Chapter 200 Billion-Dollar Movie Emperor

Chapter 200: The 100 Billion Box Office Star

From the second day of its release, *Night Sky Observations* went viral.

This Lunar New Year season, *Night Sky Observations* faced no serious competition. With a groundbreaking opening-day box office and a second-day performance that showed no signs of decline, the industry's expectations for the film boiled down to just one phrase: "shatter records."

After just two days in theaters, *Night Sky Observations* had already surpassed CNY 1.3 billion at the box office.

With such stellar box office numbers, the cast's roadshows were in full swing. The theme song, special effects, lead actors, supporting cast—every element related to the film took turns trending, to the point where some media outlets outright declared this Lunar New Year season as "*Night Sky Observations*' Lunar New Year."

Before the film's release, despite the star power of Lu Xu and Li Yan, naysayers were everywhere predicting *Night Sky Observations* would flop.

Yue Chen had previously directed other fantasy films, with his personal highest-grossing work reaching CNY 2.1 billion—a respectable achievement by industry standards. The failure of *Sanctuary* (*Sanctuary*) had nothing to do with him.

Yet for some reason, certain clickbait accounts would automatically compare *Night Sky Observations* to *Sanctuary*, as if the latter's failure doomed the former to the same fate.

In short, the narrative was that any attempt by Yue Chen to make a fantasy blockbuster was destined to fail, regardless of whether stars like Lu Xu and Li Yan were involved.

Comments like "gone off the deep end," "blind arrogance," or "cashing in recklessly" were thrown around. Lu Xu and Li Yan, being highly sought-after actors, were largely insulated from such negativity, but Yue Chen wasn’t so lucky. Even at industry gatherings, he’d still catch backhanded remarks—some "sincerely wishing" him box office success, others jokingly advising him to abandon the struggling fantasy genre and pivot early.

Yue Chen remembered every word.

Now, with *Night Sky Observations* earning CNY 1.3 billion in just two days, the calls he received were nothing but congratulations.

Yue Chen could only humbly reply, "Fantasy films are tough these days—hard to make, hard to succeed. This movie gave me so much stress. If the box office hadn’t been passable, I’d have considered switching genres long ago."

He didn’t care how frustrated the other person sounded on the phone. All that mattered was—he got the last laugh.

After wrapping production on *Night Sky Observations*, Yue Chen hadn’t landed any new projects and had resigned himself to the idea that this might be his last fantasy film.

But during these two days of the Lunar New Year season, especially the second day, his phone became a hotline. Offers for new collaborations, inquiries about investment opportunities—his number had practically become a hotline.

Despite its sky-high budget, *Night Sky Observations* now seemed poised for even greater success.

While other films still had to grind for box office numbers, *Night Sky Observations* appeared to need no such effort. Powered by marketing hype and audience love, it had swiftly become the poster child for domestic special-effects blockbusters.

"Do we really need to hype *Night Sky Observations* this much? What if it tanks tomorrow?"

Detractors tirelessly predicted doom, yet audience enthusiasm showed no signs of waning. Seat-filling rates made it clear—even as the film’s run extended, its box office showed no sudden drops.

Even the most conservative ticketing platforms projected *Night Sky Observations* to earn CNY 3 billion in its first Lunar New Year week, with total box office predictions universally set at no less than CNY 4 billion.

"If it does even better, could *Night Sky Observations* surpass *How Much Do You Know*?"

"...Let’s not compare it to the studio-pumped *How Much Do You Know*. *Night Sky Observations* earned every ticket through genuine audience support."

"...Once *Night Sky Observations* finishes its run, won’t Lu Xu’s total lead-actor box office cross CNY 10 billion?"

"Actually, it might have already."

Some netizen, out of curiosity, tallied up Lu Xu’s box office numbers as a lead actor (lead actor). The tally shocked everyone—while none of his first three films cleared CNY 2 billion, they came close. Combined with *Fearless Life*’s near CNY 4 billion total and *Night Sky Observations*’ two-day haul, Lu Xu’s personal box office had already surpassed CNY 10 billion.

Soon after this calculation surfaced, tabloid media amplified the news.

The hashtag #LuXu100BillionBoxOfficeKing blew up online.

Everyone knew—from his debut film *Deception* (*Deception*) onward, Lu Xu had never relied on others to carry his films. Aside from *Reversal City* (*Reversal City*), where he wasn’t the top-billed star (though his contribution to its box office still outshone Zhao Yifan’s), every other project had unequivocally been led by him.

It can be said that Lu Xu hasn’t been making movies for long, yet in just a few years, he has achieved what many actors never do in their entire careers.

After one trending topic came another, and the next to climb the charts was #Lu Xu 100 Billion Box Office Actor#.

With leading roles surpassing 10 billion at the box office, two Contention Award Best Actor trophies, and one Critics' Award, even in the fiercely competitive film industry, Lu Xu remains at the absolute top.

"If not for losing the *Jin Yan* Award, his acting career would’ve been absolutely perfect."

"It’s already perfect now, isn’t it? Another box office hit—who’s really embarrassed here? Not naming names."

The discussion under #100 Billion Box Office Actor# was almost entirely filled with fans breaking down Lu Xu’s acting career—as an idol, he was part of *Verse*, a top-tier star, with every drama he starred in breaking viewership records, and in films, winning awards while delivering box office hits, making him a top earner and award-winner.

