Huayu: A Commercial Director

Chapter 285 The Yang Family Urges Childbirth, Overseas Box Office

There's a lot of discussion among high-ranking officials in the film and television industry; well-informed people all know about it.

He thought to himself that Chen Shou was really bold to do something like this.

Three films rushed into the Spring Festival release window, leaving no room for other film and television companies to survive.

It's only the first day, and The Mermaid and The Wandering Earth have already overwhelmed other movies. If there's a third one, the other movies won't even need to be released; three movies could kill them.

There are plenty of people who criticize Chen Shouzhe in private, but none of them dare to push him too hard.

Destroying his major IP was a collaborative effort by most people in the industry, and Chen Shouzhe is now putting pressure on them.

If they used underhanded tactics to trick Chen Shouzhe, then Chen Shouzhe completely overwhelmed them with his strength, leaving them speechless.

Even calling their parents wouldn't help; in fact, their parents would have already intervened, otherwise they would have beaten them even worse.

Just look at the current film and television industry; there's no one who can compete with Chen Shou. On the first day of the Lunar New Year, the national box office broke historical records thanks to recent years' efforts, but two big-budget films put them under immense pressure.

We can't say anything yet, and we can't resort to underhanded tricks like in Ghost Blows Out the Light, since we're crushing them with overwhelming force.

On the second day of the Lunar New Year, you should visit your father-in-law and mother-in-law to wish them a Happy New Year.

Chen Shou did not go. Yang Mi took Chen Caiyu home to play. The maternal grandparents doted on this granddaughter, after all, Yang Mi was also an only child and this granddaughter was their only descendant.

"Mimi, when are you going to have another one?" Yang's father asked.

"I'm very busy right now and have no plans to have another baby," Yang Mi said, shaking her head. She is currently at the peak of her career, and her company has only recently gone public. If she were to have another baby, she would have to disappear for at least three or four months, and she doesn't know how much money she would lose.

Although Chen Shou was supporting her, her ambition still prevented her from resting now.

"If you have another child, it can be surnamed Yang. Don't you and Chen Shouzhe have any plans to get married yet?" Yang's mother asked.

They didn't approve of their daughter entering the entertainment industry, but Yang Mi loved performing since she was a child star and had a smooth career. They just never imagined that her love life would be so complicated.

She had a daughter with Chen Shou, but the two did not get married, which seemed abnormal to the older generation.

Considering their professions, we could only turn a blind eye.

Now that they are getting older, they long for a child in the family. They only have one daughter, Yang Mi, and their granddaughter is being raised by Chen Shou. The only way they can see her is at the horse farm.

I brought my granddaughter back today, and they loved her. We took her out to play for a day, but unfortunately we have to go back in two days. My granddaughter even complained that it wasn't fun here.

The elderly couple were heartbroken and, as they grew older, they hoped to have a child to help them make their later years more interesting.

Another reason is to ensure the continuation of the Yang family line.

Most families now have only one child, and with the country allowing two children per family, one child has the surname Chen, and the hope is to have a second child with the surname Yang.

Yang Mi knew what the elderly couple was thinking. She had actually thought about having another child, but she was too busy with work. It would be better to have another child, since she could afford to raise it, and it would also allow her to be more closely tied to Chen Shouzhe.

It is thanks to Chen Shou that she has achieved what she has today; otherwise, everything she has done would have been nothing more than a wedding dress made for someone else.

"I don't plan to get married right now. If we want a second child, let's wait a couple of years until I have more time," Yang Mi said.

“You’re not young anymore. In a few years you’ll be forty, and we’ll both be over seventy. How will we take care of you then? You can start thinking about it this year,” said Yang’s mother. “Mom, I’m too busy with work right now. I don’t have time,” Yang Mi replied.

"I don't care, the sooner the better, otherwise will my Yang family line end?" said Father Yang.

“There is no heir to the throne in the family,” Yang Mi said.

“What’s the use of all the money you and Chen Shou make if you don’t have any descendants? What’s the point of having money when you die? Are you going to hand it all over to someone else after working hard for most of your life? Even though you have Caiyu, she is still a girl,” said Yang’s father.

Yang Mi sighed. She knew more than the old couple. She had given birth to a daughter, while the other woman had given birth to a son. Although Chen Shouzhe was a doting father, someone would still have to give up his daughter in the future. Thinking of this, she thought that perhaps she could have another child. As for marriage, she dared not think about it. Chen Shouzhe would not marry her.

Chen Shou has a general understanding of her current wealth; the more children she has, the more she will gain in the future, so perhaps she can consider having another one.

"I'll discuss it with him," Yang Mi nodded.

The whole family enjoyed a happy Spring Festival together, reuniting on the second day of the Lunar New Year. Holidays are meant for travel and spending.

The film market is booming, but other film companies are suffering.

The positive word-of-mouth surrounding the first-year film impacted the box office performance of the second-year film.

The Wandering Earth has 3.05 million views, and The Mermaid has 2.21 million views.

The Wandering Earth went up, The Mermaid went down a bit, but looking at the overall market, the total market was only 6.47 million, meaning the two movies made 5.26 million.

This leaves no room for other films to survive.

Other film production companies during the Spring Festival season were in despair, cursing and swearing, cursing Chen Shouzhe, cursing Stephen Chow, cursing Guo Fan, and cursing the higher-ups.

Both films demonstrate what it means to be a winner-takes-all situation where everyone else has no chance of survival.

Faced with huge box office returns, the two films will only increase their promotional investment, while other films can only reduce their promotional investment. Promoting now would be suicidal.

Meanwhile, companies like Emperor Motion Pictures, Star Overseas, China Film Group, Shanghai Film Group, Enlight Media, and Wanda Media will only increase their promotional efforts for their respective films.

Anyone with eyes can see that the Spring Festival film season has been completely dominated by two movies.

The Wandering Earth, in particular, sparked a discussion similar to that of Wolf Warrior 2, especially since it starred Wu Jing and also performed well at the overseas box office.

On the first day, the figure for the Americas exceeded $1800. Statistics for Southeast Asia have not yet been released, but for South Korea, the figures are based on the number of people.

It received good reviews abroad, after all, it's a film produced by Chen Shouzhe, and the focus of overseas promotion is on Chen Shouzhe; otherwise, other people wouldn't have such a big reputation overseas.

Leveraging Chen Shouzhe's fame and the film's box office performance on its opening day, Columbia Pictures, responsible for its marketing and distribution, contacted cinemas in various countries to increase the number of screenings for the film.

Other countries don't have a Spring Festival; for them, it's just an ordinary day, and going to see a movie is a good option. Many overseas Chinese will go to the cinema to support the film.

People in Europe and America find the idea of ​​global cooperation in "The Wandering Earth" novel. After all, they've seen plenty of American superhero movies where the whole world works together, and this is the first time they've seen a film about human cooperation like this. It's a bit like the Chinese version of "2012".

The film gained international recognition and received increased support from higher authorities, including overseas interview videos that aired for 30 minutes in the evening.

(End of this chapter)