This year's May Day, "On the Cliff" and "My Wedding" have made a lot of money at the box office, "Chasing the Tiger and The Dragon" and "Sweeping The Black Battle" are also full of momentum, but the "True Three Kingdoms Matchless" starring Gu Tianle, Wang Kai, Han Geng, Naza and Liu Jialing has only won more than 10 million box office directly on the street, becoming the biggest loser.
"True Three Kingdoms Matchless" has a big game IP, the star lineup is strong enough, and the investment is as high as 40 million US dollars, but it is still a heavy street, which makes people sigh. In fact, before this film, there have been many movies that have folded in the sand in front of the Three Kingdoms theme, and some people can't help but ask what is wrong with the "Three Kingdoms" theme?
In 2007, the most brilliant era of mainland costume blockbusters, there were two films with the theme of the Three Kingdoms in preparation at the same time, one was "Chibi" directed by Wu Yusen, and the other was "Three Kingdoms Seeing the Dragon Unloading Armor" directed by Li Rengang, which set off the prelude to the "Three Kingdoms" film blockbuster in the new century.
At that time, Wu Yusen once said that he would definitely respect historical facts when filming "Chibi". However, Wu Yusen broke up with Zhou Runfa, who is said to have come to negotiate the contract and put forward sky-high remuneration and many harsh requirements. The two sides were very divided, and in the end, Zhou Runfa refused to star.
However, the historical blockbuster "Chibi" with the theme of the Three Kingdoms still gathers the big names of Stars such as China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan and South Korea, not only Liang Chaowei, Zhao Wei, Zhang Fengyi, Lin Zhiling, Hu Jun, Zhang Zhen, Tong Dawei, these Chinese big names joined, the Japanese Jin Chengwu played Zhuge Liang, Nakamura Lion Boy participated, and Iwashiro was responsible for the soundtrack.
"See the Dragon Unloading" is starring Andy Lau, Hong Jinbao, Li Meiqi and An Zhijie, and the lineup is inferior to "Chibi".
Asked how he viewed "Chibi", which is also the theme of the Three Kingdoms, Li Rengang laughed and said that he was too busy to make comparisons, and he did not have any opinions. "A friend of mine said that no matter how many ships there are, they can't stop the sea, and the three kingdoms theme is like the sea, don't say two movies, there is no problem with a few more."
On April 3, 2008, Andy Lau's "See the Dragon AndRealth" was finally released, and on the same day, he met "Huangshi's Child" starring Chow Yun-fat, which won 63 million at the box office, while the latter only received more than 12 million.
Although the box office was not as good as expected, because the market was not so large at that time, there were very few blockbusters in the mainland that could exceed 100 million, and the results were OK.
There is a small episode here, H, the person who was responsible for the release of "Yellow Day's Child", revealed that the collision of two films in the same slot is not deliberate, but when everyone does it at the same time, they did not expect that the other party will choose this slot in the future, but no one can give in.
H also revealed that Yu Dong, the boss of Bona Distribution, said to H at the opening meeting of the radio and television broadcast: "We want to win!!" H secretly said in his heart: "Come on, you killed it, I have a schedule and attention, why bother?" ”
"See the Dragon Unloading Armor" from the announcement of the stills to the release, because it was not filmed according to the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", the shape is very Japanese, and Zhao Zilong was written as a foolish cannon fodder similar to the "Gathering Number" Guzidi, Li Meiqi also blew up An Zhijie and the soldiers, and Zhao Zilong's direct and open tragic ending caused many doubts!
"Not a fan", "like a Japanese film", "obviously copied the image of Japanese and Korean anime", "distorted history!" "Nonsense" and other scoldings, "See the Dragon Unloading" made director Li Rengang usher in a huge frustration of word of mouth.
"Flying saucer hat" has also become the biggest attribute of director Li Rengang, and his later filming of "Hongmen Banquet", "Jinyi Wei" and "Heavenly Lion" are all known as the "Flying Saucer Hat" series. But "See the Dragon Unloading Armor" fights sharply, romantically and tragically, although the lines and plot have thunderous places, but it is much stronger than the later "Three Kingdoms" movies.
