The box office figures are both simple and crude, but also have deep meanings.
For example, the 2024 Spring Festival stalls will break the historical box office.
In 8 days, the box office has exceeded 8 billion yuan, not only surpassing the 67 of last year's Spring Festival stalls5.8 billion yuan, even surpassing the 2021 Spring Festival stall of 78With a box office of 2.2 billion yuan, it has become the No. 1 box office in the Spring Festival stalls in Chinese film history.
Although this box office figure is based on the 8-day holiday during this year's Spring Festival, the biggest reason for maintaining a strong box office from beginning to end is undoubtedly the film itself during this year's Spring Festival, which has stimulated the public's enthusiasm for watching movies.
In particular, due to the expected blockbusters "Nezha 2" and "The Legend of the Condor Heroes: The Great Hero" failed to catch up with the Spring Festival file, Xing Ye's "Mermaid 2" continued to disappear, and this year's Spring Festival file was even once regarded by the industry as the weakest Spring Festival file.
Before the schedule opened, many big Vs also made the box office champion may be "Bear Infested", in a word, it is determined that the new films in the Spring Festival file are not very good.
But now the box office of live-action movies during the Spring Festival is obviously a slap in the face of all box office agencies.
And this year's Spring Festival box office story is also particularly exciting, originally 9 new films were fighting, of which 6 were weighty movies, and star actors gathered.
And when the entire schedule ends, there are 4 films that have been rescheduled, including Ning Hao, Andy Lau's "Mr. Red Carpet" and "Let's Shake the Sun Together", which was once favored by the industry.
Among the remaining films, "Hot and Hot" has led the way from the start, and the box office has reached 2.7 billion, which can be said to be in the limelight for a while, **100 pounds Jia Ling successfully created another Spring Festival box office miracle.
Maoyan's final box office** reached 4 billion. That is, Jia Ling only used two movies to become the 10 billion box office director of Chinese films, not to mention Chinese films, even in world film history, she is unique.
Han Han made a box office turnaround with "Flying Life 2", and the box office of the film has exceeded 2.3 billion, greatly surpassing the previous one, and the final box office ** reached 359.8 billion, the decline of "Four Seas" has been completely left in the past.
But the most exciting counterattack of the Spring Festival file comes from "Article 20" directed by Zhang Yimou.
The box office of the film on the first day lagged significantly behind the first two films, but since the third day of the new year, it has achieved a box office reversal for three consecutive days, and on the last day of the Spring Festival, it briefly completed the single-day box office overtaking of "Hot and Hot".
Although the counterattack is no longer possible, the audience voted with their feet, proving the value of a good movie.
To summarize the characteristics of this year's Spring Festival movies: there are three strong ones, winners take all, word-of-mouth is a big hit, and there are no dark horses.
Some experts try to find answers outside the cinema, such as "audience frequency", "Spring Festival ticket price changes", and so on.
In my opinion, it did not grasp the focus of the box office changes in the 2024 Spring Festival.
Today, we will give five "heavyweight movies" for the Spring Festival, and let's take a look at it to see why the hit can be exploded, why the dark horse is difficult to find, and the reasons and problems for the counterattack of "Article 20" to start at the last moment, in the end.
Part 1: "Hot and Hot".
"Hot and Hot" caught everyone off guard as soon as it came up.
On the first day of release, the "Grand Slam" was achieved.
The box office in the next few days can be described as imposing.
The film was released for seven days, with a box office of more than 300 million in 4 days and a box office of 400 million in 2 days, breaking 24 records for Chinese films, and also got the highest score on Douban for Spring Festival films: 8 points, 03 points.
Jia Ling once again proved that her ability to create a hit in the Chinese film industry is unique.
Before her, no director could use non-heavy industry blockbusters to create a box office miracle of more than 4 billion in a row, not only in China, but also in the world.
Even though "Hot and Hot" could not reach the box office height of "Hello, Li Huanying", Jia Ling still became the box office myth maker of Chinese films in one fell swoop.
I think there are two reasons for this.
