Chapter 199 Amazing [VIP]
Chapter Summary: The First Actress Who Can Carry Box Office Success
On the day the movie was released.
Director Wan Zhou, along with the main creative team including Mu Zhi and Bian Wu, came to the mountain city for a promotional roadshow.
After a full month of promotional roadshows, the entire creative team showed no signs of fatigue; on the contrary, they were all in a state of high excitement.
"From midnight to noon, including pre-sales, the opening day box office has already exceeded 400 million yuan!"
"The two movie ticketing platforms currently have ratings of 9.6 and 9.7 respectively, which are both 0.1 higher than the ratings of Qidian."
"The new film reviews, both online and offline, are all positive! That's fantastic!!"
Good news kept coming in, and as the saying goes, people are in high spirits when they have good news, so everyone was excited, thrilled and overjoyed.
On the way to the next cinema.
Mu Zhi heard from the staff that many friends online had helped promote the movie, so she logged onto social media to take a look.
All the artists under Lanxing Media posted on Weibo to recommend their company's first film, as well as many of Mu Zhi's friends who have worked with her: Tai Feng, Zhou Zilong (who made a cameo appearance), Chai Yin, Zhou Jingzhu, Liu Cai, and others.
There were also recommendations from directors such as Xu Kuan, Tang Yan, and Hong Yan on their blogs.
These are just some of the friends associated with Mu Zhi.
In addition, many artists who have worked with director Wan Zhou have also come forward to recommend this film...
It's true that almost half of the entertainment industry got involved to help promote it.
Besides celebrities and director friends, many science fiction movie enthusiasts, film influencers, and video bloggers have also mentioned this film.
Whether people are genuinely interested in the film or just want to ride its coattails, it's all good for the movie. It shows the film has a wide audience reach, which is beneficial for its wider promotion and expansion beyond its core audience.
The online promotion of the film is booming and in full swing.
Offline, wherever the creative team of "Apocalypse Virus" went, they felt the enthusiasm of movie fans in every theater they entered.
After watching "The End of the World Virus," most viewers became fans of the film, not just fans of Mu Zhi and director Wan Zhou.
During the post-screening Q&A session, participants expressed their love for the film.
After a day of roadshows.
Most of the film reviews that Mu Zhi heard at the roadshow:
"This is a new milestone for domestic science fiction films!"
"In my opinion, this is the top sci-fi and disaster film in recent years! I believe this movie will break the domestic box office record!"
"The special effects for tsunamis, earthquakes, global heat waves, and extreme cold were all done so well. The special effects for large-scale scenes like dungeons were also incredibly realistic and breathtaking. They gave me goosebumps all over and made my scalp tingle..."
"A super stunning blockbuster, sparing no expense on every special effects shot, money is everywhere, a very lavish production, it was so enjoyable to watch."
"As expected of a great director, his first foray into science fiction has brought us movie fans a wonderful surprise..."
"A blockbuster you can watch blindly—this review isn't an exaggeration at all; it's totally worth the ticket price!"
"Disaster films of this genre have actually been made abroad before. I think the success of 'Doomsday Virus' lies not only in its special effects, which are in no way inferior to those of foreign blockbusters, but also in its excellent and solid script, which successfully portrays the protagonist..."
...
Online and offline reviews of Mu Zhi's performance in the film:
"Any movie starring Mu Zhi is bound to be a masterpiece! You can watch any movie starring Mu Zhi without worrying about making a bad one. I have watched every movie of Teacher Mu."
"My first thought after watching 'Doomsday Virus' was that director Wan Zhou really loves Mu Zhi. He filmed her beautifully in his previous work, 'Countdown'; this time, Mu Zhi has 80% of the screen time in this movie, a lot of scenes, and many highlight moments..."
"The female lead in 'Doomsday Virus' is not easy to play. This character is the only one among the main characters who has not been infected by the virus. Unlike the characters played by Bian Wu and others who have superpowers after mutation, she is an ordinary person who shoulders the last hope of saving humanity. The character's image is elevated to a very high level."
