Chapter 198 Blockbuster [VIP]

Chapter Summary: The four of them gave the same answer.

The following morning.

He Zhiyue drove Mu Zhi to Jing'an District in the northern part of the city.

This is one of the old districts in the city center of the north. Unlike the high-rise buildings in the area across the avenue, this area consists of four- or five-story villas, known as the local villa district, and is mostly inhabited by locals.

The car stopped in front of a newly renovated four-story villa.

He Zhiyue parked the car outside and took Mu Zhi's hand as they went inside.

Upon entering, there is a glass greenhouse in the yard, with only a few potted plants inside, leaving plenty of extra space to grow other things.

"The basement is a parking garage."

He Zhiyue led Mu Zhi into the house and toured it from the first floor upwards, floor by floor.

The first floor consists of the living room and the kitchen.

The second floor has two bedrooms: a master bedroom and a guest bedroom.

The third floor houses a study, a media room, and a gym.

The fourth floor is currently unused.

After touring the house, Mu Zhi particularly liked the study on the third floor. It was very large, with a huge bookshelf covering one wall, and the light was excellent. She could curl up in front of the floor-to-ceiling window to read scripts.

In this downtown location, it's very difficult to rent a house like this.

The homeowners typically live in the property themselves, so there's a market for it but no price.

He Zhiyue: "Do you like it? Don't you think it's a little small?"

Actually, this property is neither under He Zhiyue's name nor He Hongshuo's name.

These row of small villas all belong to the Zhou family.

This house was allocated to Zhou Cheng by his grandparents. Zhou Cheng didn't like living here, feeling it was too small. Some time ago, he heard that He Zhiyue was looking for a house for Mu Zhi. He inquired about He Zhiyue's requirements for the house and said that if He Zhiyue was interested, he could sell this house to her or exchange it with her.

Zhou Cheng said he really liked the large single-level apartments in Donghua Mansion.

The two houses are worth about the same.

Mu Zhi nodded: "I like it."

This small villa is big enough for her to live in alone; she doesn't like anything too big.

What pleased her most was that the house was already fully furnished, but no one had lived there yet, saving her the trouble of decorating.

If she moves here, all she needs to do is furnish the place.

When He Zhiyue heard that Mu Zhi liked it, he briefly told Mu Zhi about the house.

"Then you can start furnishing tomorrow, and move in and settle down in a few days."

He asked Zhou Cheng to expedite the completion of the house registration procedures.

Mu Zhi wanted to buy the house from He Zhiyue, but since the house didn't belong to He Zhiyue yet, she would move in first.

She'll discuss this matter with He Zhiyue after He Zhiyue has completed the house registration.

She stopped offering to pay him rent every month and planned to give him a car for his birthday.

Mu Zhi tiptoed and kissed He Zhiyue on the cheek: "Thank you."

It's kind of him to have gone to the trouble of looking after the house for her when he was so busy with work recently.

He Zhiyue hugged Mu Zhi and kissed the top of her head.

Today I accompanied Muzhi to look at houses.

He couldn't help but imagine what it would be like to live with Mu Zhi in the future.

He Zhiyue is not living in the villa of the He family mansion now, and naturally he will not take Mu Zhi to live there in the future. He will prepare another house for the two of them.

He felt it necessary to start looking for suitable land to build a wedding house or a suitable house, hire someone to design it, do the renovations, and then let it sit for a while after the renovations are finished—at least a year or two. Hmm, it really is time to consider it...

The following week.

While buying various soft furnishings and furniture for the new house, Mu Zhi also packed and tidied up her things at Donghua Mansion. It took her a full 7 days to finally get everything done.

They moved into a detached villa in Jing'an District.

After settling the housing issue, Mu Zhi's short vacation came to an end.

The following month was filled with various announcements and schedules.

The artist Mu Zhi will be starting her new business model, with a series of schedules including brand events, advertising shoots, and magazine cover shoots.

