Rant Show: I Angrily Criticized a Million Parents

Chapter 369 Suppression by Foreign Cinemas!
This time.

Online, even well-known film critics known for their sharp tongues have praised "Kung Fu Hustle".

"#SparrowTestFlight: This is a masterpiece that transcends time and space. My love for *Kung Fu Hustle* is beyond words. If you think it's just a comedy, you're sorely mistaken. From the filming techniques, visual effects, editing, soundtrack, and even the sound mixing, everything is top-notch. This film is the closest we've ever come to Hollywood standards!"

"#Mr. Movie: I can only describe 'Kung Fu Hustle' as breathtaking. From the moment I stepped into the theater, every frame thrilled me and made my soul tremble. It's like being used to bland food and suddenly enjoying a delicacy; I'm completely captivated! Kung Fu Hustle is so amazing!#"

"#Stephen Chow: Chinese films tend to focus on ideas and plot, with a slight lack of technical skill. However, 'Kung Fu Hustle' not only made me laugh out loud, but also amazed me with its outstanding technical techniques, which are truly breathtaking. Without further ado, I'm going to watch it again!"

"#MovieExpert: Everyone praises the film, and I'd give Zhou Yang a thumbs up. He perfectly captured the essence of the character in Stephen Chow's film; without him, the film would be significantly less impressive.#"

"..."

Kung Fu Hustle received an amazing score of 9.0 on Douban, breaking the record for the highest score of a Chinese comedy film!

Audiences showered "Kung Fu Hustle" with praise, prompting theaters to urgently increase the film's screening share from 15% to 30%.

On the third day, Kung Fu Hustle's box office exploded again, reaching 3.56 million yuan in a single day!
"The Admiral: Roaring Currents" suffered a complete defeat, with a single-day box office of only 6800 million, completely crushed by "Kung Fu Hustle"!
Soon, the first-week box office figures were released, and "Kung Fu Hustle" grossed over 19 billion RMB in its opening week!

As the box office of "Kung Fu Hustle" continued to climb, Zhou Yang and Stephen Chow were having a serious conversation with a foreigner in their office.

“Mr. John, I sincerely hope that AMC can allocate more screening time for ‘Kung Fu’, even if it’s only 20%,” Zhou Yang frankly suggested to the foreign guest in front of him.

The foreign guest sitting next to me was Jimmy John, AMC's Global Vice President, whose theater chain is ranked number one in the United States.

Thanks to the huge success of "The Lord of the Rings" and "Titanic", Zhou Yang established connections with these executives of American theater chains, thanks to introductions from Peter Jackson and James Cameron.

Although this relationship is based on mutual benefit, there is also a certain degree of personal connection involved.

This time, Zhou Yang specially invited John Xun to come over to discuss the screening arrangements for "Kung Fu Hustle" after its release in the United States.

After hearing Zhou Yang's suggestion, John immediately shook his head and said, "No! No! No! Zhou, although I have confidence in you, you must understand that the best performance of Chinese films in the United States is only a little over ten million US dollars. It is simply unrealistic to allocate 20% of the screening time to you. AMC will suffer huge losses!"

Upon hearing this, Stephen Chow's lips twitched, and his expression turned somewhat unpleasant.

Isn't this blatant disrespect for Chinese films?
If Zhou Yang weren't here, his temper when dealing with foreigners would definitely lead to unpleasant results.

Zhou Yang refused to give up easily, insisting, "Times are progressing, and Chinese films are changing too. This film, 'Kung Fu Hustle,' will be loved by American audiences and bring you great rewards."

"No! Absolutely not!"

John interrupted Zhou Yang, stating firmly, "I only believe in the market. Hollywood can conquer the world, but Chinese films can only stand in China."

Zhou Yang fell silent, knowing full well that Chinese films were not performing well in the international market.

A moment later, Zhou Yang suddenly proposed: "Let's make a deal. You give us 20% of the screenings, and if the occupancy rate is less than 12%, I'm willing to fully compensate for the unsold seats."

what? !

Both Stephen Chow and John were shocked by Zhou Yang's words.

“Zhou Yang, what do you mean by this? Are you going to pay for this yourself? If there's any investment to be made, it should be the investors who contribute!” Stephen Chow interjected.

If it is rumored that he requires actors to pay for film promotion out of their own pockets, his reputation in the industry will be in jeopardy.

Zhou Yang smiled and said, "Okay, we'll each contribute half. After all, I'm also an investor and get 20% of the profits." "Great!"

Stephen Chow nodded in agreement.

John agreed without hesitation. A 12% share already exceeded the average attendance rate of American cinemas, making it a sure-fire profitable deal.

The three then quickly signed the contract.

After the contract was signed, John stretched out his hands, beaming, and said:

"Happy cooperation!"

He reached out and shook hands with the other person, marveling at how quickly Americans could change their tune; only profit could sway them, they were all about money, not people.

But he was still very excited after the deal was finalized.

After all, the United States is the world's largest film market.

Two days later, "Kung Fu Hustle" was finally released worldwide, hitting theaters in major countries. He specially posted an Instagram post to promote it.

"#Chinese actor Zhou Yang: Hello everyone, my new movie 'Kung Fu' is currently showing in theaters. Welcome to support me in theaters! This comedy film showcases a unique Chinese style. I believe it won't disappoint you! Thank you for your support!#"

"Zhou Yang has over 20 million followers on Instagram, and his photos receive over 100,000 comments within just ten minutes of being posted."

"A martial arts performance? Like Bruce Lee's kung fu? That's so cool! I definitely have to support it!"

"Wow, my goodness, it's amazing that someone as handsome as Zhou Yang can also act in comedy!"

"You guys upstairs are really short-sighted. Zhou Jun's two previous comedy films were very popular in Confucian cultural circles."

"I'm so looking forward to Zhou's new work! Zhou is a real gem!"

Why wasn't "Kung Fu Hustle" shown in South Korea? Is this discrimination against us Koreans?

"There are so few screenings in Los Angeles cinemas, you have to drive more than two hours to see it..."

"Support Zhou Yang! The Chinese community will definitely support you with all its might!"

"..."

Faced with various comments from fans, Zhou Yang felt quite helpless, knowing that he could not gather all the fans who were eager to see the movie together.

However, when Zhou Yang saw the support from numerous overseas fans and Chinese people in other places, a sense of comfort and anticipation welled up in his heart.

Zhou Yang silently told himself, "The movie's viewership shouldn't be too bad, right?"

A few hours later, "Kung Fu Hustle" premiered in the United States, while Zhou Yang was still dreaming, with a time difference of more than ten hours with the United States.

He won't know the box office results of "Kung Fu Hustle" on its opening day in the United States until he wakes up.

(End of this chapter)