Chapter 581 - 572: Opening Day Box Office Takes Off

Chapter 581: Chapter 572: Opening Day Box Office Takes Off

At this moment, the landlady from my old house in the suburbs of Jiang City was also stunned. During the New Year, having a single widow go see your man? I have to say, the landlady felt a bit underestimated.

She really didn’t treat herself as an outsider. However, she agreed in the end, saying it was too late today, but she’d go check it out tomorrow.

After the two women teased each other for a while, they finally hung up the phone.

"Is it Shen Yi? What’s wrong with Su Qing?" After the landlady hung up the phone, Mother Wen, who was beside her, asked.

At the moment, during the New Year, the Wen family was celebrating back in their old home. Even Wen Jingqi’s family was there, making it quite lively with three generations of the family together, creating a harmonious atmosphere, making the two elders smile continuously these days.

Upon hearing that Shen Yi called and seemed quite worried about Su Qing, Mother Wen couldn’t help but interject.

"It’s nothing really. Apparently, Su Qing is feeling down. Shen Yi is concerned. She’s out of town and can’t come back, so she asked me to check in. Young folks these days, when they’re just starting to date, they’re all over each other, making a fuss about everything. Who doesn’t have a bad mood now and then?" Wen Nanqing remarked nonchalantly with a smile.

Upon hearing this, Wen Jingqi couldn’t help but speak up: "Oh? Speaking of which, Su Qing called me yesterday too, saying he ran into some trouble over there and asked me to find someone to help resolve it."

This surprised Old Master Wen, who quickly asked, "What kind of trouble could it be that Su Qing would call you? This child doesn’t seem like someone who would easily ask for help."

Wen Jingqi didn’t hide anything and briefly recounted the phone conversation he had with Su Qing yesterday, and instantly pulled out the information Su Qing had sent him to show his dad.

After listening, Old Master Wen took another look and asked, "How’s the investigation going?"

"Uh... I haven’t started investigating yet. Mainly because, you know, it’s the New Year, so many people are off work. I thought I’d look into it after I get back. But judging from the information, the opposition seems pretty average. It shouldn’t be a big deal."

Old Master Wen nodded: "That’s a reasonable thought. However, this is the first time Su Qing has asked you for a favor, so you should pay extra attention. Coincidentally, your sister is going back tomorrow, so you should go with her and see if there’s anything you can do to help. You young people should socialize more. We elders won’t live forever. We can’t always be there to help you. Friendships you cultivate yourself are true friendships; otherwise, they’re just acquaintances."

Faced with his father’s advice, Wen Jingqi nodded repeatedly. Although he was already an adult, he still dared not argue with his elders.

"Alright then, I’ll go with Xiaoqing tomorrow to take a look."

Meanwhile, cinemas in cities across the country were bustling these days, with one Spring Festival film being released after another.

From the first day to the seventh day of the Lunar New Year, a total of seven films were released. "Wandering Earth" ranked third. The first day featured a comedy by Happy Mahua, although it wasn’t very funny, and the comedy effect was average. But still, it achieved decent box office results on the first day.

On the second day, the third installment of the major IP "Detective Tang" was released, a popular contender for the box office champion of this year’s Spring Festival, a suspenseful comedy with lots to offer.

Then there’s the annual "Boonie Bears" movie, a school film about the pains of youth, and "The Ex" about urban youths breaking up and getting back together.

"Wandering Earth" was the only hard sci-fi film among them and also the largest sci-fi investment in recent years.

Previously, Chinese sci-fi films were either lacking or were soft science fiction with decent word of mouth, small investments, and decent box office outcomes.

But this hard sci-fi style was being attempted for the first time in recent years. The post-apocalyptic world, spaceships, and exoskeleton mechas in the trailer were very captivating.

It’s the New Year, everyone has time and a bit of spare cash. Plus, Director Wang Fan didn’t return home during the New Year, promoting offline nationwide and advertising wildly online, raising public expectations for this film significantly.

So on the third day of the Lunar New Year, many people eagerly awaited the evening premiere. When the time arrived, cinema-goers all over the country flocked into theaters and took their seats.

