Chapter 201: First-Day Box Office, Art Film Record

"The Fault in Our Stars" begins its main feature.

It opens with Liu Liu Yifei's monologue, complaining about illness and maternal love.

Several lead actors sit together; Zhu Zhu Yawen teases Huang Bo.

"What are you looking down for? Your shot is coming up soon."

"Haha..."

Everyone couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"Are you all doing this on purpose?"

Huang Bo raised his head, retorted with a bad temper, then also looked at the screen.

In the movie footage, a group of lead actors sat together introducing their respective illnesses, and nothing seemed out of place at first.

Not until Huang Bo's shot appeared.

He sat there, legs pressed together, looking desolate: "I, I... testicular cancer... already removed..."

This scene instantly triggered uproarious laughter at the premiere venue.

Many people even shouted Huang Bo's name toward this side, joking:

"My condolences; at least you're okay..."

Liu Liu Yifei held Lin Nan's hand, leaning against the latter's shoulder while watching the big screen.

In this atmosphere, watching the love story she and Lin Nan acted in evoked an indescribable feeling—very peaceful, very beautiful.

Many people were drawn in; this was a pure, clean artistic love film, and they hoped the two would walk their path to a happy ending together...

Not until the illnesses of the male and female leads in the film deteriorated one after another did everyone finally realize.

This was an award-winning artistic film; what good ending could there be!

"Could Lin Dao's film be a tragedy? That would be such a pity..."

Murmurs gradually rose.

Zhang Zhang Yimou, Gu Gu Changwei, and others had already reached a conclusion: "Most likely a tragedy; we just don't know which one will die."

"This is arguably Liu Yifei's best performance since her acting debut, bar none."

Xing Aina nudged Ning Hao with her elbow and asked.

"Yes; if anyone else played the male lead, this effect wouldn't exist..."

The film was nearing its end.

Liu Liu Yifei shed countless tears, pouring every ounce of strength into portraying her love and reluctance to part with Lin Nan.

The final result came out: the male lead played by Lin Nan died.

As she read that belated love letter, tears streamed uncontrollably; she wept with heart-wrenching agony...

"Even if I am no longer here, I still love you."

It was clear that many people in the audience had slightly reddened eyes.

Lin Nan and Liu Liu Yifei knew the premiere was a great success!

The entire creative team returned to the stage, and the applause below continued unabated.

"Thank you," Liu Liu Yifei said softly.

Reporters' questions arrived.

"Liu Yifei, was it very painful while filming this movie?"

"Yes; I almost couldn't stop myself from crying every day. What you see is the two-hour version; Lin Nan also cut a three-hour version.

That version was even more heartbreaking, but we kept it for ourselves to collect and watch. Hehehe..."

In the eyes of many actresses, this was another very romantic thing, and they were envious.

"How long did it take to get out of character?"

"I originally thought sleeping would fix it, but for a full two weeks, I had no energy and felt terrible; Lin Nan accompanied me..."

"The outside world is saying you and Lin Dao each invested half; is that true?"

Liu Liu Yifei glanced at Lin Nan, then nodded and answered: "That's correct."

At that moment, all the film companies present lost their composure.

The actors were even more bitterly envious; how much money must that earn?!

"I'm not very concerned about the box office, but Lin Nan said it shouldn't be low."

There aren't many directors who dare to say an artistic film's box office won't be low.

But everyone present agreed on one thing.

Namely, Lin Nan plus Liu Liu Yifei truly had a very high probability of creating a box-office miracle for domestic artistic films.

"Can you tell us the copyright transaction amount at the Cannes Film Festival?"

A media reporter boldly asked this question, which many insiders had long been curious about.

Liu Liu Yifei looked at Lin Nan again; the latter smiled and nodded.

"28.6 million US dollars."

As the words landed, most people in the venue gasped in shock.

Such earnings were beyond description; many film companies wouldn't necessarily earn that much in one or two years!

"The Fault in Our Stars" premiere concluded.

News quickly appeared on various portal websites.

"This Qixi, don't miss the heartfelt love film: 'The Fault in Our Stars.'"

"The love film 'Star Destiny,' directed by Lin Nan and starring Liu Liu Yifei, will be officially released tomorrow!"

"Liu Liu Yifei dominates the premiere with poise and grace!"

…………

'Passengers in Space' took two days off.

That means on the first day of 'Star Destiny's' release, Lin Nan and Liu Liu Yifei could stay home and watch online reviews.

Miss Liu cares deeply about this.

Qixi has arrived.

As the final month of the summer season, only two domestic films have generated major buzz at the box office.

One is 'Star Destiny,' the other is 'The Silent War 2,' though the latter won't be released for another half-month.

'Star Destiny' is also the most hyped domestic film—Lin Nan and Liu Liu Yifei!

With Qixi and the summer season, 'Star Destiny' will be one of countless couples' top choices.

Liu Liu Yifei unusually woke up early, earlier than Lin Nan.

She sat alone in the garden pavilion, scrolling through news articles, all of which carried headlines about 'Star Destiny's' release.

Only one or two foreign films were direct competitors.

"Audience reviews won't start appearing until the afternoon—why are you in such a rush now?"

Lin Nan yawned and sat down across from Liu Liu Yifei.

Liu Liu Yifei ignored Lin Nan, absorbed in the online reports.

Media reviews were all positive—partly because the film actually won awards, and partly because of Lin Nan and Liu Liu Yifei.

…………

In the afternoon, Miss Liu finally received the reviews she had been waiting for.

"A wonderful film. My girlfriend cried for a long time curled up in my arms. Lin Dao's love letter was beautifully written—what a tragic death..."