First of all, "Hot and Hot" continues the popular password of "Li Huanying".
That is, Jia Ling's own experience and emotions are taken as the biggest highlight of the film, and at the same time, it can create empathy.
Last time, the audience appreciated the family story of Jia Ling and her mother, and family affection is always the best empathy for the Spring Festival**.
This time, the audience felt the most intuitive visual shock from Jia Ling, who was 100 pounds of **, and for female audiences across the country, this is the strongest nirvana.
This is exactly why the female audience of the film, reached a staggering 775%, countless female audiences walked into the theater.
seems to regard watching this movie as a kind of "sense of ritual" to say goodbye to fat completely, as if Jia Ling has done it, and she can do it herself.
In addition, the comedy + inspirational style of the movie has helped the film a lot.
Jia Ling's movie is a standard Spring Festival movie, and the comedy, family affection, and inspirational elements in it are just like tailor-made for audiences who go to the theater with their families during the Chinese New Year.
The audience is actually the laziest, they hate to choose, it's best not to bother to choose, and Jia Ling gave them the most convenient choice: inspirational comedy family carnival, which the whole family likes it.
Secondly, compared with the previous work, "Hot and Hot" has completed a richer female portrayal.
Hello, Li Huanying** The people who are embarrassed are all men, and the women are basically good people.
But "Hot and Hot" created a "full evil girl".
In addition to Le Ying, Zhang Xiaofei's heroine's sister let her transfer her eyes without blinking, Yang Zi's distant relatives let her be a clown on the show in order to turn positive, and the most damaged thing is Li Xueqin's heroine's best friend, who can kneel in the corner of the wall.
This kind of story makes it easier for the audience to substitute: the world is full of bad guys, but fortunately I survived.
The Douban score of the movie in front of him is as high as 80, the box office trend is still optimistic.
It can be seen that the national audience is really willing to buy Jia Ling's "routine".
Part 2: "Flying Life 2".
Han Han's hand, like Zhang Chi of the "resurrection" in the film, achieved a perfect counterattack.
broke the box office of 2.3 billion in 8 days, which is very watchable, Douban 7The score of 8 also ranks second in the Spring Festival stalls.
I also watched the feature film, objectively speaking, the quality is not amazing, but it does complete a comprehensive upgrade of the first part.
Shen Teng is too suitable for the role of Zhang Chi, his acting skills have completed the transformation, and the theme of the middle-aged man "On being heroic in life and starting all over again" is not novel, but it is well expressed.
It is not unexpected that the box office can rise.
First, Han Han has found his state, the whole film is full of laughter, and the racing scenes are full of gold, it turns out that Han Han, who does not deviate, is absolutely top-notch in his control of domestic commercial films;
Second, the audience vented their emotions about the past year on this film.
In a sense, the film and "Hot and Hot" actually have the same theme: the resurrection of the defeated part and perseverance to the end.
In the finale of the film, Zhang Chi, who is no longer young, drove the car across the finish line and won sixth, and the audience seemed to have completed a counterattack in life together.
Facts have proved that as long as Han Han stays on the right track, no matter whether "Flying Life 3" will come out or not, he will be a stable seed player for the Spring Festival.
Part III: Article 20
In recent years, Zhang Yimou, who has won many box office battles and has a relatively mediocre reputation, finally came up with a movie with a good reputation.
I don't care if the Douban score of the film is only ranked third in the Spring Festival file, in my heart, this is the best movie in the Spring Festival file.
Some people say that the film is too small, and some people think that Zhang Yimou is not like Zhang Yimou this time.
But another meaning is that Zhang Yimou has completed the rebirth of his personal style.
Take a look back at Zhang Yimou's movies in recent years.
The Spring Festival file of "Sniper" Douban 7 the year before last7 points to 60.8 billion yuan box office regrettably. There is no doubt that the film lost at the box office due to the lack of stars.
Last year's Spring Festival file "Man Jianghong" Douban 70, the final box office 454.4 billion, more than "The Wandering Earth 2", the all-star lineup worked.
