Fooling Huayu for Thirty Years

Chapter 306, "Nightclub," surpasses 10 million views! Zhiling emerges like a lotus from the water!
"The premiere of 'Nightclub' was a resounding success!"

"Gao Yuanyuan's first comedy film has received positive reviews!"

"What kind of movie-going frenzy will the upcoming release of 'Nightclub' generate?"

From a promotional perspective, "Nightclub" has been a great success.

It could even be used as a textbook for film marketing.

Many industry insiders have also given the film high praise.

After all, they participated in the Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Film Festival, which was organized entirely by Ma Xun.

Many people in the industry now know that Ma Xun is a big boss, so it's best not to offend him.

Besides, I really thought this movie was very good when I watched it.

It's funny enough, the story is complete, and there are many details.

There are many clever designs in it, and it also achieves a sense of harmony between the beginning and the end.

Almost every shot is used effectively; every second is valuable.

That makes it a very well-made film.

Although it is indeed clear that this is a low-budget film.

However, the movie itself is indeed quite good.

The rest is self-explanatory.

A nationwide release!

The reform of the cinema chain system is indeed still in the pilot stage, but since the previous pilots were quite successful, we can just conduct more pilots in the future.

In other words, although a nationwide cinema chain system has not been truly implemented, it is almost there.

This is all because Ma Xun set a good precedent.

Continuing to do this now is perfectly logical.

Now, the exciting moment is about to arrive.

The first wave of box office results will be determined on the opening day, December 22nd!
The release date is as follows.

Friday the 21st is the opening day of the Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Film Festival.

And since the 22nd is a Saturday, that will naturally be the first day of the official release.

This is basically the same as the release schedule for "Big Shot's Funeral".

The movie "Big Shot's Funeral" premiered on the 20th and was officially released on Friday.

The Wang brothers' plan was extremely ingenious.

They want the whole weekend!
In terms of box office revenue, "weekend" actually refers to the three days from Friday to Sunday.

This is also how the North American box office rankings are calculated; that ranking only considers weekend box office revenue.

The reasoning behind this calculation is quite simple: the weekend is the most important day.

Although there are always box office revenues on weekdays, weekends are generally more important.

Of course, this method of calculation was later proven to be ineffective.

Some movies that exploded at the box office more than a decade later could still break 100 million yuan on non-holidays.

Then naturally, daily box office figures are important.

However, in the early 21st century, people still basically had to look at the three days on the weekend.

From this perspective, "Nightclub" actually had one less day than its competitors.

But this was also so that it could be the opening film of the Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Film Festival.

So, there are gains and losses, and it's not a big problem.

As a result, this year's Lunar New Year film season is incredibly lively.

Two highly anticipated blockbusters are being released almost simultaneously!

This was absolutely a spectacular match!

So, what was the first day like?
After attending the Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Film Festival, the creators of "Nightclub" split into four groups and flew to four major film markets.

Some are relatively close, like those in Guangdong.

The main task is to meet with local movie fans and hold roadshow events at cinemas.

The premiere went very well, so we need to follow up with more events afterward.

In any case, they all worked very hard.

And then it got to night.

Enlight Media, the production company behind "Nightclub," released a poster.

The poster is very simple; the background is a supermarket, but there are several large characters on it.

On the first day, 600 million!
Good grief, is this how it is on the first day?
That's impressive!

For domestic films in China at present, this achievement is already quite remarkable.

The current box office mentality is that a movie that grosses over 3000 million is definitely a success.

This is only the first day. By the end of the first week, we estimate that at least one-third of the 3000 million target will have been achieved.

As a result, this achievement and this poster spread rapidly online!
"Gao Yuanyuan's new film is a great success!"

"I watched 'Nightclub,' and I laughed so hard I almost fell over! It's hilarious!"

"I feel like this film is like all the weirdos I've encountered in the supermarket."

"Who was that? He asked for a straw and then burned himself. That's hilarious!"

"I feel like I've encountered people like that before."

The feedback online is really quite positive.

There's nothing we can do about it; traditional media simply can't be that fast in terms of time.

In that case, the pressure will fall on Huayi.

The Wang brothers rushed back to Beijing from Sanya overnight, taking a red-eye flight.

The two brothers were already quite weak, and the long flight made them look like pandas.

However, the situation is indeed very urgent now.

The movie "Big Shot's Funeral" was originally highly anticipated, but now it is under a lot of pressure!
They had the upper hand.

Looking at it now, we're actually at a disadvantage!
The Wang brothers are known in the Chinese film industry for their marketing skills.

But this time, they really met their match.

"This Ma Xun is really pushing me relentlessly!"

"Indeed, releasing the box office poster at this exact time is just a mess!"

The two brothers had just made some arrangements when they discovered that their competitors had released the day's box office posters.

No, this isn't right!

Normally, one will be released after the first week.

Especially the current situation of our domestic film market.

Now that the box office has reached ten million, there's reason to celebrate, right?

So, on your first day, you didn't even make ten million, yet you still got rich?

This is clearly putting pressure on our Huayi Brothers' "Big Shot's Funeral".