"Though the ending is serious and painful, the characters aren't oppressive; Liu Liu Yifei even has moments of humor—when she cries, she's truly beautiful..."

"This is an uplifting film—a pure, comfortable love story!"

……

Netizens' reviews were all positive.

Even film critics rarely nitpicked or picked bones this time.

Perhaps because 'Star Destiny' won awards abroad!

Liu Liu Yifei beamed as she read the reviews, occasionally leaving anonymous comments and giving likes.

…………

Early the next morning, at China Film Digital Production Base, the 'Passengers in Space' crew.

"Back to work again..."

The cast sat before makeup tables, getting their makeup done.

"Lin Dao, has the opening day box office been released yet?" Zhou Xun asked.

"It's not even seven yet—the data won't be announced by China Film Distribution until around eight."

"Oh, then we'll wait a bit longer."

Lin Nan glanced at the director's chair—Liu Liu Yifei was dozing there.

She must have stayed up late reading reviews last night, set an alarm, and still dragged herself out of bed this morning!

Now she was curled up in Lin Nan's chair, catching up on sleep.

Everyone quietly lowered their voices, trying not to disturb her.

…………

"Lin Dao, we're ready."

"Then let's begin."

"Action!"

The male lead, portrayed by Liu Liu Dehua, finally couldn't bear his inner torment any longer, tidied his appearance, and stepped out.

On screen, Zhou Xun stared blankly at Liu Liu Dehua.

"Hello, why are we the only two people here?"

Liu Liu Dehua explained everything he knew, emphasizing: the hibernation pod was broken, and they had woken up too early.

"Watch his eyes—they're avoiding contact. That's the detail."

Lin Nan pointed at the monitor and spoke to the person beside him, Especially Reba—teach as much as he could.

He had a feeling that in a few years, he might actually want to return to school and teach?

He imagined Beijing Film Academy would welcome him gladly!

On screen.

Zhou Xun instantly looked lost, unable to accept it.

"We need to call for help—where are the crew members?"

"They're in special secure hibernation chambers. All critical systems—including the nuclear reactor, control panels, engines—have firewalls we can't bypass..."

The shot cut to the two standing outside the crew's secure hibernation chamber.

On the ground lay various tools—drills, hammers, axes—clearly someone had already tried to break in, and failed.

"How long have you been awake?"

"One year, eight months, three weeks—almost two years..."

Hearing this line from Andy Lau, Zhou Xun instantly stumbled, nearly falling.

She leaned against the spaceship bulkhead, her lips trembling slightly, panic on her face. "No, no, we need to re-enter hibernation..."

Saying this, she ran toward the hibernation zone.

"Cut! Brother Xun did great."

"Haha, no problem."

Lin Nan glanced at Dilraba. "During the filming of this movie, if you can learn even a little from her, your future path will be very smooth. Hmm, just one percent is enough!"

Dilraba nodded blankly.

Zhou Xun suddenly stepped forward two paces and asked with a smile, "Then what does Lin Dao think of Liu Liu Yifei's acting?"

Lin Nan didn't think much. "If she has seventy percent of your acting skills, I'll have the confidence to take her on a tour of all the major film festivals!"

"Liu Yifei, did you hear that? Follow Sister and study hard. Haha..."

Good heavens, a backstab!

Lin Nan turned his head and saw Liu Liu Yifei, her eyes still heavy with sleep.

Miss Liu had just woken up and was still a bit dazed; she was nodding at Zhou Xun, completely ignoring Lin Nan.

"Have the opening day figures come out?"

Remembering the matter at hand, Liu Liu Yifei finally looked at Lin Nan.

"Oh my, I forgot about this. Let's check quickly."

On the webpage, the box office revenue for "The Fault in Our Stars" was displayed.

The headlines on every news website were about this.

"'The Fault in Our Stars' opening day box office, collected 26.8 million."

"'The Fault in Our Stars' opening day box office far exceeds 'A Simple Life', shattering the record for opening day box office of a domestic art film!"

The entire film industry was watching this data.

It must be known that the opening day result of "A Simple Life" was only 10.46 million, while now "The Fault in Our Stars" has pushed that record forward by more than double!

"Why did 'The Fault in Our Stars' achieve this?"

A large number of industry companies were asking this question.

The answer seemed ready to burst forth: because of the combination of Lin Nan and Liu Liu Yifei!

An art film with an opening day box office of 26.8 million made the film industry's teeth ache with envy.

According to this data, unless the reputation of "The Fault in Our Stars" completely collapses, of course, that is ninety-nine percent impossible to happen.

According to this data, after a one-month release period, "The Fault in Our Stars" will definitely cross 300 million in box office, and 400 million is also hopeful...

Too many people had automatically ignored the fact that Lin Nan and Liu Liu Yifei took zero salary; thinking of the ten million production cost and the 28.6 million USD copyright transaction amount, they felt another wave of jealousy and envy!

Liu Liu Yifei looked at the data on the computer, jumped excitedly onto Lin Nan.

"We succeeded! Everyone in the crew is having a big meal at noon today, I'm treating..."

Lin Nan, holding Liu Liu Yifei in his arms, completely ignored the teasing glances of the few people around and said with a smile:

"Then everyone get ready to set off. Today Producer Liu is treating, don't be polite!"

"Hmm, yes!"

Perhaps sensing the atmosphere was wrong, Liu Liu Yifei hurriedly jumped down from Lin Nan. Her cheeks flushed red, she glared at Lin Nan, blaming the latter for not reminding her just now.