I was just thinking about taking the arts exam and you said I've been playing supporting roles

Chapter 300 Chen Jin VS Double J!

Nothing in life matters except death.

"An eternal glimmer, the weight of life..."

"Her name was Su Yuan. She was an ordinary yet vibrant girl, but the capriciousness of fate brought her to an abrupt end in the prime of her life. Her departure broke her family's hearts, but she chose to continue the meaning of life in another way—to become a ray of light illuminating others..."

……

Many netizens on Weibo have seen this documentary.

The main character in it is not Chen Jin.

Instead, it was a girl named Su Yuan for whom Chen Jin became her "embalmer"!
"This girl is so beautiful!"

"Her eyes see the world!"

"A clear smile, bright eyes, as if they hold the stars and the sea..."

"..."

Many netizens were moved by this documentary and suddenly understood the greatness of organ donation and the significance of morticians.

"She had seen the flowers of spring, heard the wind of summer nights, felt the warm sun of autumn, and embraced the snow of winter; her life was short, but she never gave up her kindness to the world!"

The glimpses of Su Yuan's life with her family and friends, her school, art studio, and volunteer activities—the real footage accompanied her encoffining before her death, making everything seem so sacred.

So when Chen Jin's footage appeared, many people didn't realize what was happening.

At this point, the documentary interjects with Chen Jin's experience as a mortician.

Everyone then realized that such a great girl had been given the final farewell by her parents and even before her death.

She simply hopes that, because of Chen Jin, more people will know about the profession of mortician and that organ donation can save more people in need.

The initial intention was certainly good.

As expected, Chen Jin successfully became an encoffiner and then bid farewell to his encoffining experience.

The moment Su Yuan's heart stopped beating, her corneas restored sight to the blind, her liver continued the hope of another life, and her kidneys gave a failing family a new lease on life... The final gift, the relay of life.

Every 10 minutes, someone dies because they can't get an organ; in China, more than 30 people wait for transplants every year, but only about 1 are able to receive one.

Of course, there are bad things going on here, but... just do good deeds and don't worry about the future.

Su Yuan and her family certainly wouldn't have thought about the purpose of doing this.

Su Yuan simply didn't want her life to end in this way.

She chose to donate her organs as a gift she gave to the world in her lifetime.

This documentary about Chen Jin fulfilled her last wish and gave her the most heartfelt farewell to the world.

This is not the end, but another beginning of life.

A mother holds her child who has regained his sight and looks up at the sky; a boy runs in the sunlight; a mother trembles as she touches the CT scan of her liver after its rebirth... Their stories intertwine to form a web, supporting hope.

“Every donation is a dialogue across life and death; every rebirth is a reverence for life.”

The final scene returns to Su Yuan's tombstone, where an organ donation registration certificate sits beside a bouquet of flowers.

She became the wind, blowing across mountains and seas; she became light, illuminating the darkness. Her name may be unknown, but her love will forever flow among humanity!
Her heartbeat symbolized an electrocardiogram waveform, which gradually transformed into the recipient's electrocardiogram, with both hearts beating in sync.

"Nothing in life matters except death. I hope everyone will cherish life and value every day!"

……

The documentary wasn't particularly sad; instead, it had a carefree feel to it, ending with Chen Jin giving her the most beautiful makeup for her burial.

"If Chen Jin really did the restoration of this girl's body, then I can only say that this Best Actor award is well-deserved!"

"That's really impressive, truly professional!"

"This is the first time I've seen such an awesome actor. I'm impressed!"

"..."

After watching the documentary, countless people were not only moved by Su Yuan, but also admired Chen Jin's dedication to the role in the film.

Although many people said that Chen Jin experienced the profession of mortician for the role after the release of "Life's Big Events", many thought that she only watched the process of morticians restoring corpses.

I never expected this guy... to play so ruthlessly!

He personally became an embalmer to restore the deceased, and even filmed the entire process in one continuous shot.

Chen Jin is definitely the first actress to go to such lengths to experience a role.

Many netizens who were previously indifferent to his Venice Film Festival Best Actor award have, to be honest, become fans.

Therefore, many viewers who were initially hesitant about "Life's Big Events" went to the cinema.