A bad performance can come across as pretentious, but Mu Zhi's ability to portray a character that people like and empathize with is truly impressive. I've found that Mu Zhi's temperament is perfectly suited for playing such outstanding women, and she also has a really good rapport with the audience.
"Mu Zhi has gone from idol to top actress in the industry. She is incredibly capable. She is perfect for playing high-IQ roles such as female translators or female PhDs. She is poised, intelligent, and while she may appear delicate and in need of protection on the surface, her seemingly fragile shoulders can actually bear everything."
"Judging from the current box office and word-of-mouth trends of 'Doomsday Virus' on its opening day, this movie is going to be a hit. Congratulations to Mu Zhi for becoming the first actress in the film industry who can carry the box office!"
......
After the movie's release today, Mu Zhi once again felt the same fervor as on the day of the release of her previous work, "Safe Evacuation".
I got back to the hotel after work at 11 p.m.
Inside the elevator, Minmin and her team members were excitedly discussing among themselves.
Assistant Xiaoling: "The opening day box office figures for 'Doomsday Virus' are out: 700 million! I remember last year's 'Safe Evacuation' had a box office of 800 million on its opening day, it's 100 million less."
Minmin, looking down at her phone, said, "The box office trend for this year's National Day holiday is too similar to last year's. Today's total is 900 million, 'Doomsday Virus' is 700 million, 'The Great Battle' is over 90 million, and the other two new films released today and the films currently in theaters add up to 100 million."
However, tomorrow's pre-sales have surpassed those of "Evacuation," and the final box office is very likely to exceed it!
Male assistant: "The advance screenings of 'Doomsday Virus' generated a lot of buzz and had a huge impact on 'The Great Battle.' Plus, the reviews for 'The Great Battle' have been lukewarm, so today's box office performance is below expectations. Tomorrow is the first day of the holiday, and they're even reducing the number of screenings."
This is good news for "Doomsday Virus"; the next 7-day holiday is crucial...
They arrived at their floor and stepped out of the elevator, but the conversation continued.
Mu Zhi said to them, "You've all worked hard, why don't you get some rest? Or if you're not in a hurry to sleep, you can order some late-night snacks and have Minmin ask me to reimburse you."
"Thank you, Sister Zhizhi/Sister Muzhi!"
Mu Zhi swiped her card to enter the room.
As soon as she closed the door, she sent a message to He Zhiyue to let him know:
I'm back in my hotel room.
I've been busy with roadshows all day and haven't had time to chat with He Zhiyue.
The last message between the two of them was at noon.
He Zhiyue told Mu Zhi to eat more at noon so she would have the energy to run the roadshow and not go hungry.
After changing into disposable slippers at the hotel, Mu Zhigang walked over and sat down on the sofa.
He Zhiyue called.
As soon as the call connected, the two spoke in unison.
"Congratulations!"
"Congratulations."
They both laughed.
Mu Zhi listened to He Zhiyue's laughter coming from the phone. It was an incredibly joyful laugh coming from his chest, with a hint of high spirits.
Thinking back to last night.
When she spoke to He Zhiyue on the phone, the movie was about to start in just over half an hour.
Despite the good pre-sale results, He Zhiyue admitted that he was not very confident about the box office performance of the movie "Doomsday Virus" and was a little nervous.
The movie was released today, and the box office results for the first day are in. Now I can finally relax.
Mu Zhi asked him, "Did you go to the movies today?"
"kindness."
He Zhiyue claimed that she went out alone in the early hours of the morning to watch "Doomsday Virus".
"The movie theater I went to still had about a third of the audience in the midnight screening room."
Mu Zhi was slightly surprised. It turned out that He Zhiyue had been so excited about the upcoming movie release that he couldn't sleep and went out to see it shortly after their phone call last night.
