Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Those who had such thoughts were not just one or two, but many others.
After all, the box office growth of “Wandering Planet” was too scary. It was like there was no end to it.
It felt like the movie would be in first place in just a few more days of being screened!
‘Let’s see, how many days has it been since “Wandering Planet” was released? It can’t have been more than half a month, right?
‘Yet, to be able to become number one in the box office in half a month?
‘This…
‘This isn’t a dream, is it?
‘This is terrifying!’
Then, they looked at the box office of “The Mermaid”.
After four days of screening, even though it was severely squeezed by “Wandering Planet”, “The Mermaid” still managed to survive the 900 million yuan box office.
Even though the gap between them and “Wandering Planet” was almost double, “The Mermaid” had a steady momentum. The professional agency had already given them a box office estimate of 2.5 billion yuan, which was actually a record high.
As for “Wandering Planet”…
Actually, the various professional organizations did not dare to give their predictions because there had never been a movie in the country that could have such a box office trend. This trend could not be made not because there were too few samples, but because there were no samples at all!
According to their model, the box office of this movie was going to be at least 4 billion yuan!
‘4 billion yuan?!
‘That’s almost twice the amount the number 1 box office in history has!
‘Are there so many viewers in the country?’
Therefore, professional organizations believed that at this level, what they were looking at was not the quality, but the ceiling of the domestic movie market. That was the number of viewers.
Most of the agencies in the industry suspected that the boundary of the domestic box office was not that high, probably around three billion yuan. So… They did not dare to make any predictions.
As for the other movies on the New Year slot…
Now, they were just playing along. Not only were the screenings squeezed by “Wandering Planet”, but even “The Mermaid” was fighting for their screenings.
Actually, according to normal development, this year’s Spring Festival Gala would be a hot period. “The Mermaid” had a box office earnings that would easily exceed 3 billion yuan, and it would definitely reach the top in history.
“From Vegas To Macau 3” and “Journey To The West: The Bone Demon” could easily break 1 billion yuan at the box office.
Everyone was in a peaceful atmosphere.
However, now that “Wandering Planet” had appeared, even though it had doubled the size of the market with its bare hands, it had also taken away a lot of showtimes for other movies because it was far better than other movies.
This caused the box office of these movies to continue to shrink.
There was no need to talk about “From Vegas To Macau 3” and “Journey To The West: The Bone Demon”. “The Mermaid”, which had a potential of 3 billion yuan, had a good reputation, but due to some minor flaws in the plot, it had been defeated.
Under normal circumstances, the flaws in this plot could not hide the beauty of this gem. Just like the research by the movie market researchers, many viewers had already discovered that there was a flaw in the plot logic of “The Mermaid”, but these viewers did not care and would still support it. Therefore, it should not affect the market too much.
But… That was under the premise that there was no “Wandering Planet”!
Now that he had come across a prehistoric beast like “Wandering Planet”, everything was different. The flaw of “The Mermaid” was magnified. The movie that was originally over 7 points was crushed by a 9 point movie.
Therefore, the loss of viewers, the decrease in ticket sales, the reduction in showtimes at the cinema, and the decrease in ticket sales—everything became a negative feedback loop.
However, “The Mermaid was not easy to deal with. They could not beat “Wandering Planet”, but they could do other movies.
Therefore, they also put pressure on the cinema chains and requested for their losses to be compensated from other movies!
Of course, the other movies did not agree. They also tried their best to fight for the box office.
Therefore, other than “Wandering Planet”, the other movies were all fighting for the screening and box office. It made this Chinese New Year special.
The box office was the lifeline of the movie, and snatching the box office was like killing one’s parents. Therefore, the producers of these movies had been looking scary these few days.
Because they had been fighting for a few days, they realized that the cheapest one was “Wandering Planet”.
Therefore, they also knew that if they did not contain “Wandering Planet”, no matter how much they fought for, they would definitely fail.
Therefore, with Wang Jing leading the way, the three movies temporarily stopped fighting and formed a small group. They planned to discuss how to deal with the current box office king, “Wandering Planet”.
After the small group was established, Wang Jing, as the initiator, first proposed his idea.
‘Everyone, what is the purpose of creating this group? We are not trying to defame anyone. It is just that… We are at a moment of life and death.
