Chinese entertainment: What's wrong with actresses wanting to improve?

The ticketing system for more than 500 cinemas across the country has been operating at full capacity since 8:00 a.m.

Xu Liang was in his office directing operations, with real-time ticket sales data for cinemas across the country scrolling across his computer screen.

A cup of coffee, long since cold, lay before him, and his phone vibrated every few minutes with real-time box office reports from his regional managers.

At 3 PM, the first round of box office data was released.

On its opening day, "Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons" crushed all other films released at the same time with an absolute lead in box office revenue.

Stephen Chow's star power, coupled with the performances of Wen Zhang, Huang Bo, and Shu Chang, made this film look like a champion from its very first day of release.

"Detective Chinatown" followed closely behind.

Ning Hao's comedic narrative rhythm is as precise as ever, and the pairing of Wang Baoqiang and Zhu Yilong has been praised by the audience as "the fried chicken and beer of the comedy world - they are already great on their own, but they are a perfect match when put together".

Discussions on Weibo about the uncle-nephew duo Tang Ren and Qin Feng exceeded 50 million on the day of the premiere, and Qin Feng, played by Zhu Yilong, successfully became a trending topic with the line "I want to commit a perfect crime".

The performance of "Brotherhood of Blades 2" was equally solid.

Deng Chao's portrayal of the Imperial Guard Shen Lian in the film, with his restrained yet resolute demeanor, has been praised by many film critics as "the biggest surprise performance of the year."

Xin Zhilei's stunning slash made her an instant sensation, and her online popularity even surpassed that of the female lead, Li Chun.

This is another supporting character to appear on the table, following Ding Xiu's "Add Money Layman" in the first film.

Netizens jokingly said that when actors participate in director Lu Yang's movies in the future, they should not fight for the lead role, but for the supporting role.

"Boonie Bears: The Big Adventure" undoubtedly won the box office championship in the family-oriented category.

Its status as the only animated film in the Spring Festival film season gave it virtually no competition among family audiences, with both afternoon and evening screenings achieving an occupancy rate of over 90%.

At 6 p.m., Xinghe Cinemas' official Weibo account released its box office report for the first day of the Lunar New Year.

The report uses a design of four movie posters side by side, with each poster displaying its own box office results below, accompanied by a single sentence: "Four tracks, four masterpieces, thank you to everyone who went to the cinema."

The comment section of this Weibo post received over 5,000 messages within ten minutes.

"This year's Spring Festival film season is a visual feast!"

"I watched all four movies, and each one was worth the price of admission."

Stephen Chow's imagination, Ning Hao's sense of rhythm, Lu Yang's cinematic aesthetics, and the heartwarming family moments of "Boonie Bears"—all four aspects were executed flawlessly.

"I just came out of the movie theater, and I bought tickets for tomorrow."

"Chenxi, you win! You can have all my New Year's money."

"As expected of Dawn, one company simultaneously controlled four Spring Festival films, all of which became huge hits."

Only Dawn possesses such strength.

"Today I'm taking my parents to see 'Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons,' and my girlfriend to see 'Detective Chinatown.' Tomorrow I'm taking my nephew to see 'Boonie Bears,' and the day after tomorrow I'm going to see 'Brotherhood of Blades 2.'"

"Chenxi, you've planned my entire Spring Festival holiday itinerary!"

"Upstairs, you have one more than me. I've already finished watching 'Detective Chinatown' and 'Brotherhood of Blades 2' today. Tomorrow I'm going to watch 'Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons'."

"The bears are a given, but I'd feel embarrassed to go in without kids."

"You can watch Boonie Bears even if you don't have kids!"

I'm 25 years old. I went to see it alone today. All the people sitting around me were parents with children. I was the only adult sitting in the middle, laughing like a pig.

Bald Qiang is really hilarious.

February 11th, the second day of the Lunar New Year.

The battle for the Spring Festival film season officially entered a fierce stage after the first day's box office results were released, but this year's situation has made all industry insiders lose the desire to comment, because the outcome is no longer in doubt.

"Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons" earned another 120 million yuan on the second day of the Lunar New Year, bringing its cumulative box office to over 280 million yuan. Its screening share rose from 2.8% on the first day to 32%, and screenings during prime time were almost always sold out.

Discussions about the film on Weibo extended from Stephen Chow's imagination to the performances of Wen Zhang and Shu Chang. Screenshots of the scene "Miss Duan's Solo Dance Under the Moon" stayed on the trending topics for a whole day, with over a million reposts.

"Detective Chinatown" followed closely behind, with a single-day box office of 9800 million yuan on the second day of the Lunar New Year, bringing its cumulative total to 2.3 million yuan.

The uncle-nephew pairing of Zhu Yilong and Wang Baoqiang became the hottest on-screen duo during the Spring Festival. When Ning Hao was asked by reporters about his opinion on the box office performance during the roadshow, he smiled and said, "As long as everyone likes it, that's good."

Fans spotted him eating skewers at a roadside food stall in Chaoyang on the first day of the Lunar New Year, looking completely different from the director in a suit and tie on the promotional poster.

After the photo was posted online, the comments section was full of "Director Ning is rewarding himself after making his box office money".

"Brotherhood of Blades 2" grossed 6700 million yuan on the second day of the Lunar New Year, bringing its total box office to 1.6 million yuan.

Lu Yang's cinematic aesthetics once again prove his strength; each frame is like a meticulous painting from the Ming Dynasty, sharp yet beautiful.

"Boonie Bears: Fantasy Space" grossed 5200 million yuan on the second day of the Lunar New Year, bringing its total box office to 1.2 million yuan.

Positive word-of-mouth from families increased the film's screening share from 15% to 18% on its opening day, with afternoon screenings maintaining an occupancy rate of over 90%.

One parent commented on Weibo, "My child watched it twice and still didn't want to leave. I can already recite all of Bald Qiang's lines."

All four films have consistently received ratings above seven on Douban, a fact that has left industry insiders completely speechless.

It's not uncommon to secure a film's release date, but to secure a release date and still maintain consistently high ratings is something that can't be achieved simply by throwing money at it.