Huayu: Starting with Hijacking from "The Story of a Noble Family"

Chapter 72 Liu Yifei's First Time Wearing a Dress

Two days later, on Wednesday, December 24, the film "Jade Goddess of Mercy" held its premiere in Beijing.

In addition to director Hsu An-hua, lead actor Tse Ting-feng, lead actress Hsiao Yan-tzu, producer and general manager of Huaying Film Studio, Han San-ping was also present.

Ann Hui is a director from Hong Kong, and this film, "Jade Goddess of Mercy," marks her first collaboration with mainland China. Xie Tingfeng is also from Hong Kong.

However, this film, *Jade Goddess of Mercy*, was entirely invested in by mainland China, making it a purely domestic film and not a co-production.

The premiere was in the afternoon at a cinema in Beijing, and the tickets had already been snapped up by movie fans by the morning.

When Xie Tingfeng and Xiao Yanzi arrived at the scene, they were surrounded by fans!

The movie officially premiered at midnight on the 25th.

That same evening, Sina Entertainment published a report, mainly consisting of audience reviews of the film.

"Xiao Yanzi's performance was a breakthrough; she was much more mature than in 'Princess Pearl,' and her scenes with Xie Tingfeng were very engaging."

"It's quite touching, especially the emotional entanglement between Xie Tingfeng and Xiao Yanzi; that's the most moving part of the film."

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"Director Hsu An-hua's shots are very delicate, and he portrays An-hsin's inner struggles very well. The ending is very impactful."

"The plot jumps around a lot, and there were some parts I didn't understand, but the scenery was beautifully shot, and Xie Tingfeng's performance was better than expected."

"Movies aren't as good as TV series, and TV series aren't that great to begin with."

"The way Xiao Yanzi played An Xin was like a child playing house. This Taekwondo expert was all show and no substance. Her acting skills were also lacking. She was far inferior to Sun Li in the TV series version."

"The editing is too messy, many plots are not explained clearly, and the development of An Xin and Mao Jie's relationship is too abrupt and lacks foreshadowing."

"The film's pace is too slow, making it too depressing for a Lunar New Year film. It's not as good as 'Cell Phone' or 'Infernal Affairs 3'."

"Anxin is such an unlikable character. She seems a bit promiscuous, and the destruction of her family is her own doing, so it's hard to feel sorry for her."

"The adaptation is fragmented, many wonderful plots from the original work have been cut, and Liu Yunlong and Chen Jianbin have too few scenes, which is a waste of good actors."

"It wasn't as exciting as I imagined, nor as moving as I expected. Perhaps the audience's expectations were too high, or perhaps the film was just lacking, or perhaps the story was too familiar to everyone."

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Clearly, this film received more negative reviews than positive ones.

The next day, all the major entertainment media outlets reported on the film, with some even mentioning the opening day box office figures, which were "as high" as 120 million!

The box office of just over 100 million yuan on the first day was clearly far below expectations, and less than one-fifth of the 680 million yuan box office of "Cell Phone" on its first day!

The cost was even higher than that of "Cell Phone," and it didn't recoup all its costs before its release like "Cell Phone" did!

Based on this trend, barring any unforeseen circumstances, this movie is likely to flop, and flop terribly at that!

Upon seeing the report, the Tianya Film and Television Review section unsurprisingly became lively again!

"120 million in box office revenue on the opening day? That's way too low!"

"This is a movie starring Xiao Yanzi and Xie Tingfeng, with a production cost of 2000 million yuan. This is going to be a huge loss!"

"Popularity is popularity, and box office is box office. Who says high popularity guarantees high box office? Besides, Xie Tingfeng just went through a cover-up case last year, and Xiao Yanzi went through the flag incident the year before. Their popularity and reputation were severely damaged!"

"Little Swallow and Xie Tingfeng should stick to acting in TV dramas or singing; acting in movies really isn't for them!"

"It seems Ann Hui isn't suited to making mainland Chinese films either!"

"The standards for movies are much higher than for TV series, and watching movies costs money; if the quality is poor, popularity is useless!"

"Cellphone" has already grossed nearly 4000 million yuan, and is expected to reach around 5000 million yuan in the end. This movie's opening day box office was less than one-fifth of Cellphone's. Does that mean it won't even break 1000 million yuan in the end?

"Yesterday was Thursday, so it's normal for box office revenue to be a bit low. Now we'll see how it goes on Friday and the weekend. If the box office doesn't improve, then we're really going to suffer a huge loss!"

"The film's quality and word-of-mouth seem rather poor, and its subject matter and style are clearly unsuitable for the Lunar New Year season; it's unlikely to do well later on!"

"Next up is Xu Heng's 'Our Times,' which definitely has a chance of surpassing 'Jade Goddess of Mercy' at the box office!"

"Haha, that's true, but it's not that Xu Heng's movie is so good, it's just that the competition is really weak!"

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Another day passed, and on Saturday the 27th, more media outlets confirmed that "Jade Goddess of Mercy" did indeed gross 120 million yuan on its opening day.

