Chapter 288: All Parties Shaken, Someone Is Getting Anxious, A Repeat Victory Is Within Reach!

"10.5 million in box office? This isn't a fake report, is it?"

If one were to ask who was most concerned about the box office performance of the film *No Survivors*, aside from the self-media outlets that had specifically placed bets on it, it would be that group of non-mainstream second-generation rich kids who had Match Match Match Match Match Made a wager with Deng Deng Zexu.

The second-generation rich kid with hair dyed a patch of green asked with a gloomy expression: "Is the box office recorded on this FilmCheck platform real? Could Deng Deng Zexu have advertised here and faked the film's results?"

This group looked at each other, not daring to speak like quails, fearing they might run into a firing line.

The atmosphere was silent, like the dead stillness before a tsunami.

That person irritably picked up a glass ashtray and smashed it onto the glass table.

A bang rang out, and the others silently took a small step back.

"Speak up! Aren't you all very talkative usually? Why aren't you saying a word now! You say nothing at critical moments, but scramble to flatter when you want benefits; what use are you people?"

The second-generation rich kid with green hair looked arrogant and aggressive, speaking without restraint.

Seeing this, the others found it difficult to remain silent, and a voice sounded weakly.

"The FilmCheck platform is a third-party platform; it is only responsible for recording box office data and selling movie tickets. If you want to advertise, you can make a special cover, but the box office results cannot be faked."

"That's right, *No Survivors* only went online for the daytime slot yesterday for the first day. Many people went to watch it out of curiosity, so this momentum might not necessarily be sustained."

"The summer season is already halfway over. Even if he gets 10 million in box office every day, so what? There's less than half a month left; at 10 million a day, the total box office won't even exceed 100 million. Nothing to fear."

As that group of second-generation rich kids spoke, they were also comforting themselves in their hearts.

A total box office of just over 100 million—it probably only barely covers the costs, with no profit to speak of.

Thinking about it this way, they still won the bet.

Because of this bet, their circle had become very strained with Deng Deng Zexu, almost to the point of being incompatible like fire and water, never to interact again.

Whether it makes money or not is secondary; everyone has money, but the bet concerns face.

If they lose the bet, not only do they have to pay out two apartments in the city center, but they also have to kneel in front of everyone and call him 'Big Brother'!

Their parents are all high-level talents in different fields, and their social status is on par.

As children of these parents, they are always being compared.

Everyone is young, full of youthful vigor, and no one is willing to submit to anyone else.

A second-generation rich kid felt it wasn't safe and suddenly spoke up: "Isn't the entertainment industry best at digging up dirt? I don't believe *No Survivors* has no enemies. Why don't we hire a group of internet trolls to smear the film's reputation?"

Hearing this, the others couldn't help but feel moved, feeling it was a viable plan.

"Daye Cinema only gave three daytime screenings, and the box office already hit 10.5 million. This result is definitely beyond everyone's expectations!"

After Deng Deng Zexu learned of this box office result, his eyes rolled, and he immediately called Liu Chang.

"Uncle Liu, I've come to bring you good news. Congratulations on the exclusive introduction of *No Survivors*, which just went online in the daytime slot yesterday and achieved 10.5 million in box office, ranking third in single-day box office, surpassing one of the popular films!"

Liu Chang is an old fox; as soon as he heard the little fox congratulating him, he knew he had come prepared.

But it must be said, this box office result is very prestigious to announce; it can definitely serve as a talking point for his performance this year, and he can rank well with the board of directors, praising him for having a sharp eye!

Liu Chang laughed and said: "It's because your film is well-Match Match Match Match Match Made that it can achieve such results. Congratulations to us both."

Deng Deng Zexu flattered him for a while before revealing his true purpose: "Uncle Liu, since the box office performance of *No Survivors* is so impressive, could you see if you can give a few more daytime screenings?"

Liu Chang laughed: "You kid, you only know how to make difficult requests!"

Deng Deng Zexu said with a smile: "If the results weren't good, I wouldn't have the face to make this call."

Liu Chang pondered for a while and said: "The schedule cannot be increased for the time being, but I can make the decision to set three daytime screenings for you, and I won't reduce your number of screenings."

Deng Deng Zexu was a bit anxious: "Only three screenings? Our seat occupancy rate is so high; if the cinema could release more screenings, we would definitely get better returns!"

He was just one step away from saying, "Other films aren't profitable at all."

Liu Chang said calmly: "Young man, don't be so impatient. Listen to me finish first."

He changed the subject: "You also know that when a film first goes online, it's the peak of the viewing craze. Once this wave passes, the film's popularity might drop."

Cinema scheduling involves the interests of many parties. Some films have even signed exclusive cooperation agreements with cinemas, fixing the number of screenings. Every adjustment of a cinema's schedule requires various trade-offs.

Three screenings a day is already the maximum schedule an exclusively introduced film can get; every cinema follows this rule.

If you want to increase the schedule, then you must let us see that this film has greater potential."

Deng Deng Zexu asked in confusion: "It has already achieved third place in single-day box office; what kind of potential do you still want to see?

