355: Chapter 355 It All Depends on the Comparison of Its Peers

February 14th.

The opening day box office for "pegasus 2" was over 400 million, the second day was over 300 million, and after "Fengshen" ran into trouble, the box office for "pegasus 2" actually saw a reverse decline, even returning to 400 million in a single day at one point.

Today is already the 14th, 16 days since its release, and it's still pulling in tens of millions in daily box office; the momentum has surprisingly held up quite well.

Lin Chuyan took a look at Maoyan's box office forecast, which predicted 4.5 billion; it's estimated that the final figures should be around that.

This is a massive profit.

As for "Fengshen", the final box office forecast is surprisingly still 2 billion. How should one put it? No matter how much public opinion collapses, it is, after all, the Spring Festival Movie Season. Audiences still have diverse needs and can't just focus on one film, plus "Fengshen" is a major IP, so this box office is considered normal. As for whether it's making money, that depends on how much was invested in the beginning.

Lin Chuyan also asked Director Chu Dong, though Director Chu Dong wasn't actually sure either.

"It's hard to say, really hard to say. If it's 2 billion, the shared box office revenue would be less than 800 million. Their film's investment was too high; I estimate at least 600 or 700 million. That would just barely break even with a little profit, enough to support them in making the special effects for the next one."

"How miserable, working in vain for so long."

Director Chu Dong chuckled: "Isn't that all thanks to you?"

Lin Chuyan quickly clarified: "Director Chu, you can't just say things like that. You're the real culprit; it has nothing to do with me, okay?"

"I believe you, I just don't know if Director Yu Jin believes it."

Speaking of Director Yu Jin, Lin Chuyan remembered something else: "So their second installment won't be affected, right?"

"It shouldn't be. No matter how much an actor's reputation collapses, as long as they don't go to jail, everything is manageable. This film's investment is too large, and the capital behind it won't allow such things to happen. There is only one exception: if the film truly loses too much money. As it stands, there should still be a second installment."

"Hmm, I hope it does well, just as long as it doesn't run into you, Director Chu, next time."

This time it was Director Chu Dong's turn to clarify: "Damn, I wouldn't dare say that."

Next, Lin Chuyan thought for a moment and decided to ask about filming movies abroad—there was nothing to hide about this, anyway.

Director Chu Dong was confused: "Why are you asking about this?"

"Naturally, I'm considering directing one myself."

Lin Chuyan briefly explained the general situation to him.

Director Chu Dong was close to him, so he didn't mince words: "Isn't this a bit whimsical? Although there's a saying 'acting well leads to directing,' that's limited to the domestic market, and even then, a bunch of people flop and ruin their good reputations. Are you sure you want to do this? You have good acting skills; you have a bright future as an actor."

Director Chu Dong simply gave him some practical advice: "If you were filming domestically, I could help, but you're jumping straight to Hollywood where you're unfamiliar with the place and people. Even if you manage to film it, you won't have distribution channels. It's very unrealistic."

Lin Chuyan naturally knew that the other party was truly looking out for him by advising him, but he had his own reasons for needing to film this script, and it was far from time to give up.

Yanzi had tempered his mindset quite a bit this year, and the word "give up" wouldn't be so easily spoken.

Seeing that he couldn't persuade him, Director Chu Dong tried to help him think of ideas: "During the filming and preparation stages, you can ask me if you have any questions. I can't help with anything else. Or perhaps you could ask Director Du Qiyu? If it's overseas, maybe he can find a way."

"Many thanks, Director Chu!"

This was a good idea. He wasn't sure about Europe and America, but regarding East Asia, Director Du Qiyu certainly had ways to handle things; he could consult him.

But there was no rush; today was Valentine's Day, so he should go on a date with his girlfriend first.

Lin Chuyan and Ruan Xingyu were actually not the type of people to be held hostage by holidays. Whenever they saw something nice, fun, or interesting on ordinary days, they would just buy it for themselves or each other without hesitation... so they never specifically gave gifts on holidays.

During the day, the two were invited to an exhibition, and for dinner that evening, they went to "Zhe" restaurant, where they had their first date.

"I just realized this restaurant is actually quite expensive..."

That time, Wen Qi was with them and had silently paid the bill, not giving him a chance at all. Only this time did he realize that the two of them had eaten nearly two thousand yuan worth of food.

Ruan Xingyu nodded and began to claim credit: "Now you know how good your big sister is to you, right? Taking you out for a big meal on our first date."

Lin Chuyan immediately started buttering her up: "Thank you for feeding me, beautiful sister, and thank you for the sugar mommy support."

After dinner, the two found a corner in a cinema hall to secretly watch a movie, specifically choosing a romance film that had just been released today, "the play".

This was a film adapted from a very famous novel here on Blue Star. Lin Chuyan hadn't read the novel, but it certainly had countless book fans and had been highly anticipated from the very beginning. Thus, from the moment the author finished the novel, to the copyright being bought, to the confirmation of the film adaptation, to rumors of several suspected directors, and then to the repeated rumors of different leads, every rumor would hit the trending list; one had to wonder who was buying them...

By this year, it was finally scheduled for Valentine's Day, February 14th; presales broke 200 million directly, and now its box office stood alone at the top; "pegasus 2", which had already been released for over ten days, naturally couldn't compare.

Once the movie started, Lin Chuyan watched it seriously for a while, and then he was thoroughly disgusted...

What kind of garbage is this?

The most outrageous part was that after forcing himself to watch for an hour and a half while feeling uncomfortable, he realized there were still 40 minutes left... That was the most devastating part.

His phone vibrated; Ruan Xingyu sent a message: "Is it good?"

"It's not good. What do you think?"

"It's so bad, hahaha!"

"I want to leave."

"Leave?"

"Let's go!"

The two of them were sitting in a corner, so they could leave with their heads down without affecting anyone else. As they left, Lin Chuyan glanced back at the audience; what he saw were faces glowing in the dark—from playing on their phones.

Ruan Xingyu wrapped her arm around him as they walked to the parking lot. Before he could complain, she started complaining first: "I feel like 'the play' is hopeless."

"I chose it because I saw that the director's previous works were quite good... I didn't expect it to flop."

Ruan Xingyu frowned: "If we had known, we might as well have watched 'a moment of romance' again!"

Yes, "a moment of romance" was still in theaters, though there weren't many screenings left.

Normally, a one-month release is about enough, but it has been holding on for 45 days because this film is truly popular; even now, its box office is higher than some newly released films...

When the two returned home, Lin Chuyan couldn't help but open Douban to search for "the play", clicked on the short reviews, and sure enough, there were already quite a few people criticizing it.

"As a fan of the original work, I feel like I've been fed excrement, hahaha hahaha... I really deserved it!"

"Dogshit, truly dogshit. After waiting for so many years, you serve up a plate of something that even pigs wouldn't eat. You really have the nerve."

"Is this the kind of garbage Director Deng Yu directed? Which company did the promotion? Who on earth is crying in the theater? Filming those short videos like that, you really have no conscience."

"The lead actor is also hard to describe; I just want to ask, who is propping up Young Actor Qi Ye?"

"'a moment of romance' made me think domestic romance films had finally stood up, but 'the play' made me realize I was just being overly sentimental."

"It was my mistake to give 'a moment of romance' 4 stars back then; I'm going to change it!"

...

Just like that, the Douban rating for "a moment of romance" rose again, from 8.2 to 8.4.

There's no help for it; it's all thanks to the competition.