Chapter 470

Wu Yusen's facial expression was not looking good.

Because after repeated discussion and consultation, the final release date for the upper part of "The Crossing" was set for July 22, that Saturday.

Its release date was only eight days apart from that of "The Return of the Condor Heroes".

It will definitely be affected to some extent at the box office.

Of course, Wu Yusen still has confidence in the film's performance and box office.

It is simply that the market performance of "The New Heaven Sword and Dragon Sabre" is too good, putting considerable pressure on him.

"Congratulations, your two consecutive films have been big sellers; even in Neidi you've made a name for yourself!" Wu Yusen said.

Wang Jing hastily said modestly: "Ah, not really, not really; my little ability is known to all. Today's results are entirely thanks to everyone's support; actually anyone could do it!"

The others in the room, upon hearing this, indeed felt much more at ease.

Because Wang Jing's foray into Neidi so far, the only films that can be called box-office hits are "Macau Storm" and "The Return of the Condor Heroes".

The common point of these two films is their strong cast; especially the latter, which stars a superstar like Jiang Heng, and also features cameos by big names such as Cheng Long, Li Lianjie, and Zhou Xingchi, with over a hundred action stars participating. Even if directed by a newcomer, the box office would not be poor.

Thus, Wang Jing merely happened to be in the right place at the right time; it cannot be credited to his ability.

But ordinary viewers and investors may not think of that; they simply feel that Wang Jing was already formidable in Xianggang, and after moving to Neidi he has only gotten better.

In another tavern in Jingcheng, Feng Xiaogang, Ge You, Xu Zheng, Zheng Xiaolong and others gathered and were also discussing the box-office hit "The New Heaven Sword and Dragon Sabre".

"It's so hot it's like watching movies for free—the theater is packed with people, you can't move inside, and they spill out onto the street!" Ge You's remark was still his usual exaggerated comedy.

Feng Xiaogang was more objective: "If we're talking about martial arts films, the ones from Xianggang are still better; this film is indeed good!"

Xu Zheng sighed: "Times really have changed—back then breaking a hundred million at the box office was already tough, but in just a few years even Wang Jing can make films grossing ten or twenty billion!"

Feng Xiaogang's expression shifted slightly upon hearing this, and he silently took a drink.

The market has changed considerably over these years; Neidi's box-office record has surpassed three billion, which doubles the pressure on Director Feng, who already worried about falling behind.

Moreover, seeing newcomers like Xu Zheng and Ning Hao successively join the ranks of "billion-dollar directors," and having a veteran Xianggang director like Wang Jing with "The Return of the Condor Heroes," Director Feng's pressure is no longer just "huge"; he is genuinely worried, not knowing what to film.

That's why I called the brothers out for drinks and chat! Zheng Xiaolong said: "Others' films are big sellers—that's their talent. We, however, need to focus on what we're good at. Old Feng, if you ask me, you should still be making comedies!"

Feng Xiaogang gave a wry smile: "I'd like to, but there's no suitable script!"

Ge You said: "Where there's a generous reward, there will be brave souls; as long as you're willing to spend money, you can surely find a suitable one!"

Xu Zheng also chimed in with ideas, and the few of them had a lively discussion.

Speaking of "The Return of the Condor Heroes," it not only sold well at the box office but also had a very good reputation, opening with a score of 8.3 on Douban and quickly rising to 8.7.

It's not that the film has profound connotations or artistic merit; purely as a commercial film, it is truly outstanding!

It can be called the most entertaining and watchable Chinese-language action film of the past decade, causing cinemas in popular commercial districts everywhere to sell out, with audiences pouring in. Naturally the box office rose day by day: the second day took in 2.83 hundred million, the third day 2.52 hundred million, and the opening weekend grossed 7.74 hundred million—making it the best result among Xianggang directors aside from Jiang Heng.

However, starting from the weekdays of the second week, the daily box office of "The Return of the Condor Heroes" began to slip, taking in 1.89 hundred million.

Over the following days it gradually declined, yet still posted daily box office above 1.5 hundred million, and the performance remained impressive.

Pressure naturally passed on to the upcoming "The Crossing," so its promotion team decided to hold a national premiere media screening on July 20 at Jingcheng's Great Joy City to warm up for the nationwide release two days later.

And after the screening ended, Wu Yusen appeared at the theater together with lead actor Tong Dawei, engaging in zero-distance interaction with the first batch of viewers.

The film's plot revolves around the romances of three couples; the characters played by Tong Dawei and Zhang Ziyi are a love of strangers meeting by chance.

Among them, Tong Dawei's character, the communications squad leader Tong Daqing, peppers the film with Northeastern dialect, essentially covering all the comedy points, and is highly appreciated by the on‑site audience.

As for the film's storyline, the audience found it somewhat confusing.

In their view, the film is long and draggy, its plot extremely scattered, utterly incomparable to Titanic! And in terms of entertainment and watchability, it cannot be mentioned in the same breath as the currently showing "The New Heaven Sword and Dragon Sabre".

But in the next day's media reports, it turned into universal praise for "The Crossing," and the film's word‑of‑mouth went through the roof.

Who were the viewers? Naturally, they were the guests present at the event.

As film critic Hu Jianli put it: "The overall texture of the film is excellent; whether from the actors' performances, character designs, or set decoration, it conveys the gravitas of an epic blockbuster."

Others praised the film's war scenes, saying that in "The Crossing" (Part 1) they saw a war spectacle rarely seen in domestic cinema, even unprecedented, that was profoundly moving.

Moreover, some critics strongly recommended the film to audiences, saying that the love of that era is yearned for, and that love's power can transcend time and transcend the years.

Before its release, the media's assessment of the film had consistently been positive.

And soon the date arrived—July 22, the official opening day of the upper part of "The Crossing"—and the film took in only 31 million yuan on its first day.

When the news came out, everyone was shocked, simply because this box‑office result was really too low.

And the film's several production companies were dumbfounded; they had not expected that, after years of preparation and huge investment, "The Crossing" would end up with such a dismal outcome.

What's worse, not only was the box office poor, but the reputation was even worse.

Audiences' biggest complaint was that they came eager to see the Republican‑era Titanic‑style sinking ship, but spent most of the time watching Huang Xiaoming's smile and chin, and even after the film ended they still hadn't seen a sinking—truly disappointing.

As for the so‑called romance of the three couples that Director Wu Yusen highlighted in promotion, audiences found it unimpressive as well.

First, the storyline is really too loose, failing to highlight the main points, and the scene transitions feel forced.

Second, naturally it lacks emotional impact, because the storyline is too loose and the focus isn't sharp, which prevents viewers from immersing themselves in the characters and thus from feeling empathy for them.

As a result, many viewers could not be moved by this film that marketed love as its selling point, which is somewhat embarrassing! (End of chapter)