To be honest, Nanaya still feels a little heartbroken about the expenses of "Madoka Magica".
Although he only paid two-thirds of the cost, Washimine had to bear the costs of publicity and promotion.
But the film still faces considerable pressure to make a profit.
Nanaya did some calculations and found that after deducting the cost of the film and the share of the distribution channel, even if the box office revenue reached the level of "Titanic", it would only be a small profit.
If the box office profit is to be relatively substantial, then the box office of "Madoka Magica" must at least reach the level of "Avatar".
It can be said that such a high investment in "Madoka Magica" is not cost-effective in terms of output ratio.
After all, "Madoka Magica" is not a series of movies like Marvel or Type-Moon.
The success or failure of the first film can pave the way for subsequent films and save a lot of money for sequels.
Although there is also a sequel to "The Story of Rebellion" in the plan.
But without the popularity of "Avatar", Nanaya really wouldn't dare to shoot such a fan-oriented story.
It can be said that the movie "Madoka Magica" made Nanaya feel the pressure of making a profit for the first time.
But for Nanaya, every one of his previous movies was made under a mountain of pressure.
This time is no exception.
No matter how heavy the pressure is, Nanaya will turn it into motivation for his work and spur himself forward.
Time slowly approaches Madoka's first preview.
Although the New York Philharmonic Orchestra is still recording part of the film's soundtrack.
But the preview date cannot be changed.
Therefore, Nanaya played the version of the movie without 3D and soundtrack at the preview as planned.
This situation is not uncommon in Hollywood.
Due to tight production schedules, many movies have preview versions without music.
However, compared with other movies, the first round of previews for "Madoka Magica" was much earlier.
Although the viewing experience was not optimal, it did not have a big impact on the audience attending the preview.
After all, the audience this time is mainly media reporters, film critics and professional audiences.
Given their rich experience in preview screenings, the lack of soundtrack doesn't really matter.
Even though the version of the movie used at the preview was a weakened version, this round of previews was very important for the "Madoka Magica" crew.
The various statistical data after the preview will directly affect the next work of the "Madoka Magica" crew.
Although the members participating in the preview will sign the corresponding confidentiality agreement, the reputation of the film will not be announced to the public.
But people in the circle must have their own ways to find out relevant information.
It may be impossible to know the specific plot, but if you want to know whether it is a good review or a bad review, it is very easy.
If the word of mouth for "Madoka Magica" is not good and the news reaches the representatives of the theater chain.
Even if this is a work by Nanaya, it cannot be opened on a super large scale.
Theater operators don't care that Nanaya has won the box office championship for four consecutive years. They only care about how Nanaya's work is this time.
The impact of the preview is not limited to this. Nanaya will also make necessary modifications to the film and even re-edit certain shots based on the feedback received from the preview.
However, Nanaya felt that "Madoka Magica" did not need to undergo extensive revisions.
The reason is simple. Both he and Washimine were very satisfied with the data fed back from the preview.
In the Washimine Building, which belongs to the Washimine Entertainment department's office floor, many Washimine Entertainment executives and key members of the "Madoka Magica" crew gathered in a conference room.
Only Nanaya and Shonan were still in New Zealand, so they could only participate via video conference.
The topic discussed at this meeting was Madoka Magica.
The person who chaired the meeting was the head of the publicity department of Washimine Entertainment, and there was an irrepressible excitement on his face.
It's like the project "Madoka Magica" has become a huge hit.
As Nanaya, who is second only to Shion in the Washimine department, he would not brag. Nanaya probably thought that even if he said that people should walk on their buttocks, this guy would probably do the same.
But that's not why he was able to serve as the meeting host.
Shion asked this guy to preside over the meeting simply because she thought his voice was high-pitched and loud, and everyone could hear it more clearly.
"We held a total of four test screenings last week, and the feedback has been counted!"
Although everyone had a relevant document in their hands, the department manager still showed off to himself.
"As for ordinary movie fans, a total of 745 people watched Madoka Magica, and the ones who gave it an A+ rating are..."
The other party paused for a moment, as if trying to attract everyone's attention and achieve a surprise effect.
"732 people! A whopping 98 percent positive review rate!"
Even though you have a report of relevant data in your hand, the feeling of seeing it with your eyes and hearing it with your ears is still very different.
Many executives of Washimine Entertainment opened their eyes wide, as if they couldn't believe it.
Nanaya, on the other hand, remained relatively calm. He carefully read through the audience reviews, hoping to see areas where he could improve.
Another person who didn't react much was Shion. She had watched the sample footage and edited clips several times when the film was still in post-editing.
