Chapter 375

In the early morning, a ray of sunlight pierced through the floor-to-ceiling windows and spilled onto the snow-white bed, waking Wei Jin from a deep sleep in accordance with his long-established biological clock.

Feeling the weight on his shoulder, Wei Jin turned his head to look at Jing Tian, who was still fast asleep, and a smile involuntarily appeared at the corners of his mouth.

Wei Jin had to admit that although she was not yet 24, the "wealthy flower" wearing a qipao was absolutely in her prime form; her allure was simply too great, and he was completely unable to resist.

Feeling the warmth radiating from the girl's delicate body, Wei Jin felt a bit restless again.

While holding the young girl's breast with one hand, Wei Jin stroked her flawless, pretty face with the other.

Unsurprisingly, even while fast asleep, Jing Tian still gave Wei Jin feedback, accompanied by low, murmuring whispers.

"Mmm~~ Brother."

Wei Jin curled his lips into a smile and took the opportunity to turn the girl to the other side.

Soon, under Wei Jin's practiced techniques, the young girl was already prepared.

"Oh~~~"

Accompanied by a low growl, Wei Jin began his morning exercise. The first-day box office figures for "The Flowers of War" were out.

Although a portion of the theater screenings was missing due to Zhang Weiping's previous backstabbing, Zhang Yimou's drawing power was still beyond doubt.

The first-day figure of 41.6 million made the industry breathe a sigh of relief; this was the box office that the popular New Year Slot should have.

After entering the weekend, the performance of "The Flowers of War" became increasingly strong.

The second-day box office reported 48.2 million, and the third-day box office reported 49.6 million, continuously setting the record for the highest single-day box office for a Zhang Yimou film.

In three days of release, "The Flowers of War" raked in 139 million at the box office, completely igniting the atmosphere of the New Year Slot.

At the same time, "Love is Not Blind" finished its final weekend box office dividend and chose to end its run, with a final box office report of 518 million.

Because the celebration banquet for "Mojin: The Lost Legend" was coming up soon, and several lead actors had film contracts and schedules, Wei Jin did not hold a celebration banquet.

Regarding this, Xue Xiaolu was the first to stand up and support him; as an academic teacher, she was indeed not good at socializing.

However, although there was no celebration banquet, Wei Jin still gave Xue Xiaolu a big red envelope.

After all, Xue Xiaolu was different from the directors signed to the company; the projects she directed had her own investment share, and she had only taken the basic director's fee, so Wei Jin naturally had to provide some compensation.

After all, the distributable box office of "Love is Not Blind" reached as high as 207 million, and after deducting promotion and production costs, the profit was at least 180 million; Shanhe Media could be said to have made a fortune.

In comparison, "White Vengeance" could be considered to have had a run of bad luck.

Not only did it fail to seize the initiative in the New Year Slot, but it was also rubbed into the ground by "Love is Not Blind," which was in the later stages of its release.

After its word-of-mouth collapsed, it still managed to bring in four or five million in box office daily due to the heat of the New Year Slot, but with the release of "The Flowers of War," the single-day box office was cut in half to less than 2 million.

The theater chains were very realistic; since the film was not a hit, the screenings would inevitably drop significantly.

Currently, "White Vengeance" had been released for less than half a month, and after struggling to break through 150 million in total box office, it had completely become cannon fodder.

The film market is just like this: the strong remain strong, and the winner takes all!

Shanhe Building, Chairman's Office.

Wei Jin was enjoying the service of his Assistant while looking at information online.

He did not expect that he had just visited the Beijing Film Academy two days ago, and today he saw news related to it.

The graduation film of Zhao Yanzi, which had been delayed for three years, was finally no longer being kept under wraps and was made public.

"Beijing Film Academy Class of 2006 Director Department Graduate Student Zhao Yanzi's graduation film, 'So Young', has officially been greenlit, and casting has begun!"

"It is reported that Zhao Yanzi and Wei Jin both belong to the Class of 2006 Director Department, but the former has delayed graduation for three years due to personal reasons."

"Also as a graduate student in the Director Department, Zhao Yanzi chose a youth film for her graduation work; clearly, she also knows that not everyone's graduation work can win a Berlin Golden Bear."

Honestly, seeing the news online, Wei Jin really didn't know what to say; the media frequently compared Zhao Yanzi with him, which was very unfriendly to both him and her.

Wei Jin noticed that the investors of this film, Fiber and China Film Group, occupied the lion's share, and the others included CTS and Dianguang Media.

"Han Sanping and Wang Changtian are really generous; tens of millions just handed over to a new director like that, tsk tsk."