In the same year, "Chibi" was much more popular than "See the Dragon Unloading Armor", the film was divided into two episodes, recovered 700 million yuan in the box office worldwide, the producers did not worry about the investors could not recover the cost, according to Wu Yusen revealed that this film has not yet been released, the global filmmakers have purchased the distribution rights of the copyright, it has been earned.
"Chibi" overspended, Wu Yusen paid for it himself, he said that he filled the money he earned in Hollywood, and he has not earned back the director's fee and no remuneration. Wu Yusen said, "If you lose, you lose, I like movies." But when I think about it now, it is obvious that there are lies and material selections.
After the release of "Chibi (Part 1)", everyone found out that they were wrong to blame "See the Dragon Unloading", it turned out that director Wu Yusen was the most thunderous director of the Three Kingdoms, Cao Cao asked everyone to kneel for him, Guan Yu said: "Cao Cao, you are outdated." Xiao Qiao asked Zhuge Liang to deliver the horse, and also named it "Meng Meng"!
In the end, Ma Mengmeng wanted to go with Zhuge Liang, and Xiao Qiao said in a sweet tone: "Kong Ming, Meng Meng has grown up, don't let him fight." Zhuge Liang: "Your children, how dare you?" All kinds of unbelievable stupid plots, so that everyone can only watch the passion drama of Zhou Yu and his wife, and the big scenes of "grass boat borrowing arrows" and "burning Chibi".
Since then, Wu Yusen has degenerated from an international top director to a second-rate film bad film businessman in the mainland, and later his directors "Taiping Wheel" and "Pursuit" have all lost in a scolding.
Fast forward to 2011, two films based on the Three Kingdoms were released again, namely "Guan Yunchang" in April and "Tongquetai" in September, the former gathering big names such as Zhen Zidan, Jiang Wen, Sun Li, Shao Bing, and the latter having stars such as Zhou Runfa, Liu Yifei, Su Youpeng, and Yi Nengjing, all of which were menacing, but not as expected.
Director Mai Zhaohui and Zhuang Wenqiang lowered their bottom line to the maximum in "Guan Yunchang", the sister-in-law played by Sun Li and Guan Yu talked about dog blood love, and Cao Cao, played by Jiang Wen, was also like a bandit villain, shouting idiotic lines such as "Liu Bei is outdated, I Cao Cao is the fresh goods", which has become the biggest laughing stock in film history.
Kung fu superstar Zhen Zidan once revealed in an interview that his role in "Guan Yunchang" was a failure, and it was his worst movie role, he said: "I am an idiot to the Three Kingdoms, I should not take this role" He revealed that Guan Yunchang shaved off his beard, and the key was also in love with his sister-in-law, which was spurned by fans.
Although "Guan Yunchang" broke through the 150 million box office by relying on the star lineup and marketing, it later won the most disappointing film at the Golden Broom Awards that year, and it was also a world-class bad film that could not earn money at a loss.
In the 2012 National Day file, "Tongquetai" starring Zhou Runfa, Liu Yifei, Su Youpeng, Yu Muhong, Yi Nengjing and Qiu Xinzhi was released, telling the story of Cao Cao's power reaching its peak, but he was besieged by killers sent by the Han Xiandi.
At that time, Zhao Linshan, a newcomer director who was previously well-known in the advertising industry, thought: "I was born for "Tongquetai". And one of the investors, Changying Group, although questioned by Cui Yongyuan to engage in real estate, is also ambitious for "Tongquetai", and has joined hands with Guangguang Pictures, the largest private film company in the mainland, to promote this blockbuster!
Zhao Linshan once revealed that he took the script of "Tongquetai" to meet a very well-known producer, wanting to find Zhou Runfa to play Cao Cao, "He said I was crazy, and he went around telling people that I was neurotic. But when I didn't hear it, I kept going with this madness. ”
He revealed that he was looking for Zhou Runfa everywhere, and The first time Brother Fat talked and pushed open the door, he said, "I just like your script, so I am willing to meet you." ”
Talking about the decision to take over the role initially, Zhou Runfa also admitted that the first feeling is like a "person", very humane, "the director's story and conception are very wonderful, and it is very different from Cao Cao, whom I have known through books and other aspects before." ”
At the press conference, Su Youpeng, Yao Qiu, and Ni Dahong also said that the character stories are very novel on the basis of respecting history, marking "No Similarity" for "Tongquetai".
