Huayu: I'm reborn, but you still force me to be a scumbag?

Chapter 419 will tell you what I said (refined version)

"...No, Mom, what does this have to do with me?"

"How can it be nothing? If it weren't for you, why would she have cried all night?"

"I was just telling her the facts and letting her choose."

"What's there to choose? She doesn't want to go back and you're making her choose! From now on, if there's anything, tell me first, you hear me!"

"I……"

"What did you say? Did you hear me?"

"...I heard you."

What time will you arrive tomorrow?

"Three o'clock in the afternoon."

"Okay, I'll tell you all about it when you get home!"

After hanging up the phone, Chen Nuo angrily shouted, "Fine, I'll talk! What are you afraid of?"

He was about to say another few words, but Gulnazar knocked on his door, interrupting his anger.

"Mr. Chen, Warner Bros. has faxed over the box office figures."

"Oh. Here you go."

Gulnazar walked up to Chen Nuo and handed him a sheet of A4 paper.

Chen Nuo took the document, but didn't look at it first. Instead, he looked at his assistant and smiled, "You've worked hard these past few days. You can have a good rest when you return to China tomorrow. You can transfer directly to WLMQ. I'll give you half a month off to go back to XJ and see your parents."

Upon hearing this, Gulnazar's eyes welled up with tears, and she almost burst into tears.

From Tokyo to Seoul, from Seoul to Kuala Lumpur, from Kuala Lumpur to Bangkok and then to Singapore. For more than 10 days starting from July 12th, Gulnazar felt busy from morning till night, either traveling or working. Not only did she have to handle various promotional affairs as Allison's assistant, but she also had to unconditionally put aside her own work to help her husband whenever he needed it.

Not only is there a lot of work to do, but there is also a lot of mental stress.

Every day when I open my phone, I can't help but look at all kinds of news reports about "Inception", read all kinds of netizens' discussions on Twitter and Facebook, look at IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes, Weibo and Douban.

Following box office figures in various countries—the UK, the US, Japan, South Korea, and Malaysia—she's been so engrossed in these events that she hasn't had a moment's peace of mind since waking up each morning, which has led to her not having the energy to post on Weibo lately.

Finally, finally I can rest!
My immediate reaction was to bow: "Okay, thank you, thank you Mr. Chen."

See, this is how the environment changes people.

A Uyghur girl, after spending so much time in Japan and South Korea, is almost turning into a ghost or a Korean.

Go back and disinfect yourself quickly.

Chen Nuo looked at her with sympathy and said, "Find some time to buy some local specialties from Singapore to give as gifts, so people won't say you've traveled all over the world without bringing back any gifts. Give me the receipts for whatever you buy, and I'll reimburse you personally."

what?
Gulnazar was taken aback, but felt even warmer inside, along with a little bit of secret joy. Just as she was about to say something, she saw that the other person had already lowered their head, so she had no choice but to shut her mouth in embarrassment.

Chen Nuo looked at the printed fax. The first thing he did was look up and look up, wanting to find someone to talk to and find out what was going on, but he found only Gulnazar looking at him with her big, blinking eyes.

The girl seemed to know what he was surprised about: "Mr. Chen, should I go and call them in?"

"go with!"

No wonder Warner made such a big deal out of sending the fax this time.

That's really incredible.

If the box office performance of $1.33 million in North America and $2900 million in the UK market in the second week is still within Chen Nuo's expectations—after all, it has been said that Michael Slan is a complete idiot who doesn't know anything about movies.

If it's said that Inception can be compared to Avatar, then it can be compared to Avatar.

Don't you understand how Avatar was portrayed in Europe and America during its first and second weeks?

So what if we're a little weaker in the first week?
The first week saw a drop of 1.43, and the second week, both the North American and UK markets only saw a slight decline of around 8%. Doesn't that speak volumes?

Chen Nuo was even confident that an even more incredible trend was yet to come.

He doesn't expect to follow Avatar, the pioneering work, exactly as it was. However, he believes that Inception, with its equally impressive plot and special effects, should be able to follow the trend for most of the time, say about two months, gradually declining and eventually forming a satisfying arc.

Let's put the UK and US aside for now. Other European countries, including South Korea, are also releasing the film, but complete box office figures are not yet available, so we can leave that aside for now.

What surprised him was Japan.

Japan's box office revenue in its first week reached a staggering 28 billion yen!
Based on the 2011 exchange rate, that's roughly $3200 million!
This really struck him as incredible!
No, how much did he star in Twilight 3? And how much did Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides?
These fan-made movies only make around 1800 million or 2100 million, but Inception made 3200 million?
If we calculate based on about 400 cinemas, each cinema would need to contribute more than $1 in box office revenue per day, and the average occupancy rate would need to reach almost 50%.

Why?

