It's reasonable for me, a stuntman, to live a crazy life, right?

Chapter 1372 A lackluster opening day, no hope of recouping costs, and Wang Jian'er's regret...

"Let's put it this way, the movie 'Mozart from Outer Space' is a bit childish for elementary school students, but it's really idiotic for adults. It's a movie that will make you feel physically and mentally uncomfortable after watching it."

"The worst film of the National Day holiday season. Chen Sicheng insulted, but is not limited to: the audience's intelligence, aliens, children's films, science fiction films, comedies, football, Sailor Moon, astronomy enthusiasts, the Moon River, perfect pitch, Gundam models, the location of the Great Wall, the dragon head of the Pangu Plaza, and the pitiful hearts of parents everywhere..."

"I can finally use these idioms: like a fishbone stuck in my throat... like a thorn in my back... like sitting on pins and needles..."

"It's quite rare to see a film with this kind of cast turn out this well."

"The CG technology is truly terrifying. How did that ugly panda manage to have eyes that are exactly the same as Chen Sicheng's?"

...

Seeing the flood of negative reviews about "Mozart in Outer Space" online, along with hashtags like #ChenSichengStyleBadMovie# and #PandaAlienUglyTooUgly# trending on social media, Chen Fei felt a surge of curiosity.

In the afternoon, after writing a section of the script for "The Three-Body Problem," he shut down his computer and went to a nearby cinema.

He wanted to see for himself what a movie that was being criticized so harshly was really like.
After buying his ticket and entering the theater, he found his seat and began watching the film with great interest.

Putting everything else aside, just looking at the cast, he personally has high expectations.

however……

Two difficult hours passed, the lights came on, and Chen Fei sat in his seat, momentarily speechless.

It's not like he hasn't seen bad movies, but his ability to twist elements of science fiction, comedy, and family drama into a tangled mess and still manage to hit every single bad movie is truly "amazing"!
The so-called "Mozart" is actually an alien with a panda-like appearance and stiff movements. He looks like a cheap doll throughout the entire story, with empty eyes as if his soul has been taken away.

The statement by netizens that "his eyes are just like Chen Sicheng's" is definitely not an exaggeration.

And the plot is even more outrageous!
The story jumps from the conflict of a father forcing his son to learn piano to the aliens wanting to destroy Earth, interspersed with "comedy" scenes that are utterly devoid of humor.

For example, a group of kids chasing aliens on skateboards while shouting "In the name of the moon, I will punish you!" looks so out of place, like several movie clips being forcibly glued together.

What puzzled him most was that, despite being marketed as "science fiction," it didn't even adhere to the most basic logic.

Do alien spaceships start up using "perfect pitch"?
Could the beacon towers on the Great Wall connect to signals from outer space?

What is all this stuff?
Spending 128 yuan to watch this terrible movie in an IMAX theater and having your intelligence insulted is a huge waste. Anyone who watches it should curse themselves for being such a fool.

As the show ended, Chen Fei could clearly hear the audience in the back rows grumbling and complaining: "What couldn't I have done for those two hours? Watching this stuff is pure mental pollution!"

At that moment, he finally understood why there wasn't a single compliment online, only negative reviews and insults.

It's not that the audience is being harsh; it's that this movie really blatantly admits its "perfunctory" attitude.

Despite costing hundreds of millions and assembling a cast of talented actors like Huang Bo and Fan Wei, the film couldn't even tell a coherent story, and the entire screen seemed to be an insult to the audience's intelligence.

"How the hell could they produce something like this?" Chen Fei couldn't help but curse under his breath.

Think back to when Ren Zhonglun was in office; even with a limited budget, he never made such a bad movie.

Now that Wang Jian'er has taken over and has access to top-tier resources, he has delivered such a sloppy performance, which is really a disgrace to the name of "Shanghai Film Studio".

The negative reviews of the film were directly reflected in its box office performance.

The following day, as the National Day holiday officially began, the opening day box office figures for several films scheduled for the holiday were released:
"The film 'The Lone Ranger,' co-produced by Mahua FunAge and Feiyue Films, topped the box office with 2.36 million yuan, becoming the champion of the National Day holiday box office."

With its solid comedic core and sci-fi setting, the film achieved a 78% occupancy rate and a 7.8 rating on Douban, reaping both critical and commercial success and continuing the strong momentum from its premiere.

"Bona Film Group's 'Ordinary Heroes' followed closely behind with a box office of 4469 million yuan. The film attracted a large number of family audiences with its tear-jerking plot based on true events, with an occupancy rate of 65% and a Douban rating of 7.2, demonstrating a stable audience base."

