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

Chapter 1448 One generation plants the trees, another generation basks in the sun!
"The box office figures for the first day of the 2024 Spring Festival film season are in! Congratulations to 'Detective Chinatown 1900' for taking the top spot with a gross of 5.96 million yuan!"

"Jia Ling's new film 'Hot and Spicy', which she directed and starred in, grossed 4.56 million yuan on its opening day, ranking No. 2 in this year's Spring Festival box office rankings."

“《飞驰人生2》《熊出没·逆转时空》《第二十条》，分别位列于本年度票房榜第3、 4、5名，首日票房分别斩获4.24亿、2.56亿、2.06亿。”

"The total box office revenue for the Spring Festival film season this year reached 21.66 billion yuan, far exceeding the daily box office revenue of the past 23 years, a great success..."

……

Looking at the box office news for the first day of the Spring Festival film season that popped up on his phone, Chen Fei wasn't too surprised.

This result is basically in line with his previous prediction.

It's no surprise that "Detective Chinatown 1900" took the top spot, given the reputation that the "Detective Chinatown Universe" has built up over the years.

With this innovative "suspense + history" storyline, longtime viewers are naturally willing to pay for it.

"Hot and Spicy" ranked second with 4.56 million yuan, relying on the strong publicity gimmick of Jia Ling losing 100 pounds.

The overwhelming amount of trending topics in the lead-up to the opening day had already piqued the audience's curiosity, so the impressive box office performance on the first day was to be expected.

As for the subsequent tiers, the 4.24 million yuan gross of "Pegasus 2" was also within expectations.

The film retains the passionate foundation of its predecessor, and Shen Teng's comedic appeal guarantees box office success. Even with the addition of Fan Chengcheng, the film's overall humorous atmosphere still captivates the audience.

Looking at the 2.56 million yuan box office of "Boonie Bears: Reverse Time", it perfectly confirms its "essential" status among parent-child groups.

The series' decade-long accumulation of audience loyalty allows it to maintain its fourth-place ranking even with low-key promotion.

While "The Twentieth Article" is currently ranked fifth with 2.06 million yuan, Zhang Yimou's directing skills and the support of talented actors such as Lei Jiayin and Zhao Liying have already built up enough momentum based on the word-of-mouth in the early stages.

While box office figures were uniform, word-of-mouth was completely polarized.

Open the comment sections of platforms like Douban and Maoyan, and the difference is almost immediately apparent:
"Boonie Bears: Reverse Time" continues the series' consistently high standards:
"The time travel concept isn't childish, and the return of classic characters is full of nostalgia. A big thumbs up to Fantawild!"

"Watching it with the kids isn't boring at all. The plot is quite interesting, and it inexplicably reminds me of the old TV series 'New Neighbors'."

"Let's go, to Fantawild Adventure! Go go go!"

"Detective Chinatown 1900" has garnered widespread acclaim:

"The suspense plot is logically sound, and the anti-Chinese background is vividly portrayed. As expected of a production by Feiyue Films, it is truly a masterpiece!"

"The Detective Chinatown universe is back with its high-quality feel. I hope they'll release more new works in the future. I'm just a little bit looking forward to it~"

"Baoqiang is letting loose his true nature again, hahaha!"

Although Fan Chengcheng's performance in "Pegasus 2" sparked some sporadic discussions, Shen Teng's portrayal of Zhang Chi remained vivid.

The audience's reaction to the exciting and hilarious scenes in Bayinbuluke has further boosted the film's reputation.

As for Article 20, it has been praised for its down-to-earth yet profound legal narrative, which uses small details to illustrate larger themes.

The sign language scene performed by Zhao Liying, which had previously impressed Chen Fei, has become a widely recognized tear-jerking moment.

The comment section for "Hot and Spicy" has become a battleground for netizens' debates:

"I think this movie perfectly illustrates women's self-growth. Le Ying's transformation from lying down and relying on her parents to persevering in the boxing ring breaks the stereotype that women's growth depends on men, and is a powerful response to the 'lying down' culture!"

"Heh, is the person upstairs out of their mind? They even have the energy to respond? Their promotion relies entirely on the weight loss gimmick, and the plot is a blatant copy of '100 Yen Love.' You call this a remake?"