The report also mentioned that the film's second-day box office was "as high" as 130 million, which was 10 higher than the first day's box office!

On that day, the cast and crew of "Jade Goddess of Mercy" were holding a promotional event in Shanghai, where many fans and reporters were present.

There were even more reporters than at the previous premiere in Beijing.

Director Xu Anhua and lead actors Xie Tingfeng and Xiao Yanzi were extremely embarrassed when faced with reporters' questions.

Furthermore, they were scheduled to continue their promotional tour in Guangzhou the day after tomorrow, and Xie Tingfeng and Xiao Yanzi were already considering whether they should run away.

Two days later, on Monday the 29th, the box office results for the first four days of "Jade Goddess of Mercy" were released.

The box office was 120 million on Thursday, the second day of the week, 130 million on Friday, 100 million on Saturday, and 65 on Sunday.

The box office was 415 million in the first four days, and the final box office is likely to be no more than 10 million!

Another day later, in the early hours of December 30th, the famous Hong Kong actress Anita Mui passed away in Hong Kong due to cancer, and all major media outlets in China reported on it.

The premiere of Xu's film "Our Times" will be held at the Beijing Film Academy this afternoon, but many reporters arrived outside the academy early in the morning.

There is no Spring Festival film season yet, so the Lunar New Year film season is the best time to release films.

Xu Heng's "Our Times" is the last movie to be released during this year's Lunar New Year season, and it was quite popular before.

The final two episodes of "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils," which premiered on Zhejiang Economic Television, will air tonight.

As the plot progressed into its second half, Liu Yifei's portrayal of Wang Yuyan gradually gained popularity, and the show began its second run on local television stations.

And "Jade Goddess of Mercy," which was previously compared to "Our Times" by the media, is now basically confirmed to have suffered huge losses.

With so many hot topics concentrated together, how could these media outlets and reporters possibly miss it, especially since Xu Heng spent so much money on publicity!

In terms of marketing and distribution costs, Xu's "Our Times" is not much less than "Cell Phone" with a production cost of 1500 million, and even exceeds "Jade Goddess of Mercy" with a production cost of 2000 million!

"Xu Heng, do you have anything to say about the box office performance of 'Jade Goddess of Mercy'?"

"Right now, I only care about the box office performance of my own films; I don't care about the box office performance of other films."

"Do you think your movie can surpass 'Jade Goddess of Mercy' at the box office?"

"Of course I hope it can surpass the box office, but we'll have to wait until the film is released to know how much it will actually reach and whether the audience will be willing to support it."

"Could you tell me how much you spent on promotion for your movie?"

"The marketing and promotion costs were probably around 200 million."

"Did you produce that yourself?"

"Yes."

"You're making movies and spending so much money on promotions, and I heard you don't accept gigs or endorsements, nor do you participate in any commercial activities. So where does your money come from?"

"This is a matter of personal privacy and I cannot disclose it at the moment, but it is definitely legal."

Why don't you accept GG and endorsement deals?

"I want to be a pure director and actor, and let my work speak for itself."

Some people question whether your acting in "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils" is as good as your acting in "The Story of a Noble Family." What's your opinion on this?

"Duan Yu and Jin Yanxi are two different characters, so the way they are portrayed will definitely be different. However, as an actor, I will accept any reasonable criticism and suggestions, and I will try my best to improve my professional skills. Of course, I can't just do whatever others say. I have my own ideas and pace."

What did you think of Liu Yifei's performance in "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils"?

"It's fantastic! I even dare say it will be hard for any other actress to surpass her portrayal of Wang Yuyan!"

"What about in the movies?"

"Equally great!"

"There are rumors that you had a bad relationship with Xiu Qing, who played Murong Fu in 'Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils,' during the filming of the series. Is that true?"

"A film crew has at least a hundred people, and there are at least dozens of actors whose names I can name. I can't get along with everyone. We don't have any conflicts, we just don't contact each other in private, but it doesn't affect the filming."

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At 1:30 p.m., half an hour before the premiere, Xu Heng arrived at the school's standard screening room and was immediately surrounded by a large group of reporters.

Just then, as Xu Heng was being interviewed, a gasp of surprise suddenly came from the surrounding crowd.

Xu Heng and the reporter turned their heads and saw Liu Yifei, dressed in a pure white long dress, slowly walking towards them, holding up the dress with both hands. She truly looked like a fairy.

At the scene, someone even shouted "Fairy Sister!" The crowd and reporters were all stunned!

Liu Yifei was then interviewed amidst a large group of reporters, and at their request, she took a photo with Xu Heng before entering the screening room with him.

The reporters around them continued to take pictures.

After entering the screening room and taking their seats, Liu Yifei finally couldn't help but show off to Xu Heng next to her: "How about it? Don't I look beautiful today?"

And it's clear that she's in a really good mood today!

She had texted Xu Heng earlier, asking if he should dress more formally for the premiere today.

As a result, Xu Heng directly suggested that she wear a formal dress, and even asked her personal makeup artist from when she filmed this movie to accompany her to choose a dress.

Today is also the first time she has worn a formal dress to an event!