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Time flies by.

Just a few days after Liu Shishi finished filming and left the set, Meng Ziyi also finished her last shoot.

As usual, the production crew held a wrap party for her.

Unfortunately, Gu Wei had a busy filming schedule these past few days because he had to take leave to go back to Beijing for business, so he couldn't go to the movies with her.

After flying back to Beijing from Hainan, Sister Meng, who had nothing to do for the time being, was invited out shopping by Zhou Ye.

The two pretty girls strolled around and ate together, and then went to see "The Wandering Earth 2".

Now, almost a month has passed since the movie was released, and its total box office has exceeded 40 billion yuan.

Maoyan predicts the film's final box office will be 45 billion yuan.

Logically speaking, this box office performance is already excellent, but because the first "The Wandering Earth" film was so successful, reaching 50 billion yuan, many people are still not satisfied with the current box office performance of the second film.

In terms of investment, plot, and visuals, "The Wandering Earth 2" surpasses the first film, and the second film also has an audience base that the first film did not have.

However, the final box office did not surpass that of the first film.

This does not conform to the pattern that popular IP movies will have increasingly higher box office returns.

Just like the "Detective Chinatown" series, from 10 billion for the first film to 39 billion for the second and 62 billion for the third, the box office has been getting higher and higher without compromising the reputation.

This is normal.

Back then, Stephen Chow's "Journey to the West" IP still grossed 16 billion yuan at the box office, even though the second film, "Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons," received terrible reviews, surpassing the first film, "Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons."

It's because "Exorcism" has already established this IP.

Similarly, the "Lost in..." series and the "Monster Hunt" series also made a fortune by leveraging the IP effect created by the success of their predecessors.

The box office of "The Wandering Earth 2" failed to surpass that of its predecessor. Netizens believe that this was partly due to competition with "Man Jiang Hong", but the biggest reason was the absence of Gu Wei's performance.

When the first film was released, many viewers went to the cinema because of Gu Wei's reputation.

At that time, no one had confidence in domestic science fiction films. It was only because Gu Wei was the lead actor, and because of the gimmick of Gu Wei and Wu Jing collaborating again after "Wolf Warrior 2", that the audience became interested.

Now that we've moved on to the second installment, Gu Wei is gone and only Wu Jing remains. It's possible that many people will lose interest in the film.

After all, not everyone enjoys watching science fiction movies.

As for Andy Lau, he has fame and popularity, but he has made too many bad movies, so his box office appeal is practically nonexistent.

"I think the analysis online makes sense. I've seen many Douyin (TikTok) streamers commenting on this matter and saying the same thing."

After all, this reason alone cannot explain why the second film's box office was lower than the first.

This does not conform to normal market logic.

After leaving the movie theater, Meng Ziyi and Zhou Ye sat in an ice cream shop eating ice cream and chatting about topics related to the movie.

Meng Ziyi nodded in agreement: "I feel the same way. And if the boss hadn't put in more screenings for 'The Wandering Earth 2,' its box office performance might not have surpassed that of 'Man Jiang Hong.'"

Zhou Ye was somewhat surprised: "Were all those things said online true?"

After acquiring Wanda Cinema, did the owner show favoritism in film scheduling?

Meng Ziyi chuckled and whispered, "Yes, I heard it from the boss on set."

Of course, this kind of thing is best discussed privately; it won't be publicly acknowledged.

Zhou Ye said with some emotion, "I really like the 'The Wandering Earth' IP. I really hope this series can continue like 'Star Wars'."

"Probably, at least a third one will definitely be made. As far as I know, the boss will be in the third one again. If it gets a record-breaking box office, there's no doubt that they'll make a fourth and fifth one in the future," Meng Ziyi said while eating ice cream.

"The female lead in the first part was Mai Mai, and the female lead in the second part was Tian Ai and Dilraba."

"If they make a third installment, I wonder if there will be any new female characters," Zhou Ye thought with a touch of longing, tilting her head.

"Who knows? Go ask the boss, he's definitely seen the script."

Meng Ziyi took a couple of bites of her own ice cream, then reached out to scoop up a scoop of ice cream from Zhou Ye's bowl, only to be caught by Zhou Ye, who gave her a playful glare.

"Hehe, let me try your matcha flavor~"
Hmm, it's quite delicious.

By the way, when will filming begin for your movie, "A Small Shop on the Edge of the Clouds"?

"Next month~"

Where to film?

Zhou Ye thought for a moment and said slowly and deliberately, "A small town under Fenghua, Ningbo, Zhejiang Province."

The story takes place in Yunbian Town, a small town nestled in the mountains. It's said that the director visited many places before choosing a town that mirrors the hometown in the book.

"When can I make a cameo appearance?"

