There are still almost 10 days until the Spring Festival, which officially starts on February 10th. Since a total of 8 movies have been squeezed into the schedule this year, and visually everyone is of equal strength, there is not a huge gap in terms of volume as in previous year

There are still almost 10 days until the Spring Festival schedule officially starts on February 10th. Since there are 8 movies squeezed into the schedule this year, and visually everyone is of equal strength, there is not a huge gap in terms of volume as in previous years ( For example, " The Wandering Earth 2" released during the Spring Festival last year was obviously the movie with the largest investment), so the competition will be extremely fierce and will heat up early.

Generally speaking, the reputation of a movie is more important than anything else. If the quality is good and the reputation is good, the box office will go far. But the Spring Festival period is special. During this big period when people focus on watching movies, at least for the first two or three days, the impact of word-of-mouth has not yet fermented. The audience is more likely to watch movies randomly, and the attendance rate in the first few days is very high, and business is good. The theaters were almost full.

Under such circumstances, which movie can get one more screening, based on 100 theaters and an average ticket price of 40 yuan, it can get a box office of 4,000 yuan. Therefore, major movies in the first few days of the Spring Festival over the years It’s all a matter of competition to see which company has stronger distribution capabilities and gets more films scheduled. Where is the ability of

reflected? On the one hand, it is the background and strength of the distributor, and whether it can create a "deterrence" for theaters and theaters, so that theaters do not dare to offend and get the expected proportion of films in the schedule; on the other hand, there are unspoken rules in the industry. For example, in previous years, distributors would Giving theaters some "benefits" from film scheduling fees is also equivalent to giving theaters reassurance. Even if the attendance rate cannot be reached due to film scheduling, the theater's losses can be compensated through film scheduling fees; on the other hand, it depends on the distribution staff. In terms of public relations capabilities and maintaining relationships with theaters, in the early years, mainstream film companies such as Enlight, Huayi Brothers, Bona, etc. would have on-site distribution to maintain relationships with theaters on a daily basis.

If you understand the above, you can see how intense and cruel this year’s Spring Festival is.

Some industry media exposed the "Spring Festival Film Schedule Notice" issued by various distributors to theaters. In summary, " Flying Life 2" and "Article 20" both informed that they need a 22% share of the film schedule, and " Let's Work Together" "Shake the Sun " and "Bear Infested" have a share of 12% + 10% respectively. According to the blogger's analysis, although the notices for " Hot and Spicy " and " Mr. Red Carpet " have not yet been released, it is said that the former It requires 22%. Calculated in this way, the remaining 12% will be allocated to the other two animated films "Bajie: The Lower World of the Canopy" and "Huang Pi: The God of Wealth Cat from Heaven". If according to the major distributors' It is planned that "Mr. Red Carpet" will only get 6%-7% of the film schedule two days before the Spring Festival, which is no different from being eliminated.

What’s more interesting is that the relationship between theaters and distributors is originally a buyer and seller, but the distributor is not asking for help at all, but directly issues notifications in official style. What is their confidence?

Let’s first take a look at the notice for "Flying Life 2". It says the "old rules" (indicating that we have always done this). Those who can achieve it will participate, and those who can't will not participate (I don't ask you). The publisher's confidence cannot be guaranteed. If they don't give you the key, don't play this movie. The distributor is connected to nearly 10,000 theaters across the country. It doesn’t matter if one is missing. However, there are only seven or eight movies in the theaters during the Spring Festival. The impact of missing one major movie will be relatively large, so the theaters are still a vulnerable group.

For the other movies that have sent notifications, the content and logic of the notifications are roughly the same, that is, I will give you the key when the movie is scheduled, and if you can’t give it, don’t show my movie.

Let’s take a look again. What are the powerful companies behind these movies?

Some netizens made a very vivid picture. The theater manager is digging a hole underneath. After digging, he will probably bury himself. Surrounded by those who are not taking action are Guangguang, Shangshi, Lianrui, Maoyan and Taopiaopiao. They correspond to several Spring Festival movies.

Taopiao Piao's corresponding "Flying Life 2" and "Hot and Spicy", as one of the two major ticket sales platforms, its strength is self-evident, and judging from the notice, the "old rules" indicate that it is normal to schedule films. . Lianrui Pictures is behind "Let's Shake the Sun Together" and "Bear Infested". They have tied the two movies together, which is equivalent to the theater having to agree on the proportion of the two movies at the same time. It is not enough to only give one.

Looking back, Lian Rui is also quite strong. When "The New King of Comedy" was released, it publicly announced that it would stop providing keys to hundreds of theaters due to scheduling issues.

Generally speaking, theaters are not only worried about not getting the key, but also don't dare to offend these powerful distributors. After all, they release many movies and have many resources throughout the year, which is equivalent to a large "supplier". If you don't maintain good relationships, it will be harder to do business.

So far, the most squeezed victim is "Mr. Red Carpet". The publisher behind it is Shangshi, whose attitude is not strong enough and the background is not strong enough.

Let’s briefly talk about the capital structure behind "Mr. Red Carpet". The movie is invested by Huanxi Media and Ning Hao’s Bad Monkey. The lead actor Andy Lau should be very optimistic about this movie, so he also signed it through Dream Maker Entertainment and Shanghai Stupid Kid Film and Television. companies participate in film production.

With an excellent schedule like the Spring Festival, and with Andy Lau’s trump card, the profit of "Mr. Red Carpet", which is not a large production, is guaranteed to be profitable. Ning Hao does not want to distribute the profits to too many companies, so he makes his own Lion Culture has taken over everything, and is responsible for the distribution and promotion of the movie. However, compared to other competitors in the Spring Festival, Lion Culture is indeed much weaker, so it has the current passive situation.

From the current point of view, if the quality of "Mr. Red Carpet" is good enough and the reputation is good enough, it will still have a chance of winning in the long run within the schedule. However, on the first and second days of the Lunar New Year, the film schedule and profits will be given to There is almost no suspense in other movies. Ning Hao and Andy Lau who participated in the production must feel unfair and aggrieved about this, but what can they do? There is no way to blame other distributors. After all, there will inevitably be cooperation in the future, and Andy Lau's currently released "Stealth" and "Goldfinger" are distributed by Tao Piao Piao and Maoyan respectively. Capital is intertwined. There are no permanent enemies, only permanent interests.

Therefore, Ning Hao and Andy Lau could only express their opinions through posters. Three posters addressing the controversy over film schedules read: "Let the audience choose? OK! On New Year's Day, watch movies quietly" and "Adhere to a self-deprecating attitude, let go of arrogance, think about life, discuss communication, and refuse to be coerced. " and "The elegance of minimalism is reflected in respect for the audience, leaving the right to choose and think to the audience." It is not difficult to see from the three posters that while "Mr. Red Carpet" strives for its own rights and interests, it also Trying to speak for theaters and audiences.

But is it really useful? I think at least the first two days of the Spring Festival release are useless. Whether it will live up to expectations later depends on the quality of the movie itself.