This director is vindictive.

Chapter 461 Netizens: Anyone can brag! Give me the money, you grandson!

The reason why so many people participated in this "bet" is actually quite simple: rather than a bet, it's more accurate to say that Chen Mo was throwing money around!

After all, this bet was only a one-sided demand on Chen Mo.

Chen Mo could certainly have a real bet with netizens, but that would go against his original intention.

Moreover, it's less of a gamble and more of a brand new marketing campaign by Chen Mo.

After all, there were no barriers to entry for the bet, and even if "Ne Zha" broke 10 billion yuan at the box office, Chen Mo did not impose any mandatory requirements on the netizens who participated in the bet. They were simply willing to accept the consequences of their bets. As one netizen said, "If you lose, you lose. If you don't want to buy tickets to watch the movie, you can just pretend to be dead."

On the other hand, if "Ne Zha" really does break 10 billion yuan at the box office, wouldn't it be normal for these netizens who participated in the bet to buy tickets to see a movie that has broken 10 billion yuan at the box office?

No, even not losing doesn't stop them from buying tickets to watch the movie! After all, buying tickets to watch a movie is just a very ordinary expense.

This isn't a bet at all; it's just Chen Mo using the guise of a 10 billion yuan bet to launch an unprecedented marketing campaign.

It directly broke through the encirclement of several other films released in the same period.

Didn't you say my prediction of 10 billion was just marketing? Didn't you say I only know how to brag and don't pay taxes?
Then I'll give you a proper lesson on what real marketing is!

Most importantly, Chen Mo is really rich, and being rich means you can do whatever you want!

This is the biggest highlight of his counter-marketing campaign, and also the most difficult model for others to imitate.

And the key point is that Chen Mo took out 1 billion yuan this time, which is a real 1 billion yuan!
It's important to understand that if "Ne Zha" doesn't gross over 10 billion yuan, then his 1 billion yuan would be essentially a free gift to netizens. This kind of boldness and vision is why, after the bet was started, almost all netizens, except for competitors, sided with Chen Mo.

Because in their view, the probability of "Ne Zha" breaking 10 billion yuan at the box office is almost negligible, but even so, Chen Mo is still willing to spend money, so what else is there to say?

If you put someone else in their shoes, do you think they would dare to do that?
Let alone 10 billion, even if you were to gamble with 5 billion, look at all the other movies released in the same period, would any of them dare to do it?

That's what really broke the defenses of other movies released in the same period; it's simply unethical!

So what if you're a billionaire?
So what if you have money?
If you're so capable, then don't throw money at me!
Netizens immediately switched to gossip mode.

What kind of "watching the drama" mode is this?
With 2024 drawing to a close, the promotion of films released during the Spring Festival season is entering its final sprint.

So those people who were targeting Chen Mo in the same period of the film release couldn't possibly have remained silent.

So they were all just watching the drama unfold, and even encouraged various media outlets to join in the commotion.

Under the hashtag #ChenMo10BillionYuanBet#, netizens are frantically tagging other directors of Spring Festival films:
"Isn't Director Wu boasting about the craftsmanship of 'Investiture of the Gods'? How about he puts up a 10 billion yuan bet?"

"Tsui Hark said martial arts films shouldn't be made with PowerPoint presentations, so how about cash betting? @TsuiKer"

"Chen Sicheng always says that 'Detective Chinatown' has a solid 10 billion yuan box office. Now that the opportunity has come, are you willing to take it?"

"Entertainment reporters, step up your game! Our Chen Da-shai has already made his move, hurry up and ask them if they dare to follow suit, and let's not even mention 10 billion, let's just say 5 billion!"

"Yes, yes, you're always so eager to dig up celebrity gossip, and now you've suddenly received such a huge boost in traffic. If you didn't ask about it, I would look down on you!"

"I'm just waiting to see what happens, and I'm also waiting for the betting. Whoever dares to bet on box office numbers like Chen Mo did, I'll buy a ticket to support them! Do you dare?"

Entertainment reporters didn't need netizens to urge them on; they were already sharpening their knives long ago.

After all, Chen Mo has already set such a good precedent for them. As netizens have said, if they can't handle this massive influx of traffic, then they don't deserve to call themselves entertainment reporters.

Self-media, marketing accounts, Weibo influencers, and even mainstream media are all eager to get started.

After all, this was really hilarious.

Actually, the movie hasn't been released yet, so it's not a matter of who's favored or disfavored whom. But in this whole situation, everyone's on equal footing, right?
Meanwhile, the number of people who signed up for Chen Mo's betting Weibo post has reached nearly 20 million.

After all, although it was called a bet, it was actually a one-sided bet by Chen Mo. It was completely a case of "if I lose, it's my responsibility; if I win, you can do whatever you want."

For many netizens, Alipay's annual "Collect Five Blessings" campaign only costs a few hundred million yuan to participate in, and on average, each person is lucky to get a few yuan.

And you have to scan for blessings and stuff, but Chen Mo's offer is a full 1 billion yuan, no discounts, and all you have to do is register.

What if you lose? Well, whatever. Is Chen Mo going to reach over to the internet and demand more money?

This puts real pressure on the directors from the other companies.

The main problem is, they really can't do it!

What a joke! They're just directors, okay? They might not even be able to raise that much money even if they sold themselves.

But some things are truly unavoidable.

Unless the movie doesn't get any publicity, the media definitely won't let them off the hook.

