Entertainment: I am the peak

Chapter 617 must be because of my acting skills.
Unsurprisingly, the box office champion on the first day of the Lunar New Year was "Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back," which grossed 3.51 million yuan that day.

Stephen Chow and Tsui Hark certainly had a strong brand, and Kris Wu certainly had a lot of fans, but the film was a critical flop, becoming the most criticized Stephen Chow film since the millennium.

It seems that it was from this movie that audiences gradually saw through Stephen Chow's money-grubbing nature.

"Stop saying I owe you movie tickets! I went to see this terrible movie, so I've paid you back!"

Viewers expressed great disappointment with "Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back"!

The marketing tactic of "owing Stephen Chow a movie ticket" was first used when "A Chinese Odyssey" was re-released in mainland China in 14.

But it was during the release of "The Mermaid" last year that Stephen Chow personally addressed the audience, asking, "When are you going to pay me back for the movie tickets you owe me?"

Although it was meant as a joke, it has already achieved its promotional effect.

It must be admitted that the person who came up with this marketing rhetoric was a genius!

But the nostalgia marketing couldn't overcome the fact that the film was so bad.

I bought your movie ticket, and you're trying to fool me with something like "Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back"?
Why don't you just post your company's bank account number at the cinema entrance and ask the audience to transfer money directly?

It saves you the trouble of making a movie.

Compared to the critical failure of "Journey to the West", the runner-up "Buddies in India" on the first day of the Lunar New Year was not much better off.

The film grossed 1.87 million yuan that day, but was then criticized by viewers as "rough" and "awkward".

"Perhaps in the field of directing, there is no such thing as hard work paying off." This statement is quite true.

While both films reflect Indian culture, Jackie Chan's *Kung Fu Yoga* performed much better. Although its opening day gross of 1.38 million yuan was less than *Buddies in India*, its later performance was stronger.

"Buddies in India" began to decline sharply after its opening day, grossing 1.1 million yuan on the second day of the Lunar New Year. "Kung Fu Yoga" grossed 1.30 million yuan on the second day of the Lunar New Year, almost the same as its opening day.

On the third day of the Lunar New Year, "Buddies in India" fell below 100 million yuan, earning 92 million yuan, while "Kung Fu Yoga" bucked the trend, earning 1.45 million yuan.

Of course, in terms of numbers, the winner is still "Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back". Although its revenue is declining day by day, it has a solid foundation and still maintains a daily revenue of over 100 million yuan even after the decline.

Something funny happened when "Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back" was being promoted in Hong Kong.

Stephen Chow, Tsui Hark, and Kris Wu were interviewed together. The host asked the two directors, "Whose idea was it to cast so many handsome men in this film?"

Xu Ke: "Who's handsome?"

The host pointed to Kris Wu standing to the side and said, "Isn't he handsome?" Then, turning to Kris Wu, the host asked, "Don't you think you're handsome?"

Kris Wu: "I don't think so." True, who would say they're handsome in front of reporters? Even if they were truly handsome, they'd say they're not. However, Kris Wu probably knows he's good-looking.

Stephen Chow pointed at Kris Wu and said, "Say it again, do you think you're handsome?"

Kris Wu: "I don't think so, I don't think I'm handsome."

Stephen Chow emphasized again: "Say it again in Mandarin."

“I don’t think I’m a handsome guy.” Xu Ke started laughing when Wu Yifan said this.

Stephen Chow then asked, "Then why do you think we would... If you weren't handsome, why would we look for you?"

Kris Wu clenched his fist and said, "It must be because of my acting skills."

Stephen Chow slapped his thigh, exclaimed "Oh dear!", and laughed. Xu Ke and the host also laughed.

"You can answer that?" the two directors said bluntly.

Wu Yifan laughed at himself. He probably knows his acting isn't good, and he might have said that on purpose to make fun of himself. But he never imagined that his joke would be ridiculed to death by netizens.

So far, the film with the best word-of-mouth during the Spring Festival season is actually "Duckweed" directed by Han Han.

