Our special correspondent Dong Ming
As tourists return one after another, people gather their spirits and get ready to start work, and the so-called "most popular" May Day holiday quietly comes to an end. According to Beacon Professional Edition statistics, as of 17:00 on May 5, the total box office for May Day this year reached 1.5 billion yuan. Although it failed to break the highest record of 1.67 billion yuan in 2021, it was also one of the best results for the same period in history. In particular, the counterattacks of the two films " Thelma and Louise " (picture ①) and " Kowloon Walled City: The Siege " demonstrated the market's "rigorous demand" for these types of films, paving the way for the upcoming summer season. Paved the way.
There are both "expected" and "dark horses"
In the five-day May Day program, the main theme military theme action film " Peacekeeping Riot Team ", the comedy "Thelma and Louise" and Hong Kong-style action films "The Siege of Kowloon Walled City" ranked in the top three box office lists with NT$390 million, NT$370 million and NT$310 million respectively. Two animated films " Spy Play House Codename: Bai" were released in advance on April 30 (pictured) ②) and " Howl's Moving Castle " ranked at the waist with 220 million and 110 million yuan, the romance film " Journey Through the Moon " and the domestic cartoon " The Pigman Movie·Interstellar Action "" ranked last with a box office of 36.9 million yuan and 32.97 million yuan.
Judging from the pre-sale situation and publicity momentum before the release, this box office pattern is not only expected, but also has unexpected "dark horses". Comparing this with the word-of-mouth trend after the release, we can see the current audience's attitude toward genre elements. preferences. Among
7 new films, the one with the highest reputation is "Howl's Moving Castle" by Japanese animation master Hayao Miyazaki. Although it is an old work 20 years ago, its excellent production standards and eternal anti-war theme can still be viewed today. The audience was moved. The reason why it did not dominate the April schedule with a box office of 700 million yuan like " What kind of life do you want to live " is mainly because this is an old film that basically all animation fans have seen, and it does not have an advantage in terms of film schedule. The high Douban score of 9.1 also shows that classics can stand the test of time.
Another new Japanese animated film "Spy House Code: Shiro" is a theatrical version of the new film. Because it is guaranteed by the quality of the animated film, it will not disappoint fans. Its advantage is that it has a high reputation (Douban score 7.5, Ranked second in the schedule), the film is new enough (it was released in Japan at the end of last year), but its disadvantage is that it is not easy to get out of the industry, which is also the overall bottleneck of the current animation market. In contrast, choosing a purely new film involves a certain risk, just like "opening a blind box". It is easy to "step into the trap" by just looking at the cast list, introduction and trailer.
"Peacekeeping Riot Squad", which ranks first at the box office on schedule, although it stars Huang Jingyu, Wang Yibo, Zhong Chuxi, Ou Hao, Zhu Yawen and others, and is directed by Hong Kong's senior action director Li Dachao, the too detailed plot and clichéd action scenes make it difficult to Many viewers were disappointed, as the Douban score was only 5.6, the lowest among the May Day new films. It is precisely because of word-of-mouth that "Peace Keepers" temporarily ranked first at the box office in the first two days of its schedule, but was overtaken by "Thelma and Louise" on the third day. The single-day box office also dropped from 130 million yuan on the first day. It fell to 61.86 million yuan on the 4th.
Hong Kong Movies' "Special Skills"
The most surprising dark horse in the May Day program is "Thelma and Louise" which was the least optimistic before its release. Some netizens once ridiculed that whether it is the "homophonic" title or the "comedian" cast, this film has a "bad look", which is reminiscent of ", the killer is not so calm " released during the Spring Festival in 2022. . Unexpectedly, the film's box office trend and audience popularity were as surprising as "The Killer". Even though the Douban score was only 6.2, it was still able to make a "strong" counterattack in the middle of the schedule.
"Thelma and Louise" has a similar setting to "The Richest Man in Xihong City", both of which spend a "huge sum" of money within a limited time. Actors such as Jia Bing, Xiao Shenyang and Dong Baoshi focus on the middle-aged people who are in distress. The film is performed by a man, and the most interesting thing is that the director of the film, Uzhina, is a "post-85" woman.
The main reason why "Thelma and Louise" is a hit is because of its "pure comedy" positioning, simple and direct character relationships and dramatic conflicts, which is suitable for audiences who want to have fun and relax during the holidays.This is the success story of previous "Happy Twist" works, and it is also the "dark horse" experience of last year's May 1st release of "Unfamiliar Life". In view of the current bullish trend of the film, Maoyan Professional Edition has made "Thelma and Louise" the final The box office forecast has been raised to 800 million yuan, and it is expected to become the biggest winner in this year's May Day holiday. In contrast, " Nothing That Can't Be Solved by a Hotpot", which added more suspense elements to the comedy, fell behind early. The multiple reversals of plots and identities, a single scene and a large number of dialogues failed to attract more viewers. Without the help of word-of-mouth fermentation, the withdrawal was announced on the 5th.
Action movies have always been the "specialty" of Hong Kong movies. As a backbone among the creators of this genre, Cheng Po-sui's new work "The Siege of Kowloon Walled City" not only inherits the traditional Hong Kong movies, but also allows the audience to see the fierce Novelty. The film has a Douban score of 7.5, making it unique among Hong Kong films in recent years. It was even selected for screening at the Cannes Film Festival.
Many male viewers went to watch the film for its wonderful action design and brotherly love. The performances of Louis Koo, Ren Xianqi, Sammo Hung and others and the overall aesthetics of the film were impressive and brought the expected sense of audio-visual satisfaction. This is the law for commercial genre films to quickly gain market recognition.
Romance movies "left behind"
If we talk about "Peacekeeping Riot Squad" and "The Siege of Kowloon Walled City", "Thelma and Louise" and "Everything That Can't Be Solved by Hot Pot" still have the same type of "choose one" problem. In other words, what is regrettable and unexpected in this year’s May Day program is the only romance film “Journey Across the Moon.” This shortlisted film in the main competition section of the Beijing International Film Festival could have been released while the iron was hot, but it fell behind at the beginning of the schedule. Even with guest appearances by Feng Shaofeng, Li Chen, PeopleSoft and others, it failed to increase its reputation.
"Journey Across the Moon" tells the short story of a young couple living apart in Guangzhou and Shenzhen. It is adapted from the novel by the famous writer Chi Zijian. It has a light structure and the performances of Zhang Zifeng and Hu Xianxu are also simple and natural, using a Mid-Autumn Festival theme "Missed the Misunderstanding" takes the audience back to the 1990s. The 6.8 rating on Douban and the nomination at the Beijing Film Festival show that ordinary audiences and professional judges recognize the film. However, insufficient publicity has resulted in extremely low scheduling and attention for this romance film, and it is even less likely to be like the 2021 May Day release. "Your Wedding" sold out like a hit.
As of May 5, China’s movie box office in 2024 has exceeded 20 billion yuan. Judging from the current situation, the market is still optimistic. Next, there will be "Rise of the Planet of the Apes: A New World", "Stuntman", "Zhao Yun Mu Yu" and " Doraemon: Nobita's Symphony of the Earth" and many other films were released. As for the summer season, there is currently "Volleyball Boys!" ! "Junkyard Battle", "Inside Out 2", "Stop and Go", "White Snake: The Floating Life" and other films are scheduled to be released, plus a number of pending imported films and the legendary "Nezha: The Devil Boy in the Sea", giving Chinese audiences bring more surprises. ▲