However, most of the schedules are for events in the northern part of the city. Even when going to other cities for brand events or advertising shoots, it is usually a same-day round trip, meaning flying there in the morning and flying back to the northern part of the city in the evening.

On this day, Mu Zhi returned from a brand event in Bincheng.

She drove back at 8 p.m.

Then they saw He Zhiyue's car parked outside the house, with its headlights on.

The car's taillights were like someone leaving a light on for her in a dark house.

Mu Zhi remotely opened the gate and drove in. Without her permission, He Zhiyue's car followed closely behind.

After parking their car, the two took the elevator up to the first floor.

Since Mu Zhi moved to her new address, it has become much easier for He Zhiyue to visit her.

It's only a 10-minute drive from where he lives in Jing'an District.

The management of this villa area is stricter than that of Donghua Mansion, so paparazzi can't get in. The villas next to Mu Zhi's are the dowries of Zhou Cheng's sisters, and they are all still vacant.

Therefore, He Zhiyue came to find Mu Zhi without any restraint.

During this period, he drove to see Mu Zhi every day. He was more familiar with Mu Zhi's new home than Mu Zhi herself, and he felt as if he were in his own home as soon as he entered.

He Zhiyue skillfully placed the food she was carrying on the coffee table in the living room, then went to the refrigerator in the kitchen, took out some strawberries and cherries, washed them, and cut an orange, putting them all into a fruit bowl.

Place the fruit on the coffee table, next to the food.

Then he sat on the sofa and waited for Mu Zhi to come down.

As soon as Mu Zhi returned, she ignored He Zhiyue and went upstairs to remove her makeup and wash her face. She changed into a set of home clothes before slowly walking downstairs.

Arriving at the sofa, He Zhiyue patted the side of her without much hesitation.

Mu Zhi walked over and sat down next to him. As soon as she sat down, He Zhiyue hugged her and kissed her cheek.

Are you tired?

Mu Zhi shook her head; she had already gotten used to the work rhythm of an artist.

He Zhiyue took the remote control, turned on the TV, and asked Mu Zhi which movie she wanted to watch today.

Mu Zhi mentioned the name of a suspense film, wanting to see a well-received film of the same genre.

He Zhiyue selected a video and pressed "play".

He then picked up the fruit and began feeding her.

Mu Zhi repeatedly claimed that she could eat by herself, but He Zhiyue insisted on feeding her every time, and never tired of it.

Mu Zhi let him go.

During the movie, He Zhiyue mentioned the latest progress of the movie "Doomsday Virus" to Mu Zhi.

"Honey, next week, August 2nd, we're going to do voice acting for 'Doomsday Virus'."

Mu Zhi: "? I understand."

The production company of the film "Doomsday Virus" needs to report the latest developments to the production company, Lanxing Media, in real time. Therefore, He Zhiyue, as the true leader of Lanxing Media, keeps abreast of the latest information about the film.

Mu Zhi always got first-hand information from He Zhiyue.

With the dubbing schedule finalized, it seems almost certain that "Doomsday Virus" will be released during the National Day holiday.

He Zhiyue suggested, "There will be an internal screening of the film. Why don't you come with me?"

In this way, Mu Zhi can watch the movie early without having to wait for its release.

Mu Zhi was indeed very interested in knowing how the finished film turned out, and agreed: "Okay."

She took a cherry from the fruit plate and fed it to He Zhiyue. Knowing that He Zhiyue would want to lean down and kiss her after he finished eating the cherry, she put her index finger to her lips and made a "shh" gesture, then pointed to the television.

He was signaling to focus on watching the movie.

Mu Zhi nestled in He Zhiyue's arms, a sly smile playing on her lips.

The next afternoon.

Mu Zhi also received a notification from her agent, Ji Binghe, that she would be doing voice acting for the movie "Doomsday Virus".

Before dubbing a movie.

