Chapter 492: The first explosion of the year, the enthusiastic broadcast

On the first day of the Spring Festival, "Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back" undoubtedly won the national box office championship of the day with a box office of 355 million yuan, and broke the record for the fastest domestic film box office to break 200 million yuan and the fastest to break 300 million yuan.

On the second day of the film's release, the box office revenue dropped, reaching 222 million yuan per day.

Including the midnight box office, "Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back" became the biggest winner since the start of this year's Spring Festival with a box office of 588 million yuan in the first week.

Cheng Long's "Kung Fu Yoga" followed closely with a box office of 271 million yuan in its first week. The third was Han Han's "The Mermaid", which had the smallest investment among the three films and a box office of 129 million yuan in its first week.

What’s interesting is that among the three main films of the Spring Festival, the top two have not had very good reputations, but the lowest-grossing film "The Mermaid" has the highest score.

[Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back] has a Douban score of 5.5, which, as Gu Wei said, has set a new low in the reputation of Zhou Xingchi's films in recent years.

I won’t say that there was a lot of criticism online, but most of the audiences who watched the movie were disappointed with it.

The plot was weak and the actors' acting was awkward. Everyone was looking forward to what kind of masterpiece the combination of Zhou Xingchi and Xu Ke would bring, but the huge gap between reality and imagination immediately broke the defense of many viewers who watched the movie.

We really misjudged Zhang Yimou. This movie is 100 times worse than The Great Wall!

[Seeing Li Jiaheng makes me miss Wen Zhang especially]

[The special effects are acceptable, but the story is terrible, the lines are awkward, and none of the actors have acting skills. The lines can't keep up with the mouths, and the movements can't keep up with the legs.]

【.】

There are many reviews like this on the Internet.

Relatively speaking, "Kung Fu Yoga", which has a lower rating than "Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back", has not received as much negative criticism.

Cheng Long's films are highly homogenized, and the audience's expectations for his films were not high. Even if the final film has some shortcomings, it is within expectations.

And there is one main reason. It is the Spring Festival holiday now. "Kung Fu Yoga" is a family-friendly action comedy. It is nice for everyone to go to the cinema and have fun during the New Year, so they will not care too much about the quality of the movie.

[Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back] continues the dark Journey to the West style of [The Legend of Conquering the Demons] and is even more exaggerated than the first part. It is a type that is not suitable for children to watch, so it is naturally not liked by the audience.

Comparing these two films, although "The Mermaid" was criticized by some viewers for being too patriarchal, it is generally considered the highest-rated film during this year's Spring Festival.

It has snowed again in Beijing in the past two days. During the Spring Festival, the city was like being covered with a thick quilt, and it was white everywhere.

However, every household is decorated with lights, spring couplets and red lanterns, and the contrast of red and white highlights the festive atmosphere of the New Year.

"Xiaomin, let's go see a movie later. There are several good movies coming out recently. I want to see them all."

There were people coming and going on Sanlitun Pedestrian Street, and two young and beautiful figures were walking side by side with their arms around each other.

They were all wearing thick down jackets and woolen hats, and looked no more than 20 years old.

"What do you want to see?"

The little girl in the light yellow down jacket asked.

"How was [Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back]? It's Zhou Xingchi's movie. I like Li Jiaheng and I'm really looking forward to my idol's performance in it."

The shorter girl next to her, wearing a fan hat, said with a smile.

Xiaomin curled her lips in disdain when she heard what her best friend said.

"Wanwan, I've told you before that it's better to pursue Gu Wei with me than to pursue Li Jiaheng. There's no comparison between the two of them!"

"They're different. Gu Wei is more handsome, but I still prefer Li Jiaheng's cool and badass vibe."

When the girl in the pink hat heard her good friend talking about her idol, she argued.

"Fine, it's your freedom to like whichever celebrity you want. You won't listen to me anyway."

Xiaomin said as she lowered her head and thought for a while.

"I've read the reviews online, and it seems like Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back has a very good reputation. But for Zhou Xingchi, I might as well check it out.

But not today."

"Why?"

"Today is the first day of Gu Wei's epic ancient fantasy drama, Eternal Love. I have to go home and watch it soon, so I don't have time to go to the cinema."

"If you hadn't mentioned it, I would have forgotten about it. Gu Wei and Yang Mi's new drama, I want to go back and watch it too."

When Wanwan heard what her best friend said, her eyes lit up.

Although she is not a die-hard fan of Gu Wei, it does not prevent her from liking Gu Wei's movies and TV series.

After all, if young people don’t watch Gu Wei’s dramas in recent years, there really won’t be anything left for them to watch.

