Reborn in the Chinese Entertainment Industry: My Childhood Sweetheart is Boss Yang

12 month 15 day.

Crazy Stone's box office performance was unstoppable, breaking through the 4300 million mark.

However, on that very day, Chen Kaige's "The Promise" was finally released online.

Theater managers reacted as if they had seen their own father, and without saying a word, they drastically reduced the screenings of "Crazy Stone" to the bare minimum.

There were no night shoots that evening.

In the dead of winter, there's not much to see in Hengdian; it's just cold and windy.

The two went straight to the movie theater.

Gu Heng bought popcorn and cola and sat in the back corner.

Yang Mi pulled up the armrest and sat in Gu Heng's lap.

Ever since that night when she crawled into his bed, this little fox seemed to have unlocked her full potential, becoming increasingly accustomed to being treated like family. She would hold his arm when walking, lean on him when sitting, practically hanging on Gu Heng like a personal accessory.

Gu Heng's attitude towards this was that since resistance was futile, he might as well lie down and enjoy the situation.

Yang Mi excitedly grabbed a handful of popcorn and stuffed it into her mouth, saying indistinctly, "Old Gu, this is a blockbuster, it must be really good. I want to learn how that actress played Qingcheng."

Gu Heng's lips twitched, but he didn't say anything.

Learn to be a beauty that could topple cities?

How do you learn to be suspended in the sky like a kite?

The lights dimmed, and the dragon emblem flashed by.

The movie begins.

The visuals are truly stunning; every frame could be used as wallpaper. The colors and composition are clearly the result of a significant investment of real money.

but……

As the plot progresses, Yang Mi's chewing of popcorn becomes slower and slower.

Finally, Yang Mi couldn't hold back any longer.

She leaned close to Gu Heng's ear, her voice filled with self-doubt: "Is it because my artistic understanding is lacking? I... I don't quite understand it. Is this what a 300 million dollar production is like?"

Gu Heng sighed and took a sip of cola to calm his nerves.

"Be more confident, and remove the 'something' from your list."

"So what exactly are they doing?"

"It's probably... showing the audience that money really can buy anything." Gu Heng also looked helpless.

He didn't understand it in his past life, and even now, more than a decade later, watching it again with the memories of the future, he still feels that the plot is like something written after drinking two kilograms of fake alcohol.

Especially the classic line, "You ruined my chance to be a good person," almost made Gu Heng spit out his cola.

The screening ended and the lights came on.

The entire theater was deathly silent.

There was no applause, no discussion; all the audience members wore the same bewildered expression, as if they had just undergone a spiritual baptism.

Everyone looked at each other, none daring to be the first to swear, for fear of appearing uncultured.

After all, that's Director Chen!

……

The first day's battle report was released quickly.

"The Promise" raked in 2115 million yuan, breaking the opening day box office record held by "Titanic" for many years.

Chen Kaige was in high spirits, exuding confidence as he faced the reporters' cameras.

When asked about viewers saying they didn't understand the film, Director Chen, with his characteristic artistic arrogance, replied, "Don't understand? That's their problem. What does the over 20 million yuan box office on the opening day prove? It proves that the audience not only understood it, but also really liked it!"

However, the truth came back to haunt them very quickly.

In the internet age, reputation is something that can't be hidden.

The box office remained strong at 20 million the following day.

But on the third day, the warship ran aground and sank, and the box office revenue was halved!

On various forums, there was a barrage of criticism.

"After watching 'The Promise,' I felt my intelligence was insulted."

"I spent fifty dollars to see nothing?"

"Visuals: 5 stars, plot: 0 stars, get out of here! You might as well watch 'Crazy Stone'!"

Even more deadly was the sudden appearance of Hu Ge's parody video, "A Bloodbath Caused by a Steamed Bun."

This video is a stroke of genius; it strips away the superficiality and emptiness of the film "The Promise," leaving nothing behind.

