1982 Started from Hong Kong

Chapter 162: Box office dilution, all three sides suffer
The chain of video halls in Sau Mau Ping Estate is bustling with activity today.

It was four o'clock in the morning and it was still dark.

A group of busy figures began to hang up billboards on the ground floor of each housing estate.

'The Lunar New Year is approaching, the video hall is suitable for neighbors, the best new movies, all for one yuan.'

The posters of new films being screened in the theatre were copied, cut out and pasted on billboards; the headshots of Xu Guanjie and Chen Shilong were particularly eye-catching.

When the residents of the housing estate woke up and saw the billboard, they were all confused.

The video hall has reduced its prices again?
As a unique landscape of the Sau Mau Ping estate, Zhai Yuan's video hall has been open for more than a year and has become integrated into the daily lives of estate residents, just like the nearby supermarkets and community convenience stores.

Ticket prices changed from selling each movie individually to selling an eight-dollar package for a whole day. It became not only a cheap form of entertainment for residents of the housing estate, but also a holy place for parents to leave their children.

I didn’t expect that there is a Spring Festival special offer now, with ticket prices reduced to only one yuan?
The boss is kind!
"I saw a poster saying that the theater is previewing a new Lunar New Year movie. Is that true?"

"Of course it's a hoax. How can there be new movies before the Lunar New Year season starts? But my family has prepared the money and plans to go to the big theater to watch "Best Partner" on Christmas. It's rare to go to the theater once a year, so this time we bought the most expensive super seats."

"I also plan to take my family to watch "Best Partner", but the premium seats are too expensive. For my family of six, it's more cost-effective to buy ordinary balcony seats."

Two workers who had just returned from the factory were chatting as they walked back after seeing the billboard of the video hall.

I bumped into a familiar face who had just walked out of the video room.

"A Fei, A Ji, are you finishing work so early?"

"Yes, Brother Hua, what good movies do you recommend today?"

Brother Hua is an old drama fan in this housing estate and a frequent visitor to the video hall, where he can sit for the whole day with just a pot of tea.

"Didn't you see the billboards on the road when you came back? The video hall is having a big Spring Festival promotion this month. Not only have they got three movies that will be released during the Lunar New Year, but they also have dozens of new movies this year."

After Hua Ge finished explaining, he shook his head and sighed, "Pick! I regret it now. I spent more than a hundred dollars to go to the cinema to watch those new movies. If I had known that the movies would be released in the video hall, I would have waited a little longer and not wasted that money."

Ah Fei and Ah Ji looked at each other.

"Hasn't the Lunar New Year film been released yet?"

"I heard that a group of South Asians stole the negatives from midnight theaters to make money and then sold them to major cassette theaters."

Brother Hua solemnly spread the news that had been passed around countless times: "It's not surprising that South Asians would do such a thing. They are A-cha!"

A-cha is a derogatory term used by Hong Kong people to refer to South Asians.

Because the foreigners used to recruit South Asians as policemen, a lot of Moroccan policemen flocked into Hong Kong. This group of South Asians spread out in Hong Kong, causing a series of social problems. They are generally regarded as synonymous with backwardness and dirtiness.

Not even as pleasing to the eye as the Vietnamese in the Baishi refugee camp.

"It turns out to be A-cha, that's not surprising."

Except for good things, nothing A-Cha does in Hong Kong is surprising.

Ah Fei and Ah Ji nodded in understanding, and then asked in unison, "Does the video hall have the third episode of "Best Partner"?"

"Of course there is, and it's very clear, just as sharp as Chen Shilong's "Project A"."

When Hua Ge said this, he sighed regretfully: "The most regrettable thing is that "A Better Tomorrow". It seems that there is a problem with the film. At the critical moment, the screen went black, leaving only the dialogue. I was confused and could only wait for the premiere to buy tickets to go to the theater to watch it~"

After saying this, he seemed to have remembered something important, and said goodbye to Ah Fei and Ah Ji: "Alright! I won't tell you. I still have to hurry to inform Jie Shirong, Kou Shuisu and the others. These idiots are planning to buy tickets to watch Chen Shilong's "Project A" tonight. What a waste of money!"

