Chapter 440: Breaking Records Repeatedly, Nominated Again, Not Really Liking It

Perhaps it was the boost from the theater chains' high screening counts, perhaps it was the golden reputation Wei Jin had built over his many years in the industry, or perhaps it was the support brought by the creative team's frantic roadshows.

Even entering the work week, the box office performance of *Dixing Yinxing* remained ferocious.

On its fourth day of release, it reported 85.8 million; with this, the box office for *Dixing Yinxing* reached 421 million directly, once again breaking the record of 420 million in 4 days set by *Transformers 3*.

The industry had a premonition that this record would very likely not be broken for a very long time.

One must know that although domestic theater construction had expanded quite a bit, the daily box office ceiling was estimated to be around 100 million.

Previously, *Dixing Yinxing* raking in 125 million in a single day had almost sucked the entire market dry.

To break this record, one would inevitably need to occupy about 90% of the market share for four consecutive days during a popular slot to achieve it.

This was truly too difficult.

At this moment, both inside and outside the circle, all eyes were focused on Wei Jin.

Countless discussions and reviews regarding the film sprang up like bamboo shoots after a rain.

The headlines of various entertainment portals, as well as domestic film and television review variety shows, all mentioned Wei Jin's name.

Even Zhang Yimou, when accepting media interviews, had a look of amazement on his face.

"Director Wei's film has brought great surprises to the audience and has also brought a lot of food for thought to us filmmakers. From a purely commercial perspective, it should be the most excellent film of the year.

An average daily box office of over 100 million is truly shocking, but this also shows from the side that the domestic film market environment is getting better and better, and the spring of the film industry has arrived."

Hardcore sci-fi fan and *Dixing Yinxing* Executive Director Guo Fan was also interviewed on the set of *About Time*.

"When the final cut of Director Wei's film came out, I had a premonition that it would create unparalleled and astonishing results. Now it has indeed come true. There are many relevant interpretations of the film online, so I won't go into too much detail. There is only one point: sci-fi films are truly very helpful for the industry's infrastructure.

When filming, our technical team could only use some foreign equipment and special effects software, but now it has grown too much. I think this is the reason why Director Wei insists on filming sci-fi blockbusters."

And as the center of the storm, Wei Jin was naturally also the target of frantic interviews by various media outlets.

While attending *Very Quiet Distance* in Shenzhen, Wei Jin was asked about his thoughts on breaking the record.

"To be honest, at first I didn't expect the box office performance to be this good."

Wei Jin looked at the host Li Jing, who was full-figured but intellectual, and said sincerely.

"Oh? Then what was your initial expectation, Director Wei?"

Wei Jin shrugged and spread his hands: "In fact, I thought that if it could be a little better than *Pacific Rim*, it would be a success. I can only say the audience is too supportive, haha."

"Then Director Wei, do you have any plans for sci-fi films next?"

"Of course I do, but perhaps I'll have to wait a few more years."

Finishing the promotion in Shenzhen, Wei Jin and his party continued to rush to the next stop without stopping.

And *Dixing Yinxing* was also sweeping the entire film market with the momentum of a whale swallowing its prey.

Breaking 500 million in 5 days, breaking 600 million in 7 days.

As of now, with the film having been released for one full box office week, the cumulative box office in Mainland China has reached as high as 652 million.

It left industry peers terrified.

Inside the office, Yang Lao Ban was expressionless, looking at the data fed back from the theater chains handed over by Huo Wenxi.

"Boss, *The Last Supper* stopped at 62.84 million, and the daily box office is only a few tens of thousands now. I suggest we pull it from theaters directly."

Huo Wenxi's heart was bleeding, but as someone close to the boss, she knew very well how much her boss cared about his reputation.

Rather than having a box office of twenty or thirty thousand every day, being actively reported by the media, losing face in the industry, and being mocked by those idiots in the Hong Kong Circle, it would be better to voluntarily pull it and maintain some dignity.

"Then pull it. I will communicate with Qin Hong about it." Yang Lao Ban nodded and agreed.

He remembered the high-spirited 500 million investment at the beginning. It was a pity that not a single film had made money, and this *The Last Supper* had directly lost nearly 100 million. It was just so damn frustrating.

The key was that Emperor Motion Pictures was a listed company, and *The Last Supper* accounted for more than 70%. In these two weeks, the losses in the stock market even exceeded the total investment of the film.

Thinking of this, Yang Lao Ban looked up at Huo Wenxi.

"Mani, go communicate with Shi Nansheng again. For *The Raid 2* and *Cold War 2*, even if there is a premium, we need a larger share. Also, communicate with Jiang Wen again; the share for *Gone with the Bullets* is too small."

