China Entertainment 1997

The box office on the first day of the weekend was 27 million.

The box office on Monday was 12 million.

Tuesday's box office was 9.6 million.

…

Friday and Saturday were the rest days, with a box office of 51 million in two days.

The first part of "Three Kingdoms: Red Cliff" took in a box office of 114 million in the first week in the Mainland, making it the third Chinese-language film in the Mainland to break over 100 million in its first week.

It surpassed Lao Mouzi's "The City of Golden Armor" and ranked second only behind "Painted Skin" which had 125 million in its first week.

China Film and other companies are all grinning crookedly. Look at the momentum. Although "Three Kingdoms·Red Cliff" is not as good as "Painted Skin", it is still very promising to exceed 300 million.

Don’t think that with the 500 million+ “Painted Skin”, the mainland film market will take off. The data of “Painted Skin” has a certain luck bonus, is non-replicable, and cannot be measured by common sense.

So far, the mainland box office has exceeded 100 million, although it is not uncommon, but it is still a very good result.

In 2006, the number of mainland movies with a box office of over 100 million was less than double digits. In 2007, there were only a little over 10 movies with a box office of over 100 million in the mainland.

This is despite the fact that Fanxing Movies and theaters are actively promoting the market, and the data of the original time and space are even more "shabby".

The only films with actual box office sales exceeding 300 million that have been recorded are "Titanic", "Painted Skin", "The Golden Jacket" and "Transformers".

The last two movies barely exceeded 300 million, and the ones that really hit 300 million were "Painted Skin" and "Titanic".

And because the theater chain had not yet been reorganized when "Titanic" was released, the actual release time of this movie was extremely long. However, considering the ticket prices and theater size in 1997, the film was still very valuable.

In the mainland market in 2008, a movie worth 200 million yuan was considered a hit, and a movie worth more than 300 million yuan was considered a ceiling-level movie in the industry.

"Three Kingdoms: Red Cliff" is expected to earn more than 300 million at the box office, which is definitely a success.

Of course, this movie requires a lot of investment. The total investment is expected to be about 420 million yuan. If it only takes 300 million yuan in box office in the mainland, even if it is two movies, there is still a certain gap between the return of the money.

However, this movie does not just rely on mainland movies, advertising fees and various developments to make money. The most important thing is the box office in Japan and other Asia.

When they first started preparing for this project, Cao Xuan and others regarded the box office in Asia, especially Japan, as an important profit point.

To this end, Fanxing and Toho, which is responsible for Japanese distribution, started negotiations for nearly a year, and finally won nearly 50% of the producer and part of the distribution revenue, which is more than most Hollywood revenue.

The reason is not complicated. Toho is indeed very optimistic about "Three Kingdoms: Red Cliff".

There is an exaggerated saying that the Japanese love the Three Kingdoms even more than their own country's Warring States Period.

There was a poll on a Japanese website. Among the list of favorite historical figures (including Japan), Cao Cao ranked fourth and Zhuge Liang ranked ninth.

Of course, it is difficult to distinguish the authenticity of these statements, but the Japanese people's love for the Three Kingdoms is indeed overwhelming, and various animation, game, literature, film and television works emerge in endlessly.

Figures from the Three Kingdoms such as Zhou Yu, Zhao Yun, Cao Cao, and Lu Bu are extremely popular in Japan.

Due to various reasons, Japan is not good at this kind of commercial historical blockbusters, so when China has such a super production of the Three Kingdoms theme, many Japanese audiences are very interested, not to mention that the starring actors are very famous in Japan. The popular Cao Xuan.

Based on these alone, there are many Japanese film studios actually competing with Toho. In order to defeat Toho, they can make huge concessions.

However, the extremely outstanding market prospects and the pressure from this group of film producers, coupled with Toho's eagerness for the Chinese market, and its intention to establish a good relationship with the two giants Fanxing and China Film, finally formed this generous contract.

Just a few days before its release in the mainland, "Three Kingdoms: Red Cliff" was released in Japan on July 14, immediately attracting countless Japanese Three Kingdoms fans to go to the theater.

