Chapter 576: Release, Retorting, and Tall Trees Catch the Wind

On the 2nd, *About Time* was officially released.

As the leading domestic film for August, and one produced by Shanhe Media with a screenplay by Wei Jin, this movie had a significant advantage in terms of attention and screen allocation.

Not to mention the "insiders" like Shanhe Cinema Line and Golden Harvest Cinema Line, where screen allocation was basically above 45%.

Under the guidance of Han Sanping and Ye Ning, the cinema lines under China Film Group and Wanda also provided strong support, with screen allocation basically above 40%.

Even those with slightly weaker ties, such as Shanghai New Film Association and Dadi Cinema, promised over 35%.

As a result, *About Time*, a medium-budget production with a production cost of 30 million—or less than 50 million even including marketing—had an average screen allocation as high as 38%, even higher than *Fast and Furious*, which was still crushing the film market.

In contrast, Wang Jinhua's so-called decades of connections were of no use here; *Young Style* only received about 8% of screen allocation.

"With such high screen allocation, it now depends on the occupancy rate. The other films, *Tiny Times 2*, *One Night Surprise*, and *Mad 2*, won't be released until a week later."

In his office, Wei Jin was calmly giving instructions to the main cast members who were about to embark on a new round of roadshows.

"I understand, Mr. Wei. Basically, in the first week, *About Time* has no rivals; we just need to withstand the pressure from imported films."

"Yes, that's the logic. Although the rivals aren't strong, even with screen allocation like *Young Style*, those few films will still siphon off quite a bit of traffic. So the first week is critical; if we want to reach our goal, everyone will have to work hard."

To be honest, it was only because Guo Fan hadn't achieved any results yet that Wei Jin would tirelessly encourage him like this.

After all, a director's spirit is also very important; someone with a naturally big heart like Lu Yang is a rare exception.

"Understood, Mr. Wei, don't worry. We won't slack off; the 10-day roadshow schedule will definitely be fulfilled."

Guo Fan nodded solemnly, and the actors echoed his sentiment.

"Alright, you all go get busy."

As Guo Fan and the others began their roadshow, Wei Jin wasn't idle either; taking advantage of the time, he began creating the storyboard for his new project.

At the same time, Wei Jin was also thinking about which companies to bring into this film.

In the afternoon, Wei Jin checked on the occupancy rate of *About Time*.

The feedback received was excellent, with an average occupancy rate as high as 84%, surpassing *Fast and Furious 6* and ranking first among its peers.

This figure was already quite good, and Wei Jin estimated that the opening day box office should be no less than 35 million.

Sure enough, shortly after midnight on the 3rd, the box office results for the various films were released.

"*About Time*, produced by Shanhe Media and Guangxian Pictures, directed by Guo Fan, and starring Bai Yu, Song Yi, Deng Jia Jia, Sun Yizhou, and others, brought in 41.6 million at the box office on its opening day."

"*About Time* crushes *Fast and Furious 6* on its opening day, topping the daily charts for the August Summer Slot!"

"*Shendu Longwang*, in its 29th day of release, brought in 747 million at the box office; its decline is evident, and it will soon be pulled from theaters."

"The low-budget film *Young Style*, starring post-90s Best Actor Dong Zijian and Golden Horse Best Actress Qin Hailu, brought in 3.88 million on its opening day."

The entire film circle took note of the opening day results for *About Time*.

A daily box office of 41.6 million undoubtedly proved one thing: this movie was truly strong! Crucially, the online reviews were also fantastic, with tens of thousands of viewers giving it positive ratings on Yinxiang Net, resulting in a score as high as 8.7! In the realm of science fiction, this could be called explosive!

"This is a film that walks between science fiction, romance, and life. The sci-fi atmosphere isn't very thick, but there's no denying it, this is definitely a good movie. Highly recommended!"

"Adding chicken soup to a sci-fi movie is actually a bit inappropriate, but unexpectedly, the taste isn't cloying; it's very good."

"Wei Jin's scripts are always worth trusting. This is a very heartwarming sci-fi film. Great!"

"To the ones we love most, don't say forever, just say cherish. I almost cried my heart out in the theater."

"."

Looking at the online reviews and the opening day results, Guo Fan, who was currently on the roadshow, let out a long sigh of relief.

According to market laws, as long as a film's word-of-mouth doesn't collapse midway, its total box office will start at at least 10 times its opening day performance.

If the competition isn't strong, 20 times is even possible.

