Chapter 501: Uncle, does it feel more exciting now?

At the cocktail party, glasses clinked and guests mingled; there were indeed many celebrity guests.

It was just that Wei Jin hadn't expected Jia Jingwen from Taiwan to actually come and show her support.

At this moment, Jia Jingwen was wearing a white off-the-shoulder long dress with her hair tied up in a high ponytail, giving her quite the spirited and heroic look of "Zhao Min."

"Junior brother, wishing you a massive box office success."

Jia Jingwen's large, expressive eyes blinked and blinked, as if they were about to draw Wei Jin into them.

"Thank you, senior sister, but I recall that *Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils* hasn't started filming yet, right? Why have you come to Beijing?"

Jia Jingwen was slightly taken aback upon hearing this, then her lips pouted slightly, "Junior brother, I have promotional work in Beijing. Are you not welcoming me?"

This young-girl demeanor from a mature woman was quite intoxicating. Wei Jin shrugged and said, "How could that be? It's just that I have to be busy with promotions these days, and I'm afraid I won't have the chance to host you, which is a bit of a pity."

Jia Jingwen was very understanding: "Junior brother, it doesn't matter, as long as you keep it in your heart, that's enough."

The woman's "willing" attitude was very obvious. Wei Jin believed that if he were to suggest going to the restroom right now, she would likely agree.

However, he didn't really want to provoke this kind of "grass near the nest" that wasn't very safe; after all, Da Meiyuan was still pregnant.

"Xiao Jin, where did you go earlier? Why didn't I see you?"

After the party ended and they returned home, Ceng Li asked casually while handing Wei Jin the white fungus soup she had prepared in advance.

She wasn't very comfortable in such settings and had spent most of the evening chatting with Liu Yan, but she occasionally paid attention to Wei Jin's movements, hence her curiosity.

Wei Jin's hand, which was taking the soup bowl, paused, then he said calmly, "Oh, I went to the tea room next door to chat with Li Tianwang for a while."

Wei Jin wasn't lying; after a quick encounter in the private restroom with Fan Bingbing, he had chatted for a bit with Li Tianwang, who had come to show his support.

Because of heartbreak, Li Tianwang had been recuperating in Beijing and had come specifically to show his support this time.

However, he looked as elegant and handsome as ever; he must have walked out of the shadows.

"Hmm? You seem to have a very good impression of Li Tianwang?"

"Hmm, a humble gentleman with a gentle personality, he's quite good, and besides..."

Wei Jin set down the soup bowl, wrapped his arms around Li Jie's slender waist, and leaned in almost against the beauty's face, explaining the reason why he held Li Tianwang in high regard.

In fact, Wei Jin quite liked all of the Four Heavenly Kings; after all, they defined an era.

But unlike his fondness for Liu Tianwang or his admiration for the God of Songs, his feelings for Li Tianwang were more about respect.

As early as the 90s, when Li Tianwang was at the height of his popularity, he had consistently insisted on doing charity work.

Not only did he donate the income from his concerts to fundraising, but he also held charity sales with his fans, working tirelessly for several years to raise 3.5 million USD, helping tens of millions of Huaxia children eradicate polio.

Many post-90s generations today, including Wei Jin in his previous life as a child, had taken the little sugar pills donated by Li Tianwang.

This matter was even recorded at the United Nations and officially endorsed, but Li Tianwang was relatively low-key and didn't promote it much.

It was hard not to have a good impression of such a person.

"I see."

Ceng Li didn't doubt him, nodded slowly, and then looked at Wei Jin.

"Then go take a shower quickly. Don't you have arrangements tomorrow?"

Wei Jin tightened his grip on the beauty's slender waist, and the two pressed together.

"Li Jie, shall we shower together?"

They were already like an old married couple; how could Ceng Li not understand Wei Jin's intentions? She rolled her eyes in a charming way.

"No, you'll just be restless for a long time later."

It wasn't that Ceng Li was currently devoid of desire; it was just that she had been "stuffed" while abroad these past few days, and she didn't know how this young man had such good stamina.

"Hey, Li Jie, you've worked hard for so many days, let your husband help you relieve the fatigue."

After speaking, Wei Jin didn't wait for the beauty to answer; he squatted down, scooped her up in his arms, and strode toward the bathroom. Just as Wei Jin and Ceng Li were entangled in the water, media reports about *Dixing Yinxing* had already spread across the internet.

"Commercial blockbuster director Wei Jin returns with a hardcore sci-fi disaster film; the premiere was star-studded!"

"*Dixing Yinxing* premiere: rave reviews, thunderous applause, a peak visual feast not to be missed during the New Year Slot!"

"Cannes Best Actress Ceng Li takes the lead, Kung Fu Hustle superstar Cheng Long plays the supporting role! *Dixing Yinxing*—a journey of life returning from the outside in!"

"Wei Jin: *Dixing Yinxing*—1 billion USD in global box office!"

The luxurious premiere of *Dixing Yinxing* and Wei Jin's bold words became the most dazzling headlines in the media.

Major portal websites, Weibo, and social media apps were all flooded with information about *Dixing Yinxing*, covering everything.

On Yinxiang Net, the thousands of audience members who attended the premiere had already given it a rating of 8.4, which was a quite good result for a sci-fi film that relied on visual effects.

Following this, the audience's enthusiasm for watching the film was greatly mobilized, and pre-sales climbed steadily.

Major cinema chains quickly adjusted their scheduling and screening times; in their view, how much money they could make during the New Year Slot depended on this wave.

Because they hadn't been involved in the box office split dispute earlier, the cinema chains returned the favor, and almost all of them gave *Dixing Yinxing* a screening share of over 50%.

And they promised that before the 20th, they would guarantee this screening share no matter what.

