Huayu: Tianxian Qianmeng

Ling Yuan's "Ling Dong: The Ghostly Records" was scheduled for release on July 5, 2003.

In fact, the "Dragon Seal" was obtained a long time ago. The reason for the long delay is due to very special circumstances.

Unfortunately, the first half of 2003 was a period of unrest both domestically and globally.

The May Day holiday that year was originally seven days long, but it was temporarily adjusted to five days.

Since mid-March, the school has basically implemented a semi-closed management system, and students are not allowed to go out unless there is something important. Student dormitories are disinfected almost every day.

Under such circumstances, cinemas naturally suffer, becoming deserted.

There aren't many new films being released, and even the old films that are barely getting released aren't getting any viewers.

However, every cloud has a silver lining, and every fortune has a hidden misfortune. For Ling Yuan's film, this is a relatively good time to be released.

Perhaps Ling Yuan's production costs were low and the shooting time was short, so he was "well prepared." When July arrived, his "Ling Dong: Ghostly Records" was the first film to be screened.

There are almost none left.

Yes, there are a few, such as "The Matrix Reloaded," which was released on July 17, 12 days later.

There's another film called "Horses in the Monsoon," which focuses on the ecological crisis of the Inner Mongolian grasslands and the predicament of nomadic civilization. It was released on July 30th. However, it's not very competitive.

In terms of popularity, Ling Yuan's "Ling Dong: The True Story of Ghostly Shadows" is quite popular, with hot posts online and pre-release hype for the physical book.

Although there was no offline promotion due to the special circumstances and cost reasons, in the internet age, Ling Yuan himself became a promotional ambassador, staying in his dormitory every day posting on various forums and film and television sections, sometimes even deliberately stirring up controversy, which had already generated a lot of buzz.

He registered more than a dozen pseudonyms and encouraged others, such as Wang Luodan, Huang Shengyi, Jia Nailiang, Zhu Yawen, Zheng Luoxi, and Zhao Ke, to help post and bump posts.

Of course, Liu Yifei and Shu Chang, the two beloved girls, would occasionally join the fray. They quite enjoyed this kind of "anonymous" promotional campaign, finding it rather exciting.

It can be said that while many film promotion efforts are still focused on offline and traditional media these days, Ling Yuan was already ahead of the curve.

2003 was also a very special year for the film industry. When July swept away the gloom, this memorable year opened a new chapter for movies!

At the beginning of that year, with the approval of the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, Huaxia Film was established, becoming the second film company after China Film Group Corporation to have the qualification to distribute imported films.

In July, the mainland and Hong Kong signed the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA), and Hong Kong filmmakers have set their sights on the mainland film market.

It can be said that when these two "gates"—overseas imported films and mainland-Hong Kong co-productions—were further opened up, the Chinese film market underwent tremendous changes.

In that context, imported films had a natural box office appeal, and domestic films, which were not yet strong, were suppressed for a long time afterward.

In fact, the film and television industry is inextricably linked to the economy. In those years, China had not yet become the world's leading industrial nation, and its GDP was far from reaching the level of the world's second-largest economy, so the film and television industry was naturally not doing well either.

Later, as China's overall national strength rose, domestically produced films naturally became more appealing and popular. National self-confidence also increased.

At such a special moment, Ling Yuan's "Ling Dong: The Ghostly Chronicles" was released!

People who had been cooped up for half a year flocked to the cinemas.

……

Soon, the box office figures for the first day were released.

It's fair to say that this dark horse, with its incredibly low production costs, galloped off as soon as it was released!

A full million!

It's worth noting that even a blockbuster like "Hero," with an investment of over $3000 million, only grossed 1100 million RMB nationwide on its opening day!

The total box office of "Hero" in China was only 2.5 million yuan. At the exchange rate at the time, it barely broke even (the cost was about 2.6 million yuan).

Of course, its global box office was approximately $1.77 million.

Prior to its release, on April 4, 2002, the European and American distribution rights were sold to Miramax Films for $15 million in order to recoup funds.

……

For cinemas that have been silent for half a year, Ling Yuan's movie is absolutely amazing!

The cinema managers' eyes nearly popped out of their sockets as they stared at the long lines at the ticket windows. How long had it been since they'd seen such a spectacle? Was the last time it was for *Hero*?

The queues for tickets to "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" at the beginning of the year didn't seem this exaggerated. Although Harry Potter did have high box office numbers and was quite a strong performer.

"A film with a budget of 80,000? This attendance rate... is insane!" someone muttered, rubbing their temples.

"Wow, we broke even on the first day, and made a huge profit!"

The next day: Word of mouth spread like wildfire!

It flooded all major forums and chat rooms.

"I was terrified!"

"I'm too scared to go to the bathroom at night!"

"The mockumentary is so realistic!"

The box office revenue did not decrease but increased, reaching 380 million!

Day 3: The momentum is even stronger! 5.2 million!

The headlines in the entertainment sections of newspapers all read: "Xu Zhu crosses over into thrilling action; a horror documentary ignites the summer blockbuster season!"

