I just want to sell products, but you're forcing me to perform talents.

Chapter 522 I didn't see anything, you guys continue.

February 10th, the first day of the Lunar New Year.

Ye Xian was woken up by a barrage of New Year's greetings phone calls.

That's right, it wasn't a New Year's greeting text message, but a New Year's greeting phone call.

Moreover, they are all important partners.

Ye Xian's phone was ringing non-stop all morning. Around 10 a.m., when the calls subsided a bit, he slapped his forehead and quickly called his backer.

"Oh, you're up already? Sigh, the spring night is too short!"

The sixth princess's teasing voice came through the phone.

"Isn't it because I didn't want to disturb your rest?"

That was a difficult question to answer, so Ye Xian quickly changed the subject: "Have you seen today's box office figures?"

"I see, it's already reached 2 million! Looks like we're getting off to a great start this year!" The Sixth Princess was in a good mood and stopped teasing Ye Xian.

"At this rate, we estimate we can close the deal at 4 million today. I've said before, breaking even will be a breeze!"

Ye Xian was also very happy, as box office revenue is the simplest and most direct criterion for judging a film.

"I will have my people keep a close eye on public opinion, and you shouldn't let your guard down either."

The Sixth Princess reminded her.

Ye Xian indicated that he understood.

There's a professional team handling the publicity and promotion, so Ye Xian doesn't need to worry about it.

Although the staff had gone home for the holidays, Zhao Fen, who held a key design position, was required to be available at any time. This was because the official account needed to constantly post box office data posters, and she herself occasionally had things she wanted to post.

Zhao Fen had prepared many contingency plans in advance, but no one knew what would happen.

By 4 p.m., the real-time box office had already exceeded 4 million, a speed that surprised even Ye Xian.

In the other world, "Hello Mr. Billionaire" grossed 2.2 million yuan on its opening day. Earth's box office is naturally stronger than that of the other world, but this box office performance was still completely beyond Ye Xian's expectations.

"What about other movies?"

Qiu Qing, who was busy washing dates, casually asked a question.

Ye Xian scrolled through his phone: "Current real-time box office figures: 'The Great Tang Dynasty' 3 million, 'The Great Tang Dynasty's Legend' 1.1 million, 'The Legend of Ling Kong' 1 million..."

"Does this mean we've become today's box office champion?"

Qiu Qing happily carried a plate of fruit, sat down next to Ye Xian, and snuggled into his lap to look at his phone together.

Breaking news! As of press time, "Hello Mr. Billionaire" has grossed over 4 million yuan and pre-sale tickets have exceeded 6 million yuan, firmly holding the top spot at the box office on the first day of the Spring Festival holiday!

"The box office performance of 'The Great Tang Dynasty' has not met expectations and may be a failure. Actor Li Fenghua said that people nowadays prefer to watch popcorn movies and no one watches good movies anymore."

"The sudden rise of 'The Great Tang Dynasty' has ushered in a new spring for suspense and crime films!"

"The audience attendance rate of 'Ling Kong Zhi' is less than 10%, and director Li Chen begs the audience to pay more attention to films about the Jinwuwei."

……

The various press releases, in all shapes and sizes, reveal that the power struggle behind them began even before the film's release. Today, however, the facade has completely crumbled, with everyone using different angles to attack and discredit each other.

Those who perform poorly at the box office and fail will simultaneously play the victim, appeal to nostalgia, and subtly disparage those who perform well.

Those with good box office results announce their box office achievements with great fanfare while openly mocking those with poor box office results, constantly guiding public opinion.

The box office is neither high nor low; they try to ride the coattails of the box office champion while suppressing those with poor box office performance.

In short, those with poor box office performance deserve to be trampled on by everyone and have their screenings split equally.

Those who do well at the box office deserve to be the subject of everyone's hype; no matter how good you are, you'll still get some criticism.

As the day's box office figures gradually became clearer, it was already certain that "Hello Mr. Billionaire" would be the box office champion, and related short videos and Weibo posts began to explode across the internet.

[I checked out Xian Ge's "Hello Mr. Billionaire." I originally came for Xian Ge, but he gained so much weight I almost didn't recognize him. The movie was really funny; I didn't stop laughing from beginning to end.]

[Guys, the moment the BGM of "Calorie" by Sound5 Girls started playing, I felt so fired up! Let me show you all the scene of us cheering together!]

