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

Chapter 365 Public Opinion Takes Flight, and the Box Office of "Jinling"!

As it turned out, Wang Zhongjun's prediction was correct.

"Jinling" is indeed not well-suited for the Spring Festival season. As expected, its box office dropped on the second day of the Lunar New Year, but... not by much.

At least, it was much better than Chen Jin had imagined.

Based on the opening score of 8.1 on Douban for "Jinling", it's clear that the box office is on the rise, and there's a lot of discussion about it online. Of course, there are also those who criticize it, saying that watching such a movie during the Chinese New Year is just adding to the gloom.

However, films with excellent word-of-mouth, regardless of their subject matter, will definitely attract more people to the cinema during the Spring Festival season.

The fact that the price wasn't higher than yesterday's indicates that many people didn't buy tickets to enter the venue, which is also evident from the pre-sale figures.

The enthusiasm for pre-sales is not as high as it was yesterday, and it's even lower than the first day of pre-sales.

More than 9000 million yuan was pre-sold on the second day of the Lunar New Year.

Just like the Spring Festival film season in later years, it is normal for box office revenue to increase day by day after word of mouth spreads.

Of course, it's also possible that the large amount of promotion led to more users entering the venue on the first day than on the following days.

It can only be said that the trajectory of "Jinling" is worthy of the Spring Festival film season, but it also fails to fully unleash the power of this period.

It grossed 2.31 million on the first day and 2.07 million on the second day, a drop of more than 2000 million.

They are barely managing to maintain a daily output of 2 million.

"It seems there's no way to stop it!"

Wang Zhonglei sighed helplessly. He desperately wanted to buy some negative information and steer the publicity towards the topic of "watching a war movie during the Spring Festival is upsetting," but what would be the point of doing so?

It's a waste of money, mainly because they don't have any movies showing during the Spring Festival.

Otherwise, they would definitely buy this dirt; attacking their opponent is beneficial to themselves.

The Spring Festival film market competition in later generations was just as simple and unpretentious.

It's obvious that neither of them would do that now, because it's not worth it. It would be a waste of money, and the box office wouldn't lose much. It would be a thankless task.

Exactly, Mr. Wang is really upset!

Watching a competitor make money is more painful than killing him.

Are there many people online who criticize us?

Wang Zhongjun asked his younger brother, Wang Zhonglei, who nodded: "There are some, but not as many as the other opinion!"

"What remarks?"

"The Japanese deserve to die!"

Wang Zhongjun: "..."

"We have no reason to forgive the Japanese on behalf of our ancestors!"

Wang Zhonglei read it again.

Wang Zhongjun shook his head: "This must be the publicity and lead generation done by the electronics company, which has set the pace!"

"Yes, that should be it!"

"So, the criticism was suppressed, although there were still some..."

"That's a clever move!"

By leveraging nationalistic sentiments, one can occupy a moral high ground. Even if some people say it's inappropriate during the Lunar New Year, it has no impact on public opinion whatsoever. The TV series "The Battle at Lake Changjin" used this kind of propaganda tactic back then.

The entire internet was reminiscing about past hardships and eating potatoes, but Christmas was completely disrupted.

Moreover, the country actually hopes for this, so countless media outlets will follow up with reports.

If the "opposition" to boycott movies doesn't erupt on the second or third day of the Lunar New Year, then there's basically no chance of it happening in the following days.

As the festive atmosphere of the New Year fades day by day, watching "Jinling" becomes less of a novelty.

With a rating of 8.1, the box office performance will definitely last a long time.

"However, the box office will definitely be lower every day!"

"And with Mission: Impossible 4 releasing on the sixth day of the Lunar New Year, it will definitely have an impact on The Nanjing Film Studio!"

Wang Zhonglei was analyzing the situation. Even though he was very unhappy that "Jinling" was making so much money, there was nothing he could do about it. So they could only pin their hopes on their rival, "Mission: Impossible 4," hoping it could stop the soaring box office trend of "Jinling."

The Wang brothers are truly wicked, but it's also human nature; no one wants their rival to be better off than themselves.

If he's doing well now, then I wish him all the best in whatever comes his way.

Mission: Impossible 4 was their hope.

But clearly, their hopes... have been dashed again.

……

January 25, 2012, the third day of the Lunar New Year!

The news of the "Jinling" team visiting the Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall appeared online; soon after, many survivors and family members of the massacre took to Weibo to denounce the atrocities committed by the Japanese.

There are even related pictures, books, and video materials.

Weibo also takes money and is very efficient, pushing traffic in various ways.

The massacre has once again come into the public eye; coupled with the popularity of the TV series "Nanjing", netizens who have watched it have posted comments.

Suddenly, public opinion returned to the events of that year.

Some people thanked Zhang Yimou for making this film, which allowed more people to know the truth.

Some people feel that "Nanjing" was too mild, and that the Japanese soldiers in it were not human at all.

