Hong Kong Entertainment 1979: A Beating Up the Manager at the Start

Ji Tongguang, the general manager of Shaw Brothers Cinemas, was actually not very optimistic about the fashion comedy film "Chasing Girls".

He was more optimistic about Li Jiangbo's "A Better Tomorrow", after all, "Chasing Girls" was very similar to Shaw Brothers' "Modern Country Bumpkin" which had just been released.

"Modern Country Bumpkin" only grossed four million yuan by the time it finished its run on February 29th. Ji Tongguang believed that the film would only reach four million yuan at most, and that it couldn't possibly gross more. This way, it would be good for "A Better Tomorrow" to take over the season early and enjoy a year-end bonus.

When the box office figures for the first day were released, Ji Tongguang was dumbfounded. "Chasing Girls," another modern comedy, had raked in an astonishing 81 yuan on its opening day.

In later years, this film, which was originally intended to be directed by Mai Jia and written by Huang Baiming, was intended to be a film for Cinema City to open up the Taiwanese market. However, it was directly given to Wong Jing by Li Jiangbo.

As for the film's director, Wang Jing, he was enjoying immense popularity and was receiving numerous film offers.

Newspapers and magazines praised him to the skies, for example:

A film review in Ming Pao pointed out that "Chasing Girls" has no big stars, no special effects, and no gunfights, but it hits the funny bone of the general public with the most down-to-earth urban emotional topics.

The Mtime Daily reported that the film marks an important step in Hong Kong cinema's transformation from traditional martial arts and early Republican-era comedies to modern urban themes.

Many viewers felt the film was fast-paced and packed with laughs, especially the chemistry between Shek Tin and Tsang Chi-wai, with scenes like the bowling duel and the fake pursuit of a female celebrity being highly entertaining.

Some viewers pointed out that the film's portrayal of female characters was weak, with women almost reduced to "trophies" to be chased and lacking independent personalities; the car chase ending was also criticized as "inexplicable" and "a disaster".

However, it must be admitted that the film accurately captures the anxieties and fantasies of single young people, demonstrating a forward-thinking market positioning.

The next day, the box office of "Chasing Girls" declined slightly, with only 70 yuan in box office revenue.

It wasn't until the opening week box office results for "Chasing Girls" that Ji Tongguang abandoned the idea of ​​having "A Better Tomorrow" take over. "Chasing Girls" grossed a whopping 412 million yuan in its opening week, and Wang Jing surpassed the total box office of "Modern Country Bumpkin" in just one week.

The box office figures for the second week dropped slightly, with a cumulative total of 713 million over two weeks.

When "Chasing Girls" was in its third week of release, TVB aired a promotional video during the hiatus of its prime-time drama "My Mother-in-Law Is Here".

This promotional video is for the film "A Better Tomorrow," directed by Li Jiangbo.

The film is shot from a first-person perspective, with fast-paced editing. The promotional video features headshots and a catchy soundtrack, instantly getting viewers' blood pumping.

The promotion ends with a dynamic, large-font message: The best action movie ever – A Better Tomorrow, see you on March 29th!

Viewers in front of their television screens suddenly realized that this was a promotional campaign for the movie!

The next day, Li Jiangbo sent premiere invitations to more than 200 newspapers and magazines of all sizes in Hong Kong.

While newspapers and magazines were still discussing what Li Jiangbo's premiere invitation was, Oriental Daily News and Time Times had already begun promoting "A Better Tomorrow".

Oriental Daily and Time Daily jointly published a GG article about the premiere of "A Better Tomorrow".

The content of the GG is: "A Better Tomorrow," the latest work by director Li Jiangbo, last year's box office champion, will have its premiere at the Jade Theatre on March 29, with only 800 premiere tickets available for sale to the public.

He then gave a detailed introduction to the movie "A Better Tomorrow," saying that Chow Yun-fat's portrayal of "Mark" was arrogant yet loyal, Ti Lung's portrayal of Hao was calm and guilty, and Leslie Cheung's portrayal of Ah Jie was conflicted and passionate—the three brothers intertwined their fates in the midst of their grudges and feuds in the underworld, creating a heart-stirring chapter of destiny.