It is worth explaining that the Three Kingdoms are popular in Japan, but it does not mean that they understand the real history of the Three Kingdoms, at least most of them have a partial understanding.

The Three Kingdoms they know are adapted from Japanese magic, and most of them come from games and comics.

In the impression of most Japanese Three Kingdoms fans, Cao Cao is a young/middle-aged man who is ruthless but has great ambitions.

Liu Bei is a Holy Mother, not a derogatory Holy Mother. She is a truly benevolent person. Guan, Zhang, Zhao and Zhuge Liang were all influenced by his benevolence and righteousness, so they followed him wholeheartedly.

Lu Bu is a big devil who lives day and night, and he and Diao Chan are in true love, a bit like a domineering president and his little wife.

Zhou Yu and Sun Ceji are so in love that even Big Qiao is a bit like a light bulb.

Sima Yi is a feminine demon, Sun Quan is a passionate young monarch, Zhang Jiao and Zuo Ci are both yin and yang old magic sticks, and Yuan Shao is a very proud nobleman.

In fact, these characteristics are not wrong, they are just too exaggerated, and it can clearly feel that they have a strong comic secondary color.

For details, please refer to the game "Dynasty Warriors" series. The characters in the card game "Three Kingdoms" are also somewhat influenced by the Japanese Three Kingdoms game animation.

Under such circumstances, when they walked into the theater to watch "Three Kingdoms·Red Cliff", the impression they brought was subversive and shocking.

The climax of the whole movie is Zhao Yun's appearance, Cao Cao sending his army south, Zhou Yu and Zhuge Liang's battle of wits, and the last two land and water battles.

Whether it is familiar but somewhat unfamiliar characters from the Three Kingdoms, a charming literary drama, or a huge and spectacular fight scene, many Japanese audiences screamed "Si Guoyi".

If "Three Kingdoms: Red Cliff" still has a lot of controversy in China, in places such as Japan and South Korea, it is almost unanimously praised.

Japan's "Asahi Shimbun" claimed: China has already produced Hollywood-level commercial films. Japan should not be obsessed with "One Piece" and "Pokémon". We also want to produce Japanese commercial blockbusters.

There are also Japanese film critics who believe that with the extraordinary war scenes and historical shaping, the Chinese have found a path to successful movies.

The Korean media exclaimed: One of the best historical movies in Asia!

Similar to Japan, South Korea also has a special love for the theme of the Three Kingdoms. A certain female president once claimed that her first love was Zhao Yun...

The reason why "Three Kingdoms·Red Cliff" aroused heated discussions among the media and movie fans is not only the influence of the Three Kingdoms itself, but also the fact that these countries have almost no experience in historical and commercial large-scale movies.

How should I put it? They have seen blockbusters, and the big scenes related to several Hollywood epic war blockbusters may even be more spectacular than "Three Kingdoms: Red Cliff".

However, those movies were all made by Westerners, and they are completely different concepts from this history and historical figures that are very oriental and are relatively familiar to them.

In addition to the media, Japanese and Korean netizens' praise of "Three Kingdoms·Red Cliff" online is nothing short of disgusting.

[Whether it is the scenes or the acting, I am particularly touched, and it beats those Dahe dramas (historical dramas)]

[Shocking movie, when Cao Xuan...Bu Zhou Yu became the head coach, and countless generals and soldiers paid homage, my blood boiled]

[Can someone tell me the name of Zhao Yun’s actor? So handsome]

[I don’t like that part, so I should throw Adou to death. He ruined the foundation of Liu Bei’s people. I hate him]

[I like the actor Zhuge Liang, he has a mature and gentle charm, but it’s a pity that Cao Cao is a bit old]

[It is a little different from the Three Kingdoms in my impression. After reading the comments on the Internet, it seems that this is the real history. I want to read the original work]

[The war scene is so spectacular. How much does it cost to produce? It seems to be Cao Xuan’s company. He is so rich]

[You are not a fan of Cao Xuan, he is the richest artist in China, probably the richest artist in Asia]

[Yes, he alone donated nearly 15 billion yen to the disaster in China some time ago]

[Oh my God, he is so rich. Kenji Kasahara (known as a young rich man), the founder of Mixi (Japan’s largest social network), probably can’t compare to him]

[European and American authoritative financial media estimate that Cao Xuan’s assets conservatively exceed 15 billion US dollars, which is richer than the boss of Nintendo, the richest man in Japan, and is one of the richest people born in the 1970s in the world]

[I declare that he will be my male god from now on. Mom, I will marry him]

【……】

Although the subsequent reviews were a little skewed, "Three Kingdoms: Red Cliff" still has a high reputation in Japan and South Korea, and the box office is also extremely good.