On the fourth day of the Lunar New Year, Chen Jin even posted a link to a book on Weibo.

This is his first post on Weibo in about half a year.

I spent two days and one night reading through Iris Chang's historical work. A salute to her!

The hatred for our nation and its people must never be forgotten!

Below are images from Iris Chang's book, *The Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust*, along with some of her biographical information.

In 2012, very few people across the country actually knew who Iris Chang was.

It wasn't until after 2015, when Holocaust Remembrance Day was mentioned annually and netizens gradually became familiar with it, that the construction of the Iris Chang Memorial Hall, along with the support of local governments, the media, and the internet, allowed more and more people to learn about the extraordinary life of this female author.

Most importantly, it is about the process of writing this book.

However, Chen Jin has now essentially revealed this matter, this person, and this book ahead of schedule.

As expected, there was a lot of discussion online.

Later, many media outlets photographed Chen Jin and Zhang Yimou's group visiting Zhang Chunru's hometown in Huaicheng to pay respects at her cenotaph.

The reporter had a great opportunity to interview Chen Su, the person in charge of the electronics company.

The Science of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences plans to use a portion of the box office revenue from "The Battle at Lake Chang" to build a memorial hall for Iris Chang, which will be open to the public free of charge, so that more people can learn about this period of history.

Online and offline media outlets alike reported on this matter.

Although the box office of "Jinling" did not decline due to these events, the daily box office drop was not significant.

These news reports and public opinions prevented many unpleasant incidents from being caused by the screening of war films like "Nanjing" during the Spring Festival, and instead fueled growing public anger.

Many people are discussing this, and many of the crimes committed by the Japanese in China back then have been brought up again.

731, the Three Alls Policy, comfort women... one after another, the list is endless!

This was what Chen Jin hoped to see, and it was also Zhang Yimou's original intention in making "Nanjing"; but he never expected that this film would generate such a huge public opinion, making the people of the whole country feel as if they had taken a history lesson on aggression.

The more profound the memory, the more it is mentioned.

Moreover, this public opinion occurred during the Lunar New Year period, disturbing even ordinary people's lives and causing considerable tension between the two places.

It's worth noting that things haven't been peaceful lately, with some controversy erupting on a certain island.

In September of this year, the malicious incident of smashing cars spread across the country.

It's actually caused by anger reaching a certain level!
I don't know if Xiao Rizi still dares to test this line now; anyway, it's very tense right now. Although it hasn't reached that level yet, the online momentum is also very strong... Even though the university has stopped its publicity, the condemnation on Weibo is still frequently trending on Weibo every day.

"Hopefully, these guys will behave themselves by September!"

Chen Jin could only pray for this, because the initiative was in their hands.

The Chinese people have always believed in "we will not attack unless we are attacked." The movie "Nanjing" has awakened the public, but it has not yet reached the point of bullying the Japanese or smashing Japanese products.

But if you take the initiative to start trouble, then you're in the wrong.

Chen Jin actually knew that smashing the car of one's own compatriot was brainless. If you want to vent your anger, go to Japan. What kind of skill is it to mess with your own people?
But this is something he can't stop.

The trigger for this incident was the other party.

On the evening of the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, Chen Jin stayed in her hometown, watching the increasingly intense news online, and sighed deeply.

Deep down, Chinese people are still quite patriotic.

If not 100%, 90% are the most radical of the radicals.

"However, the mission and tasks of 'Jinling' can be considered complete!"

On the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, "Jinling" is expected to gross 1.5 million yuan, bringing its total box office after five days of release to over 9.5 million yuan!

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, sales reached 2.31 million yuan; on the second day, 2.07 million yuan; on the third day, 1.88 million yuan; and on the fourth day, 1.71 million yuan.
This is the box office figure for the film "Nanling" after four days of release.

It's just one step away from 10 billion.

Even if Mission: Impossible 4 is released tomorrow, breaking this number shouldn't be a problem.

The fourth Chinese film to surpass 10 billion yuan in box office revenue.

It is also the second domestic film in China to break the 10 billion yuan mark.

This record alone is already remarkable; the other two are, of course, Transformers 3 and Avatar!
The film "Nanjing" is currently ranked fourth in film history.

This is the power of the Spring Festival film season. Even a film that is not suitable for the Spring Festival can still rake in so much box office revenue. If it were "Lost in Thailand," Chen Jin wouldn't even dare to imagine how much it would have grossed. It would probably have even surpassed the phenomenal 17.3 billion yuan of "So Young."

Therefore, at this critical juncture, Chen Jin is preparing to release "Lost in Thailand" during next year's Spring Festival.

Even though several companies, including Huayi, were launching projects, Chen Jin remained unfazed.

