Chapter 166: Sorry, Your Wife

Recently, the places Liu Tianxian has to visit include Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Brunei—these Southeast Asian countries.

In each country she generally only stays a day or two before moving on; she won't stay that long.

In addition, she still has to go to Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Actually, these regions and countries don't have a deep impression of her right now, and not many people know her. Even if The Return of the Condor Heroes was sold to Southeast Asia before, that was so many years ago—who still remembers.

This time it's simply the return of the king! That is, to take back this little backyard of Southeast Asia. At the very least she has to go toe-to-toe with South Korea; getting crushed would be pointless.

Bad Genius is being released simultaneously across Southeast Asian countries, including Hong Kong and Taiwan, and Liu Tianxian has also drawn attention from various places.

Because the film already had buzz beforehand and came with its own heat, and with the boost of mainstream theater chains, it exploded in an instant.

Currently, after two days of release: Vietnam 204,000 box office, Singapore 918,000, Philippines 977,000, Malaysia 1.08 million, Thailand 1.94 million, plus other regions—the entire Southeast Asia total is 5.47 million.

Hong Kong and Taiwan are a bit higher; combined they have 9.7 million. After all, same race, same script, so it feels more familiar watching it.

That means the current total box office is 15.17 million, which is already extremely high.

You have to know that in some places the annual total box office doesn't even reach 100 million; Singapore only has a few tens of millions a year.

In other words, results like these have already topped the box office charts in every country.

That's how small countries are—some of them are dirt poor!

Besides, with piracy running rampant, you can't ask for too much.

This is still the fresh second version, not the domestically sanitized version with its head and tail chopped off. In other words, the female lead's character is properly established.

During its run, waves of praise came in all at once. Domestically, Douban gave it 8.5; the extremely harsh IMDb gave it 8.3; Rotten Tomatoes easily achieved 100% freshness.

AsiaOne, Southeast Asia's largest portal site, reviewed: "A genius film that makes the act of taking an exam this tense, thrilling, and entertaining—the film's clever, nimble script absolutely deserves full marks."

This article was also paired with a beautiful photo of Liu Tianxian!

The US entertainment trade publication Variety reviewed: "The film's unusual blend of youthful energy and criminal atmosphere achieves a depth that films of the same genre cannot match. At the same time, it also explores social topics like exorbitant high tuition fees, ossified examination models, the gap between rich and poor, and unequal opportunities."

Germany's Heute News: "Bad Genius is a film that anyone who has ever taken an exam can resonate with.

Beyond capturing the shared memories of studying and exams during our school days, it also breaks the impression of past school films being only about small bits of puppy love, and instead films the uniqueness of every person under the examination system. Among these, the passionate cry of 'It's us choosing the university, not the university choosing us' speaks up for students who refuse to be defined by their scores."

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Additionally, foreign media have also dubbed this film the Chinese version of Mission Impossible! These are all global media outlets; they just happen to be stationed in Southeast Asia.

The influence of local Southeast Asian media isn't that big.

In front of Dream Theater, the largest cinema in Bangkok, Thailand, there were lots of people—onlookers, film fans, fans.

There were also reporters and news media from various countries, including reporters from China.

The scene was very noisy, with occasional bursts of "jibber-jabber" in some unknown language.

Liu Tianxian was surrounded so tightly by these people she couldn't be budged, but she was very composed, very calm.

Her long hair hung loose, she wore a white suit, one hand in her pocket—looking clean and sharp, her aura strong, giving off a sense of distance, yet impossible to overlook as the focal point.

This was the temperament she had forged over so many years.

This kind of outfit, this kind of look, was originally meant to fit the character in the film, and it also fit her.

A reporter asked in English: "Did the film's director tell you why she cast you in this role?"

"She told me. She said I have presence." Liu Tianxian laughed as she spoke, a very direct laugh.

The reporter asked: "I heard you're called Tianxian in China—is that right?"

"That's just because too many publicity drafts were sent out. I'm just an ordinary girl." Liu Tianxian said.

The reporter asked: "The education and wealth gap in the film—does that also happen in Hua Guo?"

Liu Tianxian's expression turned serious. This question was too sensitive; she couldn't say it wasn't, because if she said it wasn't she'd be torn apart.

"I did elementary school domestically, and at that time I couldn't really feel anything. For middle school I went to the United States, and during college I was juggling acting. Regarding what you mentioned, I can only say that most countries around the world are the same."

In other words, she'd been to many countries, so she wasn't singling anyone out.

The reporter felt this woman's EQ was impressively high, and pressed again: "Your nationality is the United States, so are you Chinese?"

"Although I went abroad very young, I was born in China and I also lived in China. I'm a very Chinese person, so I am Chinese. A lot of people will bring this up to make an issue of it, but I feel I have no need to cater to anyone; as long as I do my own thing well, that's what I see as my advantage and my space."

Liu Tianxian said a long stretch, making her thoughts and stance very clear.

Domestically you can still be vague about it, but abroad you can't be vague. Now that a reporter is asking, in the future reporters will keep asking.

And not just once—many times.

The explosion of Bad Genius brought along Liu Tianxian's explosion abroad as well. With this kind of situation, as long as she shows up in person, she brings her own heat.

