I'm just trying to ride the wave of popularity!

Chapter 305 Shocking Box Office Appeal!

Paimon Pictures.

early morning.

Mark stared at the soaring data on the internet, lost in thought.

During this period, they spent nearly $1000 million on marketing for "Twilight," all of which revolved around promoting the "on-screen couple."

However, no one expected that this film would be caught in such a huge media storm, and even less expected that Zhou Yang, who had not received much attention before, would become the only amazing presence in the entire film.

He was caught off guard these past two days, but he quickly calmed down.

There was a knock on the office door.

The head of the Market Analysis Department silently pushed open the door.

"Mr. Mark, the market analysis report for Zhou has been completed."

"Please speak." Mark looked up and took the data report.

"The market is highly diversified, with various comparative cases emerging every day. Previously, Hollywood's portrayal of Chinese men was limited to two stereotypes: either a tough kung fu hero or a effeminate pretty face..."

"However, Zhou Yang's appearance completely shattered the preconceived notions of Asian men held by Western audiences. The character he portrayed in 'Twilight' was neither a traditional tough guy nor an effeminate figure, but rather conquered the screen with a sense of fragmentation and profound loneliness. Data shows that this sense of loneliness easily evokes empathy from female audiences, and the groundbreaking character portrayal brought a completely new experience of Asian men to the audience, and this novelty had a huge impact on the market."

"According to various sources, when he appeared in the rainy night scene covered in blood-stained bandages, his eyes, which simultaneously held emptiness and burning passion, stunned countless North American female viewers. For the first time, they realized that an Asian actor could perfectly blend the melancholy of a poet with the wild charm of a warrior. This reflects the long-standing limitations Hollywood has placed on portraying Asian male actors—we have never attempted such a role, and we have ignored the market's thirst for new images. This time, however, it has struck a chord with a certain bright spot..."

"From the perspective of the film itself, Zhou's performance created a strong contrast. Without his role, or if his acting style had been consistent with the other main actors, this film might not have generated such a huge response. It is a film with a female focus, but it is precisely his highly expressive performance that contrasts sharply with the exaggerated acting of the male and female leads, which highlights the thinness of the other characters... If we insist on pushing them further, it would probably be a waste of resources..."

"In essence, this is a disruptive breakthrough in audience perception, and also a choice made by the market..."

"..."

A brief silence fell over the office.

Mark went through the data and information about "Twilight" over and over again.

Then his gaze fell on the "Dark Knight" project. After a long silence, he narrowed his eyes and said, "The box office figures for the Chinese premiere of 'Twilight' should be out soon, right?"

"There's still half a day left!"

“Oh.” Mark nodded. “Keep an eye on it.”

"it is good!"

..............................

4 month 4 day.

In the office of "Twilight".

The coffee cup was already empty.

Not far away, the morning mist over Los Angeles had not yet dissipated outside the window.

The blue light from the computer screen shone on Catherine's slightly tired face.

When she refreshed the box office statistics page for the third time, she noticed that her mouse pointer was trembling slightly.

Tension, unease, anxiety, and a fear of loss...

Countless emotions surged into my heart at this moment.

At this moment, the clock on the wall points to 4:17 a.m., and the premiere screening in China should have just ended.

Celine stared intently at the constantly fluctuating numbers in the data backend, her feelings a complex mix of emotions.

In recent years, with the booming development of the Chinese film market, more and more Hollywood directors have turned their attention to this market with huge potential, and Catherine is no exception.

The scene of Zhou Yang's photo being projected in a square in Shanghai a year ago during the casting process is still vivid in her mind. After seeing Zhou Yang's influence in the Chinese market, she finally had a slight change of heart.

In fact, inviting Zhou Yang and Wu Zuliang to star in "Twilight" was not only because of their suitability for the roles, but also because of the consideration of expanding into the Chinese market.

"Ding--"

The sudden email notification startled her so much that she almost knocked over her coffee cup.

The data report from their Chinese partner was loading, and the slow, inching progress made her anxious; she wished she could crawl into the computer and push it forward.

Time ticked by, and as the first ray of sunlight pierced through the clouds, a notification sound finally rang out.

