Huayu Entertainment 1995 started with hijacking.

Chapter 189 Asia's Number One Sister Wang Xianxian
The following day, various reviews of "My Sassy Girl" appeared in the entertainment sections of major newspapers:

"Wu Yuchen breaks with tradition, creating a unique and distinctive 'My Sassy Girl'"

"Half angel, half devil—My Sassy Girl"

"Wang Zuxian transforms into a sassy girlfriend, hilarious, touching, and heartwarming!"

"Wu Yuchen has poured his heart into creating a beautiful love story, a real-life version of a toad and a wild swan!"

"Ten highlights of 'My Sassy Girl': One girlfriend, two styles, three scripts, and four tender moments."

Actually, we've all seen romantic comedies before. For example, Feng Xiaogang's "Be There or Be Square" from last year is a very typical romantic comedy. Two ordinary people are attracted to each other and eventually get together.

However, the female protagonists in romantic movies are usually traditional types, either gentle or intellectual. For example, Rose, the female protagonist in "Titanic," is a lady from a wealthy family, and the main rhythm of the movie is basically driven by the male protagonist.

However, "My Sassy Girl" breaks this traditional formula, designing the film as a "weak man, strong woman" story, with the plot driven entirely by the sassy girlfriend. This undoubtedly piqued the interest of many. Throughout the film, both humor and emotional moments are cleverly arranged, never feeling forced or awkward. The several instances of Canon in D and "I Believe" leaving a particularly deep impression.

This kind of innovative and high-quality movie makes the audience laugh and cry in the theater and ultimately gets a happy ending, so it naturally gets rave reviews and everyone who has seen it is recommending it to the people around them.

"Let me tell you, it's absolutely gorgeous! Joey Wong is so adorable!"

"Seriously, it's both hilarious and touching, and this time it's not a tragedy. There are also many celebrity cameos in it, including Zhao Yazhi and Guo Da!"

"When it comes to making romance films, you have to look to Wu Yuchen. He made a tragedy called 'If Love Has a Destiny' and a comedy called 'My Sassy Girl,' both of which were incredibly moving!"

"Me too! I was laughing so hard at the beginning, but then I was crying my eyes out at the end! I almost thought Director Wu was going to throw in another tragedy!"

"Hey, what zodiac signs do you think they are? I think the female lead is a Leo, quite assertive and proactive, good at sports, and the male lead is a Taurus, honest and kind..."

As the topic of "My Sassy Girl" swept through the streets and alleys, when everyone around you was discussing it and you couldn't join the conversation, even those who originally didn't want to watch it or were planning to wait for a pirated copy were tempted to go to the cinema and buy tickets.

……

As a major release this year, after the release of "My Sassy Girl," Zhu Yongde, the head of Shanghai Film Group, personally oversaw the distribution in the Yangtze River Delta region.

He kept making calls to inquire about attendance in various locations. Tickets in Shanghai were completely sold out, and in major cities like Nanjing, Suzhou, and Hangzhou, the average attendance rate was also over 9%. This situation made him repeatedly sigh; currently, Wu Yuchen is the only director in China who can generate such a strong desire among audiences to buy tickets to go to the cinema!

Although Zhang Yimou and Chen Kaige were highly sought after after winning awards, their films unfortunately tend to be art-house oriented and not very accessible to the general public. In other words, their films primarily target so-called "refined and artistically sophisticated elites."

Ordinary people don't care much about art. Most people go to the movies for entertainment or sensory and spiritual enjoyment, but most art films obviously can't provide that kind of direct stimulation or emotional resonance.

Wu Yuchen is different. He can direct artistically sophisticated films like *Mr. Donkey*, as well as emotionally charged commercial films like *My Sassy Girl*, *The Classic*, and *My Brothers and Sisters*. It's precisely because of films like *My Brothers and Sisters* and *The Classic*, which some might consider vulgar but were popular with the general public, that everyone flocked to theaters to see *My Sassy Girl* when it was released. Because the public knows that they can understand and enjoy Director Wu's films!

The next day, under constant urging from Lao Zhu, he had his subordinates compile the first-day box office statistics for the Yangtze River Delta region. When he saw the final total, he was overjoyed, and even his fatigue vanished: 455 million!
Given that the Yangtze River Delta region currently accounts for about one-third of the national box office, the national box office on the first day should be over 1200 million!
This is an amazing result that hasn't been seen in several years!

