This year's New Year's Day box office of 1.517 billion yuan broke the record, but the box office of the new work "If You Are Honest Do Not Disturb 3" directed by Feng Xiaogang, the founder of the domestic Chinese New Year file, was far less than expected, and the box office was only 54 million yuan. In the past, Feng's comedy was a repertoire for the Chinese New Year, and he himself also claimed that he was "lonely and defeated" in the film industry. is just the IP of "Do Not Disturb", the first part in 2008 ranked first in the box office of domestic film history with a box office of 260 million yuan, and the second part in 2010 also ranked the box office champion of the Chinese New Year stalls with a box office of 471 million yuan...... Director Feng Xiaogang and his films have changed from "watching movies by the whole people" to "no one cares", why has Feng's comedy become the tears of the times? How did Feng Xiaogang's "popularity" slowly disappear?
"Do Not Disturb 3" poster
"Hit" no one else I can't "beat" myselfAs of 14:00 on January 9, "If You Are the Truth, Do Not Disturb 3", which was released for 11 days, only received 80 million box office. Audiences who don't care about the box office may have no idea about this number, and the box office of several other films released in the same schedule is: "Twinkle and Twinkle Star" 662 million yuan, "Annual Meeting Can't Stop!" 575 million yuan, "Goldfinger" 337 million yuan, and "Sneaking" 302 million yuan. And 15 years ago, in 2008, after the release of the first "Do Not Disturb the Truth", it became the No. 1 box office in the history of domestic films at that time with a box office of 260 million yuan, and two years later, "Do Not Disturb 2" won a box office of 471 million yuan and won the box office champion of the Chinese New Year stalls that year. In other words, the results of "If You Are Honest Do Not Disturb 3" are not only not as good as other films in the schedule, but also inferior to the first and second films more than 10 years ago.
(Maoyan Professional Edition 22:00 data on January 9)
The story time of the movie "If You Are the Truth, Do Not Disturb 3" is set in 2031, continuing from the end of the second part. After Qin Fen and Liang Xiaoxiao received the certificate, they were separated for many years before their honeymoon. Xiaoxiao followed the non-profit organization to pick up garbage around the world and did not go home for 10 years. Lao Fan (played by Fan Wei) developed an artificial intelligence man Xiaoxiao to alleviate Qin Fen's lovesickness. Choosing a robot that is more in line with his inner ideals, or choosing a real partner puts Qin Fen in a dilemma, and in the end, what is left is true or false also becomes suspense......
Aside from the box office data, just talking about whether "If You Are the Truth, Do Not Disturb 3" is filmed well or not, the evaluation is very polarized. The film's score on Douban is currently stable at 6.2 points, and some viewers still agree with this film, thinking that the feelings are "full", which can draw a perfect end to this series. After watching the film, Hu Xijin, an "Internet celebrity media person", expressed the reason why he likes "If You Are Honest Do Not Disturb 3", "A large part of the reason is that I miss the 16 years that passed from "Insincere 1" to "Insincere 3".
"Do Not Disturb 3" poster
However, there are also many viewers who think that this film is full of slots, and some viewers bluntly said that if you talk about the story aside from your feelings, the third part is "Dog's Tail Continues Mink". Originally, in view of the word-of-mouth effect accumulated by "Do Not Disturb" before, when "If You Are Honest Do Not Disturb 3" was finalized, many viewers expressed their willingness to pay for this IP. However, after the release of the film, the mood of anticipation turned to disappointment. The story is set in the future, the two laughs are both true and false, nearly 2 hours of comedy and romance film, on plot and narrative, according to Feng Xiaogang's skills, can have created quite interesting content, and the current effect is not new, in the end there is no unexpected reversal, and the exaggerated "dopamine" color scheme has become a "slot".
The characters and content of the first and second parts are back in the pot
For example, the artificial intelligence developed by Lao Fan (played by Fan Wei) is a creative setting for this film, but some old fans believe that as early as 1996, Feng Xiaogang wrote the sketch "Robot Funny Stories" starring Cai Ming and Guo Da for the CCTV Spring Festival Gala, and the originally innovative "robot" heroine was a stalk used by Feng Xiaogang more than 20 years ago. Some viewers believe that after Zhen Xiaoxiao went home, the perception of the second half of the movie became "True and false Xiaoxiao is jealous of Qin's struggle", which does not conform to the current audience's aesthetics of romance films. Yue Yunpeng played an intelligent person who was loyal to Deyun Club, but this story line did not play the role of serving the main line, and his appearance was purely just telling a few jokes.
In addition to the idea of intelligent people, a lot of space in the film is to bring the characters and content of the first and second parts back to the pot: in addition to the angel investor Lao Fan, Yao Chen's best friend Mango, Guan Xiaotong's Chuan Chuan, Hokkaido's old friend Wu Sang and other main characters in the first two films all appeared again. It's a pity that the appearance of these characters is still mainly based on pulling feelings, and the thin story cannot be recognized by the audience, nor does it support the nearly 2-hour duration of the whole film.
Where did Feng Xiaogang's "popularity" go?Due to no one caring, the film schedule of "If You Are Honest Do Not Disturb 3" has dropped to 4.8%, and various platforms predict that its total box office will be difficult to exceed 100 million yuan. Feng Xiaogang, who once said that he "has a box office for everything he shoots, and he is especially lonely and seeks defeat", seems to be a building that is about to collapse, and he and his films are slowly losing their "popularity".
