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

Chapter 322 The Silence Before the Storm

June.

As early summer approaches, a sense of stuffiness and heat has settled over Yanjing (Beijing).

The total box office of the movie "Star Wars" exceeded 300 million RMB on June 9, but the internet buzz gradually cooled down afterward.

Since surpassing 300 million, daily box office revenue has plummeted, falling below 10 million and now only around 6 million RMB...

This box office plunge has led some media bloggers to question whether Star Wars engaged in box office manipulation, with some even confidently listing so-called "evidence."

However, the topic did not generate much buzz online.

In fact, as a science fiction franchise with a strong historical background, Star Wars has not only seen a slight decline in critical acclaim, but its box office performance worldwide remains impressive.

As of June 10, the film had grossed $590 million worldwide. Judging from its market performance, the IP's appeal remains astounding, and barring any unforeseen circumstances, it has a very high chance of entering the top ten of this year's global box office charts.

……

But this June seems unusually quiet.

For every movie Zhou Yang ever made, he would create all sorts of gimmicks and generate buzz to attract audiences.

However, for the movie "Moon Wars 2", [XuanShi Entertainment] has unusually maintained a low profile.

Without creating hype or employing any marketing tactics, Zhou Yang only appeared at the opening of "Xuanshi Mall," and then naturally followed market trends, relinquishing both promotional resources and industry attention...

What's even more bizarre is the collective silence of directors, led by Liang Xiaogang—one of China's three most prominent directors who has been attacking Zhou Yang online since 04, has suddenly fallen silent in the face of "Moon Wars 2." Not only him, but also directors like Li Mingrui, Chen Kai, and Chen Kesen, who harbor deep hatred for Zhou Yang, have all remained silent.

The entire Chinese film industry fell into an unsettling silence; this abnormal calm was more chilling than any uproar.
Unable to find any topics to discuss, the media staked out the vicinity of [Xuan Shi Entertainment] every day, attempting to dig up news material about Zhou Yang.

Even if they could capture some clues about Zhou Yang's disputes with various film companies, it would have been fine. Unfortunately, although they fabricated a lot of topics to attract attention, they ultimately failed to generate sustained buzz due to a lack of substantial evidence.

This eerie atmosphere lasted for more than ten days until the Cannes International Film Festival opened in mid-June.

Several Chinese films have been submitted for the festival this year, including last year's film "The Man in the Jianghu".

As one of the leading figures in Chinese cinema, this marks the third time that Li Zhengtao has had his work shortlisted for one of the three major European film festivals.

Li Zhengtao's films have a unique style, and he has always been committed to integrating the essence of Eastern aesthetics with the core of Western culture.

His works always precisely resonate with the aesthetic preferences of some judges, earning him numerous nominations at prestigious film festivals, yet he always unfortunately misses out on the final awards ceremony.

"The Man from Nowhere," which was nominated for Cannes this year, also sparked heated discussions in the media and generated a lot of buzz on the Chinese internet, but ultimately, like the previous two times, it missed out on an award.
Although there were many voices of regret on the internet, major film companies cleverly turned this sentiment into popularity, successively releasing Li Zhengtao's "Chrysanthemum Terrace" and Liang Xiaogang's "The Last Supper." During the period when Zhou Yang suddenly faded from the public eye, the media pushed the popularity of these two films to its peak.

According to industry insiders, the total investment in "Chrysanthemum Terrace" reached 3 million RMB. The luxurious palaces and tens of thousands of handcrafted gold armors in the film cost a fortune, and the film also brought together half of the Chinese film industry's top talents, making it a truly luxurious cast.

The investment in "The Feast of Kings" was equally astonishing, approaching 2.3 million RMB.

Some analysts point out that these two films represent a strong counterattack by the Chinese film industry against Hollywood in its early stages, and another bold attempt at the "high investment + all-star" model, paving the way for the future market landscape.

The two directors, Liang Xiaogang and Li Zhengtao, frequently appeared in front of the camera to discuss the grand topic of "industrialization of Chinese cinema".

With the meticulous efforts of the behind-the-scenes team, the entire industry seemed to be ushered in a "new era."

Liang Xiaogang even boldly declared in an interview: "This June is just the beginning of the Chinese film market. Next year, we will officially target Hollywood blockbusters and compete with them!"

While Li Zhengtao didn't make any grand pronouncements during the interview, he did share some of his expectations for "Chrysanthemum Terrace" to surpass 4 million RMB...

This declaration, imbued with both a sense of crisis and passion, naturally inspired countless filmmakers!
Immediately afterwards...

Discussions about the international status of Chinese-language films, the current state of the Chinese film industry, and the impact of Hollywood are rampant on major media and internet platforms.

The overwhelming reports included reflections on the lagging development of domestic films as well as concerns about the strong intrusion of Hollywood.

In this media storm, Zhou Yang and his works have once again become the focus of attention...

