Entertainment: I just want to be the boss behind the scenes

Chapter 551 The Supporting Actress, Boss Li
Meng Bai's Weibo post offering a "100,000 yuan reward" immediately became the biggest news of the Spring Festival season.

Especially after the first viewer successfully reported the crime and received the reward, netizens immediately showed great enthusiasm.

In just one day, the box office figures for "The Wandering Earth 2" skyrocketed. In particular, almost all the viewers who originally planned to go to the cinema but did not have a specific choice bought tickets for "The Wandering Earth 2".

If nothing unexpected happens, consider it watching a decent movie. But if you happen to catch a good one, that could be worth 100,000 yuan!
This situation had an immediate impact on the box office performance of several films. "The Wandering Earth 2" saw its daily box office return to the 4 million yuan range, "The Nameless" also experienced a slight increase, while the animated films "Boonie Bears" and "Deep Sea" remained unchanged…

The only exception was "Man Jiang Hong," which, after bucking the trend and rising the previous day, immediately plummeted. Previously, it was the distributor's review, and cinemas could still find loopholes to exploit. Now, however, it has become a matter of public scrutiny, and no cinema owner would dare to go against the tide at this time.

If someone reports it, being blacklisted by ArcLight is the least of your worries; the real problem is that this is illegal.

Meng Bai's bounty thwarted the rival distributor's tactics, and Wanda Cinemas' adjustment of the screening schedule for "Man Jiang Hong" was a counterattack that followed closely behind.

In addition, many viewers were dissatisfied with the film "Man Jiang Hong" for allegedly exploiting the "Yue Fei" IP and questioned the film's plot and message, causing the film's daily box office to plummet to 300 million yuan.

With its own interests harmed, Huanxi Media, as the production company, naturally wouldn't stand idly by. Although it couldn't say anything openly, its behind-the-scenes tactics never stopped.

Ruyi, of course, would not back down either. They would meet force with force, and whatever tactics the opponent used, they would fight them head-on.

During the subsequent screening period, Huanxi accused Ruyi of "abusing its dominant market position," while Ruyi countered that Huanxi had inflated box office figures and falsified production costs.

The online trolls for "Man Jiang Hong" flooded social media with comments like "I slept for three hours in the theater because I was bored during 'The Wandering Earth 2'," while fans of "The Wandering Earth 2" criticized "Man Jiang Hong" for making the "Qin Hui reciting poetry" scene utterly awful.

The rivalry between the two companies attracted the attention of the vast majority of viewers, and the box office gradually rose with the popularity, eventually breaking through 4 billion.

By the end of its first theatrical run, "The Wandering Earth 2" had grossed 45 billion yuan, significantly surpassing "Man Jiang Hong" which had grossed 40 billion yuan.

Although both films have received permission to extend their key release, based on current data, it is simply impossible to reverse the situation, no matter what underhanded tactics are used.

So even though neither film has finished its run, "The Wandering Earth 2" has already secured the box office crown for the 2023 Spring Festival.

Riding on the popularity of "The Wandering Earth 2" during the Spring Festival, the highly anticipated Arc Light version of "The Three-Body Problem" premiered simultaneously on CCTV, Tencent Video, and Pumpkin Video (formerly Heng Video).

With its excellent production quality, faithful casting, and almost one-to-one replica of the plot, the series has been praised by many "Three-Body Problem" fans as "having the right feel" after only two episodes!
When the young and old versions of Ye Wenjie appeared respectively, and the Red Coast Base storyline was preserved as much as possible, countless viewers exclaimed how awesome it was.

The show garnered a 1.32% viewership rating on its first day, over 9000 views on the website, and over 4.2 million views per episode in its first week. It also received a 9.0 rating on Douban and topped the Yunhe real-time popularity chart.

From any perspective, this is definitely destined to be the biggest hit drama of the year.

But what was unexpected was that before the entire series of "The Three-Body Problem" had finished airing, it was overtaken by another series that was released at the same time.

