Chapter 199 Box Office Explosion

Chapter 199: Box Office Blowout

At noon, Lu Xu, the director, and Li Yan were in the same car, racing nonstop to the next promotional venue when Li Yan posted a screenshot of the real-time box office in their group chat.

On the box office rankings, *Night Sky Observations* dominated the rankings as expected, being the only film to surpass 200 million yuan.

"Already this much?" Lu Xu said in surprise.

"What’s your deal with the Spring Festival season?" Li Yan shot him a glance. "With this screen allocation, these kinds of box office numbers are normal."

Lu Xu: "..."

For him, it wasn’t normal at all.

He had never experienced hitting 200 million overnight.

Whether it was *Deception* or *Fearless Life*, their opening-day performances were middling, given their limited screenings. As for *Feather of Youth* and *Reversal City*, their release slots were far less competitive than the Spring Festival season.

Talk about rough luck.

And by the time the car arrived at the promotional venue, the real-time box office refreshed again, adding another 10 million.

In second place after *Night Sky Observations* was the comedy *Haha Ula*, which had just crossed 90 million. The film had a low budget and was packed with soapy clichés. Lu Xu saw some criticizing it as "corny and tacky," but that didn’t stop the audience from loving it.

Next was the war film *The First Shot*. To be honest, its box office performance was a bit of a surprise for Lu Xu. In his opinion, it should have done better. Given that it was a war film, it must’ve cost a fortune to produce.

"The director’s last film got ripped apart online," Li Yan whispered to Lu Xu. "People called it a cash grab."

"The box office was solid, though. Investors saw the numbers and were willing to fund him again."

Although *The First Shot* was set against the backdrop of a pivotal battle, its budget wasn’t as massive as outsiders assumed. Still, during this Spring Festival season, it had the second-highest budget after *Night Sky Observations*. At this box office pace, it would definitely flop financially.

*The First Shot* had more screenings than *Haha Ula*, yet its box office wasn’t even half of the latter’s.

This kind of thing happened a lot during the Spring Festival season.

...

When the *Night Sky Observations* crew arrived at the cinema, the place was packed floor to ceiling with fans. With New Year’s gridlock on the roads, they had to get out of the car and jog part of the way.

"‘Running puppy.jpg.’"

"I heard Lu Xu is filming a movie where the protagonist is super handsome and fit. Look at those muscles—definitely trained hard."

Bystanders online: "..."

Just what kind of superhuman eyesight could see muscles through Lu Xu’s thick down jacket?

Maybe not superhuman eyesight, but the fans’ stan goggles.

As they made their way upstairs, cheers for both actors echoed from every floor. Lu Xu and Li Yan waved at fans as they ascended, and in no time, clips of their interactions blew up on Weibo.

"These two have such great chemistry—it’s like watching Wei Qingfang and Zhang Bannu from the movie!"

"Puppy’s coming to my city tomorrow! Got my ticket—I’m stoked!"

"Hehehe interactions + cuddles!"

Roadshows were all hype and sharing behind-the-scenes details. Lu Xu talked about the preparations the crew made before inviting him, fun anecdotes from filming, and took the chance to praise the director and his co-stars.

He kicked it off, and once he began heaping praise, Yue Chen and Li Yan also joined in enthusiastically complimenting him. The director particularly emphasized how handsome Lu Xu was, saying he was a perfect fit for the character Wei Qingfang.

He stressed it several times, praising Lu Xu to the point where he felt a bit embarrassed.

"This is hilarious, just how deep is the director's obsession with handsome guys? Was he traumatized by ugly people before?"

"Previous commenter, you might be onto something. There were reports before that Yue Chen reportedly replaced some 'ugly' actor, though it's still a mystery who that was."

Li Yan shared his experience acting alongside Lu Xu, with the main theme still being "praise": "We nailed most scenes between Wei Qingfang and Zhang Bannu in one take. Many viewers said they enjoyed watching it, and I had just as much fun filming it."

The big screen showed the final scene where Wei and Zhang fulfilled their mission, sending the audience into cheers.

At this point, Yue Chen revealed a detail—one that viewers might easily miss if they weren’t paying close attention.

Initially, when Wei Qingfang was under demonic possession—though it was all part of the act between him and Zhang Bannu—Zhang actually had precautions in place. He had placed a seal on Wei Qingfang.

But after Zhang decided to transform into a Kunpeng (mythical giant fish-bird), he burned that seal—whether Wei Qingfang was a demon or a human, in Zhang Bannu’s eyes, he deserved complete freedom.

"Was that in the movie?"

"Ahhhh no wonder I felt something was off! Wei Qingfang had a mark on the back of his neck—I thought it was left by the evil spirits and worried he’d turn into one later."

"So it was Zhang Bannu... Man...just man..."

The detail Yue Chen revealed during the promotional event quickly blew up on social media.

For this year’s Spring Festival season, the film crew spent a lot on marketing, guaranteeing massive exposure. Lu Xu noticed that just on this day alone, *Night Sky Observations* had already made it onto several trending hashtags.

Fortunately, the audience reactions under these trends were overwhelmingly positive.

"Wait, it was Zhang Bannu who placed the seal?!"

"Don’t get too attached, man."

"Ah... you can tell both Zhang Bannu and Wei Qingfang are rational above all else, but they were willing to show each other a hint of softness. That’s the ultimate bro bond right there."

