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in 2022, the movie "life events" grossed 1.7 billion yuan at the box office as a dark horse, and the movie "gone girl" grossed 3.5 billion yuan at the box office as a hit in 2023. people at the time wrote that actor zhu yilong is "the mainstay of the future of chinese films, the one who can carry the most box office, and is not restricted by the type of film", and believed that he would "go abroad and the world, not only cannes, but also go straight to the oscars"...

however, this year zhu yilong experienced a career setback.

note that these are twists and turns, not failures.

the movie "negatives make positives" starring him in the summer season failed at the box office, and the question of whether zhu yilong can carry the box office seems to have become a popular topic:

if the movie does well at the box office, you are the "mainstay" and you can carry the box office.

if the movie doesn’t do well at the box office, you are not the “mainstay” and you cannot carry the box office.

not restricted by genre?

it can only be said that the language art of "putting down the low and praising the high" is a kind of pua for actors.

"actors carry box office" is similar to the hot search content of fan zhendong talking about fan circle culture a while ago:

he said:

"losing is not good, and winning is not good either. it will do more harm than good to me, the team, table tennis, and everyone's unity."

the abnormal phenomenon of fan culture in the sports world also applies to the film and television industry. this saying "there are a hundred harms but no benefits" has an even greater impact on zhu yilong and others. the pressure on the "shen ma combination" is not necessarily relieved much. although "catching dolls" is currently at the top of the summer box office, some of shen teng and ma li's works have also suffered similar failures as "negative negatives make positive". at that time, some people said that they were "outdated" and "talented", but when "catching dolls" became popular, all kinds of praise overshadowed the negative comments.

therefore, actors also have to face“write questions looking at the answers”the world is fickle.

just like fan zhendong’s helplessness:

"you play well and your achievements are not the result of one person. why do some comments seem to praise others but are actually murderous?"

zhu yilong and others will also ask the same question.

one

two negatives equal a positive

as we all know, the success or failure of any film or tv series in the market is not determined by the actors alone. the subject matter, content, theme, degree of appeal, changes in public opinion, etc. must all be considered comprehensively.

fans and fan economy are certainly market values ​​to be considered before a tv show or film is released, but it is not just about that. especially for movies, it is necessary to consider many factors such as competition from similar movies during the release period, audience diversion, theme audience, and topic extension.

there is an obvious audience preference in the 2024 film market:

either straightforward or exciting.

the top three movies at the beginning of the year were "hot ass", "speeding life 2" and "article 20", "zhou chu eliminates three evils" and "kowloon walled city" released in march and may this year, "a small shop at the edge of the clouds" in the early summer season, and the above-mentioned "catching dolls" (imported films are not included here, only domestic films are listed). the topic and online popularity of the above movies did not focus on the actors, or in other words, "actors" were not the main discussion hotspot.

audiences care more about the viewing experience a movie brings to them. at the same time, the market promotion of the film by public opinion is also an important factor in movie watching.

imagine if "hot and spicy" was not well received by the market during the spring festival, can we simply blame it on "jia ling's failure"? if "speeding life 2" was not well received by the audience, can we roughly conclude that "shen teng's three tricks failed"? can the decline in the box office of "kowloon walled city" be concluded that "lin feng and other old hong kong film actors are excluded by the mainland"? can the lack of interest in "a small shop at the edge of the cloud" be regarded as "peng yuchang can't support a movie"?

however, the box office results are still“write questions looking at the answers”——

the author does not deny that the actor's performance contributes to the film. the problem is that the actor's factors are over-emphasized. regardless of whether fans are adding fuel to the flames, it is short-sighted and even fatal for the actor's future development and the measurement of the market value of a film:

especially in the current era when movie box office and market response are becoming increasingly unpredictable, "actors" are like being tied to a ship sailing on raging waves. if the box office is good, everyone is happy, but if the box office is bad, the actors become a sacrifice to their reputation.

to sum up, is "negatives make positive" a failure or a success for zhu yilong?

the author believes that this film is his attempt to expand his performance and explore art.

don't over-interpret.

the false proposition that "actors carry the box office" is not only a distorted product of fan circle culture, but also a way for some capital to "pay more attention to characters than to stories". this two-way rush may lead to actors being forced to choose "stability" instead of "breakthrough" under pressure, and movies choosing "security" instead of "exploration".

this is tantamount to chronic suicide and is by no means “two negatives equal a positive”.

two

the chamber effect

corresponding to the saying “actors carry the box office”, tv dramas also have fans who believe “actors carry the ratings”.

there was once a saying circulating among the people:

the male is jin dong and the female is sun li.

this shows that the actor factor plays an important role in the field of tv dramas.

in addition to the above two actors, actresses such as liu yifei, liu tao, yao chen, zhou xun, yang mi, tang yan, liu shishi, zhao liying, yang zi, dilireba and others have been included in the comprehensive ratings rankings by the media many times. male actors such as hu ge, huang xuan, zhang yi, wang kai, zhang jiayi, sun honglei, lei jiayin and zhang songwen are also regular guests on the ratings list.

