Chapter 173: Continuing the Data
Stealing box office revenue had become a common occurrence in modern cinema chains. Every production team used all sorts of tricks to fight for higher box office numbers—whether through legitimate means or by underhanded tactics. Regardless of how the numbers were obtained, as long as the box office figures increased, the film crew would look better and have a better chance of securing more screenings.
Simply put, except for the competing film crews that suffered losses, the practice was highly beneficial for one’s own team.
It was like lice growing on an enemy’s head—it was always a satisfying sight.
This time, the Soaring Ambition production team stepped forward, claiming to have solid evidence that Uncertain Return had stolen their box office revenue.
The reasoning was simple: at a particular cinema chain, a screening was clearly supposed to be for Soaring Ambition, yet the movie tickets printed out displayed the title Uncertain Return.
[Our crew has worked hard enough to secure some box office numbers, right? If a little is stolen here and a little there, how are we supposed to survive?]
During this Chinese New Year release period, regardless of whether the box office champion ended up being Uncertain Return or Fearless Life, it was clear that Soaring Ambition had no place in the competition. Seeing the situation, the Soaring Ambition team decided to go all in, completely abandoning any reservations.
Not only did Soaring Ambition expose evidence of Uncertain Return stealing their box office, but they also did Fearless Life a favor by revealing proof that cinema staff had tampered with its film title.
[You’re already leading in screenings—can you at least make it look less obvious?]
On its third day, Uncertain Return had a screening rate of 28.9%. Meanwhile, ever since the scandal involving its lead actor Lu Ming broke out, Soaring Ambition’s screenings had dropped to just 8.2%, not even a fraction of Uncertain Return’s.
Unlike Fearless Life, which had an exceptionally loyal audience, Soaring Ambition had to fight tooth and nail to achieve 80 million yuan in box office revenue with only 8.2% of the screenings—this alone was proof of the team’s relentless effort.
However, this still couldn’t stop Soaring Ambition from suffering a massive loss.
The Soaring Ambition production team only suspected Uncertain Return of foul play. Even if they set aside the factor of Liu Rennong, there had already been rumors of competitors self-destructing when the director of Uncertain Return released his previous film.
Every time, it was the opponent that had an incident. Was Uncertain Return some kind of explosive nut from Plants vs. Zombies?
Although Soaring Ambition laid out the evidence, it was unfortunate that, despite their outrage—with both the director and screenwriter repeatedly voicing their indignation—this issue held little weight for ordinary viewers. Box office manipulation didn’t really affect their choice of what to watch.
Many audience members were unfamiliar with the concept of box office theft and lacked the awareness to be concerned about it.
The Fearless Life production team also refrained from making any official statement. After all, the evidence provided by Soaring Ambition only implicated a specific cinema chain, and the theater management would conduct its own investigation.
Unless Uncertain Return was bold enough to steal more box office revenue than Fearless Life, there was no real cause for escalation.
Anyone with a discerning eye could see that, despite a 10% difference in screening rates, Fearless Life was only 3 million yuan behind Uncertain Return in total box office earnings. The next day, the screening rate difference between the two films was set to be less than 10%. Even if the original scheduling remained unchanged, Fearless Life was bound to surpass Uncertain Return.
That didn’t stop the Soaring Ambition crew from continuing to attack Uncertain Return.
Accusing Uncertain Return of box office theft was just the beginning. Soon after, netizens unearthed evidence of the film’s lead actor displaying double standards toward domestic and international fans. On top of that, it was revealed that Miao Zhi had repeatedly lobbied for more screenings for Fearless Life, yet the theater chains still allocated them to Uncertain Return instead.
Uncertain Return secured such a high number of screenings simply because the cinema chains earned more profit from it.
[Just wait and see. Right now, Uncertain Return looks like it has everything under control, but since the film has already been made, no matter how many discounts they offer, the production team will eventually have to turn a profit.]
No one knew what kind of contract Uncertain Return had signed with the theaters, but one thing was clear—there was definitely something shady about its screening rate.
[Let me put it this way: Miao Zhi and Liu Rennong are mortal enemies. Liu Rennong would never allow Fearless Life to surpass Uncertain Return in screenings.]
On the third day of the Chinese New Year release period, the biggest point of interest for moviegoers following the box office race was one thing—when would Fearless Life overtake Uncertain Return?
That same day, review scores for the holiday films started rolling in.
The first film to receive a rating was Fearless Life. As netizens put it, Fearless Life presented Bai Qianshan’s life with honesty and sincerity. The production team told his story well, and with that came the courage to face everything head-on.