In its first week of release in Japan, it earned more than 2 billion yen, or RMB 134 million.

In the same period, it was second only to the insanely popular animated film "Ponyo on the Cliff", also called "Ponyo on the Cliff".

This animated film directed by Hayao Miyazaki is extremely important in Japanese film history. At its peak, it consistently ranked among the top ten box office grosses in Japanese film history. In 2022, it is still among the top twenty in film history.

In Japan, the three words Hayao Miyazaki are equivalent to the "King of Box Office". Even Hollywood blockbusters can hardly compete with his movies.

"Three Kingdoms: Red Cliff" did not intend to compete with Hayao Miyazaki. There is a certain schedule space between the two parties, and the genres are different. One is a commercial historical masterpiece, and the other is animation. The influence on each other is relatively limited.

The box office in South Korea was also good, with US$4.5 million in the first week, which translates to just over 30 million yuan.

The box office is expected to reach US$15 million, or more than RMB 100 million.

It seems that it is far inferior to Japan and the Mainland, and the total box office is not as good as the first week box office of the two places.

However, considering that South Korea’s domestic market is relatively small and has been seriously invaded by Hollywood, the data of "Three Kingdoms·Red Cliff" can basically be firmly ranked in the top 20 of the year, and it is aiming to be in the top ten.

In Japan, with the current performance of "Three Kingdoms·Red Cliff", the championship is difficult enough to beat Hayao Miyazaki, but there is absolutely no problem in the top three of the year.

On July 28, "Three Kingdoms: Red Cliff" was released in Japan for two weeks, earning a total of 4.42 billion yen, a total of almost 300 million yuan.

This result also officially surpassed Lao Mouzi's "Hero" and "Shaolin Temple" with questionable data, becoming the Chinese-language film with the highest box office in Japan.

Not long after, "Three Kingdoms: Red Cliff" also surpassed "Hero"'s box office in South Korea of ​​US$10.77 million, becoming the highest-grossing Chinese-language film in South Korea.

At the same time, it became the highest-grossing Chinese-language film in Japan and South Korea. The news spread back to China and increased the box office of "Three Kingdoms·Red Cliff" in its second week.

In fact, Cao Xuan's "Hurricane Rescue" performed very well in Japan and South Korea, but it was basically overshadowed by North America.

And it's just good. Just like the previous North American movies, in modern kung fu movies, Cao Xuan's appeal is still inferior to Cheng Long and others.

In fact, it is not bad. Jet Li's "Fearless" only grossed US$2.4 million in Japan and US$1.83 million in South Korea. Cheng Long's "Baby Project" grossed US$3 million in Japan and South Korea combined.

In April, "The King of Kung Fu", a collaboration between the two, had a combined box office of about 14 million US dollars in Japan and South Korea, which is almost the same as Cao Xuan's "Kung Fu".

Even if the two brothers are outdated and the quality of the movie is poor, it can be seen that Cao Xuan has clearly replaced the two in Asia and become the spokesperson of the new generation of Chinese film industry.

The emergence of "Three Kingdoms·Red Cliff" completely turned this bud into a towering tree.

The two teamed up with "The King of Kung Fu" to break into Hollywood and failed. Compared with Cao Xuan's successful entry into Hollywood this year and the box office explosion in Asia, many people have reached a consensus.

Cheng Li is old and Cao Xuan is in power.

If you are in Wuzi, your Chinese language will be auspicious!

Even Cheng Long, who had always avoided talking about these things, now admitted for the first time that Cao Xuan's film influence in Asia has now surpassed his.

