noveltune Chapter 187 Zhou Zhixiong's Promotion Delayed
Chapter 187 Zhou Zhixiong's Promotion Delayed
On Saturday morning, Lu Ran was awakened by Shen Yuege's exclamation.
"Lu Ran! Lu Ran, look!"
He groggily opened his eyes and saw Shen Yuege sitting on the edge of the bed in her pajamas, holding her phone up to his face, the screen blindingly bright.
"What's wrong..." Lu Ran rubbed his eyes and sat up. "Did the Happy Farm server crash again?"
"No!" Shen Yuege shoved her phone into his hand. "Look at this!"
Lu Ran shook his somewhat dazed mind. Shen Yuege handed him real-time box office data from Maoyan Professional Edition.
The estimated box office for "Reign of Assassins" today is 2137 million.
The estimated box office for "Hero" today is 1982 million.
Lu Ran read it again.
It's still 1982 million.
Although Lu Ran had anticipated that the box office of "Hero" would not be as low as before, this sudden rebound still surprised him.
"This..." Lu Ran looked up, "The data isn't wrong, is it?"
"No!" Shen Yuege's voice trembled slightly, clearly showing her excitement. "I checked! The data from Maoyan, Taopiaopiao, and Lighthouse are all the same! The box office for 'Hero' has been rebounding since last week, breaking 15 million yesterday, and today it's surged to nearly 20 million!"
Lu Ran stared at the string of numbers, his mind slowly starting to work.
It has been almost a month since "Hero" was released.
According to normal patterns, a movie's box office curve should be highest in the first week, then decrease week by week, and by the fourth week it should be almost gone.
"Reign of Assassins" follows this pattern: 800 million in the first week, 400 million in the second week, 150 million in the third week, and only 20 to 30 million per day in the fourth week.
But Hero is different.
Its first week had only over 40 million, but it rose to 60 million in the second week, 80 million in the third week, and in the fourth week, which is this week, it started to grow significantly.
This situation is very rare in film history, and even Lu Ran found the data quite incredible.
"This doesn't make sense," Lu Ran murmured.
Shen Yuege rolled her eyes at him: "Your script is unscientific?"
"That's not what I meant..." Lu Ran stared at the screen. "I meant the box office curve. It was almost out of theaters, so how did it suddenly surge back up?"
Shen Yuege swiped her phone and brought up the TUTU interface: "See for yourself."
On the screen is a group called "Hero Aftermath Patient Mutual Aid Association".
The group's description reads: "If you suffer from insomnia for three consecutive days after watching 'Hero,' repeatedly ponder the line 'The meaning of the sword lies in peace,' and even begin to question the meaning of life, please join us."
The latest pinned post from the group owner:
[Urgent Notice—Hurry up and watch it two or three times if you haven't already! We've surged to second place at the box office today! Just a hair's breadth away from overtaking *Reign of Assassins*! Let those guys who said our films are arthouse and nobody watches them see what real staying power looks like!]
The number of comments below has exceeded 10,000:
"Just brought my parents back from watching it for the third time! My dad said it's the best martial arts film he's ever seen in his life!"
"I've already recommended it to seventeen colleagues, and eight of them have already watched it twice..."
"I went to the cinema today and found that there were more screenings of 'Hero'! The afternoon showings were almost sold out!"
"I met an old man in his seventies at the movie theater. He said he was watching this movie for the fifth time. When I asked him why, he said, 'One viewing isn't enough.'"
It's clear that everyone has been deeply poisoned by their own bad movies, so it's rare to see such a meaningful and profound film. One viewing is simply not enough.
Anyone can make special effects blockbusters; as long as you're willing to spend money, the results won't be too bad. But movies with substance and depth are becoming increasingly rare.
Lu Ran flipped through the messages one by one, and suddenly laughed.
Shen Yuege leaned closer: "What are you laughing at?"
"Laugh at our cup of rice wine, it's finally starting to get hot."
...
Meanwhile, at the Starlight Entertainment Building.
Zhou Zhixiong stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, holding a cup of coffee, looking down at the bustling traffic below.
Today is a good day.
No, it should be said that these past few days have been good days for him.
After four weeks in theaters, "Reign of Assassins" has grossed over 1.3 billion yuan, firmly holding the title of the year's top martial arts film.
The board of directors has already sent a notification that his promotion appointment letter will be stamped and sent back from headquarters today.
If all goes well, he will become the vice president of Starlight Entertainment starting next week.
"Mr. Zhou," the assistant knocked and entered, holding a tablet. "There's something I need to report to you."
"Speak," Zhou Zhixiong said casually without turning around.
"The box office for 'Hero' has gone up again today."
Zhou Zhixiong paused for a moment, holding his coffee cup, but quickly regained his composure: "How much has it gone up?"
"Today's estimate...1982 million."
"How much?" Zhou Zhixiong turned around abruptly, almost spilling his coffee.
The assistant handed over the tablet: "Take a look for yourself."
Zhou Zhixiong took the tablet, stared at the string of numbers on the screen, and his expression gradually froze.
1982 million.
How much is the estimated revenue for "Reign of Assassins" today?
He opened another page.
2137 million.
The difference is 1.55 million.
"That's impossible." Zhou Zhixiong's voice was somewhat unsteady. "How could an old film that's been showing for four weeks still have so much box office revenue?"
"It's said..." the assistant said cautiously, "that it's because of word-of-mouth. There's a martial arts community on TUTU that's been discussing 'Hero,' and recently there have been many posts about people watching it two or three times. Some people are even saying that this is the pinnacle of domestic martial arts films, which has attracted many new viewers."
Zhou Zhixiong remained silent for a long time.
He recalled sitting in this office a month ago, watching "Hero" gross 4700 million yuan at the box office, and smiling from ear to ear.
He recalled sending an email to the board of directors, saying that "Reign of Assassins" had achieved an overwhelming victory and that this time, they would become the leader in domestic martial arts films.
He recalled the victory celebration banquet he had arranged, and even the speech had been written.
What now?
Now, the movie he thought was dead is like an unkillable cockroach, slowly catching up to him.
"President Zhou?" the assistant called out tentatively.
Zhou Zhixiong snapped out of his daze and took a deep breath: "It's alright. Even if it reaches 20 million today, the total box office will only be less than 300 million. We have 1.4 billion, what are we afraid of?"
"Yes, you're right," the assistant quickly agreed.
Just then, Zhou Zhixiong's phone rang.
He glanced at the caller ID—Headquarters, Human Resources Department.
Zhou Zhixiong's expression finally softened considerably. After all, today was the day his promotion was officially confirmed, and the call from the HR department must have been to formally inform him that he had become the company's vice president.
"Feed?" Zhou Zhixiong answered the phone happily, trying to keep his tone calm so as to appear nonchalant.
"Director Zhou, hello." It was the HR manager's voice on the other end of the phone. "Regarding your promotion application, headquarters has made new arrangements."
"Thank you...wait a minute?" Zhou Zhixiong didn't react for a moment and quickly asked, "What arrangements?"
"Following a board review, your probationary period for promotion has been extended by one month. During this time, we hope you will continue to monitor market developments, especially..."
The other party paused, seemingly considering their words, "Especially given the recent box office performance of 'Hero.' The board would like to see your strategy for dealing with market competition."
...