Chapter 201 Rapid Progress

Chapter 201: Rampant Advance

Given that Lu Xu and Li Yan were both clumsy and shameless, even the brief segment of the Spring Festival program had viewers laughing their heads off.

Lu Xu's egg distribution was so smooth and experienced, he could rival a supermarket clerk, while Li Yan’s look of wanting to speak but holding back, then wanting to speak again, garnered plenty of laughs.

"Lu Xu has Li Yan all confused, actually... you two are here to promote the movie, right?"

"Li Yan's slightly dilated pupils are hilarious, it feels like he’s wondering, isn't this different from what we agreed on?"

What left fans speechless was that Li Yan actually caught Lu Xu's vibe, strolling and snacking along, completely different from his usual image in front of the camera.

However, the segment received excellent feedback, not only with high views but also effectively promoting "Nightly Astrology."

Lu Xu and Li Yan's box office appeal is strong, not just because they are good actors, but also because they are approachable, without any signs of being overhyped.

Although Lu Xu has the trending hashtag #Billion-Dollar-Emperor, no one thinks he is overblown; his title is well-deserved, with no trace of exaggeration.

"Promoting the movie, he’s really going all out."

"But he’s super cute, right? Too bad those sugar figurines can only be bought on-site, otherwise I’d place an order right now."

"Really going all out! 'Nightly Astrology' is worth it!"

The traditional elements in "Nightly Astrology" are meticulously analyzed frame by frame, even the costumes worn by Wei Qingfang and Zhang Ban'nu have been carefully examined by fans to deduce the historical setting of the story.

The more they analyze, the more fans realize that "Nightly Astrology" is truly a treasure trove of a film, with the production team putting far more thought into the script than Lu Xu had imagined.

For instance, the dynasty from which the two characters' costumes originate coincides with a period in historical records when monster legends emerged in a certain region, and the design and behavior of the monsters bear similarities to the descriptions in these records.

"Night Sky Observation" even collaborated with a local museum — among the artifacts unearthed there were pictures that matched the descriptions of “face like...” and “appearance similar to...”.

In terms of plot, "Night Sky Observation" has many layers worth exploring.

The production team didn’t deliberately promote the brotherly bond between Zhang Banlu and Wei Qingfang, but it couldn’t stop fans from enthusiastically shipping them.

Details from the trailers and snippets provided by the production team... all were edited into videos, igniting fans' passion for secondary creation.

Moreover, what pleasantly surprised the production team was that the merchandise for "Night Sky Observation" sold much better than expected.

Fans were willing to pay extra for popcorn buckets featuring Q-version figurines of Wei Qingfang and Zhang Banlu, as well as plush toys, keychains, and fridge magnets of the demon characters, and even the co-branded popcorn buckets.

When the "Night Sky Observation" team approached the cinema for collaboration, the cinema's attitude was rather cold. It is well known that domestic IP merchandise is harder to sell compared to foreign films, as the latter have more mature marketing models, with their IPs extending beyond movies to toys, entertainment, and other industries.

While the revenue from "Night Sky Observation" merchandise doesn't match that of foreign IPs, it stands out as one of the better performers among domestic films.

To get their hands on the popcorn buckets featuring Q-version figures of Wei Qingfang and Zhang Banlu, fans were even willing to pay a bit more.

For cinemas, the profit from snacks like popcorn and soda is not lower than that from movie tickets. Nowadays, fans come to the cinema only willing to buy tickets and are reluctant to spend on additional items.

Additionally, the filming locations of "Night Sky Observation" also gained immense popularity.

This was already a famous tourist attraction in China, and during the filming of "Night Sky Observation," there were frequent reports online of fans spotting Lu Xu and Li Yan at the site. Netizens knew that Li Yan and Lu Xu were shooting a movie there, and the explosive popularity of "Night Sky Observation" during the Spring Festival further boosted the location’s appeal.

There was no other reason; the scenes presented in the movie were simply breathtakingly beautiful.

Although the scenic area itself is a prime example of natural beauty, with its deep forests, layered mountains, migratory birds, and clouds, the beauty of the landscape was magnified countless times through the lens of the film. Coupled with the interactions between Wei Qingfang and Zhang Banlu, viewers found it easy to immerse themselves in the movie's setting.

In fact, just one day after "Night Sky Observation" premiered on New Year's Day, fans were already cosplaying as Wei Qingfang and Zhang Banlu at the scenic spot on the second day.

"Night Sky Observation" is just an ordinary film, but the influence it has brought is far beyond expectations.

...

On the fourth day of its release, thanks to the vigorous promotion by Lu Xu and Li Yan, "Night Sky Observation" grossed 360 million yuan, only slightly less than 40 million compared to the previous day. By this day, the total box office of the film officially surpassed the 2 billion yuan mark, reaching 2.1 billion yuan.

The Spring Festival box office season had only just passed halfway.

The second-ranked film in the Spring Festival box office, "Haha Ula," currently hasn't even reached half of "Night Sky Observation's" total box office.

In terms of attendance rate, word of mouth, and audience retention, "Night Sky Observation" is leading by a wide margin.

Even more surprisingly... as a fantasy blockbuster, "Night Sky Observation" has attracted a large number of viewers willing to watch it again in the cinema, a privilege usually reserved for films with excellent reviews that lag behind in screenings and box office.

Among those willing to watch the film a second time, some are fans of Li Yan and Lu Xu, while others are eager to find more details about Zhang Ban'nu and Wei Qingfang’s relationship. Despite feeling satisfied with the first viewing, they search online for fellow fans who recommend even more content, driven by a competitive spirit to watch it again. Additionally, there are those who simply believe "Night Sky Observation" deserves another viewing.