Brother Hua is gone.

Ah Fei and Ah Ji looked at each other and entered the video room.

This common scene started from the Sau Mau Ping housing estate and spread to the whole of Kwun Tong.

…………

"The speed of offline dissemination is still too slow. It's a pity that there is no Internet, otherwise the fake version would kill the genuine one."

Especially the gun version that was leaked during the preview period.

However, slow dissemination also has its advantages. At least so far, Jiahe and Princess Yin have not noticed the leak of pirated videotapes, and by the time they discovered it, it was too late.

Zhai Yuan knocked on the table and looked up at Chen Jiale who was waiting for him to speak: "What's the situation outside now? No one is looking for us, right?"

Chen Jiale smiled confidently, "Don't worry, Brother Yuan. We didn't even keep copies of the secretly recorded films. We gave them all to the South Asians, who then sold them to several cassette factories. Now these pirated videotapes are being produced everywhere. We can't be blamed for that."

The entire cassette market in Hong Kong was turned into a turbid water by these two people, and the source could no longer be traced.

"South Asians are good knives. Keep in touch with them so you can use them next time."

Zhai Yuan’s piracy business had just started. Not only did he not make much money from this wave, but he lost more than 100,000 yuan in total. It could only be regarded as an initial investment.

He warned Chen Jiale, "But you need to arrange a few more feet, like those fans, and have a few more downlines, so that you can withdraw at any time."

Chen Jiale was embarrassed when he heard this: "The people around me are all my friends in the estate. It is difficult to distance myself from them."

"It doesn't matter. Hong Kong is not short of people who make money through illegal means."

Zhai Yuan had already laid out another line, and said to him: "I will introduce you to Huang Jun, the temporary leader of Xinji, when I have the chance. Once you have conquered the pirated market, you will make as much as Secret Garden in the future."

Chen Jiale had witnessed the Secret Garden's terrifying money-making ability, and he was excited when he heard this.

In just one year, he followed Zhai Yuan and had gone from being an unemployed vagrant in a housing estate to a young wealthy man worth nearly one million. Naturally, he obeyed Zhai Yuan's orders.

As for Sun Kee Huang Jun, Carlos Chan is not too impressed with the title.

Although he is not as rich as the other party, he has dozens of people working under him, and he is like a bully in Xiu Mau Ping. He does not take ordinary gang members seriously at all, and there is no need for him to use Xin Kee's signboard to bully others.

"Boss, your movie business is booming, and it doesn't seem right to suddenly engage in piracy."

In the conference room, Guan Weiming expressed his opinion honestly. He understood the market better than Chen Jiale, and that was why he could not understand why Zhai Yuan would take such a big risk to seize the pirated market.

The cost of producing the videotapes was too high, and they were unstable candid versions, so the selling price and sales were greatly reduced.

If Zhai Yuan had not rented the theater from Zhao, he could have made a small profit by doing this, but now the theater's annual rental fee is tens of millions. How many videotapes would he have to sell to recoup the cost?

Guan Weiming felt that this was an act of throwing away the watermelon to pick up the sesame seeds. Wouldn't it be better to just make a good movie and let the cassette manufacturer release its own genuine videotapes?
"America has a kind of optical disc that uses analog signals to store data. A disc is the size of a palm, lighter and thinner than this dinner plate."

Zhai Yuan flicked the plastic fruit plate in front of him. Instead of explaining it to him directly, he explained a new thing to Guan Weiming.

He said: "I have learned about this kind of CD. At first, it could only store photos, but now it can store 37 minutes of movie clips or 52 minutes of pure music. It can be burned, deleted and rewritten like a videotape, but the cost of each blank CD is only two or three Hong Kong dollars at most."