It should be said that apart from the post-production team members of "Avatar" and "Madoka Magica", Shion is one of the very few people who has watched their 3D sample films.
In the screening room at that time, Shion could not find the right adjectives to describe what she saw except shock and admiration.
Now hearing such overwhelming audience reviews, Shion feels more and more that her original decision was so wise and forward-looking.
It was predicted so early that Kiryu Nanaya would succeed!
As for the incident of threatening her man with Tokyo Bay, Shion chose to ignore it.
Admittedly, Shion also knows that the return on investment of the movie "Madoka Magica" is unlikely to compare with that of the Fate series.
But if it really can be as Nanaya said, it can catch up with "Titanic" or even surpass it to become the number one box office in film history.
For Washimine Entertainment, this is more than just a movie that makes money.
The title of No. 1 in film history is a very special honor for a film company, and the dividends it can bring are enough to sustain a film company for several years.
Why did Disney, knowing full well that its actions would be criticized, still use the "re-screening" method to help "End Game" climb to the top of film history?
If it's just for a false reputation, it's far from necessary.
Disney is well aware that the benefits of being the No. 1 in film history far outweigh the negative impact of its own cheating.
In the conference room, after hearing the results of the preview, everyone couldn't help but whisper.
Everyone was very excited about the result and thought they had won the war called "Madoka".
Relatively speaking, Nanaya was one of the calmest people.
The test screenings received unanimous positive reviews, but Nanaya discovered areas for improvement from the audience's feedback.
Taking the senior sister's U-turn as the dividing point, the pace of Nanaya's development of his previous story could be slower.
Because Nanaya saw from the feedback that the audience's shock at the senior's U-turn did not reach the level he expected.
Another part that needs to be slowed down is the part where Homura Akemi travels through time and space. Many viewers responded that the pace was too fast and they couldn't keep up with the rhythm.
Although some movies speed up the pace to make the audience ignore the unreasonable parts of the plot.
But the story about Homura Akemi is obviously not included.
[If we extend the duration of these two plots, the total length of the movie will increase significantly. Should we cut some plots in other places?]
Nanaya found that he needed at least three more rounds of previews before the movie could reach the perfection he had envisioned.
"Also! The film critics at this preview gave the film very high praise, even surpassing all of Director Kiryu's previous films."
After hearing this, Nanaya paused for a moment, then slowly raised his head and glanced at everyone.
"They actually gave Madoka Magica such a good review!"
This was really beyond Nanaya's expectations.
Because he has never received positive reviews from film critics, Nanaya has long given up on the critics' reputation.
So Nanaya passed the part about the film critics' comments without even looking at it.
I never thought I would be able to have this day?!
"Yes. The film critics are very interested in your work, Director Kiryu, and have given it very high praise."
Perhaps because it was his own idol speaking, the publicity manager's excitement was even more intense.
"This is a pleasant surprise." Shion looked at Nanaya, "It looks like your movie has a chance to win awards this season?"
"We'll talk about it later."
The movie hasn't been released yet, so it's a bit early to think about the awards season.
"After the initial word-of-mouth comes out, we will operate to let more fans know about the reputation of Madoka Magica."
Nanaya nodded, and he looked at the five magical girls and said, "We can start promoting the actors now. Kujo, Gakki, have you seen your two little yuri business plans?"
[Trier] We have been operating CP since the days of Rin and Luvia.
However, the main competitor of the group [Rinlu×Luvia], and the subsequent [Lily×Rin] and [Rin×Sakura] both focus on teenage friendship, that is, micro-yuri business.
It can be said that in this area, [Trier] has rich operational experience.
So when promoting "Madoka Magica" this time, Nanaya naturally thought of this idea, and the protagonists are Kujo Fuu and Yui Aragaki.
However, Kujo Fuu himself did not quite agree with this proposal.
"Why am I with this Okinawa giantess?"
"Female Titan?!" Gakki's eyes widened.
Kujo Fuu didn't mind offending anyone at all, she hugged Yumi who was beside her.
"If possible, I'd rather talk to Yumi-chan."
"That would be completely meaningless." Nanaya coldly shattered Kujo Fuu's fantasy, "The most important thing about CP operation is the operation effect. Yumei's popularity is already very high now, so there is no need for this trick at all."
"Then why is it her..."
Kujo Fuu looked at Gakki unhappily. She was only 160cm (self-claimed) tall, more than half a head shorter than Aragaki Yui who was 170cm (self-claimed).
By the way, the two people's self-proclaimed titles are one who exaggerates and the other who underestimates.
The height difference makes Kujo Fuu and Aragaki Yui natural opponents.