As is well known, the Japanese market has always been the market with the largest long tail effect. In many cases, its screening period is even longer than that of North America. If a movie does well at the box office, it is common for it to be shown for 2-3 months. In some cinemas, movies like "Spirited Away" may have a screening period of up to half a year.

The first week saw $3200 million in sales. If the second week follows the trend of the North American market, and so on…

“That’s right!” Elizabeth said excitedly. “I’ve already checked. The record for the second week’s box office in Japan is $2850 million, set by Avatar. If we only drop 8% in the second week in Japan, we will break it and set a new record for the highest total box office for a foreign film in Japan in its first two weeks!”

"In fact, if we keep this up, it's only a matter of time before we surpass Avatar's final box office record in Japan."

"Chen, this is simply... simply a miracle!"

Elizabeth's excited voice echoed in the room, and for a moment no one spoke.

After a while, Allison said calmly, "Yes, a miracle. I hope you remind Michael who exactly caused this miracle. Tell him to take a look at that post on 2ch in Japan, or the discussion on Yahoo Japan, or tell him to adjust his Twitter following list."

"These records all demonstrate that the reason for creating this miracle is that this film has a male lead who can display super charm on Japanese variety shows, has a strong appeal among the Japanese public, and is extremely popular among female viewers in the Japanese market."

"This is his good fortune!"

Elizabeth laughed and said, "Alison, whatever you think of us, if Warner were really as stupid as you think, we wouldn't be alive today. Michael really didn't mean anything by it that day; he was just simply complaining."

Allison sneered and said, "Heh, a simple complaint in front of you? He just wants to use you to tell us what's going on."

“Sometimes I really think you have a bit of paranoia, or you should see a psychologist.”

"you……"

"Alright, alright." Chen Nuo quickly interrupted when he saw the tension rising again. "Eileenson, Elizabeth, I called you here not just because of the box office, but mainly to say thank you for your hard work."

"Especially Elizabeth, thank you for your arrangements during this time. You are very professional, and I will report your excellent performance to Michael later."

Elizabeth looked grateful and said, "Thank you. Chen, you are the most understanding and professional actor I have ever met. I am very happy to have worked with you. I hope we will have the opportunity to work together again in the future."

“Me too,” Chen Nuo laughed. “I hope it will be soon. Don’t forget, I said in Japan that the higher the box office, the sooner I can participate in another episode of ‘Human Observation’…”

Elizabeth laughed and said, "If we really do surpass Avatar and become the sixth highest-grossing film in Japanese history, when are you planning to go?"

"Haha, probably in two or three months? I'll sacrifice my rest time, haha."

"What if...it surpasses 'Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone' and becomes the third?"

"Well, hahaha, I think I'll set off immediately, no matter where I am."

……

……

The next day, after Chen Nuo had completed his promotional mission, he parted ways with Alison and Elizabeth and flew from Singapore to Chengdu.

Media outlets in North America and Japan also reported on the box office performance of "Inception" last week.

Variety, a mainstream entertainment media outlet in North America, bluntly commented: "Inception's box office only dropped slightly by 8% in its second week in North America and the UK, demonstrating extremely stable performance and remaining strong in the highly competitive summer season, showing strong box office sustainability."

The Hollywood Reporter also used many exclamation marks to emphasize the importance of this news: "$3200 million! Japan's opening weekend box office exceeded expectations! Inception sweeps its first market in East Asia, demonstrating not only extraordinary box office appeal but also perhaps foreshadowing its strong performance in Asia!"

Deadline, the largest online entertainment media outlet in the United States, also commented: "Inception has shown long-term potential rarely seen since Avatar. The drop in North American box office in the second week was controlled to single digits, which is extremely rare. Its performance in the international market is particularly noteworthy—the first week in Japan directly broke all industry expectations and set off a movie-watching frenzy in Japan."

Meanwhile, mainstream Japanese media outlets also reported on the film's remarkable success in the domestic market and provided more detailed analyses of the underlying reasons for this box office explosion.

After all, the local market and local media naturally have a clearer understanding.

Oricon News, Japan's most well-known entertainment media outlet, wrote: "Inception 3D's opening weekend box office has surpassed 32 billion yen! Chinese actor Chen Nuo's charm has exploded, winning overwhelming support from female viewers and sparking heated discussions on social media."

Yahoo! Japan, Japan's largest news aggregator website, described it as a "dream within a dream" blockbuster. Its outstanding performance in its first week was attributed to the star power of the "Light of East Asia," representing a concentrated outpouring of Japanese audiences' emotional investment in foreign actors in recent years.

Asahi Shimbun, Japan's largest-circulation newspaper, quoted a well-known film critic in its entertainment section: "The film itself is ingeniously structured, but what really drove the market crazy was the presence of the lead actor, Chen Nuo. His character is both cold and affectionate, and it is this contradiction that touched Japanese audiences, especially women."

