Chapter 95: Shock

The sea breeze in Victoria Harbour still carried a hint of chill, but crowds were already surging in front of major cinemas in Xiangjiang. "Titanic," the epic romantic blockbuster produced by Yongsheng Film, was about to premiere. This "Eastern Giant Ship" created by Xiangjiang filmmakers was embarking on a legendary voyage that would rewrite world film history.

Yongsheng Film held a grand premiere at the Peninsula Hotel. The red carpet was shining with stars, and when Qian Xiaohao appeared arm-in-arm with Cai Shaofen, the flashes lit up the night sky like daylight. No one could have imagined that this blockbuster, with an investment as high as 50 million Hong Kong dollars, would create such a commercial miracle in the next three months.

When the first-day box office results came out, everyone in Yongsheng's finance department held their breath.

"10.88 million!" the CFO's voice trembled, "We have created a new record for the first-day box office in Xiangjiang film history!"

This figure was equivalent to the total box office of a medium-sized film at the time. Even more astonishing was that the box office trend continued to climb:

- Second day: 12.5 million (set a single-day box office record)

- Third day: 11.8 million

- Fourth day: 9.8 million

When the cumulative box office exceeded 100 million Hong Kong dollars on the fourth day, the entire Xiangjiang media boiled over. The headline of "Ming Pao" read: "Yongsheng Giant Ship Breaks 100 Million in Four Days, Xiangjiang Film Enters a New Era."

The film's astonishing performance soon attracted international attention. The first to come to the door was Japan's Toho Co., Ltd., which offered a high price of 3 million US dollars to purchase the Japanese distribution rights.

"This price is the highest record for imported films in Japan." The Toho representative said, wiping his sweat.

Immediately after, South Korea's CJ Entertainment closed the deal at 2 million US dollars, Taiwan's Central Motion Picture Corporation gave an exceptional 15% box office share, film merchants from Southeast Asian countries formed a joint procurement group, and the European and American distribution rights triggered a bidding war between MGM and Warner Bros.

Xiang Qiang looked at the table full of contracts and smiled from ear to ear: "Ah Fei, we have really held our heads high this time."

The film continued to be a hit for 30 days, finally sliding down with an astonishing result of 2.075 billion Hong Kong dollars. This figure meant: it was equivalent to 0.5% of Xiangjiang's GDP in 1986, with 12 million admissions (Xiangjiang's population was only 5.5 million at the time), meaning each Xiangjiang person watched it an average of 2.2 times, breaking the global box office record held by "Star Wars."

"This is not a film, but a social phenomenon." "Time" magazine's Asian edition commented.

The film's success was inseparable from technological breakthroughs: the 1:0.8 scale cruise ship model was built by 200 craftsmen over half a year, pioneering the "miniature sea wave" filming technology five years ahead of Hollywood, and the underwater photography team independently developed a pressure-resistant photography cabin, with the shipwreck scene using the most advanced hydraulic devices at the time.

"We proved that Eastern filmmakers can also master top-tier special effects." Technical Director Li Guoqiang said proudly.

The film's global success brought far-reaching influence: it pioneered a new model for Chinese films to "go out," established Xiangjiang's position as the Eastern Hollywood, and pushed the industrialization process of Chinese film forward by ten years. The 1986 Oscar committee specially wrote to Yongsheng, praising the film for "redefining the standard for epic romance films."

Behind the glory, there were undercurrents: Shaw Brothers had united 13 cinemas in an attempt to boycott screenings, the British Maritime Association questioned the historical accuracy, and conservatives criticized it for being "over-Westernized."

Xiang Fei only responded with one sentence: "Let the work speak for itself."

Standing on the top floor of the Yongsheng building, Xiang Fei said to Xiang Qiang: "This giant ship has just set sail." Outside the window, an ocean-going freighter was blowing its whistle toward the Pacific, like Yongsheng's ambition to move toward the international film scene.

This 2.075 billion was not just a number, but a declaration: Eastern filmmakers can also create screen legends that shock the world. Just as "The New York Times" said: "The birth of 'Titanic' marks the reshaping of the global film landscape." ===== CHAPTER 96 =====