Even if I wanted to show you, I can't exaggerate. Just relying on three daytime screenings, it's already reached first place in single-day box office!"

If he really said that, it would be unrealistic.

Liu Chang smiled meaningfully: "You don't need to reach that level. As long as you stabilize the film's box office and can enter the top three in single-day box office for three consecutive days, I have the confidence to persuade the senior management to focus on promoting your film."

Deng Deng Zexu asked: "Uncle Liu, can you reveal a little bit to me, what counts as key promotion, and how many screenings can I get a day?"

If he wants him to go all out, he has to reveal a target, right?

Liu Chang said decisively: "I'll give your film the treatment of a popular film, at least six daytime screenings, ensuring there are screenings during peak hours!"

Deng Deng Zexu felt a jolt in his body, his breathing quickened, his expression was somewhat excited, and he gripped his phone tightly.

"Is that counting the box office for the whole day? Does the late-night slot count too?"

Liu Chang: "That goes without saying!"

Deng Deng Zexu gritted his teeth: "Fine, even if I have to risk my life, I will make the box office go up!"

After hanging up the phone, Deng Deng Zexu originally wanted to call Sui Sui Sui Sui Sui Sui Sui Lingfang to see how to do promotion, but suddenly received a WeChat message from a friend.

【Damn, be careful. Those bastards said they want to buy a batch of trolls to smear your movie's reputation!】

Deng Deng Zexu raised an eyebrow, and his overheated emotions instantly calmed down.

He is not a fool.

Ever since he discovered he had stepped into someone else's trap at the beginning of the year, he had found a way to plant someone in the hostile group.

After pondering for a while, he had a plan.

Originally, he wanted to take out a loan to continue using it as promotion fees.

But now he had a better idea, which might get him some free promotion.

"10.5 million box office? Did I read this data wrong? Let me count again... ones, tens, hundreds, thousands, ten-thousands, hundred-thousands, millions! It really is 10 million!!"

After seeing the single-day results of *No Survivors*, the happiest and most excited group of people were all the staff of *Film Family*.

This morning, they publicly bet that *No Survivors* could break 10 million in single-day box office and even bought themselves a high-ranking trending topic, causing an uproar across the internet.

Netizens' attention was naturally attracted, traffic and popularity were gained, and many people were debating and arguing under their blog posts.

Besides that, some fellow big-V movie critics jumped out to accuse them of not attending to their proper duties, turning a perfectly good movie review into a media gossip account, insulting the reputation of the film circle!

As the editor-in-chief of *Film Family*, Bai Bai Zhizi pushed this plan with all her might and also bore great pressure.

After all, the magazine had been in a state of making ends meet, and even salaries were occasionally delayed by a day or two.

Suddenly spending a large sum of money to get a trending topic, she had also signed a military order: if it fails, she resigns and leaves!

Fortunately, although they got on a high-ranking trending topic and netizens were basically scolding them, they really did capture the popularity.

Just by participating in the blog's own advertising placement plan, they had already earned hundreds of thousands in advertising fees, earning back the cost of getting on the trending topic.

But what gave Bai Bai Zhizi the biggest headache was the industry's criticism of *Film Family*.

The movie review circle is very particular about connections and seniority. *Film Family* is an emerging magazine, having nothing, and has never been able to break into the core status of the film circle.

Now that the reputation is bad, what she fears most is that the film industry will boycott *Film Family*.

After the boss saw the criticism from the film big-Vs, he didn't show it in front of people, but privately told her with worry:

"If we really can't go on, let's switch entirely to the video field. Anyway, the income from our video editing account has long exceeded our main business!"

Bai Bai Zhizi sighed in her heart, knowing this was just the president comforting her.

If they could really make such a determined decision to burn their bridges, they would have long ago abandoned the movie magazine and transformed into a video account.

Why would they go to such great lengths, both publicly predicting the box office and buying themselves a high-ranking trending topic to stir up traffic and popularity?

In the end, isn't it just to revive the *Film Family* magazine brand?

"Success! We succeeded! Editor-in-chief, we actually succeeded!!"

The editors all surrounded Bai Bai Zhizi to congratulate her. Bai Bai Zhizi completely unloaded her psychological burden, her face full of smiles.

This time, not only did they bet correctly, but they were also very likely to welcome a windfall of wealth.

Bai Bai Zhizi took a deep breath and used her computer to open the homepage of the *Film Family* official blog.

The follower count above, which only had a pitiful 3,000 people yesterday, soared to 130,000 after getting on the trending topic this morning.

And now, it had impressively become 300,000!

The editor also noticed this data; every time the webpage refreshed, the follower count would jump up.

Someone muttered to themselves: "We predicted correctly this time. Do you think our official blog's follower count might break 1 million?"

"Why not be bolder and aim for 3 million?"

"Why don't you fly to the sky? Then I'll brag about 10 million!"

A flash of inspiration crossed Bai Bai Zhizi's mind, and she immediately walked to her private office.