She took a deep breath and opened the email.

Then, we saw the premiere figure of 2300 million RMB!
Upon seeing this data, she suddenly stood up, her eyes widening.

At that moment, she was so excited that she couldn't speak!

This data!

Results exceeded expectations by 40%!
calm down!

Be sure to calm down!

Immediately afterwards, she took out her phone with trembling hands and dialed a number in China.

She needs to contact Huaxia's partners to verify the accuracy of the box office data.

The call was quickly connected, and after confirming that the box office data was accurate, her mind went blank.

....................................

In the Warner office.

There was silence.

Sunlight shone on Blunt's face as he silently stared at the global box office figures for "Twilight"!

These days, he has been paying close attention to "Twilight".

As films that also primarily target the female market, "Twilight" and "Catwoman" initially followed strikingly similar trajectories...

Both films had a high-profile promotional period, but suffered a critical flop after their release, with the acting of the male and female leads being heavily criticized by film critics.

A few days ago, when Twilight received a flood of negative reviews in its opening week, almost all Warner Bros. executives, including Blunt, believed it would repeat the mistakes of Catwoman…

However, the market performance was a complete surprise to everyone!

Twilight broke expectations with $1800 million in box office revenue on its opening day, and climbed to $1900 million on the second day. On the third day, with the simultaneous opening in overseas markets such as China, the global daily box office soared to $2700 million, becoming the highest daily box office record for a film independently directed by a female director! For a medium-sized film with a production cost of only $3000 million, such a start is nothing short of dreamlike and incredible!

There was a knock on the office door.

The assistant walked in quietly.

"Mr. Blunt, the box office data for 'Twilight' in China has been compiled, along with some feedback from North American fans... The situation is more astonishing than we anticipated..."

Blunt took the document, frowned, and flipped through it: "2300 million RMB on the first day? Has this data been verified?"

“Completely verified. Our data partners in China have confirmed that 80% of the audience for this film in China is female, and his fan base accounts for almost 60% of the tickets sold for the premiere. More importantly…” The assistant paused slightly, then silently took out a data sheet and placed it on the table: “His fans have spontaneously organized a ‘second viewing’ event, and some cinemas have even added extra screenings… Because of the frenzy of Zhou Yang’s fans, many moviegoers couldn’t buy tickets, and on the Chinese internet, some people are criticizing the ‘fan chaos’ for disrupting the viewing order…”

Blunt glanced at the data and nodded, then after a moment of silence, he looked at his assistant and asked, "What about the data from North America?"

"That's the crux of the problem. His Rotten Tomatoes score is only 43%, but his audience score is a whopping 89%. We analyzed the comments section—the words 'Eastern Exorcist,' 'Zhou Yang smoking scene,' and 'bandage and bloodstains' appeared three times more frequently than those for the male and female leads. Female viewers were especially enthusiastic, calling Zhou Yang a 'lonely Eastern gentleman,' and some even created fan websites for him..."

Blunt was stunned when he heard this: "Fan site? When did this happen?"

"Just yesterday, as more and more North American girls started searching for information about Zhou Yang, someone saw a business opportunity and created a website called 'Zhou's Ashes,' attracting traffic from various internet forums. In just 12 hours, it gathered 5000 registered users, and the homepage was full of screenshots from his movies and self-made posters of him riding a motorcycle into the theater..."

Blunt narrowed his eyes upon hearing this: "This Chinese man, relying on a supporting role, simultaneously leveraged both China's core market and the new North American market?"

"That's one way to describe it..."

The office fell silent once again.

Blunt silently opened the drawer and saw the script for "The Demon Knight".

After looking at it for a long time, I finally closed it silently.

"Wait a little longer! Observe further."

"it is good!"

After his assistant left, Blunt stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, silently gazing into the distance.

He vaguely sensed that a certain trend was forming, but the market enthusiasm had not yet fully manifested. He needed to wait and see, until the hype subsided, before he could see the truth clearly...

……

The box office performance in the following days took Blunt by surprise.

After a stellar opening day gross of $1800 million, the North American market remained hot for two days before quickly cooling down, with daily box office takings dropping to $1200 million and then $1000 million...