Chen Jiale didn't understand.

But Guan Weiming, who had worked in the videotape market for many years, was stunned.

This kind of high-tech product has such a low cost. If it continues to develop and enter the market in the future, won’t the videotape market die immediately?

Guan Weiming stared and asked, "A laser disc that can display images?"

The laser disc he was talking about is the so-called CD. Although it can only record audio, its capacity and sound quality are far superior to traditional tapes, and it is creating a craze in Hong Kong.

"That's about it." Zhai Yuan nodded and asked, "Are you interested?"

Guan Weiming nodded without hesitation: "Yes!"

"Sony in Japan, Scoober in America, Philips in West Germany."

Zhai Yuan reported that during this period, through collecting newspapers, he learned about three overseas companies that are deeply engaged in CD technology.

His face turned a little serious. "The company will pay you. You will bring a few technical talents with you and choose a country to go to. You can steal their skills or poach their talents. In short, you must use all possible means. In three years at most, I want to see the cassette factory in Yuen Long become a CD production base."

First seize the pirated market, then slowly develop CDs, and finally VCDs.

Mr. Zhai has a very clear goal.

As long as we complete these three steps, in the next ten years, not only Hong Kong, but the entire Southeast Asian film market will be in the spotlight!
Making a movie? I'm just raising some money from your film industry. Is it necessary for you to be so nervous?

Good days are yet to come~
…………

November 12th, the winter solstice.

The midnight previews preheated the three Lunar New Year films for a week, and there was no buffer before they transitioned directly to their official release.

The Lunar New Year holiday is the best promotion.

Although Zhai Yuan was looking forward to the box office performance of "A Better Tomorrow", his recent expenses were too high and he could not wait for the box office share, so he decided to recover some funds in advance.

So when "A Better Tomorrow" was released in the 1024 Theater and the four leading theaters leased from the Zhao family.

A group of female staff with sweet smiles appeared at the entrance of the theater. They turned into salesmen and introduced the preferential measures of the entire 1024 theater chain to the audience entering.

"Sir, would you like to know more about the membership cards launched on 1024? There are three types: Supreme Diamond Card, VIP Platinum Card and Shining Gold Card. There is a % discount for applying for the card now, and the original price will be restored after the Chinese New Year~"

As for membership cards, those who know about them are familiar with the tricks used in later generations, but it is still a relatively novel marketing strategy at the moment.

The three membership cards designed by Zhai Yuan simply give the audience a certain degree of discount based on different prices. The ultimate goal is naturally to attract customers, bind customers and recover funds.

Diamond card is 2888 yuan, platinum card is 1888 yuan, and gold card is 888 yuan.

For the most expensive Supreme Diamond Card, for example, within one year after application, one can enjoy a 50% discount on movie admissions, and the card can be lent to friends and family.

It sounds like a good deal, but in fact, 1024 set the high ticket price of 50 yuan per ticket at the beginning, which has left a lot of room for profit, and it will not lose money even if the ticket price is reduced by %.

In addition to discounts, customers holding membership cards can also enter theaters for free on their birthdays every year and receive small gifts and greeting cards from the theater.

Of course, points accumulation is indispensable.

You can accumulate points by spending, attracting new customers, and recharging.

Points can be used to redeem movie-related products.

For example, the cape, simulation toys, and T-shirts printed with movie scenes of Mark from "A Better Tomorrow" in front of us.

"Mark's same style windbreaker, plastic gun, movie soundtrack, limited to 100 pieces, first come first served!"

The pool table on the second floor was temporarily removed and replaced with a glass display case and three-dimensional posters of movie characters. The staff were also attracting customers.

A white T-shirt that costs a few Hong Kong dollars can be sold for twenty or thirty dollars after it is printed with images of movie characters.

With various activities being held in full swing.

The box office data for the first day of the Lunar New Year holiday have also been released.

"Best Partner" grossed 87 on the first day.

