Chapter 511: Movies and Variety Shows Both Blossom

With the premiere of *Lost in Thailand* concluded, Wei Jin's words spread throughout the circle, and many companies in the industry were discussing them.

Many people believed that Xu Zheng's goal of 500 million might be achievable, but what Wei Jin said was truly a bit exaggerated.

"Is the king of the New Year Slot so easy to be? According to his meaning, he doesn't even take *Chinese Zodiac* or *The Grandmaster* seriously?"

"Indeed, the tone is too arrogant. It's not even a film he directed himself; how much did the first one make again?"

"Just watch. It premieres tomorrow; we'll see then if he gets slapped in the face."

Wei Jin was unaware of these denials in the circle, which were clearly tinged with sourness. After leaving the premiere venue, he returned to the Yanjiao Villa.

Opening the door, he saw Ceng Li wrapped in pajamas, leaning on the sofa watching television.

"Xiao Jin, you're back."

Hearing the movement, Ceng Li stood up and came to the foyer, taking Wei Jin's coat.

"Drinking again? I made lotus seed and white fungus soup; it's still hot. Wait for me a moment."

Having said that, she didn't wait for Wei Jin to answer and walked straight toward the kitchen.

Looking at the beauty's back, a smile appeared on Wei Jin's face. After being together for many years, they might lack the burning intensity of a new romance, but the plain and simple daily life of a married couple also made him feel deeply warm.

Just as he finished changing his shoes, Ceng Li came over carrying the steaming white fungus soup.

"Drink it while it's hot; it'll help with the alcohol."

"Li Jie, it was just red wine, and I didn't drink that much..."

Wei Jin couldn't continue his sentence; Li Jie unleashed her "death stare," so he had no choice but to pick up the bowl and start drinking.

"Mmm, still the familiar taste. Li Jie, how fortunate I am to have won your heart."

Wei Jin set down the bowl, pulled the beauty into his arms, and said softly.

These words were not meant to curry favor; Ceng Li was capable both in the parlor and the kitchen, and with her good character, she was a true virtuous wife and mother.

"Smooth talker. Go use those lines to trick young girls."

The great beauty's lips curled slightly upward, and she rolled her eyes in a charming, graceful way before walking back toward the sofa, with Wei Jin following behind.

Just by glancing at the image on the television, he raised an eyebrow. "Huh, it started airing today?"

What was playing on the television was exactly *Where Are We Going, Dad? *.

As soon as he finished speaking, Wei Jin remembered that Zhang Yipei had reported that this variety show was about to air, but he hadn't expected it to clash with the premiere of *Lost in Thailand*.

"Li Jie, is it good?"

"It's alright. The children are all quite cute, and the format is also quite novel."

Speaking of this, Ceng Li pointed at the screen and added: "But Xiao Jin, how did you convince him to participate?"

At this moment, what appeared on the screen was Chen Kun and his son, who had been the subject of outside speculation for many years.

"Two words: throw money."

At the beginning of the show's production, Wei Jin had set his sights on Chen Kun; after all, this gimmick was truly too strong.

Money is certainly not omnipotent, but in this world, the vast majority of problems can be solved with money, especially in the entertainment industry, where it is even easier.

If one were to talk about throwing money at Liu Tianwang, it might be somewhat difficult; after all, he has been in the business for decades and is simply Not Short of Money.

Moreover, he is a top-tier bigwig in the circle with a foundation so stable it's frightening; the various benefits brought by participating in a variety show are meaningless to him.

But Chen Kun is different. With the successive rise of male artists under Starry Sky Culture like Qiao Zhenyu, his position was becoming increasingly awkward.

Although he is still a first-line actor, he has indeed fallen far behind his original competitors.

Of course, when it comes to money, Chen Kun might not necessarily be short of it, but he is far from the point of treating wealth like dirt, not to mention the exposure and popularity that come with *Where Are We Going, Dad? *.

Haven't you seen how popular Deng Chao has become through *Keep Running*? Various endorsements, press releases, acting offers, and all kinds of income—he's practically overwhelmed with them.

If managed properly, these incomes and benefits can be even greater than the appearance fees for the variety show itself.

Just think about it: participating in a variety show not only provides a high appearance fee but also offers the hope of taking a stagnant career to the next level; most people find it very hard to refuse.

"Is his son a bit too old?"

Ceng Li didn't press Wei Jin on exactly how much money he had thrown at him; instead, she looked at the child on the program, who was clearly a head taller than the others, with some surprise.

"Yeah, he is indeed the oldest among the six children; he's already 10."

Normally, for this type of parent-child program, a 10-year-old child is a bit too old.

Jimmy Lin's son Kimi is the youngest at only 3; Xie Feng's son Lucas is 5; Hu Jun's son Kang Kang is 4; Guo Tao's son Little Stone is 5; Huang Lei's daughter Duo Duo is only 6.

