si-mexico Chapter 282 The Movie's Success and a New Vision
Chapter 282 The Movie's Success and a New Vision
Two months passed in a flash amidst the hustle and bustle.
The dust has completely settled from the May Day holiday box office battle.
After a two-month extension of its theatrical release, "Ultraman Gaia: The Great Battle of Time" has finally officially ended its theatrical run.
When the final box office figures were updated and fixed on major online platforms and film data software, the entire Chinese film industry fell into a long silence.
32.3 million yuan.
This figure not only far exceeded Gu Nan's initial estimate of just over 20 billion, but also directly entered the top ranks of the box office charts in Xia Guo's film history.
In this parallel world, the box office of 32.3 billion yuan is enough to rival, or even be on par with, national phenomenon blockbusters such as "Operation Red Sea," "Pegasus 2," "The Mermaid," and "The Vanished."
Many people outside the industry or ordinary passersby may not understand what this number means in the niche market of "tokusatsu films".
To understand this shock, one must first understand the situation of tokusatsu films in the domestic and even global markets.
Let's start with domestically produced tokusatsu IPs.
Even in a world where tokusatsu (special effects) already exists, there's an unspoken consensus within the industry: making tokusatsu feature films is just too difficult.
Take, for example, the live-action trilogy of "Balala the Fairies." The reviews were mixed, but the box office performance was surprisingly consistent—it was a failure.
The combined box office of all three theatrical films failed to reach 100 million yuan.
The Armor Hero series goes without saying.
Back then, Alpha Group had high ambitions for "Armor Hero Emperor," with top-notch suit quality and impressive special effects for its time, having invested a lot of money and effort.
As a result, once the film was released in theaters, the entire company's senior management collectively became depressed.
The production cost was 20 million, but the box office revenue failed to even recoup one-fifth of it!
It's like going back to square one.
The subsequent "Armor Hero Yatalis" performed slightly better, but only "slightly better," and was still a long way from truly making money and breaking even.
The subsequent "Armor Hero: Captor King" suffered a decline in reputation and a dismal box office performance, almost disappearing without a trace.
Ultimately, tokusatsu feature films naturally face an unsolvable dilemma.
Try to cater to adults and delve deeper into the genre to appeal to the general public—this goes against the preferences of fans, and the core fans who are used to the TV drama setting won't buy it.
And what about the casual viewers?
Given the long-standing "children's only" impression these tokusatsu IPs have left in TV dramas, they simply don't think this is a movie worth paying for.
What if we make it purely for children? The fans are still not satisfied.
The theatrical version is just as childish as the TV series. Why would I spend tens of dollars to go to the cinema to watch an extended version when I can just watch a perfectly good free show?
Both ends are not pleased.
If they can't even retain their core fans, it's even less likely that casual fans will join in.
This "tokusatsu curse" has trapped countless Chinese tokusatsu filmmakers.
So, in the original world, Alpha really did its best, but the wall of preconceived notions is not so easy to break down.
Looking overseas, the situation is equally bleak.
The three major tokusatsu series from Japan are famous enough, aren't they?
Kamen Rider and Super Sentai release theatrical films every year, with various collaborations and suit battles emerging one after another.
But if we exclude revenue from toys and related merchandise, how many films actually break even at the box office?
The Ultraman series fared even worse.
In Gu Nan's memories of his previous life, Tsuburaya's dream of making movies was shattered by reality countless times.
Even the theatrical version of "Ultraman 8 Brothers: The Great Battle," which was hailed as a masterpiece by fans and broke the box office record for the Ultraman series at the time, did not ultimately break one billion yen at the Japanese box office.
Moreover, the unit for this "billion" is "Japanese yen".
Converted to RMB, it's pitifully little.
There's no need to elaborate on how dire Tsuburaya Productions was at that time.
Of course, if we include films like Alien and Predator in the broader category of "suit-based special effects," the global box office figures would look much better.
But those are essentially comic book adaptations, backed by decades of accumulated comic book fans and top-tier Hollywood special effects, so their audience base is completely different and it's unfair to make comparisons.
Looking at the global market, the only true tokusatsu film series that can truly carry the box office is the Godzilla series.
Let's take the box office performance of the Godzilla series in China from Gu Nan's previous life as a reference—
Godzilla vs. Kong (2021): 12.32 billion yuan.
