Director of Photography Department of Huayu

Chapter 402 was released, box office

It was nearly 11:50 p.m., and the winter night in Beijing was slowly falling into silence, but the online world was churning violently.

One report after another about the premiere of "Bad Genius" flooded the homepages of major portal websites like waves, with many media outlets even choosing to update their reports at midnight, directly refreshing the top trending searches.

The headlines of major portals such as Sina, NetEase, and Sohu were all dominated by news related to "Bad Genius":

[Ning Hao and Wu Chen team up to create the first mainland Chinese film on the theme of cheating, receiving rave reviews at its premiere; a major release to kick off the year!]

[Liu Yifei went all out at the premiere, imitating "newcomer actor" Wu Chen's classic lines, causing the entire audience to burst into laughter! Wu Chen responded: "The signal was bad, I didn't hear you clearly."]

[Wu Chen: Cheating doesn't change your life, it changes the person you are! The core message of "Bad Genius" revealed!]

[Liu Yifei responds to box office expectations: I believe in Director Ning, and say that 300 million yuan at the box office is not a dream!]

[Theatrical releases are excited: "Bad Genius" may account for 48% of screenings, making it an unstoppable force during the New Year's Day holiday!]

A wave of public opinion swept through the media, and for a time, entertainment news pages seemed to be dominated by "Bad Genius".

At the same time, the film and television sections of major forums such as Tianya, Baidu Tieba, and Mop were instantly filled with related discussion posts.

Meanwhile, in the villa on the outskirts of Beijing, the warm lights in the bedroom remained on, and the screen of the 17-inch Dell laptop on the table was lit up, casting a soft glow.

Liu Yifei was nestled on the stool, her eyes full of anticipation. She rested her chin on one hand, while her right hand frantically rolled the roller, wearing a smile like a student checking their scores. Occasionally, she would let out a light, witty laugh.

"Hey, this title is great: How to make a movie about helping classmates cheat so that the audience supports the protagonist."

She quickly clicked on a popular post by a well-known film critic in Sina's film review section, and her eyes lit up immediately.

"Before watching the movie, I'm sure everyone was just as curious as I was: how can a movie about cheating be made? Can it be made well? Does it encourage people to cheat? Does it have a distorted value system?"
After all, cheating is wrong and cannot be considered respectable. No matter how ingenious the cheating method is, it is unacceptable.

However, the movie not only took cheating to a new level, but also avoided the problem of "distorted values", giving the audience a satisfactory answer.

All I can say is that Wu Chen and Ning Hao, as screenwriter and director, not only created a great story, but also presented it perfectly.

Upon seeing this, Liu Yifei eagerly gave it a thumbs up and continued scrolling down the page, where she saw:
"The lead actors, led by Liu Yifei, presented the story with greater subtlety and a more urgent pace."

At that moment, footsteps sounded outside the door, and Wu Chen's voice rang out:
"Go take a shower, don't stay out too late."

"You go first. I haven't finished reading yet."

The light from the computer screen still shone on her cheeks, making her eyes slightly bright. Her tone of voice carried a hint of girlish coquetry.

Wu Chen smiled slightly, stepped over, gently bent down, and picked her up from the chair.

"Hey, what are you doing? I just saw the part praising my acting, I haven't even finished watching it yet!" Liu Yifei exclaimed, then playfully punched his chest with her little fist, "You bad boy!"

"I have to go to Shanghai for promotions tomorrow, so I need to rest."

"Will you be able to rest earlier if you keep doing this?"

Liu Yifei watched as Wu Chen gently pushed open the bathroom door, showing no intention of leaving. Her eyes flickered, filled with a misty haze.

"The key is to rest; it doesn't matter if it's earlier or later."

"Nonsense, you don't even believe your own lame reasoning."

The steam quickly enveloped the entire bathroom.

Amidst laughter, the two figures gradually disappeared into the steamy bathroom.
The following day, the promotional materials in Shanghai received cheers from the media and local audiences. Some media outlets believed that this blockbuster, which was released at the beginning of the year, would perform as well as "If You Are the One" at the box office.

Because it covers the main audience groups today, has fresh themes, a fast pace, and a strong cast.
"Nonsense, how can comedy have such a wide reach?"

Feng Xiaogang was displeased when he saw these reports.

It's a certainty that he'll gross over 300 million. If two directors reach 300 million around the same time, and his box office is lower than Ning Hao's, wouldn't that be embarrassing?

"I'm going to go see what it turns out like tomorrow."

