Chapter 162 Collaboration with Hollywood

In Hollywood, when a movie is completed and about to be released, the film company will not only organize internal reviews, but also often conduct preliminary previews.

The film is first released in a small range, and then a specialized data company uses interviews and questionnaires to obtain the audience's evaluation and feedback on the film, and organizes and analyzes the data from multiple dimensions.

Generally, movies are divided into three levels: A, B, and C based on factors such as audience acceptance, willingness to buy tickets, and movie reviews. With the help of "+" and "-", we can roughly judge the quality of the movie, which makes it easier for film companies and theaters to adjust their screening arrangements.

At the same time, film and television production companies and distribution companies can also use market research data to evaluate the market response and reputation of a film, and thus make corresponding marketing and promotion strategies.

For Wang Hao's film "Wushuang", Columbia Pictures naturally followed this process and received good feedback from the audience, which gave them enough confidence to release the film "Wushuang".

"I am very happy that Columbia values me. If there is anything I can do to help you, please feel free to do so."

Wang Hao looked at Howard Bruno, smiled, said some polite words, and then waited quietly for the other party to continue.

Howard Bruno was also very satisfied with Wang Hao's cooperation and immediately said:

"That's great, Wang. You know, Chinese films have never had much of a market in Hollywood, and European and American audiences are not very familiar with Chinese stars and directors.

So I thought, if we can have a young talented director like you to cooperate, maybe our publicity plan will be more effective.”

Wang Hao was happy to see the other party's request, so he readily agreed.

"Of course, Mr. Howard, what exactly do you need me to do?"

As a Sino-US co-production, "Wushuang" also had investments from Wang Hao. Although this investment was not much, the better the film sells overseas, the greater his gains will naturally be.

And the cooperation on "Wushuang" is just the beginning.

Science fiction movies are different from movies about martial arts, fairy tales, history, mythology and other themes. Their biggest advantage is that they have a wide audience and no viewing barriers. Both domestic and overseas audiences can understand them.

But there is also a problem, that is, the investment is too large and the risk is high.

The current film market in mainland China is not yet sufficient to support pure hard science fiction films.

So of course Wang Hao had to find a way to expand outward, use overseas channels to distribute movies, and recoup the high investment costs of science fiction movies.

This requires cooperation with Hollywood film companies. He must make a good start. If "Wushuang" does not perform well at the overseas box office, or even causes Columbia to lose money, then even if Wang Hao's next film is well made, it will become very difficult to enter the European and American markets.

Besides, he would not suffer any loss by cooperating with the other party's publicity work.

As a new director, it is rare for someone to support him and help him increase his popularity in North America. Many Chinese directors want this opportunity but have no way to get it.

Wang Hao's affirmative reply also made Howard Bruno very excited:
"Great, Wang. With your help, I believe that Warriors 3 will become a huge hit in North America."

"I hope so. But you guys have to hurry up and release the movie. After all, I can't stay here for too long. Don't wait until I return to China and the movie hasn't been released yet, then all the promotion will be in vain."

There was some complaint in Wang Hao's words. After all, what he originally wanted was to release the movie simultaneously in China and North America. As a result, Columbia Pictures failed to deliver, resulting in the release of "Wushuang" in North America being delayed again and again.

In the face of Wang Hao's complaints, Howard also looked helpless.

“Wang, you have to understand that North America is the largest film market in the world. It is so crowded that there are countless movies released every year.

And the time between the completion of your film and its release was too tight. We had to leave enough time for post-production promotion. In addition, Columbia also has a self-produced film to be released in September, so it is really difficult to balance the release schedule. But don't worry, the company's support for "Wushuang" is absolutely unquestionable this time."

"Okay, I understand the release date issue. You guys are the biggest investor in this movie anyway, so I'm just saying this.

But in terms of publicity, how exactly do you want me to cooperate?"

Wang Hao decided to quit while he was ahead. After all, what the other party said was true. The North American film market was indeed very competitive.

Not to mention thousands of movies, there are still hundreds of movies released and shown every year.

Therefore, it is quite normal that foreign films are suppressed and have difficulty being released here.

For example, Zhang Guoshi’s "Hero" was delayed for more than a year before it was released in North America.

As for "The Banquet", which was released in China earlier than "Wushuang" not long ago, it is also queuing up in the North American market. He is already lucky.

"Well, it's actually very simple. After the movie is released in North America, we may need you to appear on a few TV shows here."

Howard briefly explained the situation, and Wang Hao was a little surprised after hearing it.

"Is it going to be a show? Is it a talk show? Or an interview?"

"It's just two talk shows." Howard seemed to see his nervousness and smiled to comfort him, "It's very simple. We have already informed you in advance. We are all family. The main purpose is to praise your talent as a director."

Unlike China, entertainment groups in Europe and the United States not only have film companies, but also control television stations, so their own people may really be “their own people”.

"Okay, then when will the movie be released?" Wang Hao asked again.

Howard answered almost without thinking, "Five days later, on October 10st, it will open in 21 theaters near California."

As if he was afraid that Wang Hao might be dissatisfied with the number of cinemas, he added:

"You don't know, the rules of theaters in North America have always been like this. After the movie is released, the number of theaters will increase."

Of course Wang Hao knew the rules in North America. Before coming here, he had already collected relevant information. After all, as the art of war says, knowing yourself and your enemy will ensure victory in a hundred battles.

Unlike the unified market in China, North America is a federal market, so the film market is naturally more fragmented, and each state often has its own rules and thresholds for film distribution.

In addition, the density of film screenings in North American theaters is very high, with more than a dozen new films released every week, and hundreds of films being screened in different theaters across North America at the same time.

So if it is not a movie produced by a big studio, it may often start with a small-scale screening.

It could be dozens or even hundreds of them.

Only if the attendance data is impressive enough during the screening process, will the distribution companies and theaters consider expanding the scale of the screening and increasing the number of theaters.

In other words, North America should pay more attention to the protection of cultural copyrights, and pirated movies and discs should not be so prevalent, so that this model can continue.

In the future, after the Chinese mainland market cracks down on pirated movies, the model of advance screenings and small-scale trial screenings will also become popular.

(End of this chapter)

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