Chapter 89: Proclaim to the World

The two sides were locked in fierce combat; seeing no chance of victory, Xiao Wangzong launched a second wave of attacks, with a mainstream media outlet reporting:

"'Lost in Love for 33 Days' Accused of Regional Discrimination; Dutch Audiences Outraged and Boycott!"

This news was vicious—exactly what you do to me by slandering me for ticket theft, I do to you by slandering you for regional discrimination.

Everyone was equally bad, equally dirty.

The public opinion battlefield was a chaotic melee, with all sides clashing wildly, leaving every film and entertainment institution stunned.

Who exactly was launching this assault on Huayi?

Due to the slow spread of information, many people didn't know who controlled Yutu Film Industry.

Nor did they know who the Principal was.

But this storm was even bigger than the last one, drawing more attention to Yutu Film Industry.

"Could it be Liu Tianxian? Yutu's logo resembles hers, and she starred in both films—probably still angry about what happened before, making a triumphant return!" someone speculated wildly.

No one answered him; they would wait and observe for now.

Yet some knew the truth: Guang Xian alone had commented on Wang Changtian: "The Principal is truly talented—this move of using someone else's knife to kill is masterful!"

Guang County also came from a propaganda background, so they understood this field well—they saw right through the scheme at a glance.

With almost no money, they forcibly tied themselves to the female demographic, then launched a boxing attack against Heizi—who could have imagined that?

Exposure was gained, box office was gained!

Actually, they regretted not recruiting this person earlier—what a master of hype!

Wang Changtian said nothing, only quietly observed; this person might soon represent the new force of the Young and Vigorous Faction!

Now almost no one was talking about how 'Let the Bullets Fly' was doing—this film needed careful appreciation, unsuited to this filthy public opinion environment.

Fang Hong didn't care about 'Let the Bullets Fly'; neither did Xiao Wang or Da Wang—they only had eyes for each other.

Though both belonged to the Beijing circle, even the Beijing circle had factions!

Now both sides were spitting venom at each other, with countless posts slandering one another—just on Weibo, there were 16.59 million.

In this era, Weibo was everywhere: Tencent, NetEase, Sohu, Sina—all had Weibo platforms competing fiercely for this market.

For instance, Liu Tianxian had her own Weibo account on Fox Factory!

Tens of millions of Weibo posts—this didn't even include posts and comments on Tieba, forums, or beneath news articles—everywhere was a battlefield, everywhere a topic, impossible to tally.

Huayi spent money; Fang Hong spent nothing.

Print media reported each other: you accused me of ticket theft, I accused you of regional discrimination; some outlets even published two articles simultaneously, just to ride this wave of frenzy.

Amid this tide, on the fourth day—Christmas—Little Fairy took her boyfriend to celebrate; 'Lost in Love for 33 Days' earned 49.15 million.

It became the day's top box office, crushing every other film on the market.

Total box office for the 4th day surpassed 132 million, a massive success compared to 'Those Years,' which had taken over a month to reach similar numbers.

This was also due to differences between mid-year and year-end release windows—in 2011, a film crossing 100 million was already commonplace.

Correspondingly, 'If You Are the One 2' remained suppressed, earning only 27.65 million, falling again.

This was only the fourth day—yet an IP movie, with its built-in audience base, still in its peak period, was being pushed back step by step; many hadn't expected this.

Of course, the 'Little Fairies' were indispensable—their online combat power was fierce, and their offline influence was just as strong.

They recommended it to friends, to people around them; everywhere—in universities, workplaces—female friends recommended it to each other, went to the cinema together.

Some dragged their husbands, some their boyfriends, some their parents, some their siblings—everyone was dragging people.

Men didn't care what kind of movie it was; they were rational—if it didn't disrupt family harmony, as long as their girlfriend was happy, they'd do whatever she wanted.

As for the movie itself? Just entertainment—in their eyes, there was no sense of honor or rivalry.

When 'Lost in Love for 33 Days' claimed the top box office spot, Zhao Dashu implied to the media: "Though 'Laughing in the Wind' is gone, I see that 'If You Are the One' and 'Let the Bullets Fly' have both lost love."

Meaning both films had been suffering lately.

Zhao Dashu's subtle jabs were actually quite humorous.

Their movie failed, right? Three Beijing circle films deliberately staggered releases: 'The Orphan of Zhao' had its screening date shifted just one day apart from his; the other two cut off his midsection and tail end—can't people even say a few harsh words?

Reporters also asked Chen Daren: "Now that 'Lost in Love for 33 Days' has surpassed 'The Orphan of Zhao' at the box office, what's your opinion?"

He recited a poem on the spot: "Each generation produces its own talents; new faces replace the old."

No one knew why he recited poetry—Mom didn't get it, Grandma didn't get it—just pretending to be profound!

Manager Lei of China Film Group also noticed the recent box office trends and sighed: "I never imagined this kid could stir up such a storm—I clearly underestimated him."

He held up a "8" gesture toward Zuoshandiao sitting across from him: "Do you know? That was a low-budget film—investment was only around eight million."

"That's just his talent, isn't it?"

Zuoshandiao sipped his tea and continued: "We must guide him onto the right path—make films, make films, not resort to underhanded tricks."