"That made me laugh. A waiter earning 2500 a month can afford a boxing class that costs 300 a session. He can't even afford rent and still train full-time for a year. That doesn't make any sense in reality, okay?"

"Damn it, my buddy was tricked into going to the cinema by the weight loss success story, but all he got was a screen full of depressing stories of failure. The last half hour of inspirational quotes couldn't save him at all."

"Holy crap! I absolutely have to post this video so you guys can see it. In this movie theater I'm in, there's this terribly fat woman who actually cried, and at the very end, she actually went up to the screen and shouted 'Long live women!' Holy crap! It's so cringeworthy!!!"

The hype generated solely through initial hype will eventually reveal its weaknesses in the face of genuine audience feedback.

This is a true reflection of "Hot and Spicy".

On the first day of the Spring Festival film season, while the word-of-mouth for other films steadily improved, Jia Ling's "Hot and Spicy" became a highly controversial topic.

This is both a good thing and a bad thing for the film.

The advantage is that the controversy may attract more viewers to the theater.

Just like passersby caught in a whirlwind of public opinion, they can't help but go to the cinema out of curiosity about "what exactly is being argued about".

The downside is that the criticism will only grow louder after watching it!
The majority of the audience remained rational.

When they sit in the theater and realize that the plot on the screen is just a shallow replica of "100 Yen Love," and that the so-called "weight loss comeback" is just a collection of scattered inspirational stories, they will quickly realize that they have been fooled by the gimmick.

The film's plot quality is simply not worthy of its opening day box office of 4.56 million!

However, at this moment, Jia Ling, who had been hiding behind the scenes, suddenly jumped out and began to frantically market how hard she had worked to lose weight.

On social media platforms, surveillance footage showing a weight loss from 200 jin to 100 jin is being played on a loop.

Treadmills at 3 a.m., boiled vegetables on the plate every day, images of people being carried into the hospital due to overtraining...

This inspiring story immediately became a hit with many young women!

The film's popularity soared, but so did the barrage of criticism.

"Using the actors' professionalism as a marketing trump card, while the plot is terrible, they still try to gain sympathy by playing the victim? Holy crap, I'm speechless."

"This tactic of using weight loss to cover up plot shortcomings is exactly the same as the New Year's Eve kiss hype used by 'Long Day's Journey into Night'! Both are typical examples of marketing that deviates from the content! They're simply frauds!"

"They even copied the core plot of a Japanese movie, and they still have the nerve to call it an original inspirational story?"

"Go ahead and do whatever you want, keep messing around, and let's see what kind of garbage you can come up with after you've exhausted the audience's trust!"

"Today's Jia Ling is remarkably similar to Da Peng, who directed 'Jianbing Man' back then."

The public opinion field quickly developed a strange split.

On one side, fans were flooding the comments section with messages like "You can always trust Jia Ling," while on the other side, ordinary viewers were leaving negative reviews calling it "fraudulent propaganda."

According to data from Lighthouse Pro, although the film's screening rate increased by 2 percentage points on the second day due to its popularity, the occupancy rate dropped by 15%, and the refund rate tripled compared to the first day.

Clearly, the curious viewers attracted by the weight loss gimmick are voting with their feet.

However, despite the ongoing controversy, "Hot and Spicy" has continued to gain popularity thanks to the good reputation that Jia Ling has built up from her past comedic works, as well as the fact that the promotional materials accurately focused on the topic of "female empowerment," which is in line with the current era.

Countless female viewers saw in the tagline "weight loss transformation" the struggle against body image anxiety and the drive to break through personal limitations...

This also meant that the film's box office easily surpassed 20 billion yuan after the week-long Spring Festival holiday.

While this result is still quite far from the box office record of "Detective Chinatown 1900" (3 billion+ RMB), which holds the top spot, "Hot Hot" has already recouped its costs with a production cost of only around 30 million RMB, and even made the producers and Jia Ling herself very wealthy.

At this point, Jia Ling felt that her extensive online celebrity-style promotion could come to a temporary end.

When she privately communicated with the publicity team, she was very confident: "I have been on the trending topics for a whole month, posting my weight loss diary and talking about women's growth. The audience's attention has been completely maximized."

Even if they stop promoting it later, with its current popularity, there should be plenty of organic fans actively recommending it, right?