Among them were not only large numbers of regular audience members but also fans of the original novel and a new type of online professional—film critics, similar to Su Qing’s initial short video commentaries and movie explanations.

Many people wanted to see how the film turned out and then make a video to increase their following and video views.

Soon, the crowd was captivated by the original author’s imagination. The most surprising part was that the special effects were not subpar at all, which was a delightful surprise for the audience.

It’s essential to know that previous domestic sci-fi movies were similar to domestic horror films—horror films without ghosts and sci-fi films without sci-fi elements.

But "Wandering Earth" was different. The special effects were fantastic, with all sorts of space stations and post-apocalyptic cities. These effects brought remarkable visual impact.

The key was that the story’s logic was tight, with hints of humor and affection, but mostly sacrifice. Especially seeing the moment when the protagonist’s son discovered the final plan as the Earth faced despair, and rescue teams speaking different languages turned their vehicles around, was shockingly poignant for countless cinema-goers.

The film ended with Liu Peiqiang piloting the space station to ignite Jupiter, bringing life back to Earth.

When the film concluded, many audience members stayed, not leaving immediately. A good film resonates deeply, creating a sense of awe.

China had finally produced such a high-caliber hard sci-fi movie, exciting countless film critics, media movie commentators, and news media staff.

They knew a big news story was here, and it had to be captured swiftly.

From the first screening at 5 PM, session followed session, until the last one ended at 11 PM.

Before midnight, all sorts of news about the quality of "Wandering Earth" started to appear online.

Critics, media movie commentators, and media news were all abuzz; though not exhaustive, the flood of positive reviews was overwhelming.

Countless people spread the word, and many even left comments under Su Qing’s video.

"Hey, wake up Qing, the movie you invested in hit big!"

"This is what sci-fi should be. Thanks to Qing’s investment, we got to see such an amazing sci-fi movie."

"I feel like ’Wandering Earth’ is going to be a breakout hit!"

"That’s for sure, if this movie doesn’t hit big, then the domestic film industry is doomed."

"Exactly, this is way better than that comedy with less comedic density than my wallet."

"Damn, I was too engrossed while watching the movie and didn’t even pay much attention. I’ll definitely watch it again tomorrow!"

"I’m going too, let’s go together!"

"Damn, is it really that good? I’ll check it out tomorrow."

"In just a short while, I’ve seen tons of video recommendations for this movie. Looks like the movie’s a hit, and Qing is going to be a billionaire?"

"He was already a billionaire, okay? An eighty million investment—damn, Qing, you’re really something."

"Grinding my teeth in envy!"

However, Su Qing naturally didn’t know any of this because he had long entered a deep sleep.

But the excitement wasn’t limited to just these people. Director Wang Fan and his team, who didn’t return home for the New Year, were conducting offline promotions and had already reached Shanghai.

Among the cast, apart from Uncle Da being hospitalized, almost everyone was present. Even Wu Jing was dragged by the director to promote the film. After all, this was a do-or-die effort for the entire crew.

After midnight, the first day’s box office data came out.

"It’s a hit, it’s a hit!"

Looking at the results posted on the screen, the first day’s box office had already reached 190 million, which far exceeded everyone’s expectations.

Director Wang Fan even picked up the assistant director beside him and shouted, as the entire promotional crew cheered.

And since the word of mouth had already started spreading, a boom was expected to follow.

"Director, treat us, director, treat us"

Wu Jing shouted from behind the crowd, and with each new shout, the entire room echoed with calls for Director Wang to treat them.

Faced with this, Director Wang cleared the tense atmosphere of the past days with a wave of his hand: "Treat it is; no one goes home sober tonight!"

"Whoo~~"

Amidst the cheers of everyone, the months of hard work, through trials and tribulations, finally reaped a good harvest.

After the excitement, Director Wang Fan contemplated calling Su Qing, the great benefactor of this film, to share the good news but decided against it upon checking the time, choosing to bother him tomorrow instead—not interrupting someone’s rest, after all?

In the latter half of the night, the first day’s box office of "Wandering Earth" was revealed by the media, completely overshadowing the previous two films and becoming the dark horse of the year’s Spring Festival box office champion.

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