"Project A" grossed 84 on its first day.

"A Better Tomorrow" grossed 56 on its first day.

The 1024 high-priced seats in the 90 theater have worked very hard to help boost the box office of "A Better Tomorrow", with the attendance rate reaching over %.

However, Zhao's four leading theaters, as well as the remaining Western Cinema Chain and Lianhua Cinema Chain, are still lukewarm.

Wu Yusen was very panicked and kept asking Zhai Yuan: "Boss, what should I do?"

Zhai Yuan lowered his head and wrote furiously on the script. He looked up at the statistics on the blackboard and shook his head: "No hurry, let the bullets fly for a while."

…………

Mandarin Theatre, Portland Street, Mong Kok.

Chen Lan and Xu Jiaqiang sat in the box seats on the second floor and watched the entire show "A Better Tomorrow".

She asked her husband: "Brother Qiang, what do you think of this movie?"

Xu Jiaqiang smiled on his cold face: "I think if I play the role of Brother Mark, it might be more suitable."

"Silly."

Chen Lan spoke the Cantonese she had just learned and gave Xu Jiaqiang a charming look.

She said: "I received news that the box office of Zhai Yuan's film was not as high as expected. If he fails to win the box office championship this year, distributors in North America, Japan and South Korea may not be interested. I am worried that he will be in trouble."

The biggest advantage of a local box office champion is that it can be favored by overseas distribution. This is also the important reason why "Best Partner" has tried its best to shoot in various countries in the past two years to compete with Jiahe for the first place.

"What do you think, wife?"

Xu Jiaqiang has recently gradually emerged from the shadow of Xu Jiasheng's rebellion, and has been obedient to his wife Chen Lan, who anticipated the outcome and handed Qiao Yanni over to Lin's uncle.

Qiao Yanni's ending was not good.

Xinji already has a leader in the gang, so naturally it is impossible for Xu Jiasheng to be sued as well. After all, he is one of Xu’s own people.

So when Xu Jiasheng paid a two million bail and came out of the police station, he immediately jumped bail and ran away under the arrangement of his two uncles from the Lin family.

It was said that he was running away, but in fact it was exile. He was not allowed to go to the Netherlands and was sent directly to Albania.

As for Qiao Yanni, the woman who had evidence of Xu Jiasheng's crimes, she naively thought that she could return to Taiwan after Xu Jiasheng fled. However, as soon as the ferry that took her out to sea left the Hong Kong waters, she was put into a sack, tied with stones, and sunk to the bottom of the sea.

"I was thinking, if Zhai Yuan's 91 Entertainment can't get overseas distribution, can we renegotiate the terms with him?"

Chen Lan's eyes turned, and she smiled. "But it's too early to say that now. Judging from the quality of this movie, the box office may go up. If he really wins the box office championship this year, then we will have to beg him humbly."

…………

"Good! If we keep up this growth, we will still be the local box office champion this year!"

In the office building of the founding bank, Lei Juekun looked at the data chart in his hand and laughed heartily.

The only thing that bothered him was that "A Better Tomorrow" actually earned 56 on the first day.

In any independent production company, Jiuyi's performance would undoubtedly be an outstanding achievement, but the other party refused to be surrendered by him and dared to stand against him, which made Boss Lei dissatisfied.

"Everyone says that A Better Tomorrow is a good movie, but I think the biggest credit goes to director Wu Yusen."

Lei Juekun glanced at the equally delighted New One City creative team and asked, "Where's Xu Qi? I asked him to recruit Wu Yusen, but why hasn't he made any move yet?"

Compared with the financial sponsor, Boss Lei, the creative team of Xin Yicheng has not yet reached the sky.

Wu Yusen certainly shot a good movie, but most of them have worked with each other before and don’t quite believe that he could make such rapid progress in a short period of time.

In the end credits of "A Better Tomorrow", the four words "Screenwriter Zhai Yuan" are particularly eye-catching. If someone could write a good script, everything seems to make sense.

