Chapter 197 Movie Related

Chapter 197: Movies and the Industry

"With so many movies during the Spring Festival season, which one should I choose?"

"War films, comedies, fantasy... Lu Xu's new film is back for the Spring Festival? Feels like *Fearless Life* just came out recently."

During the Spring Festival season two years ago, without a doubt, *Fearless Life* had the highest box office numbers. This year, *Night Sky Observations* stars both Lu Xu and Li Yan—two big names alone already enough to draw even more viewers to theaters.

"Which one should I watch?"—this is the question asked by audiences planning to see a film on opening day.

Relatively speaking, the Spring Festival season sees fewer cash-grab films, but there are still those unbearably bad movies deliberately scheduled for this period to cash in quickly before vanishing.

The most deceptive are those claiming to be sequels of the same genre and scale—where the previous installment was lavishly produced, while the current one lures audiences for a quick box office payout with less than a tenth of the budget and quality.

Even though Lu Xu is now frequently making films and has officially become part of the industry, he can't help but sigh—in some ways, moviegoers have it tough.

Despite paying for tickets, viewers often get suckered by marketing ploys—sometimes it's "owing a director ‘one,’" other times it's the "responsibility to save a dying film genre," and occasionally, just as they support certain types of films, they’re stabbed in the back by producers, filmmakers, or other key figures behind the scenes.

When seats stay empty and no strategy can draw audiences to a particular film, the blame shifts to "Why’s nobody going to the movies?"

Not to mention, audiences themselves have little real choice.

Back when the film market was booming, at least two or three out of ten movies were enjoyable to audiences. Now, even after scouring the whole lineup, there might not be a single film that meets expectations.

Sometimes, even when audiences support films they genuinely like, they’re lectured—"Why’s nobody watching movies anymore?"—when what’s really being asked is, "Why won’t people watch *my* stuff?"

Take Lu Xu himself as an example. Over the years since he started making films, the scripts he gets have gotten worse. Logically, as his status in the industry rises, the scripts he receives should improve.

Yet, those that are truly interesting or unique have become increasingly rare.

When the film market was still thriving, audiences developed a habit of going to the movies, inadvertently sustaining many shoddy productions. Back then, many filmmakers treated audiences with arrogance.

Now that the tide has receded and audiences have grown more discerning, those same filmmakers—unable to survive—have resorted to melting down.

Director Mu Lang once told Lu Xu that this year’s Golden Flame Awards made no sense, at least in their timing—coming at a moment when audiences are most resentful toward the film industry and figures like Liu Rennong. The awards’ actions will only push audiences to rebel by "staying away from theaters."

Beloved films get poor screenings, admired actors miss out on awards—some films are made for self-congratulatory back-patting, pushed for endorsements or inflated prestige. In all this, the audience’s role is practically nonexistent.

...

This year’s Spring Festival lacks blockbusters—an industry-wide consensus.

No blockbusters mean weaker incentives for audiences to visit theaters.

While *Night Sky Observations* has blockbuster-level backing, it unfortunately falls under the fantasy category, which has been written off.

"Can Li Yan and Lu Xu’s star power single-handedly lift the entire Spring Festival box office?"

The failure of *Sanctuary* is still fresh. By then, audiences’ enthusiasm for fantasy blockbusters had already died out. After *Sanctuary*, almost no fantasy films were released—even those with slightly related themes bombed at the box office.

This Spring Festival, aside from *Night Sky Observations*, the biggest crowd-pleaser is the comedy *Haha Ula*, whose lead actor Qiao Beilin has seen remarkable box office success in recent years.

Another notable release is *The First Gun*.

War films are rare picks for the holiday’s family-movie slot, but neither *Deception* (which Lu Xu starred in years ago) nor *Fearless Life* (which earned nearly 4 billion during the Spring Festival) fit the traditional holiday mold.

If a film is truly well-made, it will clean up anytime—audiences are an incredibly open-minded group.

Lu Xu never imagined that anyone would point fingers at the audience.

He played the villainous role in *Reversal City* and other dark characters, yet the audience accepted it without blaming him for those roles. So why is he now turning around to blame the audience?

...Take someone like Zhang Zhizhen, who constantly whines about the audience lacking taste and not understanding his "noble art." Lu Xu thinks the audience should sue him—what kind of mess was *The Swordsman* anyway?

Before *Night Sky Observations* premiered, Lu Xu, who had just wrapped up filming *Number A77*, posted a short video while on the road, mainly expressing his joy about having a holiday break for the Spring Festival.

As the car raced down the road, Lu Xu even hummed a tune. Fans recognized it—it was Zheng Xiao’s hit song *Big Rabbit*, which Zheng Xiao had performed during a livestream, instantly shocking fans and landing him the #1 spot on the "Most Desirable Celebrity to Poison into Silence" rankings.

Who knew Lu Xu would catch the bug too.

"This is the precious friendship of the Mountain Group!!!"

"Mountain Group rocks! Will they perform at the Spring Festival Gala again this year?"

"The Gala lineup’s already out—zero members from Mountain Group. Lu Xu has a new film coming out, so no chance of participating."

In the clip, Lu Xu’s happiness was unmistakable—until his manager’s voice chimed in from the side: "You forgot about the roadshow for *Night Sky Observations*. You're not getting any time off this year."

