The Chinese New Year slots have always been the most important period in the domestic film market. Every year, one or two popular movies would appear during the Chinese New Year period.
This was especially true for “Journey to the West”, which began in 2013. For the next three years, almost all of the top movies in the Chinese New Year slots had a box office of 1 billion yuan.
This had made the Chinese New Year period the most important period apart from the protection month of the domestically produced movie.
So, this year was no exception.
The Chinese New Year movie had already captured everyone’s attention before it was released.
Especially when Master Xing brought his new work, “Journey to the West: The Bone Demon”, to the Chinese New Year slot with his reputation and box office earnings. Meanwhile, Su Yang also brought his latest product, “Wandering Planet” with him. The competition between the two of them became the highlight.
In the early days, the two movies’ final ticket sales were about the same, with “Wandering Planet” having a slight advantage. But that was because “Wandering Planet” had more screenings the next day.
So… What determines the success or failure of two films defines the quality of the film.
As long as one movie’s quality was worse than what was shown in the promotional trailers, their box office might collapse. Then, the other movie would be able to reap in all the benefits.
And from all the factors, such as the director’s experience, the actors’ popularity, the professionalism of the production team, and the amount of investments placed, the possibility of “Wandering Planet” crashing was much higher than “The Mermaid.”
Therefore, everyone was curious about the quality of “Wandering Planet”.
Thus came the first day of the Chinese New Year, 12am.
While many families were still having their New Year’s Eve dinner, many young people had already started their New Year celebration. They invited their friends to have their New Year’s Eve dinner by watching the Spring Festival Gala together. After that, they would head out to watch some movies.
At some point in time, this had become the “trend” for some young people who lived in their hometown.
Therefore, even though it was an occasion for family reunion, these young people still drove their cars to the cinemas to watch some movies.
Since there were only five new movies scheduled for the Chinese New Year slots, the range of their choices was relatively narrow, and because “Wandering Planet” and “The Mermaid” had more publicity, plus there was more discussion online, they chose these two movies first.
Thus, the movie started, and many young couples and friends walked into the cinema to watch the movie.
When the two movies started, the situation at the screening halls was different.
The audience watching “The Mermaid” were all cheering and laughing. Occasionally, there was some awkward silence, but not many. Overall, this movie was considered to be a good comedy. It retained the comedic style of Master Xing’s actors and director, so the quality was considered very high. Especially during the festive season, which made people happy, it made people involuntarily like it.
On the other hand, the cinema for “Wandering Planet” was much calmer. Every hall that played “Wandering Planet” was completely silent. There was no response.
This made some cinema staff start to doubt the quality of “Wandering Planet”. ‘Is it because it isn’t a good movie that the audience aren’t loving it? Why is there no sound at all?’
Some people invited by film companies to do research also discovered this situation, so they couldn’t help but doubt the quality of “Wandering Planet”.
In particular, the researchers who were invited to watch the New Year movies were even more delighted. There were only so many movies during the New Year, so if the quality of “Wandering Planet” was not up to standard, then the audience that was originally attracted to the movie might choose another movie.
This way, the box office earnings of the other movies would probably be higher than what they had expected!
Just as the people outside the cinema had different thoughts, one and a half hours passed.
At 1:30pm, the audience for “The Mermaid” were the first to leave. They were all laughing and chatting happily, thinking that the movie was pretty good.
The researchers from the various cinemas followed them and used small gifts as bait to ask them a few questions.
And most of the audiences who were investigated had positive reviews for “The Mermaid”.
“I think “The Mermaid” is pretty good. It’s quite funny.”
“Yes, I think so too. Even though it’s a little awkward every now and then, the flaws do not obscure the beauty. It’s very interesting.”
“I’m here for Master Xing. I quite like this movie.”
In conclusion, most of the reviews were positive. Of the ten people, perhaps only one felt that this movie was not good, and it was too illogical.
This was already an exaggerated result. This meant that “The Mermaid” was definitely an outstanding movie!
Therefore, after receiving such feedback, the producers and directors of “The Mermaid” were finally relieved. They knew that their movie would definitely explode! ‘Looks like the king of the Chinese New Year slot is going to be ours!;
At the same time, until 2pm, the screening for “Wandering Planet” ended.