In other words, *About Time* had a floor of at least 400 million at the box office, and breaking 500 million was also highly probable; there was even a good chance of surpassing Lu Yang's film.

The actors accompanying the roadshow were also very excited, especially Bai Yu and Deng Jia Jia; they had both had films with high box office results and knew very well how much a film could boost an actor's career.

For a moment, from the director to the actors, the entire *About Time* crew seemed to have their fatigue from the twenty-plus days of high-intensity roadshow promotion wiped away.

With his protégé Guo Fan achieving a successful start, Lu Yang's new film also held its opening press conference in Beijing.

*Slaying Dragon 2*, despite not having a very high investment cost by today's standards.

But after all, it was the sequel to the debut work of the 600-million-box-office director and rising martial arts star Lu Yang, so it had been highly anticipated since it was greenlit.

Coupled with the prestige of the four major production companies, this press conference was truly star-studded.

However, no one expected that there would still be media daring to badmouth a Shanhe Media film.

"Director Lu, traditional martial arts films have declined, and your cast for this one is so thin—are you confident you can recoup the costs?"

Facing the challenge, Lu Yang went full fire.

"You said it yourself, that's traditional martial arts films. *Slaying Dragon 2* is not a martial arts film in the traditional sense; it's a new attempt that blends martial arts, the jianghu, the imperial court, and the battlefield.

The grandeur of this film's big scenes and the crisp, clean nature of the fight sequences will definitely give the audience a fresh experience. Even purely in terms of script structure, I believe it is absolutely not inferior to the *Brotherhood of Blades* series."

Speaking of this, Lu Yang paused, staring intensely at the reporter from the *Southern Metropolis Daily* who had asked the question, a look of disdain appearing at the corner of his mouth.

"As for the cast, please, what era is this? Are you still superstitious about that? Director Guo Fan's *About Time* is currently a hit—tell me, does it have a luxurious cast?

Or are you saying you think your judgment is better than the four major production companies and my senior brother Wei Jin? Recoup costs? Has a film produced by Shanhe Media ever lost money? If you don't understand the business, please go back and study."

The rapid-fire response left the reporter speechless, and Wei Jin, Wang Changtian, and the other producers nodded frequently from the audience.

Lu Yang's words were reasonable and well-founded; there were no flaws to pick at.

After the press conference ended, Wei Jin returned to Yanjiao Villa.

After a warm dinner, Da Meiyuan rested for a while before continuing her fitness routine; there was still some way to go before her figure fully recovered.

For this reason, she even turned down the *Interstellar* project. Wei Jin, meanwhile, took the opportunity to play with his son.

It must be said that a baby of a few months is truly very cute.

Especially with the dual genes of Wei Jin and Da Meiyuan, Wei Xu was so exquisite he looked like a porcelain doll, always making people want to reach out and touch him.

It wasn't until the little guy was about to sleep that a sweaty Da Meiyuan came over to carry him away.

Taking advantage of the time Da Meiyuan was giving their son a bath, Wei Jin made an international video call to finalize the cooperation for *Interstellar* with Paul and Nolan.

As expected, both Paul and Nolan were very pleased.

For Paul, the several projects he had collaborated on with Wei Jin so far had never lost money, pushing him step by step to his current position and giving him increasing influence within Warner.

Therefore, Paul also reciprocated, indicating that for any suitable future projects, he would prioritize Wei Jin regarding both investment shares and roles.

To this, Wei Jin naturally accepted with a smile; after all, with so many women, he always needed plenty of resources to promote them.

And for a sci-fi fan like Nolan, *Interstellar* was comparable to what an award-winning film meant to Leonardo.

"Wei, I will urge Warner to prepare the budget as soon as possible so we can meet in Huaxia, and I also hope you can give me some help when we meet."

Nolan's words were very sincere; he believed that in the field of science fiction, Wei Jin was definitely not inferior to him.

Especially with a script like *Interstellar*, which was entirely based on physical theories, discussing it with the screenwriter would definitely spark new inspiration.

"No problem, my friend. I will host you well in Beijing when the time comes."

Wei Jin naturally agreed readily; although he was essentially plagiarizing Nolan's ideas, these ideas could completely help Nolan avoid detours and improve efficiency.

"Xiao Jin, why let Warner participate? I remember Summit Entertainment has plenty of funds, right? If we invite Nolan to take on an outside project, and we call up China Film Group and Wanda here at home, can't we just do it ourselves?"