She remembers that on the day her first movie was released, she excitedly went to the cinema to watch it.
There were only three people in the entire theater, including her.
The fact that the midnight screening that He Zhiyue watched had a one-third attendance rate suggests that the audience was happy and excited because of the holiday, and it also shows that the movie "Doomsday Virus" has appeal.
Next, Mu Zhi chatted with He Zhiyue about her and the main creative team, including director Wan Zhou and Bian Wu, doing a roadshow today and the audience's feedback on the film.
Overall, the box office performance and word-of-mouth were very good on the first day of release.
Movie ticketing apps currently predict that the total box office for "Doomsday Virus" will be around 4.5 billion yuan.
If the projected box office results are achieved, it will be a successful first step for Lanxing Media in entering the film and television production sector.
"Next, Lanxing Media has the funds and confidence to make a second and third installment..."
Mu Zhi asked curiously, "Did you break even today?"
"Hmm, it will take 3 days."
Mu Zhi: "..."
Judging from the film's cast, filming, special effects, and marketing, she knew that the investment in this film was huge.
But after hearing He Zhiyue's answer, I was still shocked; it was too crazy.
He Zhiyue did not continue on this topic. Apart from matters related to Mu Zhi's career, he rarely talked to Mu Zhi about business matters.
Because Mu Zhi wasn't very interested.
"Teacher Mu, will you be able to return to Beicheng on the 2nd, which is the night after tomorrow?"
"The roadshow ended on the 2nd, and it was past 10 p.m. My team and I booked a flight for the next morning."
During the month-long roadshow, Mu Zhi and He Zhiyue did not meet.
He Zhiyue offered to fly over, but Mu Zhi could only spare half an hour to spend with him before she had to shower and go to bed to make sure she got enough rest.
We had to fly to another city very early the next morning.
Mu Zhi wouldn't let He Zhiyue come, cough, also to focus on the promotion of the roadshow.
Mu Zhi sensed that He Zhiyue sounded a little down on the other end of the phone. She said, "I'll be back in Beicheng by noon on the 3rd. Let's have dinner together on the evening of the 3rd?"
Okay. I'll wait for you to come back.
October 2nd, around 10 PM.
Mu Zhi concluded her promotional tour for the day, which also marked the end of the promotional tour for "Doomsday Virus".
Liu Jiaxu, one of the lead actors, only participated in the first half of the promotional tour.
Mu Zhi and Bian Wu are both artists under Lanxing Media. From the second day after the release date announcement to today, they have been working tirelessly for a month.
Mu Zhi will be attending the script reading session for "Falling into the River" on the 4th, followed by a makeup test and costume fitting, in preparation for joining the new film crew.
So they couldn't free up their schedules to continue doing roadshows.
Director Wan Zhou and the main creative team, including Bian Wu, will continue their promotional tour for another four days, completing the seven-day National Day holiday before truly ending the roadshow for "Doomsday Virus".
Tonight, Mu Zhi and Min Min are not on the same floor.
When they were taking the elevator upstairs, Minmin asked if she needed anyone to come with her.
Mu Zhi remembered that the front desk had said there was only one room on this floor, so she said she didn't need it.
"Ding!" The elevator has arrived.
For safety's sake, Mu Zhi called He Zhiyue, firstly to ask him about the room upgrade, and secondly so that He Zhiyue would know immediately if anything happened while they were on the phone.
As a result, Mu Zhi held the room key in one hand and her mobile phone in the other, and just dialed He Zhiyue's number.
I heard a deep, pleasant voice come from the phone: "Baby."
She looked at the signs on the wall, turned a corner, and saw a tall figure standing in the corridor whom she hadn't seen for quite some time and missed.
It was He Zhiyue.
No wonder the receptionist at the lobby just now said that Mu Zhi's room had been upgraded to the presidential suite for free.
Mu Zhi asked who it was.
The receptionist said it was at the behest of General Manager He, and that this hotel belongs to the He Group.