However, Wei Jin had to admit that although this film was melodramatic and the word-of-mouth was average, the box office data was still okay.

Thinking of this, Wei Jin felt that youth films might not be a bad direction for the future.

Withdrawing his thoughts, Wei Jin looked down at his Assistant, Meng Ying, and couldn't help but show a satisfied smile.

Patting the Assistant's cheek, Wei Jin reached out to pull her up and pushed her back onto the office desk.

On the 13th, Shanhe Media held the premiere for "Mojin: The Lost Legend," and the location was the Great Hall.

As a film with an investment of 120 million, and with a director who was in the 300-million club, Wu Ershan, "Mojin: The Lost Legend" clearly had the qualifications.

The premiere scene was star-studded; although the producers were only Shanhe Media and Huayi Brothers, these two were both top-tier big companies in the industry.

Whether they were industry insiders or celebrity artists, quite a lot of people came to show their support.

Even China Film Group leader Han Sanping, Fiber's Wang Changtian, and other well-known industry bosses all came to show their support; as for other production companies in the industry, even more came.

In terms of artists, almost all artists under Huayi and Starry Sky Culture who did not have schedules or film contracts were present.

There were also many familiar artists in the circle, such as Huang Xiaoming, Zhou Xun, Deng Chao and his wife, Hu Jun, Wu Jing, and others, as well as many directors, such as Ning Hao and his wife, Gu Changwei and his wife, and so on and so forth; the scene was comparable to an awards ceremony.

However, with Wei Jin's status today, ordinary small companies or first-tier stars in the industry basically had no qualifications to surround him.

At this moment, Wei Jin was surrounded by Han Sanping, Wang Changtian, Wang Zhonglei, and others.

"President Wei, how much box office do you think 'Mojin: The Lost Legend' can get?"

Huayi had acquired a 20% investment share at a premium, so Wang Zhonglei was naturally very concerned about the box office.

However, seeing this guy, Wei Jin felt a bit angry.

A few days ago, Huayi had made a big joke; they were preparing to poach the National Master one moment, and the next, their own backyard was on fire.

Ge You, the Best Actor who had been with Huayi for more than ten years, had been poached by Emperor Motion Pictures with a huge sum of money.

Emperor Motion Pictures specially held a signing ceremony for Ge You in Hong Kong, with a five-year contract.

And they promised to tailor three major productions for Ge You within five years, with a total investment of no less than 500 million. Once the news came out, the circle was immediately unsettled.

You have to know that over the years, the films that made money for Huayi were almost all collaborations between Feng Dapao and Ge You, without exception.

Even in Huayi's original prospectus, it was clearly written: The Feng Xiaogang team is Huayi's core productive force.

As everyone knows, Ge You is the core of Feng Xiaogang's team.

Ge You's departure is nothing short of an earthquake for Huayi.

Although the big and small Wangs of Huayi immediately jumped out and issued several announcements in a row, the core meaning was just one: Ge You's departure has no impact on the company, and they repeatedly emphasized that Feng Xiaogang's team will remain at Huayi.

Even Feng Dapao stood up and posted several Weibo messages, attempting to stabilize morale.

But the shareholders didn't buy it; Huayi's stock price began to plummet that very day, and after a week, the drop was over 20%, damn it.

Wei Jin could be said to be sitting at home when disaster struck from the sky, his net worth evaporating by over a hundred million out of thin air.

So, facing Wang Zhonglei's inquiry, Wei Jin just gave a lukewarm reply.

"A guaranteed 800 million, I suppose."

To be honest, although the movie *Mojin: The Lost Legend* achieved good results in his past life, that was released in 2015.

Now that it is four years early, Wei Jin estimates it certainly won't reach the original results.

However, relying on the brand of Shanhe Media and the influence of the original novel, Wei Jin is confident that a box office of 1 billion should be secure.

Wei Jin originally thought he had been very conservative, but he didn't expect the people beside him to be completely stunned.

"Wei Jin, do you really think that highly of it? The momentum of *The Flowers of War* cannot be underestimated."

Han said with some surprise, and the people beside him nodded one after another, somewhat doubting that Wei Jin was being arrogant.

After all, the drawing power of Zhang Yimou is unquestionable, and coupled with the fact that the word-of-mouth for *The Flowers of War* is not bad, with a rating as high as 8.2 on Yinxiang Net, it can be said to have great staying power.

More importantly, just today, news came from across the ocean that *The Flowers of War* had been nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the Golden Globe Awards.

One must know that as a bellwether for the Oscar, the importance of a Golden Globe nomination is beyond doubt.