While media and film company executives generally gave him a positive review, acknowledging his commercial miracle of achieving huge success with limited resources, there were also voices of regret: "Although Zhou Yang's model can create box office miracles, it is always limited by the scale of production. The box office ceiling of super IPs like Star Wars is still difficult to reach. He ignited the spark of a new era, but the true leader who carries the banner of the Chinese film industry ultimately needs a grander vision." This deliberately constructed opposing narrative artificially separates "commercial miracle" from "industrial benchmark," sparking an unprecedented wave of debate in the film industry.

Supporters and skeptics clashed fiercely online, arguing about everything from film aesthetics to industry policies, from capital operations to cultural export, adding even more tension to the already turbulent June film market.

One of the reports, titled "Zhou Yang can only be a king of small productions, but he is always struggling to control big-budget films with investments of around 50 million yuan," sparked heated discussions.

The article provides a detailed overview of Zhou Yang's film career, from "Sun Wukong vs. Superman 2" to "Moon Wars 2," pointing out that while his works rely on marketing gimmicks and compelling storylines, the special effects still appear cheap, and there are certain shortcomings in pacing and plot depth.

This report quickly topped the headlines on major platforms, sparking heated debate.

The media eagerly awaited Zhou Yang's response, hoping he would personally step in as usual, igniting a new wave of public opinion and pushing the June film-related buzz to its peak.
However, to the disappointment of all the media, Zhou Yang has not come forward to respond.

This man, who used to be a master of creating buzz, is unusually silent at this moment, remaining unmoved no matter how much public opinion ferments.

The "Zhou Yang-style counterattack" that the media had been eagerly anticipating ultimately failed to materialize, and the anticipated media storm thus came to an end.

This eerie silence made everyone feel uneasy once again.

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

June 22, 9:6 AM, Tianyu Media Headquarters.

Deng Baichuan kept a close eye on the latest box office report for "Star Wars". As of today, this Hollywood blockbuster, which cost $4000 million, has grossed over 3.3 million yuan in China, achieving a box office record second only to "Spider-Man" at 3.81 million yuan.

Despite the film still operating at a loss and the company being severely damaged with substantial debt, the company's stock price has managed to be stabilized.

This should have been a moment to breathe a sigh of relief, but Deng Baichuan's brows furrowed even more deeply.

For the past month, he has barely slept, constantly monitoring Zhou Yang's movements.

Watching the other party gradually infiltrate the four major film and television companies through capital operations, and witnessing the stock price of [Huaying International] plummet and internal chaos caused by the impact of [Xuanshi Mall], the head of [Tianyu] was constantly plagued by a strong sense of unease.

Given Zhou Yang's vengeful nature, he subconsciously believed that Zhou Yang's next target would definitely be [Tianyu].

Having already controlled half of the cinema alliance and the film industry, Zhou Yang could even imagine that he would launch an attack on them through means such as cinema scheduling and media manipulation.

To this end, he has been holding meetings day and night for the past month, developing various contingency plans—from all-out business confrontations to threatening to file a complaint with relevant departments, making comprehensive preparations for defense.

Strangely, Zhou Yang did not take any action as they expected.
"What's Zhou Yang's reaction to the online public opinion? It's about the media trying to discredit him and the three directors..."

In the office, after reviewing the data from various sources, Deng Baichuan suddenly spoke.

“There has been no response.” Xu Haibo handed over a document with a complicated expression, adding, “I just received news that their theater chain has made two decisions: first, to extend the key for ‘Star Wars’ until the end of June, which coincides with the ‘Domestic Film Protection Month’; second, ‘Moon Wars 2’ officially ended its run today, and although there is still some box office revenue, they did not apply for an extension of the screening period. It seems that they have given some of their resources to us…”

Deng Baichuan suddenly stood up, and the document slipped from his hand.

In this seemingly ordinary June, Zhou Yang's strange silence kept him uneasy.

In the past, every such period of calm was followed by an even more violent storm.

But this time.
He stared at the data report: "War for the Moon II" ultimately settled on a box office of 1.52 million, quietly exiting the market after creating a miracle with a budget of millions;
However, their "Star Wars" received the privilege of a delayed release.

This illogical operation left Deng Baichuan feeling unprecedentedly confused. Would Zhou Yang, who was so vindictive, really choose to back down when he had the upper hand?

still is……

Just at this time……

His pupils suddenly contracted sharply, and he stood up uncontrollably, slamming his fist heavily on the desk: "Damn it! His real target is the [Domestic Film Protection Month]!"

The thought struck him like lightning, and Deng Baichuan instantly filled in the blanks!
Zhou Yang's unusual silence, his "tolerance" towards "Star Wars," and even his initiative to pull "Moon Wars 2" from theaters early, are all paving the way for his next killer move.

"He deliberately let Star Wars rake in the box office to lower our guard," Deng Baichuan's voice trembled, and the veins on his hand gripping the phone bulged. "Immediately notify all department heads! Right now! Assemble in the conference room!"

(End of this chapter)