China News Service, Beijing, January 2 (Reporter Lang Lang) According to the National Film Administration, the total box office of movies during the 2024 New Year's Day holiday (December 30, 2023 to January 1, 2024) was 1.533 billion yuan, creating a record of 1.533 billion yuan. A new record for the schedule, the top five box office films are: "Twinkle Twinkle Star" 588 million yuan, "The Annual Party Can't Stop!" "229 million yuan, "Goldfinger" 218 million yuan, "Stealth" 172 million yuan, "If You Are the One 3" 54.41 million yuan.
Some netizens feel that "Twinkle Twinkle Star" is too cliche and has obvious plot loopholes, but why is the box office so high? As a sequel to the "If You Are the One" series that led the box office fifteen years ago, why is "If You Are the One 3" so low at the box office?
"As far as small-time releases are concerned, "Twinkle Twinkle Star" leads the box office by a cliff. Although it is rare, it is normal." Sun Jiashan, associate researcher at the Central Academy of Culture and Tourism Management and a critic signed by the Beijing Federation of Literary and Art Circles, told China News Entertainment.
Although it is said that movies are the art of dreaming, they are also essentially a commercial product. On this New Year's Day, the steep box office gap fully illustrates a problem: if a movie wants to get a good box office, it must know what the audience wants, and it must also be clear who the audience of your movie is.
The picture shows the poster of "Twinkle, Twinkle, Twinkle Star"
Regarding these two issues, "Twinkle, Twinkle Star" and "The annual meeting cannot be stopped!" 》Apparently understand better.
Sun Jiashan believes that from the perspective of the film industry, there were “Lunar New Year films” in our country before, but there was no mature concept of “Lunar New Year movies”. The film market from the National Day period to the Spring Festival period, that is, the end of the year, was usually relatively weak before. However, the bustling film market on New Year's Day this year has allowed the concept of "Lunar New Year period" to begin to take shape. As far as the story itself is concerned, the drama version of "Twinkle Twinkle Star" has already cultivated an audience base. Even viewers who have not watched the show know the line "Zhang Wansen, it's snowing"; in terms of marketing, , the filmmakers are very clear that the audience for the movie is young people. Not only did they plan an immersive movie viewing experience in a "snowing resort", they also successfully implanted the concept of "snow = romance = do romantic things with the person you like on a snowy day" into people's hearts. ; When encountering a special time and atmosphere like "New Year's Eve", young people want to do something with a sense of ritual, and the movie "Twinkle Twinkle Star" has become a part of this sense of ritual - —All this is in line with the characteristics of contemporary youth culture.
Although it earned 400 million in box office in two days and broke many records, the film's subsequent growth was also sluggish due to the flaws in the story itself. In contrast, "The Annual Meeting Can't Stop!" 》is showing a "dark horse" trend. It has achieved double success at the word-of-mouth and box office, and has become the daily box office champion for two consecutive days.
The audience of this movie is also very clear: young people and office workers. On the surface, it presents the workplace culture of young people. It does not educate the audience. It is a "mouth substitute" for ordinary people and a short-lived beam of light that shines into reality - this is the dream that the movie creates for everyone.
But what resonates most is the reality of the story. "It's not easy for a comedy to tell a story with realistic themes." Sun Jiashan believes that "The Annual Meeting Can't Stop!" " not only complained about workplace culture for young people, but also brought up hidden stories such as the past reform and opening up, the reform of state-owned enterprises, etc. It can be said that there are cultural experiences that run through at least two generations. A highly realistic comedy that connects the emotional structures of different eras and closely follows the joys, anger, sorrows and joys of ordinary people. Both young and middle-aged people can find a sense of empathy in it. "The annual meeting cannot be stopped!" " not only brought young audiences into the theater, but also attracted middle-aged people into the theater.
Of course, it is not perfect. Some netizens feel that the movie brings together too many Internet memes, the characters are stereotyped, and the early stage is a crazy mockery and deconstruction of the system, but in the end it ends with the protagonist being promoted and recognized by the system. It is even more ironic. How much Some self-deception.
The picture shows the poster of "If You Are the One 3"
But I have to admit that because they firmly grasp the young people and understand their needs, the appeal of these two movies even exceeds that of "Tony Leung + Andy Lau", and compared with these two For example, the audience of "If You Are the One 3" is not clear, and we don't know what the audience who walks into the theater wants.
From the perspective of the lineup, "If You Are the One 3" is undoubtedly the strongest configuration among the movies of the same period: Feng Xiaogang is making a New Year film again after 3 years, the "If You Are the One" IP blessing, Ge You, Shu Qi, Fan Weiwei gathered together - such a lineup, I really didn’t expect the box office situation to be like this.
"If You Are the One 3" sets the story in 2031. Qin Fen and Liang Xiaoxiao were separated for many years before they even finished their honeymoon after receiving their certificates. In order to relieve Qin Fen's lovesickness, Lao Fan (played by Fan Wei) helped Qin Fen customize a smart human named Xiaoxiao.
This is a avant-garde theme, and Feng Xiaogang, as a screenwriter, had already explored it as early as the 1996 Spring Festival Gala sketch "Robot Funny Talk".
But today, 26 years later, judging from the market response, the audience does not seem to buy it. The Beacon Professional Edition shows that the media’s box office forecast for the film is around 150-257 million, which is not even as good as the box office of the first film fifteen years ago.
What is disappointing is that in fact, back in the day, when the first part of "If You Are the One" was released, it was still a story about relatively young people. "Today's "Twinkle Twinkle Star" and "Feng's Comedy" back then actually reflected youth culture at various stages." Sun Jiashan said that at that time, "Party A and Party B" and "If You Are the One" were also those films. It is a self-deprecating expression of young people in Beijing who are in their early 30s. Ge You and others were in their thirties and forties when they appeared in the film, but now they have begun to enter their old age.
Although young people do not necessarily need Feng Xiaogang, the audience of "Feng's Comedy" is indeed no longer the main force of theater consumption.
Feng Xiaogang and "Feng's Comedy" once took over the "Lunar New Year film" market. They were so popular that they even became a cultural phenomenon. But times are changing, people are changing, and film and television creators must adapt to the times and seek changes.
Unless it is a movie that wants to win awards, or is simply a record or expression, in the end, commercial movies still have to rely on the box office to speak for themselves. If you want the audience to walk into the theater and pay for it with real money, you must truly understand what the audience needs and what the movie can provide the audience. Whether it is laughter and scolding, warmth and romance, only by finding the right audience and winning the audience can you win the box office. (End)
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