Chapter 14: Blockbuster Premiere

At the ticket hall of Zhonghua Plaza Cinema in Goat City's Pearl River Film Line, the cinema manager saw only a young couple buying tickets and felt a slight regret.

I thought relying on the publicity of The Matrix would draw crowds lining up, but in the end not even one auditorium sold out.

"How many more are needed?"

"Let me check, there are still over a hundred left!" the ticket window attendant replied after glancing at the real-time data.

The manager raised his hand to check his watch—it was already past five in the afternoon; those who wanted to see the film should have come to buy tickets by now!

He looked toward the entrance, but saw no audience coming in; he was utterly disappointed!

In recent years the domestic film market has been stagnant; apart from occasional Hollywood blockbusters and Cheng Long's films that attract a fair audience, cinemas are mostly empty, and who knows how many have gone out of business.

"If this continues, I might end up unemployed!"

The middle-aged cinema manager worried silently, said "Call me if anything comes up," then returned to his office to rest with closed eyes.

"The Matrix" runs over two hours; even after a simple cleanup, a showing ends past 2:30 a. m., and someone my age can't stay up that late!

He had barely dozed off for less than half an hour when the walkie‑talkie crackled.

"Manager, manager, the tickets are sold out, and there are still over ten people in line!"

"Huh?"

The cinema manager jumped up, hurried to the ticket hall, and looked out—he saw not only a queue at the window, but people continually streaming in through the door.

"Hiss! Quick, add another auditorium!"

By around nine p. m., two extra auditoriums had been added, yet a large crowd kept pouring in.

The cinema manager, beside himself with excitement, added yet another auditorium.

By 23:30, four extra auditoriums were in operation, but more than twenty viewers still couldn't get tickets and refused to leave.

"Add another, add another show!"

Waving his hand excitedly, the cinema manager deemed it a box‑office miracle jointly created with the audience, jumping from one show to five in just a few hours.

Similar scenes unfolded in cinemas across major cities nationwide.

In Sichuan, all six auditoriums of the midnight show at Rongcheng Wangfujing Cinema were opened and packed to capacity; because of the extra screenings, the KFC in the mall also stayed open until midnight.

In Shanghai, major cinemas all showed the phenomenon of sold‑out screenings, extra showings, and added seats.

In Xi'an, movie fans braved the heavy snow to flood into the theaters.

According to post‑event statistics, the midnight shows nationwide on the 19th garnered a box‑office total of 730,000 yuan.

Guangdong's circuit income was 170,000 yuan; the top‑earning single cinema was Zhonghua Plaza Cinema with 50,000 yuan. Shanghai's New World followed closely with 45,000 yuan "taking the close," while Jingcheng's Splendid Star Movie City came in third with 37,000 yuan.

After these figures were compiled and reported, they attracted widespread attention.

After all, the midnight show was a first‑time public event; achieving such good results naturally meant the daytime box office would not be poor either.

On the morning of the 19th, in Jingcheng.

After breakfast, Jiang Wen said to his French wife, "Dear, I bought tickets for the sci‑fi film The Matrix; would you like to go see a movie with me?"

"Oh, dear, ever since you attended that premiere, you've kept talking about that film—I've wanted to see it for a long time!"

They agreed at once and drove to Splendid Star Movie City.

Looking at the long line ahead, Jiang Wen's wife remarked, "I never expected so many people to come see this film; I'm sure it must be a good one!"

Jiang Wen said, "I heard that the midnight show this morning was sold out in many places, full of people coming to watch the movie!"

"I can't believe a Chinese‑language sci‑fi film could draw such a crowd!"

Jiang Wen frowned slightly, saying, "Chinese people aren't lacking in imagination, nor in rigorous logic; as long as the special effects are well done, making a sci‑fi film isn't difficult at all."

"Then when will you also make one for me to see?"

"Wait for me, when inspiration strikes I'll also put one together!"

Jiang Wen said that aloud, but thought to himself, "You just wait; I've never even touched sci‑fi in my thoughts!"

While chatting idly, the two entered the auditorium and found seats.

Worried that Jiang Wen might be recognized and disturb the viewing, it was still his wife who bought the drinks and popcorn.

They ate and chatted, and soon the film began.

The opening lines of dialogue were somewhat bewildering for first‑time viewers.