Looking at the investments over these years, only Wei Jin and Jiang Wen had made money for Emperor Motion Pictures, so Yang Lao Ban had to start from these two aspects.

"Understood, Chairman Yang."

*The Last Supper* being voluntarily pulled from theaters caused quite a stir in the circle.

After all, the film had been released for less than half a month, and the previous declining model was still fresh in memory; no one expected them to admit defeat so soon.

However, while the production company preserved its face, Lu Chuan felt he had lost his, and directly shouted to the media:

"A despicable act of suppression and smearing will not make me yield. In the future, I will bring even more excellent works and make a strong comeback!"

No one in the circle paid any attention to Lu Chuan's words, and even the netizens were too lazy to argue with him. After all, being serious with such a shameless person would only lower one's own status.

It was just that many people were sighing, why did Qin Lan fall for him?

Compared to *The Last Supper* being out early, *Back to 1942* was still persisting due to its word-of-mouth advantage, but the situation was not very optimistic either.

The film had been released for two weeks, and the box office had only struggled to climb to 220 million, but the daily box office had already fallen below 5 million, and the subsequent potential could be seen at a glance.

The industry judged that the final box office result of *Back to 1942* would basically not touch the threshold of the 300 million tier-based revenue sharing.

At this time, looking back at Huayi's act of betraying the distribution alliance to exchange for a tier-based revenue sharing contract, it felt very ridiculous and laughable.

However, Huayi Brothers was very decisive and had already tilted all its promotional resources toward *Chinese Zodiac* and *Personal Tailor*.

It had to be said that in terms of comedy, Feng Dapao's appeal was indeed very strong.

The script for *Personal Tailor* hadn't even been perfected, and the news had only been out for a few days, but Huayi's stock price had already stabilized.

However, regarding the film *Back to 1942* alone, the loss had become a foregone conclusion.

As of now, the New Year Slot was not even half over, two blockbusters had already fallen, and countless small-budget domestic films had long since turned to dust.

The only one with eye-catching data was Li An's *Life of Pi*.

Although due to Han Sanping's interference, the film was released a few days early and did not catch the heat of the New Year Slot.

But it was precisely this slight adjustment that allowed *Life of Pi* to reap quite a few dividends.

Currently, it had been released for more than three weeks, and the box office had already reached 570 million.

Although the single-day box office is already only two or three million, and the possibility of breaking 600 million is slim, a result exceeding 90 million USD is enough to prove the level of the great director Li An. Just as *Gravity* was sweeping everything before it and the domestic New Year Slot was running red with blood, several pieces of news from across the ocean once again caused a sensation in the industry.

"On the morning of the 13th, North American local time, Aida Takla-O'Reilly, President of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, together with actors Jie Xi Ka A Ba Er, Mei Gen Fu Ke Si, and Ai De He Er Mu Si, jointly read out the nomination list for the 70th North American Golden Globe Awards for film and television."

"*Life of Pi* received a total of three nominations for Best Original Score, Best Director, and Best Motion Picture - Drama. Meanwhile, the Chinese sci-fi blockbuster *Gravity*, which has been performing wildly in the global market recently, received two nominations for Best Original Score and Best Director. The Mainland China film *Back to 1942*, which participated in the competition for the Golden Globe Awards for Best Foreign Language Film, unfortunately lost, and its hopes of competing for an Oscar are slim."

Once the news came out, it was like a hurricane passing through, instantly sweeping across the entire entertainment circle.

Domestic media and major portal websites reported on various hot topics, causing an uproar once again.

Because Li An was abroad lobbying for the Oscars and could not be interviewed by the media, they turned their attention to Wei Jin and Feng Dapao in the country.

Feng Dapao had finally managed to get a spot to aim for the Oscars, but he couldn't even get into the outpost, the Golden Globe Awards, so he was in a very bad mood. However, facing the reporters, the great director still had to maintain his aura.

"Every time I aim for an award, it's a gamble. It's not that *Back to 1942* is bad; it's just that my luck wasn't very good."

Many people in the circle admitted that Feng Dapao had a point; the reputation of *Back to 1942* was indeed not bad, and one could only say it was not a defeat caused by strategy.

While on a roadshow in Hunan Province, Wei Jin was also asked about this by the media.

"Hmm, I'm very happy to receive the nominations. I hope to add two more trophies. Of course, if not, that's fine too, haha."

The corner of the questioning reporter's mouth couldn't help but twitch. Should this be called confidence? Or calmness?