"There are still many days left in the winter vacation, so we can watch the movie later.

I want to watch not only Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back, but also Cheng Long’s Kung Fu Yoga and Han Han’s The Breakup Guru.”

The two girls made an agreement and walked around for a while. Sanlitun during the Chinese New Year is almost the least crowded time of the year.

When the time was almost up, the two of them rushed home.

Xiaomin and Wanwan are good friends who have grown up together. They live in the same community and have been in the same class almost since kindergarten. They are close friends.

After arriving at the community, the two agreed to go out and play together the next day, and then went home to watch TV separately.

In Shanghai, in the house of [Rongke Binjiang No. 1 Courtyard], Reba's mother is doing housework. It is really tiring to clean up a room of more than 400 square meters.

My daughter said that this was a house under the company's name and was temporarily lent to her while she was filming in Shanghai. A cleaning company would come to clean it regularly.

But Reba’s mother, who has been a housewife for more than 20 years, is still used to keeping her place clean at all times.

While I was working, the door suddenly opened from the outside.

"Why did you come back so early today?"

Reba's father, who was sitting on the sofa reading a newspaper, asked curiously when he saw his daughter pushing the door in.

"The crew didn't have many filming tasks arranged today, so I hurried back after finishing my part."

Reba walked in, changed her shoes, took off her coat and hung it on the hanger beside her.

"Have you had dinner yet? Why didn't you tell me in advance? There's still some food in the kitchen. I can heat it up for you."

"Don't worry, Mom~

I came back from eating on the set."

With that, Reba walked into the living room, sat on the sofa, picked up the remote control, turned on the TV, and started changing channels.

Reba’s father put down the newspaper in his hand.

"What are you looking for? Why are you so anxious?"

"Dad, do you remember what I said two days ago during the Chinese New Year? The TV series starring Gu Wei and Sister Mi premiered today.

I’ll be back soon to see how it goes.”

Reba stared at the TV, which was tuned to the Blueberry Channel. Commercials were playing on the TV. She glanced at the time in the upper right corner and saw that there were about 5 minutes left before the TV series was aired.

In [Eternal Love], Reba plays the second female lead, Bai Fengjiu, who can be said to be the character with the most screen time besides the male and female protagonists.

She has played the leading role in TV dramas before, and she is currently playing the leading female role in the drama "Pretty Li Huizhen".

However, each play is different. For a big-budget TV series like "Eternal Love", which is bound to be popular, even the supporting roles in it will bring more fame to the actors than the male and female protagonists in low-budget TV series.

Moreover, Gu Wei once told her that the role of "Bai Fengjiu" was very likable and would be a role that would make her very popular.

Not long after, "Eternal Love" started playing on TV.

Reba’s mother also put down her work and sat down to watch with her daughter.

"Listen to the rustling of the wind

Knocking on whose sorrow

Longing grows in an instant

I forgot how long the night is."

Along with the singing of the opening theme song, the beautiful Qingqiu and the misty Heavenly Palace appeared on the big screen, followed by Gu Wei in a black ancient costume and Yang Mi in a flowing white dress.

"That voice sounds familiar. Is it your boss singing?"

Reba nodded.

The opening theme song of the TV series was written and composed by the famous lyricist and composer Dai Yuedong and Tan Xuan, and the song is called "Three Lives Three Worlds".

Originally, we were thinking about inviting a male singer to sing this OST, but in the end, director Lin Yufen talked with Gu Wei and decided to let the male lead sing it. After all, Gu Wei is a professional, and this way it will be more talked about.

Including the ending song "Liangliang" of "Eternal Love", which was also sung by singer Zhang Bichen invited by Gu Wei and the crew.

At that time, Gu Wei even joked that Sister Mi could sing a duet with him, as they happened to be the male and female protagonists. In the end, he was ruthlessly rejected by Yang Mi.

At the beginning of the TV series, "Lord Mo Yuan" played by Gu Wei appears on the stage, wearing a simple yellow robe, a tall hat, and a beard on his face. He is as handsome as ever but more majestic.

Yang Mi plays the Qingqiu Emperor's daughter "Bai Qian", who disguises herself as a man and comes to Kunlun Xu to become a disciple under the guidance of "Shangshen Zheyan".

As soon as the two arrived at Kunlun Xu, a magic weapon flew over automatically and recognized Yang Mi, who was using the alias "Si Yin", as its master.

Gu Wei arrived with a group of disciples. He naturally recognized at a glance that the person in front of him was a woman disguised as a man, and wondered why the magic weapon chose Yang Mi as its master.

