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

Chapter 1388 Half a Pond of Green!
"The domestic box office performance of Avatar 2 was somewhat poor."

In the office of Feiyue Film and Television, Chen Fei tapped his fingertips on the table, his gaze fixed on the number "17.44 billion" on the report, his brows slightly furrowed.

While everyone was talking about Parasite's Oscar nomination, he didn't pay much attention to it.

There's nothing worth discussing about established facts.

On the contrary, he was not very satisfied with the domestic box office performance of "Avatar 2".

On the other end of the video call, Natasha nodded, her gaze falling on a domestic box office comparison chart on the table, and slowly said:
"It was indeed not satisfactory. The first film grossed 13.78 billion yuan in China back in 2010. The number of cinemas and viewing habits were nothing compared to now."

In the past twelve years, how much has the domestic film market expanded? The number of screens alone has increased nearly tenfold, and a single film during the Spring Festival season can break 50 billion yuan in box office revenue. Yet, the second installment only grossed less than 4 million yuan more than the first, which doesn't make sense.

Upon hearing this, Chen Fei specifically emphasized the reasons for this situation:
"After a thirteen-year gap, the novelty of the 'visual effects revolution' has long faded for domestic audiences. The first film made the audience feel like they had entered Pandora with its 3D technology, but apart from the underwater action scenes, the core technological breakthroughs in the second film were not so intuitive."

People have seen so many things like the space elevator in "The Wandering Earth" and the particle ink painting in "The Return of the South China Sea" that they have become less and less tolerant of films that only have visual effects and no story.

Moreover, its plot is too drawn out. In its three-hour runtime, the first half is a drawn-out setup of family conflicts, while the real conflict only materializes in the second half. Many viewers couldn't sit still halfway through.

Hearing this, Natasha frowned: "Then what do we do now?"

Chen Fei leaned back in his chair and sighed softly: "In the end, this movie still failed to capture the needs of domestic audiences."

Previously, Hollywood blockbusters could easily rake in box office revenue by relying on 'technical superiority,' but that doesn't work anymore. Audiences now demand 'technology serving the story,' relatable characters, and memorable plot points. *Avatar 2* failed in this aspect, hence its poor performance.

The market changes too fast, and Cameron takes too long to make films.

He's still clinging to the old ways, unaware that relying solely on "nostalgia" and "technical gimmicks" is no longer enough to sustain box office success.

"Please organize what I just said and pass it on to Cameron."

Chen Fei raised his hand and rubbed his temples, his tone calm but serious: "Tell him to pay more attention to these things in the third movie. If he follows the same path as the second movie, the domestic box office will probably be even worse next time."

Natasha nodded and replied, "Okay, I'll contact him right away."

The video call was immediately disconnected.

The office fell silent.

After a moment of contemplation, Chen Fei opened his computer, found the box office statistics page, and specifically looked up the overseas data for "Avatar 2".

The page loaded quickly, and as he looked at it, he unconsciously raised an eyebrow.

While domestic audiences didn't buy it, the overseas market presented a different picture.

After a month in North America, the film has grossed over $6 million, firmly holding the top spot on the annual box office charts, and many media outlets are still predicting that it could eventually reach $8 million.

It's even more lively in Europe.

The combined box office revenue from the UK, France, and Germany has exceeded $3 million!
Local film critics even praised it, saying, "The underwater action scenes in Avatar 2 are a complete breakthrough in film history!"

Many viewers are even willing to book tickets a week in advance to see the IMAX version.

In other parts of Asia, South Korea's box office surpassed $1 million, Japan earned over $8000 million, and Southeast Asian countries like Indonesia and Thailand also saw box office figures significantly higher than Hollywood blockbusters released during the same period.

After a month of global release, Avatar 2 has grossed $13.5 billion overseas, and with the 17.44 billion yuan (approximately $2.5 million) in China, its global box office has reached nearly $16 billion.

Chen Fei looked at the string of numbers and nodded slightly.

Sure enough, Hollywood's "visual effects-first" approach remains strong in overseas markets.

After all, compared to the high demands of domestic audiences for "story quality", many overseas audiences are still willing to pay for the ultimate technological spectacle.

However, Chen Fei knew in his heart that this "difference between inside and outside" would not last forever.

Once the technology of the domestic film industry catches up, and overseas audiences have had enough of films that are "all spectacle and no substance," if Cameron doesn't make adjustments by then, the problem will likely be more than just poor domestic box office performance.

Just as he was pondering the overseas box office data, the phone on the table suddenly rang, and the screen showed Guo Fan's name.

"Director Chen, have you seen the internet? There have been a lot of negative reviews for 'The Wandering Earth 2' lately, something seems off." Guo Fan's voice was tinged with confusion.

Chen Fei raised an eyebrow: "Oh? Let me see."

After hanging up the phone, he immediately switched to the film review sections of major ticketing platforms and the short review sections on Douban.

