Made In Hollywood-Chapter 937: China Premiere

"After waiting for one month and nine more days, the so-called ’bad film season’ finally ended, and at last, we can go to the cinema again."

On a well-known movie forum of the Greater China network, a fan wrote such a comment. For many movie lovers, December and the New Year holidays are usually an excellent time to watch films, but during that period, they rarely step into theaters — even if they do, they seldom buy tickets.

Someone on the website called out, "Star Wars: The Force Awakens is finally going to be released! Duke’s fans, what are you waiting for? See you tomorrow at the Shanghai International Cinema for the China premiere!"

Since Star Wars: The Force Awakens began its theatrical run in North America and overseas, Warner Bros. Greater China had never relaxed its promotional efforts in the Chinese market. The film had been in release for twenty days in North America, grossing $979.88 million, just a hair away from the one-billion-dollar mark.

Worldwide box office had also, unsurprisingly, surpassed the two-billion-dollar milestone, reaching a total of $2.21588 billion.

Such figures not only gave Warner Bros. Greater China strong confidence but also made the China Film Group, responsible for domestic distribution, see enormous profit potential. They raised the film’s release classification to the highest level. Whether from official or private capital, no one would turn away from the high and predictable returns.

Although Star Wars: The Force Awakens was released in China twenty full days later than elsewhere — which naturally meant losing part of the audience — its extraordinary global box office served as the best possible publicity and guaranteed enough attention.

As The Force Awakens’ global revenue continued to soar, its merchandise had also become red-hot. Duke received the latest statistics: in just twenty days since its release, related merchandise in the U.S. market alone had generated $700 million in sales, far exceeding other Hollywood blockbusters, making it the domestic king of merchandising.

Among all products, the intelligent droid BB-8 and the Jedi lightsaber were the most popular.

But that wasn’t all — Duke and Lucasfilm still had a major secret weapon up their sleeves. Upon arriving in China, Duke also announced through his official Twitter and Instant Share account that merchandise for the female lead Rey, whose products had been withheld due to film secrecy, had now entered production and would be officially launched soon.

It was well known that Rey wasn’t just the most popular character in The Force Awakens, but also the hottest topic among global fans recently. Once her merchandise hit the market, its sales could easily be imagined.

In some sense, this was also a form of "hunger marketing."

"Why do these characters look different from what Tina taught me... and also different from what we saw in Hong Kong?"

The sun leaned westward. In the car waiting at the pickup area, Scarlett Johansson, who had joined Duke in Hong Kong, sat calmly beside him, holding his arm as she gazed at the banners and signs outside. Curious, she asked, "Aren’t they all Chinese? Why are they so different?"

It was a question that could take days to explain, so Ryan offered the simplest answer. "Chinese writing has two systems — Simplified and Traditional. What you saw before was Traditional Chinese. Here, it’s all Simplified Chinese."

At that moment, someone opened the car door from outside. Duke reminded her, "Darling, it’s time to get out."

Although the China premiere of Star Wars: The Force Awakens wasn’t as grand as the global premiere in Los Angeles, it was still an unprecedentedly large-scale event for any Hollywood film in history.

Not to mention the numerous Chinese stars invited by Warner Bros. Greater China and China Film Group — the Hollywood contingent alone was dazzling. Not only were all the main cast and crew of The Force Awakens present, but Duke’s close friends and collaborators from the industry, though few, were all high-profile and had flown across the ocean to show support.

Despite the passionate enthusiasm of Chinese fans, Duke and Scarlett, as usual, moved swiftly along the red carpet — plenty of other celebrities awaited the fans’ cheers behind them.

Leonardo DiCaprio’s appearance nearly drove the female fans into hysteria. Without the presence of a sufficient security team, he might not have been able to make it back across the Pacific.

When Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman appeared hand-in-hand, reporters’ camera shutters almost cramped from constant clicking, and fans erupted in waves of applause.

Then, Charlize Theron, wearing a pale gold fishtail gown, stepped onto the red carpet — and the previously chaotic scene fell into sudden silence. Countless eyes were fixated on her. The "Queen Theron" aura on the red carpet was powerful enough to silence everything around her...

"Thank you all."

In front of the Shanghai International Cinema, Duke stepped forward to greet the arriving guests. "Thank you all for coming. Leo, still as charming as ever. Tom, Mary — where’s my goddaughter? Sally..."

Duke embraced each of them warmly, then led Scarlett to pose with them before the media cameras. In that single photo stood one super-director, two top-tier male stars, and three A-list actresses — their combined star power was enough to "murder" countless cameras with flashes.

Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Cruise, and the couple Nicole Kidman were soon guided by staff toward the guest area, but Charlize Theron stopped in front of Duke, seemingly not even noticing Scarlett Johansson beside him.

"My outfit looks great, doesn’t it?" Charlize Theron raised an eyebrow and asked. "Don’t I look beautiful?"

Duke wasn’t foolish — he would never compliment another woman in front of his girlfriend. He merely shrugged and said nothing.

"Is that a Dior-sponsored gown?" Scarlett Johansson casually muttered with a faint smirk. "That dress really highlights your flat-chested flaw..."

Charlize Theron slightly turned her head, raising her eyebrows even higher. She was about to fire back, but upon meeting Duke’s gaze, she hesitated, shook her head slightly at Scarlett, and then turned away toward the guest area.

"I don’t like her," Scarlett said softly.

Duke patted her hand gently. "Come on, we should head to the interview zone."

In the interview area, many reporters surrounded Daniel Wu. Having become the male lead of a mainstream Hollywood blockbuster, he had achieved something that neither Bruce Lee nor Jackie Chan ever had — naturally making him the focus of the Chinese media.

"Appearing on screen with me makes Daisy even more stylish. I’m the one who brought out her best charm," Daniel Wu said with a grin during the interview.

Daisy Ridley cooperated perfectly — as required by both her contract and professionalism. "Daniel is also one of the best young actors I’ve ever met. I think there’s only one young actor in our crew who performed even better than Daniel." 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

As she spoke, Daisy Ridley reached down to pat the head of the BB-8 droid beside her. "Acting with BB-8 was an incredible experience. It’s such an amazing character. After spending so much time with it, I almost feel uncomfortable acting with real people now."

However, as Duke entered the interview area, most of the reporters immediately shifted their attention toward him.

A reporter from the National Television Movie Channel took the lead, asking assertively, "Director Rosenberg, since China lacks a deep Star Wars cultural foundation, do you think Chinese audiences will be able to accept Star Wars: The Force Awakens, a sequel like this?"

"Last night, a group of lucky Chinese Star Wars fans and movie lovers, along with invited guests, had already attended the advance screening of Star Wars: The Force Awakens at the Shanghai International Cinema."

Perhaps because the film’s box office numbers were so astonishingly high, some members of the local media felt a bit of resentment, which led to this somewhat challenging question. But Duke handled it with complete composure. "I also attended last night’s advance screening, and I was truly amazed by how passionate and enthusiastic the atmosphere in the theater was."

For promotional reasons, Duke spoke in remarkably fluent Mandarin. "I didn’t expect there to be so many Star Wars fans in China. They’re just as passionate and devoted as the fans in other parts of the world. During the screening last night, the audience’s reactions to the story — the laughter, the tears — were completely in sync with what we’ve seen from audiences in America and other countries."

Duke gave the state television reporter a calm and polite smile.

Compared to the national television reporter, who carried a certain authoritative aura, the journalist from Penguin Entertainment, a media outlet with close ties to Duke, asked a far more cooperative question.

"Star Wars: The Force Awakens has been soaring at the global box office, with both commercial success and critical acclaim."

This reporter had spoken with Duke before and knew that he could understand these Chinese phrases. "Even the American Film Institute extended its voting deadline for last year’s ’Top Ten Films of the Year,’ just so its members could watch The Force Awakens before casting their votes. The film eventually made it into the final top ten list. Director Rosenberg, what do you think about that?"

In response to the American Film Institute’s special "backdoor" treatment, Duke said, "The things that have happened over the past few weeks have truly amazed us. Not just that honor, but also breaking the $2 billion global box office mark a few days ago — we certainly had expectations for The Force Awakens, but we never imagined such an overwhelming response. We’re deeply grateful and thrilled to see everyone genuinely embrace this new Chapter of Star Wars."

Since the film was now premiering in China, its connection to the country naturally became a focus for the media. One reporter asked, "In Star Wars: The Force Awakens, we saw a Chinese actor, Daniel Wu. Will there be more collaboration with China in the future?"

"After so many years, the Star Wars saga is finally returning to Chinese theaters. Of course, we’re incredibly excited about its release in the world’s second-largest film market."

Faced with such a question, Duke knew exactly how to respond. "The spinoff Star Wars: Rogue One, which will be released at the end of next year, just wrapped filming recently. It features two Chinese actors, and their performances were absolutely phenomenal."

Finally, Duke deliberately added, "China has countless legendary stories that have been passed down for thousands of years. Perhaps future Star Wars films will draw inspiration from them."

With the film about to open in China, whether the global box office could reach another breakthrough would depend greatly on the performance of the Chinese market.

..

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