When such reports reached Los Angeles, USA, via Twitter.

Quentin Tarantino chuckled a few times in his mansion, then picked up the phone.

However, after chatting for a while, his initially happy expression turned sour.

"...Still need to observe?"

"Captain America, even if Captain America causes a significant drop in box office revenue this weekend, what does that prove?"

“Okay, okay, I’m not talking to you anymore. But I think you’ll regret it; you’ll eventually realize that 21st Century Fox has missed an opportunity.”

"goodbye!"

He then hung up the phone, pondered for a moment with an annoyed expression, sighed slightly, and dialed another number. "Hey, Jon, have you seen the news?"

When Quentin Tarantino finally decided to stop putting up with the Big Six's antics and set his sights on Lionsgate, these news stories also appeared on a computer screen in a New York mansion.
After reading it carefully, Mason Collins thought for a while before picking up the phone.

"Jerry, have you seen the news?"

"Yes, this should be Warner's second wave of publicity."

"Yes, that's right. From now on, we need to prepare to leave."

"I think it should be the last rays of the setting sun."

"Get to the company early tomorrow, and we'll discuss it further." "Yes, if it opens high, we'll sell everything immediately. We can't wait for the box office results of 'Captain America.' We need to learn from this!"

But in Louisiana,
After seeing the box office results of "Inception," Karen Wilson and Susan didn't think much of it; instead, they cheered together.

"It'll definitely go up again tomorrow!" Karen laughed.

"Mom, what do you say now? Can you let me out?"

"No, I said I'm going to ground you for a month."

"Please, Mom, I've already made you several thousand dollars!"

"So what... By the way, do you think we should sell it?"

"I have no idea!"

"OK, you don't know? Then you can stay in your room until school starts."

"Mom, I was wrong. My opinion is to keep it."

"Oh why?"

"Because Chen didn't tell us to sell."

"...I shouldn't have asked you."

“I’m telling the truth. He’ll let us know when it’s time to sell.”

"...Alright, you can go back to your room now. I'll call you for dinner!"

"Mom! You have to believe him!"

"Hurry upstairs!"

Finally, when these reports were reposted to Weibo by some entertainment accounts from Twitter or related Japanese websites, they immediately attracted the attention of many movie fans.

On that day, the hashtag "Inception's overseas box office exploded" surprisingly climbed to ninth place on the trending topics list.

However, many of the comments under this entry are not about box office performance.

"#Inception's overseas box office is a huge success, congratulations! I really want to see it. But why? Why do we have to wait a whole month to see Chinese movies?"

"Can Huanxin and Hengdian explain why the film was released in North America on July 8th, but in China on August 10th?!"

"Blatant discrimination! Why? Do they look down on us? #InceptionOverseasBoxOfficeExplosion"

"This is a movie invested in by Huanxin and Hengdian? Why has it been released in Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand, but we can't see it here yet!? I want to see Inception!!! #InceptionOverseasBoxOfficeExplosion"

"Who will give us an explanation?! @ChenNuo @HuanxinFilm #InceptionOverseasBoxOfficeExplosion"

Han Sanping doesn't have the habit of using Weibo, and these complaints are only from a small group of people for the time being. Although they have caused a little ripple, after all, it has just been released, and there are reports of some good box office results in Japan and the United States. We don't know what will happen next, so it's not a big deal. Naturally, it won't reach President Han's ears.

However, although President Han was unaware that discordant voices had emerged online today, he couldn't help but feel increasingly irritable when he thought about the box office results of "Inception" released yesterday.

Not only that, but the fact that "The Great Achievement" has yet to see any improvement at the box office is also giving him a headache. He has done everything he could, but the decline in box office revenue hasn't lessened at all!

What the hell are we going to do?!
Annoying, so annoying!
"Why are you walking back and forth like that? You're blocking my view of the TV!" the old man said impatiently from the sofa.

Han Sanping said impatiently, "How many times have you watched The Return of the Condor Heroes? I can recite all the lines. Aren't you tired of it?"

"It's not tiring at all! Not only am I not tired of it, but the whole country isn't tired of it either. Otherwise, why would it be replayed every summer vacation? Han Sanping, I'm telling you to sit up, can't you hear me?"

"I……"

Just as Mr. Han was about to say something, the phone rang again.

He walked to the coffee table, initially thinking his secretary had something left unsaid, but was taken aback when he saw the name on it.

"What are you doing, standing there like an idiot? Who called you?" His wife frowned, looking suspicious. "Let me see the phone."

"You're crazy." Han Sanping cursed irritably, picked up his phone and turned to leave, but his wife grabbed his hand and snatched the phone away. "Stop dodging! Let me see which vixen is it... Huh?"

