Chapter 132: A chapter with a lot of box office data.
Chapter 132
If Xu Lijia criticizes "Ghost Arts" from aspects such as plot, pacing, and character design, he would likely gain countless fans if he were to be even slightly objective.
There are certainly many who didn't expect "The Ghost" to achieve high box office returns.
But now that news has spread that Xu Lijia lost the competition for the male lead in "Bloody Past", his criticisms are no longer valid.
Even if he offered an objective critique, no one was willing to listen.
Viewers, on the contrary, felt sympathy for the cast and crew of "Ghost Arts".
Whether a movie can become popular often depends on a marketing point. For example, the "I owe XXX a movie ticket" promotion from a few years ago is no longer effective now, but it was very popular with audiences back then.
"The Ghost" is of good quality, but it lacks the ability to attract audiences to the cinema.
So far, the feud between Xu Lijia, Lin Yuan, and Yu Ying has generated a lot of buzz, and "Ghost Arts" has garnered sympathy from the audience.
In addition, the actors' superb acting skills in the film are also a highlight – even if "Ghost Magic" doesn't become a huge hit, it doesn't deceive the audience.
Another point—to some extent, Yu Ying and Lin Yuan's replies have become internet memes.
Yu Ying used to be known for her fierce fighting ability, but that was mainly reflected in her physical strength. Now, with Lin Yuan's unremitting guidance, her cursing skills have become increasingly refined.
Especially since she was facing Xu Lijia.
Netizens know that Yu Ying is quite fierce, a frequent topic on trending searches, and has amazing fighting skills. Netizens also do not expect Yu Ying to be a morally upright person.
Yu Ying herself doesn't follow this route.
Regardless, Yu Ying showed her true self.
Who wouldn't be angry in the situation with the crew of "Ghost Arts"?
So-called dignity is nothing more than letting yourself get so angry that you develop nodules.
Yu Ying's authenticity is admirable.
"My sister said things I dared not say!"
"Sister is awesome!!!"
As for Lin Yuan—
Although his remarks were a bit cheesy, they were also full of witty remarks. In just one afternoon, netizens had already created countless memes using the phrase "Even if you hate me, don't hate XXX".
The presence of "Ghost Arts" suddenly increased.
Although "The Ghost" boasts a pretty good cast for this time of year, its presence is still somewhat lacking compared to other films released during the National Day holiday.
Many viewers did not consider going to the cinema during this period, but instead moved their movie-watching plans to the National Day holiday.
But after Xu Lijia had a falling out with the "Ghost Arts" production team, the audience learned that there was such a movie as "Ghost Arts".
Discussions about "Ghost Arts" are increasing.
Film critics' analyses of the plot have enhanced the presence of "Ghostcraft".
Film critics have focused more on the visuals of this movie. In terms of the atmosphere it creates, "The Ghost" is both a continuation of martial arts films from the turn of the century and an absorption of the essence of ghost films.
Movies of any genre have their audiences, and the reviews from film critics attract even more viewers to the cinema.
After a week in theaters, "Ghost Arts" has grossed over 300 million yuan at the box office.
On the first day of the second week, a Friday, after Xu Lijia's remarks took effect and Lin Yuan and Yu Ying responded, the box office of "Ghost Arts" suddenly soared from 31.22 million to 64.02 million, almost doubling.
This situation is not common in the film market.
But the momentum of "Ghost Arts" is not over yet—
On its 8th day of release, it grossed 64.02 million yuan.
On its 9th day of release, it grossed 67.82 million yuan.
On its 10th day of release, it grossed 66.51 million yuan.
The 11th day of its release was October 1st.
Nine new films were released that day, covering a wide range of genres including comedy, war, fantasy, and animation, leaving older films to take a backseat.
The screenings of "The Ghost" were suddenly cut by three-quarters, with only a single-digit number of screenings, 6.6%.
This was because the film performed well at the box office the day before, so the theaters deliberately kept it on.
The theaters had originally planned to reduce the number of screenings of "Ghost Arts".