He Zhiyue took Mu Zhi to an internal screening of "Doomsday Virus".

This is the third film screening.

We've organized two events in the past two weeks.

The initial cut of the film was 2.5 hours long. After the first and second screenings, based on everyone's feedback, it was decided to cut some content and improve the overall pacing of the film. It is now compressed to about 2 hours.

The purpose of organizing the third screening was to refine the current edited version of the film before the actors dubbed it...

"Zhizhi, Xiaoyue, you've arrived."

When Wan Zhou saw Mu Zhi and He Zhiyue appear together, a relieved smile appeared on his face.

"Director Wan, thank you for your hard work."

He Zhiyue: "Uncle Wan."

More than half a year later, when Mu Zhi saw director Wan Zhou again, he looked better than she had expected, but he still looked a little anxious.

From the initial planning of the film project to its imminent release, it has taken two to three years. The film will soon be released and put to the test of audiences.

As the lead actress in the film, Mu Zhi could empathize with director Wan Zhou's feelings and must have felt somewhat uneasy.

There were 12 people in a small conference room, including director Wan Zhou, He Zhiyue, and Mu Zhi.

Once everyone had arrived, director Wan Zhou gave a brief introduction.

Without another word of pleasantries or small talk, the film began playing...

Mu Zhi had previously been invited by directors to attend internal screenings of the movies she starred in, but she didn't attend due to her busy schedule.

This is the first time.

The film has no opening theme; it jumps straight into the main content...

I left director Wan Zhou's studio.

After Mu Zhi and He Zhiyue got into the car, they heard He Zhiyue ask, "Teacher Mu, do you really think this movie is good?"

Mu Zhi found it somewhat amusing; he thought that the review he gave in the meeting room during the movie screening was to save face for him.

Looking back, she realized that compared to herself and director Wan Zhou, He Zhiyue was probably the most nervous and had the highest expectations for the film.

He is the initiator of this film, and also the one who will be held accountable for its success or failure.

"Doomsday Virus" is very important to Lanxing Media.

Although He Zhiyue no longer directly manages Lanxing Media, he founded the company and it is the culmination of his hard work.

She reached out and shook He Zhiyue's hand, saying to him earnestly, "Yes, the special effects completely exceeded my expectations. They were stunning. The storytelling and overall pacing of the film were also very well done. I really love this movie; I think it's really great."

"This is a very mature commercial blockbuster."

"You should have confidence in the box office performance of this movie."

He Zhiyue's eyes lit up with a smile, and he took Mu Zhi's hand and kissed it.

"Thanks."

"I have confidence in my baby."

On August 2nd, Mu Zhi and her team visited director Wan Zhou's dubbing studio.

Subsequently, Liu Jiaxu, Bian Wu, and other main actors also arrived.

It's probably because the special effects for the movie were finished, the film was edited, and the final cut was released. The most challenging period for the director has finally passed.

Director Wan Zhou looked relaxed; the anxiety that had been faintly visible at the last screening was gone.

It seems they are confident about the final product.

Mu Zhi recalled asking He Zhiyue last week: "From filming to release, it's been less than a year. If the film is scheduled for release during the National Day holiday, what about the promotional aspects...?"

Once the film passes censorship and has a release date set, it is expected to be released in about a month.

She worried that things might be too rushed and the publicity wouldn't keep up.

He Zhiyue said that since she had the idea of ​​changing the film's release date to the National Day holiday, she has contacted a professional film promotion team to discuss cooperation and started planning a promotional strategy.

"The team we're collaborating with is the publicity team for 'Total Safe Evacuation'..."

Mu Zhi understood completely, and stopped worrying about anything outside of her acting duties, leaving the professional matters to a professional team and staff.

He Zhiyue has become the successor of the He Group and has been able to hold his position firmly, which shows that he really has some skills.

