The box office of Spring Festival movies is very hot again. But surprisingly, Mr. Red carpet, starring Andy Lau and directed by Ning Hao, has hit the street at the box office. It has been in theaters for five days and has grossed only more than 7 million yuan.
Now the winner of the Spring Festival is Jia Ling's "Hot and Hot", which has grossed more than 1.5 billion at the box office. In second place was Han Han's "Flying Life 2", which also grossed more than 1.4 billion yuan at the box office. The two films are destined to be a blockbuster at the box office.
Zhang Yimou's "Article 20" has also grossed 700 million yuan at the box office, although it is not comparable to last year's "Man Jiang Hong", but this result is not bad. Zhang Yimou has been trying new styles in recent years, and he has given up his obsession with winning Oscars in the past and began to follow the market route with all his strength. At Zhang Yimou's age, he can still keep innovating, which is already a success.
But needless to say about the influence of Andy Lau and Ning Hao, Andy Lau is the top king of the Chinese entertainment industry and currently has more than 70 million followers on social platforms alone. Andy Lau's every move will attract a lot of attention. Ning Hao is also a pillar of the Mesozoic directors, from the early "Crazy Stone" and later "Heart Flowers" and other films have been successful at the box office.
However, such a combination made a movie that hit the street at the box office. In terms of the quality of the film itself, it is difficult to say that "Mr. Red carpet" is not as good as "Hot" and "Flying Life 2". These two best-selling films also have a lot of troubles.
Film is a complex project, the actor's acting skills, plot, scene, editing, music, director and so on can determine the quality of the film. However, the quality of the film itself often does not represent the quality of the box office. Many movies that sell well at the box office are not high-quality movies.
A film of the same quality does not necessarily sold well at the box office. It's just that times are different now than they were 30 years ago. Thirty years ago, many filmmakers lived within the system. They could shoot some movies for their ideals without considering the box office. However, in the era of marketization, if the box office was not successful, it meant that it was the biggest failure.
Now if you want the audience to go into the cinema to see your movie, you must give the audience a reason. For example, for super blockbusters such as wandering the Earth, the visual effects are full enough to attract the audience.
Why did Jia Ling's "Hot and Hot" succeed at the box office? It's very simple. Jia Ling's weight loss of 100 jin is enough to attract the audience. As a regular guest of the Spring Festival Gala for many years, in the past, which has been appearing as a fat comedian, the stunt of losing weight of 100 jin is really too big.
To put it bluntly, this is a contrast. Contrast can bring new impact to the audience. Andy Lau did something similar 20 years ago. When filming "slimming Men and Women", Andy Lau once destroyed his image and turned himself into a fat man. As a star who has been handsome for decades, he suddenly becomes a big fat man. This is a huge contrast.
To put it simply, if Jia Ling makes another warm film like "Hello, Li Huanying" this time, even if she continues to make breakthroughs in acting and plot, it will be very difficult to surpass at the box office.
Why did Wu Jing suspend his directing career after filming Wolf Warriors 1 and 2? because he set himself a very high standard, it would be difficult to break through if he had to rely on a combination of action, military and patriotism. Because everyone knows that Wu Jing can do this.
A film like Mr. Red carpet, from the plot to the actors and directors, is actually more like a group of old friends in the film industry who make movies together for insiders to see. This is like the Hong Kong film "Dragon and Tiger Martial Arts", which is a salute action stand-in film, which is destined to be difficult to succeed after it is released in theaters.
Of course, in the case of Andy Lau and Ning Hao, their appeal and strength are still there. If they change their way of thinking, they can still make successful movies. Just like Zhang Yimou, when the national teacher gave up his obsession with hitting the Oscars and made a commercial film, it could be said that it was also a blow to reduce dimensionality.
Last year's "Man Jianghong" proved that he can also make billions of films at the box office. At the same time, films in recent years, from "firm as a Rock" to "on the Cliff" and so on, have been guaranteed by word of mouth and box office. The key is that since 2016, Zhang Yimou has been so efficient and made so many films that no one can match his contemporary director, not even a young director.
Nowadays, among the younger generation of directors, Han Han or Jia Ling, they all know more about the market and traffic, and they know how to use the contrast to resonate with the audience.
It's just that every time a high-grossing movie appears, it will arouse a heated debate among the audience about what a good movie is.