《後會無期》PK《小時代3》國產影片如何搶佔暑期檔？

As the competition for summer box-office dominance heats up, Wang Kaihao looks at the innovative online marketing techniques being used by domestic filmmakers.

In recent months a catchy song, A Little Apple, has gone viral in Chinese cyberspace. It has become such a cult hit that it has even inspired square-dancing troupes to mimic its music video. But what its millions of fans did not realize as they bopped along to the catchy tune, is that they were actually taking part in an unusual campaign for a movie that they had probably never heard of.

When Old Boys: The Way of the Dragon, an adventure comedy featuring the song, was released on July 10, the unusual publicity strategy was applauded.

With the song having become an enormous hit, many people who did not plan to watch the film will probably now flock to cinemas out of curiosity.

This summer, many domestic films have fallen short of expectation, and filmmakers have turned to online marketing in an attempt to stay ahead of the competition posed by their more critically acclaimed foreign rivals.

According to statistics from the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television, the country's overall box-office income in the first half of this year was 13.74 billion yuan ($2.22 billion), including 6.63 billion yuan from domestic films.

In China, there is one month every summer when few Hollywood blockbusters are released so they do not compete with domestic films. This one-month grace period is the best season for Chinese movies to make their bid for box office dominance.

Ticket sales of Old Boys: The Way of the Dragon surpassed 150 million yuan within the first week of hitting the big screen.

This is a good result for a film that was developed from a popular micro movie on video streaming platform . Videos related to A Little Apple have attracted more than 500 million clicks.

Some of that success can be attributed to the filmmakers' use of what is becoming a worldwide trend - producing movies and TV shows based on big data.

"We have analyzed big data, including the age, vocation, and geographic distribution collected from over 80 million fans of the micro movie four years ago," says Wei Ming, head of . "Their comments or the time they took to drag the progress bar determined how the big screen adaption of Old Boys was made.

"Perhaps, this will create a new path for our industry when combining cyberspace with the production and marketing of a movie, because filmgoers and netizens will become one and the same in the future."

Interactive online campaigns involving fans have become a popular way to promote a movie. The first two episodes of Tiny Times, the directing debut of author Guo Jingming, raked in 800 million yuan at the box office last year in spite of criticism for its portrayal of lavish lifestyles.

The lead up to the premiere of its third episode last week saw more than 100,000 fans donate a small sum of money online as "investors" of the movie.

Some of the people who donated received film souvenirs, or the chance to visit the film set. There were also opportunities to watch the film before its official release.

Guo claimed this new episode would make 500 million yuan at the box office. That seemingly difficult task suddenly looks easy, with the film earning 300 million only four days after being formally released on July 17.

The fourth episode of the series is still in post-production, but the trilogy has become one of the most lucrative Chinese movie series in history, earning a total of 1.1 billion yuan from the box office.

Han Han, Guo's major competitor, has just released his directorial debut, road-trip comedy The Continent.

Han is confident the film will pull in 800 million at the box office. Aside from the star cast and support from big-shot Hong Kong director Johnnie To, his online marketing campaign has proved a success.

Han has over 38 million followers on Sina Weibo, China's major micro-blogging platform. He has broadcast the filming process of the movie to his followers since he begun shooting.

The films trailer was released online in May, only three days after shooting was completed. It has been viewed 4.7 million times, creating a new record among Chinese movies.

"I don't care too much about the stunning numbers online. What matters more is whether the movie is good or not," Han said at the premiere.

However, when he invited popular singer Pu Shu to write the closing song for the movie, he must have had another idea in mind.

Pu, who has been away from the public eye for some 11 years, also brings a new element for a movie claiming to be dedicated to young people. The song was reposted about 340,000 times within 24 hours after being released online last week.

