Chapter 454: You Devil

The taste of being a mentor is truly wonderful.

………

After Luo Mo finished speaking, Xu Chujing glanced at the television in the hotel room and really saw the characters in the movie kissing.

Before she could react, the large hand Luo Mo had placed on her waist applied slight pressure, pulling her tight against his chest, and then he lowered his head to kiss her.

The former star mentor of "Creating Idols," being led like this by a trainee, was first slightly startled, then helplessly closed her eyes.

This suite has two rooms; it feels a bit of a waste.

For Luo Mo, even though the outcome of the chart battle was undecided and their bet would only officially kick off the next morning, having soft jade and warm fragrance on New Year's Eve was also beautiful.

At this very moment, the large hand he had placed on Jing's lower back moved all the way upward.

Luo Mo's original intention was to eventually stroke her hair during the embrace. As it turned out, his large hand moved all the way up, feeling the curves of her back, and finally touched something with a metallic texture that was slightly cool to the touch.

That was the zipper on the back of her evening gown.

Luo Mo pulled it down slightly, then opened his eyes and looked at the mirror mounted on the wall.

A beautiful back came into view just like that.

In an instant, a gown that had been strictly modest now possessed the sexiness of a backless cut.

Yet, because the zipper was only pulled down halfway, the gown could still be worn perfectly well.

This was because the two spots in the front were holding the dress firmly in place, providing support.

Xu Chujing did not push Luo Mo away, nor did she stop him; this came from her incomparable self-confidence.

Some clothes will fall off if worn by a flat-chested person, but when worn by certain people, they can even create a more unique visual effect.

——Let him have a taste of sweetness.

……..

……..

"Legend" and "Wukong" exploded in popularity on New Year's Eve.

The next day, which was New Year's Day, many industry insiders were waiting for the 【Television Network】 to release the New Year's Eve data for the major satellite channels.

Most people were actually just onlookers, watching the excitement.

At most, they just wanted to ride the coattails of the hype.

But for the major satellite channels, it was like students waiting for the school to post grades after finishing an exam.

Those who thought they had performed well were smug, waiting for the moment to show off their glory.

As for those who knew they had performed a mess, they felt tormented; this form of transparent, public grading was no different from a public execution.

By the same token, a group of web novel authors felt the same way when their new books were released and the first-order subscription numbers were made public.

In the past, Octopus TV would not have looked forward to this moment. Although they weren't doing too badly, they were only at a mid-to-low level.

But today, the station head Xu Guan had opened the 【Television Network】 early in the morning and muttered several times: "Why haven't they released the data yet?"

It wasn't until 10:09, with 【Television Network】 delaying by 9 minutes, that the data was finally released.

"Average viewership rating, ranked fourth." Xu Guan was very satisfied.

Just behind the top three satellite channels, that was good enough.

After all, after Luo Mo's "Wukong" ended, Octopus TV's viewership ratings had turned into a steady decline, followed by an avalanche.

What Xu Guan cared about most was the peak viewership rating.

After focusing his eyes, sure enough, "Wukong" was ranked first, and "Legend" was also ranked fourth!

In other words, among all the programs on the major satellite channels last night, "Wukong" was the stage with the highest viewership rating!

Luo Mo had once again continued his Myth and created a miracle!

——I don't have much of an introduction; I am simply invincible.

"The next New Year's Eve Gala must be handled properly!" Xu Guan rubbed his hands, preparing to make a big move this year.

This year, Octopus TV was truly going to launch a final assault on the top three satellite channels!

………

………

After "Wukong" became the stage with the highest viewership rating and its reputation exploded, many marketing accounts began to enter the fray, writing article after article or editing video after video.

Some were vigorously hyping up "Wukong," while others were comparing "Wukong" to the stages of other traffic stars, using the very clumsy but always effective tactic of 【praising one while stepping on another】 to gain heat.

For example, writing: "This video will let you feel the gap in singing ability."

Then they would first play a traffic star singing a cover with the key lowered, and lip-syncing at that. Immediately after, it would be Luo Mo's invincible stage.

In this era of traffic driven by looks, the most feared thing is someone who is both better looking than you and stronger in ability.

Although most of these marketing accounts had no good intentions, from a certain perspective, they actually let more people hear the song "Wukong" and let more people pay attention to the movie "Monkey King: Hero is Back."