The polarized reviews gradually dampened audience enthusiasm.

According to North American box office data analysis reports, approximately 80% of the audience were female moviegoers, with 30% coming from existing fans of the original novel and the male and female leads, while a staggering 70% were new fans attracted by Zhou Yang…

However, the situation was quite the opposite in the Chinese market, where box office revenue soared from 2300 million RMB on the first day to 3000 million RMB, with occupancy rates consistently above 90%.

Over 90% of them came from Zhou Yang's fans, with only 10% coming from other factors...

Four days after its premiere, Twilight's total box office in China exceeded 1.2 million RMB, while its global box office totaled 1.5 million USD.

Blunt jumped up as the data report was slammed onto his desk!

He stared at the two opposing curves on the data chart, a stark contrast between the decline in the North American market and the frenzy in the Chinese market!
Critical reviews suggest this film was a failure; however, box office success made it a huge hit!
After seeing the data from all aspects once again, he took a deep breath!

Immediately afterwards...

He immediately took out his phone and dialed that number!

"Mr. Zhou, regarding the global distribution rights for 'Dark Knight,' Warner Bros. is willing to increase its investment percentage and profit-sharing terms. We accept a 10% share of the $1500 million investment proposal, but we hope that you can personally play the lead role in the film."

There was a brief silence on the other end of the phone, followed by a slightly regretful response: "I'm sorry, our investment is already fully in place. Columbia contacted us before you, and Universal just signed their contract. They have a clause saying they hope we won't sign with Warner..."

"???"

..............................

【XuanShi Entertainment】

Zhou Yang hung up the phone.

His gaze fell upon Zhang Jingya, who had just entered through the door.

Zhang Jingya's eyes held a complex expression.

"Mr. Zhou, are you really planning to let the company's directors make spin-off movies like 'Twilight 2,' 'Twilight 3,' and 'Twilight Vampire Romance' on their own?"

"What are you saying? When have I ever given such an order? Directors have the creative freedom to choose what to film. The company's investment process is not under my control now, and I had no idea about the project's approval..."

"But I heard that you wrote the script yourself..."

"Rumors! Absolutely rumors! Besides, what does it have to do with me that those directors set up new companies to take investments from coal mine owners?"

"Mr. Zhou, it really wasn't you who instructed them?"

"I'm part of the Twilight cast, right? How could I possibly ruin this IP? Right?"

"..."

The office was silent for a moment.

Zhang Jingya nodded helplessly.

Just as he was about to leave, he suddenly saw Zhou Yang push up his glasses and reveal a chilling smile: "How's Director An doing lately?"

"She's somewhat depressed and has basically retired from the entertainment industry. 'Love Ferris Wheel' was a huge blow to her. What happened?"

"Oh, so what if 'Love Ferris Wheel' failed? Why is it such a big blow? People should get back up from where they fall down... You know what I mean?"

"Mr. Zhou, I don't really understand... Mr. Zhou, please don't laugh like that, it's creepy..."

"Hey... why don't you call Director An and talk to her? Romance movies are so popular right now, it's the perfect time to jump on the bandwagon, you can try all sorts of genres... Look at 'Twilight,' it was so badly made, the male and female leads' acting was so insanely bad, yet people still watched it..."

"Mr. Zhou, you brought in at least 60% of the box office revenue..."

"Isn't there still a 40% market share? We need to capture that too. Actually, since *Love Ferris Wheel*, I've been thinking about developing more romance films. For example, *Falling in Love with a Vampire*, *Falling in Love with a Werewolf*, or workplace romances like *The Domineering Female CEO Falls in Love with Me* and *The Cold Boss Falls in Love with Me*. Now that we have a collaboration with Hollywood, we can be even bolder. We could even make films like *The President Falls in Love with a Waitress* or *The American President Falls in Love with a Cleaner*. Didn't we just sign a bunch of American extras? Let them come and film these. I want to see the finished products of these movies within four months. After the domestic film protection ends in August, following *Special Effects Film Month*, let's have another *Romance Film Month*."

"..."

(End of this chapter)