"Give it to me!" Han Sanping shouted angrily as he turned around.

His wife looked embarrassed and handed the phone back to him, saying, "Why didn't you answer Chen Nuo's call?"

"None of your business! Give it to me!"

"Fine, I'll give it to you! Why are you being so mean?"

Han Sanping took the phone, glared at his wife, and then went into the study.

He closed the door, immediately pressed the answer button, and whispered to his ear, "Hello... what is it? I told you not to call during the day."

"Oh? You bumped your head? Is it serious...? Oh dear, you should go get it checked out right away."

"No, no, no, don't go to the Sino-Japanese Friendship Hospital. The doctors there are unreliable. Let's go somewhere else... Never mind, I'm coming now. I'll go with you... Okay, wait for me, be good."

After hanging up the phone, President Han rubbed his face, put on a serious expression, opened the study door, and walked out.

"I'm going out."

"Ah? Something wrong?"

"Um, Xiao Chen needs to talk to me about something. I'll go to his office to help him. I might be back late tonight, so you can eat by yourself."

"Okay, then get some time to go."

"understood."

A few minutes later, just as Han Sanping got into the car and started the engine, another phone call came in.

It was Chen Nuo again.

He quickly answered, "Honey, what's wrong? Didn't I tell you to wait for me a bit?"

Hearing that husky yet gentle voice coming through the earphones, Chen Nuo almost, almost lost his phone.

He composed himself, checked the number, and made sure he hadn't dialed the wrong number.

What the fuck is going on?

Is Mr. Han starting to grow a beard?

He hesitated and asked, "President Han? Is that President Han Sanping from China Film Group?"

Upon hearing this voice, Han Sanping nearly jumped out of his seat, exclaiming incredulously, "Who are you?!"

"I am Chen Nuo."

"Huh???" Han Sanping's mind went blank for a moment, and he subconsciously looked at the screen again.

The two characters "Chen Nuo" were written clearly.

Damn it.

Mr. Han, being quite capable, blushed and immediately realized what had happened. He then laughed and said, "Little Chen, haha, I was driving and didn't check my phone. I thought it was my wife. Hehehehehe, is there something you need?"

Although Chen Nuo had some doubts, even if Sherlock Holmes were alive, he would never have imagined that President Han Sanping would use his name as a shield.

He was just guessing whether President Han had deleted his number.

However, he didn't mind and immediately got down to business.

"Mr. Han, it's like this, I just heard something and wanted to ask you about it. One of my company's artists, Zhang Xinyu, recently auditioned for a movie. It's a film invested in by China Film Group. Haha, she's auditioning for a small role. But, I heard from the casting director that you specifically asked them not to hire any of our Huanxin artists. Is that true?"

"What? How is that possible?! Are you kidding me!" Han Sanping immediately shouted, "Impossible, absolutely impossible! Who said that? Give me his phone number and name, and I can confront him right now."

"Hehe, no need, no need. I was just inquiring. Since you say there's no such thing, Mr. Han, it must be a misunderstanding, right? But I think that in these kinds of matters, we should strive for fairness no matter what. Otherwise, if everyone starts using connections and favors, what will happen to Chinese cinema? Don't you agree, Mr. Han?"

"Yes, it's definitely right! It's a misunderstanding, absolutely a misunderstanding! Xiao Chen..." Han Sanping said with great distress, "You probably haven't been back to China for a long time, you don't know how bad the entertainment industry is these days, they'll spread any kind of rumors. Every day, they're even making things up about me now. Which movie is it? I'll go check right now!"

"No need, no need. I'll have my people contact them again to see what's going on. Sorry to bother you, Mr. Han."

"No disturbance, no disturbance. By the way, Xiao Chen, have you returned to China?"

"I've gone back; I'm at my hometown now."

"Ah! You're back in China? This...this is a big deal! Why didn't you tell me beforehand? When are you coming to Beijing? Xiao Chen, to be honest, I have so much to talk to you about..."

Half a minute later, the call ended.

Han Sanping's smile slowly froze on his face, then his expression darkened. He picked up his phone, found a number, and dialed it.

"Xiao Zhang, go call Wang Liu right now... Yes, that Wang Liu, and tell him to get the hell out of here tomorrow! Get out immediately... Yes, if he dares to say no, tell him I said he can forget about ever making a living again!"

"Get it done right now!"

"Also... contact Director Cai immediately and tell him about Zhang Xinyu, who I believe submitted her resume to the production team before, and ask him to get in touch with her..."

"Yes, just say what I said!"

PS:

It's a little late.

Happy holiday!

I have some news to share. Given the overwhelming amount of negative news today, which is quite upsetting, I've made up my mind to give up any more of my artsy tendencies and to stop causing you any distress.

Take this as proof!

(End of this chapter)