Chapter 210: Unstoppable Momentum
Early the next morning, Richard called.
the thieves' first-day box office was 15.85 million, and Richard laughed heartily on the phone.
He had reason to be happy.
To achieve a first-day box office of 15.85 million in September, a period of cinematic doldrums in North America.
It was truly exciting.
"Li Chen, you're amazing! the thieves' winning this week's box office championship is already a certainty."
"Let me tell you something, 3:10 to Yuma's first-day box office was only 4.9 million!"
Li Chen felt elated, and this result also surprised him.
Whether it was Charlize Theron and the other European and American lead actors, or the two production companies, Chiyou Films and Warner Brothers.
Everyone was pleasantly surprised by the first-day box office.
When the release date was initially set, Li Chen specifically chose September.
The main consideration was that there were no strong competitors in September.
Big series like harry potter 5 and Jackie Chan's Rush Hour 3 were all crowded into the summer slots of July and August.
It now seemed that the original decision was a correct gamble.
Good news came one after another.
The next day, the mainland box office figures were also freshly released.
27.5 million!
It was another record-breaking number.
Li Chen was more concerned about the thieves' reputation.
Hollywood media gave it an average score of 85, crushing 3:10 to Yuma's 77 points.
Rotten Tomatoes' freshness rating was an A.
Li Chen breathed a complete sigh of relief.
Miss Liu, on the other hand, was smiling broadly as she looked at her laptop.
"Come here quickly, my fans say your taste isn't bad."
Miss Liu waved Li Chen over and had him sit beside her.
Li Chen looked at the online reviews in China and felt even more at ease.
"Liu Yifei is so cool, this short-haired look is definitely a tough character."
"Charlize Theron's figure, it's so drool-worthy."
"Seduction meets a gay man, there's no greater tragedy in life than this."
"Zhang Hanyu's English is pretty good, his presence is not weak at all when acting opposite foreigners."
The unstoppable momentum of the thieves.
Caused The Sun and lust, caution to both postpone their release dates.
Sina Entertainment News
"Yu Dong, the general manager of The Sun's distributor, revealed that The Sun was originally scheduled to be released on September 21st."
"After coordination between the distributor and the cinemas, it was postponed to September 28th."
"Meanwhile, the mainland release date for another Venice competition film, lust, caution, was moved from September 26th to October 26th."
"For The Sun, this is undoubtedly good news."
"On one hand, the release date coincides with National Day, and it also avoids a direct clash with the thieves."
"Our reporter interviewed Jiang Wen, who replied that he doesn't care about the box office, as that's the distributor's business."
Li Chen didn't believe the online reports.
Sure enough, Jiang Wen's international call came through.
"For The Sun's Premiere, you absolutely must come back to attend! I've already made way for your the thieves, isn't that considerate enough?"
Li Chen laughed, "You could have just not made way, and competed. Anyway, you don't care about the box office."
Jiang Wen burst into laughter, "That was just me bullshitting with reporters."
"I don't care, but Yang Dong invested a lot in me. This movie has been in production for so long, it wouldn't look good if it lost money, and I'd lose face!"
"It's settled then, don't be a no-show, or I'll be angry."
"Bring Yifei along, you two are the 'celestial couple' in the entertainment industry now, wherever you go, you represent attention!"
After hanging up, Jiang Wen still had a smile on his face.
Zhou Yun, who was standing beside him, handed him a glass of water and smiled, "He agreed?"
Jiang Wen said proudly, "How could he not agree? I've already said so much."
For Jiang Wen's The Sun, Yu Dong also went all out.
He even made a bold statement to the public, saying that The Sun surpassing 100 million was beyond doubt.
Based on Jiang Wen's In the Heat of the Sun, which had ten million viewers back then.
At today's movie ticket prices, if just a quarter of those people came, it would easily exceed 100 million.
the thieves' box office continued its soaring performance.
It not only took the North American box office championship this week with 49.5 million US dollars.
It also won the weekly box office crown in Japan, Korea, and the Two Shores and Three Regions.
Variety reported:
"The first Sino-American co-production, the thieves, topped the North American box office this week with 49.5 million US dollars, far ahead of the second-place 3:10 to Yuma's 14.8 million US dollars."
"Industry insiders estimate that Charlize Theron, with the thieves, may reverse her disadvantage against Angelina Jolie in the action film genre, and her salary will be on par with Jolie's."
Hollywood Report
"the thieves' counter-trend and anti-decline performance has attracted the favor of many film companies, including Sony and CJ. the thieves' script is highly likely to sell for a high-priced remake right."
"Golden Palm, Golden Bear Director Li Chen's salary has skyrocketed, reaching 20 million US dollars, the salary of a top-tier Hollywood director."
"Li Chen's girlfriend, Chinese-American actress Crystal Liu, who played Julie in the thieves, has also been favored by Hollywood's three major talent agencies."
Hollywood was filled with news of Li Chen, Charlize Theron, and Liu Yifei these past two days.
Tim reported to Li Chen.
Not only Sony and CJ in Japan and Korea.
Several film companies in Southeast Asia also expressed their interest in purchasing the remake rights for the thieves.
Li Chen entrusted all these matters to Tim, including Oscar lobbying.
He then flew back to China with Liu Yifei.
Tim naturally had no objections. At his boss's level.
He probably no longer cared for the Oscar or the box office dividends it brought.
Warner Brothers also had nothing more to say; they and Li Chen were now more focused on the golden compass in November!
the thieves' box office in China broke 100 million within four days of its release.
It broke the transformers' record of 98 million in four days.
The industry was filled with exclamations, and most importantly, the thieves' reputation remained strong.
The negative reviews from a few film critics simply could not change the overall trend.
Industry insiders predicted that it was only a matter of time before the thieves broke the titanic's record.
As soon as Li Chen returned to China, Han Sanping 'hijacked' him.
Upon arriving at the destination, he saw that all four investors were present.
Ren Zhonglun, Wang Changtian, Ye Ning.
As soon as Li Chen entered, he smiled, "For you four to wait for me together, I am truly flattered!"
The four did not rise. Han Sanping raised an eyebrow and said, "Since you're flattered, then drink more tonight to calm your nerves!"
Ye Ning, being the lowest in rank among them, chuckled, "Han Dong is right, Director Li is the big winner."
"Winning the Lion in Venice, taking the championship in Hollywood, and leading the box office in Southeast Asia, you must drink more tonight."
The banquet was filled with toasts, and when it ended.
Li Chen was pulled into a car by Han Sanping.
"What's the matter, Han Dong?"
Both had drunk quite a bit.
"Hu Mei has been fired by us. Do you want to direct A Dream of Red Mansions?"
Upon hearing this, Li Chen sobered up by half.
Why couldn't Old Han ever do anything good!
No, it should be said that Old Han always had good intentions but never accomplished anything good.
In Han Sanping's mind, Chen Kaige wanted to direct A Dream of Red Mansions, but he didn't get the job.
Giving this good opportunity to Li Chen was purely treating him as one of their own.