Kong: Skull Island (2017): 11.58 billion yuan.
Godzilla II: King of the Monsters (2019): 9.37 million yuan.
Godzilla (2014): 4.81 million yuan.
The four top Hollywood monster blockbusters combined grossed approximately 38 billion yuan in China.
Gu Nan's film, "The Great Battle of Time and Space," grossed 32.3 billion yuan.
A domestically produced tokusatsu film is going head-to-head with four Hollywood monster movie trilogies. They're only about 6 million yuan short.
This is the true significance of 32.3 billion.
In this parallel world, Gu Nan used this number to shatter the stereotypical prejudice that tokusatsu films are "children's films" and "scams to make money off kids" right from the start.
Undeniably, there are some unique and irreplaceable factors at play – the Ultraman IP has been completely revitalized and domestically produced by Gu Nan, with a tight plot and special effects that surpass its competitors.
After years of operation, Chasing Light Pictures has cultivated a large number of loyal young consumers with strong purchasing power.
In addition, the viral spread of social media and internet-based content, along with the popularity generated by fan-made remixes and mashups, further fueled the trend.
Favorable timing, advantageous location, and harmonious relationships are all indispensable.
But this does not diminish the impact of the conclusion—tokusatsu films can also be a business that can be mainstream and compete with national blockbusters.
This door, which had been welded shut for many years in the original world, and this market that had never existed in this world, were kicked open by Gu Nan!
This has given countless professionals in the Chinese film and television industry a great deal of hope.
The capital market always has the keenest sense of smell.
From the moment "The Great Battle of Time and Space" was released during the May Day holiday and demonstrated its terrifying box office haul, representatives from various venture capital firms, cinema moguls, and even cross-industry investors somehow obtained Gu Nan's private phone number.
Various investment intentions, cooperation plans, and business invitations bombarded Gu Nan relentlessly, driving him crazy with annoyance.
Gu Nan knew he couldn't keep such a low profile any longer.
Faced with the attention of the entire industry and the enthusiasm of capital, he decided it was necessary to hold a formal press conference to the public and the industry to explain the next stance and strategic direction of Light Chaser Animation.
So, one morning at the end of June, Gu Nan held an unprecedented strategic press conference at the Chasing Light Film Park in Jinghai City.
Those invited to this press conference included not only top self-media content creators, but also major traditional film and television media, official news media, and core members of the industry, as well as a series of other heavyweight figures.
At the press conference, lights flashed and cameras with long lenses were pointed at the central podium.
In the front row of the media area, phones were already set up and live streaming on Bilibili had begun.
As soon as the official live stream started, the number of viewers quickly soared to the millions, and the barrage of comments on the screen refreshed like a waterfall.
Holy crap! We've finally waited for that old scoundrel Gu to unleash his ultimate move!
Is this the kind of prestige a director has for a debut film that grossed 30 billion?! This press conference was absolutely amazing!
Is a new Ultraman being announced today? Who will be after Gaia? And please, let's get an Agul spin-off planned!
Gu Nan, dressed in a well-tailored casual suit, walked steadily onto the stage. He didn't bring a speech, but instead smiled and scanned the entire audience before getting straight to the point.
"Good morning, friends from the media and distinguished guests. Thank you for your support of 'The Great Battle of Time'. Today, I stand here not to celebrate past achievements, but to announce Light Chaser Animation's core vision for the next five years—"
On the giant LED screen behind Gu Nan, a line of futuristic blue text suddenly lit up.
"Project Starlight!"
The sound of camera shutters clicking filled the room.
The chat room erupted instantly.
[Project Starlight? The name itself sounds impressive!]
[A five-year vision? Light Chaser Animation is playing a very long game!]
Gu Nan continued, "As we all know, Light Chaser Animation currently has three original Ultraman IPs—'Tiga,' 'Dyna,' and 'Gaia.' The worldviews of these three works are relatively independent and complete."
"Although we previously explored the world-building through spin-off short films like 'Seven: Project Origin,' showcasing a completely different Ultra Universe, objectively speaking, due to space limitations, we didn't delve deeper into those fascinating world-building settings."
Gu Nan paused, his voice becoming more impassioned: "But in the future, Project Starlight will change this situation! Chasing Light Pictures will fully inherit and develop the even larger and more ancient 'Land of Light' worldview! In future works, a large number of Ultraman from the Land of Light worldview will officially appear, unveiling the mysteries of the M78 Nebula for us!"