Although Wei Jin has already won several Golden Globe Awards and Oscars, the domestic film circle's obsession with the Oscar remains very deep.

So once the news was announced today, the domestic film and entertainment circles were completely boiling.

The media even specifically compiled statistics, counting through Chinese-language directors, and only Chen Shiren, Li An, and Wei Jin have won the Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

*The Flowers of War* instantly became a topic of heated discussion across the entire internet, and the promotional effect was maxed out.

According to real-time reports from theater chains, many viewers have already walked into cinemas today because of its reputation.

If there are no surprises, the box office data for *The Flowers of War* tomorrow morning will continue to set new highs, and it is believed that as the subsequent buzz continues to ferment, it will maintain its high-spirited momentum.

Under these circumstances, it is hard for people not to doubt Wei Jin's judgment, even if his predictions are always accurate.

"You will all know once you watch the finished film later."

Wei Jin was indifferent; in the end, a film still has to rely on quality to speak for itself. Winning an award doesn't mean the box office will increase by much, not to mention that *The Flowers of War* is currently only a nomination.

To be honest, Wei Jin really doesn't understand the thinking of those in the circle.

On one side, Zhang Yimou, Zhang Weiping, and others wrote a purely English thank-you letter to the Golden Globe organizing committee, and all the participating actors were reposting it, showing an extreme desire for the award, one could even say somewhat humbly.

On the other side is an extreme disregard for the rules of others; they didn't even do the corresponding public relations over there, at least Wei Jin hasn't heard any relevant news.

Just arranging an ordinary promotional cocktail party—what the hell is the use of that? You still want to win an award like that? Isn't that a huge insult to the US dollar?

However, regarding the box office, Wei Jin doesn't intend to argue with them; the market will provide the best answer.

The premiere ceremony soon began, and the cast and crew were already on stage accepting interviews.

As the director, Wu Ershan spoke first.

"I am very grateful to President Wei for giving me this opportunity. To be honest, I was a bit nervous at the beginning; after all, it was an investment of 120 million, haha."

"I put a lot of thought into this film. Just the storyboards alone took me several months to ponder, the filming time was close to 4 months, and the post-production cycle was over 6 months. I can guarantee that *Mojin: The Lost Legend* will definitely not let everyone down."

"As for how much the box office will be, of course, the higher the better. President Wei often says that one must surpass oneself, and every box office must show progress. I believe that in the popular New Year Slot, *Mojin: The Lost Legend* will definitely be more eye-catching than the box office of *Painted Skin 2*."

In his words, Wu Ershan completely treated Wei Jin as his mentor and patron, so his true feelings were revealed.

But it sounded a bit cheesy; at least Wei Jin felt a bit awkward off-stage.

However, Wei Jin has to admit that Wu Ershan does have ability. As for the future, who can say for sure? As long as he can make money for him right now, then everything is fine.

As one of the main cast members, Liu Yifei was meticulously dressed today, appearing as if surrounded by an ethereal aura, naturally attracting the attention of many media outlets.

Facing the microphone held out to her, the young lady behaved very appropriately and chatted generously about many interesting things during the filming process.

The others, Pan Yueming, Li Dazui, and the rest, also added a few words.

Soon the interview ended, and they entered the film screening segment.

This version of *Mojin: The Lost Legend* from Shanhe Media did not change much in terms of the script, but the special effects definitely exceeded the original version by quite a bit, and the runtime was controlled at around 115 minutes.

As the film came to an end, applause erupted at the scene, and many viewers and industry insiders were discussing the film.

"These special effects are worthy of the 6-7 months it took to make them; it truly has the texture of a blockbuster."

"The adaptation of the story is also very reasonable, and the casting is even more superb. Liu Yifei's Shirley Yang is just like she walked out of the book—beautiful and cool. Loved it, loved it."

"..."

After watching the finished film, the scales in Han's heart began to tilt; he really started to believe in Wei Jin's judgment.

However, Han looked a bit unhappy; such a big cake, and China Film Group didn't even get a bite. Wouldn't that be a huge loss by any calculation?

Wang Changtian was feeling a bit regretful at this moment; regardless of whether it could reach 800 million at the box office, this film was definitely going to make a big profit. It's a pity he didn't have the courage back then to pay a premium to secure a share.

By comparison, Wang Zhonglei of Huayi was in a very happy mood. Although it took 50 million to get only a 20% share, he believed that it would definitely bring huge returns at the box office, not to mention the boost to the stock price earlier.

For a moment, Wang Zhonglei felt he had won big. (End of chapter)