A day later, the crew of "Young Love Poems" received the film's box office data.
On its opening day, with only 7% of screenings, the film surprisingly grossed 5.16 million yuan, ranking 6th on the daily box office chart. Ahead of "Young Love Poems" was "The Old Nest," which was released during the May Day holiday. "The Old Nest" also performed strongly at the box office that day, grossing over 10 million yuan, second only to "Love in the World" and "Decipher," and even 500,000 yuan more than "My Hahaha Planet."
In comparison, the performance of "Young Love Poems" was not particularly outstanding. However, the film itself did not cost much, and the total cost including publicity and marketing was only around 30 million yuan. At this rate, it recouped one-sixth of the cost in just one day.
Some of these were contributed by Ji Yan's fans.
However, the production team also knew that once the fan base's initial advantage wore off, the box office would naturally return to the level expected of art-house films.
Zhu Shuguang even hopes that the box office figures come from fans' genuine love for the film.
The next day was a Saturday, and "Young Love Poems" still had a 7% screening rate. However, the box office data for the day surprised Zhu Shuguang even more—the total box office revenue actually climbed to 8.2 million.
For big-budget films, this figure is nothing, but for Zhu Shuguang, it is a rare single-day box office figure for his films.
On the third day, the box office reached over 10 million, specifically 11.11 million.
Zhu Shuguang: "..."
After taking stock, we'll soon recoup our costs.
It's important to know that "Young Love Poems" is not a 3D blockbuster, nor does it have expensive special effects. Among the films showing that day, "Young Love Poems" had the lowest ticket price, less than 30 yuan, and the price could be even lower during theater promotions.
As box office revenue increased, "Young Love Poems" entered the top five of the box office charts.
"!!! It's fifth!!"
"Has my treasure film 'Boyhood Love Poems' been discovered yet? It's actually not bad. Although the pace is a bit slow, it's not as boring as you might imagine. More importantly, it's an art film that speaks human language, you know?"
"Teacher Ji's performance in the movie is superb, you definitely won't regret going to see it!"
The official Weibo account of "Young Love Poems" also posted stills from the movie at this time. These photos were taken by Su Pan and showcased the scenery of the local mountain village. The images showed either a large expanse of lush forest, birds flying in the air, or a vast and tranquil night sky.
"beautiful!!"
"What a beautiful view!"
The official Weibo account also shared footage of the actors during filming.
"Ji Yan, who cried from being bitten by mosquitoes."
"This is Ji Yan and He Qing's dormitory, which was converted from an old local school building. The two actors lived here for four months."
"Teacher Ji and Teacher He who were fishing."
"Extra food!"
The crew's life looked very simple. Ji Yan and He Qing also looked disheveled. The official Weibo account even posted comparisons of their "one day on set", "one month on set" and "three months on set".
Fans: "..."
Just as they were about to admire Ji Yan's willingness to be a simple and good actor, the photos posted by the production team made them burst out laughing—
"Haha, why are you crying from being bitten by mosquitoes?"
"On the first day, he was a trendy urban guy; after a month, he became a village idiot; after three months... his big floral jacket must be a family heirloom of the Wings Gang, right?"
"Please, can't you come up with something original? Is the end of the universe a floral cotton-padded jacket?"
"It turns out that the floral cotton-padded jacket has a human-to-human transmission effect. Has it already been passed from Lu Wei to Teacher Ji, and then to Teacher He?"
Ji Yan: "..."
Actually, the temperature in the mountains dropped too quickly, and the few clothes they brought were not enough to keep them warm, so they went down the mountain to buy cotton-padded jackets.
In short, it can be summed up in one word—rustic.
"Ah, actually I'm a little touched, because Teacher Ji really works hard."
After following celebrities for a long time, fans will always see various rumors about the celebrities' filming process, from face doubles to hand doubles, from dialogue doubles to action doubles, and even going on set without reading the script, and some not even going to the crew and relying entirely on their superb green screen technology to film.
How many young actors would be willing to sleep in an old school building for months?
Film critics and audiences are always amazed by Ji Yan's performance in the "Young Love Poems" crew, saying that he is a natural actor and that he was very lucky to be chosen by director Li Xiang for his first film. But even if talent exists, his own hard work cannot be ignored.
"Professor Ji Yan is amazing!"
"I feel terrible when I think about how badly Mr. Ji was ridiculed during the filming of 'Young Love Poems'. Some people said he was not worthy of playing the lead role of Zhu Shuguang, and others used the big investment of 'Super Flying Man' to laugh at him. Mr. Ji did not respond to anything. He said everything in the movie."
So, inexplicably, on the fourth day of its release, even though it was a weekday, "Young Love Poems" still grossed over 10 million yuan.
The film has climbed to fourth place on the daily box office chart.
When Zhu Shuguang and Lu Yu talked on the phone, they couldn't help but be shocked: "Xiao Ji has so many fans?"
“I’m afraid they’re not all fans,” Lu Yu laughed. “You need to have some confidence in your film.”