On this day, amidst the onslaught of numerous blockbusters and a box office exceeding 600 million yuan on its opening day, "Ghost Arts" garnered 53.46 million yuan, slightly higher than its screen share.
Considering that it was only released in late September and had a relatively weak cast and limited budget, this result is already quite solid.
Besides, the marketing for "Ghost Arts" has already been done in advance, so there's no need to spend a lot of money on promotion during the fierce competition of the National Day holiday.
At least none of the films that grossed over 100 million yuan on their opening day have yet broken even, despite their astronomical advertising costs.
On this day, the total box office of "Ghost Arts" officially exceeded 550 million.
The crew hasn't thought too much about it yet, but some netizens have raised questions—if this trend continues, is it possible for "Ghost Arts" to break 1 billion at the box office?
Everyone: "..."
No one had thought about this issue before, but now... the total box office seems to have reached half of 1 billion.
The key point is that the box office of "Ghost Arts" grew very slowly in its early stages, and half of the 550 million yuan was only accumulated in the last few days.
1 billion seems... really not that far away.
If the film maintains its current screening schedule, it might actually happen once the competition for the National Day holiday subsides.
"A billion!"
Yu Ying was even more excited than Liu Xiaoguang: "This is the peak of my acting career."
As an actress who focuses on art-house films, Yu Ying never even dared to dream of a figure like 1 billion.
No matter how you look at it, "The Art of Ghosts" is getting closer and closer.
...
When Xu Lijia started criticizing "Ghost Arts", two film bloggers predicted that with "Ghost Arts" being so poorly received, Lin Yuan's film career would likely be affected.
Although both "Thousand Mountains" and "Killing" were well-received and box office hits with high profits, Lin Yuan was ultimately just a supporting actor and didn't carry the box office.
There's a saying in the industry that box office success is measured by the number of lead actors, but in essence, it's the lead actors who carry the box office.
If being the third lead could guarantee box office success, then it wouldn't be the third lead anymore.
If Lin Yuan's first starring film performs poorly, the investors will naturally have concerns.
In addition, Lin Yuan's reputation will also be affected.
Lin Yuan is a talented actor, but his popularity is also quite high. He has achievements and awards, and he has almost no weaknesses. If "Ghost Arts" flops at this time, it would be like handing the opportunity to his rivals free.
No one can resist making fun of him.
Actually, "Ghost Arts" isn't a flop. The budget is what it is. But people who dig up dirt on Lin Yuan don't care about the budget of "Ghost Arts". If the total box office is less than 500 million, it means that Lin Yuan's appeal is not good enough and he can't carry the box office.
But now, "Ghost Arts" has not only surpassed 500 million yuan at the box office, but it is also currently ranked fifth in the daily box office rankings on the first day of the National Day holiday, amidst fierce competition.
On October 2nd, "Ghost Arts" maintained a stable box office performance, still exceeding 50 million yuan, and ranked fourth on the charts.
After the first day of competition, audiences have a general idea of the quality of the nine new films.
Similar to previous years, the National Day holiday film season saw few outstanding films, but not many bad ones either. However, there were many mediocre films, which were neither worth watching nor worth spending money to see in the cinema.
In this situation, films with good word-of-mouth can naturally get a share of the market, while films with bad word-of-mouth are in trouble. Audiences don't buy into them, high screening times can't be maintained, and they can only watch helplessly as box office data gradually deteriorates.
In this release window, "Ghostly Arts" has become a rather eerie film.
When netizens discuss the movies released during the National Day holiday, they usually include "The Ghostly Arts" in their discussions.
It was released ten days before the National Day holiday.
Apart from that, "Ghost Arts" is incredibly stable, relying entirely on word of mouth to gain a foothold.
Lin Yuan's fans, including viewers interested in supernatural and ghost stories, have already watched "Ghost Arts" a second time.
By the end of the National Day holiday, "Ghost Arts" had officially surpassed 800 million yuan in total box office revenue, and 1 billion yuan was not far away.