Not to mention his achievements in endorsements and fashion.

When Lu Xu’s personal acting accomplishments are this strong, everything else is just a bonus.

"It just hit me—being good-looking is the least impressive thing about Lu Xu."

"You don’t need to suddenly realize that—I’ve known it all along."

Amid the enthusiastic discussions about Lu Xu’s achievements, on its third day of release, *Night Sky Observations* still maintained a staggering daily box office of 400 million yuan, pushing its total past 1.7 billion with ease.

Production costs had long been recouped. Despite the higher marketing expenses during the Lunar New Year season and stricter terms from theaters, nothing could stop *Night Sky Observations* from earning massive profits.

It was the clear frontrunner dominating this year’s Lunar New Year box office, overshadowing every other film in the same period.

For example, on its opening day, *Night Sky Observations* earned 850 million yuan, while *Haha Wula* in second place took in 360 million. Several other films also performed decently, with multiple crossing the 100 million mark.

However, on the second day, *Night Sky Observations* took in 490 million, while *Haha Wula*’s drop was even steeper. The gap between the two films didn’t shrink—it widened.

By the third day, *Night Sky Observations* still held strong at 400 million yuan, while the second-place film dropped to just over 100 million.

This year’s Lunar New Year box office hadn’t actually recovered—it only appeared slightly better because of *Night Sky Observations*. Without it, the season would’ve been a flop.

*Haha Wula*’s theater slots weren’t bad, but its audience turnout lagged behind *Night Sky Observations*, making it impossible for it to carry the season’s box office.

...

After days of busy promotional tours, Lu Xu finally didn’t have to continue them. That day’s promotional work was led by the director, and he and Li Yan attended a Lunar New Year event organized by Huayu TV.

It could be called a variety show or a small event—celebrities participating in traditional New Year activities and ringing in the New Year with fans.

The first activity was calligraphers writing Spring Festival couplets on-site, while Lu Xu and Li Yan followed along, trying their hand at calligraphy, hoping fans would want their work.

It was a live broadcast, and fans had expected Lu Xu to embarrass himself—but surprisingly, his handwriting turned out better than they imagined!

"I practiced a bit while filming *The Son of Heaven*, and then again for *Chivalrous Fragrance*," Lu Xu said with a sly grin in front of the camera. "I bet some of you thought my handwriting would be terrible, right?"

Fans: "..."

He guessed right.

Of course, compared to the professional calligraphers, Lu Xu’s writing still drew some skepticism. When nearby aunties and uncles naturally flocked to the seasoned calligraphers, leaving the two handsome faces standing awkwardly in the cold, Lu Xu’s smile vanished.

"The look on his face!"

"Where’d the smile go?"

"Lu Xu’s got a funny side—why wasn’t I there to see it?! Wish I’d been there!"

"...From a handsome guy showing off calligraphy skills to the king of cringe, hey, Wei Qingfang and Zhang Bannu just saved the world—cut them some slack, okay?"

"LOL, someone already made a comparison meme of Wei and Zhang's heroic expressions versus these two's dorky looks. One pair is dashing and heroic, the other... To emphasize the festive vibe, they even wore red scarves. Too bad nobody cared."

Lu Xu and Li Yan’s "calligraphy" kept getting rejected, leaving even the production crew worried. They were told to figure out a solution.

Then, Lu Xu came up with another scheme—he dragged Li Yan to a nearby supermarket, grabbed two baskets of eggs, and started a "get a spring couplet, take an egg" campaign. A line formed instantly in front of them, nearly running out of couplets.

Fans: "They can do that?!"

More importantly, Lu Xu moved with smooth moves. When an auntie habitually handed over 1 yuan for a couplet, he reflexively took the money before passing her an egg.

Only after completing the transaction did he notice Li Yan's priceless expression beside him.

Lu Xu hastily shoved the money back.

"Cash on delivery, deal."

"LOL, Salesman of the Year Lu Xu."

The couplet segment thus ended with a hint of awkwardness. The two baskets of eggs weren’t fully distributed, so they packed the leftovers to take home after filming.

Next was the sugar-painting activity. While their calligraphy was passable, sugar-painting proved too technically challenging. After Lu Xu crafted a monstrosity and declared it was Zheng Xiao, he found it so ugly—and "it keeps staring at me, creepy"—that he promptly crunched it down.

Tasted pretty good, though.

Zheng Xiao, who was filming elsewhere and not watching the livestream, got @'ed. He posted a giant question mark on Weibo, tagging Lu Xu and warning, "My insults hit hard."

"Swear! We wanna hear!"

"That’s the price of being Puppy’s friend! Puppy’s a real menace."

Zheng Xiao even dramatically shredded a ticket stub on Weibo—until netizens reminded him that having a stub meant he’d already paid for *Night Sky Observations*.

"Is this really not a marketing stunt by the *Night Sky Observations* crew?"

"@Zheng Xiao, can you advise your friend Lu Xu to stop eating? From sugar figures to rice cakes—he’s eating everything in sight! Aaaaaa I can't! *sobs*"

"...Their leftover eggs got boiled into tea eggs by bystanders. I can already picture these two snacking on them later. Introverts hate socializing but sure know how to eat, huh?"

"Laughing so hard I’m wheezing. All the masters had this ‘I want to say something but…’ look. New Year’s running into such lost causes… Well, at least they can eat. Eating is a blessing."