Recently, the film “Facing the Sun · Flowers,” directed by Feng Xiaogang and starring Zhao Liying, has crossed the 200 million yuan mark in box office revenue after being released on April 4th, reaching this milestone on April 23rd after 20 days of screenings. Feng Xiaogang shared a poster on his social media announcing the achievement and commented: “Although this number is not high, it marks the first domestically produced film after the Spring Festival that did not lose money. Decreasing costs and increasing efficiency, let’s continue to work hard.”
On the same day, a mainland self-media outlet called “Light and Shadow World” expressed in an article titled “Feng Xiaogang Is Careless, Accidentally Reveals Zhao Liying’s Salary for ‘Facing the Sun · Flowers,’ Only One-Tenth of the Peak,” that in previous years, achieving a box office of 200 million might have been considered a failure. However, in the current downturn of the film and television industry, it is actually a commendable result, especially considering the scarcity of films exceeding the hundred million mark after the Spring Festival.
Internet users analyzed and discovered that the most significant point in Feng Xiaogang’s statement was the fact that the film did not incur losses. This indicates breaking even, meaning the film most likely did not make a profit, as otherwise, stating profit would be more favorable.
The self-media author mentioned earlier calculated that out of the 200 million box office revenue of “Facing the Sun · Flowers,” the film’s share was 67 million, after deducting 10 million for promotional expenses, leaving a remaining 57 million.
Previously, the Chinese Communist Party’s State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television issued a “salary limit order,” stipulating that the total remuneration of all actors should not exceed 40% of the total production cost, with leading actors not exceeding 70% of the total remuneration, and other actors receiving not less than 30% of the total remuneration. In cases where the total remuneration of all actors exceeds 40% of the total production cost, production companies must report to relevant associations and the Chinese Radio and Television Actors Committee.
According to these guidelines, 40% of the 57 million, which is 22.8 million, represents the total remuneration of all actors, with 70% of that, 15.96 million, being the remuneration for the leading actors. The term “leading actors” does not specifically refer to the male and female leads, but based on public information, the main cast of “Facing the Sun · Flowers” includes Zhao Liying, Lan Xinya, Chu Qini, Wang Ju, and Cheng Xiao.
Calculating all factors, the article suggests that Zhao Liying, as the lead actress in “Facing the Sun · Flowers,” would receive a maximum of 10 million yuan in remuneration, a stark difference compared to the excessively high salaries of previous years. The author expressed regret, stating, “It is evident that due to the industry’s downturn, Zhao Liying not only reduced her salary but did so significantly.”
It is noteworthy that despite “Facing the Sun · Flowers” winning the box office championship during the Qingming Festival with 200 million in revenue, industry insiders originally anticipated this film to create a small box office explosion during this period. Some even predicted that the film’s daily box office earnings could exceed 200 million, and the final box office could approach nearly 1 billion.
Industry analysts suggest that the rapid decline in the Chinese economy has led to significant reductions in production costs and substantial compressions in the prices of top-tier celebrities, prompting Feng Xiaogang to describe the remuneration for “Facing the Sun · Flowers” as “reducing costs and increasing efficiency.”