Huang Boming smiled and said, "Boss, Wenguang took his girlfriend Asheng to America to watch a new movie two days ago, and he is not in Hong Kong now."

Lei Juekun looked unhappy and opened his mouth but no sound came out.

The success of the third episode of "Best Partner" allowed him to tolerate some situations temporarily.

"Forget it, ignore him for now."

Lei Juekun continued to instruct, “Notify the sales department to continue promoting the film. Also, you creative team should be more thoughtful and ready to contact Columbia, Far East, and United International at any time. We must make the brand famous in North America this year!”

Not only Lei Juekun, the creative team of Xin Yicheng is also full of confidence.

It seems that it is an indisputable fact that "Best Partner" won the domestic box office championship this year.

This confidence lasted until the third day of the film's release.

December 12th, Christmas.

When the new round of daily box office statistics came out, everyone was stunned.

"Best Partner" grossed 81 yuan today.

"Project A" grossed 76 yuan today.

"A Better Tomorrow" grossed 67 yuan today.

The Christmas period should have been the time when the largest number of moviegoers should have attended, but it turned out that only the box office of "A Better Tomorrow" was gradually increasing, while the box office of the other two movies actually fell.

what's the situation? !

Not only Xin Yicheng, but even Jiahe was dumbfounded.

The two companies hurriedly sent people out to investigate, and after a round of interviews among the audience, the news was passed back to the company. "Boss, our movie has been targeted by pirates, and now all the major cassette stores in Hong Kong are selling it."

"It was made by Nan Ya A Cha. The cassette tape production factory in Hong Kong has quietly started production and has sold no less than 100,000 cassettes."

"We have called the police to raid the factory and the store, but it is very difficult to get the cassettes that have been put on the market back."

A series of news left Zou Wenhuai and Lei Juekun confused.

Then, pirated videotapes of three Lunar New Year movies were quickly placed on the tables of the two companies.

After reading it, the senior management of Jiahe fell into silence.

"All our movies were recorded clearly, except for 91's A Better Tomorrow, where the screen went black at the crucial moment. Is that such a coincidence?"

Liang Feng knocked hard on the table to break the silence, frowning and glancing at his colleagues around him.

"I secretly went to watch the midnight preview of the film that night, and there was indeed an accident where the film broke, and the next day there was a news report in the newspaper that criticized the film."

Hong Xinbao sat on the chair and raised his hand to express his opinion.

"It is widely rumored that it was done by a South Asian Achaebol. I think this statement is more credible."

He Guanchang also spoke up: "Zhai Yuan's 91 Entertainment has just opened. What he did is to make an enemy of the entire film industry. Is it stupid to burn the chicken to get the eggs?"

"This A Better Tomorrow is well made. I called Wu Yusen and asked him if he is interested in coming back to help. If he is willing to make a sequel, the company can open a studio for him."

The last person to speak was Zou Wenhuai, with a smile on his face and a friendly manner.

He paused, then looked at the radical Liang Feng and said, "You are familiar with the people in the Freedom Association. You can add fuel to the fire and direct the spearhead towards Zhai Yuan. Regardless of whether it is a pirated copy made by him or not, Lei Juekun will definitely not be able to resist. Let him slowly fight against Jiuyi Entertainment."

Zou Wenhuai is very good at judging people.

Lei Juekun really couldn't help it.

After watching pirated videotapes of three movies, he suspected that Zhai Yuan was behind it.

It was not until several key members of the Freedom Association came to him and handed him the information they had collected about Zhai Yuan's video hall business and cassette factory that Lei Juekun suddenly felt that he had caught something and the matter was instantly ignited like a powder keg.

"Fuck you! Are you trying to cut off my source of income?"

Under the influence of KMB and KMC, a large number of policemen poured into Sau Mau Ping, and more than a dozen video halls under Zhai Yuan were closed down.

