Chapter 30: Filming Schedule In the screening room of China Film Group, Yang Hao accompanied Han Sanpin and other staff members to watch the sample screening of "Charlotte's Troubles".As the plot progressed, jokes appeared one after another, and all the staff present laughed from time to time. I watched this movie many times on video websites in my previous life. I still don’t find it boring when I watch it again now, and I still laugh from time to time. A good movie brings people an immersive enjoyment and makes people forget the passage of time. "Charlotte's Troubles" is like this. Two hours pass in a flash. "How was the movie, Mr. San?" Yang Hao's tone was full of confidence at this time. From the laughter coming from the screening room from time to time, he knew that this movie would definitely be a success. "Well done, kid. This movie is so good. No wonder they didn't ask China Film Group to invest in it. They wanted to make it all by themselves." Han Sanpin was still smiling when he said this, and he was still emotionally immersed in the movie. "How can that be possible, Third Master? This is just a low-budget movie with a budget of 15 million. The investment is 20% to 30%, which is only 3 to 4 million. If China Film Group only invests this little, isn't it embarrassing for China Film Group? So I didn't bother you, Third Master." Yang Hao dared not admit that he just wanted to eat alone and was unwilling to share the money he was sure to earn. Now he could only say nice things and flatter the other party. "Don't flatter me, kid. Good food is never too little. For such a good project, I will accept any investment, no matter how small it is."
"Mr. Han, this is the on-site analysis report of "Charlotte's Troubles"." During the conversation between Yang Hao and Han Sanpin, a staff member handed Han Sanpin a simple report. Han Sanpin flipped through the report, took a quick look at it, and then handed it to Yang Hao. After taking it and taking a look, Yang Hao realized that this was a report that collected emotional feedback from the audience. The report only said that "Charlotte's Troubles" had 19 viewers, 86 laughs, 17 bursts of laughter, and no one went to the bathroom... In other words, there is a laugh every one to two minutes, and a big laugh every five minutes or so, so the whole movie is entertaining. "Yang Hao, have you seen the movie 'Lost in Thailand' which is currently in theaters?" Han Sanpin waited for Yang Hao to finish reading the report, then suddenly changed the subject and jumped to another movie. "Who hasn't seen this? It's directed and starred by Xu Zheng. It's just been released for a week and it's said that the box office has reached million yuan." The movie "Lost in Thailand" is so famous that there is no one in later generations who has not heard of it. "Lost in Thailand is also a comedy. I went to see it during the internal preview. The film is indeed well-made, but in terms of humor, it seems to be a little worse than Charlotte's Troubles. Do you understand what I mean?" Han Sanpin looked at Yang Hao and said seriously. "Third Master, what do you mean?" Yang Hao asked cautiously. "I think your movie might be a hit," Han Sanpin dragged out the word "hit." Hearing Han Sanpin say this, Yang Hao could only sigh that age is always the best. Han Sanpin has been in a high position for such a long time, and his business ability is still outstanding. He can see the commercial value of "Charlotte's Troubles" at a glance. "Although I know your film is good, you still have to follow the rules. After all, this is a low-budget film, and the scale of publicity and promotion cannot be too large. The number of screenings in the first few days will definitely not be too high. You have to be mentally prepared for this." Yang Hao understood what Han Sanpin said. There is a basic rule for movie scheduling: big investments, big publicity and big scheduling. Low-budget movies will definitely not have high scheduling. If big-budget movies cannot guarantee screening schedules, who will dare to invest in big productions in the future? The violation of basic rules can cause chaos in the film market in serious cases. When The Promise was shot so badly, could professionals really not see that? Could the theater chain really not see that? In fact, everyone knows, but they still have to schedule screenings. Scheduling is not based on the quality of the movie alone. Because of its strong publicity, no matter how bad the movie is, as long as it is promoted, it will definitely attract a lot of moviegoers to watch it in the first three days, and the cinema will make money. Although "The Promise" performed poorly, it broke the preview box office record, the first day box office record, the first weekend box office record, the single-day box office record, the single-film single-screen box office record, and the record for the shortest time to break 100 million. The movie "The Promise" can be described in one sentence: the audiences ate shit, the investors lost a lot of money, but the cinemas made a lot of money and shit a lot. "Master San, I understand this, but I hope that if the movie gets a good reputation in the first three days, I hope you can quickly adjust the screening schedule." Yang Hao didn't expect a movie with a budget of 15 million yuan to have a high screening rate at the beginning. Some rules must be followed.
"We will definitely follow market rules in scheduling. Normally, the promotion fee should be 15%, but since I am so optimistic about your movie, I will charge 13%. But next time if you need funding for a project, remember to come to me. Both promotion and scheduling are negotiable." Yang Hao also understood what Han Sanpin meant. If this movie had investment from China Film, even if it was a low-budget movie, no one would gossip if the screening schedule was appropriately higher, and the publicity and promotion fees could also be negotiated down. But if there was no investment from China Film, then it would have to proceed according to normal business rules. "Alas, eating alone in the film and television industry is a dead end," Yang Hao sighed in his heart. Some people may not be able to accomplish anything, but they can ruin your plans. Next time, we will still need to get multiple parties to cooperate and share some of the profits as protection money. "You don't have to worry too much. Your film is of good quality. There should be no problem in scheduling it at around 15 spots," Han Sanpin said to comfort him when he saw Yang Hao's gloomy face. "Thank you very much, Master San." Yang Hao heaved a sigh of relief when he heard Han Sanpin guarantee that the film would be screened at about fifteen points. In his previous life, "Charlotte's Troubles" was only screened at eleven or twelve points in the early stage. Now it is screened at more points than in the previous life. What could he be dissatisfied with? "By the way, when are you planning to release the film?" Han Sanpin asked casually. If a movie wants to be a big hit, it must be during the popular time period, and the most recent time period is the Spring Festival. The term "Spring Festival period" was not yet coined in the film industry in 2012. Some cinemas with low traffic would even close during the Spring Festival. The movie that pioneered the Spring Festival period, "Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons", was released during the 2013 Spring Festival. Should I sneak ahead of him for a few days, let the promotion of "Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons" drive the Spring Festival box office, and then reap the fruits of victory? It also left a mark in film history. When people mention the Spring Festival period in the future, they will say that "Charlotte's Troubles" pioneered the Spring Festival period. Thinking of this, Yang Hao's eyes lit up, so he quickly said: "Third Master, is there a schedule for movie releases in the next few months?" Han Sanpin's assistant was also very observant. As soon as Yang Hao said this, he immediately handed over a form. Yang Hao immediately lowered his head and looked at the form. (End of this chapter)