She picked up her phone and called Sui Sui Sui Sui Sui Sui Sui Lingfang, the agent of Jin Li, whose phone number she had known for a long time but had never dared to contact.

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Sui Sui Sui Sui Sui Sui Sui Lingfang was on a call with Deng Deng Zexu. Hearing his scheme, she couldn't help but raise her eyebrows and said with interest:

"Your idea is quite good. You can let those haters and trolls charge to the front and get a wave of free promotion."

Deng Deng Zexu chuckled, "What I worry about most is that 'three people make a tiger' and 'public opinion can melt gold.' If the trolls they buy are strong enough, what if they really make netizens mistakenly believe that *No Survivors* is all hype and that its reputation is actually terrible?"

Sui Sui Sui Sui Sui Sui Sui Lingfang said calmly: "That's why they are ultimately not people in the entertainment industry. *No Survivors* has been released for half a month, and everyone has seen its reputation. There are also many people who have watched the film.

For a work whose reputation has clearly risen, people in the circle won't start from the aspect of reputation anymore because they know they can't shake it.

Individuals cannot go against the general trend."

She said confidently: "We don't need to do anything; smart netizens will naturally speak for us.

If there is really overwhelming smearing, and it's excessively malicious, I also have a brilliant plan."

Deng Deng Zexu asked curiously, "Director Sui, what is this brilliant plan?"

Sui Sui Sui Sui Sui Sui Sui Lingfang smiled, "We'll hire a group of internet trolls ourselves to comment under those haters' posts, asking them how many cents they were paid per comment."

Deng Deng Zexu couldn't help but be stunned, his eyes lighting up—this was a great idea!

Once pointed out like this, any normal, rational person would know that this negative publicity was bought by a rival, even if they didn't know which one.

After all, the film's reputation had been quite good in the early stages, and it had been online for half a month; how could so many bad reviews suddenly appear out of nowhere?

There was definitely something wrong!

Deng Deng Zexu couldn't help but say, "Director Sui, it's a good thing I handed the promotion of this film to you. If it were me, I would never have thought of these methods."

Sui Sui Sui Sui Sui Sui Sui Lingfang smiled, "Alright, enough with the flattery. Once the movie is out of theaters, we'll have plenty of time to chat. Let's talk about the subsequent promotion issues first."

She pondered for a moment, then said with a solemn expression, "When it first launched in the daytime slots, audiences went to watch it out of curiosity. It is very difficult to maintain high box office numbers for three consecutive days."

Especially since you only have three daytime screenings, and the late-night slots are being diverted by other theaters. Even in the daytime slots, there are art film specialty lines carving out a portion of the audience."

Times have changed; the results achieved by the previous diversion have given "And Then There Were None" a chance to go even further.

But precisely because of this, for "And Then There Were None" to continue to leap forward, the previous diversion has instead become a constraint.

Sui Sui Sui Sui Sui Sui Sui Lingfang thought of a promotional method popular abroad and spoke slowly:

"Actually, this film no longer needs to be on the trending topics. The audience's acceptance has reached its peak; getting more trending topics won't necessarily have a positive effect on the box office."

Mr. Deng, how about this: you create a gimmick yourself, sacrificing your own image to boost the box office."

Deng Deng Zexu looked blank: "Huh?"

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Bai Bai Zhizi finally got through to Sui Sui Sui Sui Sui Sui Sui Lingfang's phone.

"Hello, who is this?" A steady female voice came from the phone.

Bai Bai Zhizi suppressed her nervousness and said quickly, "Hello, I am Bai Bai Zhizi, editor-in-chief of 'Film & Television Home'. 'Film & Television Home' Match Match Match Match Match Made a prediction for 'And Then There Were None' this morning, forecasting that yesterday's box office would break 10 million."

Sui Sui Sui Sui Sui Sui Sui Lingfang was very calm: "Mm, I know."

Bai Bai Zhizi felt reassured; as long as there was an impression, there was something to talk about.

"It's like this, 'Film & Television Home' wants to continue making predictions for 'And Then There Were None'... Director Sui, I wonder if you have the confidence to keep winning?"

Bai Bai Zhizi finally got to the point.

Sui Sui Sui Sui Sui Sui Sui Lingfang suddenly fell silent. Bai Bai Zhizi's heart gradually cooled, and it also went up and down, feeling very nervous and uneasy.

Her palms were soon covered in sweat, thinking that perhaps she had been too presumptuous to ask like that.

After all, the magazine had not reached any cooperation with Chenxi Entertainment, and they had no connections or status in the industry; why would they tell her?

After a long while, Sui Sui Sui Sui Sui Sui Sui Lingfang said, "If it were an ordinary media outlet, I certainly wouldn't tell them my thoughts, but you are different."

"I once heard about you from Jin Li. She specifically designated your 'Film & Television Home' to participate in the interview, saying that you are quite a decent person and willing to give you a chance, so I am willing to tell you my thoughts."

Sui Sui Sui Sui Sui Sui Sui Lingfang paused, then said firmly and powerfully, "We are determined to win!"