The first example is "Fengshen Part 2". At a promotional press conference, the media reporters below were all as excited as if they had been injected with chicken blood.

Once the Q&A session began, a forest of long arms appeared below.

Normally, the media's enthusiasm would be a good thing for publicity, but for some reason, the director, Wuershan, was sweating a little.

However, the Q&A session will definitely continue.

These uncrowned kings are not so easy to offend!
The reporter whose name was called upon was so excited that he almost poked the microphone into Wu'er Shan's chin. He asked somewhat excitedly, "Director Wu! Director Chen Mo dared to bet 10 billion yuan in cash on the box office of 'Ne Zha 2,' do you dare to bet 10 billion yuan on 'Fengshen 2' as well? Or do you simply have no confidence in your film?"

Wu Ershan's face twitched, sweat beaded on his forehead, and he forced a fake smile: "We...we, the Investiture of the Gods production team, value art! We value culture! We value the craftsman's spirit of five years of painstaking work!" (His hand trembled as he wiped away sweat.)

The media reporters in the audience were all excited. Wow, here comes the news!

The onlookers instantly erupted in uproar:

"Tch! All that nonsense, isn't it just that you're afraid to gamble?"

"How much is craftsmanship worth? Let's see if you can put up a billion!"

"Coward! He's all talk and no action when it comes to bragging, but when it comes to real money, he cowers like a coward!"

Another reporter was called upon, and before Wu Ershan could even breathe a sigh of relief, the reporter asked again, "Director Wu, can you predict the box office performance of 'Fengshen Part 2'?"

This question, if placed in any other context, would be perfectly valid.

But in this context, it's a very, very deep scheme!
However, Wuershan couldn't avoid answering, so he said tactfully, "Of course I hope the box office is as high as possible, but that still depends on the audience, right? Of course, we are still very confident in this work!"

However, his answer clearly did not satisfy the reporter.

The reporter wanted to ask another question, but was stopped by the host because each person could only ask one question.

However, when the next reporter spoke, Wuershan was truly speechless.

"Director Wu said he is very confident in this work, so why doesn't he dare to predict a rough figure?"

If this were a regular premiere or press conference, he could probably come up with a question off the top of his head.

But he really didn't dare to answer at that moment!
But I can't not answer!
He could only force a smile and say, "I know what you're trying to say, but movies are art! Not gambling! This kind of marketing is a desecration of the art of film!"

Then they fled the scene without looking back.

The audience burst into laughter.

This news was quickly posted online by the media!
Netizens turned a clip from an interview with Wuer Shan into a meme video:

In the first half, he passionately extolled the "five-year craftsmanship spirit."
The second half suddenly cuts to Chen Mo showing 10 billion yuan in bank statements, captioned "Shut up, you poor bastard."

"Hilarious! Director Wu's 'craftsmanship' couldn't even be honed to the point of a 10 billion yuan deposit?"

"Goodness, they don't even dare to make predictions anymore. Is this what you call having confidence in your work?"

"Is it because they're afraid to predict? It's because Chen Mo set a bad precedent. If he dared to predict, believe it or not, the next question is still, would you dare to bet? Haha!"

However, the internet remembers, and no director can truly remain completely silent about predicting box office numbers.

Soon, netizens dug up an interview with Wuershan from last year where he was promoting "Fengshen 2":

"Our goal is to surpass the box office of the first film! We want to create an Eastern epic!"

Netizens photoshopped images to refute the claims:
Left picture: Wuer Shan is holding up a megaphone and boasting that "the box office has surpassed the first film's 26 billion."
Right picture: Chen Mo flaunts a 10 billion yuan deposit certificate, captioned "Anyone can brag, just hand over the money, you grandson!"

This topic quickly became a trending topic among netizens.

#The 10 billion yuan bet on the swamp eel is too much to handle# (Breaking News)

#Craftsmanship is no match for ATMs# (Trending)

Everyone's enjoying the gossip about the eel, so naturally, other directors won't be spared either.

At the promotional event for "The Legend of the Condor Heroes," a reporter directly challenged Xu: "Director Xu, Director Chen Mo has made a 10 billion yuan bet on the box office. Netizens are asking if you dare to do the same?"

Having worked in the industry for many years, Tsui Hark has developed a thick skin, but his tone still sounded somewhat stiff: "I've been making movies for over thirty years, from 'New Dragon Gate Inn' to 'Detective Dee,' which one of my films has relied on such tricks?"

However, the reporter persisted: "So how many billions do you estimate 'The Legend of the Condor Heroes' will gross? Would you dare to give a specific number like Chen Mo did?"

"If you think 1 billion is too much, then 10 million will do."

Tsui Hark barely suppressed his outburst, turned and left. The assistant director hurriedly tried to smooth things over: "Director Tsui's box office performance is in the hearts of the audience (dry laugh)."

Soon, he received the same treatment as the eel.

"Got it, praising someone as a 'great hero' is fine, but handing over real money is not!"

"Hilarious! He's full of bravado when he's talking about 'the greatest heroes,' but he becomes mute the moment it comes to real money!"

Director Xu: I can use PowerPoint presentations to boast about box office success, but don't make me pay to prove it (doge emoji)

"I suggest adding a small line to the poster for 'The Legend of the Condor Heroes': This film's box office is for spiritual support only; cash betting is not allowed!"

"Hilarious! A film with a budget of 500 million—but you want Director Xu to gamble on box office returns? Sorry, art can't be measured in money (smile)."

(End of this chapter)