[Who would have thought?! Xian Ge actually dressed as a woman! I knew it, he definitely had the heart of a cross-dresser! Ahhh, I'm laughing so hard! Xian Ge went to such lengths for the movie, gaining weight and dressing as a woman, he really went all out!]

"Strictly speaking, you should actually call me a mistress," this line could make me laugh for a whole year! And the two of them, Zhuge Liang and Pang Tong, are a perfect match! I can't take it anymore, I'm going to watch it again!

……

Those who have seen it praise it more than criticize it, but the online trolls are not to be underestimated, and the competition from their peers will not stop there.

[With only 30% of screenings, even a terrible film could rake in 6 million yuan at the box office! Look at the other dramas, films about the Imperial Guards, and crime films—aren't they all better than "Hello Mr. Billionaire"? Ye Xian's acting is terribly awkward, yet his fans are blindly praising it. Sigh, commercial films are ruining the Tang Dynasty's film industry!]

[What's so bad about that? Their marketing and promotion budgets are huge, and they have PR teams everywhere for "Hello Mr. Billionaire." Didn't you see how low the rating is on Douban?]

[Didn't DouDou.com take down Ye Xian's "Dream of the Red Chamber" for rectification last time? We can't just say the low ratings are due to paid commenters this time, can we? If it's bad, it's bad. Stop using underhanded tactics and focus on making good shows!]

[Disgusting! This show has absolutely problematic values. Does money mean you can do whatever you want? Look at how those people grovel for money! Giving this show one star is an understatement!]

……

When Qiu Qing saw someone cursing Ye Xian, she angrily tried to get up and pick up her phone to argue with them, but Ye Xian pressed her down into his arms: "It's okay, let them curse. This is basic stuff. We also have our own online trolls arguing with them. Adding you won't make a difference."

"All right!"

With her head pressed down, Qiu Qing felt a little embarrassed. This guy was getting more and more outrageous.

Lying on Ye Xian's broad chest, Qiu Qing found a comfortable position, and the two of them continued to read the online reactions together.

Autumn's mother had gone upstairs to take a nap in the guest room, but when she came downstairs she saw this scene. The old mother smiled happily and quietly turned around and went back upstairs.

Hmm, I didn't see anything.

You may continue.

……

"What should we do? With a box office of 1.1 million, I estimate that the theaters will likely reduce our screenings tomorrow."

At this moment, film star Li Fenghua was sitting with the investors, discussing countermeasures.

This film had a total investment of 5 million yuan, making it a large-scale production. He was also an investor, and all of his salary was converted into shares, which shows that he had high hopes for the film.

I thought that no matter how bad the box office was on the first day, it wouldn't be less than 2 million. Who would have thought that it would only reach 1.1 million? And that's with the pre-sale box office for the remaining screenings. I estimate that after the full day's settlement, the box office will be no more than 1.5 million.

If a box office failure occurs on the opening day, theaters will be the most ruthless; they will not hesitate to increase the number of screenings for the box office champion.

Things are different now. In the past, you could agree on a certain screening rate through a contract. Now, cinemas are smarter than anyone else and will not sign such contracts with film companies. They adjust the screening schedule for the next day based entirely on real-time box office figures.

Most importantly, this is the Spring Festival season, which has the highest box office revenue of the year.

At this time, the most important thing for cinemas is to make money!

……

P.S.: Today's Recap

Haizhou aged liquor inventory: 3934 bottles

感谢梅森、星际黑伯爵、梦_湄、万界观测者、拾起记忆的碎片、曹岳稻、天豹隐鹰、红云肥狐、我是呜呜呜呜呜呜、到处d逛逛、上官逸豪、飞叶1973、September28、A豹子头零充A、我真不是小黑子444、传说昊天、左丘汗儒、北辰灬枫、゛末小舞_、小二幺子、喑毒、玄音、爱书者20170925、山水人幺、名称不好取、浪沧之水2022、逝水无痕00、醉倚天台、爱食物的莲蓬、曾经的龙骑士、Guoruihua、西班牙征服者、书友20220215105323343、uoos、黑色的甲虫、666666号线、书友20210611191812111、北马、跨下、书友20190106135554784、书友20210301106602877544、湘书狂2、枫逝等等朋友的推荐票、月票、打赏，感谢各位~

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(End of this chapter)