Then they found his cassette factory and tried to look for evidence, but unfortunately the equipment had been moved long ago and of course they found nothing.

Lei Juekun was still furious and spent money to buy the front page of a newspaper to criticize 91 Entertainment.

Openly supporting piracy, 91 Entertainment has made a series of stupid moves in order to compete for the Lunar New Year box office. —— Ming Pao

Unscrupulous pirates are so bold that they have leaked the film before it is released. Insiders claim that 91 Entertainment is the driving force behind the scenes. -- Sing Pao Daily News

…………

"Pick! Our movies are also pirated, why are you throwing mud at us?"

Wu Yusen threw the newspaper on the table and flew into a rage in front of Zhai Yuan: "If you have the guts, find that lousy pirate and take him out for a practice!"

in the office.

Zhai Yuan sorted out the written script papers and was playing with the pen in his hand when he was startled by Wu Yusen's sudden intrusion.

Listening to his indignant accusations, Zhai Yuan pursed his lips and said nothing.

Wu Yusen continued, "Boss, this matter must be clarified in the newspaper immediately. It's obviously not our fault. We are also victims. Why are we acting as if all the pirated tapes were produced by us? We are going to fail!"

"Yeah, you're right." Zhai Yuan forced a smile: "Don't worry, I've arranged for someone to do the counterattack."

Zhai Yuan's counterattack was simple and crude.

Attorney Shen Wei, the head of the legal department and an employee of Jiuyi Entertainment, filed a lawsuit directly against all newspapers including Ming Pao and Sing Pao, demanding an apology in the newspapers and compensation for defamation.

Shen Wei is smarter than Wu Yusen and understands Zhai Yuan's character better.

I asked him a few questions before filing the lawsuit.

Shen Wei said, "Boss, tell me honestly, were you the one who made the pirated videotape?"

Zhai Yuan said: "Shh! Keep your voice down!"

Shen Wei said: "I understand! Did you leave any traces?"

Zhai Yuan said: "Except for the pirated tapes that were released in the video hall, the rest of the mess has been cleaned up."

Shen Wei said, "That's easy. Both Carlos Chan and Leung Chi-chiu have shares in the video parlor. This is their own initiative. Although you are a major shareholder, you are not aware of this, right?"

Zhai Yuan slammed the table and said, "So that's what's going on. That loser, Chen Jiale, actually bought and screened pirated videotapes without my knowledge. When he goes to court, remember to ask the judge to confiscate all his illegal gains!"

There was no evidence. Even though everyone knew that Zhai Yuan was involved, he would still be invincible in court.

Thus, a lawsuit without any suspense began.

Several newspapers and periodicals that received red envelopes from Lei Juekun obviously did not expect Zhai Yuan to be so tough. After receiving the court summons, they all jumped out to clarify in the newspapers.

'On December 12, this newspaper published false news about "Jiuyi Entertainment supports piracy". After investigation, it was found that the news was fabricated by an intern editor of the newspaper. There is no substantial evidence and it does not represent the attitude of this newspaper. The editor has been fired. This newspaper sincerely apologizes to Mr. Zhai Yuan and his company for the negative impact caused.'

Ming Pao was the first to kneel down and apologize, and even sacrificed an intern.

Mr. Cha also knew that he was bound to lose the lawsuit, and that a fight would damage his literary reputation, so he assessed the situation and immediately withdrew.

But other newspapers, led by Sing Pao, remained stubborn.

The main reason is that the sales of these newspapers are far lower than that of Ming Pao, so they simply used the lawsuit to sue September 1st in order to increase the exposure of their own newspapers.

Zhai Yuan was very moved. There are successors, and my path is not alone!

After confirming that he could not lose the lawsuit, he simply stopped being in a hurry and slowly started a verbal battle with these tabloids on the front page, trying to make progress together.

In this peaceful atmosphere, Zhou Haimei took a holiday.

It was a dark and windy night.