Seeing "Supreme God Mo Yuan," the number one war god in the Four Seas and Eight Wastelands, Yang Mi was also muttering in his heart, "I thought the number one war god in the Four Seas and Eight Wastelands was a supernatural being, but who would have thought he was a pretty boy who was even more romantic than Zhe Yan."

The original TV series was a bit funny in this scene. Zhao Youting himself was not handsome enough, and after sticking on the beard, he looked like an ordinary middle-aged man. The pretty boy was completely lying with his eyes open.

However, in Gu Wei's version, when Yang Mi speaks this line from her inner drama, the audience will no longer be distracted.

After all, even with a beard, Gu Wei still looked exceptionally handsome. Ignoring his bearing and majesty at this moment, and just looking at his face, it would be most appropriate to call him a pretty boy.

Before I knew it, the first two episodes were finished.

Reba sat on the sofa, raised her hands and stretched.

"Girl, when will you appear?"

After watching the TV series, Reba’s mother asked.

"Mom, look at the little princess born in Qingqiu at the end of the second episode. The one with a phoenix flower birthmark on her forehead is me."

Reba explained with a smile.

"It's just a baby. When will it grow up?"

"mom

This is a TV show, and when you appear again in a few episodes, you will naturally be an adult."

Reba’s mother nodded.

"Your drama is really well-made, the scenery is beautiful, and the plot is also attractive. Your two bosses are tall and handsome, and the other cute and beautiful. They are quite a match."

Although her mother was praising her TV series, Reba did not feel comfortable hearing these words.

She forced a smile.

“After all, a lot of money was spent on it, and the production is absolutely excellent.

Mom, if you have nothing to do every night, just watch it. If I finish work early, I will come back to accompany you."

“Okay~

However, I discussed with your father and decided to go back after a few days if there is nothing else to do."

"Why are you in such a hurry? Why don't you two stay a few more days?"

Reba was a little reluctant.

"Shanghai is not our home after all. Your mother and I will come to spend the New Year with you. It's no problem for us to stay here for a few days to accompany you, but we have to go back eventually.

I still have some work to do at the Frontier Song and Dance Troupe, and we have relatives to visit when we return.”

"knew"

Reba was a little depressed, but she also knew that her father was right.

Everyone has his or her own circle of life. She grew up in a privileged family environment. Her father was the lead singer of the Frontier Song and Dance Troupe and was well-known locally. Her mother also had her own circle of friends in her hometown.

There was no way she would take her parents out of their comfortable environment and into a completely unfamiliar place because of herself.

January 30, 2017, the third day of the Chinese New Year.

During the New Year holiday, countless young people stayed in front of the TV at night, watching their long-awaited "Eternal Love" just like Reba.

Blueberry Station.

Since the premiere of "Three Lives, Three Worlds", Director Liu of the film purchasing department has been always concerned about the ratings of this TV series.

Fortunately, as he expected, the ratings of the TV series rose sharply from the beginning, breaking 1 in the first broadcast and breaking 1.5 at the highest point.

Looking at the first day broadcast data of "Three Lives, Three Worlds" in his hand, Director Liu couldn't help but smile.

"There's really no problem betting on Gu Wei. He and Yang Mi are a surefire ratings winner."

Director Liu first worked under Deputy Director Xiao of Blueberry TV. He was an eyewitness to Director Xiao's insistence on purchasing the copyright of "Love O2O".

Facts have proved that Director Xiao's decision was decisive and wise. The show became a huge hit and brought huge profits to Blueberry TV.

He had his eyes on Gu Wei's "Three Lives, Three Worlds" when the project was just starting. Later, when buying the broadcasting rights, the station did not provide enough funds to compete with Mango TV. He took the initiative to communicate with Shanghai Dragon TV, and the two companies jointly bought the first round of broadcasting rights.

Now it seems that he was right.

"Director, Dragon TV's ratings have also broken 1. Because their station isn't as well-known as ours, their average ratings are slightly lower."

"Very good! The first broadcast on both channels broke 1, and if the subsequent word-of-mouth keeps up, "Eternal Love" will almost be the first drama to win the title of the year!

How's Mango TV doing?"

Director Liu was happy but did not forget to care about his old rival.

"The show that aired on Mango TV at the same time as ours was [The Lonely Queen], which launched earlier this month.

Although this drama has been criticized by netizens, thanks to the popularity of Angelababy and Zhong Hanliang, it has always been ranked first in the CSM52 city network ratings and the national network ratings in the same period before today.

However, after the broadcast of "Three Lives, Three Worlds" today, the ratings of "The Princess Weiyoung" dropped a bit, from 1.25 yesterday to 0.93, ranking behind our station and Dragon TV."

(End of this chapter)