No one knows what other trump cards will be thrown on the table during the tense online campaign this summer, but one thing is certain: Domestic distributors have to quickly come up with more creative ways before they face the return of overseas blockbusters in August.近幾個月以來，口水歌《小蘋果》在國內網絡上瘋傳，火到其歌曲MV中的“蘋果舞”都成了廣場舞效仿的對象。但是《小蘋果》數百萬的粉絲均未意識到，在伴着這支朗朗上口的曲調搖擺的同時，他們切實參與了一部自己可能聞所未聞的電影非比尋常的宣傳活動。

以該曲爲一大宣傳亮點的冒險喜劇《老男孩之猛龍過江》7月10日上映，其與衆不同的宣傳策略獲得各方讚賞。

隨着《小蘋果》的爆紅，許多本無觀影打算的民衆可能會出於好奇而涌入電影院一探究竟。

今年夏季，許多國產影片均未能取得預期票房，電影製片人紛紛轉向網絡營銷，試圖在與諸多廣受追捧的國外電影競爭中保持領先地位。

根據廣電總局的統計數據顯示，今年上半年全國電影票房收入總額爲137.4億，其中國產電影票房收入爲66.3億。

2014年“國產片保護月”降臨暑期檔。此時的“寬限期”是國產影片搶佔票房的絕佳時期。

《老男孩之猛龍過江》上映一週的票房收入就超過了1.5億。

這對一部源起優酷網熱門微電影《老男孩》的影片來說是個不錯的成績。《小蘋果》的相關視頻點擊量已超過了5億次。

這一成功部分得益於電影製片人根據大數據製作電影電視節目的做法，而這已成爲一種全球趨勢。

優酷總裁魏明表示，“我們已分析了四年前收集的有關該微電影8000萬粉絲的大量數據，包括年齡、職業以及地區分佈。觀衆的評論及拖拽點決定了《老男孩》大電影版的編劇製作方式。”

“或許，電影製作及營銷與網絡的結合會爲我們的電影產業開闢一條新的道路，因爲影迷與網民將來會合二爲一。”

與粉絲密切相關的網絡互動營銷已成爲宣傳電影的時興方式。作家郭敬明的導演處女作《小時代》系列電影前兩部於去年上映，雖然片中對主人公奢華生活的渲染遭到詬病，但是影片席捲了高達8億的票房收入。

在《小時代3》首映籌備階段，有十幾萬粉絲通過電商平臺投入小額資金，成爲該片的“投資人”。

“投資”影片的粉絲有的收到了電影紀念品，有的得到了參觀片場的機會。粉絲還有機會在公映前搶先觀看影片。

郭敬明預期該片票房可達5億。而影片在7月17日正式上映後，僅四天就創造了3億票房，這使得5億票房的艱鉅任務瞬間變得輕而易舉。

《小時代4》目前仍處於後期製作階段，但是《小時代》前三部已成爲中國有史以來最賺錢的系列電影之一，總票房高達11億。

韓寒執導的電影處女作、公路喜劇《後會無期》也剛剛上映。

韓寒深信該片能收穫8億票房。除了強大的明星陣容及香港大咖導演杜琪峯的鼎力支持外，其網絡營銷活動也相當成功。

韓寒在新浪微博上有超過3800萬的粉絲。他在影片拍攝伊始時就通過微博與粉絲分享影片拍攝歷程。

該電影於5月殺青後的第三天，就在網上發佈了預告片，其觀看次數達470萬次，創造了國產電影的新紀錄。

韓寒在影片首映式上表示：“我不大在意網上那些驚人的數字。是不是好電影纔是最重要的。”

但是，他邀請流行歌手朴樹爲該片創作片尾曲時，肯定另有打算。

朴樹闊別公衆視野近11年，他也爲這部宣稱獻給年輕人的電影注入了新元素。上週該片尾曲在網上發佈後僅24個小時，就被轉發了34萬次。

沒人知道，在今夏緊張的網絡宣稱活動中，各方人士還會使出哪些殺手鐗，但有一件事是肯定的：在八月國外大片來襲前，國產電影發片方必須儘快想出更多創意宣傳手段。