Reborn in the Hong Kong entertainment industry in the 1980s

"The Inspector Wears Skirts" was unstoppable, with its box office exceeding the combined box office of the second to tenth ranked films, directly making other films lose their competitiveness.

With one dominant player, all other films released at the same time—flopped!

The reason why other films flopped so badly, besides Hu Xiaoxiao's box office influence and the high quality of the films, is that there is another very important reason.

In the film industry, when a promising subject matter emerges, a huge number of people immediately jump on the bandwagon, all hoping to make a quick buck. However, this approach often kills a potentially great subject matter, leaving no one making any money.

Once audiences see a plethora of films with similar themes, and then compare them to Hu Xiaoxiao's films, which are both novel and high-quality, it's obvious which to choose. Audiences have long been fed up with all the repetitive formulas.

The major film companies turned green with envy when they saw the box office figures of their films.

Some people even started thinking about copying the "Inspector Wears Skirts" theme again. However, after searching the entire film industry, no one but Hu Xiaoxiao could make a film about "Inspector Wears Skirts." Other actresses were neither as good at fighting nor as beautiful as Hu Xiaoxiao. If they tried to make the film, they would only end up with a poor imitation, and the box office would teach them a lesson once again.

"Shengshi Entertainment, it seems we underestimated them before." Fang Jing, the boss of Hongguang Film Company, was so heartbroken that he couldn't even eat his meal after seeing his carefully produced film flop so badly.

"There's nothing we can do. Shengshi Entertainment has a good theme, and Hu Xiaoxiao is the lead actress. Although our film is well-made, the theme has been popular for several years, and the audience is tired of it," the producer said with a wry smile.

Fang Jing suddenly flew into a rage and kicked the producer to the ground. "Knowing that the audience was tired of the same old thing, why did you still make it? You didn't say anything before you made it, and now that it's flopped after release, you're telling me it's because of audience fatigue? Are you trying to make a fool of me? Shengshi Entertainment can come up with new themes, why don't you?"

The producer dared not retort, and could only endure the pain and get up, not daring to say a word that this film was clearly Fang Jing's attempt to promote his young lover.

To create a new theme?

It's easier said than done. Who doesn't want to make a new film? Who doesn't want to be unique? But everyone knows how easy it is for a new film to flop. Hundreds of films are released every year, with plenty of new themes, and what's the result? They flop so badly that even their own mothers don't recognize them.

Even superstars with box office appeal are very cautious about new themes, and very few dare to touch them.

But the producer could only swallow these words. Fang Jing wanted to vent his anger, not to hear an explanation. Did Fang Jing not know these things? But having lost a lot of money, his anger flared up, and as the underling, it was only right to kick his boss a few times.

Some were happy, while others were sad. Many other film companies were just as annoyed as the boss of Hongguang Film Company, especially Qilin Film Company. The big boss directly called in the general manager of Shanhai Cinema and gave him a good scolding.

"Were you raised on shit, or is your brain filled with shit? Your own cinema won't screen your own movies, but you'll screen Shengshi's? Is Shengshi your father or your mother?"

"Movie theaters aren't opened during prosperous times!" This statement came not only from the owner of Shanhai Cinema Chain, but also from the owners of other film companies.

Meanwhile, after "The Inspector Wears Skirts" broke box office records and made a fortune, Hu Xiaoxiao kept her promise and gave each of the main cast and crew a big red envelope, with almost everyone receiving one.

At the same time, she also received a congratulatory call from Luo Cheng: "Ms. Hu, congratulations! The movie is a huge success. It's making everyone envious."

Hu Xiaoxiao said politely, "Mr. Luo, you are too kind. Shengshi is just starting out in the industry and is far behind big companies like Starlight Films. We will need Mr. Luo's help in the future."

"No, no, compared to Shengshi, Xingguang is far inferior. This time, Xingguang lost a lot of money on the movie that was released in the same period as yours," Luo Cheng said with a laugh on the other end of the phone.

Such a greedy person, even after losing a fortune, is still smiling. Hu Xiaoxiao immediately sensed something was wrong and said, "I heard that Mr. Luo has acquired another property. Mr. Luo's fortune seems to be getting better and better, it's truly enviable. No wonder he has such a lucky face. I think Mr. Luo's wealth will only increase further in the future..."

Hu Xiaoxiao managed to coax Luo Cheng, and his smile finally became more genuine.

After hanging up the phone, Hu Xiaoxiao went to Huang Yuliang's office and asked what films were released around the same time as "Baogang Inspector Wears Skirts" and which companies they came from.

Huang Yuliang was also looking at this information, so he gave Hu Xiaoxiao a copy of the information. “There is still room for improvement in the box office of ‘Baogang Inspector Flower’. I wanted to talk to various cinema chains about extending the deadline, but the three major cinema chains refused, saying that they had already arranged new movies and could not spare the time.”

After that, Huang Yuliang only negotiated with some small cinemas to extend the release date for "The Inspector Wears Skirts".

Huang Yuliang then gave Hu Xiaoxiao another document, which listed the films released by major cinema chains after "Baogang Inspector Wears Skirts": "I checked, and there were no big films to be released last month. They were all low-budget films that were likely to flop at the box office."

After reviewing the materials in her hand, Hu Xiaoxiao realized that it was unfortunate that the release date she had chosen was during the winter break, and there were more than a dozen movies being released at the same time as "Baogang Inspector Wears Skirts," all of which were produced by major companies.

Not only are there films produced by Starlight Films under Luo Cheng's name, but also films from Jincan Films, Ji's Films, and one film from Qilin Films.

Hu Xiaoxiao's focus was on a film produced by Qilin Company. It had a large cast and a substantial investment. Most importantly, Qilin Company and Shanhai Cinema Line were owned by the same person, just like Ji's Cinema Line and Ji's Films.

The difference is that Ji's Films has been partially abandoned in recent years, with Ji Sheng shifting his focus to television stations, where revenue far exceeds that of films. Furthermore, Ji Sheng's cinemas generate substantial rental income, so the failure of Ji's Films has little impact on him, as it was an industry he was already planning to abandon.

Seeing that Hu Xiaoxiao was paying attention to Qilin Company, Huang Yuliang said, "After Shan Hai removed 'Baogang Overlord Flower' from its platform, it re-scheduled a large number of screenings for Qilin Company's movies, but the market response to this movie was not good. The subject matter was old, the formula was outdated, and the audience did not buy it."

"No wonder Luo Sheng sounded so sour when he called," Hu Xiaoxiao laughed. "I never expected that a film from Shengshi Films would beat the films from other film companies so badly."

Huang Yuliang was very satisfied with Hu Xiaoxiao's earning power. She truly lived up to her reputation as the company's cash cow, not only generating huge box office revenue but also boosting the careers of several of the company's artists, giving newcomers instant recognition and buzz. "We were also lucky. Several award-winning actors and comedy stars chose to focus their films on the upcoming Spring Festival season, making our competition too weak."