Seeing Wei Jin hang up the phone, Da Meiyuan, who had already finished washing up and changed into a cool, black silk-gauze nightgown, pressed against him from behind and asked.

"Yuan Yuanjie, it can't be considered so simply."

Wei Jin turned around, wrapped his arms around the beauty's hot, delicate body, and smiled as he explained the ins and outs.

Admittedly, according to Da Meiyuan's thinking, China Film Group, Wanda, Shanhe Media, and Summit Entertainment were enough to manage such a co-production project.

Even several previous co-production projects could have been operated exactly like that.

But why didn't Wei Jin choose to do so? Was it not good to keep all the profits for himself? Or were Warner's roles really that important? Of course not!

The fundamental reason was that in the years since Wei Jin took over Summit Entertainment, the company's development had been so good that it had reached the point where its success invited envy.

Especially last year, the five films fully produced by Summit Entertainment all achieved very eye-catching results.

*The Shallows*, *Happy Death Day 2*, *A Quiet Place*, *The Hunger Games*, and *Taken 3* grossed over 1.5 billion USD globally, with over 800 million USD in North America alone.

If one also counted the invested *Pacific Rim* and the co-distributed *Dixing Yinxing*, the box office of films produced and distributed by Summit Entertainment already accounted for 11.2% of the North American market share.

This figure was second only to Sony Pictures, Warner, Disney, and Universal, ranking fifth among North American production companies.

It even surpassed the two veteran Hollywood Six Majors, Paramount and Fox.

Under these circumstances, what Summit Entertainment needed was to make a fortune quietly, rather than continuously challenging the nerves of the Hollywood Six Majors.

Including this year, Summit Entertainment slowing its pace, as well as Wei Jin showing goodwill toward Disney in North America, were also based on this reason.

Subsequently, he also planned to develop moderate cooperation with other companies among the Six Majors; for example, Universal and Disney were very good choices.

This was not being cowardly; it was just that adults must consider gains and losses when doing things—one must earn money when it is time to earn, and not be greedy when it is time to concede profits.

For projects led by the company like *The Hunger Games: Catching Fire* and *The Maze Runner*, no other companies were allowed to participate at all.

After all, independent film companies in Hollywood all had their own base of operations; choosing to keep the profits for oneself in these parts was something no one could find fault with.

But for a project led by Nolan, not letting Warner participate would really be somewhat unjustifiable.

Even if the two sides had always had a good cooperation, Warner might still harbor resentment.

In short, Summit Entertainment was his tool for making money in North America, and incidentally, it also helped promote the domestic films he led, provided an extra channel for overseas distribution, and expanded the international influence of Chinese-language films and himself.

For some projects where the profit expectations were not that high, Wei Jin did not mind letting the Six Majors participate and get a piece of the pie.

"Do you understand now, Yuan Yuanjie?"

Wei Jin's warm tone earned him an eye-roll from Da Meiyuan. "You've explained it so clearly; if I still didn't understand, wouldn't that mean I've become a fool?"

These words made Wei Jin chuckle; the hand holding her slender waist tightened involuntarily, and the two soon pressed against each other, even able to feel each other's breathing.

"Yuan Yuanjie, as the saying goes: pregnancy makes one foolish for three years. Who knows?"

"I certainly haven't! During this time, my chain of flower shops has opened several more locations, hmph."

Looking at Da Meiyuan pouting her red lips in a spoiled manner, Wei Jin's mouth hooked into a playful smirk. "Then Yuan Yuanjie, did your flower shops make money this year?"

"I..."

Thinking of the semi-annual report she had seen a while ago, Da Meiyuan was choked with frustration, but still refused to admit defeat, saying, "As long as the company's assets are growing, that's enough."

"..."

This left Wei Jin speechless. The main business was losing money, and it was all relying on the appreciation of commercial storefronts—what was there to be proud of? However, this look of the beauty trying to save face really stirred Wei Jin's desire.

He didn't know why, but after Da Meiyuan gave birth, this mixed style of a young woman and a young girl was increasingly intoxicating to Wei Jin.

"Yuan Yuanjie, the night is deep, we should rest..."

After speaking, without waiting for the beauty to respond, Wei Jin directly pressed his lips onto hers, and his hands also began to work their magic.

When this long kiss ended, the mature older sister was already flushed with heat, and an alluring blush appeared on her beautiful face.

"Xiao Jin~~~"

(End of chapter)