Huayu Entertainment: The Birth of a Succubus Top Star

(I caught a cold yesterday and felt really groggy, so I couldn't write anymore. I added more words in the previous chapter. If it feels disjointed, please continue reading. Sorry!)

"Brother Xiaoyan, try this braised sea cucumber with scallions, theirs is especially delicious."

"Brother Yan, this braised lion's head meatballs are also good, you should try them."

"Brother Yan, this is delicious too..."

They were supposed to ask Gu Zhiyan some music-related questions, but after Song Yuqi and Yao Xiaotang each asked a question, they turned into "waiters," constantly serving Gu Zhiyan food.

Gu Zhiyan ate her fill at that meal.

After dinner, Gu Zhiyan went home alone, while the older and younger women went shopping together.

Women have an innate love for shopping.

Not long after returning home, Song Hye-kyo, Lee Ji-eun, Chae Soo-bin, and other Korean women also arrived in Beijing.

Over the next two days, the older and younger women from China also arrived home one after another.

This Lunar New Year's Eve is the night with the most people together. Except for four ladies, Chen Duling, Zhang Ruonan, Zhang Yuxi, and Jiang Peiyao, who have to work overtime filming during the Spring Festival, everyone else is here, making the house incredibly lively.

Everyone ate, drank, chatted, and watched the Spring Festival Gala.

To be honest, not many people actually pay attention to the TV. They just listen to the sound. It's only when their own sisters are performing on stage that people pay a little attention and then chime in with their comments.

The older and younger women who participated in this year's Spring Festival Gala performances returned home one after another after their performances, joining their families in celebration.

Gu Zhiyan became the busiest person. It was Chinese New Year, so she had to say a few auspicious words and offer a toast to the older and younger women at each table.

It's just that the older and younger women felt sorry for him and didn't let him drink too much. Otherwise, with dozens of people, even if he had an amazing alcohol tolerance, he would definitely have been drunk to death.

After walking to the table where Dilraba was, and completing the formalities, Dilraba whispered to Gu Zhiyan, "Brother Xiaoyan, Stephen Chow wants to see you."

The students at the same table, including Nazha, Zhu Xudan, and Sister Meng, immediately perked up their ears.

Stephen Chow, needless to say, everyone knows who he is. There is only one person in the entertainment industry who can be called that: the King of Comedy, Stephen Chow.

When did Dilraba get in touch with Stephen Chow?

"Why did he contact me?" Gu Zhiyan asked, looking puzzled.

Although he knew Stephen Chow, having met and greeted him at various events, they were not close.

This might be why Stephen Chow conveyed a message through Dilraba.

While others were unaware of the connection between Dilraba and Stephen Chow, Gu Zhiyan was quite clear about it: Dilraba had accepted a role in Stephen Chow's new film, "Kung Fu Women's Soccer," and would be joining the filming crew in about two months.

Could it be that Stephen Chow wants to cast him in a role?

Dilraba replied, "He didn't say it explicitly, but he used me as a go-between. I guess he wants to cast you in a role."

Before Gu Zhiyan could speak, the young ladies started chattering away.

"Dilraba, is Stephen Chow making a new movie?"

"How did he contact Xiao Yan through you? Are you going to be in his new movie?"

"Dilraba, is this for real?"

When asked by her friends, Dilraba nodded: "It's true, his new movie is called 'Kung Fu Soccer,' and I play the second female lead."

Upon hearing this, the young ladies were immediately filled with envy; after all, it was Stephen Chow!

Nazha: Hmph, not envious, not envious at all. So what if he's Stephen Chow? I'm about to make a movie with Xiao Yan, and I'll be the female lead.

When it comes to box office appeal, Stephen Chow can't compare to Xiao Yan Ge.

That's a bit of a romantic overreaction. Stephen Chow is still very good; many people are still willing to pay for nostalgia.

Even Gu Zhiyan herself would buy a ticket and go to the cinema whenever a Stephen Chow movie was released.

The only thing Gu Zhiyan could watch without ever getting tired of was Stephen Chow's movies.

After answering her friends' questions, Dilraba continued, "Brother Yan, Stephen Chow said that if you agree to meet him, he'll come to Beijing in a couple of days. What do you think?"