Last year's National Day file "Solid as a Rock" Douban 61, box office 135.1 billion.
In "Article 20", Zhang Yimou still uses an all-star lineup, but the theme of the story is very meaningful.
justifiable self-defense".
Many viewers walked out of the theater and were still enthusiastic about the lines in the film - "What is the law?" It is the law of heaven, the law of the country, and the favor of people.
I don't believe in the law of the land without heavenly principles; I also don't believe in human justice."
The law is to make it more expensive for bad people to commit crimes, not to make good people more expensive."
Although Zhang Yimou has incorporated a lot of comedy elements, and Ma Li and Lei Jiayin's comedy performances are also very exciting, these have not diluted the theme of the film.
The all-star lineup that Zhang Yimou found is by no means here to play soy sauce, Lei Jiayin, Ma Li, Gao Ye, Zhang Yi, Fan Wei, Chen Minghao, etc., all have excellent performances.
And Zhao Liying's performance brought a huge surprise to people, and the mute mother she played also completed the finishing touch of the film, leaving a huge shock that made me not slow down until I walked out of the theater.
Although the quality of the film is hard enough, perhaps the theater chain has little confidence in a Zhang Yimou movie that is not enough for the Spring Festival, and the film is scheduled on the first day, lagging behind "Flying Life 2" and "Hot and Hot".
In addition, the attendance rate on the first day of the film is also average, and many viewers don't know what "Article 20" is talking about, only know that "there are thousands of roads, safety first", and when the film has a good reputation, the Spring Festival is almost over.
But Zhang Yimou has undoubtedly completed another unique performance, and there is no second Chinese director who can carry such a heavy theme with a Spring Festival comedy and resonate with so many audiences.
Article 20" is actually not bad at the box office, but it still deserves it, better box office results, I hope more audiences will see it.
Part 4: "Mr. Red Carpet".
Last year, Andy Lau cooperated with Guo Fan's "The Wandering Earth 2", which won 40With a box office of 2.9 billion, Andy Lau's performance was also well received.
Although the box office of "Moscow Action" did not break 1 billion, it was also the best-selling pure action film of the year.
But director Ning Hao's tailor-made "Mr. Red Carpet" for him has a box office of just over 80 million in 7 days, and Douban is only 68 points, and finally changed gears.
Is the film bad? After watching the film, I had a different opinion: the film was not bad at all, but it was an excellent film festival film, not a Spring Festival movie for all ages.
The biggest problem with the movie is the schedule and publicity.
If the film has not been rescheduled, it will be released on New Year's Eve, and with appropriate publicity, let the audience understand that this is a satirical comedy with a strong author's style, rather than a popular popular comedy.
I think the box office of the film may be close to the other two Andy Lau movies that were also released in the Chinese New Year, "Goldfinger" and "Sneak", that is, about 500 million.
And now although this film has a good lineup composed of Andy Lau , Lin Xilei , Leung Jiahui , Shan Liwen , and Ning Hao, it is not eye-catching in the star-studded Spring Festival file.
What's more, the film itself focuses on satire, with a literary comedy style, the pace is not fast, and the climactic passage is actually a counter-climax.
All this has affected its box office performance, and the audience entered with comedy expectations, but after watching a literary comedy, the score will not be good, so that the Douban score of the film is lower than the real level.
But the box office and ratings do not necessarily represent the true level of the film, and the film is definitely worth watching for audiences who can accept black humor.
Part 5: "Let's Shake the Sun Together".
As the final chapter of the life trilogy directed by Han Yan after the box office victory of "Send You a Little Red Flower", the film Douban 7The score of 9 points has actually shown that the movie is not bad.
It can be seen that most of the viewers who have watched the movie have given positive reviews.
Helplessly, after the box office sales of the first two parts of the series, the audience also had some aesthetic fatigue with the theme of terminal illness.
This is understandable.
What's worse is that because of the specific theme of the film and the special cultural psychology of the Chinese, the film will achieve a better box office than it is now in any other schedule, but the Spring Festival file was chosen.