"The film 'Iron Will,' distributed by China Film Group, grossed 2836 million yuan at the box office. As a tribute film, it has secured a place in the mainstream market thanks to the solid performances of its leading actors, Liu Ye and Han Xue, with an occupancy rate of 52%."

"Mozart in Outer Space, produced by Shanghai Film Group, unexpectedly flopped, with its opening day box office only reaching 2410 million yuan, far below expectations."

The film had an attendance rate of less than 40% and a Douban rating that dropped to 4.9, making it the biggest "upset" on the first day of the National Day holiday.

As one of the films with the highest pre-release marketing investment and the most anticipated cast, this performance stands in stark contrast to its nearly 30% screen share…

The film industry was instantly in an uproar as soon as the first-day box office figures were reported by the media!

Many people in the industry have turned their attention to Shanghai Film Group.

The main reason is that the box office performance of "Mozart from Outer Space" was too unexpected. Shanghai Film Group invested so many resources, but it couldn't even surpass "Iron Will" and ended up in last place. This is too outrageous!

Meanwhile, some people have also dug up rumors that the film's total investment was as high as 4 million RMB.

If this box office trend continues, there is almost no hope of breaking even!
...

Shanxi Province, Shanhe Film and Television City.

The opening ceremony of the Dragon Soaring World International Film Festival.

At this moment, looking across the entire venue, the most discussed topic was undoubtedly "Mozart in Outer Space".

Seeing Ren Zhonglun's dejected look, Chen Fei said bluntly, "The failure of this film is not only a problem of a single project, but also exposes the hidden dangers of big productions relying on traffic and neglecting content."

When audiences no longer pay for 'stars + gimmicks', how to balance commercial viability and artistic merit has become a challenge that all film and television companies must face.

Wang Jian'er was absolutely careless this time. The cast was indeed quite impressive, but the quality and special effects were utter garbage!

Upon hearing this, Ren Zhonglun sighed deeply, his face full of helplessness.

In fact, Chen Fei had already sensed something was wrong when he chose not to invest in the film.

Now it seems that, as expected, there are just too many problems in this movie.

At this point, cinema scheduling managers had already begun urgently adjusting their screening schedules.

The screening share of "The Lone Moon" is expected to increase to 40%, while "Mozart in Outer Space" may face a significant reduction.

On the first day of the National Day holiday, the film market gave the entire industry a vivid lesson.

Box office revenue is never achieved through hype; ultimately, it's determined by what the audience says as they leave the theater: "It was worth the ticket price!"
The opening film of this year's Dragon Soaring International Film Festival was also presented by Feiyue Films, and its name is:
"In an Octagonal Cage"

The fact that this film was chosen as the opening film is the result of Wang Baoqiang's nearly year-long relentless effort!

From shooting on location in the Liangshan Mountains of Sichuan to polishing the fight scenes frame by frame in the post-production room, he practically glued himself to the film crew.

As an actor, he was well aware that this film, which focuses on "fighting teenagers in the mountains," was a key step in his transition from "comedy actor" to director.

The film had already been quietly approved by the censors two weeks ago, but no press release was issued.

Wang Baoqiang only posted a screenshot of the approval receipt on Weibo and did not continue to promote it.

Choosing to premiere at a film festival this time was less about promotion and more about "testing the waters." He wanted to show the producers, directors, and distributors present just how much weight a film rooted in reality could carry, without big-name stars or fantastical gimmicks.

In the front row, seeing Wang Baoqiang clenching his fists tightly, Chen Fei smiled and patted him on the shoulder.

"Don't be nervous, believe in yourself."

"Ok!"

Wang Baoqiang nodded emphatically, his eyes filled with anticipation.

As the lights in the screening room dimmed, and the dust from the Daliang Mountains billowed up with the truck tires, as a group of dark-skinned teenagers punched, fell, and got back up in an abandoned warehouse, as Wang Baoqiang's character, the "sand pit boss," led them in their fight against prejudice and fate, the entire venue gradually quieted down...

There was no deliberately sentimental background music, no unrealistic comeback scenes; the sweat on the boys' faces, the scars on their hands, and the stubbornness in their eyes were so real that they seemed to splash onto the audience's faces through the screen.

Meanwhile, just as "In the Octagon" made its debut, in the Shanghai Film Group office, Wang Jian'er stared at the box office curve of "Mozart in Outer Space" on the computer screen for a long time, unable to come back to his senses.

That precipitous red line, like a venomous snake, suffocated him.

The phone screen kept popping up with notifications, all of them requests from major cinemas to reduce screenings. As a result, the Douban score for "Mozart from Outer Space" dropped another 0.2 points, stopping at 4.7 points.

"4.7..."