Fortunately, the action soon moved to a fight scene in a dim, complex building where a group of police, guns in hand, seemed ready to apprehend someone.

They stopped in front of a dilapidated door, then burst it open.

But inside there was no large contingent of armed militants—just a woman sitting with her back to them.

"Don't move, police—hands up!"

The police shouted loudly, as if confronting a vicious criminal.

But when the camera turned, it revealed Li Meiqi's gorgeous, cold visage, prompting the audience in the theater to gasp softly.

Meanwhile downstairs, not only were there several police cars, but a squad of black‑clad men also arrived.

With all that firepower, were they really just after a pretty young girl?

The audience expected Li Meiqi's character to be formidable, but when she leapt into the air, the camera spun and she kicked an officer away, everyone let out a low gasp.

"My God! That's too amazing!"

"How was this filmed?!"

"This young lady is so pretty!"

"She's so cool, I really like her!"

On the big screen, that kind of beautiful, fierce, super‑capable female character remains highly fan‑attracting.

A typical example is Black Widow in the Avengers—who knows how many domestic moviegoers she has captivated.

At this very moment, who knows how many viewers in theaters nationwide have been captivated by the role played by Li Meiqi.

Seeing her swiftly and neatly dispose of those who came to arrest her, everyone felt thoroughly exhilarated.

Even someone like Jiang Wen felt that Jiang Heng's choice of actors and their fit with the roles was very high, and the action scenes opened a pioneering path for Chinese-language cinema.

Oh dear, let me say something you might not like, but is this really a film made by Chinese? It looks like Hollywood from every angle!

Jiang Wen nodded slightly, "To be honest, I can't believe it either; after watching this film and then looking at other domestic commercial films, I always feel they're not from the same era!"

It feels like it's one level above Xianggang films!

Jiang Wen thought, the Xianggang side has already begun to decline; how could this compare?

No, this is also a Xianggang film!

On the big screen, the plot continued.

As the truck lunged toward the phone booth, Trinity rushed in and answered the call, leaving the audience bewildered.

Especially when the agents got out of the car and found the demolished phone booth empty, the audience became even more curious about what would happen next.

"How did she get away?"

"She couldn't have followed the phone line, could she?"

"That's too far-fetched!"

"Surely it'll be explained later!"

Wu Yan Zu's Neo's entrance scene was somewhat bland, and the audience occasionally discussed Trinity's escape.

But when Neo was captured by the agents, who stretched his mouth shut and implanted a worm-like tracker on him, the audience stared in disbelief, and according to real-world logic it became ever harder to explain.

Fortunately, Gao Xiong's Morpheus, with his various explanations after appearing, helped the audience roughly grasp the film's worldview.

"My goodness, the director's ideas are too fantastical!"

"How did he come up with that?"

"It doesn't matter if he thought of it; the key is being able to film it, and that's awesome!"

The audience in the theater chattered, many feeling the worldview had been refreshed, that such a theory actually existed, and it seemed quite plausible!

But if the world were truly virtual, what meaning would there be in living?

If the world were truly virtual, then the course of our lives would be a constant.

Depending on the choices, there would be different endings, but each one is predetermined!

There is now a gene that determines things; could it be imagined as a pre-set program? Even if we speak and think well in daily life, at crucial moments it feels as if our brain won't obey, leading us to do things we regret, and that might also be due to the setting.

Audiences in the theater let their imaginations run wild, and by reversing the theory presented in the film, they found it could indeed explain some real-life phenomena, making them think the film even more awesome.

Moreover, when Wu Yan Zu's Neo appeared in his real-world form, it made countless viewers feel physically uncomfortable and deeply shocked.

Humans being used by robots as living batteries—this idea is too outrageous!

"Will such a thing happen in the future? That's too terrifying!" a girl whispered.

Her boyfriend beside her said: "Impossible, this is just the director's fantasy; computers weren't even widespread, and AI robots hadn't been built yet!"

"Then maybe we shouldn't build them at all!"

When the original Matrix was filmed, real-world computers and televisions were still very bulky, and phones were all button-based.

Using these items in future-world scenes seemed somewhat out of place to Jiang Heng.

Therefore, in his version, the Matrix world is set in 1997, and the electronic products that appear use the styles of that year. Meanwhile, the computers, televisions, and phones seen aboard the ship in the film are modeled after products from around 2020.

For audiences in 1997, that was quite sci-fi.

