33: Let's earn that small goal first!

"Chen Le, it's not right for you to play it this way. I wanted to congratulate you on the movie's successful premiere, but you shut me down with one sentence," Dean Wang said gloomily.

"Haha, Old Wang, you can still congratulate me now," Chen Le laughed.

"Forget it. I was about to say something just now, but now you've annoyed me, so I don't want to say it anymore."

After finishing, Dean Wang continued, "Your movie's premiere box office was over six million. It looks like it's another low-budget, high-return film, just like the last one, 'nightclub'."

"The key is you only spent three months from filming to release. Making this much in just three months—even an old man like me is getting envious."

"It's not that much. Compared to their box office figures that easily reach hundreds of millions, this is just small-scale," Chen Le shook his head.

The investment for both of his movies wasn't high, so it truly was small-scale, but the advantage lay in the high return rate, allowing for quick profits.

If funds were sufficient, he'd also want to film those blockbusters from his past life.

After all, although these small films have a high return rate, the initial investment is low, so no matter how high the returns, they can't reach astronomical figures.

"Hey, what are you thinking? You've been out of school for less than a year. Isn't this achievement enough? Are you already dreaming of soaring and competing with those international blockbusters?"

"Old Wang, don't underestimate me. Maybe in a few years, I'll be able to make international blockbusters."

"Chen Le, you're just bragging. Aren't you afraid of blowing your own trumpet too loudly?" Although Dean Wang thought highly of Chen Le, he didn't believe Chen Le could produce an international blockbuster in just a few years.

Seeing Old Wang didn't believe him, Chen Le didn't say anything more.

Dean Wang glanced at the time—it was already very late—and hurriedly ended the call... Soon, the box office numbers for the movie's second day of release came out: 8.46 million.

This number once again shocked everyone.

They hadn't expected the box office momentum of "lost on journey" to be so strong, even higher than the first day's earnings.

Even the theater chains were surprised when they saw these box office figures.

They checked the occupancy rate for "lost on journey" and found it was over forty percent, which was already quite good.

After some discussion, they decided to increase the number of screenings for Chen Le's movie.

At the moment, aside from his film, there was only one Hollywood movie.

However, this Hollywood film wasn't adapting well to the local market; domestic audiences weren't buying into it, and the numbers weren't looking great.

Since this film had such a high occupancy rate and impressive box office numbers, there was no reason not to increase its screenings.

After all, the higher the box office for "lost on journey," the more they'd earn.

In contrast, their share from the Hollywood film was smaller.

And so, time slowly passed.

On the third day, the fourth day, the fifth day... Over these five days, the cumulative box office for "lost on journey" reached 25 million.

At this point, online discussions about the movie were intense.

Many media outlets also reported on "lost on journey."

"How did this low-budget comedy film achieve such high box office returns?"

"Shocking! Director Chen Le's new movie 'lost on journey' achieves another low-budget, high-return success!"

"Astonishing return rate—in just five days, 'lost on journey' reaches a new box office milestone of 25 million."

Reports with such headlines were everywhere online, and even Chen Le himself came across them.

Seeing the exaggerated writing in some media reports, Chen Le, as the person involved, couldn't help but cover his face.

There was no helping it; the praise was over the top.

Of course, there were also factual media reports, but compared to those chasing clicks, such truthful reporting was rare.

However, it was precisely because "lost on journey's" box office data was so outstanding that these media outlets rushed to report on it.

For Chen Le, these media reports also served as publicity for his movie, benefiting both sides.

At this time, netizens' discussions were also heating up.

"This movie is definitely the dark horse of the year domestically—producing a film of this caliber with such a low investment."

"I don't get it. I just think the movie is pretty funny."

"I heard the director of this movie graduated less than a year ago and previously made 'nightclub,' which was also a low-budget, high-return film."

"Yikes, we're the same age. Why is he so outstanding while I'm still tightening screws in an electronics factory?"

"He can earn millions with one movie, making in a few months what I couldn't earn in a lifetime."

"I'm so envious I could prostrate myself."

While netizens were discussing, Yang Mi saw the cumulative box office for "lost on journey" and was stunned.

Immediately afterward, she hurriedly called Chen Le.

"Old Chen, have you seen our movie's cumulative box office these past few days? A full 25 million!"

Yang Mi's voice was excited. She had been paying attention to the box office data every day, and as the numbers kept rising, her mood improved.

Just now, seeing the cumulative box office reach 25 million had completely shocked her.

After all, this was all money. The higher the box office for "lost on journey," the more they'd earn.

"I saw it," Chen Le replied with a smile.

"Old Chen, aren't you excited? Are we going to become rich?" Yang Mi found it somewhat unbelievable.

It was only the fifth day, and there was still a long way to go before "lost on journey's" screening period ended. Yang Mi couldn't imagine how much more box office revenue they could earn—30 million, 40 million, or even 50 million?

"We're not rich yet. This amount is just the beginning. We'll earn even more money later," Chen Le chuckled at Yang Mi's excitement and continued.

"Old Chen, earning this much doesn't count as being rich? Then how much do you need to earn to be considered rich?"

"A small goal," Chen Le said lightly.

"A small goal? What's a small goal?" Yang Mi was momentarily stunned upon hearing Chen Le's words.

At this point, Chen Le remembered that this meme didn't exist yet. Wang Jianlin would only coin this phrase nine years later.

"A small goal—first, set a small goal, like earning 100 million," Chen Le directly borrowed Boss Wang's words.

Hearing this, Yang Mi was completely stunned.

"100 million?"

"Yes, 100 million. Look, 'lost on journey' has already earned 25 million at the box office. Is 100 million really that far off?"

Upon hearing this, Yang Mi felt it made sense, and a look of anticipation appeared on her face.

Soon after, their call ended.

Beside Yang Mi, Tong Liya saw that she had finished talking with Chen Le and immediately leaned in.

"Mi Mi, what did he say?" Tong Liya asked curiously.

"He said this amount of money is nothing. First, set a small goal—earn 100 million."

"Huh?" Tong Liya was dumbfounded.

This statement was too audacious. Earning 100 million is just a small goal?

But looking at the current box office performance of "lost on journey," this goal didn't seem too difficult to achieve.