The logic is simple: if "Nightclub" releases this poster, it will definitely garner more media coverage and gain more online buzz.

Just look at the reactions online now.

While the internet is indeed not mainstream media at the moment, its response is surprisingly fast.

The two brothers could already foresee that tomorrow morning, newspapers would definitely publish the "good news" of "Nightclub's" opening day box office success.

Actually, 600 million in box office revenue... is good, but not particularly good either.

Therefore, Ma Xun was clearly just creating a fuss and putting pressure on his brothers.

I've made my move, are you going to follow or not?

“We’ll send some too!” said the second son of the Wang family.

The eldest brother nodded, but then felt that something seemed off.

"So, what about the data?"

Of course, the question was about box office figures.

The second brother should contact someone immediately.

It's really difficult to do this in the middle of the night.

They weren't prepared in advance.

To check box office figures every day, you definitely need to have a close relationship with the cinemas. And, in fact, it's absolutely certain that the current daily box office figures are inaccurate!

After all, there hasn't been a truly nationwide reform of the cinema system yet, and even if there were, it might not be accurate.

Fortunately, the brothers have a lot of connections, and they did a great job with the previous Lunar New Year films.

We've managed to get the data.

"Better than them!"

"Of course, but how much exactly?"

"This... an extra 200 million."

"Huh? That's all?"

"That's about right, it can't be too much more."

Just 200 million more?!

The eldest son of the Wang family hesitated a bit.

But in reality, this is a fairly normal box office figure.

The two films were released almost simultaneously, and both benefited from the pilot program of the cinema system reform.

In terms of pre-release publicity, although the Wong brothers were reluctant to admit it, it was clear that "Nightclub" had overtaken them.

Yes, it was shown for one more day, but that day was a Friday.

Friday is still not as good as Saturday and Sunday.

Everyone understands this principle.

It's only an extra 200 million, but... we can't not issue it.

Finally, the eldest son of the Wang family gritted his teeth!

"Send it! Find someone, hurry up, make a poster quickly."

"That's convenient."

The convenience that Wang's second son mentioned was that Huayi was originally an advertising company, so they did have an advantage in making these kinds of posters.

However, this means their employees will have to work overtime!

It's past midnight and you're still making your employees work overtime? You two are absolutely bastards!
But that's reality; these days, there are quite a few people working overtime until midnight.

There are actually people who do it.

But it was too late, since neither of them had made any prior preparations.

So, when the 'first day' box office poster for 'Big Shot' came out...

It was already Sunday noon.

To be honest, this is already quite fast; the graphic designer has even gotten a few more gray hairs.

Never mind, the poster is out!

"Big Shot's Funeral" grossed 800 million yuan on its opening day!
It must be said that it does have some effect.

"As expected! We still have to watch Feng Xiaogang for the Lunar New Year film season!"

"This 'Big Shot' is really funny!"

"Who acted in that scene in the mental hospital?"

"Li Chengru?"

"No, it's the one who talked about the internet."

"Oh, that one... I don't recognize him." "Big Shot's Funeral" is indeed a masterpiece; the movie is really good.

Moreover, there are many memorable scenes in it.

Li Chengru delivered a monologue about selling a house, and now everyone thinks... he's mentally ill!

But what about a few years from now?
What about ten years from now?
Classic, no doubt about it!

In addition, there was Zhang Hanyu's segment about the internet.

Find a few hired guns to hurl insults at you, using the most offensive language imaginable.

Finally, you invest a certain amount in the website, then add a zero and sell it...

This is happening right now!

So, this is indeed a good movie.

Netizens naturally gave it positive reviews.

but!

Upon closer inspection... something seems a bit off.

"Only 800 million?"

"The cast of 'Nightclub' isn't as good as yours, yet it still costs 600 million!"

"That's right. In 'Nightclub,' Wang Yuxian only made a cameo appearance as the female boss. In terms of cast, it really can't compare to 'Big Shot'."

"It's only 200 million more, and they even worked an extra day!"

"No, didn't their poster say it was the first day?"

"That's pure bullshit. If they can make 8 million on Friday, this movie's box office will break 100 million!"

I must say, our netizens are really impressive.

Everyone quickly discovered that there was a huge problem with the poster.

Feng Xiaogang is the king of the Lunar New Year film season.

"Big Shot's Funeral" is a big-name film released during the Lunar New Year season!
So it only cost 800 million in two days?
This is practically a 50/50 match with "Nightclub"!

Admittedly, "Big Shot's Funeral" is indeed a good movie.

But "Nightclub" isn't bad either.

The reviews are very positive, and moviegoers who have seen it generally think it's great, especially because it's very relatable.

What happens in supermarkets is something many ordinary people have encountered.

In fact, it wasn't just He Sanshui's lottery ticket that wasn't redeemed.

There were quite a few groups of customers, and many interesting things happened.

So it seems... the two sides are currently evenly matched?

Check out Sunday's box office!
However, netizens didn't have to wait long. Around 3 PM on Sunday afternoon, Nightclub released another poster.