according to statistics from authoritative departments, the age group of tv drama viewers is mainly concentrated in the 70s, 80s and 90s, accounting for more than 85% of the total audience group. "gender marriage and love", "workplace love" and "family relationships" have long occupied the small screen, while "fairy fighting", "ancient costume suspense" and "republic of china spy war" also have a considerable audience base.

none of the above mentioned concepts have the market concept of "literary and artistic" tv series. no matter what type of tv series, they are all targeted and each harvests its own audience group.

movies, especially those of the “romantic” genre, face great market risks. successful works represented by these four words, such as the “ex-files” series, do have successful predecessors, but the subsequent releases also need to take into account the social environment and the changes in “sexual concepts” in the stage of gender relations. moreover, films such as “negatives make positives” leave room for the audience to explore emotions, without realizing that it is not suitable for the tastes of this year’s audience.

so will the results be different if we change the platform?

the popularity of smartphones and the membership price war among major video platforms have made the cost of living between "watching tv series online" and "going to the cinema" a clear choice for ordinary people. it has led to a natural diversion of audiences and also made tv series more concentrated and focused than movies.

the most important thing is the emotional perception of the communication environment to both film and television:

when a movie is launched into the market, it must first consider objective conditions such as release dates, roadshows, and theater scheduling. after buying a ticket and going to the theater to watch a movie, the viewing conditions and viewing experience are so important that modern audiences, who are increasingly socially anxious, wish that everyone could have a private room so that they would not disturb each other.

unlike tv dramas, drama fans can watch online dramas at any time and in any occasion. the audience can choose any viewing environment without worrying about disturbing others. as long as they put on headphones, they can realize the freedom of watching dramas "at work, after get off work, staying up late, and even in the shower".

this kind of communication condition makes "familiar-looking" actors not only a guarantee of the work for the audience, but also makes it easier for the audience to empathize and feel involved in the work in a relatively more private environment, making it easier for word-of-mouth communication of the story theme, character conception and even the actor himself to ferment.

in psychology, this is called the "closed room effect", that is, in a more closed space, people tend to be more sensitive to image perception and emotional fluctuations, and are more likely to have a favorable impression of the "people" who accompany them.

this leads to an interesting phenomenon:

the above-mentioned mainstream themes in the tv drama market may not be popular according to the current trend of the film market, but they are still popular in the field of tv dramas. it is not because of the actors’ performance, but because the emotional perception creates cognitive illusions due to the difference in the experience environment.

it must be admitted that compared with tv dramas and most commercial films, some films are not suitable for the commercial market route, or are more suitable for screening in art theaters. but how much box office revenue does domestic art theaters generate each year? anyone who acts in this field has risks.

however, in the field of tv dramas, "actors carry the ratings" is indeed true. topics, popularity, personalities, works... most of the factors revealed to the public are still the actors'.

it should be noted that the situation of "one person's collapse leading to a sudden collapse" also exists, which will not be elaborated here.

three

happy planet

the author believes that "xxx leads the box office" and "what is happy planet?" are both entertainment topics, and are limited to entertainment. they cannot make any link in "market - marketing - audience" clear.

"actors carry everything" needs to refer to the specific communication environment, where subjective and objective factors coexist. whether it is a movie or a tv series, the final word of mouth depends on the story's watchability.

in some current public opinion fields, "actor-carrying+" has been deliberately elevated to a position far beyond its original position.

some fans are too obsessed with the "only god", which leads to ridicule from the audience who are indifferent to the "true god". in the war of words between the two sides, almost no one analyzes the objective reasons for the market feedback of a film or tv series. for the audience who remain neutral and don't care, it will not only add to the bad feelings towards the actors, but also cause great interference to the actors themselves, and have a negative impact on their own long-term development and industry evaluation.

just like “traffic” itself is a neutral word, but it has been ruined by many weird operations.

at this stage, with capital optimistic and movies selling well, there must be a group of people who are enthusiastic about the actors and believe that they are the "backbone".

when actors return to their original roles and the commercial and artistic value of the story itself are worthy of discussion, "who carries the show" is not important. what is important is whether the audience recognizes the actors' performances and the value orientation of the work itself.

in other words, no matter how popular you are "off the stage", once you "enter the stage", you will be the actor of a certain role in a film or tv series, and you must obey the overall scheduling on the stage. "off the stage" factors are only of reference value, not the decisive factor, and they cannot take the lead.

especially for a movie, success or failure is not determined by the actors. we cannot "lock" an actor's future based on the box office of a single movie and determine whether the actor can "hold on".

it's unfair to the actors, it's unfair to the movie, and it's even more unfair to all the cast and crew who have worked so hard.

at this point, the abnormal fan culture mentioned by fan zhendong can also make the actors feel the same when it comes to the issue of "carrying the box office":

one praised and the other criticized, what is the actor's fault?

stick to the facts, art lasts forever.