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

Chapter 112 Premiere of King of Beasts! (Second Update)

July 2003.

When the Hollywood movie "King of the Monsters" premiered...

The entire Chinese film industry was in an uproar!

The first half of 2003 saw the global film industry reach its peak, producing countless outstanding works!
Before October, countless filmmakers in China were still discussing which Hollywood movie would ultimately become the representative work of 2003!
Some say it's the movie "Robot" from March of this year. This film uses a post-apocalyptic heavy industrial atmosphere to depict a world where machines and humans coexist...

Some say it's the May film "Virtual Invasion," which, through a war in the virtual world of the internet, brought countless moviegoers a top-notch sci-fi feast...

Some say that the film "Paradise Traveler," released in June, wasn't science fiction or a Hollywood movie, but it touched countless Chinese viewers with its warmth and inspiration...

……

but……

After the premiere of "King of the Monsters" on October 20, all the discussions became meaningless.

Before the movie premiere, countless movie fans excitedly thought that the trailers for "King of the Monsters" would be the most exciting parts of the movie!
However, once they entered the movie theater, they realized they were wrong!
The trailers for "King of the Monsters" that have been leaked online and in various media outlets are just the tip of the iceberg of what the movie is all about!
In August 2003, almost every cinema chain under Huaxia Cinema Circuit upgraded its digital screen system...

Superman II was a user of digital screens, but due to the nature of the film itself, despite having several impressive scenes, it didn't generate much buzz.

However, when The King of Monsters premiered, everyone truly realized what a true pinnacle of Hollywood's industrial prowess looked like!

Countless people witnessed a stunning audio-visual feast that combined modern mythology with cutting-edge technology!
In the movie...

One after another, colossal beasts that only exist in mythology appear and engage in a massive melee!

The film features a high-octane, world-destroying scene, accompanied by a series of explosions and an epic musical rhythm. Almost every frame is designed to stimulate the nerves of every viewer!

In addition, the extremely realistic visuals, combined with the mysterious world belonging only to these giant beasts, create an endless sense of mystery, novelty, excitement, and fear...

The film condenses almost all of the viewer's emotions into its 120-minute runtime. Countless moviegoers even held their bladders to watch the entire film, with no one making a trip to the bathroom midway through, for fear of missing out on this ultimate visual feast...

……

On the day the movie premiered.

Tickets for the newly opened professional digital theater at Yanjing Huaxing Cinema were being scalped for 2000 yuan, equivalent to a month's salary for an average white-collar worker!

This isn't a scene from the Spring Festival travel rush ticket scramble, but rather the frenzy sparked by the release of "King of the Monsters"!
On the day of the premiere on the 20th, major cinema chains across China reduced the screening schedule of almost all other films in their theaters, delayed their release, and made room for "King of the Monsters" in dedicated digital theaters. However, tickets were still extremely difficult to obtain!
They started adding more theaters, screening more films, and even filling up the regular theaters with screenings, but advance tickets were already snapped up for 7 days in advance.

It's no exaggeration to say that the opening day box office was 2000 million!

This is the limit that Huaxia Cinemas can handle, but it is definitely not the limit for "King of the Monsters"!

Just when everyone was excitedly watching this movie, and frantically reducing screenings and delaying the release of other films...

The marketing department of Huaying International Cinemas got into a fight!

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

"Mr. Dong, are you crazy? Everyone knows that 'King of the Monsters' is a Hollywood epic, and everyone is going crazy with screenings. And you, at this critical moment, have signed a low-budget film, 'King of the Beasts'? Mr. Dong, did I hear that right? What do you mean? Are you saying that all the theaters we cooperate with should screen 'King of the Beasts' twice a day?"

"We signed Mr. Zhou's agreement..."

"Mr. Dong, do you know what you're doing?! Haven't you seen how hot Hollywood's 'King of the Monsters' is right now? That's a fortune! And the agreement you signed never mentioned when the movie would be released, nor did it include any penalty for breach of contract. More importantly, why did you sign this movie in the first place?! Besides us, which other theater chains have the rights to this movie? Furthermore, [Tianyu] has sent people to contact us, asking us to join forces to blacklist [Xuanshi Entertainment]..."

"..."

[Huaying International]

In Dong Qichang's office.

Upon hearing the news, Lin Chaoyang, the head of the cinema department, rushed into the cinema.

She even excitedly slapped the table in front of Dong Qichang.

She had never felt so strongly that President Dong was crazy!
The movie "King of the Beasts" is completely riding on the coattails of "King of the Monsters"...

Oh shit!

Movie quality?

The quality goes without saying!
The film was shot in just over twenty days, with a total investment of less than 300,000 yuan...

Such a cheap movie, even someone who hasn't seen it knows it's an absolute flop!

