Director of Photography Department of Huayu

Chapter 656 Box Office Turmoil: Not a Fault in Warfare?
The box office performance of "Ex Machina" on its opening day not only gave Guo Fan's "bold statement" at the premiere a solid foundation;
This has made the "new vs. old" debate surrounding Ex Machina and Wuxia even more heated.

There's a lot of discussion both inside and outside the industry.

At this moment, Chen Kexin, who had just finished a media conference, returned to her hotel room and locked herself in.

The room was filled with smoke.

He dialed the number back; the other party had called earlier, but he had missed it because he was at an event.

"Director Chen, it's like this," a deep and steady male voice came from the other end of the phone.

When Peter Chan heard the other party's suggestion, a hint of hesitation flashed across his face, but it quickly disappeared.

He remained silent for a moment, seemingly not thinking it was a big deal.

Such incidents have been quite common over the years, and back in Hong Kong, they were commonplace; it was simply a matter of who had the greater ability.

"Will everything be alright?" he asked hoarsely. "There are only a few films showing in this release window."

"It's nothing serious. Just muddy the waters and give everyone a way out. Once it's over, it'll be over." The voice on the other end of the phone sounded confident.

"This way, we can at least save some face for you, Director Chen. Besides, if 'Wuxia' continues like this, the 1.5 million yuan cost will be a huge loss."

We have to find a way to stimulate the market.

Meanwhile, driven by strong word-of-mouth, Ex Machina's box office continued its meteoric rise.

On Saturday, the second day of its release, the box office not only did not decline, but instead rose against the trend, exceeding 2500 million!
On Sunday, although the box office declined slightly due to the approaching work week, it still managed to take in 2100 million!
The box office grossed over 6900 million in its opening weekend!
While this achievement may not be comparable to Wu Chen's blockbusters that routinely gross over 100 million yuan in their opening weekend, it is quite impressive for a debut film by a new director with a budget of just over 10 million yuan.

The media has already reported on it extensively.

[Nearly 70 million in its opening weekend! "Ex Machina" ignites the summer box office, and Star Media is about to add another director to the "100 Million Yuan Club"!]

[A victory for science fiction! Following Wu Chen, another phenomenal science fiction director has emerged in mainland China!]

The mainland Chinese film industry is teeming with talent; the future of Chinese-language cinema lies in Beijing, not Hong Kong!

At this moment, the people who are happy should be the Beijing Film Academy.

Guo Fan is currently a graduate student in the Department of Management.
Yu Jianhong, the director of the management department, walks with an air of confidence.

However, he was also very good at interpersonal relationships. When the department was preparing to hold a celebration, he made a special trip to the photography department to find Mu Deyuan.

"Old Mu, we really have to thank Wu Chen this time; he's added another talented person to the school."

Mu Deyuan smiled broadly, but remained modest: "Oh, Wu Chen is just a talent scout, but Guo Fan, this thoroughbred horse, also needs to be able to run on his own. Guo Fan has that talent."

"Let's have dinner tonight! It's on us, don't refuse!"

Yu Jianhong didn't give Mu Deyuan a chance to speak at all. After finishing her sentence, she waved her hand and left satisfied.

At this moment, in the office of China Film Group, Han Sanping was still sighing.

Based on this trend, it's highly likely that Ex Machina will eventually gross over 200 million yuan.

He was genuinely happy for the film; after all, the industry had gained another capable director.
Moreover, Wu Chen's intention was quite clear: to let Guo Fan pursue a science fiction direction.

"Ruoqing, do you think there's something wrong with our China Film Group's broad-based training approach?" Han Sanping looked out the window and suddenly asked Fu Ruoqing, who had just finished her work report.

Upon hearing this, Fu Ruoqing pondered for a moment:

"Chairman Han, Director Wu has a unique eye for talent, and he himself came from the front lines of creation, deeply rooted in the industry, so it's normal for him to be accurate in judging people."