He was angry because the box office target of 300 million yuan was delayed due to the release of "Bad Genius," and now he's saying that the box office will be higher than his comedy.
At this time, Wu Chen politely declined Ren Zhonglun's invitation to host.

"It's too late today, and we have a trip to Guangzhou tomorrow, Mr. Ren. Let's skip this one and do it another time."

"Alright then, I wish you great box office success!"

Ren Zhonglun did not insist; he had only intended to fulfill his duty as host.

He watched the movie too, and now he's just glad that Han Sanping didn't come along this time, otherwise Han Sanping would have been showing off at the start of the year.

China Film Group was originally responsible for the domestic distribution of "The Martian," and with the upcoming 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, China Film Group also took on the task of making a tribute film for the CPPCC (Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference).
"Hey"

Ren Zhonglun sighed. It was simply because Shanghai Film Studio wasn't based in Beijing; the geographical location naturally created a significant gap between the two. He had been involved in several meetings since the Olympics earlier this year, from top to bottom, and the international dissemination, public opinion guidance, and ideological function of films had once again been emphasized.

On January 1st, New Year's Day, "Bad Genius" was officially released, and news of its release began to circulate from the morning.

"Bad Genius" became the most popular movie on New Year's Eve, especially among young couples.

"Bad Genius" accounted for over 43% of screenings on its opening day, with some cinemas reaching 48%, surpassing the opening day screenings of "Forever Enthralled" and "If You Are the One."

"Liu Yifei is expected to achieve another box office success with 'Bad Genius,' potentially becoming the first leading actress to have two consecutive films gross over 100 million yuan."

"Only 100 million yuan? You underestimate our film, that's nonsense."

Around noon, Shu Chang was reading media reports and had to correct people when she encountered something she didn't like.

"Uncle, we can do it ourselves, let us do it," Xing Aina and Ning Hao quickly got up to help.

Since they were in Guangzhou for promotional purposes and were so close by, Wu Chen definitely needed to go home. So, he brought Liu Yifei, Ning Hao, and others over for lunch.

The house suddenly became much livelier.

"Xixi, you acted well, you were really great." Liu Yifei's face was flushed with embarrassment after being praised by Yuan Xiaoqin.

Wu Chen couldn't help but ask, "Mom, have you seen the movie? Wasn't it only released today?"

"I haven't seen it yet."

Wu Chen was very puzzled: "Then how do you know she acted well?"

"I saw the report."

"Hahaha!" Everyone couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Wu Chen didn't know what to say for a moment.

"Hehe, Auntie, Wu Chen actually acted very well too. He's still a newcomer," Liu Yifei added with a smile.

"Him? I know him even without reading the news. When he did something wrong before, he always looked so innocent that I almost thought someone else had done it."

The following day, Wu Chen and others went to Shenzhen to promote the event.

In the morning, apart from Wu Chen, everyone else seemed inexplicably nervous, including Ning Hao.
Wang Changtian, who was in Beijing at the moment, was also anxiously waiting for the box office data to be released.

"Has the box office data not come out yet?" Liu Yifei walked around, making everyone dizzy.

"Calm down. Even I, the second male lead, am not as anxious as you. Sit down."

Wu Chen made a comment, and the latter nodded blankly, "That makes sense, that makes sense."

Just as she was about to calmly sit down like Wu Chen, Shu Chang scratched her head and pointed to herself, saying, "Qianqian, I'm the second female lead, you're the first female lead."

Liu Yifei suddenly realized: "Oh right!"

"Hahaha," this scene made everyone laugh.

"Wu Chen, you're kidding me again!" Liu Yifei couldn't help but pat Wu Chen a few times.

The atmosphere inside the venue immediately became much lighter.

However, just a moment later, Wu Chen and Ning Hao's phones rang almost simultaneously with a "ding" of new messages, followed by a call from Wang Changtian.

"2320 million on the first day."

The box office news immediately swept through the entire film and television industry.

This achievement not only broke the record for the highest single-day box office in mainland China set by "Transformers" in 2007, but also quickly became a hot topic in public opinion.

The headlines of major portals quickly switched:
[Bad Genius grossed 2320 million yuan on its opening day, surpassing Transformers and setting a new record in Chinese film history!]

[With its strong start to the year, "Bad Genius" is poised to rake in 300 million at the box office?]

[Liu Yifei may become the first leading actress to have two consecutive films gross over 100 million yuan at the box office, demonstrating her astonishing box office appeal!]

[Shu Chang returns to supporting roles; her two films may gross over 500 million yuan, breaking industry records!]

【.】

(End of this chapter)