Although she didn't have a good impression of He Hongshuo, she had to admit that he was a very successful business tycoon. Perhaps it was due to strong genes, but He Zhiyue's formidable business acumen might have come from He Hongshuo to some extent.

After the dubbing ended.

Director Wan Zhou met with lead actors Mu Zhi, Liu Jiaxu, and Bian Wu to finalize the promotional schedule for September.

Everything is now ready; all that's left is for the film to pass censorship smoothly...

The whole of August.

Mu Zhi and He Zhiyue saw each other almost every day and spent every day together, truly entering the honeymoon phase.

Sweet days always seem to pass too quickly.

At the end of August, the movie "Doomsday Virus" received the good news that it had passed censorship.

The National Day film season is just a month away.

Currently, seven movies have been scheduled for release during the National Day holiday, leading many to believe that these are the only seven films available and that no more major films will be scheduled.

As a result, news circulated online that the movie "Doomsday Virus" had passed censorship.

The very next day, the disaster film "Doomsday Virus," directed by Wan Zhou and starring a host of big names including Mu Zhi, Liu Jiaxu, and Bian Wu, released its trailer and officially announced its release date of September 30, suddenly appearing in the National Day holiday lineup.

The hashtag #DisasterMovieDoomsdayVirusReleaseDateforNationalDayHoliday# trended on social media.

When Mu Zhi clicked on the trending topics and saw netizens' surprise at the sudden release date announcement for the movie "Doomsday Virus," her first reaction was one of astonishment:

"Didn't we hear it was going to be released during the Spring Festival? How come it suddenly appeared during the National Day holiday?"

"A sci-fi disaster film that wrapped filming at the end of November last year is scheduled for release this October. The special effects have been done incredibly fast, less than a year ago."

"Has the trailer been released? Where is it? Let me see."

In the comments section of the trailer posted on the official Weibo account of the movie, here are some of the comments from netizens after watching the trailer:

"Aaaaaah! Congratulations on the release date! It'll be showing on September 30th, see you there! (Applause)"

"Congratulations to Zhi Bao for the release date of his sci-fi disaster film 'Doomsday Virus' on September 30th! I watched the trailer, the special effects are amazing, it feels like a blockbuster! Let's go!"

"Movies starring Mu Zhi are always well-received. The trailer looks great; I'll check it out when it's released."

"The release date was a bit sudden, but the film has a strong production team. I just watched the trailer, and the special effects are quite stunning. There's no doubt this is a blockbuster. I'll wait and see when it's released."

"I was immediately impressed by the special effects of the first startled bird taking flight in the trailer, and the various large-scale special effects were also quite impressive. I wonder how the full movie will be; I hope it maintains the quality of the trailer and will be added to my National Day movie list."

"It's only a month until its release, and they only officially announced the release date today. It's like they rushed to set a release date right after passing the censorship. I was initially worried that the quality wasn't good enough to be released during the Spring Festival, but after watching the trailer, it seems that 'Doomsday Virus' is trying to replicate the success of 'Safe Evacuation' and dominate the National Day holiday."

......

Subsequently, the hashtag #MovieDoomsdayVirusTrailerSpecialEffects# trended on social media.

The comments from netizens about the trailer were mostly positive, and they are looking forward to the film.

However, some netizens remain skeptical about the overall quality of the film.

This is a good start.

The next key step is to launch a comprehensive promotional campaign for the film.

On September 1st, the movie "Doomsday Virus" held its release date announcement press conference in Beicheng. Director Wan Zhou, along with lead actors Mu Zhi, Liu Jiaxu, Bian Wu, and a host of other big-name actors who joined the cast, attended the press conference.

At this press conference announcing the release date, Mu Zhi mentally compared it to the previous one, "All People Refuse to Evacuate for Safety," and found it to be just as good, with many media reporters in attendance.

Of course, a large part of the enthusiastic atmosphere at the scene came from the efforts of Mu Zhi's fans.

Perhaps, as Minmin said, fans are paying close attention to this big-budget film starring Mu Zhiyi.

