Chapter 416 Winning the Bet
"Confucius" was released as scheduled, and the film company announced that the cumulative box office in the first three days was 3 million yuan.

This first-week box office data, which is not excellent among domestic blockbusters, still aroused doubts from some netizens.

In many famous film forums, the ratings of "Confucius" hit a new low.

Zhou Xun, who had just broken up, breathed a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, Director Li made the decision for her.

What made netizens even more indignant was that it was rumored that in order to make way for "Confucius", theaters received a notice that the 2D version of "Avatar" would be taken off the shelves on the 23rd.

This completely angered netizens and viewers.

"I haven't read Confucius, so I just want to give him a zero!"

"It's too disrespectful of market rules. What about Confucius? I won't watch Laozi!"

"I'd better forget about the bad boy's comment 'If you don't cry after watching Confucius, you are not a human being'. I have always considered myself worse than animals!"

"I gave it a low score for only one reason. Why should you, an ancient man, ask an alien to give way to me? My Avatar saved a planet after all."

"Leo didn't let Chow Yun Fat play the role, it was really a sign of good fortune"

The producers of "Confucius", China Film Group and Dadi Cinemas, were immediately pushed to the top of public opinion.

Li Chen used this as an example to educate Yang Siwei and Yu Miao.

"This is the first major public relations crisis in the film industry. You two should take this as a warning and never try to interfere with market rules with administrative orders."

Yang Siwei smiled and said, "Boss, don't worry."

"Don't say that Xiao Yu and I wouldn't do this. Even our company's works don't need to do this."

Yu Miao is now gradually gaining a foothold in the company, but she has no choice but to endure it when her former boss calls her younger than her.

"Mr. Yang is right. Boss, you have a keen eye. Not only did you win the billion-dollar bet, but you also perfectly avoided Avatar!"

Li Chen looked unhappy: "What's so commendable about avoiding "Avatar"?"

Yu Miao quickly explained: "Boss, what I meant is that the producers of Confucius wanted to take advantage, but ended up suffering a huge loss."

"Director Han must be having a headache now."

Yang Siwei also came to Yu Miao's rescue and said, "Boss, how do you think China Film will respond?"

Li Chen tapped his fingers rhythmically on the desk and said, "China Film Group is not Zhang Ziyi's copycat PR team. It is in line with China Film Group's status to correct mistakes when they occur."

Li Chen’s prediction was correct.

Han Saping's face was as dark as Bao Gong at this moment.

The public relations crisis of "Confucius" was not caused by him alone.

The initial considerations were also very thorough.

I thought that it had been three weeks since the premiere of "Avatar" and it had not directly conflicted with other domestic blockbusters.

Maybe no one could have predicted like Li Chen that Avatar would be a box office miracle.

Generally speaking, by the third week after a popular film’s release, its box office performance will have dropped significantly, and theaters will make timely adjustments based on the performance.

Who would have thought that "Avatar" would have such a lasting effect that it could overwhelm a donkey. Looking at the situation, some industry insiders have estimated that the box office of "Avatar" will reach 15 billion.

In addition, the excessive marketing of the leading actor Chow Yun-fat was really low-level, which led to the current embarrassing situation.

Han Saping tried to excuse himself in his mind: It was not his fault.

"Notify the cinema chain that the 2G version of Avatar will continue to be shown."

"Okay, Mr. Han, I'll do it right away." The secretary breathed a sigh of relief and quietly retreated.

The 23D version of "Avatar", which was originally scheduled to be taken off the shelves on the 2rd, suddenly received a notice to continue screening.

China Film Xingmei and Dadi Cinemas have spoken out one after another.

"Lin Meiyao, general manager of Dadi Cinema, a subsidiary of Dadi Times Culture Communication (BJ), the investor of Confucius, said in an interview with the Daily Economic News."

"Cinemas are just channels for film sales, so they did not arrange more screening halls just because Confucius was invested by their own company."

"Avatar is still the leading film in Dadi Cinemas."

Some people from cinema chains and theaters who wished to remain anonymous told reporters.

"Avatar" was indeed originally going to be withdrawn, but later received a notice that it was not in a hurry to be taken offline.

As a result, "Confucius" did not gain any benefits. On the contrary, the excessive protection caused a public relations crisis, which had a great impact on its box office.

Netizens jokingly called it: film withdrawal scandal!

Zhang Ziyi is really caught in the crossfire.

Being named the goal god made Zhang Ziyi angry and embarrassed, and she immediately changed to a new public relations team.

The few outrageous actions he performed after he came on stage made people even more confused.

First, she got a written statement from her wealthy boyfriend to prove that the two had not broken up and were still as loving as before.

Then he put on the pigeon egg that had disappeared for more than half a year.

But from beginning to end, the Israeli tycoon never stood up.

Then Taro, unwilling to be lonely, came to show his presence again and got the first blood directly from Zhang Ziyi.

Taro seems to have forgotten "Avatar", and has become more and more courageous and has come up with a new and eye-catching way: Forget-me-not.
It turns out that Tai Lang "exposed" on Weibo that the instigator of the Tang Ban Gate was a female star in the circle.