‘Now that the box office has been squeezed so badly, and the showtimes have been continuously decreasing, if we don’t save ourselves soon, we will really end the New Year slot early.
‘Everyone’s placed a rather large investment in their movies, so you don’t want to give up so easily, right?’
He started, and the producer of “Journey To The West: The Bone Demon” added. ‘Yes, we’re at a life and death situation right now. If that movie isn’t dead, then we’re dead. There’s no way to stop its momentum. If we don’t save ourselves, we’ll be the ones who die.’
The producer of “The Mermaid” added. ‘Yes, the cinema is reducing our showtimes for it. If we don’t get rid of that movie, our showtimes are only going to get squeezed further! We won’t have any more showtimes left!’
Wang Jing was speechless.
The producer of “Journey to the West” was speechless as well.
It would have been fine if he had not said that, but the moment he said that, the other two families could not help but want to scold him. Did you cut your showtime?! It was obviously us who cut it!
‘Don’t think that we don’t know. If the cinema chains cut down on you, you can find the cinema chains to pressure them and get a showtime from our movies!
‘”Wandering Planet” may be a threat, but you’re no better either!
‘If not for the fact that we need to unite our forces, we might have eliminated you first!’
Even though he was already cursing “The Mermaid” to death, they were still in a cooperative relationship, so Wang Jing and the producer of “Journey To The West: The Bone Demon” did not want to say much. They could only change the topic.
Wang Jing texted. ‘What do you guys think we should do to reduce its showtimes? Or ruin its reputation?’
The producer of “Journey to the West: The Bone Demon” thought about it and replied. ‘I feel that we should start with the special effects of “Wandering Planet”. Isn’t “Wandering Planet” the main game now? Is it a giant sci-fi production produced by a local special effects company?
‘Because of this, the netizens have a good impression of it and are willing to watch it twice or thrice.
‘So, we can use our fake reviewers to spread rumors online that it’s a special effect done by a Hollywood company. In order to deceive people, their company claimed that it was done by a local company. That way, his ticket sales foundation will be gone.’
Wang Jing questioned. ‘This kind of doubt can be solved with just a simple act. As long as the other party immediately refutes the rumors, it will be useless.’
The producer of “Journey To The West: The Bone Demon” sent a “smiley” emoticon. ‘First of all, I’ve done some research. No special effects company in the country has accepted the special effects of “Wandering Planet”. They haven’t even received any jobs to help with the production or side effects.
‘That is to say, if “Wandering Planet” is really a domestically produced movie, then only one company from Jiadian Pictures has done its special effects. But don’t forget, Jiadian Pictures is the producer of “Wandering Planet”. Once it is questioned, its “testimony” will be useless.
‘After all, it cannot be both a suspect and a witness.
‘That’s why many viewers would suspect that there’s something fishy going on.
‘And… Our goal is to muddy this water. It’s not like we want to really hammer it.
‘Even if they have evidence to refute the rumors, we will not fight them head-on. If they refute the rumors, we will post them.
‘Strength is always in the numbers. As long as you post more, there will always be people who believe you. These people who believe will feel that they have been deceived and will voluntarily explain to the people around them. There will definitely be people who don’t believe you, but during the debate, they will also hesitate.
‘After a few steps, there will definitely be a large number of viewers affected. If we don’t watch “Wandering Planet”, won’t their movie tickets be given to us?’
Wang Jing pondered for a moment and felt that it made sense!
‘Although it’s a little sinister, it does seem to be effective!’
Then, he had an idea and texted. ‘Actually, we can do it both ways. Before we launch the fake reviewers, we can go to the cinema chains to pressure them and ask for the screening to be as fair as possible. Otherwise, we can withdraw the documentation. We are considered famous people in the domestic film industry. It will still be effective if a few of us pressure them together.
‘Of course, we don’t ask for an immediate reply from the cinema operators. Instead, we give them a psychological hint. Let them know that we are being forced into a corner and want to appease us. Then, when the fake reviewers start spreading rumors, they will naturally lean towards us.’
The producer of “Journey To The West: The Bone Demon” sent a “like” emoticon and agreed. ‘Sure.’