As a result, starting from the eighth day of the Lunar New Year, the official promotion of "Hot and Spicy" was significantly reduced, the number of trending topics was decreased, and Jia Ling herself no longer appeared on camera to give interviews frequently.

Mainly, she wanted to maintain her reputation so that she could continue to release other works in the future.

But reality dealt her a heavy blow!
Just as the publicity campaign showed signs of stopping, the film's box office plummeted like a kite with a broken string!
On the ninth day of the Lunar New Year, the box office dropped from a stable 150 million yuan to 80 million yuan, a single-day drop of 70 million yuan, a decrease of nearly 50%!
This glaring data ruthlessly exposes the dismal nature of "Hot and Spicy".

The previous high box office was nothing more than a bubble propped up by marketing gimmicks and hot topics. Once the promotional boost is gone, the film's weak plot and vague theme will not be able to retain the audience.

The online public opinion has also completely reversed.

Apart from a group of "little fairies" who are labeled as "female inspirational" and loyal fans who have always supported Jia Ling, who are still shouting "support Director Jia" on social media in an attempt to salvage their reputation, the rest of the audience is full of ridicule.

"Tsk tsk, I knew it. Without marketing, their true colors are revealed."

"How many of those 20 billion yuan in box office revenue were actually lured in? I really feel sorry for those who spent money to watch such a terrible movie!"

"This plot deserves 20 billion? Holy crap? This is pure money laundering, isn't it?"

Numerous sharp comments can be found in discussions related to the film.

The once-popular "weight loss inspiration" label has gradually become synonymous with "fraudulent marketing".

As the saying goes: When it rains, it pours.

On February 22, "All for the Winner," which had been postponed, officially concluded its run with a box office of 32.17 billion yuan.

The departure of this box office dark horse that had long occupied a portion of the screenings during the Lunar New Year season should have freed up a lot of screening space for the remaining films in the Spring Festival season.

Ironically, "Hot Hot" not only failed to gain any screening benefits, but also, due to its continued decline in reputation, theaters preferred to allocate screenings to "Detective Chinatown 1900" and "Pegasus 2", which had stable reputations.

The following day, "Hot Hot" saw its box office plummet by another 2000 million yuan, with a single-day box office of only 6000 million yuan. Its total box office was also successfully overtaken by "Pegasus 2", dropping from second place to third during the Spring Festival season.

As the box office figures grew worse day by day, Jia Ling and the distributors of "Hot and Spicy" completely panicked.

They were well aware that if box office revenue continued to decline, subsequent profits would inevitably shrink significantly.

Left with no other option, the team had to bring Jia Ling back into the spotlight and continue the high-intensity marketing campaign.

By re-editing behind-the-scenes footage of Jia Ling's weight loss journey, giving media interviews to discuss the difficulties of filming, and even inviting internet celebrities to post their weight loss experiences in bulk, the company attempted to boost the film's box office by sacrificing Jia Ling's personal reputation.

This emergency marketing restart did indeed show results quickly. The next day, the daily box office of "Hot Hot" rebounded from 6000 million to 7000 million, an increase of 1000 million.

However, this brief box office recovery came at the cost of Jia Ling's rapidly deteriorating reputation!

On social media platforms, the outcry against Jia Ling for "exploiting audience trust and engaging in unscrupulous marketing for box office success" is growing louder.

The goodwill she had previously built up as a national comedy director is being gradually eroded by the label of fraudulent marketing.

Meanwhile, the celebration banquet for "All or Nothing" was in full swing.

The banquet hall was brightly lit.

While holding his wine glass and chatting with Chen Fei about the current situation of "Hot and Spicy", Wang Changtian suddenly said with some surprise, "Why do I feel that Jia Ling now is somewhat similar to Da Peng back then? They both relied on topic marketing to boost box office, and in the end, they ruined their own reputations."

Chen Fei pursed his lips, his tone certain: "No doubt about it, we're following the same route."

He saw things very clearly; after "Hot and Spicy," Jia Ling's directing career was basically ruined.

After all, when the label of 'fraudulent marketing' is firmly attached to a director, the audience's trust in him is lost.

Next time I release a new work, no matter how good the quality is, everyone's first reaction will be, "Are you just lying to me again?"
This preconceived prejudice is impossible to reverse and will accompany them throughout their lives.

Dapeng is a precedent.