贺！
Breaking ten million!

It's still very simple, but this time it features all the movie characters in a comic book style on the poster, all showing laughter.

That's over ten million!
Strong!

Of course, anyone who understands movie box office knows this.

Movie box office figures now only last for three weeks at most.

In fact, many of these box office results stopped improving after the second week.

Because it's pirated.

Therefore, based on the box office performance of "Nightclub"...

3000 million is definitely achievable!

I'm optimistic that it can break 4000 million!
Isn't that already a great success?

That's why people are laughing.

However, our netizens are truly talented.

Soon, someone noticed the problem.

"The box office poster for 'Big Shot' was released at noon, while 'Nightclub' was only three hours behind!"

"So, does that mean the box office has actually surpassed it?"

"Holy crap! They really overtook them?! So fast?!"

"Impossible! Feng Xiaogang is the king of the Lunar New Year film season!"

That's right, from a time perspective, that's indeed the case.

It gives people the feeling that "Big Shot's Funeral" has been overtaken.

But is it really so?

The Wang brothers are as anxious as ants on a hot pan!

"What happened? Have we really been overtaken?"

"Probably not! But, currently, regarding the data..."

"So you're saying that if we haven't been overtaken, we're pretty much done?"

"Well... I can only say that the data isn't that accurate yet."

"Damn it!"

The eldest son of the Wang family realized the crisis; things were getting really tough.

They originally thought they had a huge advantage, but they never expected things to turn out this way.

The current situation is awkward. They should have an advantage with "Big Shot's Funeral," but the data is not very accurate.

This creates the image that they clearly didn't lose, but they lost!

Isn't that incredibly pathetic?

"What should we do?" The second brother also felt something was wrong, but there was nothing he could do.

The eldest son of the Wang family is quite capable.

"Release the poster first! Just say we've surpassed 1200 million in box office revenue!"

"This……"

"I don't care about the box office numbers anymore, we're definitely going to break 1200 million!"

That's true, it's just a matter of time.

The second son of the Wang family understood and quickly ordered the graphic designer to make the box office posters.

Actually, all of this is because they didn't make any preparations in the first place.

The Wong brothers were convinced they had a sure win, dominating the Lunar New Year film season with an incredibly strong cast.

How could we lose?

Unexpectedly, Ma Xun beat him to the punch at every turn.

They deserve to be in such a mess!

That evening, "Big Shot's Funeral" released a poster announcing that it had surpassed 1200 million views.

The situation seems to have been stabilized.

And what about Ma Xun?

He was enjoying the sun, sand, and azure sea in Sanya.

……

To be honest, Sanya is really great.

The tourism resources are truly abundant.

Ma Xun sat comfortably in a wicker chair, gazing at the distant sea.

There's also a swimming pool nearby.

This is a small villa he built for himself.

The view is quite good, as it's situated halfway up a mountain.

Some people might think that the beachfront location is better, and that's true.

However, for personal residence, it is actually better to be a little further away from the sea. The first-line coastline should be reserved for hotel development, so as not to waste resources.

As for myself, like now, although I am farther from the sea, I have a lot more private space.

The pool shimmered under the sunlight.

Best of all, there's a 'mermaid' inside.

Ma Xun admired the view for a while when his phone rang.

It was Wang Changdian.

"Boss, the other side has already engaged us."

"Very good, but there's no need to rush this time."

"clear."

"Proceed according to plan."

That's right, Ma Xun did a good job planning ahead this time.

I've made all the necessary arrangements.

Judging from the current situation, it's clear that the Wang brothers are in a state of chaos.

Wang Changtian, on the other hand, brought up the poster.

"How could they break 1200 million so quickly?"

"Just bragging."

"Wow? They're really daring!"

"Let me tell you, this year's Lunar New Year film battle has entered the stage of boasting, understand?"

"Haha... Boss, I understand."

"Now our opponents are panicking, so we should proceed with caution and prudence."

"Understood! I'll arrange it right away!"

"Big Shot's Funeral" is a good movie, but it's definitely an exaggeration to say it broke 1200 million in box office revenue so quickly.

Ma Xun realized this, and he felt even more at ease.

What follows is sure to be even more interesting.

Just for now...

"Brother Ma~"

The mermaid came out of the pool.

She was like a lotus emerging from the water, tall and slender, with water still dripping from her.

It's Lin Chih-ling!
Why is she here?

Ma Xun laughed and said, "Next, Brother Chen Kai wants to cast you in a movie, so you'd better be prepared."

"Brother Ma~ You're too kind to people."

"This is what he's looking for you with."

"Then I'm also grateful to Brother Ma~ Without Brother Ma~ there wouldn't be Zhiling today~"

Wow, Zhiling's sweet voice is simply irresistible.

The old Ma Xun was absolutely this coquettish; he really couldn't stand it.

But now... oh, it's really quite enjoyable to be cute with me.

Moreover, Zhiling is indeed very understanding.

After getting out of the pool, he knelt down next to Ma Xun's rattan chair.

She smoothed her hair, and then her little mouth...

hiss~
(End of this chapter)