"Then let's meet him and see what he has to say." Gu Zhiyan nodded.

"Kung Fu Women's Soccer"—just from the title, you can tell it's a film with women as the main characters. Even if the male lead is the main character, his role will definitely be secondary. Given Gu Zhiyan's status, he's simply not suitable for this kind of role. I guess Stephen Chow just wanted him to have a cameo role.

If that's the case, Gu Zhiyan would be happy to make a cameo appearance. Even if the role of the male lead is suitable, Gu Zhiyan doesn't have time to take photos right now, so a cameo role with fewer scenes would be quite appropriate.

……

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, "Ne Zha" was released.

Other films released during the same period include "Detective Chinatown 1900", "The Legend of Deification: The Battle of Xiqi", "The Legend of the Condor Heroes: The Great Hero", "Operation Jiaolong" and the evergreen film of the Spring Festival season, "Boonie Bears: Reboot".

"Ne Zha" grossed 4.87 million yuan on its opening day, taking the top spot at the daily box office.

接下来，单日票房持续走高，6.19亿、7.31亿、8.12亿、8.43亿、8.65亿……

The box office performance, just like the film's exciting plot, "started strong and went wild".

It grossed over 18 billion yuan in just 3 days and over 50 billion yuan in 8 days, breaking the record for the fastest Chinese film to reach 50 billion yuan.

At this moment, everyone was amazed by the skyrocketing box office of "Ne Zha". But apart from Gu Zhiyan, even the most optimistic person would not dare to imagine that the final box office of this movie would reach 150 billion yuan, or even 100 billion yuan, which is something that many people dare not think about.

During this year's Spring Festival film season, "Ne Zha" dominated, "Detective Chinatown 1900" secured second place, and "The Legend of Deification: The War of Xiqi" started strong but faded in the end, falling behind "Detective Chinatown" and failing to meet expectations.

"Operation Jiaolong" flopped at the box office; it's no wonder, given that it was marketed as a sequel to "Operation Red Sea," but the film's quality was abysmal.

The most unfortunate one was "Boonie Bears: Reboot," which suffered a severe audience split, with its core family audience being snatched away by "Ne Zha 2," resulting in a record low in recent years.

The Legend of Condor Heroes: The Great Hero led the pre-sales but lacked momentum. It performed well on the first day, but its reputation was controversial.

In short: it led in pre-sales, started strong but then declined, and its reputation collapsed.

The high pre-sales driven by fans of "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" did not translate into a corresponding percentage of screenings, indicating that cinema operators have a very clear understanding of the fan effect.

Whether an actor can carry the box office depends on more than just fan economy; it's clearly not enough.

Fans supported the pre-sale, but casual shoppers didn't buy in.

The film even experienced a decrease in total box office revenue, which clearly indicates that some fans did not love their idol that much, as they pre-ordered movie tickets and then canceled them.

She's so bold, she can't even bear to spend money on her own brother!

Traffic stars are a huge bubble. They can just boost their numbers and brag a bit in TV dramas, but when it comes to movies that require real money and spending, their true colors are immediately revealed.

Moreover, the actions of these fan groups are quite outrageous.

To increase the "credibility" of positive reviews, many fans will start with the tone of "I am a passerby/Jin Yong fan/Xu Ke fan", trying to create the illusion that "even passersby say it is good".

To prove the movie's popularity, fans often described it as "sold out" and "tickets were hard to come by," and even fabricated exaggerated stories such as "the cinema was selling standing tickets" and "the cleaning lady was chasing people away but no one left." In reality, the attendance rate was not high at the time, and many middle seats were empty.

Fans even "cultivated" their accounts in advance, and after the film's release, they gave it a concentrated 5-star rating. The number of 5-star reviews on Douban in the early stages was even 7 times that of the champion film of the same period, "Ne Zha 2".

While this "fighting for data" approach may have generated high pre-sales and high five-star ratings in the short term, it has exacerbated the polarization of public opinion because it deviates from the real feelings of ordinary people.

After the box office failure, fans started boasting about the title of "China's highest-grossing martial arts film," which has no real value whatsoever.

A classic case of "turning a funeral into a celebration"!