There are also the slowest-to-join viewers, drawn by the positive reviews of "Night Sky Observation."

These viewers are accustomed to searching for film reviews online, combing through various rating websites to find the highlights of a movie, unwilling to waste a single ticket.

Since its release, "Night Sky Observation" has secured 2.1 billion yuan in box office revenue. In a fiercely competitive Spring Festival season, where rivals often try to sabotage each other, "Night Sky Observation" has managed to maintain a score above 9.3. As more people rate the film, the score has gradually decreased, but at the same time, a group of passionate "Night Sky Observation" fans have firmly held onto the film's rating.

In short, these viewers are certain that "Night Sky Observation" is worth watching.

Most of the excitement this Spring Festival belongs to "Night Sky Observation," but this doesn't mean there's no competition. The lead actor of "Haha Ula" was exposed for some minor scandals, but the final box office of the film remained unaffected.

Rumors suggest that the culprit behind the smear campaign was the production team of "The First Gun." "Haha Ula" remained unscathed because, in this Spring Festival season, "Night Sky Observation" is the only film that can be considered a success. If another film were to fail, the data for this year's Spring Festival would look too bleak.

The Spring Festival box office cannot rely on just one film to carry the season; it is a battlefield that must have value to be contested.

...

With the Spring Festival holiday drawing to a close, the sprint for "Nightly Astrology" continued unabated.

On its fifth day of release, it grossed 330 million yuan, pushing its total box office to over 2.43 billion yuan.

On the sixth day, it earned 266 million yuan, bringing the total to 2.696 billion yuan.

By the seventh day, although "Nightly Astrology" had not yet crossed the 3 billion yuan mark, it was only a few tens of millions away.

Despite the slowing growth in ticket sales, "Nightly Astrology" predictably surpassed 3 billion yuan, then 3.5 billion yuan... Before the end of the winter break, the film finally reached the 4 billion yuan milestone.

At this point, "Nightly Astrology" had been in theaters for less than half a month.

"... Can we reach 5 billion?!"

"Go, go, go!"

Before "Nightly Astrology" could break the 5 billion yuan barrier, it first surpassed the renowned "How Much Do You Know."

By this time, "Nightly Astrology" had quietly climbed into the top five on the all-time domestic box office chart.

At the top of the list were films that had made their mark during the Spring Festival, National Day, or summer seasons in previous years. To reach the fifth position, "Nightly Astrology" needed just one or two more days of box office growth, but now, the films ahead of it all had box offices exceeding 5 billion yuan, making the fourth position seem out of reach.

Of course, considering the release window of "Nightly Astrology," reaching the fifth position was already a significant achievement— the film ranked fourth had been released five years ago, while the top three were from a period when the film market was still booming. Today, even with their quality, these films might not receive such enthusiastic support from audiences.

"Can 'Nightly Astrology' do it?"

"Yes, yes, yes!"

In fact, it didn't take a full half-month; after about 11 and a half days, the total box office of "Nightly Observing the Heavens" officially surpassed 5 billion.

Every higher ranking seemed unattainable, even though "Nightly Observing the Heavens" was only 400 million behind the previous film. However, now, the daily box office growth of "Nightly Observing the Heavens" was slowing down.

No one on the production team was dissatisfied.

For Yue Chen, "Nightly Observing the Heavens" marked a new breakthrough in his directing career, raising his personal highest box office record by 3 billion, elevating him from a "somewhat famous director" to a sought-after figure in the industry.

For Li Yan, he now had two films ranked in the top five at the box office.

For Lu Xu, this was his best-performing film in terms of box office, and he no longer had any films in the 2 to 4 billion range; his highest tier directly jumped to over 5 billion.

As some marketing accounts put it, "There's not much room left for Lu Xu to grow."

The final box office total for "Nightly Observing the Heavens" settled at 5.579 billion. Each additional billion after 5 billion took a long time to achieve, and thanks to the extra 579 million, "Nightly Observing the Heavens" ultimately secured the second spot in the history of domestic films. The gap between it and the top-ranked film wasn't particularly large, but unfortunately, the box office potential of "Nightly Observing the Heavens" had been fully tapped, leaving no further room for advancement.

Regardless, "Nightly Observing the Heavens" had already made a huge profit.

Due to the film's massive success, there was even a surge in the production of fantasy films within the industry—this trend was quickly halted, however, as investing in special effects-heavy blockbusters often resulted in millions being wasted.

Those who invested enthusiastically now would be crying in a few years, plunging the fantasy genre into an even deeper pit.

The profitability of "Nightly Observing the Heavens" did not guarantee the same for other films.

"Unyielding Life" and "Nightly Observing the Heavens" together swept up nearly 10 billion in box office revenue, and Lu Xu's ability to draw audiences left many in the industry with nothing to say beyond envy and jealousy.

"Unyielding Life," a typical biographical film, was a niche market; if someone else had starred in it, earning 400 million would have been about right. As for "Nightly Observing the Heavens," how many people had predicted its failure? Some even thought that given the humor in "Three Paths River," "Nightly Observing the Heavens" might make it difficult for Lu Xu to recover.

In the end, not only did Lu Xu recover, but he also shot straight to the second position in film history.

5.5 billion!

The ridicule directed at Lu Xu immediately turned into self-loathing.

Some even approached journalists to leak that during the preparation of *Night Sky Observation*, they had been approached, but they didn’t take this “ordinary” fantasy film seriously.

“Oh…”

“It’s probably not that *Night Sky Observation* was ordinary, but that he originally dismissed this movie?”