Chapter 653: Within Three Days, I Must Reach the Top

Inside the Cinema, the rendition of "Lone Warrior," with its varying melodies and inconsistent rhythms, finally came to an end.

The choral effect produced by over a hundred lucky children was worthy of the six characters: "no organization, no discipline."

You there in the first row, who allowed you to wave your hands like that? It looks like you're casting a spell; we're Singing, not performing sorcery!

And you there in the second row, the security staff are worried sick, and you're actually standing on the chair to sing!

And you! Was your little mouth rented? You're using it so hard! It's going "da-da-da" like a machine gun; even when I'm rapping, I don't sing as fast as you!

Luo Mo could already imagine that the video recorded by the cameraman would be full of funny moments and things to roast.

Finally, after interacting with the children for a bit, Luo Mo seized the opportunity to slip away.

Many parents were waiting outside the cinema for their children, keeping a close eye on the time; if they waited too long, they would get worried.

The staff inside the Cinema began to evacuate the children.

Luo Mo hid outside the ajar door of the VIP passage, listening to the children's chatter.

Xu Pipi, who had been sitting in the second row, was still muttering to himself as he passed the ajar door.

"Sun and moon shine together, thousand spirits gather, Heaven and Earth boundless Universe Ring, obey this command immediately!"

Good grief, that performance of "Lone Warrior" just now was equivalent to interrupting a spell, making him almost forget this incantation for Nezha's transformation, so he was hurriedly reciting it again.

Hearing more than one child reciting this, Luo Mo didn't find it funny.

Wasn't he exactly the same when he was a child?

Many people, after growing up, start to feel that these incantations are embarrassing to look back on, and even complain about why Animation and some martial arts works always love to shout incantations and move names.

You might as well think about how loudly you shout "Pair of 2s," "Rocket," or "Airplane" when you're playing cards, how high you hold your head, and how you look down your nose at people.

You don't need to shout when playing cards either, but it just doesn't feel right if you don't!

At this moment, Xu Chujing's cousin-in-law was waiting in the cinema lobby.

There was a hair salon in the mall that was still open during the Spring Festival, so she had gone to get a treatment.

Seeing her son come out, the cousin-in-law, who was 36 in both age and figure, immediately walked over and said with a smile, "How was it? Was 'Monster Hunt' good?"

"It was good!" Xu Pipi said very affirmatively.

Just then, a child nearby excitedly said to their parent, "Dad, I saw Luo Mo! Luo Mo!"

The cousin-in-law looked surprised and thought to herself, "Whose child is this? Their accent is so heavy."

She saw Xu Pipi angrily correcting them loudly from the side: "Luo Mo! It's Luo Mo!"

The cousin-in-law gave the other parent an embarrassed smile, then pulled Xu Pipi aside and asked in a low voice, "Did you really see Luo Mo?"

"Yeah! He even led us in Singing! 【Love you walking alone in the dark alley】." Xu Pipi couldn't help but hum a line again.

"【Love you for not kneeling down】." A little girl nearby even tentatively chimed in.

Suddenly, the cinema lobby became exceptionally lively.

There were children Singing, adults surprised that Luo Mo had actually come, and staff struggling to maintain order, feeling completely overwhelmed.

Fortunately, for Luo Mo's visit this time, Xindi Cinema had done a good job with confidentiality.

Otherwise, it would have been easy to cause chaos during the Spring Festival.

His high popularity across all age groups is no joke!

At this moment, Luo Mo, who had already gotten into the nanny van to make his escape, called Xu Chujing.

On the phone, the Heavenly Queen Xu said, "My cousin's son went to see the movie too, just now; he was sitting in the second row."

"Oh? Then why didn't you say so earlier? If you had, I would have pulled him up on stage," Luo Mo said.

"Don't! The kid isn't as outgoing as you," Xu Chujing said with a laugh.

By five o'clock in the afternoon, an edited video was released across the entire internet.

The video of Luo Mo appearing at Xindi Cinema and singing "Lone Warrior" with over a hundred children instantly topped the Hot Search on every platform.

On Weibo alone, this video had tens of millions of views, and the likes had long since surpassed a million.

After watching it, netizens were amused to the point of madness.

A group of children—they weren't exchanging secret codes, it was as if they had been summoned.

"Who can handle this?"

"It's killing me, is this the legendary 'Lone Warrior' kid?"

"It made me cringe so hard I could dig out a three-bedroom apartment with my toes; it's both awkward and hilarious!"

"I feel bad for Luo Mo; working is not easy, and he didn't even go off-key?"

"Having to deal with kids during the Spring Festival, his singing skills are truly top-tier!"

"Human traffickers in the past: 'Auntie will buy you candy.' Human traffickers now: 'Love you walking alone in the dark alley.'"

"Human trafficker: 'Are you going?'"

"Kid: 'Are you worthy?'"

"It made my social anxiety flare up, but it's really so hype!"

"The level of hype is no less than a nightclub or an Electronic Music festival!"

"I'm actually so envious of them, being able to see Luo Mo and sing with him!"

