文/Entertainment Pai
The box office of the 2024 summer season is quite surprising. If I want to use one word to describe it, I think the word "Waterloo" is very suitable. Many movies that are favored by the audience have been rushed to the street. Maybe Many viewers felt they didn't understand it, but that's the fact. The movie had a good reputation when it was released, but it didn't do well at the box office.
Specifically, there is only one movie that can really be called a hit at the box office this summer, namely " " with a box office exceeding 3 billion. The one that broke 1 billion is " Silent Kills ". The current box office is weak, and almost all other movies are below 500 million, which really surprises many viewers.
You must know that the total box office of the 2023 summer season exceeded the 20 billion mark, and there were as many as 5 movies that exceeded the 1 billion box office. Two of them both received more than 3.5 billion in box office, setting off waves of movie-watching crazes. , many films have also aroused great heated discussions across the Internet, and many starring actors have also made a lot of money with their respective films.
This year’s summer season has suffered a disaster. The summer season is about to end in less than half a month. The total box office of this year’s summer season has not exceeded 10 billion. The rate of decline is really alarming.
Netizens summed up three reasons. One is that the current overall environment is poor, the economy has declined severely, and people's consumption levels are sluggish, so they have lost their desire to go to movie theaters. Second, the level of film production has declined, and the film's plot setting and cast are unattractive.
Another one is the Paris Olympics, which directly diverted many viewers. The exciting events are far better than the movies. Therefore, even if the film studio announces continued efforts, many viewers will still not pay the bill. Without more viewers to watch, it means that it will be difficult for the movie box office to achieve rapid growth.
However, in addition to the above reasons, I think there are other reasons. Take the two new films " decryption " and " retrograde life ". The former is directed by Chen Sicheng, and the latter is directed by Xu Zheng Self-acted, the cast of the two works is quite strong, and the production team is also very good, but the box office just can't make money.
As of 21:30 on August 17, the movie "Decryption", which was released for 15 days, has only received 318 million at the box office. The current daily film schedule is pitifully small. "Retrograde Life" has been released for 9 days, but the box office has only reached 286 million. The total box office is expected to be more than 500 million. However, compared with his previous box office results, this box office is obviously not ideal.
Therefore, some netizens think that the box office appeal of the two directors Chen Sicheng and Xu Zheng has failed? In fact, if you look closely at these two works, you will find that it is not that their box office appeal has disappeared, but that it has a certain relationship with the film itself. After all, what the audience sees when entering the cinema is the content of the work.
Let’s talk about Chen Sicheng’s “Decryption” first. The film focuses on the story of Rong Jinzhen (Liu Haoran), a mathematical prodigy who devoted all his efforts to the cause of code deciphering. It can be seen from the synopsis of the story that this movie is more boring than a light-hearted and humorous comedy movie, and you need to watch this movie with your brain. Once you miss a certain segment, it is often difficult to understand the entire plot.
Therefore, the audience of the movie "Decryption" is limited and is not as broad as a comedy movie. In addition, the film's plot setting was weak, and the supporting characters' portrayal was not adequate, resulting in the protagonist's halo being too strong and the overall reputation not being high. The film's plot was too lengthy, which also caused some viewers to lose interest.
Let’s talk about "Retrograde Life" directed by Xu Zheng. This film focuses on ordinary people, that is, the delivery people around us.Therefore, the movie has attracted the attention of many people before it was released. This is Xu Zheng's voice for the grassroots again and won applause from the audience.
However, the response from the audience is still polarized. On the one hand, the audience feels that this film is more suitable to be presented to the audience in the form of a documentary. A group of rich people stoop down to play the role of poor people, and now they ask the poor to pay for it. Such a film is really OK? On the other side, the audience believed that the story was very real, and the actors' entire state, attitude and lines were very down-to-earth. The film spoke for the people at the bottom and deserved praise.
In fact, the social significance of the movie "Retrograde Life" is far more important than the box office. In reality, delivery workers walk through the streets and alleys of the city every day. Whether it is sunny or rainy, they are providing services to facilitate the lives of citizens. Working hard for life, this group of ordinary and special people deserves to be seen by more people, and they also deserve to be understood and respected by more people.
Of course, whether it is "Decryption" or "Retrograde Life", or other films, the box office is not ideal due to many reasons. There are both objective reasons and subjective factors. It is not the box office of Chen Sicheng and Xu Zheng. Although their appeal has failed, their strength is still there. I look forward to their new works.
