Chapter 36

The director couldn't help but praise.

Stone's expression turned strange as she recalled what Xu Can had just said.

"You... just imagine that I'm currently being intimate with Emma Roberts, Taylor Swift, and the others... and they are..."

Just by visualizing that scene, Stone became insanely jealous, her eyes burning with fire, and she was instantly filled with fighting spirit!

Even Xu Can felt a jolt in his heart when he saw it.

"Alright, Emma. Those were all fake; our scene is already finished."

"What if it were real?" Emma Stone looked at Xu Can, lifting her fair chin.

"It never will be. Trust me."

Xu Can actually felt a bit unsure himself.

If Taylor Swift were really being intimate with him, who could hold back?

……

January 28th, the release date in mainland China!

There were no new films for the 2007 New Year, only Ben Shan's "Getting Home," the delayed "Casino Royale," and "Curse of the Golden Flower," which had been out for a month;

Most theaters had allocated 70% of their screenings to "Curse of the Golden Flower."

Most of the audience had already seen it, and at this stage, many screenings were empty.

But theaters would rather leave them empty than give "Spider-Man" more screenings.

It was unclear if some big shot behind the scenes was at work, putting pressure on China Film Group.

There was another main reason:

In the eyes of the domestic film industry, Hollywood live-action comic book adaptations were bad movies, and everyone was unwilling to give them many screenings for fear they wouldn't sell.

In this era, they trusted big directors like Spielberg and Cameron, or superstars like Schwarzenegger more;

Otherwise, it was the New Year films by Master Zhang or Director Feng.

"Spider-Man" director Marc Webb and actors Xu Can and Stone had no prior fame.

It was normal for it not to be favored domestically; after all, Hollywood hadn't favored "Spider-Man" at the start either.

Under such circumstances, "Spider-Man" officially opened in the mainland!

Xu Xu Yuling was quite anxious. The opening day happened to be a Friday, and they still had remedial classes for their senior year, which didn't end until 5:30 PM.

The moment class ended, Xu Xu Yuling rushed out of the classroom to watch her cousin's movie with her whole family.

Seeing this, the classmates in the class couldn't help but be curious.

"Is Spider-Man really that good? Did her cousin really act in it?"

"Anyway, there's no evening self-study today, let's go see it. At least it's a Hollywood special effects blockbuster."

"Yeah, regardless of whether it's good or not, the visual effects should be pretty good, right?"

With this mindset, the other classmates in the class also ran to the nearby cinema.

When they arrived at the theater, there was no need to queue at the ticket window; the response to Spider-Man was lukewarm.

On the other side, Xu Xu Yuling and her family were already sitting in the theater, holding a bucket of popcorn, ready to watch.

The theater dimmed, and after playing an advertisement, the familiar green background appeared.

The SARFT dragon logo, followed by the Columbia Pictures opening, Sony Pictures...

When Xu Can's handsome face first appeared on the big screen, Xu Xu Yuling became excited!

It's real! It really is my cousin! How is he so much more handsome than when he was a kid?

Her parents and relatives all recognized Xu Can.

"This child has grown more and more handsome."

"Yeah, he's even acting in movies in North America now; he's already a big star."

"Make sure to ask your A-Can for some signed photos later. This kid has really made something of himself."

Xu Can's parents listened to their sisters' praise, feeling wonderful inside.

As the plot developed and the action scenes escalated, everyone was completely immersed in the movie, not even bothering to eat their popcorn.

At this moment, Xu Xu Yuling's classmates were shocked beyond measure.

"Holy crap! It really is a Chinese person! Is it really her cousin?"

"So handsome! So exciting! These visuals are insane!"

"So satisfying!"

The most exciting movie they had seen before was "Pirates of the Caribbean 2," and the shock brought by "Spider-Man" was on a completely different level!

The entire audience was thrilled!

"With great power comes great responsibility."

"Who am I? I am... Spider-Man!"

……

When the students walked out of the theater, they looked at each other, their faces filled with indescribable excitement!

"Did you notice that first-person perspective? It was so cool!"

"Yeah! And those fights with the Green Goblin were so satisfying!"

"The plot is great too! I feel like Xu Can's performance is absolutely amazing!"

"So handsome, no wonder he can play Spider-Man!"

"I declare that from now on, I'm a Marvel fan!"

"Pfft, I started reading the comics two years ago; I've always been a Spider-Man fan."

"Yeah, right!"

The audience coming out of the theater, regardless of age, were all discussing the movie content just like these high school students!

So much so that the passersby who came later were confused.

"Little sister, is this Spider-Man really good?"

A couple stopped Xu Xu Yuling to ask.

"Yeah! The best movie this year! Worth the ticket price!"

Xu Xu Yuling smiled proudly.

Spider-Man is her cousin! How could the movie not be good?

After sweeping the globe, "Spider-Man" was spreading through the Chinese film market at an astonishing speed! ===== CHAPTER 69 =====

China Film Group, Chairman's office.

"Chairman Han, the theaters below can't hold it back anymore; they've all voluntarily increased screenings for 'Spider-Man'."

"What's the box office?"

"15 million on the first day, on par with the preview screenings of 'Curse of the Golden Flower'... However, it broke the single-day record on the second day. I'm afraid the opening weekend record..."

"Hmm, I see."

"Curse of the Golden Flower" had an opening weekend of 96 million yuan, setting a mainland film record.

It seems this "Spider-Man" is coming on strong; it truly is a monster that has broken 1 billion in global box office!

In just over a month, "Spider-Man" had already broken the 1 billion USD mark, surpassing "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers," "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," and "Pirates of the Caribbean 2"!

It was currently ranked 4th in film box office, second only to "Titanic," "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King," and "The Lion King"!

It was only a step away from "The Lion King's" 1.08 billion USD!

With the mainland and Japanese/Korean markets added, it was only a matter of time before "Spider-Man" broke into the top 3!

"Forget it, let the market run its course. It's just one movie; it won't stir up any big waves."

"Alright, let's leave it at that for now."

The momentum of "Spider-Man" was unstoppable; Xu Can could no longer be blocked.

They could only hope that because of Xu Can's Chinese identity, he wouldn't be able to achieve better results in Hollywood.

After all, Hollywood's exclusion of Asians was obvious; they never gave Asians positive roles. ===== CHAPTER 70 =====