Putting aside the quality of the movie itself, just look at the ticket prices of this movie and "King of the Monsters": one costs 12 yuan and the other costs 35 yuan!

That's almost tripled!
However, Mr. Dong, who is usually very shrewd, made the most foolish mistake that no one could understand this time!
Faced with Lin Chaoyang's accusations, Dong Qichang remained silent, simply lighting a cigarette and looking out the window.

After letting Lin Chaoyang vent his anger, he finally stubbed out his cigarette.

"I'm making an investment!"

"Mr. Dong, what are you investing in? The 12 yuan ones, not the 35 yuan ones?"

“Investments that everyone can see, even a fool can see, are not real investments… In my opinion, real investments are hidden in corners where no one notices them, starting with the trust built from the very beginning, using the least amount of investment to leverage the greatest potential. Before the release of ‘The Haunted Village,’ who could have imagined that such a company could generate around 2000 million in box office revenue?” Dong Qichang narrowed his eyes and said calmly.

"President Dong... even if the influence of 'The Haunted Village' is greater than that of 'King of Monsters,' one took a month to break the record, while the other broke the record in a single day! It's like comparing heaven and earth!"

After listening, Dong Qichang remained silent.

He glanced out the window again and then squinted.

"In that case, I'll explain to the shareholders, and you can push all the pressure from the leadership onto me... If they have any complaints, tell them to come to me..."

"Mr. Dong, are you really going to do this? You don't actually believe that this small company will unleash amazing commercial value in the future, do you?"

"I never thought anything of it, I just thought it was possible... In fact, haven't you noticed? Those film and television companies in mainland China are now, subtly, starting to rot from the root..."

"All I know is that we can make money now, we're going public, and every decision we make will affect the future stock price!"

Let's take a gamble!

Seeing Dong Qichang's resolute attitude, Lin Chaoyang opened his mouth.

But in the end, he shook his head, said nothing, and left the office.

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

10 month 21 day.

Yanjing.

[China Film Group] Cinemas.

Crowds of people.

People would occasionally walk out of the screening room, utterly shocked.

Then, excitedly, they joined their companions in chattering and shouting, like a chattering sparrow, recounting their madness while watching the movie!

of course……

Some people came out earlier!

Most of these people are parents with their children.

The adults were thrilled and left wanting more, completely blown away by the special effects!
However, some seven- or eight-year-old children were so frightened that they screamed, cried, and screamed...

Children's ears are very sensitive and they cannot distinguish between real sounds and artificial sound effects. They have no sense of distance from sound, and if the sound effects are too loud, it will frighten them!
The theater is dark and the sound effects are realistic. It's fine for ordinary movies, but for a blockbuster like "King of the Monsters," all the children feel is fear!
Plot?

They don't understand the plot!
story?

The story was complicated, the dialogue was in English, and they could only see one scene after another. Then they started crying and refused to stay in the screening room any longer.

So, the parents had no choice but to leave the screening room early with their children, much to their regret...

"A movie is showing here!"

"This movie seems suitable for children aged 8 to 12!"

"..."

Just as some parents were preparing to leave the movie theater with their children...

suddenly!

Someone noticed that a movie called "King of Beasts" was being shown in a corner screening room of the Yanjing Cinema of Huaying Group.

Judging from the name...

All the parents were somewhat stunned.

But after seeing the movie poster, which stated that it was suitable for children aged 8 to 12, I was disappointed.

And when all the children saw a familiar figure in the movie, they got excited!

That looks like the Monkey King suit from "Monkey King vs. Superman 2"? But wait, it doesn't seem to be Monkey King, it looks like a gorilla?

While adults were criticizing "Monkey King vs. Superman 2," children surprisingly loved it and watched it with great interest.

and many more!

It seems like Glass, one of the monsters from "King of the Monsters," is also in the poster?
wrong!

Glass seems to have 8 heads, while he seems to have 15?

???

wrong!

What? There's another guy here with a big cleaver, like Guan Yu?

This……

what's the situation?
finally……

Several parents, caught up in their children's excitement and filled with curiosity, joined in.

I bought a 12-yuan ticket and went into the screening room.

Not long after I sat down...

They noticed that the parents, one after another, with their children, reluctantly entered the movie theater.

Immediately afterwards...

They awaited the premiere of "Lord of the Beasts"...

About ten minutes later...

The screening room went dark.

Movie……

The premiere of "King of the Beasts" has begun...

Due to continuous nuclear tests and explosions in outer space, radioactive materials have contaminated the aliens' orbits, leading to environmental pollution in outer space... The long-dormant [Glasla] has awakened...

? ?
Grassra?

I grass!

The monster in King of the Monsters is called Glass!

You want to give me a Grasshopper?
(End of this chapter)