It is conceivable that in the next month or two, I am afraid there will be many copycats appearing, starting to produce songs that incorporate Opera Elements.

Or even directly starting from the Journey to the West theme.

Anything like Tianpeng or Tang Seng could be sung about!

On one side, the music scene had already grown accustomed to Luo Mo's invincible posture. On the other side, the film industry was a bit dumbfounded.

Luo Mo's maneuvers left many in the film circle stunned.

We accepted that Huang Lun's joining made this movie popular before it was even broadcast.

After all, he is a master, and a national treasure-level master at that.

But for you to rely on a New Year's Eve stage and a single song to make a movie's popularity skyrocket is truly absurd.

Yes, there have been examples of songs becoming popular first and then driving the popularity of a movie.

But it has never been this exaggerated!

"It is simply unheard of!"

"The return on this kind of promotional method is just too high!"

"I feel like throwing ten million into promotion might not even achieve such a terrifying effect."

Overnight, the number of 【Want to Watch】 entries for *Monkey King: Hero is Back* on major ticketing apps could be said to have doubled again.

As for the more senior and sharp-eyed filmmakers, they discovered the root of it all.

"A good song is one aspect, and his popularity in the music scene is another."

"But there is another very special point, and that is—sentiment!"

Many filmmakers calmed down to discuss it; for instance, what kind of themes were most of the films that relied on songs to drive box office in the past?

—Mainly youth films.

Or they were Love Films.

Things that can resonate emotionally and stir up memories have much better effects.

In the song "Wukong," sentiment and emotional resonance can be said to be working in tandem.

This kind of resistance and refusal to admit defeat is inherently very moving.

Plus, the fact that he is the Great Sage makes it immediately different.

"No wonder he is so ambitious, wanting to make a name for himself during the Spring Festival slot," many people thought to themselves.

"He isn't just diving headfirst into the film industry and fumbling around blindly."

"It is very clear that he came prepared!"

As mentioned before, although the domestic animation industry has not yet reached the stage of explosive development, some people with an eye for investment have already set their sights on it.

For example, Shen Shaoqiu, the boss of Xinyu, was quite optimistic about it, which is why he acquired He Yuanguang's Tongguang Studio, and subsequently initiated a series of collaborations between Luo Mo and He Yuanguang.

Although most people still do not believe that a major animated film can break 500 million at the box office and recoup its 150 million investment, many people already feel that Luo Mo is not just burning money blindly.

Perhaps he has some plan that we cannot see!

………

………

The explosive popularity of "Wukong" and the soaring heat of *Monkey King: Hero is Back* have started to give major cinema chains a headache.

"This screening schedule is getting a bit hard to arrange."

The screenings for *Bear Battle* have already been squeezed out of shape.

As for the other four major productions, it's not good to reduce anyone's screenings...

Today is New Year's Day, the First Day of the new year, and Luo Mo has thrown us a huge problem.

According to the guidelines for cinema screenings on Blue Star, the screening volume for the first three days of a film is determined before its release; this is set in stone and a Contract will be signed.

Three days later, whether to increase or decrease screenings depends purely on the cinema's assessment of the film's box office and word-of-mouth, which is more flexible.

If your film has great potential and the cinema thinks it can rake in more box office, they will naturally increase your screenings.

If your film has little potential, or if the word-of-mouth is ridiculously bad and it's clearly headed for a cliff-like drop, the cinema will reduce your screenings.

The operations here follow the cinema's own metrics and standards.

Right now, the main reason the cinema chains are having such a headache is one place—the ticket price for *Monkey King: Hero is Back* is low.

Movie tickets for the Spring Festival slot are slightly more expensive than usual.

But *Monkey King: Hero is Back* has a short runtime, only 95 minutes.

On Earth, it was because of insufficient funds that it didn't even reach 90 minutes, being only 89 minutes, with many parts that required burning money removed.

Luo Mo was willing to spend money, and he properly polished the scenes he thought were connected too quickly, or the big scenes that couldn't afford to be produced for too long on Earth.

But a 95-minute runtime is actually not long; to be precise, about 90 minutes is basically the "bottom line" for a film, and it's hard to be any shorter.

If the runtime is low, the ticket price will be low.