In addition, after Han Sanping's reorganization, his control over the cinema chains under China Film Group was even more formidable, and this time they also gave an average screening share of over 55%.

As for Shanhe Cinema Line and Wanda Cinema Line, it was even more incredible, as they directly arranged for a screening share of over 60%.

The production team, the distributors, the cinema chains, and the media were all prepared, just waiting for the film to be released. However, although the premiere had ended, the film's promotion had not stopped.

The so-called "a nine-story platform rises from a pile of earth, a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step"; those main creators who just wanted to lie at home and wait for the box office to take off were, in Wei Jin's view, purely living in a fantasy story.

Even though he now had plenty of drawing power, promotional roadshows would still bring huge added value.

Therefore, the next day, Wei Jin took Ceng Li and Cheng Long to start a new round of promotional tours. On the 7th, the highly anticipated sci-fi disaster blockbuster *Dixing Yinxing* was finally released.

Just as Wei Jin and his party arrived at the Beijing UME International Cineplex to conduct a roadshow, they received a call from Han Sanping.

"Wei Jin, it's a hit, it's a hit! The midnight box office is 14.27 million, it's incredible."

Han Sanping's voice was very excited; this figure had once again refreshed the midnight box office record, even more fierce than the previous *Thieves*.

Based on this figure alone, the first-day box office even had a chance to break the 100 million mark. What kind of concept was that? "Han Dong, don't be anxious, this is just the beginning, haha."

Wei Jin didn't find it strange upon hearing this; the domestic film market could be said to be developing rapidly, with an increase of 10 large screens almost every day.

According to the latest statistics, the current number of screens has reached as high as 14,000.

Compared to when Thieves was released last year, the current number of screens has increased by at least 30%.

Therefore, what limits movie box office now is no longer infrastructure, but the quality of the films.

When there are good works and a production team with strong appeal, the box office results will absolutely leave people stunned.

What's more, the release of Dixing Yinxing this time has almost reached perfection in terms of promotion, scheduling, and so on.

To build momentum, Wei Jin even specifically launched a limited-time 29.9 yuan movie ticket promotion on Yinxiang Net.

As long as one registers to become a Yinxiang Net app user, they can enjoy special-priced tickets that are much cheaper than usual.

This plan was devised by the Yinxiang Net side, and Wei Jin gave the final approval.

Because with the entry of multiple ticketing websites and the gradual popularization of 4G networks, mobile apps have become the next big opportunity.

Numerous internet companies, gaming companies, and even video websites are all occupying the mobile market.

Although Yinxiang Net holds the top market share on the web, it is undoubtedly very difficult to cultivate online users accustomed to the web version into loyal mobile app customers.

Therefore, by using this method, one can expand new users for Yinxiang Net, accelerate user migration, and help the movie gain a wave of traffic; it can be called killing three birds with one stone.

And for the audience, this is also a significant benefit; after all, current ticket prices in first-tier cities are as high as 60-70 yuan, and 3D movie tickets are even higher.

Although the subsidy expenditure for this part is not small, for Wei Jin, the benefits are even greater.

With such support, it is only natural that the midnight box office of Dixing Yinxing achieved these results.

However, the specific first-day box office still depends on the attendance of the prime-time screenings.

Hanging up the phone, Wei Jin also shared the news with everyone in the film crew; unsurprisingly, everyone's enthusiasm for the roadshow grew even greater.

Starting from the afternoon, the number of moviegoers indeed began to increase, and the most obvious sign was the appearance of large-scale movie reviews online.

Perhaps because it was a workday, those who actually went to the cinema to watch were almost all die-hard fans, so the reviews were almost overwhelmingly positive.

"Wei Jin is awesome! Whether it's the special effects or the creativity, it's simply amazing. I really can't believe this is a movie that can be made domestically!"

"Director Wei's sci-fi film will never disappoint; awesome (voice cracking)!"

"Completely conquered by the technical level; the cinematography, sound editing, and mixing are impeccable."

"."

Of course, there were also a very few critical negative reviews, stating that the disaster in the film was somewhat illogical from a theoretical perspective.

However, there was no need for the production company to control the comments; a large number of netizens helped defend it one after another.

Posts interpreting the movie could be seen everywhere on social software like Impression Net and Zhihu.

Regarding this, Wei Jin was happy to see it; the more fans interpret it, the more heated the controversy becomes, and the heat will continue to pile up, which is more favorable for the subsequent box office trend.

Facts proved that this was indeed the case.

Starting from the evening prime-time screenings, major cinemas, especially those with 3D and IMAX theaters, began to form long queues.

Looking at the photos posted by many fans, the fatigue of Wei Jin and his group from the roadshow instantly vanished, and they were also incredibly expectant for the first-day box office.

Not long after midnight on the 8th, the first-day results of Dixing Yinxing instantly occupied the headlines of major portal websites because it was simply too explosive.

"Dixing Yinxing first-day box office closes at 89.6 million."

"Dixing Yinxing breaks the first-day box office record for domestic films!"

"After a year, the film market welcomes a high-grossing domestic commercial film again; this time it is still Director Wei Jin!"

"Dixing Yinxing sweeps major cinema chains across the country, carrying the banner of the New Year Slot!"

The first-day box office of Dixing Yinxing left the industry collectively speechless.

Although Wei Jin had previously shouted the slogan of reclaiming the top spot very loudly; although they knew the New Year Slot market could accommodate hundreds of millions in box office; although they were already accustomed to Wei Jin breaking records time and time again.

But film and television companies in the circle still felt it was unreal, all staring with wide-eyed astonishment.

You know, the first-day results of Pacific Rim in the country were only 75 million; this is an increase of nearly 20% in total.

Too crazy!

(End of this chapter)