Breaking away from the traditional gangster film format, the movie uses sharp and innovative gunfight aesthetics and profound human character portrayals to create the first modern heroic epic in Hong Kong film history!

Furthermore, the premiere will feature exclusive highlights: Leslie Cheung will be present to perform his new song "The Way We Were"; and a host of stars from Time Pictures will interact with the audience, including Zhu Lin, Rosamund Kwan, and Cherie Chung, and will present a specially choreographed program.

You will not only be among the first to see this historic film, but also enjoy a lavish celebration that combines an audiovisual feast with star power! This is a one-time opportunity, with each movie ticket costing only 20 to 30 yuan. There are 800 exclusive seats available, so it's first come, first served.

This news caused a stir in the Hong Kong film industry.

The newspaper descriptions were far too exaggerated, claiming it was a film destined to go down in history, an innovative gunfight aesthetic, and the creation of Hong Kong's first modern heroic epic.

What is all this nonsense?!

Do you think they don't know about the triads in Hong Kong? They're just a few dozen people with weapons, fighting and killing over tiny places, collecting protection money, and doing some shady business.

Epic? History-defining? Innovative gunfights... That's really wishful thinking, while Li Jiangbo is just bragging below!

People in the film and television industry are waiting to see Li Jiangbo make a fool of himself, saying that this guy is obsessed with money and has set the premiere ticket price at 30 yuan.

It's worth noting that the highest ticket price for a movie theater in Hong Kong is around 15 yuan, while tickets for other low-quality films are only 5 yuan.

When they got home and were watching TVB dramas, a promotional video for "A Better Tomorrow" caught their eye.

Insiders, seeing such a passionate promotional video, began to wonder how "A Better Tomorrow" was filmed, while laymen were also captivated by the background music.

Some people who knew the inside story called the Oriental Daily News and the Time News to reserve tickets for the premiere of "A Better Tomorrow".

On the second day, all 800 premiere tickets were sold out immediately.

People started humming "The Rain Keeps Falling" in the streets and alleys.

Some children even held toy guns and imitated the protagonists in the promotional videos by shooting and fighting.

"A Better Tomorrow" was incredibly popular for a time, even overshadowing the currently showing "Chasing Girls." As a result, "Chasing Girls" only earned a little over two million at the end of its third week, with a cumulative box office of 825 million.

Some people even called Shaw Brothers, demanding that "A Better Tomorrow" be released as soon as possible.

Theater manager Ji Tongguang reported the matter to Shao Yifu and wanted "A Better Tomorrow" to be released as soon as possible.

While sipping tea and reading the newspaper, Shao Yifu smiled at Ji Tongguang and said, "You have to be patient. Look how popular the publicity for 'A Better Tomorrow' is, but Bo-zai isn't in a rush to release it!"

Ji Tongguang gave an awkward smile, "I understand, Sixth Uncle."

Shaw Yi-fu put down his newspaper and muttered to himself, "Although I have high hopes for you, Bo-zai, selling a movie ticket for 30 yuan is truly the act of a newborn calf not afraid of a tiger!"

"By the way, how much has 'Chasing Girls' grossed? How far behind is it from 'The Devastating War'?"

"Currently, it's 840 million, just 100 million short of matching the box office of 'The Devastating War'."

Shaw Yifu nodded, and after a moment of silence, said, "Alright! Give 'Chasing Girls' five more days. Whether it catches up or not, then pull it from theaters and make full preparations for the premiere of 'A Better Tomorrow'! I have a feeling this film will reach a height that no other film can surpass!"

"clear!"

......

Unfortunately, "Chasing Girls" couldn't hold on for the last five days. On the third day of its fourth week of release, its box office dropped to 200,000. It persevered for another day, but still didn't reach 100,000. Its final box office was 931 million, just 100,000 less than the total box office of "The Devastating War"!

Wang Jing was also quite unwilling to accept this result. But he understood that four weeks of screenings in Shaw Brothers theaters was already a very long period of time.

After "Chasing Girls" finished its theatrical run, Wong Jing invited the film's main creators to a celebration party for the film.