Fans could clearly see Lu Xu’s smile shatter in the clip. His lips twitched for a long moment before ending in a twitch.

Every time he tried to force a smile, his manager swiftly reminded him: roadshows on the first, second, and third days of the New Year, a variety show appearance with Li Yan on the fourth day, another roadshow on the fifth...

"What's wrong? Smiling not your thing?"

"HAHAHAHAHA, sorry!"

"I don’t care at all whether Lu Xu gets a holiday. What I care about is—what variety show is he doing with Li Yan? Which channel? Is it one with singing and dancing? If Mountain Group can’t make it to the Gala, the movie crew making up for it isn’t bad either."

"Manager, please give us more details. Also, why is Lu Xu’s manager as inactive as he is? Can’t even get a little insider info..."

The clip of Lu Xu’s transition from joy to stunned silence? Fans only watched it on repeat a few hundred thousand times. By the time *Night Sky Observations* officially premiered, the clip had already hit millions of views.

The C-brand accessories and headphones Lu Xu wore in the clip sold out instantly, and even the phone case featuring his meme-worthy expression flew off the shelves.

Though the clip didn’t mention *Night Sky Observations*, everyone knew the roadshows Lu Xu would attend during the Spring Festival had to be for this movie.

"Wholeheartedly supporting Our Pup!"

"Even though I’m a Lu Xu fan, I still hope *Night Sky Observations* isn’t another fantasy disaster like *Sanctuary*."

*Night Sky Observations* is a 3D film, with ticket prices higher than Lu Xu’s previous movies. Though audiences were burned by *Sanctuary*, the pre-sales for *Night Sky Observations* still broke 250 million yuan, making it one of the most anticipated films of the Lunar New Year season.

Tan Qi didn’t buy tickets for the earliest screening on New Year’s Day—she had to visit her grandparents first. After that, she met up with friends and headed to a nearby theater.

Spring Festival movie tickets were notoriously hard to snag. She bought hers early and scored decent seats.

When *Fearless Life* premiered, she bought tickets on New Year’s Day itself and ended up in the front rows, craning her neck the entire time. This year, she wised up and got two well-timed, well-positioned tickets.

As Lu Xu matured over the years, so did Tan Qi. For her, going to the movies became her go-to way to relax. It wasn’t just Lu Xu’s films—any movie with actors she liked or plots that intrigued her, she’d buy tickets for.

Of course, overall, Lu Xu’s movies still offered the best value. She never felt like her money was wasted on them.

"Wow, more people than I expected." The theater was warm, and Tan Qi, still bundled in her puffer jacket, felt overheated. A quick glance showed *Night Sky Observations* had the most screenings, with eye-catching posters and standees.

She’d seen the trailer early on. Visually, *Night Sky Observations* struck her as a quintessentially Chinese fantasy film—not cheap, yet familiar, like the ink paintings she’d seen as a child. The style was classical, but the pacing wasn’t dull.

At the time, she hadn’t bought tickets yet, but the trailer conveyed the creators’ passion—as if, just by stepping into the theater, she’d witness a grand, breathtaking world unfurling before her like a scroll.

Even if trailers were the first scam of cinema, Tan Qi still bought her ticket.

Just based on the visuals, *Night Sky Observations* was the most captivating film for her during the entire Lunar New Year movie season.

After checking their tickets, Tan Qi held her milk tea and popcorn while saving seats for her friend. They both agreed to hit the bathroom first—last time when watching *Fearless Life*, she'd missed Bai Qianshan's rescue scene because she was in the bathroom, which pissed Tan Qi off so much that she bought another ticket to rewatch it.

Including the time she convinced her parents to watch it at home, she ended up seeing *Fearless Life* a total of three times.

Once all preparations were done, Tan Qi and her friend quietly waited for *Night Sky Observations* to begin. She had read the synopsis beforehand and felt the plot didn’t seem all that different from other fantasy films.

Tan Qi knew this was the biggest-budget movie Lu Xu had ever been in, and she was curious about what truly set it apart.

—Five minutes into the movie, Tan Qi found her answer.

In terms of visuals alone, *Night Sky Observations* was a 98 out of 100 among all the fantasy films she had seen.

The cinematography of *Night Sky Observations* totally matched her taste—whether it was the peaceful but mysterious forest, the deep blue tranquility of the night sky, or the creatures in the woods and spirits in the rivers, everything felt strangely familiar to her.

*Night Sky Observations* clearly wasn’t the kind of film that flaunted special effects for spectacle; the effects existed solely to serve the story. When the concept of "human coffins" was introduced—people transforming into coffins, demons shifting into human faces, emitting spine-tingling voices—Tan Qi was as stunned as when she first watched *Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio* as a child.

The dread evoked by Chinese-style horror far surpassed the grotesque, toad-like pustules in foreign blockbusters or scenes where living people instantly melted into pools of blood.

Tan Qi knew deep down that those monsters were nothing but frankenstein monsters, just thrown together.

*Night Sky Observations* was different. The terror seemed to stem from the depths of her soul, especially since the film incorporated folklore—some of which were traditions still preserved today—making the fear feel viscerally real.

But *Night Sky Observations* wasn’t a horror film. Its special effects, visuals, music… every single frame made it clear to Tan Qi that this was a movie that had spent money—and a lot of it.