Studios that had long valued the Chinese market were no longer just Duke and Warner Bros.; Universal Pictures and Sky Flim Studios had also set their sights on this market. The promotional campaigns for Fast & Furious 5 in China were similarly underway, and naturally, they leveraged Vin Diesel as their selling point.
However, this card did not work very well in China. The Fast & Furious franchise had only reached its fifth installment, and of the previous four films, only Fast & Furious 4 had been released in China. Compared to his secondary status in Hollywood, Vin Diesel's reputation here was not particularly high, given that his other works were mediocre at best.
The people on this land were kind, easily moved, and also had clear likes and dislikes.
Duke was very clear on this. The previous world's Fast & Furious 7 had already demonstrated this: compared to Vin Diesel now, Paul Walker back then was slightly inferior, yet his death had created one of the prerequisites for the film's explosive success.
Therefore, even before Universal Pictures and Sky Flim Studios launched their promotional campaigns in China, rumors about Vin Diesel being abusive had already circulated widely online. Those two video clips were especially popular downloads on certain websites, and preexisting impressions were strong. Before the "nostalgia marketing" of Vin Diesel's car accident death, his reputation online in this land, although not terrible, was far from stellar.
Racing films certainly appealed to Chinese audiences, but under the frenzy of The Avengers promotion, Fast & Furious 5 received little attention.
Moreover, compared to the relatively unfamiliar Vin Diesel, Scarlett Johansson, who frequently appeared in Chinese media, attracted much more interest.
Before the new weekend arrived, thanks to operations by China Film Group and Warner Greater China, Scarlett appeared on a major national TV interview program. Now all of Hollywood was focused on entering the Chinese market. Many promotional matters were no longer as sensitive as in previous years.
Like Duke, Scarlett was willing to present her best self when seeking attention.
On the program, she appeared beautiful and elegant, sexy yet graceful.
"I want to be an actor with character; that's what I truly admire most."
Regarding her identity as an actress, she described herself, "I am a strong, independent modern woman."
Scarlett also spoke about the attention her figure received because of Black Widow: "In my view, Hollywood actresses are all too thin, and those supermodels' bodies are frightening. I enjoy my own body. The core of beauty is confidence, not weight."
The topic inevitably turned to Duke. In this age of fast-flowing information, celebrities like them had almost no privacy.
Speaking of Duke, Scarlett appeared candid and composed, neither deliberately avoiding the topic nor using it for hype: "Duke is an incredibly intelligent person. But if you get to know him, you'll realize he is completely different from how his works portray him on screen. In films, you see his crazy side, not his quiet, steady side. In reality, he is a very calm person."
Nowadays, even the questions posed by this TV station were inevitably tinged with gossip.
When asked about marriage by the host, Scarlett replied naturally: "Many acquaintances think marriage seems very romantic, but I knew everything when my parents divorced. Marriage should follow its own course."
Although China was no longer a situation where a single national TV station dominated, the broadcast still sparked a strong reaction among Chinese film fans.
However, Hollywood companies establishing branches in China were not limited to Warner Bros. Universal Pictures also had a Chinese branch, and even David Ellison's Skydance Studios had set up an office here.
With Chinese media smearing Vin Diesel and undermining Fast & Furious 5's "nostalgia marketing," it naturally did not escape Universal Pictures China's attention. The Chinese market was a huge cake, and Universal and Sky Flim would not stand idly by.
In the face of profit, capital always reveals its true nature.
As Duke had said and done, Universal and Sky Flim did not need to find the behind-the-scenes manipulators; they only needed to identify the biggest beneficiary.
One of The Avengers' promotional points in China was Scarlett Johansson, and Universal and Sky Flim targeted Scarlett herself.
Some news was difficult to appear in China's traditional media because mainstream media here did not operate as a company, while online restrictions were somewhat looser.
At some point, voices gradually emerged online claiming that Scarlett Johansson was politically active, not only participating in Obama's presidential campaigns but also openly supporting Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer's New York mayoral bid, portraying her as a de facto anti-China figure.
