I'm just trying to ride the wave of popularity!

Chapter 100 Box Office! (Second Update)
"My grass!"

"Don't tell me that a big-budget production like 'A Better Tomorrow' was completely crushed by a greenhorn like Zhou Yang?"

"I don't know, but the box office of 'A Better Tomorrow' is now on par with 'The Haunted Village,' and more importantly, 'The Lost Tomb: Reboot' has also surpassed 200 million at the box office..."

"..."

Before the release of "A Better Tomorrow"!
Everyone thought the film would gross at least 1.7 million yuan, and it was even highly likely to reach the heights of "Qin".

This is a movie co-produced by China and Hong Kong!
but……

Nobody could have predicted this!
"A Better Tomorrow" had a strong opening but then declined at the box office!

It grossed 1500 million on its opening day, rose to 1800 million on the second day, and by the third day, it had only grossed 1200 million!
The box office exceeded 4500 million in three days, which is truly astonishing!
However, the subsequent box office results were... well, let's just say they were disappointing.

The curve took a sharp turn for the worse!

Besides that!

But what filmmakers in the Chinese film industry witnessed was something that shocked them all!

While the box office performance of "A Better Tomorrow" was faltering, the box office of each of Zhou Yang's three films [Xuan Shi Entertainment] was rising against the trend!

On September 18th, "A Better Tomorrow" grossed 4 million yuan and "The Haunted Village" grossed 4 million yuan, marking the first time the two films had equal box office earnings!
On September 19th, "A Better Tomorrow" grossed 3.8 million yuan, while "The Haunted Village" began to decline in box office revenue. Whether it was a coincidence or not, it also grossed 3.8 million yuan!
However, another film, "The Longest Nite: Reboot," which had already been released, saw its box office revenue rise from several hundred thousand to 2 million. Meanwhile, "Sun Wukong vs. Superman 200" also saw its box office revenue rise to around 80…

Both films saw a slight increase in screenings nationwide on the 20th...

Their increased screenings mean that "A Better Tomorrow" will see a decrease in screenings...

At first glance, the box office rankings and attendance rates seem to indicate that the three films from [Xuan Shi Entertainment] are engaged in a fierce battle for screen time, vying for the rights to "A Better Tomorrow"!
9 Month 20 Day!
A Better Tomorrow finally couldn't sit still any longer!
When the cast and crew of "A Better Tomorrow" arrived in Changsha, the lead actors, including Best Actor Leung Ka-keung and Tsui Sai-on, actually came down to the stage themselves!

We urge fans to go to the cinema to see "A Better Tomorrow"...

Even more shockingly, Cheng Ping-man, known as Hong Kong's golden supporting actor, knelt down in front of all the reporters and fans, begging them to give "A Better Tomorrow" a chance!
The trending topic of Zheng Bingwen kneeling down quickly went viral across the internet!

Finally, the hype surrounding "The Haunted Village" has been completely suppressed...

Such condescension...

This has saddened countless netizens and movie fans!
People flocked to cinemas, bought tickets to see the film a second time, or voiced their support and pleaded on various websites...

Finally, the box office for the 20th reached 800 million!
On the 21st, the box office revenue even surpassed 1000 million, and for the next three days, it remained around 800 million each time...

Ultimately, after half a month of release, "A Better Tomorrow" grossed 1.3 million RMB!

We're only 1.7 million short of our target of 4000 million!

...............................

9 month 25 day.

Inside the rental house.

Zhang Jiali silently looked at the book "The Actor".

While watching, I pondered the "acting skills".

The film *The Haunted Village* was directed entirely by Zhou Yang…

At that time, she was clueless and had absolutely no acting skills.

Before filming began...

Zhou Yang deliberately led her into a narrow room.

She would never forget what Zhou Yang had said to her in that dimly lit room, in a serious tone.

"Don't try to play anyone else, just focus on being yourself!"

"You need to think about it..."

"You're about to marry a cow seller who's more than twenty years older than you!"

"You have to work every day!"

"But if things don't go your way, you'll get yelled at!"

"Because you're young, you're watched every day. Even if you say just one word to any of the young people in the village, you'll be beaten up when you get home..."

"You were beaten until your skin was torn and bleeding. You couldn't take it anymore and ran home, but instead of letting you go back inside or explaining things to your parents, they were ashamed of you and had the cow seller take you away..."

"The rumors in the village have been going on for a while now that you're having an affair with so-and-so..."

"You know, the more remote the village, the more rumors and gossip there are..."

"And your parents are very concerned about their reputation in the village..."

"You were eventually dragged back to that cattle farm, and after a severe beating, you were finally locked up to prevent you from cheating..."

"..."

Zhang Jiali remembers it was an evening.

Upon hearing this, she lowered her head and silently walked out of the house.

In a daze, she realized that for the past 20 years, she and "Chu Renmei" had lived in a world where morality held them hostage.