"Let’s just say, the movie already gave them the best possible ending. They made the best choice with their rationality."

By evening, discussions about *Night Sky Observations* grew even more intense. The crew took the opportunity to release behind-the-scenes footage, including design sketches and references for the demons.

Before filming began, the team had done their homework—something Yue Chen was especially proud of.

"So much effort!"

"Go watch *Night Sky Observations*—you won’t regret it! The effects are killer, the plot's tight, visuals are stunning. It feels like traveling through three realms with the protagonists, and the horror elements are scary but not gory. Go watch it!"

"Same here!"

"Seconded!"

As buzz grew, ticket sales skyrocketed—after that evening, the film’s earnings didn’t slow down but instead accelerated.

300 million, 400 million... The crew initially expected the film to cap at around 500 million, but by the end of the day, it had already surpassed $600 million. Combined with the $250 million from pre-sales, the total box office reached a staggering $850 million.

*Spring Festival Box Office Delights: "Night Sky Observations" Smashes Five-Year Records with $850 Million Opening Day!*

*Spring Festival’s First Blockbuster!*

*Spring Festival Opening Day Gross Surpasses $1.6 Billion!* Within the industry, including theater chains, the biggest concern was whether *Night Sky Observations* alone could drive the entire Spring Festival box office. But the results proved otherwise—not only did it succeed, but it also drove opening day numbers above $1.6 billion, setting a new high for the holiday season.

"So impressive!!"

"Can it hit 1.2 billion yuan tomorrow? Feels like it could go even higher."

"Comparing fantasy blockbusters, just look at *Night Sky Observations* and then *Sanctuary*. *Sanctuary* tried to recruit Lu Xu but failed, then out of bitterness spread a bunch of rumors about him. Later, when Lu Xu took on *Night Sky Observations*, some people mocked him for 'falling from grace.'"

"LOL, 850 million on opening day is 'falling from grace'? Sign me up for more of this 'failure'!"

"850 million, yay! Betting *Night Sky Observations* will surpass 4 billion yuan total! Looking solid!! Opening day really boosts confidence!"

In recent years, perhaps due to waning interest in overseas blockbusters, domestic films have dominated the top spots at the box office, leading to a flood of low-quality, poorly reviewed works. The film market has gradually cooled, and it's been a long time since a movie broke 1 billion yuan on opening day. Films like *Night Sky Observations*, which hit 850 million on opening day, are also rare.

Moreover, *Night Sky Observations* didn't rely heavily on presales—its same-day ticket sales were even stronger.

The next day, Lu Xu and the rest of the crew were still busy with promotional tours, moving from City C to other cities. The production team considered separating Lu Xu and Li Yan for different promotions, but in practice, the audience's enthusiasm was far greater when the entire crew participated.

Both Li Yan and Lu Xu are well-regarded actors, and the success of *Night Sky Observations* was only possible with both.

As *Night Sky Observations* soared at the box office, several industry insiders spoke up: "They say audiences don’t like watching movies anymore, so why are *Night Sky Observations* and *Fearless Life* still pulling audiences?"

"Some films get protected screening slots and hit 400 million on opening day, while others without such backing double that. Why must audience choices always go against certain industry expectations?"

On the second day, *Night Sky Observations* continued its astonishing performance—its drop-off was minimal, with daily box office reaching 490 million yuan.

Typically, the second-day box office for commercial blockbusters halves compared to opening day, but *Night Sky Observations* had an astonishingly low drop-off.

"...How is this even possible? Is *Night Sky Observations* really that good?"

"It’s amazing!!!!"

In fact, *Night Sky Observations*' strong second-day performance was closely tied to its opening-day success.

Audiences love chasing trends—the hotter a film's box office, the more people want to see it. By now, *Night Sky Observations* had also begun to build word-of-mouth.

Beyond that, the high earnings were also driven by enthusiastic audience recommendations.

Discussions about the Spring Festival releases were filled with fans raving about *Night Sky Observations*.

Film Critic "Movie Diary" analyzed *Night Sky Observations* from multiple angles:

"Audiences love the special effects, but I find the storyline itself even more compelling."

"In the supernatural thriller genre, *Night Sky Observations* plants an intriguing setup early on. The main plot revolves around exorcism, while the friendship between Wei Qingfang and Zhang Bannu forms another thread. Without the latter's nuanced portrayal, the former would just be a sterile story."

"Though the film doesn’t focus heavily on it, the subtle emotional depth sets *Night Sky Observations* apart, giving it more appeal. The director and screenwriter invested effort into character emotions, and audiences naturally resonate with that. Beyond human connections, these emotions extend to interactions between humans and demons, and even among demons themselves."

This was "Movie Diary"'s take. Another critic specializing in VFX-heavy blockbusters also dedicated analysis to *Night Sky Observations*.

They admitted that, purely in terms of VFX, *Night Sky Observations* doesn’t top Hollywood's VFX standards and even lags slightly behind—understandable given how late China's VFX industry started. Reaching this level is already impressive.

*Night Sky Observations*' strength lies in its original vision. It has its own imagination, avoiding imitation of Western blockbusters, which makes it feel fresh to audiences.

The critic wasn’t surprised by *Night Sky Observations*' success. Visuals are just one of its strengths—its story and the leads' strong reputations also played major roles.

The dual lead performances by Li Yan and Lu Xu had far better on-screen chemistry than most would expect.