While waiting at the airport in the morning, He Zhiyue asked her which hotel she was staying at that night.
Mu Zhi told He Zhiyue right away, without thinking too much about it.
He actually flew over.
He Zhiyue walked over to Mu Zhi, took the suitcase from her hand with one hand, and held Mu Zhi's hand with the other, saying with a somewhat aggrieved expression, "I missed you so much, I wanted to see you tonight."
"Shall we go inside and talk?"
Mu Zhi nodded. She was now quite wary of public places, including hotel corridors.
After swiping my card to enter the hotel room and closing the door...
He Zhiyue hugged Mu Zhi, nuzzling her chin against the top of her head in a coquettish tone, "Zhi Bao, you're not angry that I ran over to find you without telling you, are you?"
If she told him not to come because she was busy with roadshows, but he still came, she would inevitably feel that he was being a bit presumptuous.
After finishing the roadshow tonight, he went to great lengths to fly over and see me.
She wasn't an unreasonable person, so why would she blame him?
Mu Zhi wrapped her arms around his waist. "Don't be angry."
The next second, noticing He Zhiyue pushing his own suitcase in, she twitched her lips slightly: "Did you put your suitcase in the wrong room?"
Feeling guilty, He Zhiyue said, "...The presidential suite has several rooms. Can I stay next to you tonight?" He lowered his head and kissed the tip of Mu Zhi's ear.
Mu Zhi shrank back slightly when he kissed her, but he held her even tighter in his arms.
However, they didn't actually ask them to leave...
The following morning.
He Zhiyue was supposed to take a flight back to Beicheng with Mu Zhi, so Mu Zhi changed her earliest flight to the next one and didn't go back with the team.
This is also to avoid embarrassment.
But an embarrassing thing still happened.
The two took a hotel-arranged car from the hotel's underground parking garage to the airport, avoiding the paparazzi.
At the airport, without their knowledge, they were recognized by passersby who took photos and posted them online.
#Muzhihezhiyue at the airport together# even became a trending topic.
When the news went viral, Mu Zhi and He Zhiyue's flight took off, completely unaware of what was happening online.
After getting off the plane, Ji Binghe had already been removed from the trending topics online.
However, the entertainment gossip forums are still passionately discussing the couple's airport photos.
Normally, seeing the two together at the airport wouldn't be a big deal; at most, it would be a cause for celebration for their fans, who would think it was a sweet treat. Netizens saw the photos and commented: "Oh, they're still together." "I heard Mu Zhi just finished a promotional tour, and He Zhiyue flew over to meet her? They seem to have a good relationship."
What sparked heated discussion this time was He Zhiyue in the same frame, who had a band-aid on her neck, placed on her Adam's apple.
A simple band-aid sparked a wild imagination among netizens, who wrote eight hundred words about it.
He Zhiyue was very annoyed after learning from the gossip link sent by Ji Binghe that she had made it to the trending topics.
It's all his fault.
Last night, he originally intended to say "goodnight" to Mu Zhi and then go back to his room to sleep. However, after hugging and kissing Mu Zhi, he couldn't stop and kissed her too hard on the bed, which angered Mu Zhi.
Mu Zhi bit his Adam's apple, leaving a tooth mark. He Zhiyue didn't want anyone to see it, so he covered it up with a band-aid.
Actually, Mu Zhi's lips were swollen from his kisses, but it wasn't noticeable in the photos. He didn't dare leave any marks on Mu Zhi's neck.
He Zhiyue's face hardened when he saw some netizens' unserious teasing and embellishments.
His relationship with Mu Zhi is currently limited to kissing and hugging, and has not progressed any further.
I drove Mu Zhi back to the main gate.
He Zhiyue hugged Mu Zhi and said somewhat sullenly, "I'm the one who dragged you down from your pedestal."
