Chapter 106: “Deception” is Powerful

While Xi Yue was sharing, the real-time data on the box office rankings continued to change.

On the second day of the Spring Festival holiday, the overall market slightly declined compared to the first day, and the competition among the films became even fiercer. Eternal Night, which had originally been ranked first, fell behind The Train Home. The day’s box office champion was The Train Home, with earnings of 316 million yuan.

By now, all the new films had been in theaters for a full day, and audiences generally had a good sense of what each movie was about and how the plots unfolded.

The reputation of The Train Home was slightly better than that of Eternal Night, although the latter had a stronger cast.

On this day, the top three rankings remained the same as the first day of the holiday. However, starting from fourth place, there were changes in the rankings.

By this day, only four films had surpassed the 100 million yuan mark in box office earnings. The fourth-ranked film was— Deception.

[???]

[…How did Deception suddenly make a comeback?]

[After comparing the box office data of Deception over the two days, it seems like its screening rate even dropped a little?]

[As a movie enthusiast, I have to say—go watch Deception! You definitely won’t be disappointed!!]

[Won’t be disappointed +1.]

Unlike other films, Deception didn’t rely on an aggressive marketing campaign. Most of its buzz came from Lu Xu and Yue Hui, two winners of the Stellar Awards, and it also benefited from Li Tianhou’s unpredictable antics.

According to ticketing platform predictions, Deception’s expected first-day box office earnings were over 70 million yuan, which was considered normal. However, by the second day, the platform had revised its forecast for Deception down to just over 50 million yuan.

Yet Deception defied the odds. Its single-day box office shot past the 100 million yuan mark, reaching 112 million yuan. Although the overage wasn’t huge, at just over 12 million yuan, the fact that Deception managed to grow its daily box office by more than 30 million yuan in such a competitive Spring Festival market was truly… unusual.

Even though its total box office earnings still lagged far behind the top three films, a closer look at production costs and promotional expenses suggested that Deception would likely recover all its costs within another day.

[Does Lu Xu really know magic? Who wouldn’t want a career like his?]

[The issue isn’t just that Deception surpassed 100 million at the box office; the real question is that its earnings are still rising. From what I know, movies that can continue to grow during peak periods like the Spring Festival or summer holidays usually achieve astonishing numbers.]

Two days into the Spring Festival release window, the ratings for each film gradually became public:

Eternal Night scored 9.0, The Train Home scored 9.3, while Deception achieved an impressive 9.6.

Beneath the ratings were countless comments:

[Is Deception worth watching?]

[Definitely worth it!]

[Already watched it twice!]

Real-time searches for Deception across major platforms revealed that most discussions revolved around the plot. Some fans were deeply focused on analyzing the game mechanics within the movie, while others dug into the backstories of the participants, trying to find hidden clues. There were also dedicated analyses of the characters Shi Xinshan and Yan Huan.

Objectively, while Lu Xu and Yue Hui’s screen presence in the film was noticeable, their roles weren’t particularly extensive.

Yet the two still managed to firmly capture the audience’s attention.

Shi Xinshan’s cunning schemes and Yan Huan’s deceptive façade.

For the other participants, the game was undoubtedly a nightmare. For Yan Huan, however, it was nothing more than a playful escape. Even though he was one of the participants, he could calmly control the rhythm of the game, even cooperating with Shi Xinshan to impose “punishments.”

The film left behind countless clues, and as a result, even though Deception only earned over 70 million yuan on its first day and had fewer screenings on the second day, many viewers returned for a second watch to piece together the mysteries.

At this point, even the critics who initially focused on Eternal Night and The Train Home began to take an interest in the other films released during the Spring Festival window, with Deception naturally making their shortlist.

During this period, Deception spent relatively little on promotions. Fans searching for relevant keywords could easily find genuine, heartfelt reviews from actual viewers.

What’s more, Lu Xu had a loyal fan base.

While his fans alone couldn’t push Deception’s box office earnings into the hundreds of millions, they still supported him out of trust and admiration.

