Exclusive observation: The new director’s sequel is a blockbuster, and upgrading is the key to success

As the saying goes, everything is difficult at the beginning, but in the matter of being a director, many people can achieve amazing results.


Xu Zheng’s "Lost in Thailand"


Tian Yusheng’s


As the debut films of these directors, they all achieved corresponding success in the box office and word-of-mouth. Although Wu Jing, Lu Yang, and Chen Sicheng are not their debut films, it is not easy for them to become the best films in the same genre when they are directors of their second works.Faced with the success of the previous work, they did not accept it immediately and launched sequels to the same series.


Xu Zheng

2012.12.12

1.271 billion

7.5

2015.9.25

1.614 billion

5.7

Tian Yusheng

"Former Raiders"

2014.1.31

130 million

6.2

2015.11.6

250 million

5.0

Luyang

2014.8.7

93.23 million

7.5

2017.7.19

265 million

7.6

Wu Jing

2015.4.2

545 million

6.8

2017.7.27

Greater than 4.80 billion

7.5

Lu Hengyu

Li Shujie

2014.12.31

119 million

6.3

2017.8.18

unreleased

unreleased

Chen Sicheng

2015.12.31

824 million

7.4

Shooting

unknown

unreleased

If you want the sequel to sell well, the upgrade is obvious 


     When it comes to the film’s sequel, "upgrade" becomes the key word for the second work. Critic Tan Fei said: "In fact, the second film of a new director is often more difficult than the first one, because people think it is a success, but how about the second one? Did you get lost in front of the success?" The box office performance is very good, but Wu Jing admitted that before doing it, "there is also a lot of pressure. After all, the audience’s expectations are higher. What do you show the audience?"

       

So we saw the blood-spurting tank drifting and helicopter explosions in "Wolf Warrior 2".

 

    

    Saw an upgrade in motion design.

 

Lu Yang’s "Embroidery Chun Dao · Shura Battlefield"


    Tan Fei commented that the fight between the two of them looked really enjoyable, and even reminded me of Mr. Hu Jinquan in the 1970s and 1980s. They pursued martial arts tricks in that era, so I saw this kind of novelty in this.

 

In order for the sequel to sell well, the casting must be unique


     The choice of actors in the sequel is also a very important part. Lu Jingshan stood up and temporarily starred in "Wolf Warrior 2", which made her a success. At the same time, her appearance and strength have also become a highlight of "Wolf Warrior 2". In this regard, Lu Jingshan said that she never expected to be able to serve as the heroine of "Wolf Warrior 2". She thought Wu Jing asked her to translate, "I’m so lucky, I’m really lucky, because I didn’t think I would have the opportunity to come to China to shoot a movie before. Brother Jing suddenly called me and said, can you come and help? I didn’t think about anything. Anyway, he is my friend, so I came."

 

  The heroine of Lu Jingshan’s "Wolf Warrior 2"


    "Embroidered Spring Blade Shura Battlefield" adds Yang Mi, Lei Jiayin and Zhang Yi while retaining Zhang Zhen. Director Lu Yang also revealed that Yang Mi has been confirmed since 2015. "She is very suitable for this role."

 

    Yang Mi in "Embroidery Chun Dao · Shura Battlefield"


    For animated films, the casting is reflected in the character design. Although it has not been released, it has gained a good reputation. It is also inseparable from the film’s character design. The second film includes the Western god of war Athena, the eastern river god and the northern god of thunder Thor. "You can’t keep waiting for Americans to make fun of our culture, and we can also make fun of other people’s culture, right?" Director Lu Hengyu joked.

 

"One Hundred Thousand Cold Jokes" by Lu Hengyu and Li Shujie

In order for the sequel to sell well, the promotion positioning needs to be accurate


    In addition to the above two basic elements, the new directors also attach great importance to the promotion of the film. Needless to say, the roadshow at Wu Jingduo Station continued the accurate promotion positioning of "Wolf Warrior 1" with patriotism, which has also become a magic weapon for the success of "Wolf Warrior 2". "Wolf Warrior" played the slogan of "Those who offend me in China will be punished even if they are far away". He also said: "I hope to show the style of Chinese men through my film"


    "Wolf Warrior 2" focuses on no matter where you are in the world, the motherland will always be your strongest backing, attracting countless fans. "The Chinese are powerful, so what?" Wu Jing said domineering.

 

    Wu Jing and "Wolf Warrior 2"


    Director Xu Zheng is also well-versed in this, and has chosen various forms of promotion. Although "Hong Kong Lost" has occasionally complained after its release, the 1.60 billion box office has undoubtedly carried forward "Lost IP". Xu Zheng: "We actually hope that Lost can convey an attitude to life, which can help everyone watch movies, have a sense of spiritual growth and a sense of relief"

 

    Now, "One Hundred Thousand Cold Jokes 2" is about to be released and has been launched in the United States. How are their results? Let’s look forward to it together.