Chapter 434: Are You Worthy?

He Ping'an, the second-in-command of the Review Department, was currently stuffing tea leaves into his tea mug.

Upon hearing a knock at the door, he said with a full, resonant voice: "Enter."

People who have been on the battlefield are just different; even when they get old, their physique, their gaze, and even the tone and inflection of their speech are all different from ordinary elderly people.

Zhong Lin pushed the door open holding a folder, which contained the basic information for *Monkey King: Hero is Back*.

"Zhong Lin, sit, sit," He Ping'an said with a smile.

After Zhong Lin sat down on the small sofa, she placed the folder on the table and said, "Yesterday, I reviewed a big animated film sent over from Luo Mo's side, called *Monkey King: Hero is Back*."

"*Monkey King: Hero is Back*? Which Great Sage, the Great Sage Equal to Heaven?" He Ping'an muttered the title.

"Yes, that's right, it's a *Journey to the West* theme," Zhong Lin said.

He Ping'an nodded and said, "Get straight to the point."

He glanced at Zhong Lin and said, "Is there a problem with the film that you don't dare to pass it, or is it something else?"

Zhong Lin said honestly, "There's no problem with the film, not a single problem."

"The reason I specifically came to say something is because of one person on the production list."

"Great-uncle, you should be interested in this person," Zhong Lin said.

"How many times have I told you, don't call me Great-uncle at work." He Ping'an glared at her with his tiger-like eyes, then helplessly opened the folder to take a look.

His gaze swept downward, and after seeing a name, he was slightly stunned.

"Huang Lun?" He raised his eyes to look at Zhong Lin.

"Mm," Zhong Lin nodded with a smile.

He Ping'an couldn't help but sigh, "I thought this old fellow would never come out of retirement in this lifetime."

Back in the day, *Journey to the West* was a huge success; not only did it have a warm response domestically and become a childhood memory for several generations, but it also won several major international awards and had an extremely strong influence across all of Asia.

Later, after the era of film arrived, Huang Lun wanted to produce a *Journey to the West* themed movie, and He Ping'an even used some personal connections to help him bridge the gap.

But in the end, the project never got off the ground.

Huang Lun certainly wasn't thinking of doing something small and playing around.

But no one was willing to invest in anything larger.

You might say that the production costs of foreign animated films are high, but they are able to earn it back.

Looking at the domestic market, it simply hadn't matured yet, and it wasn't the time to do things like that.

You are a master, that's true.

But we are businessmen.

Later, with Huang Lun's retirement, this matter was gradually forgotten by the vast majority of people.

But He Ping'an still remembered it.

"Luo Mo was actually able to move him?" He Ping'an said with a smile.

"The film is quite good, do you want to take a look?" Zhong Lin asked.

"No need, I'll go watch it in the theater when the time comes," He Ping'an said.

*Monkey King: Hero is Back* has passed review.

The efficiency of this approval made countless industry insiders click their tongues in surprise.

"How did they manage to get it approved at light speed like this?"

"Speechless, my film has been stuck for three months."

"Was your film produced under the guidance of the Review Department?"

And the approval of *Monkey King: Hero is Back* meant it was time to schedule its release.

Many people in the film circle were curious: which release window would this big-budget domestic animated film, the largest investment in history, be set for?

The closest hot windows are New Year's Day and the Spring Festival.

Further out is the so-called Valentine's Day window, which is more suitable for a Love Film and isn't considered a major hot window.

Putting *Monkey King: Hero is Back* in the New Year's Day window as a New Year's Eve film is actually a bit rushed.

The promotional cycle will be relatively short, but that's easy enough to handle.

After all, long cycles have long-cycle promotional methods, and short cycles have short-cycle operational methods.

The main thing is that some films have already been scheduled for the New Year's Eve window.

Although it's not "full" yet, if you squeeze in so hurriedly right now, your screen share will be relatively weak.

You can still squeeze in a bit, but you can only squeeze in so much.

No matter how much you try to curry favor and push others aside, you won't be able to push in much further.

Industry insiders who know their stuff estimated that if *Monkey King: Hero is Back* really chooses to be released on December 31st, then its maximum screen share will be around 10%.

For a major production with an investment of over 100 million, getting such a low screen share means a huge loss, even if the attendance rate is extremely high.

After all, the New Year's Eve window only lasts a few days, and the box office is mainly concentrated on December 31st and January 1st.

Even if your box office performance is great later on and the word-of-mouth is good, it won't help even if the theaters increase your screen share.

The statutory holidays will have passed, and the good times wait for no one.