In the past, Feng Xiaogang was infinitely beautiful and unparalleled, and mainland movie audiences had a general consensus: domestic Chinese New Year films were opened by Feng Xiaogang. Several films such as "Party A and Party B", "No Thieves in the World", "Mobile Phone" and other films have made Feng Xiaogang's movies synonymous with the Chinese New Year, and he has also filmed military films and disaster films with serious themes such as "Assembly Number", "Tangshan Earthquake" and "1942".
"Little Steel Cannon" is Feng Xiaogang's character design who has been in the film and television industry for many years
The achievements in the movie allow Feng Xiaogang to be confident and arrogant, and "Little Steel Cannon" is his character in the film and television industry for many years. He scolded his peers, sprayed reporters, bombarded actors, and scolded film critics, and the audience was not spared: at the Shanghai International Film Festival in 2017, he directly attributed his film to the Chinese audience, saying that "there are so many garbage movies in China because there are a group of garbage audiences". He also once released his "no opponent" rhetoric, saying that he "has a box office for everything he makes": "There is a box office for entertainment, but there is a box office for not entertainment, and serious movies still have a box office." No way, who can surpass me. You find one for me. No. I'm very lonely. ”
At that time, Feng Xiaogang was full of confidence, even if he encountered a turning point in his career, there was still a "choking" flavor in his words: in 2018, the "Mobile Phone 2" project experienced a yin and yang contract turmoil, and Feng Xiaogang terminated the filming of "Mobile Phone 2". In December 2019, Feng Xiaogang's romantic film "Only Yun Knows" was released, and the film starred Huang Xuan and Yang Caiyu, the stars of "Fanghua". But compared with "Fanghua", which had a box office of 1.4 billion yuan two years ago, the attention and box office of "Only Yun Know" have fallen off a cliff. Just when the box office of the film finally exceeded 100 million, Feng Xiaogang launched a small essay on Weibo, most of which recalled his glorious years and crazy experience when filming "No Thieves in the World". finally mentioned "Only Yun Knows" and said: "After watching the movie, there are those who are too slow, flat, light, and can't watch it, you have spent money, and you should scold a few words to get angry, this is human nature, don't explain." ”
When the box office of "Only Yun Knows" exceeded 100 million, Feng Xiaogang posted on Weibo
Compared with the sharpness of the box office fiasco of "If Yun Knows", Feng Xiaogang after the release of "If You Are Honest 3" is much gentler, he wrote in his New Year's message to a social platform: "Let's all be kind to others, kindness may not make you rich, but the overall kindness of society will get a little care and sympathy when you are unlucky." Be easy-going, people must have friends, they can't catch anyone and pinch anyone, and they have to make friends with 90 percent of the people in the whole village and the whole company, not enemies. ”
After the release of "If You Are Honest Do Not Disturb 3", Feng Xiaogang posted on Weibo
Is Fung comedy outdated?Hu Xijin's long article raised a question: Feng Xiaogang's box office almost slipped to the bottom of the same schedule, is "an era" over? Is he really Jiang Lang's talent? This is also a topic that has been constantly discussed by fans after "If You Are Honest Do Not Disturb 3" has become cannon fodder in the schedule competition, has the once glorious Feng's comedy become the tears of the times?
One of the screenwriters interviewed mentioned "Twinkle Twinkle Twinkle Star" and "Annual Meeting Can't Stop!", which were the box office winners of this year's Chinese New Year. He believes that "Twinkle Twinkle Twinkle Star" relies on the continuation of the charm of the online drama, the original travel story that can justify itself, and the network marketing of "Snow Field" finally created a box office miracle. "The Annual Meeting Can't Stop!" tells workplace stories in a comedy shell, which can make most of the young people who are "workers" empathize: "There is no comedy that can succeed only by sketch-style dialogue and exaggerated body language." It is difficult to summarize what kind of works the current audience likes through just two Chinese New Year films, but it can be inferred that in recent years, the film and television industry and the market have undergone earth-shaking changes, and most of the more successful theatrical film works must show care for reality on the basis of a solid story, so that people can resonate and empathize, which is the characteristic that "If You Are Honest 3" lacks. ”
"Do Not Disturb 3" poster
According to the "2023 China Film Market Annual Inventory Report" jointly released by the Lighthouse Research Institute and Xinhuanet, 2/3 of Hollywood series of movies will decline by more than 60% at the box office in 2023, and the inability to attract young audiences is the core reason. At present, the audience "portrait" of cinema movies accounts for more than 80% of people aged 18 to 30. Hollywood films with mature business models are mired in a lack of creativity and a flood of sequels, not to mention the domestic film industry, which is still improving. Therefore, in the current film industry, it is still "those who win young people win the world", if a filmmaker cannot empathize with young people, it will be difficult for his works to be recognized by the current film audience group dominated by young people. Even if Feng Xiaogang used to be as beautiful as Feng Xiaogang, film and television directors and screenwriters need to have an in-depth understanding of young people's preferences and think about how to attract young people.
Source: Jinan Times