As it turned out, Lu Xu didn’t let them down.

Deception wasn’t the type of blockbuster that fans might assume would rake in money at first glance, nor was it the standard commercial genre that the film industry typically produces with popular stars for guaranteed success. However, after watching Deception in theaters, fans realized that this was undoubtedly a film that Lu Xu himself was passionate about.

Compared to the likes of Eternal Night, Deception was more niche.

Though its plot leaned toward the fantastical, it didn’t resort to empty pretentiousness or leave audiences feeling insulted by the director’s overreach—unlike the much-maligned The Swordsman. Simply put, it was a genuinely good film.

Critics also gave Deception favorable reviews.

To some extent, the film’s unexpected surge in box office performance was closely tied to its unique theme.

Most Spring Festival films leaned heavily into family-friendly themes, with storylines that were generally lighthearted and conflict kept to a minimum to align with the holiday spirit. Even when such films touched upon conflicts, they often downplayed them to maintain a harmonious tone—this was one reason why Eternal Night lost out to The Train Home at the box office.

The Train Home told the story of a protagonist overcoming numerous obstacles to finally return home. The plot was straightforward, with a single narrative arc where challenges arose intermittently but never hindered the protagonist’s unwavering goal.

Eternal Night was a story about dreams. The protagonist, determined to pursue their own aspirations, faced opposition from their family, with parents making decisions that were impossible for them to accept. Yet in the end, for the sake of a reunion, everything was set aside gently—though the protagonist’s real-world struggles resonated with many viewers, the issues were never truly resolved.

Despite the engaging plot and heartfelt performances by the actors—both of whom had standout moments in the film—the problem was left unresolved.

Turning pain into a movie without offering a solution wasn’t what the audience wanted to see.

The so-called happy ending was hard to satisfy because the parents didn’t lose anything; it was only the protagonist who had to compromise.

In contrast to all the peaceful films, Deception was “like Lu Xu arguing with someone—wild and unpredictable,” which made it stand out and catch people’s attention.

After Deception had been in theaters for three days, a significant number of fans had already gone for their third or fourth viewing. Fans, now armed with enough material, conducted in-depth analyses of the film, with several videos dedicated to analyzing the characters Chang Qing and Yan Huan.

For example, one analysis broke down the timeline: a specific year and day when Chang Qing received financial aid while studying, another day when he deceived a young girl, a day when the girl committed s**cide, Chang Qing returning to school, continuing his education, and his dark thoughts resurfacing before eventually meeting Yan Huan on a particular day.

When Shi Xinshan questioned Yan Huan about k*lling Chang Qing, Yan Huan didn’t deny it. However, after frame-by-frame analysis, fans discovered that it might not have been Yan Huan who k*lled Chang Qing after all.

The film had laid out many suspicious clues, all of which were intricately linked to every participant in the game. On the first watch of Deception, Yan Huan, who took Chang Qing’s place in the game, appeared as an outsider. He seemed like a sudden divine figure intruding on the game, playing a role that was both profound and mysterious.

But as one delves deeper, it becomes clear that Yan Huan’s presence wasn’t actually out of place—the film had subtly planted a hidden thread for him early on.

[Victory for the detail-oriented fans!]

[So impressive!!]

[Everyone’s talking about the plot, but am I the only one who thinks Yan Huan is super, super, super handsome? He’s the ultimate alpha!!]

[+1+1+1, he’s got that glamorous and clever vibe, like a game NPC!]

[There aren’t enough roles like this for Puppy. Every time Yan Huan appeared on screen, I couldn’t help but scream—smart, handsome guys with brains are incredibly attractive!]

With all these factors combined, on the third day, Deception saw another surge in its box office, reaching 147 million yuan.

By this day, Deception had risen to third place in the box office rankings, following The Train Home and Eternal Night.

The theaters adjusted the number of screenings for Deception, and for the first time, the film’s screening share surpassed 10%. Compared to the first day of the holiday, Deception not only saw an increase in box office earnings but also saw a rise in its single-theater occupancy rate.