The promotional teams for movies like "Monster Hunt 2" that were released at the same time were stunned once again.

These movie teams were also actively working during the Spring Festival, running promotions, doing interviews, and throwing money around in the tens of millions.

Yet, the promotional effect and influence they brought couldn't compare to Luo Mo going into a cinema and singing a song with a bunch of bratty kids!

Commercial movies rely heavily on promotion.

It is precisely because of this that most movies released during the Spring Festival reserve tens of millions or even over a hundred million in promotional expenses and Reputation Maintenance Fee.

But it is rare to see someone blaze a new trail like Luo Mo.

But there's no helping it, who told him to have such a solid foundation?

He has "Lone Warrior," do you all have it?

Luo Mo has too many good works; there are plenty of ways to carry out innovative promotion!

And one must know, today is already the third day of the Lunar New Year.

All the films in the Spring Festival slot have already been screening for three days.

In that case, the quality of word-of-mouth and reviews should be clear by today!

……..

……..

Films in the Spring Festival slot have always received a lot of attention.

This year, the total box office for the first day of the Lunar New Year broke records again.

All of this makes it even more likely for Huaxia to challenge for the position of the world's second-largest box office market this year.

As mentioned before, before the New Year, the media called this year's Spring Festival slot the 【most anticipated Spring Festival slot in history】.

With big films gathered together, audiences are all struggling with which one to watch first.

Just looking at the cast, production team, and production costs, it feels like every one of these films is worth watching!

However, does a big production mean there won't be any bad films?

Naturally, that is not the case.

Originally, industry insiders were most optimistic about "Journey to the West: Six-Eared Macaque," after all, the director is Peng Haibo, one of the Four Great Directors, and the cast is unprecedentedly luxurious, even better than the cast of many tribute films, which shows how strong it is.

However, the one with the most collapsed word-of-mouth happens to be this film with a Journey to the West theme.

"What kind of garbage is this? The tickets are the most expensive, and it's ugly as hell!"

"Peng Haibo, blink if you've been kidnapped by the screenwriters and investors!"

"The Drama is like shit, and the lead actress is clearly there because she brought her own funding."

"How could two Best Actors take on a film like this, and what are this group of A-list Actors doing?"

"The acting is all very good, and the special effects are shocking, but it really is ugly!"

"They can't even tell a story well; do they really think that if they hire awesome Actors and are willing to throw money at special effects, everyone will buy it?"

The rating of this film on 【Petal Net】 is not even half that of the animated film with a Journey to the West theme, "Monkey King: Hero is Back."

Hundreds of thousands of netizens gave it low scores, and many are even using the same term—a prison experience!

If you leave halfway through, you feel bad about the money. But if you watch the whole thing, it's as uncomfortable as sitting in prison.

And the one with the second-worst word-of-mouth is "Monster Hunt 2," which was also highly favored by industry insiders and cinema chains.

In Luo Mo's view, this film is a bit like the "Monster Hunt" series on Earth.

It also uses a large number of film special effects, and the monsters follow a cute route, each one particularly adorable.

From these perspectives, it is actually a typical family-friendly film at its core.

"Monster Hunt 2" continues the strengths of the first film, but in terms of Drama, it is equally weak.

Most importantly, perhaps the director wanted to capture the growth of the main character group.

However, the sense of fragmentation in the character design is very strong.

The turning to the dark side of the second male lead is a bit unconvincing.

The Romance between the male lead and the female lead also comes a bit too suddenly.

Many netizens believe that the turning to the dark side of Ao Bing in "Nezha" is much more convincing than in "Monster Hunt 2."

The clansmen all endured the pain for Ao Bing, forcibly peeling off the hardest scales on their bodies to gather the Ten Thousand Dragon Armor for him, hoping he could achieve divinity, and then allow the Dragon Clan to break free from their shackles and see the light of day.

In this, the logic is at least sound.

The pressure and expectations given by the whole clan, as well as the shackles of kinship, are very heavy.

The turning to the dark side in "Monster Hunt 2" lacks a supporting point.

From the current outlook, it shouldn't be difficult for "Monster Hunt 2" to break 1.5 billion at the box office.

But in reality, the box office for "Monster Hunt 1" was as high as 2.5 billion, and the expectations from the production team and cinema chains were 3 billion!

On the contrary, "Hidden Dragon in the Abyss," starring a Kung Fu Superstar, seems to stand out in this era where action films are increasingly declining.

The word-of-mouth is quite good, and it looks like it might make a comeback.

Excellent Kung Fu films always have a market in Huaxia.

There's no helping it, this thing is unique to us in the whole world, and most others can't film this kind of feeling.

As for the Spring Festival film with the best word-of-mouth and reviews, it is "Nezha: Birth of the Demon Child."

Some filmmakers have already started buying tickets, wanting to study the success of this film and learn from it.

And some filmmakers are still being sour about it.

"It's a bonus for nostalgia; it's normal for the rating to be inflated."

"The rise of national Animation, they're just playing that same old trick."

"Luo Mo really has a lot of paid internet trolls!"