At today's press conference, in addition to the media reporters present, most of the people sitting in the audience were Mu Zhi's fans and moviegoers.

During the interactive session with the media on site.

The media reporters mainly asked questions to director Wan Zhou and Mu Zhi, who are the most bankable figures in this film and play an important role, while also generating a lot of buzz.

When a journalist asked a question, he summarized an interesting phenomenon:

"This is the second time that Director Wan and Zhizhi have collaborated, as is the second time that Zhizhi and Teacher Liu Jiaxu have collaborated, and also the second time that Zhizhi and Bian Wu have collaborated..."

"The last film Zhizhi collaborated on with Director Wan, Teacher Liu Jiaxu, and Bian Wu grossed a combined 10 billion yuan. So this time, you're co-starring in a big-budget film. What are your expectations for the box office? How many billions do you think it will surpass?"

The four people on the stage were stunned, not expecting such a coincidence.

This is their second collaboration with Mu Zhi.

The reporter asked Mu Zhi and the other three to predict how many billions the box office of "Doomsday Virus" would break, and asked them to give an answer at the same time.

In the segment preceding the actors' introductions of their respective characters, there was an interactive discussion. The topic was: if they were faced with the apocalyptic world depicted in the film, what would be the one thing they would most want to bring to survive?

We provided them with whiteboards to write their answers.

The questions asked by the reporter during the current interaction with the media were not pre-planned.

Judging from the scene, everyone seemed quite interested in this question.

The host had a sudden inspiration and asked the staff to bring the question board back up. Director Wan Zhou, Mu Zhi, Liu Jiaxu, and Bian Wu wrote down their answers on the question board and then showed it to each other.

Without consulting the others around her, Mu Zhi thought for a moment and wrote down the answer.

"3, 2, 1, please show your answer sheet."

Directors Wan Zhou, Liu Jiaxu, Mu Zhi, and Bian Wu wrote down the answers in order: 5 billion, 100 divided by 2 (billion), (16+51.2+41) divided by 2 (unit: billion), 5 billion.

A gasp of "Wow!" erupted from the audience, followed by applause.

Mu Zhi looked down at the answers on other people's answer sheets and had the same shocked expression.

The host asked, "What answer did Zhizhi write down...?"

"The total box office of the movies 'Countdown', 'Escape from the City', and 'Escape from the Game', divided by 2, is 5.41 billion."

Her answer also broke 5 billion, which is the same as the answers given by directors Wan Zhou, Liu Jiaxu, and Bian Wu.

The four of them gave the same answer.

This part of the press conference was posted online, and netizens thought it was a pre-arranged joke. Only Mu Zhi and others knew that it was a coincidence that was improvised on the spot.

The host, who was a "plant" on stage, naturally knew that this was not pre-planned and was also shocked.

The press conference ended.

The host said, "Let's wish the movie 'Doomsday Virus' a huge box office success, breaking 5 billion!"

The audience enthusiastically echoed, "A box office smash!" and "Breaking 5 billion!"

Mu Zhi thought to herself: This is a very good omen. I hope the movie really can break 5 billion!

The day after the press conference, the creative team behind "Doomsday Virus" began a nationwide roadshow.

After running a roadshow for 3 days.

Mu Zhi couldn't help but compare "Doomsday Virus" with her previous film "Safe Evacuation" and found that although the former had a lot of attention and momentum, it still lagged behind the latter.

It should be attributed to the fact that "All People Safely Evacuate" is not only a collaboration between director Tang Yan and Zhou Zilong and their appeal, but also a sequel to the previous work "Golden Globe Building" and its synergistic effect.

However, the response to the promotional tour for "Doomsday Virus" was much better than that for "Escape from the Game," and it is also a highly anticipated blockbuster in the industry.

