Preamble:
Once upon a time, the "movie magician" Zhang Yimou once stunned us and created a miracle in the film market several times.
So this time, what kind of shocking innovation does his new film "Article 20" bring us?
When I first arrived, it was bleak
On the occasion of the Lunar New Year in 2024, the new film "Article 20" directed by Zhang Yimou will be grandly released.
This is a social film about the anxiety and helplessness of ordinary people in front of the law, starring Zhao Liying and Lei Jiayin.
The two can be described as representatives of the current Xiaosheng and are deeply loved by young audiences.
At the beginning of its release, in such a fierce competitive environment in the film market, the box office of "Article 20" on the first day was not ideal, and it was far from the expectations of many audiences, with a box office of only 2.3 million yuan on the first day.
This figure is far lower than the level of popular movies in the same period, and the outside world is not optimistic about its word-of-mouth and box office prospects for a while.
Industry insiders have labeled the film as "insufficient publicity" and "investment failure", criticizing Zhang Yimou's choice of themes this time is too unpopular and difficult to impress the public.
There are even comments that directly question "realism should also be limited, and there is nothing to see about legal themes".
In the face of doubts from the outside world, Zhang Yimou did not rush to refute, but chose to remain silent.
He knows that box office numbers are the only criterion for judging a movie.
Only through the subsequent reversal of attendance can we truly prove the strength of a director.
At this moment, Article 20 is facing an embarrassing situation of an unfavorable start.
Its first-day box office is far from expectations, and if it can't complete the counterattack in the follow-up box office, it will be tantamount to a Waterloo for director Zhang Yimou in the film market.
So, what will our movie magician Zhang Yimou do?
The miracle reversal is earth-shattering
Just when the outside world was discussing the failure of Article 20, "magician" Zhang Yimou quietly launched his carefully planned counterattack.
On February 5, "Article 20" suddenly broke out, and the single-day box office soared from the previous 2.3 million yuan to 8 million yuan, successfully entering the top five box office of the Spring Festival stalls, and bounced off the previous embarrassing situation in one fell swoop.
Then an even crazier reversal appeared-on the fourth day of the movie's release, under the careful operation of director Zhang Yimou, the attendance rate of "Article 20" hit the first place in one fell swoop among the Spring Festival movies, and the single-day box office exceeded 10 million yuan.
According to statistics, on February 8, the single-day box office of "Article 20" was as high as 15 million yuan, even directly surpassing the previous word-of-mouth box office leader "No Name".
The explosion of this number immediately triggered a strong response inside and outside the industry!
People have begun to discuss Zhang Yimou's business skills and the reversal potential of the film.
What's even more shocking is that on the fifth day, the box office data of "Article 20" once again produced a sharp rise in violent fluctuations.
The single-day box office jumped directly from 10 million yuan the previous day to 20 million yuan, once again refreshing the record of the first place in the box office list.
This kind of box office "miracle" of soaring again after opening high and going low is unprecedented in the industry.
People even joked that Zhang Yimou was playing "trick box office", and successfully manipulated the data with his influence and resource operation.
And this once again demonstrates Zhang Yimou's business skills and infinite personal charm.
The secret lies in the social responsibility
So, what made Article 20 able to complete such an earth-shattering reversal after a bad start?
Industry analysts believe that the key lies in the social value and responsibility contained in the film itself.
Article 20 vividly illustrates the legal dilemmas faced by people at the bottom of society through several typical cases.
When these people are subjected to violence or threats to their lives, they often respond in self-defense.
However, due to the limitations of objective conditions, these acts of self-defense can easily exceed the "necessary limit" stipulated by the law, and they will eventually bear certain legal responsibilities.
In these little people, the line between law and morality begins to blur.
They have to choose between their own interests and legal norms, which in itself is a huge mental pressure.
And this kind of predicament that exists at the bottom of society is the theme of the film's repeated exploration.
It can be said that by confronting the vulnerable groups in social reality, Article 20 aims to be ambitious, it is not just a story, but a call for all sectors of society to reflect on and pay attention to this phenomenon.
This has also become the main motivation for many audiences to enter the theater to watch this movie, and they are moved by the social responsibility shown in the film and have a strong desire to watch the movie.
While boosting the box office, the typical cases of the movie also play the function of popular legal education to a certain extent.
Let the audience enjoy the story while having a clearer and more accurate understanding of the legal concept of justifiable defense.
This is of great significance for promoting the process of social rule of law.
It can be said that "Article 20" has successfully integrated entertainment and education, allowing people to gain pleasure in the process of filming, and at the same time absorb social responsibility and legal knowledge.
This ingenious fusion has made more audiences have a strong interest in watching the movie, which has led to a significant increase in box office data in the following days.
Wonderful, the acting exploded
Of course, in addition to the innovation of the theme and ideology, the superb acting skills of the actors in "Article 20" are also a highlight of the film's success.
Zhao Liying and Lei Jiayin, two popular students, perfectly interpreted the helplessness and strength of the characters in the play in the film.
The two actors successfully portrayed the inner pain of the people at the bottom of society who have nowhere to speak.
When they face an existential crisis and encounter violence, they face not only physical torture, but also legal and moral pressure.
This anxious mood was successfully transformed on the screen through the delicate expressions of the two, which moved the audience.
While enhancing the perception of the movie, it also brought a very high reputation and evaluation.
Behind the successful rebound of "Article 20" from the trough, the performances of the two are indispensable.
Driven by them, the overall word-of-mouth of the film began to improve on the third day, with the number of positive Weibo comments exceeding 40 million.
"Must be five-star praise", "deep social reality" and other praise.
Audiences have been driven by this social responsibility to buy tickets to revisit or watch for the first time, which has led to a surge in box office revenue.
Zhang Yimou reproduced the magic, and the film industry surfaced
It can be said that the miraculous reversal of "Article 20" not only allowed director Zhang Yimou to reproduce his superb commercial skills and great influence, but also provided a new possibility for the market performance of domestic films in the Spring Festival.
Prior to this, the Spring Festival film market was considered to be the most difficult battlefield to open up.
In the face of strong competition from Hollywood blockbusters, domestic films have always been weak, and it is difficult to set off a commercial miracle in this critical time period.
But this time, Zhang Yimou let the industry see that in fact, we can use the window period of the Spring Festival to attract the attention of the Chinese people by promoting social responsibility and spreading positive values, so as to open up the market situation.
Article 20 is a successful example of such an attempt.
It proves that choosing social themes and highlighting the significance of popular law during the critical period can also stand out in a highly competitive environment and complete a big reversal in business!
This is also a signal that China's film industry is on the road to continuous growth.
We are fully confident that through this market reversal, we will change the embarrassing situation of domestic films in the Spring Festival stalls of "one crying, two troubles and three hangings".
Looking forward to more and having the courage to break through
Overall, the success of Zhang Yimou's new film "Article 20" is by no means accidental, but a direct embodiment of the rich connotation and social value of this film.
It proves that Chinese filmmakers can not only tell good stories, but also dare to innovate, pay attention to people's livelihood, and spread positive values.
I believe that "Article 20" will not be Zhang Yimou's last attempt to explore the thematic films of the era.
As a great director with the reputation of "Zhejiang Genius", he must still carry countless innovative ideas in his mind.
Epilogue:
Let's continue to wait and see, and look forward to more surprises and breakthroughs from him in the future!
I believe that Director Zhang will use his film magic to continue to light up our cultural life.