Although *Monkey King: Hero is Back* is a 3D film, Blue Star is currently in an era where 3D is prevalent, and many films that don't need to be 3D are forced into 3D to cash in, making it easier to raise ticket prices.

Therefore, the entire Spring Festival slot is full of 3D films, even *Bear Battle*!

As for the film runtimes, they are all around two hours. There isn't even a single film that is over a hundred minutes!

This also makes *Monkey King: Hero is Back*, with the shortest runtime, the film with the lowest ticket price in the entire Spring Festival slot, even a few dollars cheaper than *Bear Battle*.

This has become the biggest obstacle to increasing screenings.

Luo Mo also mentioned this point when holding a small meeting with He Yuanguang and Shen Shaoqiu.

Although he is very confident that he can expand the film's influence and popularity before its release, he is still not very optimistic about the cinema screenings, feeling that *Monkey King: Hero is Back* won't get many.

"The reason is simple: for the blockbusters in the Spring Festival slot, there is no need to worry about attendance in the first few days," said Luo Mo.

Looking at all the surprise flops on Earth, many had explosive box office in the first few days, only to head toward failure due to word-of-mouth and other factors.

Before a film is officially released, everyone can only rely on the director, the cast, the promotion, and other aspects to predict whether the film is good or not.

But whether it's good or not, you always have to watch it to know.

Everyone should know what movie theaters are like on the first day of the Lunar New Year; they are truly packed to the rafters.

If you buy a ticket at the last minute, you might not even be able to get one!

It takes time for the word-of-mouth of a good film to ferment.

It also takes time for the word-of-mouth of a bad film to plummet.

Since every Cinema is basically full at the beginning of the year, why should we take a risk for your animated film with a lower ticket price?

"This is a very simple arithmetic problem," Luo Mo spread his hands, feeling slightly helpless.

He feels that the screening volume might rise a little, but the increase will be limited.

Upon hearing this, He Yuanguang and Shen Shaoqiu both nodded slightly; they also understood the ins and outs of this.

Cinema chains only care about making money and squeezing out all the remaining value of a film.

They aren't the investors; they just care about the box office split.

On the contrary, many people even feel that for a film that is highly anticipated by many but turns out to be a bad movie, having a higher screening allocation in the first few days of release is actually a good thing.

This way, more people can foolishly go in to watch it!

Once it loses momentum later on, isn't it fine to just lower its screening allocation then?

But if it is a critically acclaimed work, through word-of-mouth, many new viewers will flood in.

Even if the initial screening allocation is low, just increase it later; the value can still be maximized all the same!

Good things don't have to worry about finding buyers, while it's better for trash to be harvested quickly.

Regarding this, Luo Mo was quite relaxed and did not feel much pressure.

Friend, have you heard of... Hunger Marketing?

Low screening allocation means that even if you Want to Watch, you might not necessarily be able to buy a ticket, which is a very frustrating thing.

Monkey King: Hero is Back on Earth was exactly like this at the beginning.

Every screening was full, but the screening allocation was too low.

Yes, logically speaking, some people feel frustrated when they can't buy a ticket and will want to watch it even more. But some people, because they can't buy a ticket, will gradually forget about this movie or lose interest.

It's like a novel; if it stops updating for a day or two, you wait in frustration, but if it stops for a few months, it gets cast into the cold palace.

However, Monkey King: Hero is Back has a very special quality!

—It is the kind of movie that will flood your social media platforms like Moments and Weibo!

It's strange; after watching some movies, viewers don't necessarily post a status on Moments or show off their ticket stubs.

But Monkey King: Hero is Back is different!

It's still that same reason—【Sentiment】!

It will constantly appear before your eyes, constantly appear before your eyes.

This is quite terrifying.

People, after all, always have a bit of herd mentality.

Therefore, there are many reasons why Monkey King: Hero is Back on Earth became the first phenomenal animated work and raised the box office record for that category several times over in one go.

That is why Luo Mo chose it, instead of choosing other animated films.

The Great Sage is the existence most suited to turning the world upside down!

—Irreplaceable!

For Luo Mo, the release of Monkey King: Hero is Back is just playing a psychological game with everyone.

He wants to be... the devil who sees through the human heart!

(PS: I'm feeling a bit unwell today, so just one 4000-word chapter.)

(End of this chapter)