Full-time actor

Chen Yu's speech was incredibly sincere, resonating deeply with those in the audience.

"I will always remember every moment of the filming."

"The entire creative team remained steadfast in their posts despite the 40-degree Celsius heat."

"Especially Yifei and Tangtang, who never used stunt doubles during the filming process despite the extremely difficult conditions."

"Whether it was the scenes of beatings or rolling down the stairs, they did it all by themselves."

The audience members below the stage all looked over.

They were already aware of the film's "bloodiness." Chen Yu usually works like a man possessed, risking his life while filming, after all, his previous leap from a 100-meter-high building had become a legend.

As for this time—

Even the celestial beauty, I heard, was "genuinely emotional" in the scenes where she was beaten.

Especially the news that she cut her long hair for a role, which is something that even non-fans feel sorry for.

It's common knowledge that Liu Yifei loves beauty.

But in order to present the best performance, there has never been any excuse.

"I would also like to give special thanks to director Diao Yinan."

When his name was suddenly called out, Diao Yinan smiled shyly, and the audience applauded him again.

"The smooth filming of this work is inseparable from the help of director Diao Yinan."

"Countless days and nights, countless shots captured, are what made 'Better Days' possible."

"I am very grateful that everyone came to watch this movie."

"It's inevitable that there will be mistakes when it's my first time directing a project, but I will humbly accept everyone's feedback."

Chen Yu bowed deeply to the audience.

The two girls mentioned in the introduction reached out and wiped away the tears that were streaming down their faces.

For them, getting to this point was a journey fraught with hardship and danger.

Fortunately-

It's all worth it.

The subsequent global premiere contributed to an even more exciting situation.

The film "Better Days" invited a group of friends, including Zhang Yimou, Jiang Wen, and Stephen Chow, to participate in a live video call.

In addition, Hollywood superstars such as Tom Cruise also promoted the event overseas.

The scene was grand and impressive.

This is quite a show of force in the industry, after all, even the most self-proclaimed directors in the industry probably couldn't get Hollywood stars to promote it.

In the screening room.

Everyone was already bursting with excitement.

So many people are waiting for the release of this film, especially since it is Chen Yu's directorial debut and has won so many awards.

pat!

The screen gradually dimmed, and the arena fell silent for a moment.

Countless film critics are already poised to comment. What kind of effect will this art film have?
They are really waiting to see.

***
After the nearly two-and-a-half-hour movie ended, the theater remained silent for a while.

Until a film critic shouted it out.

"Chen Yu, I support you!"

"You're the most awesome person in the film industry!"

Cheers erupted in the screening room as the screen gradually dimmed.

However, the applause lingered, echoing in everyone's hearts.

This work is too painful.

So much so that during the viewing process, it was so painful that it was difficult to breathe at one point.

Chen Yu's influence is undeniable, but whether he can gain public recognition does not depend solely on his influence.

There's also the hard work of everyone involved and the highlights of the script itself.

The pain and redemption of youth took root and sprouted completely in their hearts.

So much so that even after it ended, the people on the field were unable to recover for a long time.

The powerful performances of Liu Yifei and Chen Yu resonated deeply with the audience.

The two men perfectly embodied the humility of surviving in the cracks.

When Liu Yifei was attacked, some viewers couldn't bear to watch any longer.

clap clap clap!
The scattered applause eventually coalesced into a standing ovation, and with questions from reporters and film critics, the global premiere of "Better Days" came to a close.

The film's popularity has set a new benchmark in the current film industry.

As of midnight, the pre-sale box office for "Better Days" has exceeded 1.2 million yuan!
A number that no one expected before the film's release.

This is unmatched not only in the realm of art films, but also in the realm of commercial films.

Putting aside other things, just comparing it to "Departures," a well-known IP work, it has already exceeded the pre-sale box office by at least 3000 million.

It's worth noting that "Invisible Spy" had a pre-sale box office of 1.5 million yuan, and "Better Days" is now catching up.

This is definitely a situation that cannot be ignored.

No one could predict how much "Better Days" would gross, because it kept breaking records every day afterward.

Meanwhile, the office of Huayi Brothers was filled with tension.

Wang Zhonglei looked unwell; he was also anxiously awaiting further instructions.

"Better Days" achieved remarkable results in pre-sales, and its strength has far surpassed all previous art films. It has proven with its strength that even art films have a market.

Even so, Wang Zhonglei still wanted to know the final result, just in case things went wrong.

Everyone's life is predetermined.

He simply couldn't believe that Chen Yu could always overcome all obstacles. His fingertips tapped on the table, the dull sound echoing throughout the office.

"Zhonglei, calm down."

"This matter is not settled yet; let's discuss it further."

