Chapter 203 Hong Kong Box Office Exceeds Million China Film Group was quick to act. They first found Ms. Chu. Ms. Chu is now a supervisor in the film and television industry. She previously worked in the cultural department and she also led a cultural exchange with Hong Kong. Therefore, Ms. Chu's opinion is very important. When Ms. Chu heard that it was Liu Hongmin's suggestion, she said to the people from China Film: "Since Comrade Hongmin has put forward such an idea, it must have been carefully considered. You can apply to the Ministry of Culture and make your purpose clear. They should cooperate with you." After receiving Ms. Chu's advice, China Film Group immediately submitted an application to the Ministry of Culture. As expected, the Ministry of Culture quickly approved the application and contacted Hong Kong. The exchange activity was quickly decided, and it was scheduled after the New Year. Because it was a temporary exchange activity, it was impossible to organize too many people, so this college student exchange activity was held in the name of appreciating Liu Hongmin's works. Then, with the "Mr. Donkey" crew as the main body, outstanding students from the Department of Literature of Peking University were selected to temporarily form a cultural exchange group. Liu Hongmin is more famous in Hong Kong than in the mainland. The reputation of internationally renowned writers is not comparable to that of "Lu, Guo, Mao, Ba and Lao Cao" in the mainland. On the contrary, Hong Kong highly respects internationally renowned writers, even if they may not have read the works of this writer. The cultural exchange group mainly visited Hong Kong University, and the itinerary was simple. On the first day, they discussed Liu Hongmin's works. On the second day, they arranged a play called "Donkey Gets Water". Liu Hongmin spread the news of this cultural exchange event through gossip media, and then spread the news that some famous writers would watch the play "Mr. Donkey" and finally spread the news that he would also attend. As a result, the cultural exchange issue was hyped up and the whole of Hong Kong knew the news. The Hong Kong college students were immediately excited. It was a rare opportunity to be able to meet so many famous writers at once, especially the internationally renowned writer Liu Hongmin! As a result, there were only 110 seats left for the play, but tens of thousands of applications were received. Hong Kong University did not expect that the play would be so popular, and immediately contacted the cultural exchange group to increase the number of performances of the play, even if it meant selling tickets.
However, the cultural exchange group has a tight schedule. After all, most of the members are college students and their final exams are coming up soon. Hong Kong University is helpless. Ordinary students definitely can't get in. There are hundreds of people who have connections, and only those with strong connections can get in. In this way, hunger marketing is achieved. On the day of the performance of "Mr. Donkey", Liu Hongmin and Li Lizhen appeared at the event. Li Lizhen rarely came out to relax and felt very happy. Walking in Xiangjiang University, many college students who wanted autographs were separated by bodyguards. There were still some unwilling college students who continued to follow. Li Lizhen said softly, "Why don't you sign an autograph for them?" Liu Hongmin shook his head. "We can't start. If we start, we will be surrounded soon." "Then they..." Liu Hongmin waved his hand and said, "Don't worry, if they want to follow me, let them follow me." He is not a star, and he does not have the habit of giving autographs to others, let alone the obligation to do so. Soon, the group arrived at the theater. Thousands of people had gathered outside the theater, surrounding the entrance. Fortunately, the security of Hong Kong University is good. They have cleared a passage and laid a red carpet. At the end of the red carpet is a signing wall, making it quite grand. Liu Hongmin handed the invitation letter to the security guard, who immediately let them in. After watching Liu Hongmin and Li Lizhen walk onto the red carpet, Chen Yu led his men into the venue through the back door and went to meet Liu Hongmin. The flash lights kept flashing and the reporters kept shouting the two people's names, asking them to wait a moment. If it were in the past, Li Lizhen would definitely stop from time to time and pose for photos. But now, she held Liu Hongmin's hand and the two walked quickly towards the autograph wall. Liu Hongmin picked up the pen and handed it to Li Lizhen, "Sign it!" Li Lizhen nodded, and satisfied her desire to sign autographs. When she entered the theater, many celebrities in the cultural world, including Chen Yu, had already arrived. Liu Hongmin took Li Lizhen to greet people he knew, and introduced her to everyone he met, "This is my wife." Li Lizhen was very happy. Being able to integrate into Liu Hongmin’s circle of friends was the greatest recognition for her. After the premiere of "Duds", reporters immediately rushed back to the newspaper office, wrote articles all night long, and tried to publish the report early the next morning.
The college students were still very enthusiastic. They discussed the plot of "Duds Get Water" and how to perform it after adapting it into a drama. Hong Kong still has a strong interest in drama, after all, Hong Kong has always implemented Western-style education. Many young people in Hong Kong like to watch drama, opera, and music, and regard them as noble art. More than two hours later, the theater doors opened and the students who had gotten tickets through connections walked out first. The students around him immediately came up and asked, "Mr. Li, why did you come out by yourselves?" Li Shao is also a well-known figure in Hong Kong University. "The celebrities are visiting the crew, and we can't get in, so we came out first." "So, Mr. Li, how about this play?" "Good!" Li Shao raised his thumbs up. "I believe everyone has read the novel and should know its quality. I can tell you that the drama is as classic as the novel. Especially Zhang Yiman, she is exactly the same as described in the book." "real or fake?" "Of course it's true!" Li Shao patted his chest, "I also heard that the actress who plays Zhang Yiman is also the actress who plays Zhang Yiman in the movie. If you don't believe it, you can go and see it when the movie is released." After hearing Li Shao's confident words, the students chose to believe him temporarily. They would know after the movie is released. If Zhang Yiman in the movie does not match the description in the book, then they will come back to ask Li Shao for an explanation. After these students dispersed, they immediately spread Li Shao's words to all the university campuses in Hong Kong. They began to ask when the movie "Mr. Donkey" would be released, but there was no news at all. Then they went looking for more information and finally found out that this was a co-production between Tomorrow Film Company and mainland China, and they were currently negotiating the release date with theaters. The hunger marketing was successful, and "Mr. Donkey" was released on January 1. The college students in Hong Kong were delighted and swarmed into the theater. Even during the day, the show was basically full, which made the theater very happy and immediately increased the number of shows for the next day. The box office on the first day was 146 million, the box office on the second day was 186 million, the box office on the third day was 224 million, and the box office on the fourth day was 231 million. In the first four days, the total box office was 787 million. The audience of "Mr. Donkey" was too simple. The concentration of college students watching the movie created the illusion of a huge hit, which deceived many passers-by to follow suit. After being deceived, the passers-by's retaliatory comments affected the reputation of "Mr. Donkey" and affected the box office of the movie. Despite this, it still earned 324 million in the second week, and the total box office officially exceeded million. (End of this chapter)