In 1997, director Feng Xiaogang's comedy "Party A and Party B" hit a box office of 36 million yuan in the film market at the end of the year. It spawned the Lunar New Year movie as a Lunar New Year film and led to the rise of the Lunar New Year boom in domestic movies. Since then, he has become the spokesman for the Lunar New Year comedy films with more than ten comedies such as "Big Shot", "See You or Be Parted", "Endless", "Cell Phone", "I'm Not Pan Jinlian" and the "If You Are the One" series.
In the past Lunar New Year period (November 25, 2023 to December 31, 2023), Feng Xiaogang returned with "If You Are the One III". However, the film only had a box office of nearly 60 million yuan in five days of release, and the total box office is currently predicted to be only 101 million yuan. , far inferior to the comedy film "The Annual Party Can't Stop!" ” and the romance film “Twinkle Twinkle Star” etc.
"If You Are the One III" was released as the finale comedy film in last year's Lunar New Year festival, which aroused high hopes from many viewers and was considered to have the potential to create another box office miracle. But the current box office may not be ideal. More than 20 years ago, Feng Xiaogang made a great start for the Lunar New Year. His new films since then have repeatedly set new box office records for domestic films. Why have Feng's comedies failed in this year's market?
Feng's comedy love story "getting old"
"Be kind and kind" "People's hearts are scattered, it's hard to lead the team" "Be serious, we are robbing" "Happiness does not necessarily mean we are together, but we must be unlucky" Life is not long, I am willing to make mistakes with you." "Uncle Li is very angry, and the consequences will be serious." When looking back at Feng Xiaogang's comedies, the first thing that comes to mind are these classic lines from the industry.
"Party A and Party B" creates a comedy space of "Dream Day Trip", allowing all kinds of people to fulfill their wishes in a dream-like way. "Big Shot" has created a funeral advertising war, and the comedy funeral is hilarious and eye-opening for the audience. "See You or Be Parted" and "Endless" describe joyful love within the framework of the story of living overseas and a kidnapping case due to money owed. "Private Customization" is also about creating dreams and having fun. It dismantles the dream life of ordinary people in a comedy way, and satirizes human nature and social idiosyncrasies in the ridiculous things that make people laugh and curse. "I'm Not Pan Jinlian" explores the logic and destiny of life through a blackly humorous "Official Life". Each of Feng's comedy films brings powerful cathartic pleasure to the audience.
"If You Are the One", released in 2008, grossed 320 million yuan at the box office and was the annual champion. "If You Are the One II" released in 2010 ranked third in the annual box office with 480 million yuan. In 2013, "Private Customization" ranked sixth at the annual box office with 588 million yuan. It can be said that films represented by Feng Xiaogang's New Year commercial have greatly promoted the market expansion of domestic comedy films.
The just-released "If You Are the One III" has a very Feng Xiaogang-like style, with humorous lines and a relaxed atmosphere. The film strives to be youthful and please young audiences with its macaron color scheme and light science fiction elements, but this style has become a point of criticism. The light science fiction elements cannot meet the audience's expectations, and the bright colors of the film create an aesthetically cheap feeling. The
movie introduces an AI intelligent robot, and essentially tells a story about what happens to love when a person gets old. I want to explore issues such as human love and companionship in the era of high technology. However, this love story about a wealthy older man and dominated by a male perspective deviates too far from the aesthetic tendencies of today's young people, that is, the mainstream audience of the film, and it is difficult for the audience to find resonance. "If You Are the One III" is Feng Xiaogang's continuation of the exploration of love and life through comedy following "See You or Not Separate", "Endless" and the first two "If You Are the One" films. It is a continuation of the director's series of works, and also a continuation of his generation. Thoughts on life, but this discussion has gradually gone out of the life scope of young audiences.
The style of Fung's comedies cannot be replicated. He has been making commercial blockbusters of comedy tailor-made for the Lunar New Year for many years. They have humorous lines, the absurdity and drama of life, his early down-to-earth little person temperament, and his ridicule of seriousness and authority, all of which have his own unique style. However, "Cangsun is infinitely good, but it's almost dusk" and "life is short", but the audience has long been updated after filming.
Comedies that have a box office are very new.
Comedies are an important type of film in the Lunar New Year and Spring Festival movies.However, after years of development, domestic comedies have undergone multiple rounds of style changes and director changes. After Feng Xiaogang's New Year's comedy, "Crazy Racing", "Mermaid", "Crazy Alien", "This Killer Is Not So Calm", "Hello, Li Huanying", "Chinatown Detective" series and other works were successfully released, and "囧Series", "Crazy Series", "Happy Twist Series" and "Tang Detective Series", as well as comedy directors such as Jia Ling, Dapeng, Dong Runnian and Yi Xiaoxing. Domestic comedies present a variety of genres and are rich in the director's personal style.
Comedy is a type of work that is easy to blindly follow trends and become homogeneous, so the creation iterates quickly, the themes are updated quickly, and the "jokes" pursue freshness. Among them, there are also "Mermaid", "Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons", "Crazy Alien", "Walking Alone on the Moon", etc., trying to expand the genre elements of "comedy + fantasy", "comedy + science fiction" and "comedy + suspense", and there are The industrial level of comedy films has been comprehensively upgraded to seek more audience markets and meet the diverse needs of the current audience group.
Comedy movies in 2023 will change drastically again. Among them, the highest-grossing "Life Is Not Familiar" is a road comedy with a lot of jokes. The "waste" prospective son-in-law and prospective father-in-law perform earthy jokes along the way. They are either cooking and "burning the house" or getting drunk in the pig pen. . The film's earthy comedy is actually similar to the creative style of some popular short videos. The comedy film "Keep You Safe" targets Internet rumors. It has profound social metaphors and warm real-life comfort. It can also accurately capture some of the audience's emotions through the rugged and difficult road of redressing grievances of little people. "Study Dad" tells the story of a single father's difficult parenting journey. Today's comedies, whether in terms of topic or emotion, firmly capture the audience's attention, which is indispensable for creation.
The comedy film "The Annual Party Can't Stop!" is currently in theaters! " competed with "If You Are the One III" and won the competition, with a box office of 350 million yuan in 6 days of release. "The annual meeting cannot be stopped!" " is considered the best comedy in recent years, with a score of 8.1. The film is a workplace satire that closely follows the workplace. In the film, different workplace workers perform hilarious daily routines in the workplace: Hu Jianlin, a fitter played by Dapeng, goes from being a fitter to a white-collar worker, and has various ridiculous stories in a strange environment. Bai Ke, played by Bai Ke, In order to save his job, Ma Jie, the human resources manager, encountered embarrassing things such as taking the blame in the workplace. People in different workplaces took pictures of all living beings in the workplace... The movie is a stress-relieving tool for ordinary workers. You can laugh along with the characters in the cinema Cry again, vent your emotions, feel joy, that's it.
It can be seen from last year's blockbuster movies that whether it is a comedy or other types of movies, what the audience needs is the connection between the story and the individual experience, and they need to feel empathy and emotional resonance from the film. These films, whether they are workplace comedies, topical comedies, or parenting and educational comedies, can capture what the audience needs, have emotional "attacks", and can also become social currency.
(Popular News Client Shi Wenjing)