Many people struggle with deciding what to watch in a movie.

To go or not to go.

But this documentary gave him a definite idea.

Monday's box office was actually quite good, but the documentary's impact caused a reversal in box office performance on Tuesday and Wednesday.

On the 19th, "Life's Big Events" grossed 3615 million yuan in a single day!
20th, 3877 million!
On Wednesday, it even broke 4000 million!
It grossed another 1 million yuan in three days, bringing its total box office to over 2.5 million yuan, reaching 2.85 million yuan!
It was undoubtedly a dark horse at the box office in September.

Tomorrow is also the premiere of Jackie Chan's "1911 Revolution".

After Chen Jin, Zhao Jinmai, and others finished their roadshow, it was almost 10 p.m. when they returned to their hotel.

"3.25 million!"

"Looks like there are a few more today than yesterday!"

After four consecutive days of declining sales, "The Big Events of Life" has gained widespread acclaim; in contrast, "4 Revolution" seems to be faring poorly.

Chen Jin made a phone call to Chen Su.

He was recently in charge of marketing for "Life's Big Events," and he was also very familiar with the situation of his competitors.

"Brother Long disappeared completely after the premiere!"

"Perhaps the pre-sale disappointed him?"

Chen Su was talking; he was very familiar with the industry news.

The first screening of "1000 Revolution" was held at midnight, but the pre-sales have not yet reached 0 million. Jackie Chan is the director of this film, and he acted in it for free. Many actors in the crew also did not receive a penny, saying that they would get a share of the box office revenue after the film's release.

This is all thanks to Jackie Chan's Hollywood model.

Even so, the investment exceeded 1 million RMB.

Putting aside actor salaries and other factors, the investment in this film is no less than that of "The Founding of a Republic," but no one expected that despite such hype, pre-sales would be completely unsuccessful.

The key is that Jackie Chan stars in it.

This surprised the market even more.

"It's probably because there have been too many patriotic movies lately!"

"On the contrary, it made our film stand out!"

The film grossed 3 million yuan in a week, something Chen Jin had never imagined before its release.

It should be noted that he had already overestimated Tian Zhuangzhuang and others.

Tian Zhuangzhuang estimates that after winning the prize in Venice, the winnings will be a conservative estimate of 2 million+!

But now, it almost reached that in the first weekend.

They made 2 million in just four days!
"This trend is even more explosive than the original timeline suggested!"

"The Big Events of Life" originally grossed 17.13 billion yuan, with 2.5 million yuan in its opening weekend and 5.4 million yuan in its second week.

It crushed all its competitors during the summer season and became the biggest dark horse of the month.

While the box office is not as high as it will be in 2024, it still grossed less than 1.7 million in its opening weekend, and it feels like it could almost double in the second week, reaching around 3 million.

The trend is only slightly worse than the future.

However, the number of viewers in later generations is a different story; the current number is still far behind.

Moreover, the first weekend now has one more day than before.

"Looking at it this way, 6 million is not a dream, and 7 million seems like a realistic goal!"

Chen Jin was indeed astonished by the box office results.

Keep in mind, this is an art film!

"This month, besides '1911 Revolution,' there's been a surge of films released as tributes, making it known as the 'tribute month.' There are also 'Heroic Bloodshed,' 'The First President,' 'Republic of China 1911,' and 'The Woman Knight of Mirror Lake'... '1911 Revolution' is considered relatively good; the others only have a few hundred thousand to a million yuan!"

"Forget about scheduling, even pre-sales are not ideal!"

"The main reason why 'The Founding of a Republic' broke the box office record for domestic films was that these film producers had a misconception that audiences liked to watch such movies. But in fact, the success of 'The Founding of a Republic' was due to a combination of factors!"

Chen Su was analyzing the situation, and his views were largely the same as Chen Jin's.

The market believed that "The Founding of a Republic" could generate momentum for patriotic films.

But to our surprise, the audience didn't buy it, and the market didn't approve either.

The reason is quite simple: no matter how much an audience loves a genre, they can't possibly watch several movies in a row.

The key issue is that these film studios are either trying to curry favor or trying to ride the wave of popularity, resulting in a glut of films being released this month, leading to complete market saturation and a lack of watchable movies.