Many reporters, film fans, and fans followed her around everywhere; wherever she went, they went, including fans from China who went abroad to see her.

In addition, many brands sought her for endorsements, and event organizers sought her to make appearances, all wanting to sell their products into Southeast Asia.

This is the economic effect driven by star power.

However, endorsements, events, appearances—these have nothing to do with Fang Hong. Liu Tianxian has her own company.

Once Liu Tianxian marries him, he'll be the one managing the money!

If it were in China, maybe foreign film fans would come to China to see her, but Liu Tianxian didn't dare run around domestically too much—she was afraid the Zeng matter would blow up.

Recently Zeng was still posting on Weibo, with ambiguous messages and photos of streets they had once strolled together.

But Liu Tianxian was abroad, so these photos and declarations of love didn't draw people's attention. Bringing up old matters doesn't convince anyone, unless someone pays to jump in and steer the narrative into a frenzy.

Liu Tianxian would also privately contact her, trying to steady her and persuade her to turn back from the brink.

Recently, Liu Tianxian has been doing publicity runs overseas, and her updates keep popping up in media outlets across various countries, making film fans and fans quite proud.

"Go Xixi, you're awesome."

"That movie is really good, Liu Tianxian is beautiful, and the Principal really knows how to shoot her—he captured that aura of hers on film. Her going viral abroad is well deserved."

"If you have resources for Bad Genius, please don't spread the pirated version, don't waste other people's time, don't ruin other people's mood."

"Where did this Heizi come from upstairs, scram!"

"Lesbian, same here."

Shuchang already said it wasn't true, yet you're still stubbornly blackening him.

Liu Tianxian's Weibo was bustling—with haters and fans alike, tearing into each other, hurling insults back and forth.

But due to the overseas breakout success of "The Genius Club," mainstream media also published articles.

Among them, People's Daily Online ran the headline: "The Genius Club": A Milestone in Domestic Youth Films.

The article spanned over a thousand characters, roughly stating: "From casting alone, 'The Genius Club' is a success—it features real young people with authentic appearances. This youth film has thus become a 'star-making machine.'"

The film, starting from the theme of cheating, also expresses the creators' critique and reflection on numerous social realities—a level of meaning that exceeds what a youth film ought to carry.

A competent and enjoyable youth film is enough; the social realities in the movie are an advanced requirement."

These articles came out too late—if they'd been published during National Day, box office could've been higher. You only criticize after the film blows up overseas.

Back then, everyone celebrated and praised—no one cared about a single film!

Fang Hong has still been busy with his own affairs; after deducting theater shares and distribution fees, the domestic box office revenue for "The Genius Club" is 89.41 million, plus 20 million in copyright fees, totaling 109 million.

Additionally, Netflix acquired the overseas streaming rights at a price of $6 million per year, equaling 42 million.

But this was handled by Yindu—they took a 25% agency fee, or 10.5 million. Fang Hong never authorized Yindu for global copyright; they were only agents.

Including overseas copyright fees of roughly 50 million, the film has earned Yutu 140 million.

Costs have been excluded.

It should've earned even more, but Fang Hong didn't sell it—he plans to release a second version after overseas screenings, putting it up for free on Bilibili to drive traffic.

The opening weekend box office for "The Gallows" has also been released: $10.02 million, around 70 million; Yutu can take 17.53 million.

But it's not over—the film is still in theaters.

This film has been utterly trashed; critics didn't recommend it, with a recommendation rate of only 17%.

But it doesn't matter—let them rant; as long as the money flows in, it's fine.

This time, Yutu got another boost, though a small one!

You must firmly keep making films for foreigners if you want to make money—there's no money to be made domestically.

In a reception room, Fang Hong met Xiebazi.

This man had spent the past one or two months inquiring everywhere, finally learning from Wang Zhangtian that it was the Principal who had been relentlessly blackening him.

Wang Zhangtian only told him because he was tired of the guy constantly showing up, nagging nonstop—who could take that?

Xiebazi had no idea what grudge he had with the Principal, being blackened for no reason—he came to demand an explanation: "Director Fang, have I ever wronged you?"

"No," Fang Hong said calmly.

"Then why have you been blackening me for so long? It makes no sense!" Xiebazi said, sounding aggrieved.

"I feel terrible about this."

Fang Hong reached out and gripped his hand warmly: "I apologize to you."

"You this—"

His immediate admission and apology left Xiebazi with no ground to press further.

"Oh, I've suffered so much—my wife has cried because of you multiple times," he sighed.

Fang Hong gripped his hand again: "I'm sorry to your wife—I'll apologize to her myself."

This exchange felt like a scumbag seducing his wife and then dumping her.

"Just tell me how you're going to fix this!" Xiebazi wanted compensation.

Fang Hong's expression changed: "Fix what?"

"You've been slandering me for so long, and my movie flopped—there must be some compensation for these losses, or I'm in a terrible spot," Xiebazi said.

"Show yourself out!" Fang Hong waved his hand dismissively.

He apologized already, yet still wants perks—what a lunatic. Blackening you was an honor.

(End of Chapter)