Global Best Actor: Starting with Picking Up Attributes in America

Chapter 465 Stealing Box Office Revenue

On its seventh day of release, "Dragon Fight" grossed over $15 billion worldwide.

The atmosphere in the large office of China Dragon Pictures was somewhat somber.

Because the result was not as good as expected.

Although it started strong, it seemed to lack staying power.

Robert, clutching his laptop, paced back and forth, his brow furrowed.

"Boss, something's not right."

Robert stopped in front of Chen Xun and turned the computer screen towards him: "Yesterday's box office was only $8200 million, a drop of 18% from the previous day. North America fared even worse, with a drop of over 25%. At this rate, let alone $300 million..."

"It's 100 million RMB, and it's uncertain whether it can even reach 20 billion."

Lee So-yeon nodded, she had also noticed the problem: "We checked the screening schedule, and the national average screening rate has increased to 52%, while the occupancy rate is still over 90%. Logically speaking, the box office shouldn't have dropped so much. The screening rate overseas has also increased to 22%, and the occupancy rate is also good, but the data just won't go up."

Jennifer was a little anxious: "Could it be that people are getting tired of it? After all, it's been out for a week already."

"impossible!"

Christine shook her head: "I went to the cinema yesterday, and every showing was sold out, even the first row was full. And the ratings haven't dropped. It has a 9.2.1 rating on Douban, an 8.7 rating on MDB, and a 94% freshness rating on Rotten Tomatoes. A movie with such a rating can't possibly drop so quickly."

Chen Xun stared at the box office curve on the screen, lost in thought.

After a while, he finally spoke: "The box office growth of any movie will slow down after a week of release. $15 billion has already exceeded expectations, so there's no need to rush."

"But----"

Robert wanted to say something more.

"No buts."

Chen Xun waved his hand: "Tell the publicity team not to increase the budget anymore. The word-of-mouth has already taken off. The rest is up to the audience. Release the behind-the-scenes footage we prepared earlier to give viewers who want to watch it a second or third time some extra entertainment."

Rob sighed and could only nod, "Alright!"

Online discussions have begun about the slowdown in the box office performance of "Dragon Fight".

"What happened? Why did the box office drop so much yesterday?"

"That's normal. After all, it's already reached 15 billion in 7 days. It can't keep exploding like this."

"I've already seen it twice, and I'm planning to see it a third time this weekend! It's so good!"

"Me too! I cry every time I watch the Great Wall battle scene. I have to watch it again to support Chen Xun!"

"Anyone want to team up and play together? I'll have the whole place to myself!"

Many netizens spontaneously organized second and third viewings, and some even booked out theaters at their companies and schools to show their colleagues and classmates for free.

The hashtag #DragonSoarsAcrossTheWorldSecondChallenge# quickly became a trending topic.

Just then!

A netizen with the ID "Baili Dama" posted on Weibo: "Today I went to Wanda Cinema to see 'Dragon Age'. After buying the ticket, when I went to pick it up, the machine showed that no ticket was issued. I went to the front desk, and they gave me a ticket stub for 'Frozen 2'. I was stunned. So, the money I paid for the 'Dragon Age' ticket went into the pocket of 'Frozen 2'?"

The post also included two photos: one was a ticket purchase record showing that the ticket was for "Dragon Soars Across the Seas".

19：20的场次；另一张是前台给的票根，上面印着《冰雪奇缘2》19：20的场次。

The post was shared over 10 times in less than an hour.

Numerous netizens left comments saying they had encountered the same situation.

"Me too! I went to Hengdian World Studios yesterday and bought a ticket for 'Dragon Fight,' but they gave me a ticket stub for 'Fast & Furious'!"

"What happened to me was even more outrageous. The receptionist said they didn't have any ticket stubs and told me to enter with my ticket purchase record."

"I bought three tickets, but they only gave me one ticket stub, and it's for Mission: Impossible 6!"

"No wonder the box office isn't growing! It's all been stolen!"