Zhou Ye turned to look at her and said with a grin, "I told the crew about your cameo role, and Director Zhang has arranged for you to play a small-town policewoman."

A policewoman! She perfectly matches your image, Sister Meng!

Once the camera is on, you can come over whenever you have time; the shoot will be finished in a day or two.

Consider it a visit to the set.

Mencius nodded.

"After filming 'The Vanished Woman,' do you have any work plans coming up?" Zhou Ye asked again.

"Take a few days off, then go record this year's 'Peach Blossom Village'."

"The company is in talks with me about the female lead for several TV series, two period dramas and one modern drama. I don't know which one will come through," Meng Ziyi said honestly.

With an ice cream spoon in her mouth, Zhou Ye said, "I know the company has two TV series coming out this year, [Lotus Tower] and [Joy of Life 3], but unfortunately neither of them are our projects." "According to the company's usual practice, [Joy of Life 3] should still have the original cast. There shouldn't be any issues with the replacements."

What's the situation with the Lotus Pavilion?
"My agent mentioned it before. Apparently, this project has been around for a long time, but it's been delayed because of the boss's schedule." Meng Ziyi looked curious.

"【Lotus Tower】is an ancient costume martial arts detective drama with three main characters: one main character and two supporting characters. They are played by the boss, Zeng Shunxi, and Gao Weiguang from Jaywalk Studio, respectively."

The production team has cast Chen Duling as the female lead, and the company has no objections.

"Chen Duling? [Left Ear]?"

Zhou Ye nodded: "There aren't many female characters in this drama, I heard it's because her image and temperament match the character."

The final box office of "The Wandering Earth 2" was 45.2 billion RMB. Although "Man Jiang Hong" was affected by some screening schedules and public opinion in the later stages, its total box office also exceeded 40 billion RMB, making a huge profit.

In March, filming for "The Vanished She" wrapped up, and Gu Wei returned to the capital.

There were many things to do at the company, but he had something more important to do right now.

"how long it has been?"

"Less than two months~"

Gu Wei realized that it must have been during the few days he went back to Beijing to deal with Wanda Cinemas that Nazha happened to be in Beijing as well, and he would go back to her place to stay after work during the day.

"Have you gone to the hospital for a checkup?"

Naza nodded weakly.

"My period didn't come this month, so I first used a pregnancy test, but I was worried the result was inaccurate, so I went to the hospital."

He then handed over the inspection report.

She was also very uneasy at this moment.

Two months ago, when she went out to play, she was indeed thinking about having a child with Gu Wei, but now that she is actually pregnant, she is feeling flustered.

Gu Wei glanced at the pregnancy test report, then turned to look at Nazha, who seemed a little lost, and reached out to hug her.

"what should I do?"

"What do you mean, what to do? This is a good thing."

Didn't you say you wanted a child when we went on our trip before?
Now that I'm pregnant, I should naturally give birth.

"But."

"It's nothing.

From now on, you don't need to think about work or anything like that. Just focus on taking care of your health, and I'll take care of the rest.

Gu Wei's words were domineering, but Nazha felt very reassured listening to them.

"It's not that bad. It's only been a little over a month. It won't affect normal work."

Besides, there's no point in staying here all the time.

Gu Wei thought about it and felt that what Nazha said made sense: "I will have the company rearrange your work schedule for the next two or three months."

I don't need to join any production teams anymore. I can just shoot for magazines, appear on slow-paced variety shows, and work and play at the same time.

I will arrange a dedicated team for you to take care of your daily exercise, meals, and rest to ensure your health.

I'll stop working once my pregnancy starts to show a little.

I own estates and villas in the United States, France, New Zealand, and Japan; you can go there to have your baby.

It's fine to do it within the country, but it's not very convenient to go out.

I will arrange for the delivery to be done in one of the top private hospitals abroad.

"What about my parents? Should we tell them?"

"Of course I have to tell them."

But don't worry, wait a while.

We'll bring your aunt and uncle over to live with you then.

I'm too busy with work to be with you all the time, so let them stay by your side.

Oh, right, and my parents too.

I'll tell them later too.

Gu Wei's arrangement was not perfect, but there were basically no problems with it.

The only thing that Nazha regretted was that even though she was pregnant, Gu Wei never mentioned marriage.

This also made her realize that Gu Wei's original stance on not getting married was not just talk.

At this moment, Gu Wei also noticed Nazha's low spirits. He lifted her pretty face and gently kissed her pink lips.

"I once said that as long as you don't leave me, I will take care of you for the rest of my life."

Now you can't leave me even if you want to.

I will take care of you and our children forever!

Naza looked at Gu Wei's face and listened to his domineering words, her heart melting.

Gu Wei lowered his head and kissed her again. (End of Chapter)