Mu Zhi had watched the entire movie, and based on her personal impressions, "Doomsday Virus" had amazing special effects and was a true blockbuster. Moreover, its audience was not limited by its subject matter; as long as the marketing and distribution were effective, its box office performance would definitely continue to rise after its release.

She thinks highly of this movie.

Of the seven films that had already been scheduled for release, two of the more competitive ones, seeing the unfavorable situation, announced their withdrawal from the National Day holiday film season.

Of the remaining five films, the most competitive is "The Great Battle," a patriotic film with an all-star cast. The other four films have smaller budgets, and industry predictions suggest that none of them will break 100 million yuan at the box office.

It's somewhat similar to the four films released on the same day as "Safe Evacuation," so its competitiveness is negligible.

Therefore, the opponent is the patriotic war film "The Great Battle".

One week before the film's release.

The movie "Doomsday Virus" was screened extensively in more than ten cities across the country.

The preview screening was not originally in the film's plan; it was mentioned by Mu Zhi to He Zhiyue during a phone call after a week of promotional activities.

The movie "Safe Evacuation" has the box office power of its predecessor. It was officially announced to be released during the National Day holiday half a year ago. It has been promoted and positioned as a blockbuster, creating a huge buzz early on, which intimidated other blockbusters who dared not compete with it.

After its release, it can dominate the box office during the National Day holiday.

Compared to "Safe Evacuation," "Doomsday Virus" lost its edge in this regard, and after a week of roadshows, it didn't generate as much buzz.

Mu Zhi: "I personally have a feeling that by the time the roadshow promotions reach the film's release date, everyone will have the concept that 'Doomsday Virus' is a 'super blockbuster'. They will also recognize that the special effects are very good after watching the trailer, but they will still wait and see how the film's quality is."

This gives another film the opportunity to grab more screenings and rake in box office revenue.

According to industry predictions, "The Great Battle" is expected to gross at least 1 billion yuan.

With such a competitor vying for a share of the market, the trajectory of "Doomsday Virus" will diverge from that of "All People Safely Evacuate".

The seven-day National Day holiday is particularly important, as it determines the upper limit of a film's box office revenue.

He Zhiyue had also considered this: "Okay, I'll immediately call a meeting with the production team to discuss it."

Ultimately, the production company adopted Mu Zhi's suggestion.

The movie "Virus" received rave reviews after its preview screenings.

The audience's review of the preview screening: "A blockbuster that you can just rush in with your eyes closed. Even if it's made to a mess, it's worth the ticket price just for the special effects. The various big scenes are so shocking and so enjoyable to watch."

#BlockbusterMoviesYouCanBlindlyRushIn# This movie review has gone viral.

Many moviegoers who saw the preview screenings even said that "The End of the World Virus" is very likely to surpass "Safe Evacuation" at the box office.

Two of the five films scheduled for release on the same day were withdrawn.

After all, there was a precedent last year where the box office was completely drained by a single movie, leaving other movies released on the same day with nothing.

Besides "Doomsday Virus", there's another movie this year called "The Great Battle"!

Facts have already proven that going head-to-head with blockbusters will not bring you any advantage.

#If you can't beat them, you can at least run away#, retreat is the best option.

Netizens commented that the pre-release trajectory of "Doomsday Virus" is remarkably similar to that of last year's blockbuster "Safe Evacuation".

The standard trend for blockbuster movies.

It just means there's one more stubborn opponent: "The Great Battle".

The day before the movie's release.

"Doomsday Virus" had a 40% share of screenings, 10% less than "Safe Evacuation"; "The Great Battle" had a 15% share of screenings.

Therefore, the final box office results are hard to predict and may depend on the word-of-mouth of "The Great Battle" after its official release.

The movie "Virus" was released on September 30.

[Author's Note]

Wow, this chapter is exceptionally well done, a new word count record?! Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants between 00:23:47 and 23:59:19 on November 1, 2022!

Thank you to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution: Ye Zhirou and Jiu (1 bottle);

Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!