Compared to “The Mermaid”, the hall of “Wandering Planet” had been quiet for two whole hours, but now, the crowd had exploded.
There was applause!
Endless round of applause!
The applause attracted the attention of the audience waiting outside the cinema and those who were walking out. They did not know what was happening.
‘The audience are actually clapping for the movie?
‘Is it because a celebrity is here?’
The people at the cinemas were curious as well. Since all the cinemas in the country had just finished their first movie, they had not experienced something like this before, so they did not know what was happening inside.
‘Is this only happening in our cinema?
‘Did something happen at the cinema?’
However, what the workers did not know was that this kind of applause had been heard all over the place.
And these cinemas were all showing the same movie: “Wandering Planet”!
Moments later… The cinema door opens, and many of the audience walk out, crying and laughing, leaving the cinemagoers outside and the curious audience dumbfounded.
They did not know what was happening inside.
‘Did something move them?
‘Or… Could it be that Su Yang had typed a line at the end of the movie like “those who don’t clap will never find a partner in this lifetime”?
‘That would just be too vicious!’
At that moment, the researchers who were waiting outside the cinema hurried forward to ask what had happened.
In the end, they received the same answer.
“This is the best domestic sci-fi movie I’ve ever seen! I really didn’t expect our country to make such a movie! It’s so good!”
This kind of answer, this kind of evaluation, it was simply shocking.
A competitor’s investigator tried to ask, “Then why are you crying? Is “Wandering Planet” a tragic movie?”
The researchers’ thoughts were simple… If it was a tragic movie, even if the quality was high, it would still be easy to encounter Waterloo during the festive season.
After all, everyone watched movies, especially during festivals. However, it was to enjoy the fun, not for a tragedy.
But, they all got the opposite answer.
“Why are we crying? Because we are too proud and touched! We have never felt so proud before! Our country, our people, are just so great! We are the most amazing people in the world!”
From the audience’s answer, all the researchers could tell that they were really touched by the movie! ‘They’re crying because they’re proud and touched!
‘So…’
All the researchers could not help but come to a shocking conclusion. ‘”Wandering Planet” is going to explode, is it?
‘Seriously?
‘Could it be possible that “Wandering Planet” is really going to surpass “The Mermaid” which is made by Master Xing?’
According to the momentum of the pre-sales, the box office for “The Mermaid” in the entertainment and film industry was estimated to be above 2.3 billion yuan. In other words, there was a high chance of reaching the top of the domestic movie box office!
They might even fight for the throne of first place in the box office!
This would allow them to become a true hero of the film industry!
One had to know that as a major country in the world, the domestic box office records had always been created by foreign movies. Up until now, not a single domestically produced movie had reached the top! This was basically slapping the face of the entire film industry!
Otherwise, there wouldn’t be such new generation directors like Guo Fan who wanted to revive domestic movies!
It was because it was too humiliating!
And if “Wandering Planet” could really surpass “The Mermaid,” then the box office should be at least 3 billion yuan, right?
‘Is… Is it going to become the first movie in history with three billion yuan in ticket sales?
‘Is he really going to become the movie with the best box office?
‘It’s just a movie without any celebrities, and even the male lead is a part-time actor. Could they actually achieve this?’
For a moment, everyone in the entertainment and film industry who knew about this news was speechless…
‘No way…
‘No way…’
The most interesting thing about reality is that the last thing you want it to happen is bound to happen…
As the screening of “Wandering Planet” came to an end, the reputation of the movie started to explode. Those who could watch movies at this time were all night owls and young people who were active online.
After watching the movie, they couldn’t fall asleep anymore. They left messages on Weibo, WeChat Moments, Douban, and other major online platforms, all recommending “Wandering Planet”.
They said that this movie had good intentions, good plot and special effects. It was practically the best domestic movie!
Moreover… The movie was full of sincerity. Every frame was very well produced, and they had to watch the 3D version. The effect was explosive! If they didn’t watch it, they would regret it for life!
Other than the swimming success of the “Wandering Planet”, some of the more experienced viewers who had watched both movies talked about the differences between them.
They said that the production cost of “Wandering Planet” was about the same as “The Mermaid”. When they first saw “The Mermaid,” they thought it was funny, and they felt that the price of their movie tickets and the 400 million yuan production cost were worth it.