In reality, "Nezha" is a commercial film at its core.

Its commercial atmosphere is very strong.

This film was aimed at being a box office hit.

And in fact, its target audience is the broadest.

The four words 【suitable for all ages】 seem simple, but they are extremely difficult to achieve.

Whether mainstream filmmakers approve of "Nezha" or not, Luo Mo doesn't care at all.

"Usually, they shout every day that animated films and live-action films are different, that they are different inside and out."

"Since they are different, you bunch of people who film live-action movies, why the hell are you commenting on it?"

"You guys are suddenly very knowledgeable now?"

What Luo Mo was looking forward to now was how high the box office results for the third day of the Lunar New Year could climb.

In the early hours of the morning, Luo Mo took a look at the real-time box office and a satisfied expression appeared on his face.

——309 million!

For an Animation film, with its screen allocation gradually increasing and its word-of-mouth exploding, the single-day box office actually broke 300 million!

This terrifying figure made countless industry insiders tremble, unable to fathom how it happened.

"Is the market for Animation films already this big?"

"Is there really this much volume?"

"The screen allocation rate for this movie actually isn't even that high yet!"

Yes, on the third day of the Lunar New Year, the screen allocation rate for *Nezha* was still temporarily lower than *Monster Hunt 2*.

However, its single-day box office had already reached the top, ranking first!

In what the media called the 【Most Anticipated Spring Festival Slot in History】, the one ranked first was actually an animation!

Such a crazy scene left all kinds of media unable to sit still.

Film Critics also caught the scent and began writing reviews for *Nezha* one after another.

Some had already written one, so they wrote a second, a third!

Many adults who were originally on the sidelines also decided to take their children to the cinema to watch *Nezha*.

It was a rare winter break, so parents definitely wanted to take their children out to have some fun.

Since the children all wanted to see *Nezha*, and the adults who had seen it all said it was good, then why not?

"Everything is only just beginning," Luo Mo said in his heart.

……..

……..

On the fourth day of the Lunar New Year, the screen allocation rate for *Nezha* increased again, reaching 26.9%!

There were a total of 6 movies in this year's Spring Festival slot, and this screen allocation rate was already ranked first.

Of course, if other movies continued to decline while *Nezha* remained strong, the screen allocation would definitely continue to grow.

As of now, the expert teams of various ticketing APPs had given a 【Expert Predicted Total Box Office】 of 2.5 billion on the *Nezha* ticketing page.

This was an honor that no Animation film had ever had before.

To date, no other Animation film had ever been so highly regarded by expert teams.

A box office of 2.5 billion was enough to be recorded in film history!

For this reason, the entire Huaxia animation industry was boiling over!

Everyone was as happy as if it were the New Year... well, it actually was the New Year.

After knowing that the prospects were bright, it was as if four words were carved into the heart of every animation professional: "The future is promising!"

This industry is worth us fighting for our whole lives!

2.5 billion for an Animation film; a few years ago, who would have dared to think of it?

To be precise, since *Monkey King: Hero is Back* burst onto the scene and opened up the situation, did all the Animation films released in Huaxia in the last ten years add up to 2.5 billion?

On Blue Star, absolutely not!

The appearance of *Monkey King: Hero is Back* made everyone feel that everything was getting better!

The explosive popularity of *Nezha* brought the animation market to unprecedented prosperity!

——Thanks to Luo Mo!

Most animation professionals were not fools; they quickly realized that the higher the box office of this movie, the better the animation industry would develop in the next few years.

Therefore, one after another, they stepped in to cheer and Shouting for *Nezha*, sparing no praise.

From a side perspective, this was also a matter of their own future.

If the industry declines, everyone suffers.

If the industry prospers, everyone prospers.

On the other side, Chen Kai, the boss of Xindi Cinema Chain, saw that *Nezha* had topped the daily box office chart and understood one thing: "The time is ripe."

This person had always thought highly of Luo Mo and had bet on him when Luo Mo first entered the film industry.

And Luo Mo personally visiting Xindi Cinema and Singing *Lone Warrior* there, interacting with the children in the cinema, was a huge return.

Was this just hitting number one on the Hot Search?

It was not!

Look at what the netizens were saying?

——Luo Mo performing live, that was a Spring Festival Gala level treatment.

You have to know, this guy hasn't even held a single concert yet.

It's just that the "backup dancers" and "choir" at this performance were a bit too chaotic with all the children running around.

Chen Kai was a person who understood social nuances.

He knew that relationships needed to be maintained and required constant give-and-take.

Therefore, he decided to do something for Luo Mo and *Nezha*.

On the morning of the fourth day of the Lunar New Year, Chen Kai called his male secretary.

"Aren't there many people in the media who want to interview our Xindi Cinema Chain and ask about the year-on-year increase in movie ticket prices for the Spring Festival slot?"

"Today, contact one... no, contact three familiar media outlets and find some reliable reporters to come over."

"Yes, just say that I will represent Xindi Cinema Chain and respond to this issue head-on!"

(End of chapter)