"Tongquetai" is also a Qingqi for the "magic reform" of the Three Kingdoms, it is simply the Three Kingdoms version of "Naked Agent", Liu Yifei plays the daughter of the mink cicada, who is arranged by the Han Xian Emperor to become Cao Cao's concubine, and wants to see the opportunity to kill Cao Cao. Mu Shun, played by Yu Muhong, is the first love of Sable Cicada's daughter, and in order to kill Cao Cao, he becomes a eunuch.
Cao Cao loved Lingju even more, but Lingju was very entangled in her heart, and finally she was castrated by her lover and died, and the heroine jumped off the cliff on a horse.
Here is a small episode: when director Zhao Linshan brought starring Liu Yifei and Qiu Xinzhi to Guangzhou to promote the film, Zhao Linshan broke the news that if the film grossed more than 200 million, Fa Ge would lead everyone to run naked on the Beach in the Maldives.
However, Yi Nengjing, who was originally notified to attend the media meeting, did not appear, but instead said on Weibo that he had "ended all publicity" and complained that his play was cut "only erotic", while the director denied that the deletion was too fierce and avoided the topic of communication with Yi Nengjing.
In the end, "Tongquetai" invested 130 million yuan and the final box office was 110 million, which also made Guangguang and Changying Group lose all their money, but it was surprising that Liu Yifei actually won the best actress of the Macao International Film Festival with "Tongquetai", and "Guan Yunchang" also won the best film of the Macao Film Festival, which was a huge controversy for a time.
After that, director Mak Zhaohui and Zhuang Wenqiang quickly filmed works such as "Eavesdropping 2", "Listener to the Wind", "Peerless", and parted ways after messing up "Honest Government", one to shoot "Procuratorial Storm", the other to shoot "Goldfinger", and "Tongquetai" director Zhao Linshan has been preparing for "731" since then and has not been released, and there has been no three-kingdom theme work born for a long time since then.
In 2020, the three-year-long filming of "True Three Kingdoms" not only backed by the "Three Kingdoms" theme, but also the big IP of the game of the same name, with an investment of up to 40 million US dollars, but the mainland box office only exceeded 10 million. Lü Bu, Liu Bei, Cao Cao, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Dong Zhuo are all on the move, and the female number one mink cicada did not appear until the end of the movie, staging a dog blood love affair.
Gu Tianle and Naza easily dedicated the most thunderous meat and hemp line of the year: Lü Bu: "Don't be afraid, you will be my person from now on!" Sable Cicada: "We just met, how do you want me to take it seriously?" Then Lü Bu drew his knife and stabbed himself! Cicada: "Really! I believe in you! "Screenwriter Du Zhilang sprinkled dog blood wildly, which made people stunned!
Although many people think that "Guan Yunchang", "See the Dragon Unloading", and "Three Kingdoms Matchless" are the fiasco of the Dog Blood Thunder talent, in fact, it is not right, after all, there are many bad film sellers in the mainland market.
Although the Three Kingdoms theme is rich in content and has a wide audience, it is far less pleasant to shoot than youth love and comedy, after all, the main groups of mainland audiences are women and children. This also led to "Your Wedding", "To Youth 2", "Detective Chinatown 3" is very bloody, but it can achieve a good box office box office!
If you all follow the novel of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" to shoot a costume blockbuster, surely many choreographers are not very happy, so they always worry about the novelty, resulting in misguided, the fiasco of these choreographers, worthy of reflection and vigilance!
In the era when costume films are difficult to sell in an all-round way, if a Three Kingdoms theme movie does not respect history, the plot logic is too chaotic, and it is absolutely the easiest to fail in the cinema line by relying on the gathering of stars and exquisite production.