With the Lunar New Year approaching, cinemas across Hong Kong are packed to capacity.
At this time, the best way for people to relax is to go to the cinema to watch a movie.
Hong Kong's film industry also reached its peak in this year.
Several films produced by Huaxia Star Film Company were released at the end of 1992.
With the positive word-of-mouth surrounding Huaxia Star and the opportune timing of the 1993 Lunar New Year film season, the movie's box office performance was quite impressive.
Outside the cinema, long queues of people formed to buy movie tickets.
In the crowd, a couple watched the big screen with excitement.
The woman exclaimed excitedly, "Wow! It's been a whole day of Stephen Chow movies!"
The man nodded and said, "It's a rare opportunity like this. When we buy the tickets later, let's buy tickets for the next few shows. We'll invite Uncle and Auntie to come along after they get off work."
Such situations are common among people queuing.
Most people are on holiday, and during holidays and Lunar New Year film seasons, family and friends often go to the movies and watch several screenings in a row.
Currently, the most popular movies are those starring Stephen Chow.
Shortly after, the box office charts were released.
Stephen Chow dominated the top five spots on the box office charts that year, and occupied seven of the top fifteen spots.
In addition, Chow Yun-fat also has a movie on the list.
Overall, ten of the fifteen most popular movies were produced by Huaxia Star Film Company.
For a time, Huaxia Star was filled with joy.
Such remarkable achievements even moved Zhou Huimin to tears.
As night fell, a grand celebration was held at the Xiangjiang Hotel.
In addition to the cast and crew of Huaxia Star, representatives from various forces in Hong Kong, as well as prominent figures from all walks of life, also attended the banquet.
Anita Mui wore a fashionable little dress and held a microphone in her hand.
She glanced at the cue cards and said with a smile, "Friends, welcome to the Huaxia Star celebration party. I am honored to announce the Huaxia Star's annual box office dark horse."
"First place, The Judge, who starred Stephen Chow, Ng Man-tat and I. Box office of HK$49.88 million."
"Second place goes to another film starring Stephen Chow, All's Well, Ends Well, with a total box office of HK$48 million!"
"Third place: The Deer and the Cauldron, box office 41 million..."
Anita Mui announced the films one by one, and finally concluded: "As of now, the 12 films produced by Huaxia Star Film Company this year have grossed a total of HK$370 million! Let's congratulate President Amin!"
Immediately, the entire audience erupted in applause.
Accompanied by Chen Dong, Vivian Chow made a slow entrance.
Despite the star-studded event, Vivian Chow was in no way inferior to the female celebrities.
The celebration at Huaxia Star was exceptionally lively, and the box office revenue of 370 million yuan shocked everyone.
It's important to understand that box office revenue is just the beginning of the film industry. There will also be purchases and broadcasts by major television stations, as well as DVDs and other distributions.
As Huaxia Star's film industry gains fame, many companies want to place advertisements in Huaxia Star's films, which is another lucrative source of income.
...
While Huaxia Star Company was enjoying a period of prosperity, Li Ka-shing and Li Zeju were having a difficult time.
Li Zeju acquired an entertainment company in Hong Kong and integrated several smaller companies to form his own film company.
During this period, they filmed a total of four movies, but the box office performance was very poor, failing to even break into the top fifteen of the overall charts.
Looking at the success of Huaxia Star, the Li family father and son felt even more distressed.
The investment in four films went completely down the drain.
Even when released in theaters, it flopped so badly that nobody paid any attention to it.
Some cinemas even refused to screen the film altogether.
After all, they earn millions in box office revenue a day just by showing Huaxia Star's movies.
Nobody wants to lose money at a time like this.
This wave has resulted in huge losses for the Li family's entertainment company.
What Li Ka-shing didn't expect was that the box office failure was not the end, but merely the beginning.
As time went on, piracy became rampant in mainland China, and the legitimate CDs produced by Li Ka-shing suffered a blow.
"Bang!"
Li Ka-shing slammed a stack of pirated CDs onto the office floor, then glared at Li Zeju.
Li Ka-shing had roughly looked at the contents of the CD.
He gritted his teeth and roared, "This is it! This is actually a movie we spent a fortune making! What is this?! Did I invest in making this movie just for them to sell?"
As Li Ka-shing spoke, his heart trembled slightly with anger.
Seeing this, Li Zeju could only lower his head and mutter softly, "Dad, we can't do anything about pirated CDs. We haven't found anything so far. We have to suffer this loss whether we want to or not."
Upon hearing this, Li Ka-shing was so angry that the veins on his forehead bulged.
Previously, Li Ka-shing's plan to recoup his losses through this wave of DVDs ultimately failed.
Pirated CDs cannot be contained through normal means, especially in mainland China where the problem is even more rampant.
Even if Li Ka-shing had long arms, he couldn't control it.
Li Ka-shing waved his hand impatiently: "Get these monstrosities away, I feel uncomfortable just looking at them!"
The butler rushed over and took the pirated CDs away.
A short while later, Li Ka-shing leaned back on the sofa, looking tired, and said, "What news have you been gathering outside? How's that guy at Hidden Dragon Residence doing lately?"
Li Zeju thought for a moment and didn't dare to say anything.
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