In this Spring Festival window, Deception stood out on its own.

By this day, Deception had fully recouped its production costs, with a total box office exceeding 300 million yuan—several tens of millions more than the initial 200 million target. The key point was that, given the film’s current momentum, surpassing 500 million yuan in total box office was certain, and with enough luck, breaking the 1 billion yuan mark wasn’t out of the question.

Gao Xingchuan also renamed the “Break Even” group to the Deception crew group, and the director’s long nickname could finally be deleted.

The sudden success had the director elated, and as soon as he went online, he joyfully handed out red envelopes, with Lu Xu eagerly grabbing quite a bit of money.

[I didn’t expect to recover costs this quickly] Gao Xingchuan remarked with emotion. [It hasn’t even been three days.]

[I’m not used to such a short nickname] he added.

The box office performance of Deception certainly surprised Gao Xingchuan. His initial goal was to recoup the production costs, and his ultimate goal was to reach a box office of 500 million yuan. Yet, before he even realized it, the ultimate goal seemed almost within reach.

[Power makes one lonely.]

[Could it be that Lu Xu really is bringing me luck?] — this was a remark made by the director in a private conversation with a close friend.

There were rumors in the industry that Lu Xu had a way of “cursing” some people, but according to the principle of balance in all things, if Lu Xu was “cursing” certain individuals, he must surely be bringing good fortune to others—like the film crews and actors he worked with. Even Jin Mu, who had a failed collaboration with him the first time, quickly made a comeback on their second project together.

This was Gao Xingchuan’s first time directing such a commercial film. Previously, he had only made films with quirky styles that didn’t earn much recognition, and their box office results were negligible.

He had always thought that if the lead actors of Deception weren’t Yue Hui and Lu Xu, directing it might not even break 100 million at the box office.

The director, who wasn’t one to believe in superstitions, found himself starting to entertain such thoughts for the first time.

Friend: […Maybe it’s the group name change that did it?]

That made sense.

Gao Xingchuan then changed the group name to “Box Office Breaks 1 Billion.” If that came true, he’d truly believe he had some kind of special power.

It wasn’t just Gao Xingchuan who believed there was something mystical about Lu Xu’s presence.

The main reason was—there was simply too low a chance for an actor to have success in every project. Not to mention the dismal failure of Zhang Che, even Qiao Mengyao’s first foray into the film industry didn’t recoup its costs. While Deception’s box office wasn’t earth-shattering and couldn’t compete with The Train Home’s nearly 1 billion, it was undeniable that Deception had a low production cost!

[Metaphysics—Lu Xu’s mystical influence strikes again.]

[I’m starting to suspect that Lu Xu isn’t a dog spirit, but a spring spirit, and anyone who says bad things about him gets hit with a rebound.]

[LMAO, I actually think so too.]

[Damn, did you see the interview with Yue Hui and Lu Xu? Deception is based on a profit-sharing contract… There were people who laughed at them saying the film wouldn’t make much at the box office, and now I can’t help but start calculating how much they’re going to earn.]

In the film industry, only a few top-tier actors have the privilege of earning a share of the box office. Often, these actors hold multiple roles, like producer or director. But for most actors, it’s safer to just earn a set salary, as the competition in the industry is fierce and the audience’s tastes are difficult to predict.

Deception had already recouped its costs and made several tens of millions in profit. Lu Xu and Yue Hui could now collect their salaries, and with each extra day the film stayed in theaters, they were essentially earning more for free—theaters would never stop screening Deception.

At this point, Deception had become the highest-value film in the Spring Festival lineup. For every 1% of screen share, Deception attracted the largest number of viewers and earned the most at the box office.

On its fourth day of release, Deception’s daily box office had once again exceeded 100 million yuan.

It was just 24.11 million yuan behind Eternal Night, which held second place.

[Deception is so powerful!]

[Why does it feel like I’m witnessing a miracle?]

[I bet Deception will surpass Eternal Night tomorrow!]

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