Similarly, Warner Greater China could see this, and they mobilized personnel to heavily promote Scarlett's charitable work online. After all, she had participated in numerous charity events in recent years and even held a UN ambassador title.
Like large multinational corporations, Hollywood forces had already shifted from North America to overseas in the battle for markets.
In China, the scene was chaotic. As the Hollywood hub and primary market, North America saw the competition between The Avengers and Fast & Furious 5 intensify to a white-hot level.
The North American premiere of Fast & Furious 5 was held at Hollywood's famous Chieftain Rock Theater. David Ellison had invested heavily in the film's production and promotion and prepared a grand premiere.
When he arrived at the theater by car, his expression first brightened, then turned somewhat dark.
The former was because he saw many fans holding up Vin Diesel's portraits, posters, and various memorial banners—all successes of the film's "nostalgia marketing." The latter was because not far from them, groups equally numerous and vocal were protesting.
These were several well-known women's protection and feminist organizations in the U.S., organizing large numbers of people to protest Vin Diesel's alleged abuse of his girlfriend and calling for women to boycott Fast & Furious 5.
At the very front of these female-dominated groups, David Ellison even saw Vin Diesel's ex-girlfriend apparently being interviewed by media reporters…
The "nostalgia marketing" of Fast & Furious 5 had indeed played a huge role—David Ellison was very certain of this—but he would not underestimate the influence of women's protection organizations and feminist groups across the U.S., especially among female audiences. The female turnout for this film was likely to be a major concern.
"Who cares!"
Walking down the red carpet, David Ellison cast a disdainful glance in that direction. In his fixed perception, male audiences were the backbone of the film market; as long as Fast & Furious 5 pleased male viewers, that would be enough.
However, this era was already changing.
Not far from the Chieftain Rock Theater, the Hollywood China Grand Theater was preparing to show an early screening of Fast & Furious 5. Daniel Clyde stood at the ticket window, hesitating. He had already seen The Avengers, and according to his own preference, he would have chosen Fast & Furious 5 at this time.
Next to him, his girlfriend glared at the bald man and ground her teeth, saying, "If you pick Fast & Furious 5, you'll sleep alone for the next month!"
Daniel Clyde immediately abandoned the idea of watching Fast & Furious 5 and bought two other movie tickets instead.
Bill Morrison, an investigator from CinemaScore, was also in the lobby of the Hollywood China Grand Theater. He carefully observed and tallied relevant data, and suddenly noticed something very strange: the number of female ticket buyers for Fast & Furious 5 was extremely low—almost half of what it should have been.
Thinking it over, he moved to a quiet corner, took out his phone, dialed a number, and after a brief greeting, asked the question he was most concerned with.
"Patterson, are many female viewers buying tickets for Fast & Furious 5 over there?"
"Very few!"
His colleague at the Santa Monica Shopping Plaza quickly replied, "Only about one-third of the normal proportion! It seems female audiences don't really like this film."
He added, "I heard that near the Chieftain Rock Theater, multiple women's protection organizations across the U.S. are organizing protests."
After hanging up, Bill Morrison picked up his own statistical report again. The early screenings and first-day presales of Fast & Furious 5 were quite good…
But seeing that women accounted for barely half of the audience waiting to buy tickets or enter the Hollywood China Grand Theater, in his mind he already raised a big question mark over Fast & Furious 5's future performance.
As a first-tier market investigator, he was fully aware of how important female audiences were to the overall film market. The Hunger Games, released by Duke Studio in early April, had achieved the best-ever April box office in North America precisely because of the overwhelming support of female viewers!
Losing so much support from female audiences, the follow-up momentum of Fast & Furious 5 would definitely be a major problem.
In front of the Chieftain Rock Theater, protests and memorials coexisted, forming a unique scene. In North America, many specialized organizations existed, such as environmental protection, animal protection, child protection, women's protection, and feminist movements.
It might be very difficult to get these organizations to actually accomplish something, but interfering with something? That was what they were best at.
...
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