Should we take a long-term view?

They no longer had a chance to plan for the long term. Chen Yu came in with great force this time. If "Better Days" won first place, wouldn't Yu Xin Pictures be able to climb over him in the future?

At this time, the premiere of "Better Days" had just ended, and the box office figures for the highly anticipated midnight screenings had already been generated.

There are a total of 80 cinemas in the capital, with approximately 400 screens and a total seating capacity of at least 12.

The venue was completely packed.

The occupancy rate was nearly 90%.

The fact that a midnight screening of an art film could be so popular is something no one in the industry could have imagined.

"How about it?"

When Wang Zhongjun noticed Wang Zhonglei looking at his phone screen, he instinctively asked a question.

A moment later, Wang Zhonglei's face looked as if he had eaten shit.

483 million.

"Damn it!"

Wang Zhonglei slammed his fist on the desk, his whole body trembling with anger.

The self-esteem they had been trying so hard to maintain had crumbled at this moment.

The midnight screening grossed 483 million.

Even Zhang Yimou's commercial films probably haven't achieved this level of success.

Needless to say, Feng Xiaogang is another story altogether.

Chen Yu is too dangerous. He is subtly infiltrating the entire film industry. If we continue to let them develop like this, Huayi Brothers will only be able to stand aside in the future.

Even Wang Zhongjun couldn't just sit and wait to die. Did Chen Yu, this greenhorn, really think he could bully them?

We have to find a way!

The two kings stared at each other, both extremely anxious.

"Fan behavior!"

"The midnight show tickets were all bought by fans!"

"We'll have to look at the box office figures for the first day, as well as pre-sales and midnight screenings. Even the first day doesn't really tell us anything!"

Even Wang Zhongjun himself didn't believe what he said.

But that was all he could tell himself.

What else can you say?
Was Chen Yu awesome?
He acknowledged this in his heart, but he absolutely could not say it aloud, as that would disrupt morale.

"Yes, we'll have to see tomorrow; there's still a week of box office revenue!"

"I don't believe an art film can gross hundreds of millions at the box office..."

"Chen Yu has too many fans; he can easily raise 2-3 million, but reaching 5 million is probably impossible!"

"It's only slightly better than Zhang Yimou's 'A Thousand Miles,' right?" "About the same!"

The brothers were there trying to find solace, while as the midnight session ended, major domestic media outlets began to chime in!
These people are now counting on Chen Yu to give them traffic and money.

[The midnight screenings of "Better Days" were sold out. Was it a fan phenomenon or a genuine box office miracle?]

[The film "The Youth" may become an alternative genre in art-house cinema!]

[The most commercially viable example of an art-house film?]

[Did "Better Days" become a success?]

The true value of journalism's captivating moments is now evident.

Whether it was unsuccessful or a complete failure, it still generated a lot of buzz.

……

The following day was the first day of National Day.

The film "Better Days" has officially premiered in the country.

Guan Lin got up very early. As a die-hard fan of Chen Yu and a film critic, he naturally wouldn't miss this work opportunity.

Although he had high expectations for the film's box office performance, he differed from many online who were pessimistic about art films; because he couldn't get tickets for the midnight screening, he could only come during the daytime morning.

Guan Lin was genuinely happy for Chen Yu's success.

After all, we've watched him grow step by step from an unknown art student to a Grand Slam Best Actor.

This sense of pride made him admire Chen Yu even more.

After waiting for his girlfriend Xiaomo to get dressed, he drove to the nearest movie theater.

After finally finding a parking space, the two of them went upstairs and couldn't help but gasp at the long line of people waiting to have their tickets checked.

Needless to say, they all came for "Better Days".

"so many people?"

"It feels like the entire capital city has gathered here today."

Xiao Mo couldn't help but sigh. Of course, she knew that her boyfriend was a fan of Chen Yu, and she was also aware of Chen Yu's influence.

But no one expected it to be this outrageous.

"Yes, I didn't even manage to get tickets for the midnight show."

"We can only watch it during the day now. Who would have thought that art films would be so popular?"

Today's weather is really unacceptable; Guan Lin is panting heavily from the heat.

Looking up, the endless queue created a unique scene.

"It's different. The Venice Film Festival is so popular."

"Even I don't follow the film industry much, I know that 'Better Days' won so many awards, and it was a film starring Liu Yifei and Chen Yu."

"The two of them are definitely the face of Chinese-language films right now, and since this is Chen Yu's first time directing a film, it's bound to be very popular."

Xiao Mo spoke quite fluently about the situation, after all, these two were just too popular.

Guan Lin looked at his girlfriend with a doting expression, then nodded in agreement.

"It's definitely very popular."

