekend!

After three years, another Chinese director takes first place at the North American box office! Wu Chen takes over from Zhang Yimou.

【.】

The media was buzzing with discussion, and the industry fell into a brief silence before erupting into heated discussions.

Compared with the jubilation of Chinese movie fans, the reaction in South Korea was not so pleasant.

South Korea's online communities, portals and forums have long forwarded the news that "Now You See Me" won the North American championship and announced that it will be released at the end of the month.

I thought it was just another Hollywood blockbuster, but when I looked up the director:
"Chinese? Still studying???"

For a time, Korean netizens were extremely angry, not towards Wu Chen - but towards the group of directors in their own country.

Criticisms on the Internet erupted like a tide:

"Is this the second one after Zhang Yimou? China already has two, and we don't have any?"

"Wu Chen and Zhang Yi are both Chinese directors. We Korean directors rarely even win North American independent awards. It's really shameful."

"Korean Wave is always talking about internationalization, but in the end, there isn't even a director who can take first place at the North American box office."

"Song Kang-ho's acting skills can't save our director's script."

"."

(End of this chapter)