"This is disgusting! This is blatant robbery!"

The hashtag #DragonSoarsOverseasBoxOfficeTheft# instantly became the number one trending topic!

Netizens are absolutely furious.

"Is Disney a sore loser? They steal box office revenue when they can't compete, huh?"

"They couldn't even win a 12-movie crackdown, so now they're resorting to underhanded tactics?"

"No wonder Frozen 2's box office is close to 10 billion; it's all stolen from us!"

"I'm never going to Wanda or Hengdian to watch movies again! They're disgusting!"

"This must be thoroughly investigated! Give us an explanation!"

Foreign netizens quickly discovered similar situations as well.

An American netizen posted a video on Twitter: "I bought two tickets for 'Dragon King,' but the theater gave me two ticket stubs for 'The Lion King,' saying the system was broken. When I went in, the entire theater was full of people watching 'Dragon King,' and not a single person was watching 'The Lion King.'"

The tweet was quickly retweeted hundreds of thousands of times, and #DisneyStealsBoxOffice# became a global trending topic.

China Dragon Film Studio Headquarters

Upon receiving the message, Rob slammed his phone on the table, his face flushed red: "That's really shameless!"

They actually resorted to such despicable tactics!

"I just contacted Mr. Wang from Wanda, and he said that this was an individual action by a few cinemas, and headquarters was unaware of it."

Lee So-yeon was so angry her hands were shaking: "Nobody would believe him! With so many cinemas across the country experiencing this at the same time, how could it be an isolated incident!"

Jennifer slammed her hand on the table and stood up: "I'm going to tweet about them! This is outrageous!"

"Don't act impulsively!"

Christine pulled her back: "There's no solid evidence right now, so there's no point in cursing. They'll just turn the tables and accuse us of playing the victim."

Everyone looked at Chen Xun, waiting for him to make a decision.

Chen Xun sat in the chair, his face calm, showing no sign of anger.

He scrolled through the screenshots and videos posted by netizens.

Half an hour later, he looked up and said to Robert, "Notify the legal department to immediately collect all evidence, including netizens' ticket purchase records, ticket stub photos, videos, and cinema surveillance footage."

"Send lawyer's letters to all cinema chains, demanding that they immediately cease this behavior and issue a public apology."

"Finally, we contacted the State Film Administration and the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, submitted the evidence we had collected, and requested official intervention in the investigation."

Rob nodded: "I'll get on it right now!"

"etc!"

Chen Xun stopped him: "Post an official Weibo post saying that we believe most cinemas are compliant, that isolated incidents do not represent the whole, and that everyone should protect their rights rationally, not attack innocent cinema staff, and not boycott other movies. We will resolve everything through legal channels."

Rob was taken aback: "Boss, you're still speaking up for them at a time like this?"

"I'm not speaking on their behalf."

Chen Xun shook his head: "Box office fraud is a problem for theaters and capital, it has nothing to do with ordinary staff or the main creators of other films. We can't let things get out of control and turn into a war of words between fans."

He paused, his eyes turning cold: "Let's try courtesy first, then force. If they know what's good for them and apologize and compensate us, we'll let it go. If they don't, then don't blame us for being impolite."

The official Weibo account of China Dragon Pictures quickly posted about it.

Contrary to the angry accusations expected by netizens, this Weibo post was calm and well-organized. It explained the situation, called on everyone to defend their rights rationally, and specifically emphasized not to attack innocent people or other films.

After this Weibo post was published, netizens felt even more sorry for Chen Xun.

"Chen Xun is so kind! Even after being bullied like this, he's still thinking of others."

"Compared to Disney's underhanded tactics, the difference in their level of sophistication is immediately apparent."

"Don't worry, Chen Xun! We're with you! We'll crowdfund whatever money you need for your lawsuit!"

"From now on, I'll watch every one of Chen Xun's movies ten times!"

"I've kept all the ticket stubs safe. Just call me anytime if you need my testimony!"