As Lao Zhu predicted, after summarizing the data with China Film Group and Miracle Films, the box office was 1288 million on Friday, 1593 million on Saturday, and 1143 million on Sunday.

"My Sassy Girl" grossed over 40 million yuan in its opening weekend!

On Monday, the China Film News used this headline as its front page headline, further igniting public sentiment and encouraging more people to go to the cinema.

……

Wang Zuxian spent a few days each in Shanghai and Beijing on the mainland before flying directly to South Korea for promotional activities. It's not that she's never been to South Korea before; she participated in a variety show there in 93. While the fans there were enthusiastic then, they weren't nearly as crazy as they are now!

As soon as she got off the plane, she was surrounded by a huge crowd of reporters who were practically swarming her. If she hadn't been wearing sunglasses, her eyes would have been blinded by the cameras.

"Wang Zuxian! 'My Sassy Girl' has caused an unprecedented movie-going frenzy in South Korea. What are your thoughts?"

"Miss Wang Zuxian, welcome to the Great Bang Kingdom. Are you the same as in the movie?"

"Ms. Joey Wong, you are currently being wildly popular with young people in our country. Do you think girls should be a little more unruly?"

"Wang Zuxian, I love you!"

Surrounded by reporters and fans, Wang Zuxian was unable to move an inch and couldn't even leave the airport. In the end, she was only able to escape thanks to the special security personnel dispatched by the South Korean airport.

After getting into the car that picked her up at the airport, Wang Zuxian finally breathed a sigh of relief, patting her chest and saying, "I didn't expect the Korean fans to be so enthusiastic, it gave me quite a surprise!"

The staff member who picked her up bowed and said, "I'm so sorry, Ms. Wang Zuxian, it's our fault for not making proper arrangements and causing you distress! You may not know this, but since the release of 'My Sassy Girl' a week ago, it has been a huge hit in South Korea, and newspapers have said that you alone have influenced the dating views of all the young generation in South Korea!"

Wang Zuxian covered her mouth and laughed, "Where is that exaggerated~" "No, we are absolutely not exaggerating! Now many girls in South Korea are learning from you, transforming into savage girlfriends and taking the savage route."

"Really? I'm so honored~" Wang Zuxian laughed happily, completely unaware of the great impact she had brought this time.

South Korea has always been a country with a strong patriarchal culture, so the release of "My Sassy Girl" naturally had a significant impact.

A girl was yelling at her boyfriend, "Hey, didn't you promise to give me flowers in front of everyone at school today? Why did you go back on your word!"

The boy explained, feeling wronged, "I get so nervous in front of so many people that my legs feel like they can't move. Maybe I shouldn't do it!"

"Hmph! Do you even like me? If you loved me enough, how could you not overcome your nervousness?!"

"Of course I like you, but this is such a difficult request!"

The girl crossed her arms, glared at her boyfriend with dissatisfaction, and said, "Fine, to prove your love, let's change our shoes today!"

The boy glanced down at his girlfriend's at least 5-centimeter high heels, and his face immediately changed color: "How is this possible?!"

"Why not? Qian Niu can do it, but you can't?"

The boy grabbed his girlfriend's hand and said, "Can you stop fooling around? Let's go shopping properly, I'll treat you to a big meal~"

The girl flung his hand away, saying, "This won't work, that won't work, you just don't love me enough!"

The boy's face was also gloomy. He had really had enough this week. He was having a good relationship with his girlfriend, but suddenly he was being used as a punching bag, forced to drink awful things, forced to drink with her, and now he was even being forced to wear high heels!

He also erupted directly:

"Damn it! Who do you think you are? Do you think you're Wang Zuxian? Are you as beautiful as her? Are you as cute as her? If you looked like Wang Zuxian descended to earth, I'd kneel down and kiss your toes!"
"Besides, Wang Zuxian was heartbroken; her ex-boyfriend died, that's why she's like this. Do you also have a dead ex-boyfriend? If so, go find him! Damn it!"

After saying that, the boy ignored the unreasonable woman and left without looking back, leaving the girl standing there crying and screaming.

Similar scenarios have occurred more than once. In South Korea, many girls have imitated Wang Zuxian's requests after watching the movie, and some boys have been so moved by the film that they were brainwashed and motivated to comply, such as being asked to memorize "The Ten Principles of Boyfriends." This story is now widely circulated and is in no way inferior to the line from "A Chinese Odyssey"—"Once upon a time, there was a sincere love..."