Zhai Yuan booked a king-size room at the Peninsula Hotel.

Holding Zhou Haimei in his arms, he walked to the hotel entrance. Looking at the ambiguous eyes of the people around him, Xiao Zhou spoke hesitantly.

"Cousin, you go up first. I'll wait for ten minutes and then come find you, okay?"

You can see that the knuckles of her fingers, which were nervously grasping the hem of her skirt, have turned white.

"Okay." Zhai Yuan smiled and rubbed her head: "Waiting for you~"

Seeing her cousin going upstairs, Zhou Haimei lowered her head and walked forward until she was more than 200 meters away from the entrance of the Peninsula Hotel. Then she raised her head and breathed a sigh of relief.

She felt as if everyone on the street tonight was secretly looking at her.

After absentmindedly walking around the street grocery stall for a few times, Zhou Haimei bought another string of candied haws and clenched her fist to encourage herself.

Hold your head high! Hold your chest out!
The girl walked forward with great momentum, and returned to the entrance of the Peninsula Hotel, silently reciting the room number in her heart:

302, 302, 302...

"Hello, welcome to The Peninsula Hotel!"

During the Christmas period, the hotel staff received bonuses and were very motivated.

Seeing a guest walking into the hall, the receptionist at the door immediately greeted him in a clear voice.

Zhou Haimei, who had been looking straight ahead, was so frightened that her whole body trembled. The aura she had accumulated with great difficulty was swept away, and the candied haws in her hand fell to the ground with a plop.

The two sides looked at each other, both confused.

The receptionist hurriedly helped her pick up the candied haws, and then fell into an awkward situation.

It has fallen to the ground. Should we return it to the customer?
Zhou Haimei was not concerned about the candied haws. She was afraid that the other party would not let her go upstairs without a room card, so she pointed to the elevator entrance and said cautiously: "I have a reservation, 302..."

The receptionist quickly stepped aside to make way, showing a professional smile: "Miss, please come in."

Zhou Haimei said "oh", and always felt that there was an unusual ambiguous teasing in the other person's smile.

She couldn't help but explain herself, and lied smartly, "I came here with my family. My mother is waiting for me in the room. We'll just rest for one night and then leave."

The receptionist blinked in confusion.

Who asked you?

Get in the elevator and go upstairs.

Zhou Haimei stood in front of room 302.

The door was not locked. She turned the key and slid in with her head lowered.

Just close the door and lock it.

The hotel room was empty.

There was a sound of water in the bathroom. Zhou Haimei saw Zhai Yuan's shadowy figure and felt her cheeks getting a little hot.

"Hai Mei, is that you?"

Zhai Yuan's voice came from the bathroom. Zhou Haimei responded and then heard him say, "Give me the towel on the sink."

"Oh."

Zhou Haimei walked closer to the sink, which was separated from the bathroom by a glass door. The body of the naked man in the bathroom was even clearer through the frosted glass.

She held the towel, opened the glass door a little, and reached in: "No~"

The next second, Zhai Yuan grabbed her snow-white wrist with his foamy palm, opened the door, and forcefully dragged her into the bathroom.

"It's more convenient to wash together. Saving water is everyone's responsibility. I'll help you take off your clothes."

Zhou Haimei was pressed against the white porcelain wall by Zhai Yuan with a look of horror on her face.

Clothes were taken off one by one and thrown outside.

The hot water stream hit Zhou Haimei's delicate face, making her close her eyes unconsciously.

Ten minutes later, the clean little white sheep was carried out of the bathroom and thrown onto the big bed in the hotel, letting out a scream.

Zhai Yuan pounced on Zhou Haimei, pressed her under him, and rubbed her ears.

It was this night.

For the first time, Zhou Haimei realized that her knees could reach her shoulders.

When checking out the next day.

Zhai Yuan paid eighty yuan more for the bed sheets.

