611: Chapter 611: Do you want to read it?

10 billion isn't considered much? Is Lin Chuyan dreaming again?

Regarding Lin Chuyan's statement, netizens only had one thing to say: "It's not that we don't believe you; we all just want to see it for ourselves."

[Hiss... Didn't Lin Chuyan brag like this last time too?]

[It seems like it was at the wrap party for mr. & mrs. smith. Didn't he say it himself? A small goal. I'm truly impressed.]

[That's completely different! I accept 10 billion in global box office for mr. & mrs. smith, but given the current domestic box office market, where ne zha hasn't even reached 6 billion after such an extended run, you're telling me ne zha 2 will hit 10 billion? That's bragging too much!]

[Talking in his sleep. This guy is becoming less and less reliable...]

Even the fans didn't believe it and could only try to find ways to cover for Lin Chuyan.

[10 billion is just an exaggerated rhetorical device, okay? It expresses the author's homesickness... Ah, no, it expresses Lin Chuyan's excitement and his deep anticipation for ne zha 2.]

[Don't take it too seriously... It's clear that Brother Yue is genuinely happy that ne zha reached the top. There's no need to overthink it. Who doesn't hope for a better future for domestic films?]

Some things can be proven or disproven immediately, while others need to be tested over the long river of time to harvest greater praise.

Lin Chuyan said nothing, only focusing on the box office trends.

This time, the extended run of ne zha was set to end on December 30th, and in these few days, the box office had already surpassed 5.8 billion, setting a new record.

But it wasn't enough.

This was not the end for ne zha.

One can only blame the films in this year's New Year's Eve slot for not being strong enough, prompting the theater chains to beg ne zha to stay.

In fact, there have been many films with extended screening keys before, but for one to consistently stay at the number one spot in the box office after the extension, ne zha is unprecedented.

Many things are like this; if you haven't experienced them, you wouldn't know it could be done this way—the theater chains finally understood: What new releases? So what if they are new? After the first three days, the number of people watching them really wasn't as high as for ne zha! What matters is the quality of the film, and when it comes to quality, little ne zha really carries the box office!

The world has changed; it's no longer an era where you can feed the audience crap and they will obediently eat it.

And so, ne zha stayed.

It was the same formula, the same maximum 20% screen allocation.

ne zha was quite comfortable during the New Year's Eve slot, staying in the second or third position most of the time, and occasionally giving a surprise by rushing to the first position.

Netizens were already numb to it.

If people hadn't understood the current film market during the first extension and had scolded Lin Chuyan a few times, they now had an air of having seen through it all. After all, the 20% limit on screen allocation set by Lin Chuyan was right in front of them, and no one could say anything.

Public opinion even reversed. The group of people who originally scolded Lin Chuyan turned around and scolded other films: "Can you guys please step up? It's embarrassing, so embarrassing, to be beaten by an 'old film' that has been out for months?"

[I've figured it out; this counts as Lin Chuyan and Yang Xiaozhou showing mercy. If they really went all out, the other films might as well pack up and get out!]

[Why did Lin Chuyan set a 20% screen allocation? Because he is kind! The great philanthropist Lin Chuyan could have pushed the box office even higher, but he didn't do it. Damn, I'm crying.]

[I'm siding with Lin Chuyan on this, because I really went to the cinema to watch other films, and honestly, they weren't as good as ne zha. Damn it.]

[I miss the New Year's Eve slot from two years ago, when a moment of romance appeared out of nowhere, and Lin Chuyan became an overnight sensation, famous throughout Asia... Now that I think about it, that was just an accident.]

[Fortunately, there is Lin Chuyan.]

[Fortunately, there is Lin Chuyan +1.]

Amidst such public sentiment, little ne zha drifted along, screening until the end of January, and finally broke the 6-billion box office mark—I have to say, this is an important milestone in domestic film history.

6 billion is achieved; can 7 billion be far behind?

And netizens slowly realized another thing: mr. & mrs. smith was perfectly positioned to take over from ne zha... It seemed Lin Chuyan couldn't stop; he was living in the cinema.

"Brother Yue, what day does the ne zha screening key expire?"

"Two more days."

"Alright, let it end once it's done. That's enough."

Wu Yue nodded and agreed: "I've been talking to the theater chains quite a bit over the past few months, and they think the same. There's only one reason: the Spring Festival Movie Season is selling well, especially our film."

This year's Lunar New Year's Day is February 7th, and the pre-sales for mr. & mrs. smith opened on February 1st, basically reaching a point where tickets were hard to come by. Yes, you even had to fight for pre-sale tickets.