You must know that although Cheng Long has a very good relationship with Cao Xuan, he had only said something like "young people are to be feared" or that the future of Chinese-language films is Cao Xuan, and he acknowledged Cao Xuan's achievements and popularity in the international music scene.

But in the film industry, Cheng Long refuses to accept his old age, and he has never said that he is not as good as Cao Xuan. It is rare that he lowers his head this time. Although he is only from Asia, it is commendable.

As for Jet Li, he did not respond. He is currently busy filming "The Mummy 3" and becoming a Singaporean citizen...

Although the outside world and movie fans have been debating the achievements of new and old superstars, in the eyes of companies such as China Film and Television, box office is the most important.

The mainland box office is expected to be 300-350 million yuan.

The Japanese box office is also running towards 450 to 500 million yuan.

Judging from the current trend, it is not difficult for South Korea to exceed 100 million.

Coupled with the box office from other places, it is estimated that it can collect tens of millions or even over 100 million yuan.

It is expected that the total box office of the first part of "Three Kingdoms·Red Cliff" will exceed 1 billion yuan. With other miscellaneous income, even if it cannot directly repay the money, it will not be far off.

The most important thing is that they still have the second part of "Three Kingdoms: Red Cliff" in their hands.

Based on the popularity and influence accumulated in the first part, they are extremely optimistic about the box office of the second part of "Three Kingdoms·Red Cliff". Not to mention exceeding, as long as it is equal to the box office, this project will make a lot of money.

Master Han came to Cao Xuan almost jumping up and down, hoping to start the next movie in the "Three Kingdoms" series.

Cao Xuan did not refuse, although he felt that "Three Kingdoms·Red Cliff" relied on his own fame and the broad popularity of the Red Cliff War, and it would be difficult to achieve this level with other Three Kingdoms themes.

But even if it doesn't reach the level of "Three Kingdoms·Red Cliff", as long as you control your investment well, there is still hope for making a small fortune.

With such a promising project, Cao Xuan could not think of a reason to give up.

However, just in case, Fanxing may not hold such a large shareholding in the next movie. If it fails, others will share it.

Although Cao Xuan poured cold water on him, Mr. Han, who had been completely blinded by the popularity of "Three Kingdoms·Red Cliff", did not listen too much.

Fanxing is watching cautiously, but China Film Group is taking the lead. The two companies jointly occupy 60% of the new film's share, with a total investment of 200 million yuan.

Among them, China Film Group holds 40%, Fanxing has 20%, and the remaining 40% share is given to other companies, which caused a frantic grab by major companies. In the end, Huayi, Star America and Media Asia took the majority.

The new Three Kingdoms movie is intended to choose from two themes: Hulao Pass or the Battle of Guandu, but no matter which theme it is, Cao Cao is one of the core characters.

And all the company bosses and project leaders unanimously hope that Cao Xuan will play their ancestor.

However, Cao Xuan declined. After playing Zhou Yu, he felt it was too awkward to play Cao Cao again, and he didn't want to limit himself to the Three Kingdoms theme.

Cao Xuan can choose not to act at will, but other actors in the entertainment industry will not regard this movie as nothing.

The popularity of "Three Kingdoms: Red Cliff" is obvious to all. Even if the new movie reaches two-thirds, it will be considered a blockbuster. If you can star in it, it will definitely be a highlight of your career.

After China Film determined to position the theme of the new Three Kingdoms movie "Three Kingdoms·Guandu", almost more than 90% of the male actors in the Chinese film industry competed for the role of Cao Cao, including many top names.

The version Cao Xuan saw alone included Liu Tianwang, Fa Ge, Chen Daoming, and Liang Yingdi, among many other best actors.

This also made Cao Xuan feel more at ease. No matter what happened, the lineup should still be able to withstand it. The prospects of the project are naturally good, and at least the possibility of losing money is unlikely.

………

Since his main focus was still on the Olympics, Cao Xuan's promotional contribution to the first part of "Three Kingdoms·Red Cliff" was extremely limited.

Basically, I walked around Gyeonggi Province, accepted a few interviews, and recorded some videos. The specific promotion was done by other people.

Many people felt that it was a pity and felt that if Cao Xuan personally led the promotion team, the box office of the "Three Kingdoms·Red Cliff" movie would have increased.

