On November 22, Zhang Yimou's movie "Sniper" was finalized: the first day of the Chinese New Year. This is also Zhang Yimou's first entry into the Spring Festival stalls.
Compared with the volume of only 7 blockbusters last year, this year is more than two months before the first day of the Chinese New Year, and 12 blockbusters are aimed at the Spring Festival stall.
"Sniper" was originally scheduled to be released in July this year, but it was quietly withdrawn under the offensive of "Chosin Lake", and now it is choosing to be released in the Spring Festival file, it is not difficult to see its ambitions for the box office. At the same time, "Miracle", which was finalized at the end of October, was once again on the hot search because of the release of new posters, and this wave of publicity can vaguely see some gunpowder flavor.
Objectively speaking, these two films are the most powerful and most appealing lineup in the entire Spring Festival slot at present, and they also have the nature of "gift films".
"Sniper" is co-directed by Zhang Yimou and his daughter Zhang Mo for the first time, written by Chen Yu, and the cast includes Zhang Yu and Zhang Yi. Set against the background of the Cold Gun Campaign to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, this film tells the heroic story of the sniper squad of the Volunteer Army and the enemy's death-defying duel. The same theme of "Changjin Lake" swept 5.687 billion yuan on This year's National Day with huge investment and luxurious lineup, ranking second in the total box office of Chinese films after "Wolf Warrior". In front of Zhu Yu, the "National Division's Sniper" could not avoid a comparison this time.
Since 2018, Zhang Yimou has entered the prolific track as a labor model, and "Sniper" is already his fourth work in the past three years. Previously, "One Second" was released in 2020, the new girl Liu Haocun came to the fore, Zhang Yimou also won the Asian Film Award for Best Director with this, and this year's spy film "On the Cliff" performed even better at the box office, reaching 1.19 billion, and the film was also selected by the Chinese mainland to compete for the Academy Award for Best International Film. At present, in addition to "Sniper", the works directed by Zhang Yimou and another "Rock Solid" starring Lei Jiayin and Zhang Guoguo have not been finalized.
The movie "Miracle" mainly tells the story of young people's entrepreneurship and struggle in Shenzhen after the 18th National Congress, and is a key film project of the State Film Administration of the Central Propaganda Department in 2021 and a key centenary gift story for the founding of the party in 2021. The film's biggest attention since filming began came from its lead actor, Yi Qianxi. Coming from a juvenile group, he has accumulated a good reputation because of "Young You" and "Send You a Little Red Flower", and this year's National Day has taken advantage of the momentum with "Chosin Lake".
"Miracle" is also Wen Muye's second feature film, and his feature film debut "I Am Not a Medicine God" was released in 2018, becoming the fifth film in Chinese film history to break 3 billion, which also made the newcomer director attract much attention. After four years, Wen Muye returned with the original screenwriters of "I Am Not a Medicine God" Zhong Wei, Tian Yu, Wang Chuanjun, Zhang Yu and other powerful actors, and it is not difficult to understand the public's expectations and confidence.
The quota of "Beijing-containing amount" has been overdrawn in advance on this year's National Day, so in the Spring Festival, it is also necessary to see the "amount of content".
According to the statistics of the professional version of Maoyan Movie, the first place movie that the audience most wants to see is "Super Family", which is also the first time that Happy Twist has entered the Spring Festival file. Directed by Song Yang and starring Ellen and Shen Teng, the film tells the story of a family that can trigger superpowers to resist the evil forces as long as they are together. If you only look at the synopsis, the story is very "awkward", but Happy Twist is also the best at making fun in embarrassment, and the familiar lineup is enough to make the audience willing to walk into the cinema. It is worth noting that "Super Family" was originally scheduled to be released in the Spring Festival file in 2021, and now it is waiting for the second Spring Festival file, which is enough to reflect the filmmaker's confidence in the film's family-friendly attributes.
It is precisely because of this inventory, the 2022 Spring Festival file, Shen Teng wants to "fight" Shen Teng. Shen Teng's "Four Seas" was also announced as early as April this year, and the film was directed by Han Han and starred Liu Haoran, Liu Haocun, Shen Teng and Yin Zheng. Since the successful testing of "After The End", "Ride the Wind and Waves" and "Flying Life", Han Han is no longer a cross-border director, and can even be said to be a qualified businessman, which is also his 3rd time to enter the Spring Festival file.
Interestingly, another comedy movie starring Shen Teng's old partner Ma Li, "This Killer Is Not Calm", will also compete for the Spring Festival file. The film name is very bold, but it is much inferior to another happy twist movie in the main creative team lineup. If the box office is considerable, it is most likely due to the "comedy queen" Ma Li, who has almost never disappointed.
As an actor who pursues breakthroughs, Mary has been looking forward to receiving more films and more diverse characters in addition to comedy. In this year's Shanghai International Film Festival Golden Jubilee Award-winning film "Siberian Tiger", Ma Li played a pregnant woman who was estranged from her husband and quietly "solved" a public case of intimate relationship. In an interview with the interface entertainment reporter, she said: "There is a lack of my ever-changing 'female' role in the market. ”
Still, her desires seem to be limited by her more widely accepted status as a "comedian." "Sunshine Robber", "Warm Hugs" and "Lie Detector" are the three film works released by Ma Li this year, the roles are still comedy-oriented, both box office and word-of-mouth are disappointing, "Lie Detector" even only 2.8 points on Douban. Ma Li urgently needs a good work, and maybe "Siberian Tiger" will bring her a turnaround.
In addition, some netizens shared that the main Winter Olympic theme movie "My Heart Is Flying" has been promoted offline, and it seems that it has not been affected by the emotional storm of the heroine Meng Meiqi. The comedy movie "Drama like Life" starring Wang Zhi is unpopular, and it is even more depressed in a number of blockbusters.
In addition to the above feature films, this year's Spring Festival has gathered six animated movies: "Pleasant Goat and the Basket of the Gray Wolf out of the Future", "Cherry Pills: Fantasy Notes", "Bear Haunting: Return to Earth", "I Am A T-Rex", "Jurassic Paradise", "Dart Master Tiger Dun", of which the classic IP "Pleasant Goat" and "Bear Haunting" have the most mass base, and the box office performance of big movies in the past is the best.
The Spring Festival in 2021 is due to the effective control of the epidemic and the realization of a big rebound at the box office, and "Hello Li Huanying" has also become the strongest dark horse. Now there are more than two months before the Spring Festival in 2022, it has been crowded with 12 blockbusters, and the different types of highlights are prominent, and the fight of the Spring Festival stalls has become a new point of view. I just don't know, who else wants to enter the game?