The box office success of "Life's Big Events" is largely due to the large number of patriotic films released during the pandemic.

Just like the later film "Ne Zha 2," its ability to achieve such a miracle also relied on the contrast with its competitors. Among so many films released during the Spring Festival, only it stood out.

Other bad movies, on the contrary, drew all the attention to this film. He didn't have to do anything; he had already won.

The key point is that there is also a live-action "Investiture of the Gods 2" that is similar to "Ne Zha", which makes "Ne Zha 2" even more precious.

The current situation of "Life's Big Events" is actually similar.

The failure of "1911 Revolution" ironically led him to a path of creating blockbuster hits.

"The number of screenings has been completely reduced!"

"The Xinhai Revolution was the first to receive 35.1%, and now our movies are very popular, with cinemas everywhere giving us screen time!"

Chen Su chuckled as he said this.

The films directed by and starring Jackie Chan initially came on strong.

No one expected that his film's pre-sales would be so poor.

This caused the screening share to drop from 35.1% to 22.3%, a direct drop of 12.8%. On the other hand, "Life's Big Events" has received nearly 35% of the screening share in the past few days, and the share that was originally reduced to 30% has now been pulled up to 40%.

The parts about the Xinhai Revolution that were downgraded have basically been replaced.

"This weekend, we should be able to hit a new high and a new single-day record!"

"The movie 'White Snake' is coming out next Wednesday. I wonder if Jet Li will suffer the same fate as Jackie Chan!"

Currently, Cheng and Li are arguably Huaxia's biggest global brands, not only in mainland China but also internationally, where they have a significant box office impact.

"No, that won't happen!"

"Li Lianjie's movie has very expensive special effects, and it's also based on a big IP, so the box office should be quite good!"

"You'll find out when pre-orders open tomorrow!"

"1911 Revolution" is likely to be removed from the film lineup, but it will face competition again next week, and the National Day holiday, which is currently the second largest film season in China after the summer vacation and the Lunar New Year, is also coming soon. The National Day holiday is also very important.

It's quite possible that "Life's Big Events" will also benefit from this trend.

In that case, 7 million is very likely.

After chatting with Chen Su for a while, Chen Jin went straight to sleep.

The following day, with the midnight screening of "1911 Revolution" flopping, the opening day box office was also very unsatisfactory.

In one morning, it only sold a paltry 112 million yuan at the box office, almost certainly not a blockbuster.

In contrast, Jet Li's "The White Snake" also flopped in pre-sales!

Jackie Chan's film didn't even reach a million in sales, and his pre-sales didn't even reach 30!
Although the premiere hasn't started yet, it's clear that the market isn't buying it either.

Fortunately, it still gets a lot of screenings.

On its first day, it reached 22.1%, while "Life's Big Events" had slightly less.

"With Jackie Chan and Jet Li both in the lineup, this National Day film season is going to be really exciting!"

Chen Jin never expected that she would meet these two people.

Of course, even without the ratings and reviews of these two films in their future autobiographical films, it was foreshadowed that the two actors would flop at the box office.

Since "The Forbidden Kingdom", the two of them haven't made any good films.

Therefore, although the two still have a strong box office appeal in mainland China, audiences still want to wait and see.

If you've eaten too much junk food at one restaurant, you obviously need to go somewhere else.

Many viewers no longer rush to the cinema without thinking; once word-of-mouth spreads, naturally no one will go to see it anymore.

Chen Jin is currently experiencing a rapid rise in popularity. With the film receiving rave reviews and her acting skills and fame already established, it's quite normal for "Life's Big Events" to become a hit.

"However, even a starved camel is bigger than a horse!"

"It's fortunate that both of their films were bad. If either of them had made a masterpiece, it would have affected 'Life's Big Events'!"

Chen Jin wasn't confident enough to be able to fight against the two of them right now.

This time it was just good luck.

But good luck is enough.

Even without buying press releases, those who rise to fame by stepping on the films starring the two leads will still have media outlets praising them.

What do you mean by "newcomer rising to prominence" or "mainland's top star"? Chen Jin is, after all, a prominent figure in mainland China. Even if the media is in a bad state, they will still report on it.