But we are a state-owned enterprise, and we have a responsibility to cultivate talent for the entire industry. Sometimes, we need to be 'broad-minded,' casting a wide net and giving young people more opportunities. Otherwise, people will say we only care about ourselves and not the bigger picture.

Your contributions to the industry are evident to everyone. People like Ning Hao and Wu Chen also have some connection with China Film Group.

As the deputy general manager, Fu Ruoqing naturally spoke with finesse. His words explained the current situation while also flattering Han Sanping, and were perfectly tactful.

Upon hearing this, Han Sanping immediately smiled.
Just then, there was a rapid knocking on the office door.

"Enter."

A secretary walked in quickly, leaned close to Han Sanping's ear, and whispered a few words.

"Mr. Han, there are reports online that the box office of 'Wu Xia' was stolen on its opening day. On Weibo, some netizens have already posted pictures of the movie tickets they bought."

The secretary's voice was very low.
"A ticket stub from Jinyi Cinema in Zhaoqing, Guangdong, was printed with the information for our film 'The Founding of a Republic,' but the ticket was handwritten and changed to 'Wuxia.'"

Moreover, this phenomenon is not limited to our film; several other films in the industry also exhibit this phenomenon.

Han Sanping's brows furrowed instantly.

He then turned to look at Fu Ruoqing and asked:

"This is outrageous! Have our managers issued any box office targets for 'The Founding of a Republic' to the theater chains and cinemas?"

"Chairman Han, I guarantee that's not true!" Fu Ruoqing immediately replied, "We're a blockbuster, how could a blockbuster steal another blockbuster's box office? That's illogical. Usually, it's smaller films that steal the box office of larger films."

Because in the current box office revenue sharing ratio between film producers and cinemas, smaller films generally give cinemas a higher percentage, so only when smaller films steal the profits of larger films can cinemas gain more revenue.

"Besides, what kind of film are we making? It's all booked out by various enterprises and institutions; there's absolutely no need for us to sacrifice such a tiny bit of box office revenue."

Fu Ruoqing analyzed it carefully.
Han Sanping slowly walked to the sofa, lit a cigarette, and narrowed his eyes slightly.

"You mean someone is deliberately causing trouble?"

"Chairman Han, what a coincidence! Besides, why does everyone steal from it, but no one dares to steal from us?" Fu Ruoqing retorted.

"They dare?"

Han Sanping snorted coldly, exuding an aura of authority without anger.

Wu Chen also learned of this news and felt puzzled, so he asked his employees about it.

"Is the only thing missing our 'Ex Machina' ticket stub?"

"Yes, Mr. Wu, the fact that no ticket stubs for 'Ex Machina' have been released so far doesn't seem to have much to do with us!"

"Is it really necessary!"

Upon hearing this, Wu Chen immediately guessed what was going on and couldn't help but shake his head with a chuckle.

"What's wrong? Did you find something?" Liu Yifei, who was sitting next to her, was very puzzled and quickly asked.

"Use your little brain and think it over carefully," Wu Chen chuckled, reaching out a finger to tap her forehead.

"Ugh! I don't want to think about it, just tell me!" Liu Yifei tilted her head back and hugged his arm, acting coquettishly.

Meanwhile, the media had already sensed the new hot topic and launched a new round of frenzied reporting.

The Hong Kong media, in particular, were ecstatic, beaming with pride.

[Is there more to the box office failure than meets the eye? "Wu Xia" suffered massive box office fraud on its opening day!]

[Shocking! Handwritten ticket alterations are shocking! Box office revenue stolen from "Wu Xia" may reach tens of millions!]

[It wasn't that they were outmatched, it was just that the box office was off! Chen Kexin's fault wasn't in the fight!]

[A masterpiece that has been "stolen"! We hope viewers won't be misled by inflated data and will give "Wuxia" their full support!]

(End of this chapter)