It is mainly because children of this age are cuter and more likable. At 10, they are actually already at the age where "even dogs dislike them," and if things go poorly after the show airs, the child might even face cyberbullying.

Although Wei Jin wanted to create a gimmick to increase ratings, he wasn't so insane as to do that.

Before inviting Chen Kun, the variety department had specifically conducted research and communication. His son had some minor issues, but he wasn't rebellious; in fact, because of the single-parent family, his speech and conduct were very well-behaved, and his personality was also quite good.

Currently, it seems this child's performance on the show is very good; he fully took on the role of a big brother and got along very happily with the other cute kids.

The interaction modes between the fathers and children, as well as the interactions between the adults themselves, were also very interesting.

Wei Jin wasn't sure about Jimmy Lin's private personality, but on the show, he was very gentle and could talk to anyone. His way of interacting with his child focused on encouragement and care, gentle and patient.

Beijing Film Academy teacher Huang Lei also got along very harmoniously with his daughter, more in the way of friends interacting as equals. When dealing with other families on the show, he also appeared as a "good old man."

Hu Jun is the old-fashioned, serious type of dad, and his son is also a blockheaded little man. Their interaction is similar to what is seen in traditional Huaxia culture. However, in his interactions with other guests, Hu Jun showed a very straightforward and loyal side.

The interaction between Guo Tao and his son Little Stone was complete "free-range" parenting, but the rules were set in advance, and boundaries were established. His interactions with the other families were also funny because Guo Tao himself has a strong sense of humor.

Xie Feng appeared cold and cool, but in his interactions with his child, he focused on respect and understanding. However, his interactions with other guests were somewhat unpleasant, especially with Chen Kun.

Perhaps because they both rely on their looks to make a living, like poles repel, and the two would butt heads from time to time, contributing many explosive moments to the show.

It was actually the interaction mode between Chen Kun and his son that surprised Wei Jin; in private, the two were actually like brothers, talking about everything, completely different from the other families.

Honestly, this was Wei Jin's first time being a father in both his past and present lives, and he learned quite a bit from the various guests. He had originally intended just to watch the fun, but before he knew it, he began to take it seriously. After one episode, Wei Jin asked for Ceng Li's opinion, and she rattled off a whole lot, which could be summarized in a few words.

Good to watch, interesting.

However, Ceng Li also offered an opinion: "I feel like there are too many guests. When they interact, each family's screen time is a bit short. If the audience encounters a family they like, they might not get enough of them."

"Hmm, that makes a lot of sense. Li Jie, your husband is going to reward you well today."

A woman in her thirties has quite strong needs; although she had been able to "eat meat" almost every day lately, Ceng Li never tired of it. She immediately reached out with her slender, jade-like fingers to hook Wei Jin's chin, teasing him: "Little brother, come here~~"

"Hehe, great beauty, don't cry later."

After speaking, Wei Jin lowered his waist and braced his legs, swept the beauty up into his arms, and strode toward the bedroom. The next day, Wei Jin received the data summarized by the variety show department.

The premiere ratings for *Where Are We Going, Dad? * were excellent, reaching as high as 1.46% with a 7.67% audience share.

Although this was quite a bit worse than the 3% rating achieved by *The Voice*, which aired on the same day with partially overlapping time slots.

But without a doubt, the opening performance of *Where Are We Going, Dad? * could be called a "heavenly hand."

According to Zhang Yipei's report, the entire Jiangsu Province TV station, which had secured the partnership this time, was overjoyed; when she spoke to them on the phone, their attitude was extremely respectful.

Wei Jin could understand this; for years, Jiangsu Province TV had relied solely on *If You Are The One* to conquer the market, and had been firmly suppressed by Modu TV, Mango TV, and Jiangzhe TV.

Based on this opening for *Where Are We Going, Dad? *, it would not be a problem for subsequent ratings to break 3%, and it was even possible for peak ratings to break 4%.

By then, it would be a trump-card variety show, which would be a massive boost for the TV station.

Hadn't one seen how, ever since *The Voice*, Modu TV's ratings ranking had risen all the way, its advertising revenue had nearly multiplied several times over, and it firmly held its position as a first-tier domestic TV station? Under these circumstances, wasn't Shanhe Media the "Party A Father"? Burning incense and making offerings were only right and proper.

Afterward, Wei Jin told Zhang Yipei about Ceng Li's suggestion, and the latter agreed upon hearing it.

"We also discovered this problem during post-production editing, but this season is already more than half recorded; we can only consider cutting one or two groups of guests for the next season, which could also save a lot of costs."

Listening to Zhang Yipei's slightly resentful voice, Wei Jin couldn't help but laugh.