"Besides these two, there's also Deng Chao's 'Painted Skin'..."

"No other film in the National Day holiday season can compete with it!"

Chen Jin is grateful that there are so many bad movies in mainland China right now, which has given him the opportunity to make art films.

If a film has one or two excellent films, it won't get many screenings during the National Day holiday.

Ideally, the "Major Events in Life" program could continue until National Day, which would be the best-case scenario.

As expected, the box office performance of "Life's Big Events" exploded in the following days.

It has been declining for a week in a row.

The box office has reached 4.7 million.

Jackie Chan's "1911 Revolution" grossed 1218 million in its opening weekend, not even a fraction of the box office of "The Big Events of Life".

As for the pre-sales of "White Snake", they have not yet reached 300 million.

Double-pounce.

Many movie fans who are following "Life's Big Events" are already looking forward to the fierce competition during the upcoming National Day holiday.

Can a movie that has been showing for two weeks create an incredible record during this period?

Jackie Chan's "1911 Revolution" will definitely not get many screenings; next, we'll see if "Painted Skin" and "White Snake" can stop "Life's Big Events" from taking the top spot.

Before major apps even released box office data, many viewers actually developed a desire to chase after the box office of an art film.

This must be one of the earliest box office fans.

Because the movie "Life's Big Events" has received good reviews, audiences hope that it can achieve a box office result worthy of its 8.9 rating.

Just like chasing after movies like "Dying to Survive" and "Ne Zha 2" in the future.

This is the stickiness and influence of a well-received work.

Meanwhile, Chen Jin's Weibo followers are also growing rapidly due to the viral effect of "Major Events in Life".

1000 million!
The number of fans that has stood in the way of many celebrities has been directly broken with the popularity of "Life's Big Events".

Chen Jin became the 31st celebrity on Weibo to surpass 10 million followers without relying on buying fans, traffic, or hype.

He ranked 9th among all male celebrities.

And this increase in fans is indeed the result of accumulating one work after another.

His latest documentary was released last week, and it received over 1.5 interactions within 24 hours; now it has reached over 3!

Of course, the reason for so many comments is also because this documentary is special.

You can focus on fan engagement, and that's definitely a real thing!
Next, he defeated the blockbuster starring Jay Chou and JJ Lin, which will solidify his title as the number one male star in mainland China.

So, while Chen Jin may feel that "Life's Big Events" only beat "1911 Revolution" and "The White Snake" at the box office, it is indeed a landmark event in the hearts of fans and the media.

This marks the transition between old and new stars in mainland China.

The older generation will eventually become a thing of the past, and the mainland will usher in a new box office king.

Chen Jin is currently the top star among young people; Jackie Chan and Jet Li may have a certain following among middle-aged and elderly movie fans.

But Chen Jin is indeed popular among young people.

Even Han Geng, who is currently hailed as a top-tier celebrity, can only rank after him.

Despite having over 1500 million followers on Weibo, his achievements and influence are incomparable to those of Chen Jin.

The consecutive blockbuster hits of several commercial films have earned him a high level of popularity among casual viewers.

With the added prestige of being a Venice Film Festival Best Actor winner, Chen Jin may not have reached the point of commanding widespread support, but as long as the film doesn't flop in terms of word-of-mouth, it's unlikely to be a box office flop.

What Chen Jin needs to do next is, of course, to create a film that will solidify his box office appeal.

"So Young" may not be enough.

We need a film that perfectly embodies the essence of Chen Jin!

Just like the future "Wolf Warrior 2" for Wu Jing.

There are also films like "Charlotte" and "Hello Mr. Billionaire," which can only be played by Shen Teng; no one else can replace him.

Of course, those are all things for the future.

Chen Jin is simply taking the lead, letting the market see him first.

However, in order to make a good film like "John Wick," in addition to the director, action choreographer, and screenwriter, Chen Jin also needs to work on her directing skills.

Although I learned some things from filming with Zhang Yimou, Tian Zhuangzhuang and others, I still need to study the theory.

So for the next month, he planned to spend it in the directing department at Beijing Film Academy!

(End of this chapter)