Chapter 106: “The Deception” is So Intense

Chapter 106: "The Deception" is So Intense

As Xi Yue shared, the real-time data on the box office rankings was constantly changing.

On the second day of the Spring Festival holiday season, the overall box office revenue saw a slight decline compared to the first day, and the competition among various films intensified—the previously top-ranked "The Eternal Night" had fallen behind "Homebound Train," which became the daily champion with a box office revenue of 316 million.

All the new films had been released for a full day, and audiences generally had a good grasp of each movie's plot and themes.

"Homebound Train" had a slightly better reputation than "The Eternal Night," even though the latter had a more star-studded cast.

On this day, the top three movies remained the same as on the first day of the season, but starting from the fourth place, the rankings changed:

Only four movies surpassed the 100 million mark in box office revenue, and the fourth place was—"The Deception."

"???"

"...How did 'The Deception' suddenly make a comeback?"

"Comparing the box office revenue of 'The Deception' over two days, its screening rate appears to have slightly decreased?"

"As a movie enthusiast, I highly recommend 'The Deception'—you won't be disappointed!"

"Won't be disappointed +1."

Compared to other films, "The Deception" didn't have a grand promotional campaign. Its popularity stemmed more from Lu Xu and Yue Hui, both winners of the Starlight Awards, and also benefited from Li Tianhou's unpredictable behavior. According to ticket platform predictions, a first-day box office revenue of 70 million+ was the normal level for "The Deception." By the second day, ticket platforms had revised their box office forecast for "The Deception" down to 50 million+.

Yet, "The Deception" bucked the trend, with its daily box office revenue breaking the 100 million mark, reaching 112 million. Although it wasn't a huge leap, in the highly competitive Spring Festival holiday season, "The Deception" managed to increase its daily box office revenue by over 30 million, which was... unusual.

Even though its total box office revenue still lagged far behind the top three, given the production and promotional expenses, "The Deception" would likely recoup all its costs in just one more day.

"Does Lu Xu really have magic? Who wouldn't want such career luck?"

"The issue isn't that 'The Deception' crossed 100 million in box office revenue, but that its box office revenue is still rising. As far as I know, movies that buck the trend during the Spring Festival or summer seasons often achieve astonishing box office results."

Two days into the Spring Festival holiday season, the ratings of various films were gradually released—

"The Eternal Night" scored 9.0, "Homebound Train" scored 9.3... and "The Deception" scored 9.6.

Below the ratings were numerous comments: "Is 'The Deception' worth watching?"

"Absolutely worth it!"

"Already watched it twice!"

Searching for real-time discussions about "The Deception" on major platforms, half of the conversations were about the plot. Some fans focused on analyzing the game mechanics in "The Deception," while others explored the backgrounds of the game participants, seeking clues. There were also in-depth analyses of Shi Xinshan and Yan Huan—objectively speaking, although Lu Xu and Yue Hui appeared frequently in the movie, their screen time wasn't extensive.

Yet, both actors managed to captivate the audience's attention.

Shi Xinshan's cunning, Yan Huan's disguise.

For the other participants, the game was undoubtedly a nightmare, but for Yan Huan, it was a playful escapade from which he could emerge unscathed. Even though he was a participant, he could calmly control the pace and even cooperate with Shi Xinshan to deliver "punishments."

The movie left too many clues, so even though "The Deception" only had a first-day box office revenue of 70 million+ and its screening rate dropped on the second day, many viewers returned for a second viewing to solve the mystery.

By this point, critics who initially focused on "The Eternal Night" and "Homebound Train" started to notice other films released during the Spring Festival holiday season, and "The Deception" was naturally among them.

In this season, "The Deception" spent relatively less on promotion, and fans could easily find live reviews by searching keywords.

Besides, Lu Xu has his own fanbase.

Although fans cannot easily make the box office of "Deception" surpass 100 million, they are still willing to support it based on their trust in him.

The facts have proven that Lu Xu did not disappoint their expectations.

"Deception" is not the kind of movie that fans imagined would be an instant blockbuster, nor is it the typical genre that the film industry likes to invite popular stars to shoot. But after watching "Deception" in the cinema, fans understood that this must be a movie that Lu Xu himself likes.

Compared to films like "The Eternal Night," "Deception" is more of a niche film.

Although the plot is somewhat mysterious, it is not pretentiously confusing, and it does not make the audience feel like their intelligence is being insulted by the director (we're talking about "The Swordsman"). In short, it's a good movie.

Critics have also given "Deception" favorable reviews.

To some extent, the reason why "Deception" has been able to defy expectations is also related to the film's subject matter.

Holiday season films tend to focus on family-friendly themes, with overall lighthearted plots. Even if some conflicts are reflected, they are downplayed due to the goal of family-friendliness—this is why "The Eternal Night" fell short at the box office to "Homebound Train."

"Homebound Train" tells a story of returning home, where the protagonist overcomes various difficulties and eventually returns to his own home. The storyline is straightforward, with only one plotline, and difficulties appear from time to time, but none of this affects the protagonist's determined goal.

"The Eternal Night" is a story about dreams. The protagonist is firm in his own dreams but faces resistance from his family. His parents do many things that he cannot accept, but in the end, to achieve a feel-good ending, everything is brushed aside—the real problems the protagonist encounters strike a chord with many viewers, but the issues are not resolved.

Although the plot is exciting enough, and the actors' performances are touching, with both leading actors delivering remarkable performances—the problem remains unresolved.

Depicting pain in the film without providing an answer is not what the audience wants to see.

The so-called feel-good ending is hard to satisfy because the parents lose nothing, and only the protagonist compromises.