Mu Zhi didn't blame He Zhiyue. It's normal for couples to have intimate contact. They were officially a couple, not someone you should be ashamed of. Before she started dating He Zhiyue, whenever she was photographed with a young male actor, rumors would spread and all sorts of stories would be made about her.
As a public figure, she could not avoid these things, and it had nothing to do with He Zhiyue.
Mu Zhi said calmly, "It's not the hickey that netizens are guessing, but it is indeed a bite mark from my teeth."
"I don't care about what's online, but you should think about how to cover up for work tomorrow. It's October, doesn't it seem like it's not yet time to wear turtlenecks?"
He Zhiyue smiled upon hearing this. Because he cared too much about Mu Zhi, he was easily sensitive and nervous about things related to Mu Zhi, unlike Mu Zhi who was more insightful.
He held the person in his arms tightly and whispered, "I love you so much."
The 7-day National Day holiday will end on October 7th.
On its eighth day of release, "The Last Virus" had already grossed over 3 billion yuan.
The difference between its box office performance and that of "Safe Evacuation" in its first week of release last year is less than 5 million.
Despite the pressure from the big-budget patriotic film "The Great Battle," which was released on the same day, "The End of the World Virus" still managed to achieve this box office result, which is quite impressive.
The box office results for the 7th have not yet been included.
Movie ticketing apps have raised their box office predictions for "The End of the World Virus" to 5.2 billion yuan.
October 14th, just two days before filming begins on the new drama.
Mu Zhi is packing her luggage at home.
He Zhiyue came to her, saying he wanted to help.
Mu Zhi always packs her own clothes and personal belongings herself, unless she is moving.
She had no choice but to let He Zhiyue push her packed and tidied luggage downstairs.
Tomorrow at noon, we'll be flying to Qionghai, where the film crew is shooting.
The process of packing.
Mu Zhi noticed that He Zhiyue was acting a bit strangely. One moment, when she was putting clothes into her suitcase, he would come over with a small ruler in his hand and say that he wanted to help her measure the space in the suitcase. The next moment, he would come over and ask her if she was tired, saying that he wanted to massage her hands, and he would spread out his palm and put it next to hers to compare their sizes.
And flirtatiously caressing her middle finger?
"Why are you acting so strange today?"
He Zhiyue asked nonchalantly, "Really?"
Then, like a puppy, he snuggled up to her, hugged her, and kissed her: "Because I can't bear to part with you."
"Teacher Mu, can you pack me in your suitcase and take me to the film set too?"
Mu Zhi: "......" Ha, no suitcase can fit a head as tall as 1.86 meters!
"After I finish filming this movie, the next sci-fi movie won't start filming until May next year."
"There will be a 3-month vacation then," implying that they will have plenty of time to be together.
In fact, none of them are people who can stay idle; they all have a strong desire to conquer and an ambition to expand their careers.
Although we don't see each other often when we're busy, there's a saying that "absence makes the heart grow fonder," isn't there?
If love between two people is meant to last, why should they be together every day and night?
Besides, we video chat almost every day even though we can't see each other.
He Zhiyue: "I'll come visit the set when the Golden Dragon Awards nominations are announced in November."
There are still more than two weeks left.
Mu Zhi nodded: "Okay."
On October 16th, the suspenseful crime film "Falling into the River" began filming in Qionghai.
As soon as Mu Zhi joined the crew, she began her days of seclusion and filming.
Late October.
The nominations for the Golden Crane Awards have been released, and Mu Zhi has been nominated for "Best Actress" for her role as a female doctor in "Doomsday Virus," marking her second nomination.
That day, He Zhiyue flew to Qionghai to find Mu Zhi.
November 23rd.
The Golden Dragon Awards, one of the three major film awards in China and the most prestigious of the three, is held every two years. This year, amidst immense public attention, the nomination list has been released.
[Author's Note]
Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 23:59:19 on November 1, 2022 and 23:58:33 on November 2, 2022!
Thank you to the little angel who watered the nutrient solution: Jiu 1 bottle;
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
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