As the two were talking, a clear female voice suddenly came from the side: "Director Chen, I'd like to propose a toast to you."

Chen Fei and Wang Changtian subconsciously turned their heads to look, and saw Yang Mi wearing a simple black dress, holding a wine glass, with a sincere expression on her face.

"Thank you so much for agreeing to let me play Liang Anna in 'All or Nothing'."

From being ridiculed online as a "post-85s traffic star who starred in bad movies" and whose every film she starred in flopped, to now becoming the leading actress with "All for the Winner" which grossed over 30 billion yuan, Yang Mi feels like she's been dreaming these past six months.

When she first took on this role, she only wanted to use a project to complete the transition period after leaving Jaywalk Studio, and she didn't dare to hope for too much.

Unexpectedly, the role of Liang Anna not only helped her shed the label of poor acting skills, but also directly pulled her from a television actress into the ranks of film actresses.

With this high starting point, her path ahead will undoubtedly be much smoother.

Several big-budget films have already extended offers to her, and even veteran directors who used to be indifferent to her have started to take the initiative to invite her.

What made her even more elated was that Zeng Jia called her last night, speaking in an unusually humble tone, wanting to seek further cooperation on behalf of Jiaxing, and even proposing that she return as a partner.

This reversal from "being abandoned" to "being fought over" made her feel both relieved and fortunate!
Therefore, she must offer this toast today, and she must do so with utmost respect.

Yang Mi held the wine glass with both hands, bent down slightly, and placed the rim of her glass much lower than Chen Fei's glass, her eyes full of gratitude.

Chen Fei smiled and raised his hand to lightly clink glasses with her: "No need to thank me. Your own efforts are the key. I wish you continued success in your future endeavors."

He and Yang Mi had no conflict.

Although Yang Mi and Liu Yifei had competed for resources before, Liu Yifei has now firmly established herself as a top-tier actress with many excellent works, and Yang Mi simply cannot catch up. The so-called competition is a thing of the past.

Chen Fei actually hopes that Yang Mi can continue to make a name for herself in the entertainment industry.

Because the entertainment industry is currently lacking in fresh developments; most of the time it's just a routine cycle of generating buzz.

If there were more cases like Yang Mi's, where people bounce back from rock bottom, it would at least add some excitement to this stagnant pool and prevent it from becoming so lifeless.

After attending the celebration banquet for "All or Nothing", Chen Fei immediately returned to the "Three-Body Problem" film crew.

Inside the studio, giant mechanical devices are slowly operating, and staff are adjusting the lighting equipment that simulates the vacuum environment of space.

Chen Fei leaned over the monitor and began checking the storyboard.

The filming tasks after the New Year mainly focus on the special effects-heavy scenes of "The Three-Body Fleet Sets Sail," leaving no room for error.

At the same time, Happy Twist's new film "Claw Machine" also officially started filming at Shanhe Film and Television Base.

When the main cast of Yan Fei, Peng Damo, Shen Teng and Ma Li was officially announced, the entire internet instantly went wild!
Many people are looking forward to this new film, hoping it can recapture the glory of "Goodbye Mr. Loser"!

Meanwhile, "Joy of Life 2" also successfully concluded its run on the Youku platform.

This sequel, which was upgraded from a web series to a "web-TV co-broadcast", broke many records during its broadcast.

Within one hour of the broadcast starting, the platform's popularity index exceeded 30000 points, breaking the platform's historical peak.

The show's viewership on CCTV remained stable at 1.07%, and its peak real-time viewership on Kuyun consistently ranked first among satellite channels for evening dramas. It also achieved the title of "Top 1 Most Popular Chinese Mainland Drama" on overseas platforms.

From the memorable group scenes at the Fan family banquet to the plot twists revealed at the temple, almost every episode sparked heated discussions across the internet, making it arguably the king of dramas of the year!

The work that will take its place on Youku is Zhang Songwen's new work "Hunter of Ice" after "Raging Storm".

This series, dubbed the "Chinese version of Breaking Bad," has made its mark with its dark narrative focusing on the drug industry chain, and topped the Maoyan drama popularity chart on its first day of broadcast.

However, more controversy than the plot itself focuses on Huawei's "little princess" Yao Anna.

Her portrayal of a female anti-drug police officer was criticized for her stiff expressions and awkward delivery of lines.

