In 2022, Qingming Day, because of the epidemic, domestic films were withdrawn on a large scale, leaving a nominal schedule. This year, the Qingming file started the outpost battle from March 31 to the Qingming Festival (April 5), and 16 films joined the battle group.
The lively Qingming stall marks that the market is about to bid farewell to the off-season in March. There are many domestic films appearing in the Qingming file, but there are probably only three films that really have the strength to stand out, they are: "Loyal Dog Hachiko", "Great Night" and "Space Exploration Editorial Department".
These three films have been screened several times before the screening, and the praise has been continuous. The film industry reached out to market experts and theater managers to chat about their views on the quality and market prospects of the three films.
"Loyal Dog Bagong": Feng Xiaogang wants to win the weekly championship?
The character prototype of "Hachiko the Loyal Dog" is based on the Japanese real dog Maji. The story is about an Akita dog named Hachiko in Tokyo, whose owner died of a heart attack, and Hachiko waited for 9 years at Shibuya Station, where his owner left work every day, until his death. In honor of Hachiko, the locals erected a bronze statue of Hachiko at Shibuya Station.
Hachiko's story has been made successively in the Japanese film "The Tale of Hachiko the Loyal Dog" (1987) and the American film "The Story of Hachiko the Loyal Dog" (2009), both of which have produced excellent responses around the world.
The Chinese version of "Loyal Dog Bagong" directed by Xu Ang, the starring lineup is led by Feng Xiaogang and Chen Chong. The story was moved to Chongqing, China, and the breed of Ba Gong was changed to a Chinese pastoral dog, and its name became the local "Ba Tube (Rhubarb)".
The film currently has a pre-sale box office of 2.75 million yuan on March 31, temporarily ranking as the single-day champion, can this advantage be maintained?
Manager Ma of a Beijing theater analyzed that "Loyal Dog Bagong" is very likely to win the box office championship this weekend (March 31 ~ April 2). This is a family movie that can be easily enjoyed by both old people and children. And dog lovers, who won't ignore the movie.
Manager Ma emphasized that there are three competitors of "Loyal Dog Hachiko": "Great Night", "Dungeons & Dragons" and "Journey to Suzuya". The first two are new films, one may be a domestic comedy dark horse, the other is a Hollywood imported blockbuster, and the box office potential cannot be underestimated. "Journey to the Bell Buds" has maintained the momentum of a single-day champion since its release, and there may be a wave of box office upward trend over the weekend.
Market expert Winter believes that "Loyal Dog Hachiko" not only has the blessing of stars and IP, but also has a strong emotional concentration and is a tear-jerking movie. If the film has an outstanding reputation after its release, it may have a prominent performance at the box office. However, the investment of this film is obviously much higher than "The Great Night" and "Space Exploration Editorial Office", and it has to face a lot of box office pressure.
Film critic Shu Fujii commented: "The relationship between the dog and the family is constant, and everything around it is changing. Professor Chen is lonely, and the newsstand owner at the ropeway entrance is lonely. Therefore, director Xu Ang is talking about 'loneliness and companionship' throughout the film in "Loyal Dog Bagong". The localization of the film is done very well, and the feelings are also as restrained as possible. Everything was just right and it fell into place. ”
"Great Night": Thriller + Comedy =?
"Great Night" adopts a story structure of a play within a play. The film tells the story of a short video team who infiltrates a thriller crew to secretly film, which leads to a series of surprising events.
The film's director, Ma Kai, once made a name for himself in the industry with a low-budget thriller "Zhongxie", but the film was ultimately not released, so the public's understanding of him is limited.
"Great Night" obviously came to the theater release, and even invited traffic star Fan Chengcheng to join. The director used the fusion genre of thriller + comedy this time, which is not only scary, but also funny. The film has been carefully considered from the smooth review to the market prospects.
Manager Ma believes that this film has a novel style and is very suitable for young people. There is a lot of joke baggage in the movie, the plot is constantly reversed, the thriller index is limited, and the comedy joke is sufficient. The film is not suitable for parents to watch with their children, which is an obvious shortcoming.
Winter said that "Great Night" belongs to a new genre in domestic films, and the audience will have a process of acceptance, and word of mouth may be polarized. The cost of the film is not high, and the production is a bit rough, but this movie is mainly about the plot and performance, and the fan group should have a good evaluation.
The film critic commented: "The audience constantly follows the camera in the film to change perspectives, the situation of the three fallen brothers in the thriller crew is full of people, and the joy brought by the intertext of different perspectives is ironic." Thriller and comedy, two very different qualities, are very good at this moment. ”
"Space Exploration Editorial Department": Low-cost sci-fi films?
"Space Exploration Editorial Department" currently has a Douban score of 8.7, which is the only work in recent anticipation of domestic films to score in advance. On October 17, 2021, the film was screened at the Pingyao International Film Festival. Recently, the film has been screened in various places and has accumulated a wave of word of mouth.
The film is directed by Kong Dashan. The story tells the story of Tang Zhijun (played by Yang Haoyu), the editor-in-chief of a science fiction magazine, who has been committed to exploring extraterrestrial civilizations for many years, and finally one day, he receives an abnormal signal, and he and his friends embark on a trip to find aliens.
Science fiction films are often tied to high costs. "Space Exploration Editorial Department" does the opposite, the film is completed at a low cost, and the big scenes and big stars do not exist in this film. With his love for sci-fi films, the main creator presents this whimsical story with a group of unique characters.
The most successful work of domestic sci-fi films this year is "The Wandering Earth 2", with a box office of 4 billion yuan. The film's director Guo Fan became the producer of "Space Exploration Editorial Department", which is another of his support for domestic science fiction films.
Manager Ma believes that the box office of "Space Exploration Editorial Department" is difficult to surpass the other two domestic films. The trailer looks rough, similar to a pseudo-documentary, which is difficult to arouse the public's desire to buy tickets, and the audience is expected to be limited to the small group of science fiction fans.
Winter said that "Space Exploration Editorial Department" has a certain threshold for watching movies, and fans are needed to experience the sci-fi memes and laughter in the film. However, as long as the film can attract a wave of fans to enter the support, it has already won.
Movie blogger Egg Show commented: "I kept shouting 'neuropathy' in my heart when I watched the first half of the movie! But neuropathy here is not a derogatory term, but a combination of cuteness, curiosity, agility, and breathtaking. The director cleverly put such a grand theme as the universe on human nature and emotions. The poem that the male protagonist finally wrote to his daughter is the strongest emotional outburst and theme appeal of this movie. ”
However, there are many imported films of the same file, can they pose a threat?
Winter said that the overall performance of imported films this year is not strong. The new film "Dungeons and Dragons" is adapted from the board game IP, and the explosiveness is limited by sight. "Detective Conan" and "Titanic" belong to the Art Federation special line screening, and the distribution scale is limited. The Super Mario Bros. Movie will not form a monopoly on the market. Therefore, these three domestic films have a certain guarantee at the box office with genre innovation and audience base.
【Text/Cui Ting】