Chapter 383

Huayi Company, inside the boss's office.

Wang Zhonglei's face was very grim, and Feng Xiaogang opposite him also wore a stern expression.

They have encountered a crisis; the company's key project film this year, 'No Problem 2', actually got blocked by 'Lost in Thailand'.

This was something no one had anticipated before the film's release date was set.

After all, in the entire Chinese-language film market, the director landscape is clearly a pattern of 'one dominant, many strong'.

Jiang Heng is transcendent and extraordinary; he is no longer something the other few 'great directors' can catch up to, and can be called the absolute ruler of the commercial film field.

Besides Jiang Heng, those who can be called 'great directors' are none other than Zhang Yimou, Chen Kaige, Feng Xiaogang, Jiang Wen, Cheng Long, Wu Yusen, Zhou Xingxing, Xu Ke and a few others.

Several of them missed the New Year's holiday slot for various reasons; Xu Ke did have 'Flying Swords of Dragon Gate', but its genre differs from 'No Problem 2', and the release dates are spaced more than ten days apart, so its impact can be said to be minimal.

Both Wang Zhonglei and Feng Xiaogang never expected that a small film like 'Lost in Thailand' could actually press 'No Problem 2' to the ground and rub it in; it's truly unexpected.

In terms of release schedule, 'No Problem 2' is set for December 22, a Wednesday.

'Lost in Thailand' was delayed by two days, set for December 24, a Friday.

Yet it is precisely these two days that formed a blockade against 'No Problem 2', causing its box office to plummet in a straight line.

Actually, in the original timeline, 'No Problem 2' was a very awkward film; its root perhaps lay in Wang Shuo's participation! For it is said that in 'No Problem 1', when Qin Fen and Wu Sang parted, they spoke words from the heart, and Feng Xiaogang, speaking through the character, was showing goodwill to his 'Beidou Star' Wang Shuo.

'Money means nothing to me; I just lack friends—those few best ones have all gone their separate ways!'

Afterwards, Wu Sang drove off, singing a mournful song, unable to hold back tears that poured like rain.

That segment indeed captured the sentiments of middle-aged men.

Those friends who were once indispensable and extremely close in life suddenly vanished from one's life one day, with no further contact.

Wang Shuo perhaps was moved by that segment, and it was rare for him to collaborate again with Feng Xiaogang, joining the 'No Problem 2' crew as a screenwriter.

The result was that 'No Problem 2' strengthened the friendship thread, greatly reduced its comedic elements, and boldly explored the fear of death and transcendence.

This somewhat runs counter to audience expectations, since everyone came to watch liveliness and comedy, and with the New Year approaching, who wants to talk about death?

In another timeline, 'No Problem 2' did not engage in close-quarters combat with other rivals in the same slot, so its box office performance was decent, grossing 470 million.

But this time it's different; with only two days separating it from 'Lost in Thailand', the latter's comedic color and humor are truly far stronger than 'No Problem 2'.

As a result, over the weekend, tickets for 'Lost in Thailand' were hard to come by, while the daily box office for 'No Problem 2' dropped sharply.

Both Wang Zhonglei and Feng Xiaogang wore worried expressions.

'How embarrassing—I've been making comedies for so many years, yet today a rookie director outdid me!' Feng Xiaogang lamented.

Wang Zhonglei also reflected, 'I thought that by keeping a distance from Jiang Heng I'd have nothing to fear, but I never imagined…!' To be honest, it wasn't just these two who were shocked; the entire Chinese-language entertainment industry was stunned by 'Lost in Thailand's' box office performance.

Even more shocking is that the film's producer is Broad Sodium Film Industry, whose major shareholder is Jiang Heng.

That Jiang Heng's own films are impressive is one thing, but now even a film from a company under his name, directed by a newcomer, is this impressive—it's truly shocking! 'The absolute ruler of the Chinese-language entertainment industry, consecutively dominating the Spring Festival, summer, and New Year slots…'

The 'Southern Evening News' actually tallied all the films released in recent years by Outstanding Rising Film Company and Broad Sodium Film Industry; analyzing box office numbers and share proportions, it concluded that Jiang Heng in fact occupies a monopoly position in the Chinese-language film market, a conclusion that caused an uproar in the industry.

The article further notes that Director Zhang Yimou has joined Outstanding Rising Film Company, but due to his slower filming pace he was unable to participate in this year's New Year slot.

If Zhang Yimou shoots a big film next year, then the share of the 'Outstanding Rising camp' in the Chinese-language film market will be even greater…

The first impression this article gives is that the southern media truly dares to say and report anything! Secondly, one wonders whether Jiang Heng is really this formidable in the film circle. As the discussion sparked by the article intensifies, more media outlets jump in, reporting on Jiang Heng's other investments in the film and television industry.

As for the domestic top-ranked China Film Red Red and third-ranked Shanghai Film Red Red cinema chains, Jiang Heng's affiliated Red Red Cinema Line Investment Management Company is the second-largest shareholder in both.

For the other few cinema chains, Jiang Heng also holds a minor stake.

Besides that, special effects production, film equipment rental, animation industry parks, film and television amusement parks, film shooting bases, film and television merchandise toys… it can be said that the industries involved by Jiang Heng or Outstanding Rising Film Company have all been exposed by the media.

Needless to say, this time it is clearly targeted.

In the meeting room of Outstanding Rising Film Company, Du Huan, Li Xiaoping and other company executives all wore solemn expressions.

Jiang Heng's reaction was not too bad; he did not panic overly, as he has always conducted business lawfully, merely having developed too well by accident.

Du Huan said with a solemn expression: 'As far as we know, our performance in this year's New Year slot has been truly excellent. *Galaxy Pursuit of Beauties*, *Wolf Warrior*, *Flying Swords of Dragon Gate*, *Lost in Thailand*—each film is a box‑office smash, and *Lost in Thailand*'s results have been soaring past *No Problem 2* all the way, heading toward a billion‑yuan box office.'

Everyone hearing this couldn't help but laugh, thinking the phrase 'stepping on *No Problem 2*' was quite amusing.

Du Huan remained solemn: 'Other companies are afraid. In the domestic hot slots, Director Jiang usually takes two, which already leaves everyone dissatisfied. This time they feel he's taken them all.'

'Release‑slot competition is simply a matter of each relying on their own abilities; what does it have to do with how we develop?'

'Exactly, it shows we're doing our business well. To be frank, if the media hadn't exposed it, we wouldn't have known our company had developed this well!'

'Yeah, it's just too strong!'

Jiang Heng waved his hand and sighed: 'We always need to leave others a way to survive; this year's New Year slot results are indeed somewhat astonishing, so next time we should pay attention and stagger the releases.'

In terms of public opinion, the impact on Jiang Heng is actually not that great.

Once this wave of hype passes, the audience will also forget about it.

People might even think that Jiang Heng can surpass all those Hollywood big directors, and reaching this stage in his career is quite normal.

Jiang Heng is merely worried that the leadership of the Film Bureau, under pressure from various companies, might introduce policies unfavorable to him, which would be troublesome.

(End of chapter)