You wouldn't believe it until you see it!

Amidst the almost unanimous positive reviews a while ago, a number of glaring one-star and two-star reviews suddenly appeared, and they kept appearing even after flipping through several pages.

He casually clicked on a few, and the more he read, the more deliberate it seemed:

"The special effects are good, but the space elevator scene is too fake, isn't it? How could it be that stable in reality? They completely disregarded scientific logic in order to show off their skills, which was really awkward."

"Three hours is too long! The scene between Tu Hengyu and his daughter in the middle was completely unnecessary. Cutting it would have made the scene half an hour shorter. The director just can't bear to cut the parts he filmed."

"Li Xuejian's acting was good, but the lines were too deliberate. The line 'Our people will definitely succeed' gave me goosebumps. Forced sentimentality is meaningless."

"So-called hard science fiction is just so-so. Many of the settings are copied from foreign works, but they are just given a Chinese shell. It's been hyped up too much."

These comments seem plausible at first glance, but upon closer inspection, they're all nitpicking.

Space elevators are a science fiction concept, aiming for visual impact rather than a complete replication of reality.

Tu Hengyu's storyline is clearly the key to driving the "digital life" storyline, and Li Xuejian's lines resonate with many people's feelings about the "resilience of the Chinese people"... These are all essential and excellent selling points!

Chen Fei paused on the mouse for a moment, his eyes darkening slightly.

Based on his experience, it's clear that this isn't just normal audience complaining; someone is obviously stirring things up behind the scenes.

He picked up the phone and dialed the head of public relations.

The call was answered quickly.

He asked directly, "Have you checked those negative reviews that suddenly appeared online for 'The Wandering Earth 2'?"

The manager on the other end of the phone quickly replied, "Chairman Chen, I was just about to call you back! I just found out that these negative reviews are not spontaneous feedback from ordinary viewers; the source is a group of professional online trolls."

"Professional online trolls?" Chen Fei raised an eyebrow, tapping his fingertips lightly on the edge of the table. "Have you figured out the channels?"

"We've done a rough investigation," the supervisor said, quickening his pace. "Most of these accounts are newly registered 'casual accounts,' their comments are clearly templated, and they're all posted around the same time. Their IP addresses are scattered across several cities, but there are consistent signs of comment control behind them."

Following the clues, we vaguely spotted several public relations firms with long-term partnerships with Huanxi Media, but they were very discreet and left no direct evidence.

Chen Fei snorted, confirming his suspicions.

Sure enough, it was Dong Ping's side who did the dirty work.

So, in this life, he doesn't dare to take the risk of manipulating box office numbers and has instead resorted to these underhanded tactics? Looking at the deliberately negative reviews on the screen, his eyes turned cold.

Do they think they can undermine the reputation of "The Wandering Earth 2" with such tricks?

That's incredibly naive!

The foundation of this film lies in the genuine recognition from the audience, which cannot be shaken by a few comments from paid trolls.

"Now that the enemy has come knocking, let's move out and proceed according to the original plan."

Chen Fei's voice had lost its previous solemnity and instead became more decisive.

He had already prepared a backup plan.

I had noticed Dong Ping's team was focused on the box office, so I guessed they might make some underhanded moves. But I thought that with Zhang Yimou's influence, there was no need to make things too tense, so I didn't do anything.

But now that Dong Ping is so eager to cause trouble with such underhanded tactics, there's no need to be polite anymore.

"Understood, Mr. Chen!" the public relations manager on the other end of the phone replied readily. "We'll get started right away."

"Okay," Chen Fei replied and hung up the phone.

He leaned back in his chair, tapping his fingers lightly on the table.

Originally, I thought that each company would compete fairly during the Spring Festival season and then stop while they were ahead. But Dong Ping insisted on playing dirty tricks behind the scenes, so don't blame him for leaving no room for maneuver.

After hanging up the phone, the public relations manager immediately assembled the team and assigned tasks:

"Let's get started! Send out everything we've prepared before. First, release an objective analysis of the plot logic flaws in 'Man Jiang Hong,' then anonymously submit the evidence of those online marketing companies taking orders from Huanxi Media to a few reliable industry accounts. Remember, we'll only present the facts, not incite conflict. Let the audience see for themselves."

The office instantly sprang into action, with the sound of keyboards clicking incessantly.

Since the other side has flipped the table first, this battle must be fought properly!

……

Just one day later, the online sentiment suddenly changed.

The discussion, which had been focused on "The Wandering Earth 2", suddenly shifted to "Man Jiang Hong".

Numerous posts questioning the details of the film were pushed to the top, each hitting the nail on the head.

Some people dug up historical records to argue: "Southern Song soldiers wearing steel armor? That prop is too outrageous! The Southern Song military budget was tight, and ordinary soldiers mostly wore leather or cloth armor. Steel armor was only available to generals. This is basic historical common sense, isn't it?"