A burst of enthusiastic applause erupted from the audience. Old Tang was so excited he almost dropped his phone.
The Land of Light! The authentic grand ensemble portrait of the Land of Light is finally coming!
[Ahhh! Is Seven's world-building going to be rebooted?!]
[A big scene is coming! I can already smell the budget burning!]
Looking forward to the Land of Light! Hurry up, you old bastard Gu!
After the applause subsided, Gu Nan dropped a second bombshell.
"To realize this grand universe construction, Light Chaser Animation has reached a deep strategic cooperation agreement with China Film Group. The two parties will jointly invest in the establishment of a brand new 'Light Chaser Film Company'!"
"In pursuit of even higher standards in film production, Light Chaser Animation will expand its recruitment of top-tier professional talent globally. Simultaneously, we will officially separate our TV drama production team from our theatrical film production team, operating on two parallel tracks to achieve higher efficiency and superior quality!"
Looking at the camera, Gu Nan confidently outlined the blueprint: "In the future, Light Chaser will create a complete Ultraman universe film matrix. And, I can reveal a little secret here—we're already in preliminary contact with director James Cameron's technical team, and in future theatrical films, Light Chaser will be using some truly world-leading special effects technologies!"
The entire audience erupted in uproar.
Contacting top international teams?
This is outrageous! Gu Nan is determined to break through the ceiling of special effects in tokusatsu movies!
[Directly connecting with Hollywood's top-tier visual effects team?]
[666, this is top-tier! Light Chaser Animation Studios has a huge budget!]
[He squanders his money, and the more he squanders, the more money he gets! You old scoundrel, Gu, you're something else!]
[30 billion yuan in box office revenue is the foundation of our confidence!]
[Chinese science fiction is on the rise!]
In the final part of the press conference, Gu Nan mentioned that the in-depth cooperation and technological accumulation in film will lay a brand-new industrial foundation for the production of the next few TV dramas by Light Chaser Animation.
For example, the next new project – Ultraman Cosmos.
The press conference concluded successfully, but Gu Nan's work had only just begun.
Back in his top-floor office, Gu Nan stood before the enormous floor-to-ceiling window, overlooking the park. His mind was racing, rapidly calculating the next phase of the Gauss Project.
Ultraman Cosmos.
In his vision, the original TV series format, which consisted of more than sixty episodes, should absolutely not be copied.
The "compassionate warrior who combines strength and gentleness" character is too easy to fall apart in a long series, appearing too drawn out and weak, and simply does not fit the current domestic audience's fragmented reading and viewing habits of seeking quick and exciting entertainment.
Therefore, Gauss's project must be fully converted into a theatrical film or a high-quality online theatrical version!
The film uses a high-density narrative to tell the story of Musashi and Cosmos directly.
Gu Nan walked to his desk and opened a top-secret script outline titled "Ultraman Cosmos: The First Strike of the Sun and Moon".
This is the first prequel film in the Gauss series.
A general description of the plot has already taken shape in Gu Nan's mind: the story will focus on Musashi's childhood.
It doesn't need lengthy character development; it goes straight to the core conflict.
The Baltan aliens, space ninjas, set their sights on Earth in search of a new home.
This classic alien invasion premise can quickly grab the audience's attention.
At this time, young Musashi accidentally encountered Ultraman Cosmos, who had exhausted his energy and landed on Earth after chasing the Baltan aliens, in the forest park.
This is "First Contact"—the first encounter between humanity and the compassionate hero.
In "The First Strike of the Sun and Moon", Gu Nan will focus on depicting the gentle, moonlight-like protective power of Cosmos's "Lunar God Form" and the pure process of building a bond between Musashi and Cosmos.
There's no need to spend dozens of episodes explaining profound truths; this one movie encapsulates the themes of "courage," "kindness," and "protection."
The film uses top-notch special effects to present the illusionary clones of the Baltan aliens, and uses the most delicate dialogue to portray Musashi's resilience in protecting Cosmos.
This prequel film will be the perfect stepping stone into the Gaussian universe.
Gu Nan closed the outline, his eyes gleaming with determination.
The blueprint for Project Starlight has been unveiled, and the multiverse era of Chasing Light Pictures has only just begun.