Another show that was released at the same time, "Fireworks Family," also enjoyed considerable popularity.

Whether it's the grandmother who upholds traditional crafts, the mother who strives to start her own business, or the daughter who pursues her ideals, all the characters in the drama have broken free from the stereotypes of being love-obsessed and suffering in melodramas. Netizens have praised them, saying that female characters in Chinese dramas are finally no longer cosplaying Wang Baochuan.

Meanwhile, during this period, with the Spring Festival boom, many film projects were also approved or started filming.

Besides "Claw Machine", other films such as "Silent Kill", "Volunteer Army: Battle for Survival", "Good Things", "Road to Fire", "Golden Finger" and "Life Against the Tide" have successively completed the process from project initiation and casting to the start of filming.

Perhaps seeing the positive reception of "Boonie Bears," the Shanghai Animation Film Studio also collaborated on the release of an animated film called "The Little Monster of Langlang Mountain."

Chen Fei paid a little attention to it, but since the production company did not release any more information about the project, he simply withdrew his gaze.

February has passed quickly, and March has arrived.

The Spring Festival film season has officially come to an end.

Several films announced their key extensions almost one after the other.

"Detective Chinatown 1900" had already reached 40 billion yuan at the box office, taking the lead!

"Pegasus 2" achieved a box office of 28 billion, surpassing its predecessor.

Subsequent shows like "Article 20" and "Boonie Bears" also surpassed 2 billion views.

The only exception was "Hot Hot", which failed to obtain a key extension due to a sharp drop in word-of-mouth, and its box office revenue stopped at 24 billion.

In fact, the reason why this movie did not achieve great success later on was largely due to Chen Fei's actions.

In his view, this kind of fraudulent marketing is detrimental to the cinema market in every way.

If we let it develop like this, won't the market completely collapse?
What will happen after they just pack up and leave?
Is it really true that the predecessors planted the trees, and the successors are left to suffer the scorching sun?
So, after he made a few minor moves, "Hot and Spicy" was completely shut down.

As for Jia Ling, in the minds of netizens, she has become the second "Dapeng"!
Especially after losing weight, her image became less appealing, which further aggravated netizens' "dislike" of her.

By the time she snapped out of her daze and realized this, it was already too late!
"Am I becoming the second Dong Chengpeng? Is 'Hot and Spicy' becoming the second 'Jianbing Man'?"

In the office, as she muttered these words to herself, the secretary standing opposite her slowly nodded, her words like a blade piercing Jia Ling's heart.

"Mr. Jia, we may need to keep a low profile for a while and try to let this controversy pass..."

Jia Ling slumped into a chair, shook her head, and gave a self-deprecating laugh: "It's something I can't get over, something I can never shake off in this lifetime..."

They did make money, but their reputation was completely ruined.

Jia Ling's heart was in excruciating pain, but there was no going back now.

……

The extension of the Spring Festival film release window did not affect the release of films in March.

On the 1st, "Zhou Chu Eliminates the Three Evils" was released online and instantly became a hit across the entire internet!
The scene of Ethan Juan's character, Chen Guilin, getting shot in the head repeatedly went viral online.

Chen Fei also went to the cinema to see this movie, and he has to say, it was really good.

Especially Chen Guilin's performance as Dao Wan Zun Zhe, when he heard singing coming from the auditorium again in the corridor and was so angry that he laughed, was truly amazing!

In a daze, Chen Fei suddenly realized that compared to this movie, the movies released during the Spring Festival seemed like elementary school students' homework.

The fact that this kind of content could be shown in mainland cinemas is a good thing, considering the film bureau's censorship department did.

Unfortunately, the film still falls short in terms of sensory experience; the climax never quite reaches its full potential, and when it does, it doesn't last.

Furthermore, many of the later dialogues and scenes were superfluous, and near the end, the director tried to cram everything in, which was also a point of criticism.

Fortunately, Ethan Juan's acting was nuanced and relaxed, which was a major highlight.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, this film should win the Golden Horse Award this year.

As Chen Fei left the cinema, he sent a message to Ye Ning, who was in charge of scheduling screenings, suggesting that he could give the film more screenings.

Ignoring the minor flaws, the "madness" in the film is really exhilarating!

Spending money on this kind of movie is much more worthwhile than watching something like "Hot Hot Pot"...

(End of this chapter)