But thinking about it, Wei Jin had already won the Golden Globe Award for Best Director 6 years ago, so perhaps he really didn't care.

"Then Director Wei, may I ask what your thoughts are on *Gravity* breaking multiple records for Chinese films one after another?"

"I am grateful for the audience's love."

Unlike the Golden Globe Awards, Wei Jin was quite obsessed with the box office this time, so he appeared very humble: "Without the support of the audience, the film's box office could not have performed so well. Thank you all again."

"Then Director Wei, may I ask if you have any plans for your next film?"

"Hmm?"

Wei Jin looked carefully at the reporter who asked the question. Damn, could it be that Han had possessed him? *Big Shot* hasn't even been released yet, and he's already starting to urge for more?

Facing Wei Jin's surprised gaze, the reporter felt a little embarrassed.

"Director Wei, I am your fan, so I am more concerned."

Alright, if it's a fan, Wei Jin can indulge them a little, so he replied kindly: "Currently, the main thing is to do a good job with the publicity. I will go to North America early next year to shoot my film for award contention."

Wei Jin placed the last stop of this publicity tour on Mango TV's *Happy Camp*.

By the time it airs, it will be the release time for several other films, which can also generate another wave of heat.

In the familiar backstage, Wei Jin met his old friend He Laoshi and other members of the Happy Family.

"Wei Jin, you haven't been here for many years."

Because of the collaboration on *Keep Running*, the relationship between He Laoshi and Wei Jin was already very familiar, so he gave him a hug as soon as he came up.

"Haha, no choice, general publicity doesn't need me."

This wave of humble-bragging left He Laoshi speechless, and he then looked at Ceng Li and Cheng Long.

"Big Brother, Li-zi, long time no see, you've worked hard along the way."

"It has been a long time. We'll have to trouble He Laoshi this time."

Ceng Li had been here before for *Painted Skin* and *My Love from the Star*, so she was no stranger to He Laoshi and smiled back.

"Eh, no trouble at all. You coming here is a 'king bomb' combination; the ratings for this episode are definitely secure."

"Haha, if that's the case, I'll have to ask your station leaders to add some more appearance fees."

Cheng Long interjected with a smile from the side. Although he rarely appeared on variety shows, he had been here when promoting *The Myth* in 2004 and *Little Big Soldier* in 2010, so he was also very familiar with the Happy Family.

"Sure, I'll write a report on it in a moment. It will definitely satisfy Big Brother, haha."

After some pleasantries, the recording of the program began.

It must be said that after so many years, *Happy Camp* had made some progress, but only a little bit.

After all, the routine of indoor variety shows is set there, relying entirely on a few MCs to crack jokes to support it.

However, in terms of fan circle culture, the Happy Family does a really good job, especially in the Hunan Province area, where there are many die-hard fans.

Coupled with the linkage with Mango TV's own variety shows like *Super Girl* and *Super Boy*, it could barely maintain good ratings and remained firmly in the top 20 variety show list.

It's just that as the variety show paths of various TV stations opened up, *Happy Camp* was inevitably affected and no longer held its dominant position of the past.

After the recording of the program ended, Cheng Long returned to Beijing first because the premiere of *Chinese Zodiac* was imminent.

Wei Jin and Ceng Li stayed behind and attended a banquet hosted by the senior management of Mango TV.

After all, for such a long time, whether in terms of TV dramas or variety shows, the cooperation between the two sides had been very pleasant.

The place for dinner tonight was a private kitchen restaurant. In addition to Station Chief Ouyang and the two deputy station chiefs, there were also the heads of Tianyu and some of their artists.

Of course, He Laoshi, the "Big Brother" of Mango TV, and the new pillar Wang Han were also there.

The atmosphere during the meal was very enthusiastic, and the heads of Tianyu frequently came over to toast with their artists, but Wei Jin's interest was not very high.

"Xiao Jin, you seem to have a not-so-good impression of Tianyu?"

Returning to the hotel, the great beauty, who had drunk a little light wine, had a slightly flushed face and asked with some curiosity.

"Hmm? Is it that obvious?"

Wei Jin held the beauty's slender but excellent-feeling waist, feeling a bit surprised.

He considered his temper not to be very good, but he basically did a very good job in official occasions. Even if he didn't like it, he kept it in his heart. He didn't expect that Ceng Li would see it.

"It's not exactly obvious, but I can feel it."

"Is this what they call an old married couple, with hearts beating as one?"

Wei Jin wore a smile on his face, hugged the beauty and sat her on the sofa, and after taking a deep sniff of her proud cleavage, he continued to answer: "I really don't like them very much."

"Why?"

(End of this chapter)