Some viewers even pointed out inconsistencies in the titles used: "In the film, the soldiers call the officials 'Sir,' but that's not how it was done in the Song Dynasty. Civil officials were called 'Prime Minister,' and military officials were called 'Grand Commandant.' 'Sir' is a title that only appeared in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Didn't the screenwriter do their homework?"

Even the lyrics sung by the dancers in the film were found to be wrong: "The lyrics that are repeatedly sung were written by Ma Zhiyuan of the Yuan Dynasty. Where did they come from at the end of the Southern Song Dynasty? It's like singing Song lyrics in a Tang Dynasty movie. The timeline is completely messed up!"

The issues surrounding the publicity and distribution have been thoroughly investigated.

Some netizens posted a poster of "Man Jiang Hong" and criticized it, saying, "Using the 'Slender Gold' style of calligraphy as the title? Emperor Huizong of Song's calligraphy paired with the theme of resisting the Jin Dynasty, is this aesthetic sense for real?"

Some people even circled the typos on the poster: "The character '精' in '精忠报国' is missing a stroke, and the character '虏' in '壮志饥餐胡虏肉' is written as '卤'. How could such a basic mistake be made?"

The official Weibo account's previous posts were also dug up.

A Weibo post commemorating the "Jingkang Incident" mistakenly broke the original phrase "The shame of Jingkang remains unavenged; the hatred of the subjects will never be extinguished" into "The shame of Jingkang remains unavenged; the hatred of the subjects will never be extinguished."

One highly-rated comment below was full of anger: "They can't even pronounce famous historical quotes correctly, and they still have the nerve to make historical films?"

The controversy doesn't end there.

The screenwriter previously said in an interview that he "used a comedic shell to contain a suspenseful core," and now that statement has become a target.

Many viewers left comments below:

"The comedic elements and suspense were not well integrated. When Shen Teng was delivering a punchline, the tension that had just been built up instantly dissipated. Then, just when a plot twist was about to happen, a funny scene was suddenly inserted, which made the viewing experience very disjointed."

"Using a lighthearted approach to filming such a heavy subject actually diminishes the seriousness of 'serving the country with utmost loyalty,' which seems a bit incongruous, doesn't it?"

"I still can't understand what's so great about Yi Yangqianxi's acting skills?"

Amidst numerous controversies, the hashtags #ManjianghongHistoricalErrors# and #ManjianghongPromotionalMistakes# quickly trended on social media, sparking heated debates in the comments section.

The film, which had previously enjoyed a stable reputation, was suddenly embroiled in these minor issues. Although its popularity did not decrease, it attracted a lot of criticism.

Dong Ping's hands began to tremble as he looked at the densely packed controversial keywords on his phone.

It's one thing for "Man Jiang Hong" to be embroiled in historical details and publicity controversies, but how come his secret arrangement of online trolls to smear "The Wandering Earth 2" has also been exposed?
Screenshots of several PR firms accepting orders from Huanxi Media were even posted online, with the caption: "Some film companies can't afford to lose, but they're quite adept at playing dirty tricks."

The comment section exploded instantly, with many people following the trail and criticizing Dong Ping.

"What kind of power does Feiyue Film & Television have? How did they manage to find out about this?"

In the office, Dong Ping paced back and forth, clutching his phone, a layer of cold sweat beading on his forehead.

He originally thought those PR companies were clean enough, but how come they were exposed so thoroughly in just one day?

Just as he was racking his brains trying to figure out how to suppress it, the office door was pushed open with a bang, and the public relations manager rushed in, his face pale.

"President Dong! Something terrible has happened! 'Man Jiang Hong' is in big trouble again!"

Dong Ping was taken aback and subconsciously asked, "What trouble? Can't we just suppress the historical mistakes? Explain it as fiction!"

The supervisor shook his head, handed over the tablet, and pointed to a trending Weibo topic with the word "hot" at the end, saying, "No! Look at this!"

Dong Ping leaned closer.

On the screen, a post with a picture went viral!
Someone photoshopped the poster for "Man Jiang Hong," changing the title "Man Jiang Hong" to "Ban Chi Lü."

The following is a caption:
"The historical inaccuracies in the film are like 'half a pool of muddy water,' and the typos and punctuation errors in the promotional materials are like 'a pool of green algae.' I think the movie title 'Half a Pool of Green' would be more fitting!"

What's even more amazing is that someone else chimed in: "I must say, 'Half a Pond of Green' is indeed more descriptive than the original name. The plot twists and turns are as tangled as the water plants in a pond, and the historical details are as rough as green algae hanging on the wall. Isn't that exactly the flavor?"

This joke spread instantly!

"Half a Pond of Green" immediately became the new nickname for "Man Jiang Hong" and was ridiculed by many netizens.

Dong Ping stared at those three words, and his vision went black.

He originally just wanted to pull some tricks to surpass the box office of "The Wandering Earth 2", how did it turn out like this?

(End of this chapter)