As for TV, computer, and phone manufacturers being inspired by the film to design better-looking products, that's another story.

On the big screen, the film's content continued.

Gao Xiong's Morpheus began training Neo in combat skills.

Gao Xiong, who had previously played Huo Yuanjia, Wu Yan Zu having a deep martial arts foundation and being handsome, the fight flowed smoothly and exhilaratingly, and Neo's role also began to become appealing.

At this point, Yuan Hua's insider made his appearance.

It turned out he regretted his earlier choice; having chosen the real world, he could only follow Morpheus, living like a rat, constantly hiding and scrounging, eating nothing but thin porridge every day.

He felt that enduring such a harsh and miserable reality was less enjoyable than being a wealthy noble in the virtual world.

So he betrayed the group; the opening scene where Trinity is captured happened because he leaked the information.

Now he sneaked into the Matrix and met Agent Smith, played by Yuan De.

As long as the latter agreed to let him be a wealthy noble in the Matrix world, he would betray Morpheus and the others.

Smith naturally agreed, and then the protagonist and company faced their greatest danger.

After seeing Zheng Peipei's Oracle, when Morpheus and company were leaving, Neo suddenly noticed a black cat appearing twice at the doorway, with almost identical shaking motions.

Morpheus guessed that the agents had detected them and altered the building's settings, at which point the Matrix world could have a bug appear.

Neo seeing the same black cat pass the doorway twice, with the same shaking motion, was the bug that appeared during the alteration.

"Holy shit, this setting is too awesome!"

"Our world might have bugs too!"

"I have a classmate who disappeared; nobody remembers him—does that count as a bug?"

"Maybe he just lacks presence!"

"He really exists!"

The audience whispered among themselves, and as the plot progressed, the dialogues of Neo, Trinity, and others, as well as Smith's interrogation of Morpheus, helped them understand the film's worldview ever better.

Then, when the scene of Neo and Trinity entering the Matrix to rescue Morpheus appeared, the audience was truly utterly astonished.

In the one and a half hours, the usually meek Neo, after putting on a trench coat and sunglasses, wielding dual guns and going on a rampage alongside Trinity, was simply incredibly handsome.

At that moment, more than half of the nationwide cinema audience almost simultaneously became fans of Wu Yan Zu and Li Meiqi, especially the former, as many felt his performance in this scene surpassed the heroic image established by Zhou Runfa.

It wasn't due to many moral or sentimental factors; it was simply pure handsomeness!

Compared to the past, there seemed to be no action scene more handsome than this.

Especially the iconic scene of Neo dodging bullets made the nationwide audience exclaim and marvel, "Damn, can a domestic film really pull this off?"

Even a Hollywood film would shock them tremendously!

Immediately after, a faint sense of pride welled up!

We Chinese can also produce special-effects blockbusters that rival Hollywood!

By this point the movie's plot is already halfway through, and many domestic filmmakers who came to watch know that this film is a sure hit, its box office destined to explode!

Because as long as the later plot doesn't fall flat, it won't affect the box office.

The problem is, according to the current film's logic and plot, many filmmakers think they could themselves come up with a roughly similar ending to get by, trusting that Jiang Heng's version won't be off.

The worst fear is that filmmakers won't know how to handle the later part; Director Wang Jing, when interviewed, said he knew the film was doomed halfway through watching The Great Wall, because even he didn't know how to proceed, and he guessed Zhang Yimou also just gritted his teeth and finished it.

But Jiang Heng's filmed The Matrix has an even more exciting ending plot.

Yuan De's portrayal of Smith, possessing a homeless man in the subway station, is an agent equivalent to the Matrix world's antivirus level, able to access any 'file' as it were, easily blocking the escaping Neo.

The two sides faced off briefly, then swiftly launched into battle.

They drew guns and fired; the shots flew into midair, tracing bullet paths across the sky, countless viewers shouting in exhilaration.

Moreover, the ensuing hand-to-hand combat was even more spectacular.

Although the fight scenes in the original The Matrix, designed by Yuan Heping, were also impressive, Keanu Reeves and Hugo Weaving ultimately lacked martial arts foundation, making this version with Wu Yan Zu and Yuan De far superior by leaps and bounds.

The difference is roughly like upgrading from wuxia novels to xianxia—just one word: exhilarating!

(End of chapter)