Chapter 238: Overwhelming Superiority

The day the box office results for Mad Monkey Sage were announced was precisely the premiere day of Pacific Rim 2.

In Neidi, theaters in the commercial centers of major cities were almost all sold out, filled with people coming to watch mechs fight monsters, and many theaters had already sold out all tickets for the day.

Most viewers, seeing this situation, generally decided to wait two days before watching.

However, some impatient people took taxis to remote theaters just to see the film.

As a result, some theaters in poor locations still had over sixty percent occupancy that day, with individual showings even reaching ninety percent.

A cinema manager in the suburbs of Jing saw this and couldn't help but sigh, 'It really has to be Director Jiang's film—this audience, so enthusiastic, truly has this passion!'

The financial sister beside him laughed and said, 'That's right—you say we picked such a lousy location, almost out to the Fifth Ring Road; normally nobody comes, and we rely all year on Director Jiang's film to make any money.'

The manager sighed, 'Indeed, without Director Jiang's film we truly couldn't stay afloat! No, we must make the most of this month and a half of good timing—we should keep just one showing a day of Mad Monkey Sage and schedule the rest for Pacific Rim 2.'

The financial sister said, 'In my opinion, we shouldn't have signed that distribution agreement—what a terrible film, daring to compete with Director Jiang's film in the same slot!'

The manager also wondered, 'You say Liu Zhenwei is also a big director, and Xie Tingfeng and Cai Zhuoyan are big stars too—how did they produce such a thing! Over in Xianggang, they churn out far too many bad films!'

The financial sister said, 'They're all just restless, eager to make quick money—who would calm down and make a proper film? Only Director Jiang and Xing Ye are willing to do so.'

'If that's the case, does next year's Red Cliff also look doubtful? I was still looking forward to it!'

Speaking of male viewers in Neidi, they truly find it hard to resist epic films with a Three Kingdoms theme, and this cinema manager is also a Three Kingdoms buff, eagerly awaiting the premiere of next year's Red Cliff so he can get an early look.

The financial sister said, 'How would I know? Anyway, I want to watch Slay the Immortal!'

The manager said, 'I hope Director Wu Yusen does a good job on this film and makes a classic Three Kingdoms epic!'

……

At Huayi Company, Wang Zhonglei stared at the data report before him, his face filled with shock.

'Are these numbers wrong?'

'We've double-checked by phone—there's no mistake!'

'How is that possible? It made 3.23 million on the first day, then dropped to 670,000 the next—who sees such a drop?'

'Boss, Pacific Rim 2 is too hot—now all the prime and regular slots at domestic theaters are booked for Pacific Rim 2, squeezing Mad Monkey Sage out to the dump. In a couple days, there may be even fewer screenings!'

Wang Zhonglei's face grew even graver upon hearing that.

At this rate, perhaps it will fall to five hundred thousand tomorrow, which would be a joke.

No, it's probably already a joke right now!

'What was the opening day box office for Pacific Rim 2?'

'There's no exact news yet—some say 53 million, others say 59 million!'

Wang Zhonglei felt his head swim a little upon hearing that—this damn thing can't even compare to a fraction of theirs!

But thinking about it, it's normal—Pacific Rim 2's total investment was 1.2 billion USD, which converts to nearly ten billion RMB; you'd need to make over four hundred million USD worldwide just to break even, while Mad Monkey Sage had only a fraction of that investment!

Perhaps changing the release window would have made it profitable—choosing this slot was utterly foolish, as if they'd taken leave of their senses!

'Alright, you can go now!'

After sending the department manager away, Wang Zhonglei paced a few steps, called Yang Shoucheng of Yinghuang, and reported yesterday's box office results along with his suggestion.

'Let's withdraw it, wait until after the New Year, pick a new slot, and re-release it!'

Yang Shoucheng heard this and flew into a rage: 'Withdraw it? What a joke—pirated DVDs are already out; if we withdraw and then re-release, who would still go to the theaters to watch it?'

Wang Zhonglei thought to himself, 'It's not your fault—you insisted on this slot, causing me to lose money, and I haven't settled this account with you yet!'

He retorted, 'Then what should we do?'

'You said the screening share is already tiny, right? Let's hold a press conference and claim that Jiang Heng is suppressing competitors in scheduling!'

'And then?'

Wang Zhonglei asked, actually wanting to say, 'What good would that do?'

The largest cinema chain in Neidi is the Sino‑Film and Faction: Outstanding Rising Film Company joint venture 'China Film Red' cinema chain; second is United Cinema Chain, third is Great Earth Cinema Chain, fourth is China Film South, and fifth is the 'Red Crimson' cinema chain formed by Faction: Outstanding Rising Film Company's subsidiary 'Red Crimson Film' and Shanghai Film Group.

Among the top five cinema chains by market share in Neidi, three are owned by China Film and Faction: Outstanding Rising Film Company.

If you now claim that their chains are suppressing you in scheduling, people will only find it laughable!

Furthermore, given the quality of Mad Monkey Sage, saying that would never earn any sympathy.

Only when a good film is suppressed do audiences feel sympathy.

But Yang Shoucheng doesn't see it that way; he only feels that the company's films are being oppressed and bullied in Neidi.

However, he also knows that Neidi might not take him seriously, so he first held a press conference in Xianggang.

He denounced Jiang Heng as the biggest 'tumor' in the Chinese‑language film market, monopolizing the best New Year and summer slots, squeezing competitors' survival space in scheduling; such a situation is extremely rare in the global film market, and he urged Neidi to develop healthily and soundly.

The media in Xianggang love a good scandal and aren't afraid to blow things up, reporting this frenziedly, yet public opinion holds that the theaters in Neidi have done nothing wrong.

Because the theaters here have also greatly reduced showings of Mad Monkey Sage and increased those of Pacific Rim 2.

And they themselves also think Liu Zhenwei's film this time is not very good.

It's been many years, yet they're still using the same old tricks.

After the news spread, Neidi's various media outlets reprinted it en masse and all wanted to interview Jiang Heng to ask his view on the matter.

Jiang Heng had no time to pay attention, as he was currently being interviewed by the program team of CCTV 7's Military Agriculture Channel.

The program team invited the renowned domestic military theorist and commentator 'Ju Zuo' to discuss the modern weapons appearing in Pacific Rim 2.

What especially interested Ju Zuo were naturally the film's 'drones' and 'robot dogs'.

He and Jiang Heng discussed at length the feasibility of these two weapons and the potential battlefield results they could achieve.

Once this episode aired, it quickly gained decent ratings and was repeatedly rebroadcast by CCTV 7.

On major Chinese‑language forums, many military enthusiasts engaged in heated debate over it.

The box office of Pacific Rim 2 in Neidi also rose steadily under various influences, swiftly breaking through one hundred million, two hundred million, three hundred million, five hundred million…

Meanwhile, in the Beimei market, Pacific Rim 2, upon release, quickly ended King Kong's box office prospects and took the weekly championship.

As for the film's main battlefield, Japan, it also drew huge crowds of fans to watch monsters ravage Tokyo Bay.

In the opening of the film, Ling Lao Yao, who appears for less than a minute, saw her popularity soar due to her performance in Pacific Rim 2, becoming a rising star in the Japanese film world.

(End of chapter)