"What about the other films?"

"They're okay. Well, at least the pre-sales are okay. However, there's a high probability they won't be able to compare with ours." Wu Yue had already seen mr. & mrs. smith in advance, and right now, he was even more confident than Lin Chuyan.

"It feels like the audience is engaging in a bit of revenge spending... From the National Day slot until now, only ne zha has been holding things up." Lin Chuyan couldn't help but laugh, "In short, the pre-sale results for mr. & mrs. smith are much better than I imagined."

Even before the official release, 200 million in box office was already in the bag. Who wouldn't be bewildered hearing that?

"After all, the selling points of our film are just too explosive..."

That is true.

The dragon seal for mr. & mrs. smith had long been issued, and it was currently in the midst of an intensive promotional period. How to promote it? Just look at the film's selling points.

Top-tier celebrity couple Lin Chuyan and Ruan Xingyu playing a couple who love and kill each other—do you want to see it?

Ruan Xingyu breaking through her screen image to play a sexy professional female assassin—do you want to see it?

The couple fighting in the film—not just slapping, but real brawling—do you want to see it?

Do you remember the picture Lin Chuyan posted on the day they started filming? He was using a cannon to blast his wife—do you want to see it?

It is said that the two have intimate scenes, and although the level of intensity is certainly not high, tell me, do you want to see it?

Plus all the various live-action gunfights, car chases, and explosions that Lin Chuyan promoted... During the New Year, who wouldn't want to watch a pure commercial blockbuster with action and comedy elements?

Also, the film specials released by Lin Chuyan were very explosive.

For example, the behind-the-scenes special.

It was called behind-the-scenes, but it was actually the daily life of Lin and Ruan on set. CP fans watched the special over and over again, countless times—no way around it, these two are truly sweet!

In those fleeting shots, he corrected her gun-holding posture, she laughed and pretended to hit him, she put on a straight face and scolded him loudly but couldn't help breaking character with laughter...

The last scene of the video was also very fun: Lin Chuyan had a half-smile on his face as he said the words "I want a divorce" to Ruan Xingyu, and then the camera cut away, with Ruan Xingyu landing a solid elbow strike on her husband's back of the head—it was the exact accidental injury from when they were rehearsing the fight scenes.

The video ended with Lin Chuyan's cry of pain, and the comedic effect was maximized.

[Ticket bought, don't let me down. I just want to see Xingxing beat up her husband [doge]]

[Well hit! I could tell, that last scream from Lin the Dog was too realistic, hahahaha!]

[It's over, whatever these two do, I feel like they are showing off their affection, it's sickeningly sweet, there's no saving me.]

Of course, besides the special, the first trailer was also released, and one could see even more footage from the actual film in the trailer.

In the trailer, Lin Chuyan focused on presenting the popcorn elements of the film and the sparks between mr. & mrs. smith.

[What did I see? The same Dance as in la la land? Paying tribute to yourself, right?]

[Holy crap, Ruan Xingyu's legs!!! Damn you, Lin Chuyan!!!]

[Did anyone notice Xingxing's look? It's truly a very restrained sexiness. Lin the Dog is really professional in this regard... He knows how to film his wife too well.]

[Ticket bought. I couldn't even get one for Lunar New Year's Day, so I camped out and got two for the second day of the Lunar New Year.]

The dull mainland film scene finally regained its vitality and became lively again.

Moreover, from ne zha to mr. & mrs. smith, it was all related to that man? The slow-to-realize netizens finally understood how important Lin Chuyan was to the film industry and what exactly he had brought to the audience.

Film critics also started to chime in, and the most discussed topic currently was predicting the box office for the Spring Festival Movie Season, with everyone unanimously pointing to mr. & mrs. smith.

There was no help for it; the hype was too high, and discussions about mr. & mrs. smith were everywhere online.

What was even scarier was that for this year's Spring Festival Movie Season, many blockbusters chose to avoid the battle—to put it bluntly, Lin Chuyan spent 1 billion to make a popcorn movie clearly aimed at the box office, so why would you insist on delivering yourself to your doom?

Thus, although the quality of the films that ultimately remained was quite good, the commercial elements were lacking.

What was this? It was the perfect alignment of timing, location, and people; just ask, who could compete?

However, to be honest, Yanzi didn't care about these external factors at all. Or rather, he didn't even see other films in his eyes.

Arrogant? A little. But sorry, this is the reputation and confidence he has built up.

mr. & mrs. smith, 5 days until release!