Especially for this kind of animated film, once the kids are back in school, you won't be able to sell a damn thing!

Very few parents will take their children to the cinema to watch a movie on a school night........

Therefore, many people speculate that *Monkey King: Hero is Back* probably won't consider the New Year's Eve window.

As for the Spring Festival window........

Who doesn't love the Spring Festival window?

However, to put it bluntly—are you even worthy?

Yes, every Spring Festival, there are bound to be animated films released, and theaters will also reserve a portion of screenings to let children have some fun too.

However, the screening rates are all very low.

If it were a live-action film, you would absolutely be too late to try and squeeze into the Spring Festival slot so last-minute.

For an animated film, you might be able to get a foot in the door, but the screening rate would certainly be worrying.

If nothing goes wrong, it won't even reach 5%.

Trying to squeeze into the Spring Festival slot with only about 3% of the screenings, while facing a bunch of aggressive blockbusters and hot animated IP films of the same genre—you're playing with fire with this *Monkey King: Hero is Back*.

The slaughter of the Spring Festival slot is too intense; it's not something a film Newcomer like Luo Mo should be considering.

Therefore, everyone thinks *Monkey King: Hero is Back* should find a decent holiday after the New Year to be released.

Start arranging it now, then pull various Connections, swap various resources, and make some compromises; who knows, maybe you could test the waters in the Shuji Dang, which can rival the Spring Festival slot.

With Luo Mo's own massive energy and the terrifying commercial value he carries, as long as the Connections are managed well and the relationships are handled properly, having over half a year to plan, it is not impossible to get an unexpectedly good screening rate in the Shuji Dang.

The Spring Festival slot is too rushed.

When it comes to pulling Connections, sometimes it's all about "taking precautions."

If you go looking for people when the matter is already at your doorstep, they might not even see you. The more anxious and flustered you are, the more they will try to leverage you and the more they will shut you out first.

At such times, you will pay many extra costs.

If you go to pull Connections before things happen, that is convenient and simple. Because at this time, it can only be considered socializing and currying favor, not begging for a favor.

Therefore, in the various group chats within the industry, many so-called professionals talked about *Monkey King: Hero is Back* and conducted wave after wave of well-founded analysis, finally concluding: "It's still too early for this film to be released; if you want to see it, you'll have to wait until next year."

There is nothing strange about this; film box office, this thing, sometimes it doesn't mean that just because you filmed it well, it will definitely be high.

The right time, the right place, and the right people—everything has its requirements.

Hoarding it in your hands for over half a year is nothing rare.

Except for some films that fit the trend and must be released quickly, otherwise they will become outdated, most people are willing to endure and wait.

It doesn't matter if the money comes in a bit slower; what's scary is losing money, what's scary is having no money coming in!

For the time being, not many people know that Luo Mo Studio, Tongguang Studio, and a portion of the staff from Xinyu have already mobilized.

Because the task Luo Mo gave was very difficult, yet very firm: "*Monkey King: Hero is Back* must be released during the Spring Festival slot!"

This requires contacting multiple theater chains and requires negotiation.

It's just that it is being negotiated in Luo Mo's style and way.

……..

……..

On the other side, Luo Mo finally waited for that teacher from the Drama Academy, Yu Lijuan, to come and audition for the role of "Auntie Pot" this afternoon.

The feeling she gives off is indeed very close to this character.

Looking Gentle and refined, she radiates an intellectual beauty.

This kind of Gentle and dignified auntie might be the favorite of many people.

——*Mature Female Teacher Series*.

When Luo Mo saw her, he thought to himself: "She is very well-maintained; if I have her play Auntie Pot, I will need to add some aging effects in terms of makeup and hair."

Yu Lijuan is undoubtedly also very interested in Luo Mo, this young man who is not from a professional background and who, in a short period of time, has leaped to become a well-known film and television Actor, as well as a screenwriter and director.

In the school, there are countless fans of Luo Mo; many of her students either view him as a dream-lover level male god or view him as an Idol.

Yu Lijuan's main job is as a teacher at the Drama Academy, and she occasionally acts. Even so, she has heard too many rumors in the circle about Luo Mo.

To put it simply, Teacher Yu agreed to Ding Xiaoyu's audition invitation not because of the drama *The Beginning*, but simply because she was curious about Luo Mo.

As a teacher at the Drama Academy, she actually wanted to see exactly how much talent the Luo Mo who is touted by many as god-like actually has.

(PS: First update, the last two days of the month, asking for monthly tickets!)

(End of this chapter)