Among a series of mild films, "Deception" "is as bold as Lu Xu in a heated argument," making it stand out.

...

By the time "Deception" had been in theaters for three days, there were quite a few fans who had watched it three or four times—fans with enough material performed in-depth analyses of "Deception," making several videos just analyzing the characters of Chang Qing and Yan Huan.

For example, analyzing the timeline: on a certain day in a certain year, Chang Qing received funding while studying, on another day he deceived a girl, and on yet another day the girl committed suicide. Chang Qing returned to school, advanced in his studies, and his evil thoughts resurfaced, eventually meeting Yan Huan on a certain day in a certain year.

When Shi Xinshan asked Yan Huan about killing Chang Qing, Yan Huan did not deny it. But after scene-by-scene analysis, fans discovered that it might not have been Yan Huan who killed Chang Qing.

The film is filled with many mysteries, and these clues are closely related to every participant in the game. On the first viewing of "Deception," Yan Huan, who appears in the game in place of Chang Qing, appears to be an outsider, like a deity who unexpectedly appears, playing a mysterious role in the game.

But upon further exploration, it becomes clear that Yan Huan's presence is not abrupt—the film had already planted subtle clues for him early on.

"A win for the detail detectives!"

"So strong!!"

"Everyone is discussing the plot, but doesn't anyone think Yan Huan is super, super, super handsome? He's like the quintessential alpha male!!"

"+1+1+1, he has that gorgeous and shrewd vibe, like a game NPC!"

"Puppy doesn't get to play this kind of role often. Every scene Yan Huan appears in, I can't help but scream. A smart and handsome guy is uniquely captivating!"

With all these factors combined, on the third day, the box office of "Deception" rose again, reaching 147 million.

By this day, "Deception" had also climbed to third place in the box office rankings, just behind "Homebound Train" and "The Eternal Night."

Theaters increased the screening rate for "Deception," and its screening share broke through 10% for the first time. Compared to the first day of the Spring Festival, not only did "Deception" see a rise in box office, but its per-theater attendance rate also increased.

In this holiday season, "Deception" has truly stood out.

On this day, "Deception" completely recouped its costs, with the total box office exceeding 300 million, surpassing the initial target of over 200 million by tens of millions. The key point is that with "Deception" trending like this, breaking 500 million in total box office is no problem, and with enough luck, breaking 1 billion is not impossible.

Gao Xingchuan changed the "Break-Even" group to the "Deception" crew group, and the director's long suffix in his nickname was finally deleted.

Sudden success can make people lose their heads. As soon as the director came online, he happily sent out red packets, and Lu Xu snagged quite a bit of cash.

"I never thought we’d break even this fast," Gao Xingchuan sighed, "It’s been less than three days."

"Having such a short nickname feels a little strange to me."

The box office of "Deception" indeed exceeded Gao Xingchuan's expectations. His initial goal was to break even, with the ultimate goal was hitting 500 million at the box office. But before he realized it, the ultimate goal was nearly achieved.

"Success can be isolating."

"Is it possible that Lu Xu is actually my lucky charm?"—This was a comment the director made in a private chat with his friend.

Rumors in the industry suggest that Lu Xu is bad luck for some people, but according to the principle of balance, if Lu Xu is bad luck for some, he must be good luck for others—this definitely holds true for the crews and actors he collaborates with. Even Jin Mu, who failed in their first collaboration, saw a quick turnaround in their second try.

This was Gao Xingchuan's first time directing a commercial production. He had only made films with an unconventional style before, which had limited recognition and box office performance.

He always felt that if "Deception" didn’t star Yue Hui and Lu Xu, and if he were to direct it, hitting 100 million at the box office would’ve been questionable.

For the first time, the director, who wasn’t superstitious, started to believe in superstitions.

Friend: "...Maybe renaming the group did the trick?"

True.

Gao Xingchuan changed the group name to "Box Office Hits 1 Billion." If this comes true again, he would believe he has a special ability.

Gao Xingchuan isn’t alone in thinking there’s something magical about Lu Xu.

Mainly—for actors, the odds of every film being a hit are incredibly slim. Not to mention Zhang Che's failures, Qiao Mengyao’s debut in the film industry also failed to break even. Although "Deception" isn’t a staggering box office success compared to "Homebound Train," which is close to 1 billion, there’s no denying that "Deception" had a low budget!

"Mysticism, another proof of Lu Xu's mysticism."

"I’m beginning to think Lu Xu isn’t a dog spirit but a spring spirit; all negativity just bounces off him."

"LOL, I actually think so too."

"Damn, I just saw Yue Hui and Lu Xu's interview. They signed a profit-sharing contract for 'Deception'... Some mocked them for not expecting a box office hit, but now I can’t help but calculate how much they’re actually earning."

In the film industry, only a few at the top of the pyramid are eligible for a share of the box office. Often, these actors also hold multiple roles such as producers and directors. However, for most actors, a steady paycheck is safer, given the fierce competition in the industry and the unpredictable tastes of the audience.

"Deception" has already recouped its costs and made an extra tens of millions. Lu Xu and Yue Hui can now take their salaries, and as long as the film continues to screen, every additional day is pure profit—theaters will surely keep screening "Deception."

Now, "Deception" is the most cost-effective film in the Spring Festival lineup, attracting the most audience and generating the highest box office per 1% of screen time.

On its fourth day of release, "Deception" still broke the 100 million mark in daily box office.

It’s only 24.11 million away from the second-place "The Eternal Night."

"Deception is so fierce!"

"It feels like we’re witnessing a miracle, doesn’t it?"

"I bet 'Deception' will surpass 'The Eternal Night' tomorrow!"