Now Ziyi was caught in the crossfire again. So Taro worked even harder.

"Don't get me wrong, Ziyi is a good actress, I'm not talking about her."

In Li Chen's opinion, there are two people in the circle who are both weirdos who are tirelessly striving for headlines.

One is Wang Feng and the other is Taro.

But at least Wang Feng relies on his works, while Taro just relies on riding on the popularity.

At the end of the month, the first Golden Broom Awards ceremony rubbed salt into Zhang Yimou's wounds.

"Three Guns" won three awards, including the Golden Broom Award for Most Disappointing Director, Most Disappointing Film, and Most Disappointing Actor.

One shot, one prize.

After last year’s scandal at the Chinese Music Chart, Warner Bros. kept its word this year, and no one showed up at the Chinese Music Chart awards ceremony.

This can be regarded as a way to vent Liu Yifei's anger for being criticized last year.

China Blue has made a lot of money this year and is going to spend a lot of money on the Spring Festival Gala, inviting Liu Yifei and the Running Man team to participate.

"Avatar" has topped the weekly box office charts for four consecutive weeks, and its momentum is still strong in the fifth week, with the box office successfully exceeding 10 billion.

Sina Entertainment News

"The shocking gambling agreement ultimately earned Li Chen the title of 'God of Gamblers' in a way that surprised everyone."

"Rongchen Pictures has become the only producer in the mainland with a box office share ratio of 45%."

China Film Online Report
"The Chinese film market has entered the billion-dollar box office era. Chinese filmmakers should think about how to narrow the gap, rather than blindly intervening in the market."

Southern Weekend report
"The reporter interviewed Ye Ning, the head of the leading cinema chain Wan Da Cinema, Ye Ning responded that losing the gambling agreement this time was unexpected by everyone."

"But it also shows the potential of our market. In the future, Wanda will continue to invest in building high-end cinemas and contribute to Chinese films."

Netizens exclaimed.

"If Leo is to play the God of Gamblers, he will be acting in his true colors. Even Qiu Xiaochi would kneel down when he sees his temperament."

"The Big Eight Cinema Chains actually lost. Okay, I admit that I was blind. I take back what I said."

"If there is one, there will be two. I just don't know whether the eight major cinema chains will compromise with the producers such as China Film, Shanghai Film, and Huayi."

“I can’t say for sure about other producers, but Zhang from New Picture will definitely not give up, hehehe.”

Huayi Headquarters
"Brother, what should we do? We can't just let it go like this. Why is Rongchen Pictures the only one?"

"We have eight big dramas this year, and it will be easy for the box office to exceed 1 billion!" Wang Zhonglei's teeth ached.

Wang Zhongjun remained silent.

We need a foolproof plan for this matter. Blindly negotiating with the eight major cinema chains would be asking for humiliation.

It would be best to let the eight major cinema chains sign a gambling agreement with us or bring in other producers to collectively put pressure on the eight major cinema chains.

"Please contact Zhang Weiping!" Wang Zhongjun suddenly said.

"Zhang Weiping?" Wang Zhonglei's eyes lit up. Yes, how could he forget this great general!
In the new picture, Old Zhang is clearly on the verge of going berserk.

Zhang Yimou's abnormal behavior in the past two days gave him a bad feeling.

Not only did he stop mentioning "Under the Hawthorn Tree", he even stopped asking for the film's salary.

Just say that everything will have to wait until after the Berlin Film Festival.

There must be something wrong when something is unusual. Zhang Weiping has a keen sense of smell, so he and his wife immediately went to visit.

Then I heard Zhang Yimou actually say the word "resign"!

Zhang Weiping immediately got furious: "What did you say? Yimou, are you crazy?"

Zhang Yimou looked calm, while Zhang Weiping's face turned red. It seemed obvious who was crazy.

Chen Ting and Zhang Weiping didn't get along, so she sneered and said, "Why? Did I sell my husband to you?"

Zhang Weiping was furious: "How dare you interrupt me when I'm talking to Yimou!"

"Enough, she is my wife," Zhang Yimou said in a muffled voice.

Zhang Weiping left Zhang Yimou's house angrily.

As soon as he got in the car, he sneered in front of his wife.

"Then, should we transfer the film remuneration to him?" the wife stammered. Zhang Weiping's eyes just now were almost murderous.

But Chen Ting was not afraid at all.

"What the hell! I won't give him a dime!"

"Without me, Zhang Weiping, Zhang Yimou wouldn't be where he is today!"

"If he dares to rebel, I will bring him disgrace and ruin! Humph, just wait and see!"

At the same time, Chen Ting also said with fear: "I think Director Li's concerns may not be unnecessary."

"We have to be careful of him. Appearance is determined by the heart. He is not a good person."

Zhang Yimou didn't say anything, but sighed deeply in his heart.
The Oscar nominations were announced, and Cameron may lose to his ex-wife.

But this did not prevent the sensational impact that "Avatar" had on the film industry.

(End of this chapter)