"However, art films generally don't do very well at the box office, and I estimate that the box office might only pick up in the next few days."

"They're probably all here for the hype and Chen Yu."

The Chinese film industry's acceptance of art films is comparable to that of the international community; to be precise, art films are unlikely to achieve box office breakthroughs.

Even with its recent surge in popularity, it's probably just a pipe dream.

Ultimately, it's nothing more than exploiting Chen Yu's own influence.

Now, it remains to be seen whether Chen Yu will break the curse of art films; there are examples of high-grossing art films in film history, but those are all Hollywood films. In fact, apart from Zhang Yimou, almost all art films in China lose money.

Faced with Guan Lin's rational analysis, Xiao Mo could only vaguely understand it.

However, since her boyfriend is a seasoned film critic, there must be some truth to what he said.

Whether a work is good or not can only be evaluated after watching it.

Following the long queue, Guan Lin and Xiao Mo finally entered Hall 2.

The first row was still full today.

Queues had formed at the entrance of the screening room, not to mention the overall state of the cinema.

The two finally found their seats, and people around them were already coming in one after another.

Before long, Hall 2 was full of people.

Having attended countless movie premieres with Guan Lin, this was the first time Xiao Mo had ever been so shocked.

Was the venue packed this morning?
When has this ever happened in the Chinese film industry?
No, Chen Yu's previous film also faced a similar situation.

Guan Lin had already opened his notebook and voice recorder. As a film critic, he naturally had to be professional enough, and even though he was a fan of Chen Yu, he still wanted to publish the fairest and most impartial review.

"Oh——"

"I heard that my fairy sister cut her long hair for this movie..."

"Yes, bald guy, he's on the poster!"

"..."

Hearing what the person beside him said, Guan Lin subconsciously looked over.

In the early stages of the film's promotion, everyone naturally promoted it enthusiastically, claiming that things like cutting long hair for the role, falling down stairs without any protection, and the beatings in the film were all true.

These are the kinds of gimmicks that are released before every movie starts filming.

but--

Other films might be like this, but Chen Yu's is exceptional.

After all, anyone who dares to sprint down from a 100-meter-high building must be incredibly reckless; the movies they make are definitely not about risking their lives.

Therefore, Guan Lin believed it.

However, having faith in something is one thing, but the final box office results are another.

Just as Guan Lin was pondering this matter, all the lights in the movie theater went out in an instant.

As the distinctive sound of the film began, "Better Days" started playing.

When Liu Yifei with short hair first appeared, it caused an uproar among the audience in the movie theater.

"Beautiful! Absolutely stunning! Who could resist such a hairstyle?"

People around him would occasionally offer their opinions, but Guan Lin believed that contributing to art was something that should be done and there was nothing to comment on.

However, Guan Lin had to admire this filming and editing technique.

Narrating events from two different periods together is always a commendable approach.

"what--"

Suddenly, a scream rang in my ears, and the screen was filled with images of Chen Yu with a bruised and swollen face, blood constantly flowing from the corner of his mouth.

The injuries on his face looked too real.

The bruises were so bad that they didn't look like something that could be created with makeup.

Especially during the beating, his eyes showed stubbornness and forbearance, and his actions showed no sign of yielding.

"This must be a real fight, right?"

"The sound of the slap and the fist hitting flesh was so realistic!"

"Chen Yu is a real man!"

Guan Lin cleared his throat; he could understand what Chen Yu wanted to express.

Adolescence is always a difficult time when facing school violence and seeking mutual redemption.

He is using this film to expose the cruelty of the living environment for contemporary teenagers.

This topic is so novel that it is the first of its kind in the entire Chinese film industry.

Guan Lin wrote quickly in his notebook: Chen Yu was exposing, calling out, and condemning the sickness of this society.

"Oh my God!"

He heard a girl's startled cry and instinctively leaned back, his body trembling involuntarily.

Liu Yifei was being pushed and shoved, and strands of her hair were being cut off.

The sound of clothes being torn echoed throughout the movie theater. This scene made Guan Lin gasp for breath. This movie made him realize what it meant to have a devil by your side.

I heard sobbing beside me.

Xiao Mo couldn't bear to watch anymore. Teenagers have probably all experienced bullying to some extent.

Whether it's physical bullying or verbal bullying.

Xiao Mo felt the same way, and her tears flowed like a broken string of pearls, unstoppable.

Guan Lin hurriedly put the notebook aside and took out some tissues from his bag to wipe away his girlfriend's tears.

"Don't cry, don't cry, it's all an act."

Xiao Mo shook her head in response to her boyfriend's words.

"Movies are based on life, so who can say that the scenes in movies haven't actually happened in real life?" (End of Chapter)