Let me put it bluntly, if I invite the whole family to watch an inspirational comedy during the Spring Festival, my mother will be very willing.
If I were to invite the whole family to watch a comedy about justifiable self-defense, my mother would be a little confused, but she would be satisfied.
But if I ask the whole family to watch a film about fighting terminal illness, my mother will beat me first.
I don't think this is an isolated case, so although the movie is very good, the subject matter naturally does not match the Spring Festival file, and it is difficult to form a topic during the Spring Festival.
In fact, a few days after the movie was released, there were not many netizens discussing the movie on the Internet, which made it difficult for the film to become a dark horse for the Spring Festival.
Now the file change itself has a negative impact on the reputation of the movie.
It's a pity after all.
Summary of the Spring Festival stalls: 3 regrets that need to be solved.
Based on the above comments, I believe you have also seen that there are three winners of the 2024 Spring Festival stalls, and a winner-takes-all situation has been formed.
Those films with good quality and want to fight for dark horses in the Spring Festival file have to think clearly, the Spring Festival file is not a game that everyone can afford to play.
In addition to the big victory of this year's Spring Festival, there are also three hidden worries that are worth paying attention to and solving.
The first is the overheating of "topic movies".
From the summer file to the Spring Festival file, from Chen Sicheng's "Disappearing Her" to Jia Ling's "Hot and Hot", the box office of domestic films has always been the world of "topic movies".
This in itself is not wrong, the topic detonates traffic, and the movie kills the box office.
However, topical movies are easy to accurately form a market, but they are also easy to be imitated by "people with intentions".
If Chinese films only sell topical movies, then more and more filmmakers will not study the core of the film's success, but will only "draw a scoop on the gourd", find ways to make topics, and fight for traffic.
When I say this, it's not that I think movies with strong social attributes and high topics shouldn't be successful, but that Chinese movies can't have only one hit model.
Second, it is difficult for word-of-mouth movies to break through.
I'm talking about Article 20.
The performance of the Spring Festival film market this time also reminds me of Chen Sicheng's prediction 4 years ago.
At the Beijing Film Festival Forum in 2020, Chen Sicheng said that in the future, two kinds of films will shine in the theater market.
First, the large area with a high industrial level.
The second is a topic movie with strong social attributes.
The subsequent box office trend of the Chinese film market also verified his judgment, but the problem is that realistic themes like "Article 20" are neither industrialized blockbusters nor natural high-social films.
This is also why director Zhang Yimou was forced to package it with a comedy + all-star lineup, coupled with Professor Luo Xiang's strong speech and the people's praise, it gradually formed a topic. Changing someone else to shoot may be a box office failure.
But don't good movies deserve better box office?
Third, "changing gears" has become a trend.
I don't think that good movies should not be withdrawn, and changing to a better schedule is responsible for both the film and the audience, but it is still very unusual to withdraw 4 films in a Spring Festival file.
There is an old Chinese saying that if you knew it was so, why bother in the first place.
I think "Let's Shake the Sun Together" and "Mr. Red Carpet" are both very good movies, but if I have the final say, the first thing that should be excluded when these two movies choose the schedule is the Spring Festival file.
It's not that the Spring Festival file can't be a dark horse, but not all potential dark horses can become a dark horse for the Spring Festival file, when will our filmmakers and distributors figure out this simple truth?
Last year, there were many cold periods for Chinese films, but as long as the word of mouth is up and the long-term sales are hot, you can get good results.
Unfortunately, the capital's misjudgment of the Spring Festival market and its own misjudgment will only lead to a decline in the audience's interest in the film, and the box office will also decline.
Although this year's Spring Festival has become history, the successes and failures are worth thinking about for our filmmakers.
Next, in the summer file a few months later, many popular movies may meet the audience again, such as the second part of "Fengshen", "Nezha 2", and "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" are all movies that may break box office records.
And after the summer file, the next Spring Festival file, will it be far away?
Chinese filmmakers, whether they can learn anything from history, we will wait and see.