February 12th, 2017's Valentine's Day was still two days away.
Valentine's Day originated from the West. The people of Xiangjiang who had experienced the colonial era also regarded Valentine's Day as an important festival, especially for many young men and women, this day was even more important than the Spring Festival.
Sending flowers and chocolates, dating for dinner and a movie, then hanging out in a bar until late at night, and finally getting a room in a hotel to be romantic until the early morning had become the standard routine for many people to celebrate Valentine's Day.
Of course, the consumption power brought by this was incomparably strong. Big and small cinemas in Xiangjiang were often prepared in advance to welcome a full flow of customers.
Therefore, Valentine's Day was undoubtedly the hot peak period of the New Year. Many powerful and ambitious new films often chose to be released at this time to push up their first-day and first-week box office.
On February 14th, it was estimated that there would be seven new films released in 129 cinemas in Xiangjiang. Plus the films released before and after the New Year, the competition was extremely fierce — everyone was staring at this fat cake.
Without the strong competition from Hollywood blockbusters, The Painted Skin was undoubtedly the one that attracted the most attention out of the seven new films. The stills and trailers that were released in the early stages were also recognized by film critics and many audiences. Coupled with the indiscriminate bombardment of media advertisements, it brought about a high level of anticipation in the market.
Rewrite the story of "Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio", create a first-class Chinese fantasy blockbuster, and conquer the audience with the best special effects!
This was the advertising slogan of "The Painted Skin".
On the evening of February 12th, Huaguan Pictures and Star Art Entertainment held a grand world premiere of "The Painted Skin" at the Oriental Hollywood Theater.
The predecessor of the Oriental Hollywood Theater was Dongzhu Cinema. It was one of the earliest cinemas in Xiangjiang. Its history could be traced back to the beginning of the last century. It had a history of more than a hundred years, and it could be said to be a household name in Xiangjiang.
Located in the prime area of Central, the Oriental Hollywood Theater had been renovated and expanded three times. Now it was also the largest cinema in Xiangjiang, with 19 independent broadcast halls, including a hall that could accommodate thousands of audiences.
Because of its seniority, high reputation, and large scale, Xiangjiang and even some Hollywood blockbusters chose the Oriental Hollywood Theater as the venue for the premiere.
Huaguan Pictures held the premiere of "The Painted Skin" in the Oriental Hollywood Theater, undoubtedly showing its ambition.
Just after 7 pm, the small open-air square in front of the Oriental Hollywood Theater was already surrounded by a large number of media reporters and onlookers. Of course, there were many celebrity fans holding up placards.
A long red carpet was laid from the street in front of the square to the entrance of the theater. There was a signature wall, a flower arch, and a media interview area. People who didn't know better would think that there was a grand prize ceremony being held here!
However, the number of celebrities that appeared on the red carpet tonight was incomparable to some awards ceremonies.
This could be seen from the cheers of the fans in the stadium and the flashes of the cameras.
"Annie!" "Zhang Meiyun!" "Gu Qing!"
The owners of these names were all the new generation figures in Xiangjiang's entertainment circle. One of the advertising points of "Painted Skin" was youth idols. The movie gathered a large number of popular new artists. The men were handsome, and the women were beautiful.
They had also released the news on their respective blogs early, so a large number of fans came to the scene to support them, making the atmosphere of the premiere very lively.
As for the media, needless to say, Huaguan Pictures has already spent millions of yuan on publicity in Hong Kong, and all the newspapers, magazines, and websites that share in the profits have all sent their elites to help.
"Jiang Wei!"
At 7: 39, the male lead of "Painted Skin", Jiang Wei, finally appeared on the stage.
This popular young man of Star Art Entertainment seemed to be completely unaffected by the recent scandals. He wore a white suit and got out of the Mercedes-Benz. He was in high spirits and had a smile on his face, which immediately attracted a lot of attention.
"Jiang Wei!" "Jiang Wei!"
A group of female fans suddenly became excited. They held up their support sticks, signs, and gifts. They shouted Jiang Wei's name and rushed towards him in the crowd.
The security staff at the scene saw that the situation was not good, so they immediately formed a human wall to stop these crazy fans from crossing the line.
Jiang Weizhi waved at them with satisfaction, then stepped on the red carpet with his head held high, and walked to the autograph table accompanied by flashes.
After signing his name, he walked to the media interview area to be interviewed by the reporters.
In fact, under normal circumstances, the lead and main cast of a movie would only be interviewed by the media after the premiere. Huaguan Pictures broke the convention by making the premiere into an award ceremony, which could be considered unique.
Or rather, sensationalism.
"Mr. Jiang Wei, can you talk about this movie?"
More than a dozen microphones and recording pens with media logos were placed in front of Jiang Wei. One of the reporters couldn't wait to ask, "How much box office do you think 'Painted Skin' will get?"
Jiang Wei said confidently, "'Painted Skin' is a good movie, and it's also an exciting movie that's worth the audience spending money to watch. Its special effects don't lose out to Hollywood blockbusters at all. As for the specifics of the story, please go to the theater and watch it yourself. I won't spoil it here."
"As for the box office …"
He paused, then continued, "I predict that it should have a box office of more than 30 million in Hong Kong. It is not impossible for it to exceed 50 million, because the quality of 'Painted Skin' is good enough."
Although most of these media reporters were specially invited and would not deliberately make things difficult for him, Jiang Wei still left some leeway in his answer, which was considered more cautious.
Although the film market in Hong Kong could not be compared to that in China, it still had a scale of three to four billion. With the investment and publicity costs of "Painted Skin", it was very possible to achieve a box office of 30-50 million in Hong Kong.
After all, this period of time was the craze for watching movies, and there would be a wave of aftershocks after the festival.
Another reporter asked, "As far as I know, 'A Chinese Ghost Story', which is in the same genre as' Painted Skin ', will premiere on the 18th. What do you think of this movie?"
The corners of Jiang Wei's lips curled up as if he was silently looking down on them. He smiled and said, "I don't pay much attention to the movie you mentioned, so I can't say I have any opinion on it. But I believe that with the strength of 'Painted Skin', it is enough to defeat any opponent.
His last few words were said in a heroic manner, but also filled with an overbearing sense of aggressiveness.
Jiang Wei's incomparably confident look made the reporters' eyes light up. The clicking sound of camera shutters was endless, accompanied by a continuous stream of questions.
"Mr. Jiang Wei, can you talk about the scandal between you and Miss Wu Mengzhen?"
"May I ask if you really …"
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