On more than one occasion, he was seen wearing high heels while on a date with his girlfriend, drawing admiration from many onlookers.

In South Korea, a street survey was conducted, and more than 80% of men said they wanted a cute girlfriend like Joey Wong, even if she was a little wild.

Of course, a small percentage of these relationships ended badly, with some even breaking up and others resorting to physical violence. However, Wu Yuchen could only helplessly state that his role was merely to create a touching moment; how the couple interacted was their own business, and he wouldn't take the blame for it!
It is undeniable that "My Sassy Girl" has had a significant impact on the current way men and women interact.

Not only in mainland China and South Korea, but also in several major Asian countries and regions, "My Sassy Girl" was released simultaneously, with no more than two days between releases. This minimized the impact of piracy. With the combined appeal and promotion of Wu Yu-chen and Wang Zu-xian, the film achieved box office success in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan, and Singapore, directly sparking a sassy craze that swept across Asia.

Before Wang Zuxian even left South Korea, she had already learned from her agent that hundreds of advertisers from all over the world had approached her. These included all sorts of products: luxury goods, clothing, shoes, shampoo, sanitary napkins, portable music players, air conditioners, and more. Among them were top brands like Adidas and Nike wanting her to endorse their women's athletic shoes, given her adorable appearance in a movie where she swapped shoes with the male lead. Sony also wanted her to endorse their portable music players, and so on…

So even though she only received 300 million yuan for filming "My Sassy Girl", the subsequent advertising effect made her earn dozens of times that amount easily!
The biggest beneficiary of this "savage girlfriend" trend is undoubtedly Joey Wong. She already had many representative works and enjoyed immense popularity across Asia, but her semi-retirement in recent years led some to believe her career was declining. However, her "savage girlfriend" image has now swept across Asia, earning her the title of Asia's number one actress!
Then there's Xu Zheng, a newcomer to the film industry. His role as Qian Niu brought him considerable fame throughout Asia. While he didn't become a top Asian star like Wang Zuxian, he still achieved instant recognition. He received numerous advertising offers as a result, far fewer than Wang Zuxian, but enough to make him rich overnight.

The third person to benefit from this wave of popularity was singer Li Jian!

After "If Love Has a Destiny" last year, Li Jian had already gained considerable popularity in China. This time, with "I Believe" appearing in several movies and becoming a hit, his fame has soared, and his momentum is directly approaching that of Sun Nan, making Sun Nan, who calls himself "the number one brother in mainland China," feel more and more threatened!
……

Wu Yuchen was in Los Angeles at the time, having just participated in a promotional program for "The Sixth Sense" with Bruce Willis, Jennifer Connelly, and a young actor. He received a call from Han Sanping backstage:

"Director Wu, congratulations! 'My Sassy Girl' has grossed over 100 million yuan in just half a month!"

"Haha, Mr. Han, congratulations to you too!"

Wu Yuchen smiled faintly, not too surprised to hear the news. It broke 40 million in the first three days, 75 million in ten days, and now it is reasonable to break 100 million in half a month.

The movie received rave reviews after its release, and naturally many people praised him as the director. However, it's hard to say how much "My Sassy Girl" boosted his career; it just made Wu Yuchen's Chinese box office performance look better.

After all, Wu Yuchen had already achieved a box office success of over 100 million yuan in China with "If Love Has a Destiny." For "My Sassy Girl" to surpass that, it would need to break 200 million yuan, which is clearly unlikely. The current box office potential in China is limited; even if romance films are incredibly popular, it's impossible for them to break 200 million yuan in the current climate. Even 150 million yuan is questionable, given the availability of high-definition pirated versions.

In Asia, however, Wu Yuchen's box office appeal and influence have reached new heights, solidifying his position and leaving a deeper impression on more Asian moviegoers.

Wu Yuchen now holds the Berlin Golden Bear and has previously had two Hollywood films gross over 100 million yuan. Ordinary small improvements are not a significant boost to his career.

To further enhance its influence, it needs to reach the box office and win awards. In terms of awards, it needs to win an Oscar; in terms of box office, either a Chinese-language film needs to break 3 million yuan or even surpass Titanic's 3.6 million yuan to reclaim the title of the highest-grossing Chinese film, or it needs to produce another Hollywood film that explodes at the box office and is truly awe-inspiring.

And now there is such an opportunity: The Sixth Sense, which is about to be released in North America!
(End of this chapter)