Chapter 40: The Blockbuster Midnight Screening

The so‑called film promotion is just grabbing a selling point and hyping it up.

And that selling point should ideally shock, pique curiosity, or simply be interesting to the audience.

A typical example is "Double Weekly One Success"; its star's film selling point is crystal clear. Cheng Long before 2000 was consistently above average in action comedies, and even Zhou Xingxing's cameo in "King of the Thousand Kings 2000" was a decent comedy.

Jia Ling gets scolded mercilessly, yet the audience thinks her movies might be fun, and losing that much weight all at once is indeed shocking.

Some stars are hugely famous but can't carry box‑office numbers, mainly because after viewers browse the poster and promotional info they find nothing interesting—that's the worst.

And Jiang Heng's film "Prehistoric One Hundred Million Years" naturally boasts the most striking selling point: stunning visual effects and realistic dinosaurs.

Speaking of dinosaurs, Neidi audiences have seen them too.

The 1993 "Jurassic Park 1", though never officially released in Neidi, had pirated tapes everywhere.

And "Jurassic Park 2: The Lost World" landed in the summer of 1997, raking 72 million yuan in box office, becoming that year's historical box‑office champion, essentially the first time Neidi audiences saw dinosaurs on the big screen.

In the following years, Hollywood monster movies generally performed well at the Neidi box office.

Later, even web‑films managed to get a slice of the pie with this theme.

In 2018, a web‑film called "Big Snake", funded with over 7 million and starring unknown actors, scored 3.3 on Douban yet grossed over 50 million yuan in profit‑sharing box office.

By roughly calculating the profit‑share ratio, it's equivalent to a theatrical film that earned 150 million yuan.

Its impact was notable, prompting a flood of monster‑themed web‑films to launch.

So although the genre is littered with bad movies, there are indeed viewers.

After hearing Jiang Heng's various descriptions, many guests and reporters were fully excited.

Then, as usual, came the test‑screening segment, but this time they showed a modern‑world storyline.

There's no way around it; to "control" the film's budget, the dinosaurs' screen time is timed down to the minute and second—any longer and they're cut.

Fortunately, the modern plot is decent enough to get by.

After the ceremony, they still handed "travel allowances" to the reporters and invited the attending guests to dine at a nearby hotel.

Zhang Yimou seized the chance to have a lengthy discussion with Jiang Heng and realized the man knows quite a lot.

Soon after, major entertainment media reported that the "Domestic Jurassic" and "the first Chinese dinosaur blockbuster" were set to debut in the New Year slate.

And a slew of exclusive interviews about Jiang Heng, Wu Yan Zu, Li Meiqi and others were also released.

What most intrigues the audience is the word "domestic".

Watching "Jurassic Park" used to be a blast, but because the protagonists were foreigners, the sense of identification was always a bit lacking.

Now swapping in Chinese faces truly makes it exciting just to imagine.

Soon the 17th arrived, and cinema entrances displayed advance‑sale posters for the midnight screening of "Prehistoric One Hundred Million Years".

A Wei rode his bike, his cheeks reddened from the cold, arrived at Huaxing Cinema, parked his bicycle, and upon entering saw several long queues full of young lads.

A Wei took off his cotton gloves, stood silently in the line, thinking about the schedule for the late midnight screening.

The school is definitely out of reach; should I look for a hotel or take her to an internet cafe!

Going to a hotel might seem too frivolous, but going to an internet cafe feels a bit unsatisfying!

A Wei was momentarily indecisive.

But recalling his good brother's words, his heart stirred with excitement.

"I took her to see 'Jurassic 2'; the dinosaurs hadn't even appeared yet, and she snuggled into my arms—just one word, awesome! Brother, this movie is a great chance; if you don't ask her, someone else might. Imagine her going with another guy, getting …"

Before finishing the sentence, A Wei burst out, deciding to ask her—not just to watch the movie, but to attend the midnight screening.

In fact, he and that girl have already had several meals together and both feel a good vibe.

He's just too shy, never daring to confess, and his hesitation has left the girl indifferent.

His brother urged him to act quickly, to strike while the iron is hot; once the momentum passes, there's basically no chance.

A Wei felt the same, steeled his resolve and rushed to line up.

On the way he still feared that the midnight crowd would be too small, making it awkward.

He didn't want to enter the cinema only to discover there were actually so many people. From the staff's intercom, it sounded like several auditoriums were full and more were being added.

After finally getting his turn, he found all the good seats taken, so he could only pick a side seat.

A Wei hesitated only a few seconds, heard complaints from people behind, quickly paid for two tickets, rushed out of the cinema and returned to the dorm to make a phone call.

Before dialing, his heart pounded nervously; after stewing for a while, he finally placed the call.

The girl's voice was a bit chilly when she answered, but upon learning they'd watch the midnight screening of "Prehistoric One Hundred Million Years", she instantly became interested.

"I heard this film's pretty good; I've wanted to see it for a long time!"

"Hehe, that's great; I was worried you wouldn't want to go!"

"How could that be? Wait for me downstairs; I'll freshen up first, then we'll eat together!"

A Wei's heart swelled with joy, feeling as if his bones were two taels lighter.

First he'd pick the girl up for a meal, then take her to an off‑campus internet cafe; when the time was right, they'd hail a taxi to the cinema.

Inside the cinema, it was packed; every seat was taken by couples.

"So many people! Looks like the tickets sold well!" the girl praised.

A Wei chuckled, "Director Jiang Heng's new film can't go wrong; I'll go get cola and popcorn."

"Mm, add extra ice to my drink, please!"

"Oh, okay!" He thought adding more ice would just dilute it.

But the venue was noisy and crowded, everyone lining up, so he swallowed his comment.

After buying cola and popcorn, the two chatted in a corner, and the girl said, "If Director Jiang Heng made a 'Journey to the West', that'd be great!"

"Do you like 'Journey to the West'?"

"Don't you think 'Journey to the West' with flashy special effects would look especially cool?"

A Wei thought, "Hmm, indeed! Just seeing the Golden Cudgel grow and shrink would be fun."

The girl's cheeks flushed slightly, she let out an "hmm", and then said: "Next time Director Jiang Heng releases a new film, let's come watch again!"

Awei was overjoyed: "Great, let's come watch the midnight show then!"

The girl was a bit annoyed: "Still the midnight show—you don't know staying up late gives you wrinkles!"

Just then, the theaters started checking tickets; the girl snorted and walked ahead on her own.

Awei, oblivious, followed behind the girl and queued up.

Not long after they were seated in the theater, the lights dimmed, the dragon logo lit up, and 'One Hundred Million Years BC' officially premiered.

On the big screen, a taxi was driving along the city streets; the radio broadcast news of an impending miraculous celestial phenomenon, the 'Nine Stars Linked Pearls', and the host droned on about the related legends.

The camera panned, revealing the face of the front-seat passenger—it was Wu Yan Zu.

(End of Chapter)