Well, considering the summer movie season, post-pandemic pent-up demand, the fact that it was the only new film to be released, and its previous popularity, it's not surprising that it achieved such success.

……

Day 7: Weekly box office statistics are in, with cumulative box office revenue exceeding 25 million!

The entire film industry was stunned.

Some veterans: "..."

"What the hell?"

A budget of 80,000 versus a box office of 25 million? That's a return on investment faster than robbing a bank!

Especially those who only make award-winning films, they've never experienced this kind of feeling before. They say they're not envious, that these trashy films have no artistic value and can't win any awards, but their inner complaints have already distorted their minds.

This rate of return alone, without needing any awards to prove it, is enough to leave a significant mark on the history of Chinese films.

Zhang the Bearded Man yelled at Ling Yuan over the phone, "You little rascal! You're something else! You're really something else!" His beard was practically standing on end with excitement.

Faced with such a lively character as Ling Yuan, he decided to continue working with Ling Yuan on films in the future. He just didn't know if the kid would still be willing to act in TV dramas after making money from movies.

Although the price rose rapidly in the first few days, the hype inevitably cooled down later.

Fortunately, it still has considerable staying power.

By the end of the month, the cumulative box office had reached 3500 million!

Moreover, you can still see quite a few viewers in the theaters who are watching it two or three times, mysteriously telling their friends, "Trust me, this movie is different, it's incredibly exciting!"

Overwhelmingly positive reviews and phenomenal discussion:

"The atmosphere was amazing! I didn't see a single ghost, but it still scared me so much my palms were sweating!" (ID: Sleepless Night)

"Wang Luodan's acting was so realistic! The feeling of being tormented and broken by something invisible was amazing!" (ID: Dandan Fan Club)

"Ling Yuan is awesome! He wrote, directed, and starred in it all, and it's so successful! Who says horror movies have no market?" (ID: Movie Guru)

"Following the trend of 'The Blair Witch Project'? No! I think it's scarier and more sophisticated than 'The Blair Witch Project'!" (ID: Veteran Horror Fan)

The situation on the Beijing Film Academy campus was absolutely chaotic!

Those students who had been gossiping and waiting to see the joke were slapped in the face.

In the boys' dormitory, the guy who had called it a "shoddy, garbage film" stared at the bolded number 3500 million in the newspaper, his jaw almost dropping to the floor.

"Holy crap?! That tall?! That's outrageous!!"

"This kid must be making a killing!" You have to understand, this film was written, directed, starred in, and produced by Ling Yuan himself, and he owns all the copyrights.

Envy, jealousy, and hatred surged like a tide, and many people's eyes turned red.

The teachers in the office were in an uproar.

Teacher Cui Xinqin beamed from ear to ear, telling everyone she met, "See! I told you this kid's got potential! He's got ideas! He's daring!"

The department head, holding a data report, pointed to Ling Yuan's name and said to the person next to him, "This student deserves special attention! A dual major in acting and directing? A promising talent!"

During a meeting, school leaders couldn't help but mention, "Ling Yuan has really brought honor to our school this time!"

It is an honor for the Beijing Film Academy to produce such talent. Although the Beijing Film Academy produces many talented people every year.

Wang Luodan, Huang Shengyi, Jia Nailiang, Zhu Yawen, and others were also extremely excited.

Especially Wang Luodan, one of the lead actresses. The film was such a huge success that she became an instant star. She was only a sophomore in college, yet she was already famous. It was an extremely high starting point for her career.

Wang Luodan's phone has been ringing off the hook these past few days! Reporters, agencies, and even her boyfriend's endorsement offer have all been coming in.

She hid in the school bathroom to answer the phone, her voice trembling: "Mom! I...I'm really angry?!"

After hanging up the phone, she excitedly jumped up and down three times, her cheeks flushed.

Walking on campus, I got so many stares that I finally tasted the joy of being "famous".

Huang Shengyi, Jia Nailiang, and others, who played supporting roles, also benefited greatly.

Huang Shengyi patted Jia Nailiang on the shoulder: "Liangzi, see that? Hang out with Brother Yuan, and you'll get the benefits! Next time he's filming, you have to beg to get a role!"

Jia Nailiang nodded vigorously, his eyes shining: "Absolutely! Brother Yuan is like my own brother!"

Zhu Yawen held the 6,000 yuan bonus sent by Ling Yuan, looked at the box office news, and was a little dizzy: "Ling... Senior Brother Ling is too amazing..." He felt that his acting career had been illuminated all at once.

He had just received his first paycheck, a full 3000 yuan, and was initially delighted. Now that the film is a box office hit, Ling Yuan is not stingy at all. Although the payment hasn't been settled yet, he has already used his cash flow to distribute bonuses to the crew members.

Even Zhu Yawen has 6000, so there's no need to say more about the others.

Wang Luodan received 100,000.

However, compared to her future fame and GG endorsement, this 100,000 is insignificant.

But all of this was brought about by Ling Yuan.

Wang Luodan had some ideas in mind, wanting to take Ling Yuan down directly, but when she thought of Liu Yifei, she suddenly lost her confidence.