"Duckweed" maintains Han Han's signature humor and witty remarks, and in terms of story integrity and watchability, it has made great progress compared to its predecessor, "The Continent".

"The Continent" isn't a story at all; it's more like a PowerPoint presentation of witty quotes.

The crew of "The Butterfly Lovers" resumed filming on the second day of the Lunar New Year. Although they only rested for one day, Li Qiutang could still clearly feel a sense of weariness throughout the crew.

So Li Qiutang gave all the crew members another round of red envelopes. They had spent the New Year filming with you, so you had to show your appreciation.

The female lead, Liu Yifei, bought drinks for everyone, and the male lead, Qin Hao, provided extra meals for everyone, both of which received unanimous praise from the crew.

How much does it cost to buy drinks and snacks? It's not much money, and the whole group will appreciate it. What's not to like?
It can also help with work aversion.

"Here we are," Li Qiutang clapped her hands. "Everyone get ready, we're starting filming. The sooner we finish, the sooner we can wrap up." Li Qiutang called out from next to the cameraman.

This statement is more likely to be made by newcomers who have just entered the industry.

As a result, filming started at 10 a.m. on the first day and didn't wrap up until midnight the next day.

Even the on-set producer couldn't help but remind Li Qiutang that they couldn't keep the crew working like hawks, filming for twelve or thirteen hours a day, because people couldn't take it.

Li Qiutang listened and realized that working at such a high intensity all the time was not good, and said she would pay more attention in the future.

At 1:30 a.m., Li Qiutang went to the preparatory team of "The Wandering Earth" to check on the pre-production special effects. She ate a bowl of dumplings as a midnight snack at the preparatory team and didn't go back to sleep until 3 a.m.

The film crew was busy until the eighth day of the Lunar New Year, and the Autumn Building became lively again.

Because the crews of "Wolf Warrior 2" and "Sewing Machine Band" have returned.

The cast and crew of "Sewing Machine Band" held a meeting today for the lead actors and read the script together for the first time.

The domestic scenes for "Wolf Warrior 2" were completed last November, and the filming process for filming in Africa has been ongoing since then.

I'm back in Huairou to pack up some things I left behind. Wu Jing is here too, so I thought I'd drop by and visit the "Butterfly Lovers" production crew.

It's quite a coincidence that filming for "The Butterfly Lovers" started in mid-November, while "Wolf Warrior 2" finished filming its domestic scenes in early November. The preparation period for "The Butterfly Lovers" coincided with the filming period for "Wolf Warrior 2" in Huairou. The two production teams only had contact at that time, and there has been no other interaction since.

When Wu Jing first came to the "Butterfly Lovers" production team, he didn't come alone; he came with Yu Qian.

"I even said that if you guys didn't come soon, I would call it a day and go home." Li Qiutang shook hands with her two friends who came to visit the set.

"Something came up and I was held up," Wu Jing said, as his assistant handed him a gift box containing some tea.

"Everyone who visits the set likes to bring tea. I have so much tea that I can't even store it all." Li Qiutang's home and company office are, without exaggeration, piled high with all kinds of wine and tea. No matter how much Li Qiutang drinks, she can't possibly finish it all by herself. So she simply opened up part of her office to the company for entertaining guests. Even so, she still can't finish drinking it all every year.

“I have other things here.” Yu Qian took out two bracelets. “I got a good piece of wood the other day and made a few bracelets. Here are two for you and Yifei to play with.”

"I don't understand these things, it would be a waste to give them to me."

"Hey, just playing around."

The actors were still preparing on set. The three of them were talking in the director's booth when the assistant came over and said, "Director, Da Peng has brought his crew."

The visit was not announced in advance, which was a bit inappropriate, but since they're already here, it's fine to see them. Anyway, the filming isn't too busy today, so I have time to meet them.

"That must be Nazha, she's so beautiful." Li Qiutang had already heard the staff's discussion.

(End of this chapter)