Despite having fewer screenings than other films, "Young Love Poems" achieved phenomenal box office revenue per theater. After Monday, theaters adjusted their screening schedules, and "Young Love Poems" finally saw its screening share rise to 11%. While its box office revenue per theater decreased, its total box office revenue still increased.
In this way, the film's costs have been fully recovered.
In fact, Zhu Shuguang underestimated the influence of films on art-house film enthusiasts. Although the audience who like art-house films is a minority, when this group of viewers is willing to go to the cinema and contribute to the box office, the cumulative effect is quite considerable.
The animated GIF of Ji Yan looking up at the starry sky also attracted the attention of many movie fans. That scene was so captivating that it made people want to go to the cinema to watch it.
While "Young Love Poems" is simple, it is not boring. Most viewers who have seen it share their thoughts online, and naturally, more and more viewers are willing to buy tickets to go to the cinema to support it.
...
June had just arrived when Ji Yan saw the news online that "Blue" was returning to City A. He and Ning Wei had been chatting recently, but the other party hadn't mentioned coming back. Ji Yan searched online and found that "Blue's" tour had already reached City C, and each show was more popular than the last. Weibo was full of fans who hadn't been able to get tickets lamenting.
He sent Ning Wei an emoji, a silly panda, with a cheeky caption: "Want to go out and play with your brother?"
Ning Wei: "?"
Ji Yan sent a picture of a movie ticket: "Want to go together, Teacher Ning?"
A rabbit emoji was thrown at him, and the rabbit made an OK sign: "OK!"
Ji Yan was hit.
Ning Wei is clearly not a talkative person, so why does he have so many cute bunny emojis?
Ji Yan: "Hand over your rabbit now!"
Ning Wei sent him another question mark, followed by another rabbit emoji. The rabbit waved arrogantly at him, making a gesture of refusal.
Ji Yan: "..."
Don't ruin his image of you, Teacher Ning!
As Ji Yan grew closer to Ning Wei, he stopped calling her "brother" and started calling her "Teacher Ning," because Ning Wei would occasionally call him that too.
...
On a cool evening, Ji Yan and Ning Wei met at a movie theater outside the "Blue" studio.
Ning Wei had just returned from a long journey, and Ji Yan didn't want her to be too tired.
Ji Yan wasn't familiar with the location of the movie theater. It wasn't inside the mall, and it seemed he had to go up through a small door on the side. Ning Wei said on WeChat that she would be waiting for him at the flower bed next to the theater.
Ji Yan couldn't find it at first, but after walking around the cinema, he finally located the flower bed.
Sure enough, a person was sitting by the flower bed, wearing a white T-shirt with blue sky and white clouds printed on the back. Ji Yan was about to go around to pat Ning Wei on the back, but at that moment, as if the other person had a telepathic connection, he suddenly turned around.
Ning Wei also saw Ji Yan. Her originally calm face suddenly showed a slight smile. The smile was very faint, but Ji Yan could see the happiness in her eyes at that moment.
For no apparent reason, and quite suddenly, Ji Yan felt his heart race.
He suddenly realized that this was not the side of Ning Wei that she would show to others; it might only be for him. But he found her adorable, and it gave him a feeling that he hoped her smile would last longer.
"Have you been waiting long?" Ji Yan asked.
Ning Wei shook her head: "No."
"Let's go up together."
When Ji Yan said this, he felt his voice was a little nervous, and he didn't know if Ning Wei could tell.
The other person walked ahead, and Ji Yan only stared at the pattern on his back. The blue was a very clear blue, and the two white clouds were very cute. The other person was wearing a white T-shirt with blue jeans and was also carrying a sports bag.
Once inside the theater, judging from Ning Wei's somewhat clumsy movements, Ji Yan guessed that he probably rarely went to the movies. He first got the tickets, then bought popcorn and cola. Ning Wei held the cola cup in one hand and the huge popcorn box in the other, probably afraid that the popcorn box would tip over. His expression was more serious than when he entered.
Ji Yan silently looked at the other person.
He thought the gesture was also cute.
She's just... indescribably cute.
Actually, Ning Wei isn't exactly handsome, and he's a homebody in his daily life. The few times Ji Yan went out with him, Ji Yan was always the first to be photographed, and then the fans would notice Ning Wei next to him.
This is also why Ning Wei has kept a low profile in his private life for many years since his debut. He rarely goes out, and even when he does go out alone, he can hide himself in the crowd.
Ning Wei was very quiet while watching the movie, but Ji Yan felt a bit restless today.
He had read "Youthful Love Poems" more than once, but every time he watched it before, Ji Yan was very focused. He would even observe where his own performance was not good enough. But today, he watched Ning Wei more than once, so many times that Ning Wei looked at him and handed him popcorn: "Want some?"
"Eat." Ji Yan handed over his box of fries: "Have some of these."
Compared to his popcorn, Ning Wei seemed to prefer Ji Yan's fries, so Ji Yan simply swapped half with him.
The two of them ate popcorn and fries while drinking cola, and quietly watched the entire movie "Young Love Poems".
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