She put down the phone, turned around, and shouted to Lin Huowang and Lü Ruirong, "Awang... Arong... they're out! First-day box office... Shaw Brothers thirteen cinemas... total box office... 530,000!!!"
"What?! In just one afternoon and evening, it's already...it's already grossed over HK$500,000?"
Overjoyed, Lü Ruirong let out a scream and jumped up from the sofa, exclaiming incredulously, "Thirteen shabby cinemas?! 530,000?! Sister Rumeng, did you hear that right?! How is that possible?!"
This number really made her mind go blank.
Because filming "Snake in the Eagle's Shadow" only took seven days in total, and if you don't count the cost of the sets built at the film studio, the entire film cost less than HK$500,000!
They've already broken even in just one day? That's...that's incredibly popular!
Liu Rumeng smiled and nodded, saying with certainty:
"That's right! It's 530,000! The cinema manager was so excited on the phone he almost cried!"
He said, "Mr. Liu, I've been running a movie theater for so many years, and I've never seen such a popular scene!"
From the first show at 2:30 PM until the midnight showing, every single show was sold out! Every seat was taken! Tickets were selling like hotcakes! There are still many people outside the theater cursing because they couldn't get tickets! They're saying we didn't prepare enough copies! Could you please give us a few more copies?
Lü Ruirong covered her mouth and laughed, "I thought I had made too many copies! Turns out it wasn't enough at all. I should have prepared more."
She looked at Lin Huowang with affectionate eyes, her heart filled with nothing but admiration.
This man really did fulfill all the promises he made!
Lin Huowang, however, remained calm. He picked up his teacup and took a small sip.
At that moment, the other phones in the office started ringing one after another, as if they were going crazy!
The general manager's office secretary also rushed in, shouting anxiously and excitedly:
"President Liu! President Lü! Our phones have been ringing off the hook! After the opening day box office results came out, Manager Zou from Golden Harvest, Mr. Feng from Golden Princess... so many theater owners have called, saying they want to talk about increasing the screenings of 'Snake in the Eagle'!!! They're asking us for double the number of copies!"
Liu Rumeng reacted immediately, unleashing her full aura. She took a deep breath and walked towards the ringing telephone array.
"Hello? This is Manager Zou from Golden Harvest. Hello, hello... Oh dear, I'm so sorry, our film is just too popular right now."
As you know, we ourselves are also worried about not having enough copies...
"What? Profits are negotiable? Manager Zou, you're too kind! How could we let you suffer a loss? How about this, we won't ask for too much, we'll take 80%, and the remaining 20% will go to your theater chain. What do you think?" "...Oh, Manager Zou, you're such a straightforward person! Happy to cooperate! Happy to cooperate!"
"Hello? Mr. Feng? You must be joking, right? When our people came to you before, you didn't say that... You said it was because your subordinates were ignorant?"
Okay, then we won't hold it against you... We can name our terms? Mr. Feng, you're so sincere, we can feel it.
Okay, I won't make things difficult for you. Same terms as Golden Harvest: we'll take 80% of the box office revenue, and you'll take 20%. Also, all Shaw Brothers films currently showing in your theaters must be immediately pulled from theaters and replaced with our *Snake in the Eagle's Shadow*. Can you do that? ...Can you? Great! Then let's have a pleasant collaboration!
She received over a dozen phone calls. These were all from arrogant theater managers who had refused to show "Snake in the Eagle's Shadow," a "terrible" film, for seven days. Now, they were all calling her personally, begging for a screening or more copies. Liu Rumeng finally understood what it meant to have an ace up your sleeve and not panic.
Lu Ruirong listened from the side, feeling extremely pleased.
All the humiliation I suffered when contacting these cinemas before, I'm getting my revenge tenfold!
Liu Rumeng hung up the phone again, walked quickly to Lin Huowang, and said with a smile:
"Ah Wang! Raymond Chow from Golden Harvest called personally! His attitude was incredibly polite! He said, 'Ms. Liu, we at Golden Harvest were blind to your talent and neglected your company before. On behalf of Golden Harvest, I apologize to you and Mr. Kobayashi! As long as you are willing to let us screen 'Snake in the Eagle', we will agree to any conditions! Profit sharing and screening schedule, you decide!'"
"Golden Princess Cinemas also stated that they would name their terms as long as we agreed! They said, 'Ms. Liu, we were wrong before, and we are willing to make amends with the utmost sincerity! Just say the word, and all our theaters will run 24/7, showing only 'Snake in the Eagle'!'"
"Right now, apart from Shaw Brothers' theaters where we already showed the film yesterday, all other theaters on Hong Kong Island are scrambling to get copies of our film!"
Lu Ruirong excitedly shouted, "Xiao Linsheng, we succeeded! Our first Asian film has become an instant hit!"
After listening, Lin Huowang smiled and gave instructions:
“Promise them. Tell them our goal is to break ten million Hong Kong dollars in box office revenue within a week! We want to make history and become the No. 1 box office in Hong Kong! With the help of so many cinemas, this goal is definitely achievable!”
...
In the days that followed, everyone on Hong Kong Island seemed to have gone mad.
The following day, "Snake in the Eagle's Shadow" was shown in most cinemas across Hong Kong Island.
The newspapers were filled with news about this movie every day:
Miracle! 530,000 in box office revenue on opening day! Breaking records!
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