The whole internet is going wild!

Some people were originally planning to go to the cinema for the novelty, but after watching this video, they were laughing their heads off. Who would waste money to go to the cinema to suffer?

A strange sight appeared in the movie theater.

The screenings of "The Promise" were almost empty. Occasionally a few couples would sit there, but they were doing what couples do in the back row, and no one was actually looking at the screen.

In contrast, "Crazy Stone" had only 10% of screenings remaining, yet every show was sold out, with audiences who couldn't get tickets banging on the table and cursing at the ticket counter.

"What kind of lousy movie theater is this! 'Crazy Stone' is such a good film, why not show it? Are you showing that lousy, low-quality movie to ghosts?"

The ticket seller was so aggrieved she was almost in tears, so she quickly called her manager.

Theater managers are also extremely anxious.

He signed a pledge to promote "The Promise".

But in this situation, who would turn down money?

With ticket refund rates soaring and attendance rates abysmal, if they keep pushing through like this, will they even be able to get through the year?

As a result, the major cinema chains tacitly broke their previous verbal agreement.

Chop! Chop hard!

Remove all those ghost shows that nobody watches!

Ma Jie called Gu Heng's phone immediately.

"Mr. Gu, those bastards have given in!"

Ma Jie said triumphantly, "The managers of major cinema chains have been calling non-stop, begging us to give them the key and increase the number of screenings!"

Gu Heng was lying on a recliner in the hotel, holding a script in his hand.

"Oh? You're in such a hurry?"

"That's right! They said they're willing to restore the screening rate to 20%."

"20%?" Gu Heng scoffed, tossing the script aside. "Are you trying to fob me off like a beggar?"

Ma Jie was taken aback: "Then what do you mean, Mr. Gu?"

"Tell them that if they want the key to add more screenings, they can. I want to add two percentage points to their box office revenue share on top of the existing revenue sharing."

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone, followed by Ma Jie's gasp.

"Mr. Gu, isn't this... a bit too harsh? Demanding a share of the total box office revenue is like stealing meat from the theaters! Do you think they'll agree to that?"

This is not a joke.

Generally speaking, the revenue sharing ratio between film producers and theaters is fixed. Gu Heng's move has cut into the lifeblood of the theater industry.

"ruthless?"

"They didn't show any mercy when they cut my screenings."

really.

When the news reached the theaters, they were in an uproar.

You think you're so great?

We're already being generous by giving you more screenings, and you still dare to raise your price?

Do you really think we'll starve without you, you broken rock?

Since you're such a hard rock, then let it sit there!

Anyway, Zhang Yimou's new film will be released in a few days. Although it's an art film, it's still Zhang Yimou! And there's also "A Chinese Odyssey Part Two: Cinderella," which is also a big IP.

Therefore, the theaters reluctantly agreed to Gu Heng's conditions, preferring to allocate more screenings to "Harry Potter," which had been in theaters for over a month.

For a moment, the situation reached a stalemate.

Nobody watched "The Promise," "Stone" had no screenings, and everyone was sick of "Harry Potter."

A strange vacuum period has emerged during the entire Lunar New Year film season.

You mean "Perhaps Love"?

What is that?

After filming a scene, Yang Mi ran to Gu Heng's side and, seeing his calm and collected demeanor, couldn't help but poke his arm with her finger.

"Old Gu, have you gone too far? I see a lot of people online criticizing the cinemas, but also a lot of people saying they won't go to the movies if they can't get tickets. We're losing money every day!"

The little miser was heartbroken.

That's all pure silver!

Gu Heng grabbed her fingers, squeezed them, and laughed, "What's the rush? This is nothing."

"But those two new movies are about to be released..."

"Fine, let's go for it."

"Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles is an art film, destined not to be a box office hit."

"What about 'A Chinese Odyssey Part Two: Cinderella'?"

"hehe."

There isn't a single film that can compete with this Lunar New Year movie season!