The release date will only get hotter and hotter, with more companies launching their films at this time, which will only increase the hype and make the promotion more effective. "Lost in Thailand" also has competitors in the Lunar New Year season, so it's better to release it during the Spring Festival to maximize its popularity.

Then, let's try Xu Zheng vs. Stephen Chow.

Chen Jin is confident that she can beat "Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons".

In the original timeline, "Lost in Thailand" stood out among the many films released during the Lunar New Year season, while "Journey to the West" was the only film released during the Spring Festival.

In terms of both long-term performance and market trend, it is not as resilient as "Lost in Thailand".

"If we win this battle, Xu Guangtou will probably become a legend in one fell swoop!"

Chen Jin smiled, but then received a call from Chen Su.

If no message is sent, it means there is something important to report.

"Are pre-orders for Mission: Impossible 4 out?"

Chen Jin was the first to ask a question. Right now, the biggest concern for the entire electronics department is, of course, the terrifying arrival of Tom Cruise tomorrow.

"It's out, it's terrifying, 1.7 million!"

"We've been promoting it for so long during the Spring Festival season, it's like we've done all that work for its success!"

Chen Su smiled wryly.

Chen Jin, on the other hand, seemed quite nonchalant: "It's normal. Without proper promotion and distribution, domestic films simply can't compete with Hollywood. There's nothing we can do about letting them take advantage of us. As for screen time, how much more do they have than us?"

"It's 10% more, Mission: Impossible 49.3%, and us 39.8%!"

"In terms of pre-sales, Mission Impossible has already reached over 8100 million, while we only have 6000 million!"

Chen Jin was indeed very disappointed.

Without such a competitor, Cheng Yaojin who suddenly appeared out of nowhere, "Jinling" would very likely hit 11 billion tomorrow.

Now, it's probably just over 10 billion.

“Not bad!”

"To be able to gross 1 million at the box office on the same day as a major American film release, what more could you ask for?"

Chen Jin was quite satisfied.

It's worth noting that Mission: Impossible 4 is currently receiving rave reviews online, and the video of Tom Cruise climbing the Burj Khalifa is going viral, second only to the popularity of "Little Days".

On the first day at this family's house, you should definitely give them a sip of soup.

Chen Jin initially estimated that "Jinling" would gross 10 billion yuan during the Spring Festival.

Chen Jin was quite satisfied with the fact that the mission was completed perfectly in less than a week; it was much better than he had imagined.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, "Jinling" should still be able to gross 3-4 million yuan in the upcoming season.

This actually means that they took some of the food from Mission: Impossible 4, absorbing some of its share.

Chen Jin didn't know how much Mission: Impossible would ultimately gross in mainland China. In his previous life, it was less than 7 million yuan. In this life, due to the butterfly effect and the early start of the Spring Festival film season, it would definitely bring him a lot of traffic and box office revenue.

It could be more than 7 million.

However, it didn't dominate the entire Spring Festival season, catching the last train, so its improvement was actually limited.

On the contrary, it should be a foregone conclusion that "Nanjing" will climb to the second place in Chinese film history, second only to "So Young".

"Tom Cruise is still amazing!"

Chen Jin was quite moved after listening to Chen Su's analysis over the phone.

Starting tomorrow, "Jinling" will likely remain in second place until it leaves the theaters.

This global rival is a force that even Zhang Yimou, along with Bale and Chen Jin, cannot defeat on their home turf.

Hollywood's influence on China is indeed enormous.

And it can't be eliminated in a short time; there's also the Marvel Cinematic Universe's "Avengers" in the future, which is the real killer weapon.

Unless a country's national strength reaches a certain level, and Hollywood productions continue to decline, the world will remain a money pit for the United States.

China is no exception.

"Maintain your core base!"

"Let's see what Berlin's reaction is..."

In a few days, Chen Jin will have to travel with Zhang Yimou and a few others to attend the Berlin International Film Festival.

This year's 62nd edition will begin on February 9th, which is just over a week away.

However, Chen Jin and her team definitely had to go there in advance. The time difference and travel distance were secondary reasons; the main purpose was to meet with some people in the industry, which could also be considered another public relations effort.

Hopefully, this film festival will be fruitful!

"This way, the domestic public opinion surrounding these people won't be wasted; they'll be brought to the international stage!"

Furthermore, the Berlin Film Festival award will certainly give "Jinling" a boost; after all, there are still many people in China who haven't seen this film.

During the Chinese New Year holiday, they saw related news online but did not go to the cinema.

But after the New Year, these feelings obviously disappear.

Driven by curiosity, especially the prospect of winning an award in Berlin, many film enthusiasts will surely be encouraged to go to the cinema.

Perhaps by then, it's possible that we can defeat Mission: Impossible 4 and take the top spot on the Japanese box office again?

After all, there aren't any major films scheduled to be released in China in the next month.

February and March are generally considered the off-season for box office revenue in China!
So... this is a great sniping opportunity!

(End of this chapter)