But there is no way. The opening ceremony of the Olympic Games is more important than anything else.

Fortunately, there is also the second part of "Three Kingdoms: Red Cliff". Whether it is scheduled to be released in the Lunar New Year this year or next summer, Cao Xuan can spare some time to make up for it.

But despite this, Fanxing, China Film and even Dongbao still hope to ride on Cao Xuan's popularity as much as possible to boost the box office.

Especially for Toho, Cao Xuan is still in China. Although he cannot participate in the promotion in person, he can still benefit from it, but Japan is beyond reach.

The box office of "Three Kingdoms: Red Cliff" has reached 8 billion yen, making it almost one of the highest-grossing movies in Japan this year.

Toho definitely wants to tap as much potential as possible to make the movie's box office take a step further.

After much deliberation, Toho simply teamed up with Fuji TV to send a recording team to film Cao Xuan's day in a documentary-style follow-up interview, adding some personal items from "Three Kingdoms: Red Cliff" to promote the movie.

Originally, Cao Xuan was supposed to cooperate with Japan's promotion, but he didn't go because of the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games.

Considering that he was in the wrong, this request was not excessive. Cao Xuan thought about it and agreed.

Dongbao is also sensible, and the host he sent happens to be Masami Nagasawa, a famous Japanese fan of Cao Xuan.

On the one hand, Masami Nagasawa is a beautiful woman who is very photogenic. In addition, she is familiar with Cao Xuan and can chat better than ordinary hosts, and she can also gain popularity.

Nagasawa Masami heard about the interview with Cao Xuan and was delighted to do so. The two parties discussed the process and the filming officially started on the morning of August 5th.

A certain courtyard house, the entrance

Masami Nagasawa stood in front of the camera with a sweet smile on her face: "Today we are going to interview an idol that I personally like very much. He is the pride of the Asian music scene, a world-class superstar, and also a very good actor. He starred in " "Three Kingdoms: Red Cliff" is currently in theaters in Japan, with a box office of more than 6.5 billion yen..."

After the opening remarks, Nagasawa Masami knocked on the door of the courtyard, and Cao Xuan opened the door from inside.

“Onisang, Nihuo, have you eaten in the morning (Chinese).”

"Not bad, the sesame sauce is quite standard (English)."

"Thank you (Chinese)."

Cao Xuan does not speak Japanese, but fortunately Nagasawa Masami also understands English. Although there is a bit of an accent, communication is no problem, not to mention that the team is equipped with a dedicated translator.

However, according to Masami Nagasawa herself, she can understand some Chinese, but she is not very good at speaking it. Cao Xuan heard that she has a distinct Taiwanese accent and has reservations about this.

"Onisang, what a beautiful house?"

Open the door to let people in, and walk through the screen wall, red tiles and green walls, there are ponds and trees, and there is a corridor next to it. It is classic and elegant, which is quite new for Japanese people.

"Onisan, do you usually live here? I'm so envious."

Cao Xuan shook his head and told the truth: "I rarely live here usually. It's just because it's close to the Bird's Nest that I live here these days."

Another reason is that Cao Xuan didn't want to be exposed, whether it was his parents' home or the place where he usually lived, such as Cao's Hutong or Changping Villa, so he was interviewed in this courtyard where he had lived for a few days.

"We checked and found out that this is called a courtyard house. It is a very historic house in the capital."

Under the guidance of the film crew's director, Masami Nagasawa pronounced these three words awkwardly, and then entered the hall with great interest.

"I would like to take the liberty to ask, Ounisang, can you tell us, does this house belong to you? How much is it approximately worth?"

Cao Xuan pondered for a moment and didn't hide it: "It's my house. I really don't know the exact value. It's probably a few hundred million yen."

This wasn't something he was hiding. Cao Xuan really didn't know the specific price of this courtyard. After all, it was just a small courtyard and he didn't want to sell it. Who would pay attention to the price all the time.

However, considering that it is a three-in-one courtyard house within the Fourth Ring Road of Beijing and near the Bird's Nest, it is still worth tens of millions no matter what.

Currently, 100 million yen is about 6.7 million yuan. It is not wrong to say it is several hundred million yen.