The director hadn't anticipated this at all.
To be honest, although Lin Yuan has a good track record, the director didn't expect him to have any box office appeal when he cast him as Zhu Sheng.
The current box office figures for "Ghost Arts" cannot be attributed to Lin Yuan's box office appeal; a film's box office performance is determined by many factors.
However, regardless of the circumstances, it is undeniable that "The Ghost Art" is indeed a film starring Lin Yuan.
It doesn't matter whether he has box office appeal or not; all that people in the industry know is that "The Art of Ghosts," starring Lin Yuan, did very well at the box office.
Even if it's just luck, not everyone has that kind of luck.
Whether an actor becomes famous or not depends on luck.
There are plenty of actors with great acting skills who don't become famous, and many who can't carry a drama or make it a box office hit.
The profits from "Ghostly Arts" were several times the cost—Lin Yuan had indeed succeeded in doing so.
Both "Thousand Mountains" and "Killing" were nominated for the Golden Wing Award. "The Powerful Minister" and "Major Case" achieved both high ratings and critical acclaim, earning countless advertising revenues. In addition, "Ghost Arts" made a fortune today. Whether it's due to luck or something else, Lin Yuan is indeed very good at making money.
In essence, an actor's box office appeal is illusory, especially for young actors. Only those actors who have starred in films and television series their entire lives and are known to everyone can be said to have box office appeal. But even so, if the script is not suitable, the audience will still not buy it.
How can an actor like Lin Yuan, who only stars in one movie, have any appeal?
It mainly depends on luck.
He's lucky; the production team is willing to foot the bill.
Lin Yuan had at least succeeded before, and judging from the box office curve of "Ghost Arts," this movie can definitely be described as a comeback against all odds.
The production team of "Ghost Arts" has been hoping to reach 1 billion yuan every day recently.
The director simply changed his WeChat nickname to "Has 'Ghost Arts' surpassed 1 billion today?" and would harass his group members by reporting the numbers every morning.
After the National Day holiday, the daily box office of "Ghost Arts" dropped, but it is indeed getting closer and closer to 1 billion yuan.
...
Objectively speaking, when "Ghostly Arts" was first released, the top male actors in the industry didn't take the movie seriously.
"The Ghost" looks more like an award-contending film, and if the female lead is Yu Ying, the chances of it being an award-contending film are even higher.
However, even if "Ghost Arts" is a contender for awards, the three major film industry leaders may not award Lin Yuan Best Actor so soon.
Winning the Best Actor award at the three major awards is very difficult, especially for young actors.
Even if young actors have the talent, judges are usually reluctant to give them credit.
But "Ghost Arts" quietly surpassed 1 billion views.
All those voices who initially asserted that "Ghost Arts" would have difficulty breaking 300 million, 500 million, or even more... suddenly fell silent.
But the success of "Ghost Arts" is not the most frustrating thing.
What's most upsetting is that Lin Yuan is going to be working with Ren Maoxing next.
Who is Ren Maoxing?
For ambitious young actors, the other party is the director they most want to work with.
Just imagine, the role Lin Yuan got was so good that even Xu Lijia was able to break down in his defenses. You don't even need to guess how good this role is.
This opportunity, of all people, belonged to Lin Yuan.
"What's the difference between this and riding a rocket?"
"How come he gets all the good luck?"
Top-tier male actors are already among those who have overcome numerous obstacles to reach the pinnacle, but Lin Yuan's development still makes them feel threatened.
While others rose through the ranks gradually, in a process, Lin Yuan's rise could only be described as a sprint.
His competitors, such as He Mian, were not even mentally prepared when Lin Yuan suddenly rushed up.
If Lin Yuan wins another major award with his new film, everyone will probably want to experience being trampled under his feet.
Those who have clashed with him, such as Xie, Ye, and Geng, and now Xu, will only have a harder time.
Nobody wanted to see this outcome.
The Golden Wing Award has been announced.
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Author's Note: Update! [Eating popcorn][Eating popcorn]
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