Chapter 182: Willing to Adapt

The film "Old Hand" continued to be wildly popular in South Korea, surpassing one million admissions within three days of release.

In three days, it reached 1,008,611 admissions, outdrawing "Mission Impossible 4," which had 490,000 admissions on the same day.

Thought it was a tough rival, turns out it was just trash!

Its current box office record is second only to "Transformers 3," which set a record of 1.67 million admissions earlier this year in South Korea.

However, "Old Hand" surged strongly; the first two days were a period of momentum buildup, then it rapidly surpassed 3.3 million admissions with 580,000 new viewers daily.

Within ten days, it broke 5 million admissions, setting a new record for the fastest any imported film in South Korea had reached 5 million admissions.

"Transformers 3" only had a strong start in its first three days, then declined sharply, ending with just over 7 million total admissions.

"Old Hand" maintained sustained popularity and coincided perfectly with Christmas, with its momentum still unbroken.

South Korea counts admissions, not box office revenue, but you can estimate the earnings—they have high ticket prices, around 50 to 70 yuan.

Prices vary by region.

Discount levels differ, so ticket prices vary too—after all, group discounts exist everywhere.

If we use the lowest ticket price of 50 yuan, the ten-day box office has already surpassed 250 million yuan, which is the minimum estimate—the actual figure is even higher.

Meanwhile, in China, Bona, New Picture, and Yutu are still struggling against each other, trading insults and refusing to yield.

In ten days, "Dragon Gate" only broke 190 million; "The Thirteen Sisters of Jinling" broke 248 million; "Big Man" broke 241 million.

The gaps between them aren't very large.

Fang Hong is guaranteed to make money—he's already earned about 50 million from South Korea, recouped his costs, and everything after is pure profit.

The domestic earnings are pure profit on top of pure profit.

His business philosophy is: whether he makes money doesn't matter, but others must not make money.

Seeing others profit makes him uncomfortable.

"Old Hand" surpassed one million admissions in South Korea in three days, 3.5 million in five days, and 5 million in ten days, breaking the record for the fastest any film this year in South Korea to reach 5 million admissions.

Despite a 10% overall decline in box office compared to earlier, "Old Hand" still maintains strong box office potential, becoming the highest-attended imported film in South Korea this year."

This news was first reported by Korean Star Net, then Sina translated it into:

"Big Man" surpassed one million admissions in South Korea within three days of release, setting a new record for the fastest imported film this year to reach one million admissions.

According to data released today by the Korean Film Council: "Big Man" has attracted 5.52 million viewers in ten days, breaking the previous record set by "Transformers 3" and also setting a new all-time record for admissions in South Korea this year."

Below the article were several photos: South Korean fans lining up to buy tickets, and fans going wild during Principal's promotional visit, including one female fan kissing Principal.

The news spread rapidly across the internet; major media journalists all reposted it and published articles.

Even mainstream media like People's Daily Online reported: "China's phenomenon film 'Big Man' is blazing hot overseas, demonstrating China's film industry capabilities."

Deputy Director Zhang Hongsen of the Film Bureau posted his opinion on People's Daily Online: "Film is a magical thing—old formulas can still be made fresh; 'Big Man' is a benchmark of this kind."

This means that although "Big Man" imitates Hong Kong films, it brought something new.

"Big Man"'s massive success in South Korea, combined with mainstream media support and public praise, filled the internet with a sense of pride.

Internet users are easily moved by such proud moments—after all, our film has broken through overseas; it's cause for celebration.

Thus, "Big Man" became popular again; on Christmas Day, its box office broke 42.14 million, drawing viewers away from "Dragon Gate" and "The Thirteen Sisters of Jinling."

The former had only 27.01 million; the latter had 27.19 million! Seeing this, Yu Pangzi cursed: "Damn, so sneaky—sold the movie to South Korea so early."

But he never expected this film would blow up in South Korea—his own "Dragon Gate" couldn't sell at all, what the hell.

Didn't Xu Laoguai's films used to sell well in South Korea? Now they don't.

He was cursing in his office; now that the higher-ups are praising it, he can't go out and curse—it'd look terrible.

Zhang Weiping also felt some regret—he shouldn't have teamed up with Principal to ambush Bona, ending up getting himself ruined too.

They're reaping massive returns from South Korea—they're definitely making money.

His film won't even reach 400 million now; it's definitely a loss, no doubt.