At this point, the plan was basically finalized. Wang Jing said. ‘Okay, that’s about it. We don’t have much time to study the plan. If we continue to study it, that movie’s showtimes are going to exceed 50%!
‘So, let’s talk about how much money each family can fork out to support this plan?’
At this moment, the producer of “The Mermaid”, who had been silent all this while, suddenly exclaimed in surprise. ‘?? This requires money?’
Wang Jing and the producer of “Journey to the West” were speechless.
‘Where has this silly boy come from!
‘Master Xing films nonsensical movies, and the staff around him are also nonsensical!
‘Everyone is discussing how to deal with “Wandering Planet”, and you actually think you can do it by relying on your mouth?
‘Do you think we are all gods? You think you can curse “Wandering Planet” to death with just your mouth?
‘Of course we need money for this!’
On the other end of the phone, Wang Jing held his forehead with a headache. He felt like he had really met a “godlike teammate”. ‘How did such a person become a producer?’
If not for the fact that he had to unite “The Mermaid”s in order to win against “Wandering Planet”, and if he did not end up with “The Mermaid”s, even if he killed “Wandering Planet”, it would only benefit “The Mermaid” in the end. Otherwise, he was not willing to ask for help from “The Mermaid”!
Following that, Wang Jing and the other person gave the people from “The Mermaid” a lesson on how much help they would be able to get from “Wandering Planet”. In the end, they were able to coax them into giving them one-third of the funding…
Actually, Wang Jing and the other person’s original plan was to get “The Mermaid” to pay half of their budget. After all, after defeating “Wandering Planet”, “The Mermaid” would definitely earn the most.
In the end, they met such a simple-minded person. Hence, they had no choice but to admit their bad luck.
And so, just like that, the anti “Wandering Planet” alliance was officially established, and the three popular movies that were scheduled for Chinese New Year also officially formed an alliance, uniting the battlefront.
The actors, directors, and producers of these three movies were actually the top big shots in the entertainment industry. When the power dissipated, it was not that powerful, but when combined, it was much stronger.
That day, the three blockbuster movies found their respective cinemas and started to pressure them. They requested that they would not give the showtimes of “Wandering Planet” as much of a tilt as before. At least, they wanted to return to the status quo.
Otherwise, they would collectively boycott the various online broadcast stations. In fact, after the pre-sales broadcast, they would withdraw from the Spring Festival slot and destroy all the online broadcast stations.
However, the cinema operators knew that these three movies were just bluffing.
‘Would they be able to pull out if they wanted to?
‘Are they not looking at the contract or the relevant department’s opinions?
‘Even if they really wanted to overlook them, they’ve already invested so much in their movies, are they really not planning on making a comeback?’
However, it had to be said that even though this was a bluff, he had to take it seriously.
This represented the protest of several movies that were scheduled for the Chinese New Year. It represented the opinions of the companies behind them.
Even though “Wandering Planet” was very popular, these three movies were not bad either. After a few days, “Wandering Planet” and these three movies were almost evenly distributed.
It had been a long time since the cinema chain had made so much money. In five days, four movies had contributed a total of 3 billion yuan to the box office! This had already far surpassed the figures for the first few years of the New Year slot, and it had even doubled.
Therefore, under such circumstances, they did not want to lose the chance to earn money.
It’s just that… Being requested to reduce showtimes for the “Wandering Planet”?
Well…
“Wandering Planet” was also a hen that gave birth to golden eggs. Furthermore, it was a golden chicken that could lay three gold eggs!
‘What to do…’
The people in charge of the various quadrants were a little troubled.
Just as they were feeling troubled, the plan involving an army of fake reviewers by the three movies started.
Actually, the film industry has never been a peaceful place. Instead, it was filled with blades and swords. Every time there was a heated battle, there would be no smoke.
As a veteran in the film industry, Wang Jing and the others were already very familiar with this setting.
As the money went down, very quickly, the topic of how the special effects for “Wandering Planet” were made by Hollywood” started to spread online.
Public opinion on the internet could be guided, especially when there were many big influencers, marketing accounts, and fake reviewers posting confidently. Many netizens and viewers were led by this kind of public opinion and began to suspect whether “Wandering Planet” was really domestically made!
As the Vice-President of the publicity department of Jiadian Group, Li Zijun noticed this matter very quickly and took it very seriously.