Chapter 51: Crazy Box Office

On the second day, after news broke that the musical score of "The Qin King's Array" had been collected by the National Museum, the nation was ecstatic, and people flocked to cinemas in droves.

For those who hadn't had the chance to see the national treasure in person, they could at least listen to "The Qin King's Array" for the first time!

The box office rose again and again.

Excitement turned into madness.

The national confidence surged instantly.

Consequently, when the second-day box office statistics were tallied, everyone was stunned.

Could the box office get any more exaggerated?

An 80-million-yuan single-day box office—can you believe it?

This was even more insane than the release of *Titanic* in '97.

On the third day, perhaps because people were traveling toward the capital, the box office saw a slight decline.

But even with the dip, everyone was still shocked.

A 60-million-yuan box office—can you believe it?

Everyone knew that printing money was the most profitable business, but no one expected a movie to be more profitable than a money-printing machine.

People within the entertainment industry were nearly driven into a state of self-imposed isolation.

Do historical films make money?

In the past, they wouldn't have believed it for a second. In the eyes of industry insiders, there were many profitable genres: comedy films, which are one of the most produced genres worldwide—for example, Stephen Chow's comedies. Their box office performance in Hong Kong proved the earning power of the genre.

Then there were action and adventure films, which typically include large amounts of action sequences and suspenseful elements to attract audience attention and drive high box office numbers. Successful examples include the *Fast & Furious* series and *Indiana Jones*. Action/adventure films have clear market positioning and can attract audiences through innovative action scenes and engaging stories; despite high production costs, their high return on investment makes them one of the most profitable genres.

Finally, there are low-budget, high-return films, which usually involve small investments but can achieve staggering returns through exquisite production and unique creativity.

But historical films were traditionally the biggest money pits. Before Cheng Sheng filmed *The Great Tang Dynasty: Origins*, investors lost almost everything—down to their very shirts—every time they invested in a historical piece.

Now that Cheng Sheng had heated up the historical genre, the three consecutive days of high box office numbers piqued the interest of certain people.

History is abundant, and writing scripts for it is very fast.

Since historical films were now so profitable, the copycats arrived.

Copying is the cheapest and most profitable strategy; once a movie performs well, a swarm of followers follows suit.

Thus, in less than a day, many entertainment companies began proposing historical drama projects.

*Emperor Taizong of Tang: Li Shimin*, *Wu Zetian*, *Cheng Yaojin*, *The Winds of the Sui Dynasty*, *Li Jing*, *Romance of Sui and Tang*, *Empress Zhangsun*, *Princess Pingyang Zhao*, and so on.

Various films and TV series regarding the Sui and Tang dynasties were greenlit, and directors were sought to begin filming.

For a time, filming historical movies became the hottest topic.

Blindly following trends can cause the death of a genre, which is the greatest fear of true filmmakers.

Cheng Sheng likely knew this, which is why he didn't immediately start filming the sequel to *The Great Tang*, but instead thought about filming a movie about the Three Kingdoms.

These copycats were only looking for quick cash; they hadn't thought about the future at all.

In reality, whether domestically or abroad, once a movie becomes a hit, follow-up movies appear immediately. This has become a norm and an unwritten rule in the entertainment industry.

Market trends and commercial interests are among the primary reasons for the emergence of copycat films.

In any era, copycat films are countless. Especially with the development of the internet and the rapid growth of the film market, production companies see the success potential of certain genres and rush to film similar works to capture market share and commercial profit.

Audience psychology and market demand are also significant drivers.

Audience preference for certain genres leads to increased market demand, which in turn prompts more producers to follow suit.

For example, Hollywood films have fallen into a cycle of reheating old content and making sequels. Although this model lacks innovation, it still attracts audiences because viewers have a certain loyalty to these established brands and characters.

Furthermore, cultural differences and competition in the global film market also influence the emergence of copycat films.

Cultural differences between countries and regions may make certain genres more popular in specific areas, while intensified competition in the global market prompts producers to follow market hot spots to film movies that cater to global tastes.

However, there are those who remain clear-headed. For instance, the "Big and Small Wangs" of Huayi were quite rational and did not blindly follow the trend.

Of course, Huayi's own characteristics also made them disdainful of following trends.

Huayi primarily produces comedy films; due to their relationship with Feng Daopao, Huayi has always focused on the creation of comedy genres.

Additionally, the Wangs always felt that investing in historical films was somewhat risky; after all, they didn't believe every director was Cheng Sheng.

The 190 million yuan box office for *The Great Tang Dynasty: Origins* over three days truly shocked everyone.

Because before this, the highest domestic box office was the foreign film *Titanic*, which sat at the top with 360 million. For six years, no domestic film had been able to surpass *Titanic*.

This was practically a disgrace to domestic filmmakers.

After all, having a foreign film at the top of one's own country's box office rankings was something that felt bad to even mention.

If it weren't for Zhang Yimou's *Hero* in 2002, the second spot on the domestic box office would likely have belonged to another country as well.

But aside from *Hero*, nothing else could compete.

Third was *Decision*, and fourth was *True Lies*—both were Hollywood films.

It is evident what the emergence of a director like Zhang Yimou meant for Chinese cinema over the years, and this is why Zhang Yimou's status would be so high in the future.

After all, it was Zhang Yimou who drove the development of Chinese cinema.

Of course, *Kung Fu Hustle* would be released this December, and it would become the second domestic film to cross the 100-million mark, as well as the third highest-grossing domestic film of all time.

In 2004, for a historical film to grab this much box office in three days was simply heaven-defying!

Even if placed in 2025, this box office would still be terrifying.

In this era, every single domestic director—except perhaps Zhang Yimou—wouldn't dare claim their box office could surpass Cheng Sheng's film.

Feng Daopao is impressive, isn't he?

Before *Hero* appeared, the high-grossing domestic films were all directed by Feng Daopao.

Although Feng Daopao's films didn't win awards, when it came to the box office, no one could truly compare to him.

This is also why Feng Daopao didn't even take the Big and Small Wangs of Huayi seriously.

And it is why Feng Daopao dared to snap at reporters and audiences online—because he had the confidence to back it up.

(End of Chapter)