He blames Principal, but it was himself who picked a fight with Bona—Principal just joined him to help take on Bona.

Now he feels like he was dragged into an alliance with Principal, as if he were the passive party.

But Fang Hong doesn't care about this guy—he's destined to be crushed. His goal is to kill Bona, wipe out the old film studios, and leave Yutu dominant!

On Christmas Eve, Liu Tianxian and her friends were dining at a Western restaurant, the same group of girlfriends.

"Xianxian, look—your guy got kissed by someone else," Yao Beina sipped her milk tea, tilted her body, and showed the phone screen to Liu Tianxian beside her.

It was Bae Joo-hyun jumping into Fang Hong's arms and kissing him. "Oh my, when did this happen?" Liu Tianxian scratched her head, bewildered.

She'd been busy with promotions and shooting fashion photos these past few days, paying little attention to "Big Man."

When she had free time, she'd just glance at the box office numbers!

That man had always been disciplined—for one or two years, he'd had no contact with other women except her; his life was just her and his career.

So she didn't believe Fang Hong would do anything out of line in love—hence her confusion.

"A few days ago, probably when you were at the symposium. These are photos from the 'Big Man' promotional tour in South Korea. But don't mind it—this girl was just a fan who rushed up."

Yao Beina explained, then pulled up the video for her—nowadays, rich people all use smartphones.

The iPhone 4S had just launched and was wildly popular; rumors said some people even sold their kidneys to buy it.

"Oh, I see!"

Liu Tianxian glanced at it and didn't mind—the video was complete.

She was just puzzled: how could Fang Hong be so bold and not dodge it? If it was sudden, fine—but still.

She was just a random South Korean fan; no one would stir up gossip about Principal over this—it couldn't be blown up, since the full video was in her hands.

Such things are common in the entertainment industry, and Principal is strange—he acts, directs, runs a company, but never promotes himself; he doesn't care about his image.

That makes it impossible to target him!

Earlier, everyone was cursing him online for hitting someone. So what? He didn't show up, yet he still lived just fine, completely indifferent. Shuchang asked: "Hey, how far have you two gone?"

"Just dating," Liu Tianxian said casually.

"So, have you taken that step yet?"

Shuchang spoke ambiguously, clapping her hands twice with a "pap pap," the meaning obvious.

It was a bit too blunt; Liu Tianxian covered her mouth and laughed, slightly embarrassed: "It's not that fast—we've only been dating for a year and change."

"You're planning a long-distance romance, then!" Yao Beina said from beside her.

"Of course I am. Since I love him, I naturally want to understand deeply whether we're compatible for life together. If it's too quick, I just don't feel secure." Liu Tianxian was somewhat guarded inside.

"So you're serious," Yao Beina said, looking at her.

"I'm not the type to play around."

Liu Tianxian looked at the two and said: "I'll tell you something—Fang Hong may seem like a man of great poise and generosity, but he's actually stingy. He still hasn't bought a house or a car."

"Huh?!"

Yao Beina and Shuchang were stunned.

In their minds, the Principal was a boss—a major one who could go head-to-head with Bonna and Huayi, supporting so many people who worked for him.

No house, no car—it was hard to imagine.

Shuchang didn't know Fang Hong well, since he barely communicated with her; all her information came from Liu Tianxian.

"I've been dating him this long, and all he's bought me is a milk tea and a bottle of AD Calcium Milk. I've even bought him clothes, and he never mentions paying me back. What kind of guy is this?" Liu Tianxian grew more animated the more she complained.

He's my man—I can vent all I want.

"Then why are you still with him?"

Yao Beina didn't understand; he's so stingy, yet you two seem so happy.

There's no talk of breaking up or fighting.

"You wouldn't understand. Though he has his flaws, he's willing to change, willing to adapt to you."

Can you imagine someone reading dense, difficult books every day just to draw closer to your thoughts?"

Most men wouldn't do that—they think buying gifts, saying touching words, or doing romantic things is enough, and women should be overwhelmed with gratitude."

Fang Hong is different—he's constantly changing himself, adapting to me, and adapting to society."

What Liu Tianxian said left the two of them confused.

They couldn't grasp how adapting to Liu Tianxian worked—wasn't she just herself? What else was there to adapt to?

Only Liu Tianxian understood—it was all about feeling. When the feeling drew closer, when their souls synced, those flaws ceased to be flaws.

(End of Chapter)