There was no helping it; the production cost of this variety show was as high as 120 million, which had already exceeded the production cost of *Keep Running*, and over 70% of the expenses were on guest appearance fees.

Except for Guo Tao, whose status was a bit lower, the appearance fees for the other families were not lower than ten million; after all, since children were involved, the price was naturally different.

Don't talk about Shanhe Media having influence in the industry; this influence at most made people lower their prices a bit, but to cooperate, one always had to show sincerity.

Otherwise, using power to pressure others would never last long.

"Director Zhang, 'giving' and 'getting'—you have to give to get. If we don't spend money to hire guests, how can we attract advertisers?"

Wei Jin was telling the truth; this time, the contract signed with Jiangsu Province TV was for a fixed price of 50 million plus a 20% advertising share, and for every point the ratings rose above the 1% baseline, the share of revenue would increase by 10%.

Compared to the production costs, this portion was undoubtedly insufficient.

But the built-in advertisements for this program had refreshed the highest historical record.

For the title sponsorship alone, Yili Group had directly thrown in 100 million, betting on the reputation Shanhe Media had built over the years and the super-luxurious guest lineup.

Adding in product placement and spot advertisements, the revenue from built-in advertisements alone approached 150 million.

Plus the 50 million for exclusive online streaming rights from Potato Video, and the estimated advertising share from Jiangsu Province TV, the program *Where Are We Going, Dad? * had a guaranteed profit of at least 200 million; it was absolutely a huge windfall.

Zhang Yipei also understood this logic and soon began discussing the details of program optimization with Wei Jin, all smiles.

After chatting for a while, Wei Jin hung up the phone and began to care about the situation of *Lost in Thailand*.

Judging from the feedback from the theater chains, the attendance rate for *Lost in Thailand* was very good; after all, it was the only comedy in the New Year Slot, and its total screening share was currently second only to *Chinese Zodiac* and *Gravity*, approaching 28%.

Wei Jin estimated that after the first day's box office figures came out, the theater chains would make adjustments.

In addition, the online reviews were also good; the audience and fans who participated in the premiere last night gave almost unanimously positive reviews, and the rating for *Lost in Thailand* on Yinxiang Net was as high as 8.5.

"With this situation, the first day shouldn't be bad."

After muttering to himself, Wei Jin considered that a poor performance might result in a slap in the face, so he took out his phone and posted on Weibo to add fuel to the movie's fire.

"*Lost in Thailand* is a very funny domestic comedy. Everyone should go watch it; if it's not funny, just leave a comment under my Weibo, and I will refund your tickets without exception. Also, wishing everyone a Happy New Year's Day in advance."

Hu Ge: "Wanda Cinema Hall 3 in Shanghai, the 8 PM show is booked, welcome everyone to come watch together."

Nazha: "Supporting *Lost in Thailand*, my stomach hurts from laughing."

Bai Bin: "In Hengdian, movie tickets already booked."

Less than half an hour after the Weibo post went out, a large number of celebrities and artists in the circle followed suit and reposted it.

For a time, driven by numerous artists and fans, the movie information actually surged directly onto the trending topics.

In fact, Wei Jin was not the only one paying attention to the movie's box office.

Xu Guangtou attached great importance to his first movie; on the day of the release, he took the main creators to start roadshows, running to four or five cinemas in a single day.

And the producers of other New Year Slot films were also watching at every moment; after all, the movie market pie was only so big, and if someone ate more, others would have to eat less.

Especially *The Guillotines* and *The Last Tycoon*, which had already had a bad start; if *Lost in Thailand* performed brilliantly, their screening shares would inevitably be further squeezed.

Not long after midnight that day, the box office results of several movies were clearly displayed in a prominent position on the film and television information site.

"*Gravity* remains stable, with a single-day take of 31.6 million, and the total box office has broken the 1.5 billion mark, once again creating a 47.5% revenue-sharing miracle!"

"*Chinese Zodiac* is advancing triumphantly, with a single-day take of 42.8 million; after 8 days of release, the box office has reached 374 million."

"*The Guillotines* single-day take fell below one million, with a cumulative take of 61 million; there is no hope of breaking even."

"*The Last Tycoon* daily revenue continues to slide, with less than 5 million in a single day; it barely crossed the 100 million threshold, and its decline is obvious, lacking momentum."

"Produced by Shanhe Media and directed by newcomer director Xu Zheng, the second installment of the *Lost* series, *Lost in Thailand*, had a first-day box office of 39.86 million, far exceeding the first one."

With this, on the last weekend of 2012, Wei Jin's movies and variety shows were both blooming.

To celebrate, Wei Jin and Ceng Li were reckless and unrestrained all night long.

PS: Regarding children, the author really thinks 3-6 years old is the cutest time; my son is 8 years old now, and he is truly annoying to both people and dogs; I want to beat him every day (End of chapter)