However, after watching “Wandering Planet” for the second time, they realized… ‘Holy sh*t, these celebrities’ money could actually be used for special effects to make such a good movie?!
‘This is a real movie! This is a huge production that costs a lot of money!;
On the other hand, some viewers who had watched “Wandering Planet” before watching “The Mermaid” felt that they could not watch “The Mermaid” anymore after watching “Wandering Planet”.
It was not that “The Mermaid” was bad, but the impression left by “Wandering Planet” was just too shocking, so they could not watch other movies.
So… A lot of people have offered a visual recommendation for the Spring Festival.
If there was a time limit or money and he could only watch one movie, he would definitely have to watch “Wandering Planet”! This was because if he missed it, he would regret it for life!
If he could watch two movies, then he would recommend “Wandering Planet” for the first one.
After that, he would recommend watching “Wandering Planet” again…
If they could watch three movies, they could watch the same movie three times, or watch “The Mermaid”, which was up to their preference in the end…
The audience was not stupid. Everyone had a balance in their hearts. For example, if they watched the movie with celebrities, everyone would at most smile, but when they watched a special effects blockbuster like “Wandering Planet”, everyone would feel like they were burning through their money!
Every second and every frame was a pile of cold hard cash!
How many people in the country would make such a movie?
If they did not support it, who would still make such movies in the future?
The audience of this era had already learned to use their money to vote. They knew that only by supporting this movie would more and more filmmakers invest in it.
As for… “The Mermaids”…
Yeap, they’d definitely watch it next time.
Therefore, in less than 10 hours, the public opinion on the internet had completely exploded. This Chinese New Year battle, which was thought to be a fierce battle, had almost been decided on the first morning.
When they woke up, many people in the film industry wanted to see which box office would be higher for “Wandering Planet” and “The Mermaid”. In the end, before they could see the box office, the overwhelming amount of money made from “Wandering Planet” stunned them.
Following that, when they saw the results of the researchers, how could these professionals not know that “Wandering Planet” might really dominate the entire New Year slot!
At that moment, they were watching the box office of several movies… “The Mermaid” had 120 million yuan, “Wandering Planet” had 100 million yuan, “From Vegas To Macau 3” had 40 million yuan, “Journey to the West: The Bone Demon” had 40 million, “Nian Beast (the animated film)” had 120 thousand yuan…
This was the result gained from one night and the next morning.
But, through this, one can already predict the general direction of the box office…
“Nian Beast” had been eliminated early on. “From Vegas To Macau 3” and “Journey to the West: The Bone Demon” were obviously on the same level, but they could not be compared to the best.
And “The Mermaid” is still 20 million yuan higher than the “Wandering Planet”, but… Everyone knows this advantage won’t last long.
Sure enough, in less than a day, in the afternoon, “Wandering Planet” had successfully surpassed “The Mermaid”.
The day then ended at 12am.
“Wandering Planet” was broadcasting for the Lunar New Year with 320 million yuan, while “The Mermaid” was ranked at 250 million yuan. “Wandering Planet” has surpassed “The Mermaid” by 70 million yuan!
This was the decisive factor of quality!
At that moment, everyone knew that “The Mermaid” had lost…
They couldn’t compare to the quality and reputation of the movie. But now, they couldn’t even compare to the box office earnings of the first day (the appeal of the actors), so how could they still compete?
Especially since there would be a huge increase in the number of screenings for “Wandering Planet” the next day, there was going to be even less of a comparison for “The Mermaid”!
As expected, the box office for the second day of “Wandering Planet” soared to 400 million yuan.
On the third day, 450 million yuan…
On the fourth day, 460 million yuan…
“Wandering Planet” had a rising momentum that was practically like a rocket. In just four days, “Wandering Planet” broke the box office with 1.6 billion yuan!
This momentum stunned everyone.
‘What’s the box office earnings of domestic movies these days?
‘I believe it’s “Monster Hunt” at 2.4 billion yuan?
‘What was the highest total box office earnings in history?
‘I think it’s “Fast & Furious 7″ at 2.43 billion yuan, is it?
‘”Wandering Planet” doesn’t seem very far away…
‘Is he really going to break the record?’