She found that she could get into character very quickly!
That hatred, anger, despair, desperate cries, resentment...

She portrayed it perfectly!
During that period, she was immersed in this emotion almost every day. Apart from Zhou Yang, who dared to approach her, everyone else kept their distance from her.

Until filming wrapped...

After the premiere of "The Haunted Village," Zhang Jiali did not go to the cinema to watch the film. Instead, she enrolled in all sorts of "acting" courses and would go to the adult classes at Yanying Academy whenever she had free time to study and audit classes. At the same time, she also went around looking for film crews, even if it was just to play a role for free, as long as she could learn something...

After filming "The Haunted Village", she saw a path.

A path leading out of the village, breaking free from the shackles of fate, and pursuing a new life!
……noon.

Zhang Jiali silently closed the book "The Actor," her mind filled with what she had recently learned.

Just as I was about to have lunch and then continue to Yanying Academy to audit classes, there was a knock on the door of my rented room.

Immediately afterwards...

Zhou Yang came out.

"Mr. Zhou?"

"Um……"

After Zhou Yang entered, he glanced silently at the numerous acting books scattered around him and smiled, "You're very hardworking..."

“Yes, that’s right, learn more…” Zhang Jiali nodded, showing Zhou Yang a grateful expression, and then subconsciously prepared to pour Zhou Yang a cup of tea.

Zhou Yang shook his head: "No need... I'll just stand here for a while and then leave. I have some things to do later..."

After she finished speaking, she saw Zhou Yang take out several stacks of money from his briefcase and hand them to Zhang Jiali.

Zhang Jiali was stunned when she saw the money, then startled, and quickly waved her hand: "President Zhou, this is... your fee. You've already paid me 20,000 yuan, and I haven't even spent it all yet... How come..."

Zhou Yang shook his head and stuffed all the money into Zhang Jiali's hand: "The first share of revenue from the theatrical release of 'The Haunted Village' has come through. This is what you deserve... 300,000 yuan, it's not much..."

Zhang Jiali stared blankly at the 300,000 yuan!

My eyes instantly welled up with tears.

She looked up at Zhou Yang, her lips trembling slightly: "Mr. Zhou, I, Mr. Zhou, I..."

She stammered, unable to speak!
Zhou Yang shook his head.

"Take it! I told you, those who follow me, as long as I have a bite of meat to eat, you'll all have a bite of soup. Pay is pay, and bonuses are bonuses!"

"Thank you, thank you, Mr. Zhou, thank you..."

Zhang Jiali's eyes filled with tears; she was too overwhelmed with emotion to contain herself...

From childhood to adulthood...

At home and at school, she was never taken seriously; she was always a marginalized person, quietly staying in a corner.

The best day of her life was one day, her birthday, when her parents brought her some candy...

After entering the workforce, she worked very hard every day, and it seemed like there was never any end to the work. During her time as a waitress at the Yuelai Hotel, almost everyone gave her the cold shoulder.

I've never seen anyone like President Zhou before...

He took her with him and helped her along the way.

"No need to thank me. You should thank yourself for trusting me back then, and also for never giving up on me along the way..."

Zhou Yang looked at Zhang Jiali, who was moved to tears, smiled, and patted her on the shoulder: "You have great potential. Now that you've decided to take this path, let's work hard to climb higher!"

“Okay!” Zhang Jiali nodded vigorously.

Then, watching Zhou Yang put away his briefcase, he looked around and said, "We're not the same people we used to be. Let's move to a better place, or maybe buy ourselves an apartment in Yanjing. 30 yuan can buy a decent apartment now... but..."

Zhou Yang's voice stopped abruptly, pausing for a moment.

Zhang Jiali's expression gradually turned serious as she watched Zhou Yang: "If you trust me, from now on, stop sending money home!"

Zhou Yang's words startled Zhang Jiali slightly!
He continued, "Remember, you have money. You can bring them here, you can give them a good life, you can settle them down, you can even take care of their retirement. But you must keep the money in your own hands. In this era, money doesn't represent everything, but with money, you have a voice!"

After saying this, Zhou Yang looked outside, then picked up his briefcase and walked out of the house.

Zhang Jiali stared blankly at Zhou Yang's retreating figure.

At that moment, it felt as if something had violently struck my head.

Just at this time……

Her phone rang.

On the phone.

Her father first launched into a tirade of unwarranted abuse at her!

Afterwards, she was still allowed to go back to her hometown to get married!

She gritted her teeth.

"If you want to get married, then go and get married!"

The person on the other end of the phone was shocked and was about to unleash a torrent of abuse.

But then, she decisively hung up the phone!
........................

Huangnishan Village.

Zhang Dezhu was shocked that his daughter had said those words.

Just as he was about to make another call...

He saw someone rushing over.

"Old man, that cattle farmer seems to have seen some movie. He came here like a madman, saying he doesn't want our daughter anymore, and he even wants the cattle they gave us..."

"???"

(End of this chapter)