Nagasawa Masami showed a surprised expression in response. Even in Tokyo, where land is extremely valuable, a few hundred million yen is considered a luxury house.

Although it is not enough to make Masami Nagasawa lose her composure, when it comes to making a show, you still have to cooperate.

"Onisan, you know, your net worth is a hot topic in Japan right now. Everyone says you have 15 billion U.S. dollars."

"Haha, I saw the report. It's a pity that I'm not that rich."

Cao Xuan never liked to show his wealth, but he couldn't hide his various business operations, and even a fool knew that he was rich.

Especially the sky-high donations in the past few months have brought huge reputation and made Cao Xuan's assets a hot topic.

Under the temptation of the popularity, major financial media teamed up with some professional institutions to conduct an in-depth investigation of Cao Xuan.

Even though Cao Xuan took heavy precautions in many aspects, there were so many experts that he still uncovered a lot of cruel information——

Cao Xuan most likely owns 80% or even 100% of Fanxing Group, which apparently holds less than 30% of the shares.

The box game, which had been rumored by many outsiders, also confirmed that Cao Xuan was the largest shareholder. Conservative estimates put the shares at more than 65%.

There is also Penguin, which many people know about Cao Xuan. After layers of penetration, it is estimated that he has 20% of the shares.

There is no need to delve into the others. Just for these three companies, the valuation of Cao Xuan’s shares is eye-catching.

The current total market value of Penguin is probably more than 20 billion US dollars. Box Games is slightly less valuable because it is not listed and is low-key, but it is still about 12 to 15 billion US dollars.

Fanxing Group includes many industries such as Fanxing Cinemas and Movie City. It is China's largest film and television entertainment company and is also very optimistic about the outside world. Its market value is approximately 100-120 billion yuan, which is equivalent to more than 15 billion US dollars.

If these facts are true, Cao Xuan's assets will reach a terrifying US$30 billion, making him the richest man in Asia in an absolute sense, and even ranking among the top ten in the world.

At present, he is only the richest man in the mainland with a scale of 40 billion to 50 billion yuan, and his net worth is only a fraction of Cao Xuan.

Seeing that so much information has been exposed, Cao Xuan is ready to stop pretending and show his cards, I am the richest man in Asia.

As a result, because this data was too exaggerated, everyone did not really believe it. Instead, they agreed with some media’s estimate of US$15 billion, which is probably among the top 20 figures in Asia.

This time Cao Xuan was speechless.

You don’t believe me when I say I’m not rich, but you don’t believe me when I reveal that I’m too rich, and you all rely on wild guesses, so why are you asking me?

However, there is one thing to say: most of these market values ​​are indeed watery, especially those that are not listed on the market. You can basically ignore outside estimates.

Cao Xuan's own estimated actual assets are between 15 billion and 20 billion US dollars. Because of the current economic crisis and because some of them are Internet companies, the fluctuation is relatively large.

Anyway, it doesn't matter how much money I have. Cao Xuan always said that the outside world had miscalculated and I didn't have that much. When I asked him how much I had, he didn't know.

But no matter what, he donated hundreds of millions of yuan in one breath, owned shares in several large companies, countless properties, and private jets.

No matter how Cao Xuan quibbles, it is recognized by the outside world that this guy is not just an ordinary rich man, but at least one of the richest men in the mainland like Huang Guangyu of Gome, Wang Chuanfu of BYD, and Zong Qinghou of Wahaha.

At the same time, [Third-rate businessman Cao Tianwang] has also become a popular new meme after [Second-rate singer Cao Tianwang], and even has the potential to surpass him.

After all, even if the singer was in Versailles, he would not have the excitement of the richest man.

For example, Jay Chou said that his musical talent was mediocre, but Jack Ma and Xiao Ma Ge said that they did not like money and ordinary families, which made the public break their guard and grit their teeth.

A second-rate singer, a second-rate singer becomes a world king.

A third-rate businessman, a third-rate rich man with a net worth of at least tens of billions.

Many people on the Internet couldn't help but complain. It's a good thing that there is no fourth-rate person, otherwise the person named Cao would not be able to go to heaven...