The newly premiered drama is called "Raging Storm".

If "The Three-Body Problem" is considered a "niche masterpiece," then "Raging Storm" is a true blockbuster that has transcended online and offline audiences.

The phrase "Yue Sheng sells fish" has become a popular meme among countless viewers, and Zhang Songwen, who played Gao Qiqiang, went from a third-tier artist to a top star overnight.

It wasn't just him; almost everyone in the cast, from the leads to the supporting actors, experienced a meteoric rise. Chen Yao, who recently gained immense popularity with "Little Jade Pot," has now transformed her image with the mature and sophisticated "Gao Qilan," not only elevating her status but also broadening her acting range.

Of course, there are also some that don't have much of an effect.

For example, Zhang Yi, who plays the male lead, is already a top-tier star, so the huge success of the TV series will have a smaller impact on him. In addition, his starring role in "Man Jiang Hong" just had a conflict with Arc Light, so he would prefer to keep a low profile and not offend either side.

Another one is Li Yitong. Although her character "Meng Yu" is supposed to be the female lead, she doesn't have many scenes in the drama, and her role isn't particularly crucial. Later on, she even sides with the villain, resulting in a lukewarm reception from the audience. While she did benefit from some of the popularity, it still falls short compared to the female lead of a typical blockbuster drama.

This isn't the first time she's played this kind of role. Her previous role as Lin Wan'er in "Joy of Life" was similar; she only occupied a position but didn't have any real function.

Many fans of her rivals gave her a nickname: "Professional Supporting Actress".

"You seem quite satisfied with this form of address?"

In the spacious apartment in Sanlitun, Meng Bai looked at Li Yitong, who was lying comfortably on him, and teased, "What's wrong with you? I think it's great."

Li Yitong took his arm and placed it on her face: "Am I not your 'supporting female lead'? Hmm?"

Meng Bai grinned, then suddenly lifted her up, making her sit face-to-face in front of him.

"What are you doing?"

“The supporting female lead…” Meng Bai looked into his girlfriend’s bright eyes, “but the one you’re talking about is a noun, while mine is a verb.”

They were an old married couple, so Li Yitong immediately understood what he meant.

……

After a long period of time when description was not permitted.

Li Yitong curled up lazily in Meng Bai's arms like a kitten, her forehead and brows covered in sweat.

After a while, when she felt her energy returning, she finally spoke up: "Isn't the premiere of 'All or Nothing' going to be next month?"

"Yes." Meng Bai glanced down at her. "What, are you going?"

“Ziyi invited me last time, and as her aunt, I couldn’t possibly not support her.”

Meng Bai narrowed his eyes upon hearing this: "She invited you too?"

“Right, wait, you just said you invited me too…”

Li Yitong sat up straight and stared at him, saying, "She wouldn't have gone to see...that guy, would she?"

"..."

Meng Bai didn't speak, but his expression clearly showed that it was true.

Li Yitong was speechless; she hadn't expected Meng Ziyi to send invitations to both sides. But then again, given that girl's intelligence, she was indeed capable of doing something like this.

Looking at the girl's face in his arms, Meng Bai hesitated and said, "How about... you don't go?"

"Why not go?" Li Yitong said sarcastically, "When President Meng makes his appearance, he'll be surrounded by women on either side, how domineering that would be!"

"Hmm, that sounds pretty powerful."

"..."

Li Yitong glanced at him, "You actually dared to agree!"

"Haha, just kidding." Meng Bai chuckled dryly. "Alright, if you want to go, then go... But let's make it clear first, you have to be obedient and not throw a tantrum."

"Oh, Mr. Meng, you're feeling sorry for her? Don't worry, as long as certain people don't mess with me, I won't stoop to her level."

"Hey, what's with all this fuss? We're all friends. We can all sit down and talk it over."

"Tch, it's nothing special."

Li Yitong snorted, then got up and walked towards the bathroom: "I have a dinner appointment with Xiaotian. President Meng, you can sleep alone tonight, hehe."

(End of this chapter)