Last time I warned Fang Hong not to plagiarize—he didn't plagiarize, but he used feminist rage as a knife to kill his enemy—who could bear that?

He's turned the entire film market into a filthy mess.

This was Fang Hong letting them taste the iron fist in advance.

"Young people's thinking is a bit more lively," Manager Lei said diplomatically.

He also thought Fang Hong's methods were far too brutal!

Recently, reporters visited multiple cinemas to investigate ticket theft.

The manager of Pacific Cinema said: "I heard about this, but our ticket sellers say it didn't happen—it's just hype."

Huaxia Cinema said: "I think it's probably rumor!" The manager of Xingmei Film Industry couldn't be reached.

Reporters caught Hong Kuzi and asked him: "What do you think about the accusation that 'If You Are the One 2' stole box office from 'Lost in Love for 33 Days'?"

He exploded: "Who stole 'Lost in Love for 33 Days' box office? Hype! Disgusting hype! The Principal should just leave the entertainment industry—if he stood before me, I'd slap him twice!"

Xiao Gangbao's temper flared—he didn't care about anything, just started cursing.

This guy's bad temper is exactly why audiences dislike him.

Fang Hong, by contrast, remained calm; he didn't stoop to arguing with such people—that would lower his own status; his benchmark was always bosses like Da Wang and Xiao Wang.

He has no manners—that represents Yutu Film Industry's lack of manners!

On this day, Yutu Film Industry's CEO Chen Zhixi told reporters: "We have already reported this ticket-skimming incident to the General Administration and hope for justice; the General Administration has not yet replied."

Yutu Film Industry is no longer hiding—it finally has someone stepping forward to face the public.

This is their defining battle; they aim to announce it to the world.

In the film industry, there is still Yutu Film Industry!

Of course, what Chen Zhixi said was nonsense—she hadn't reported it at all; she was just lying.

Even if they had reported it, it couldn't be investigated, because in this era, movie theaters were only networked at the terminal level, not data-networked.

It could only solve the problem of inflated box office figures, not the problem of ticket-skimming.

Moreover, laws and regulations were not yet complete; proper crackdowns only began in 2014, when ticket-skimming would result in immediate license revocation, with no mercy shown.

And at that time, ticketing apps like Maoyan emerged, and the internet-plus-cinema model only began to take shape.

The authorities required all ticketing apps to register; tampering with software was no longer permitted, making ticket-skimming impossible.

Of course, that was a completely different strategy!

At this time, ticket-skimming was a messy ledger—I say you stole, you stole, and you couldn't defend yourself!

Moreover, Yutu was the weaker side, and Xiao Gangpao had such a fiery temper; Chen Zhixi had official backing, so people would naturally side with Yutu.

They felt Yutu was the victim!

This blame, Huayi didn't have to bear—but Fang Hong insisted they bear it!

On the fifth day, December 27, box office figures were released: "Breakup in 33 Days" had declined slightly, earning only 43.69 million.

Christmas had passed; the peak period was just these few days, and box office would decline afterward.

In short, the market capacity was still too small; if later there were "Little Fairies" to help, it would have to reach over 3 billion.

We'll see if there's another surge during New Year's Day—on that day, the "Little Fairies" were off.

Although box office had dropped, it still ranked first; "Let the Bullets Fly" had only around 30 million, and this film had been in theaters for some time.

"If You Are the One 2" dropped again to 19.76 million; from this day on, "Breakup in 33 Days" surpassed its total box office.

"If You Are the One 2" had a five-day total box office of 160 million.

This performance would struggle to reach 300 million; in its original timeline, this film's total box office reached 470 million.

"Breakup in 33 Days" had a five-day total box office of 1.71 billion—about 100 million more than its rival; it had only just surpassed it, mainly because the first two days' box office was too low!

But surpassing 200 million was now certain; even if it pulled back, it couldn't fall far.

Fang Hong had successfully ambushed "If You Are the One 2"—but it wasn't over; the opponent still had a chance to turn things around on New Year's Day.

We'll see how strong the female demographic is!

Media criticism hadn't stopped; online bickering hadn't stopped—they were still trading insults, and their Water Army was being pushed back relentlessly by the "Little Fairies."

Even under mainstream media posts, comments were flooded with abuse!

"Slap!"

General Manager Xiao Wang slammed his fist on the table: "Where did the Principal find this bunch of freaks? They're so fierce!"

It felt like the enemy wasn't even human!

"This clearly isn't normal film promotion—it's like, like…" Deputy Chen Guo couldn't find the words.

"Boxing!"

General Manager Da Wang scrolled through online public opinion and gave these two words.

Constantly asking how men are doing—it's brutal, and viewers find it unpleasant!

"Yes, it's Boxing. We need to change strategy; confronting this group head-on won't end well," Deputy Chen Guo suggested.

The Principal played this move brilliantly—he drew the female demographic to attack them, wasted our funds on Water Army responses—we should've seen it coming.

They finally realized the key issue!

Guang County and China Film Group immediately saw that Fang Hong wasn't following the usual path.

This group was too selfless—they spent money, put in effort, and were so fierce; no human force could stand against them.

"How do we change?" asked General Manager Xiao Wang.

"."

(End of Chapter)