He muttered to himself, a chill running through his heart.

Yesterday morning, he was still dreaming of making this film a hit during the National Day holiday, but now he has become the target of ridicule across the internet.

Those negative reviews, such as "CG pandas are not as good as animated films" and "the plot is disjointed like a collage," were like slaps to his face.

At that moment, he suddenly recalled the scene from six months ago when he talked to Chen Fei about cooperation.

I brought my script to them, hoping to get Feiyue Films to invest in the project and use their post-production team.

But Chen Fei only watched for ten minutes before making an excuse to refuse.

"So he saw through it all along..." Wang Jian'er slammed his fist on the table, filled with frustration.

At that time, he thought Chen Fei had seen through his ambition and didn't want to make a deal with a tiger.

But now he realizes that people really look down on this mess built on traffic and gimmicks, and have long seen through the emptiness of this story!

Without a solid framework, even the most glamorous exterior cannot support a film.

The faint sounds of arguing from the publicity and distribution teams could be heard from the next meeting room; the topics were nothing more than the reduction in screenings and the surge in ticket refunds.

Wang Jian'er leaned back in his chair, feeling as if all his strength had been drained away.

The promising start to the National Day holiday film season turned into a disastrous failure, not only ruining the reputation of Shanghai Film Group but also causing him to lose face within the group.

The sunlight outside the window was clearly intense, but he felt as if he had fallen into an ice cave.

On the table was a brochure for "Mozart in Outer Space," the words "Fantasy Masterpiece" on the cover stinging his eyes.

He grabbed the handbook, crumpled it into a ball, and threw it into the trash can, feeling a tightness in his chest.

It turns out that all the resources and lineups he painstakingly acquired were nothing more than a carefully packaged pile of garbage in the eyes of the audience!

It's no exaggeration to say that the battle for the National Day film season has only just begun, but he has already lost everything.

Most importantly, this time he not only screwed over himself, but also over Wanda and Alibaba, who were co-producers.

After this experience, it will likely become much more difficult to invite other investors to share the risks and pressures of new projects!

Furthermore, the alliance between Shanghai Film Group and Feiyue Film & Television, which Ren Zhonglun established during his tenure, was also completely ruined by him...

It will probably be extremely difficult to cooperate with Feiyue Films again in the future!

"Ugh!"

With a deep sigh, Wang Jian'er looked up at the ceiling, a profound sense of sorrow welling up in his heart.

...

Two hours flew by, and the screening of "In the Octagonal Cage" came to an end.

And then, the most breathtaking scene unfolded!

Despite being beaten bloody on the ring, Ma Hu stubbornly clung to his mouthguard and refused to admit defeat.

The camera panned across the expressions of the audience below the stage, revealing disdain and sympathy, all of which ultimately turned into silent observation.

When the referee raised his hand, there were no cheers, only the silent tears of the boys and the silhouette of Wang Baoqiang quietly wiping his face from the sidelines...

When the lights came on, thunderous applause resounded throughout the venue!

Compared to those blockbuster films that rely on hype, these authentic stories with a down-to-earth feel are what the film industry should cherish most!

Media reports arrived as expected.

"The 3rd Dragon Soaring World International Film Festival has officially kicked off, with the opening film 'In the Octagonal Cage' making a stunning debut!"

"Feiyue Films has released a release date announcement: The action/realistic film 'The Octagonal Cage,' directed by and starring Wang Baoqiang, will be released on December 2nd, aiming to compete in the New Year's holiday season."

"The official Weibo account of 'Man Jiang Hong' released a new promotional poster, showcasing the immense power of ordinary people's triumphs..."

...

The release date for "The Octagonal Cage" has been officially announced, and just as the buzz was starting to build, "Man Jiang Hong" followed suit.

Both films feature ordinary people as protagonists, showcasing their struggles and growth in adversity and highlighting their indomitable spirit, so this wave of popularity can be considered a perfect opportunity to capitalize on.

At this point, people in the industry probably realized that Dong Ping was going to take "riding the wave" to the extreme!
However, Chen Fei ignored the other party. He had already set a trap and was just waiting for the other party to fall into it.

There's no rush now. We'll have to wait until next year's Spring Festival to wrap things up. Let him keep dancing for a while longer.

The more you jump, the harder you'll fall!
After attending the opening ceremony of the Dragon Soaring International Film Festival, Chen Fei did not linger in Shanxi Province and boarded a plane back to the capital.

The script for "The Three-Body Problem" is not yet finished; this is his current serious work.

Meanwhile, the moment he landed in the capital, Feiyue Film & Television released its latest announcement.

After reading the content, the entire film and television industry was once again in an uproar!
(End of this chapter)