In an attempt to cover up her mistake, Zhou Haimei cut off a small piece of the white bed sheet that was stained red, thinking that no one would notice it.

She carefully folded the piece of white cloth with bloodshot spots and put it into her pocket.

…………

The fierce box office battle gradually became clear in January.

1 month 12 day.

"Best Partner" grossed 32 yuan today.

"Project A" grossed 17 yuan today.

"A Better Tomorrow" grossed 51 yuan today.

Magical film market, magical "A Better Tomorrow".

During its release period, "A Better Tomorrow" climbed up from the bottom of the list, relying on word-of-mouth to attract more and more audiences.

The highest single-day box office was 87, which is the same as the single-day highest of "Best Partner".

For nearly a week, the daily box office remained at around 800,000, until after New Year's Day, when it gradually declined.

However, after achieving good results at the box office on the first day, the two movies "Best Partner" and "Project A" never broke their own records again.

Just like the A-share market, it continues to fall.

On January 1, "Project A" was announced to be withdrawn from theaters.

After 22 days of release, the cumulative box office revenue reached million, which can be regarded as the biggest box office Waterloo during the period of Jiahe and Chen Shilon's combination.

On January 1, the single-day box office of "Best Partner" fell below 21 and it was also announced to be withdrawn from the screen.

After 31 days of release, the cumulative box office has reached million. For the IP of "Best Partner", the performance is no longer bleak. The local box office cannot even recover the production costs. If the overseas market performance is also poor, New One City will definitely lose everything this time.

The single-day box office of "A Better Tomorrow" also began to decline continuously, and finally reached the stage where it could no longer maintain the theater's revenue.

On January 1, the Chinese New Year in the south, "A Better Tomorrow" was announced to be withdrawn.

After 36 days of release, the cumulative box office has reached million, barely surpassing "Best Partner" to become the local box office champion this year.

Three movies and one Lunar New Year holiday box office grossed a total of more than 40 million in the domestic market.

This is almost the upper limit of what moviegoers can spend during the Hong Kong Lunar New Year period.

If the release dates were staggered, the box office revenue of the three films would definitely be more than this, and might even double.

Unfortunately, first "A Better Tomorrow" and "Project A" competed for the Lunar New Year box office, and then "Best Partner" suddenly joined the battle by being released ahead of schedule.

The box office was diluted, and ultimately all three sides suffered losses.

Jiuyi Entertainment was the least injured.

The domestic box office of 18 million was enough to recoup the production cost of 5 million, but it was not much profit.

Jiahe can accept this result.

Chen Shillong’s brand is overseas, and he can recover the production costs just by hanging up a poster, and the rest is pure profit.

Xinyi City was shrouded in a haze from top to bottom.

Excluding various promotional items, the production cost alone reached 20 million, while the domestic box office was only 16 million. Even if the Southeast Asian market is included, it is not certain whether this film can make a profit.

Zhai Yuan was sitting in his office, silently calculating the results of this battle as his calculator returned to zero.

The phone rang suddenly.

Wu Yusen's gossipy voice came from the receiver: "Boss! I just heard that New One City's box office was a bust. Lei Juekun lost his temper at the Capital One and suddenly had a heart attack and was sent to the hospital. He is being treated now."

What the hell!

Zhai Yuan stood up and asked, "What is Deng Guangrong's script?"

In his memory, the boss of Silver Princess should have lived until at least the early 1990s. It was his sudden death that directly led to the dissolution of the already falling apart New One City.

Now, just because a movie fails, we won’t change the course of history and let the tragedy happen earlier, right?

Zhai Yuan's heart was suddenly filled with guilt.

He hurriedly asked Wu Yusen: "Is there still a risk of recovery?"

"I don't know. I'm trying to contact Xu Qi to get first-hand information... hm?"

Wu Yusen suddenly realized what the risk of recovery meant. Boss, why did you say what was in your mind?

Sure enough, making movies is like looking forward to the death of colleagues.

(End of this chapter)