Time flies, and Chen Fang and his group have already been in the United States for a week. During this time, Zhang Yimou, along with Jet Li, Leslie Cheung, and others, have been on a crazy promotional tour, appearing on various top American variety shows. A hero craze has swept North America, and Rotten Tomatoes gave it a score of 8.7. It has earned $8.7 million in North America, $3.2 million in the UK, $700,000 in Mexico, and $2.3 million in Australia, for a total of $14.9 million. As soon as this result was announced, the media went crazy.

Universal Pictures was thrilled. The higher the box office, the higher their commission. Universal executive Mike directly ordered a massive increase in screenings, adding another 150 screens, pushing the company to its limit. Its global partner platforms also began a frenzied promotional campaign.

The Asian region also saw a series of victories, and news of North America's top spot reached China directly.

Beijing Daily.

"Great news! Great news! The film 'Hero,' directed by our renowned director Zhang Yimou, has topped the North American box office today, earning a record-breaking $14.9 million in just 7 days! A series of victories! Zhang Yimou is awesome!!! Hero is awesome!!! We wish Director Zhang Yimou continued success and a triumphant return!!!!"

East China Daily.

"Today, the film 'Hero,' directed by renowned Chinese director Zhang Yimou, took the top spot in North America for its opening week. Congratulations to Director Zhang Yimou! Congratulations, Master Zhang! Chinese films have finally reached the world stage. The door to cinema has been opened, and Chinese cinema is poised to take off..."

Tianya Community.

ID: The First Snow of 2002: "Awesome! Master Zhang is awesome, Hero is awesome!!! Is Chinese cinema about to rise?! Awesome!!!"

ID: Listening to the Wind and Howling Snow: "Awesome, $14.9 million, guys, that's US dollars! A 1:9 ratio, and it's already close to 140 million RMB in the first week! Holy crap! It must have broken 300 million RMB in China too, right? Good grief. Has it broken even???"

ID: What kind of cow or horse are you: "Upstairs, you're underestimating. There are also Asian regions included. It's still a long way off. Breaking even is a certainty. A $30 million production has already recouped its costs. And damn, it's making a killing, at least hundreds of millions! Holy crap, making movies is so damn profitable!!! I want to make movies too!!!"

ID: Five-Star Dog Head: "Uh, what are you thinking upstairs? Are you out of your mind? You're making movies? Let's not even talk about whether you can get into this industry. Even if you do, you still need to raise investment. Who will invest in you if you're unknown? Even if you manage to raise investment, do you know that Chinese films these days lose money every time they're made? Every film they make loses money. Apart from the Chinese-American director Feng Xiaogang, almost all other domestic films don't make money. This industry isn't easy. Even Zhang Yimou only achieved this result because he made a masterpiece this time. And why do you think Hero had such high box office? It's because of the support from above, and the president of Longteng Media even spent more than 10 million US dollars on publicity and distribution. That's all due to the box office revenue."

ID: Prajnaparamita: "How do you know so much about this? What's your identity?"

ID: Five-Star Dog Head: "Me? I'm an employee of Longteng, specifically in the public relations department, so I know pretty much everything. Let me tell you, after the movie 'Hero,' Longteng will be creating a series of blockbuster films with big casts, big productions, and big directors. Just wait and see! Chinese cinema is rising!!!"

ID: Little Fairy: "Wow, what a blockbuster! I love watching blockbusters! The hero was filmed so beautifully. Director Zhang Yimou is amazing! Go Dragon Media!!!"

ID: Mianbing Dadupi: "It's good that Chinese films are rising, especially big-budget commercial films like these. Those art films are just talking about humanity and education all the time, they're so annoying. I can tell the ending from the beginning, and the whole thing is so uneventful."

ID: The key is that nobody wants it: "Well, we just want to know how much money this movie made."

ID: Five-Star Dog Head: "Just wait, they'll announce it eventually."

......

At 7:30 PM, the news anchor sat calmly at the front of the stage with a smile.

"Today, the film 'Hero,' directed by renowned Chinese director Zhang Yimou and created by his team, is showing in North America and has taken the top spot in its opening week. Congratulations to Director Zhang Yimou..."

Chinese Brothers Internal

Feng Kuzi, Wang Zhongjun, Wang Zhonglei, and Chen Guofu watched the news on TV.

"Zhongjun, shouldn't we Chinese also make commercial blockbusters?" Feng Kuzi looked at the news and was very envious when he heard about Zhang Yimou's glorious moment.

Wang Zhongjun smiled wryly: "Pants, we Chinese Americans don't have that much money to produce such a big-budget project right now. 30 million US dollars isn't something we can just do on a whim. If we lose money, we'll have to sell the company."

Feng smacked his lips.

"Well, to be honest, the movie is good, but this Mr. Shen is really something else. Wow, I heard he's spending money on promotion in Times Square and Chinatown in the US, and even got the embassy to help with the promotion. Tsk."

"These pants have nothing to do with Shen Fang. It's all thanks to the support from above. He's just a nouveau riche with money in his hands and some influential people around him. He doesn't have any real skills," Wang Zhonglei said dismissively.

As soon as Wang Zhonglei said that, Wang Zhongjun, Feng Kuzi, and Chen Guofu all looked at Wang Zhonglei with an idiot's expression.

"Xiao Lei, use your brain when you go out in the future. Look at what you're saying, are you even speaking human language? If Shen Fang isn't capable, then who is? He has money, people, and connections. You've met him in person; he's an absolute prodigy, incredibly talented." Wang Zhongjun looked at his younger brother speechlessly. Had he been drinking fake alcohol last night?

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