Fearless Life debuted with an astonishing score of 9.7.
The second film to receive a rating was Soaring Ambition, which landed at 9.0. Given the scandal surrounding Lu Ming’s multiple affairs and infidelity, securing this score was no small feat.
[…It’s not that I want to support Lu Ming. I just feel bad for the director, the screenwriter, and the rest of the cast. Everyone is paying the price for Lu Ming’s actions.]
Uncertain Return’s score was released later, and it wasn’t particularly high. Like Soaring Ambition, it initially received a 9.0, but before long, the rating dropped to 8.9.
The most upvoted comment about Uncertain Return summed it up perfectly—”It feels like this movie was trying to say something, but at the same time, it feels like it said nothing at all. I finished watching it, but it feels like I never really watched anything.”
[Uncertain Return’s rating didn’t even surpass Soaring Ambition?]
[I’m shocked.]
[Uh… this is awkward.]
[No worries, a low rating doesn’t matter—they’ve got the screenings!]
[Exactly. As long as the screening rate is high, who cares what the audience thinks? Who cares which film they actually support? The production team just needs to sit back and let their overwhelming screening advantage crush everything.]
In a way, Uncertain Return’s near-unshakable hold on screenings was a double-edged sword for its production team.
During this release period, Fearless Life was objectively a higher-quality film with stronger word-of-mouth—a fact widely acknowledged by audiences.
For fans of Fearless Life, the film’s ability to generate high box office numbers despite its low screening rate was also a validation of their own taste.
Under normal circumstances, the movie with the better reputation and stronger earnings potential should receive more screenings. Viewers naturally wanted Fearless Life to climb higher in both revenue and rankings.
Yet Uncertain Return continued to dominate the screening schedule.
The problem was, its quality clearly lagged behind Fearless Life.
The audience was rooting for Fearless Life, but more than that, they were rooting for fairness.
Why did Uncertain Return deserve more screenings?
At this point, Uncertain Return had clearly become the “evil dragon,” while Fearless Life was the brave hero challenging it.
The more Uncertain Return held onto its dominant screening rate—or if there was even a hint of box office manipulation—the more audiences were driven toward Fearless Life.
[Uncertain Return doesn’t need viewers anyway—it has the theater chains backing it up.]
↑ By the time Uncertain Return’s production team realized just how damaging this perception was, the situation was already beyond saving.
On the third day, at exactly 10 a.m., Fearless Life surpassed Uncertain Return in daily box office earnings.
This happened even earlier than industry predictions—especially considering that Uncertain Return had the higher screening rate.
Not only did Fearless Life gain more screenings, but it also secured more prime-time showings than it had on the previous day.
After 10 a.m., Fearless Life’s earnings grew at a much faster rate than Uncertain Return’s. While it wasn’t an explosive surge, by a certain point in the afternoon, Fearless Life had reached 190 million yuan, while Uncertain Return was sitting at just 90 million.
A staggering gap of 100 million yuan.
[Holy crap! That’s insane!!]
[Incredible! On the first day, Fearless Life had only half the screening rate of Uncertain Return, yet the latter only managed to earn a little over 100 million more.]
[Fearless Life’s box office efficiency is unbeatable. It’s already at 800 million—absolutely dominant!]
The daily box office rankings shifted accordingly, while in the overall Spring Festival box office rankings, Uncertain Return still held the top spot, having surpassed 900 million in total earnings. However, with Fearless Life rapidly closing the gap, the difference between the two films had shrunk to just over 100 million.
[I feel like Fearless Life is about to take the crown as the Spring Festival box office champion.]
[Fearless Life’s only flaw was its low screening rate. If it had Uncertain Return’s level of distribution, even if it didn’t reach 2 billion, 1.5 billion would’ve been guaranteed.]
When the day’s final box office numbers were released, they were even more shocking than expected—despite marketing accounts providing real-time updates throughout the day, the widening gap between Uncertain Return and Fearless Life still caught many off guard.
Daily Box Office Rankings:
1st place: Fearless Life – 362 million yuan
2nd place: Uncertain Return – 169 million yuan
After noon, Uncertain Return’s growth rate slowed even further, causing the gap between the two films to widen even more.
In terms of total box office revenue, Fearless Life had unexpectedly surpassed Uncertain Return, reaching over 1 billion yuan, while the latter had yet to exceed the 1 billion mark.
Three days! Over 1 billion at the box office!
Although Fearless Life was still far from the three-day box office record for a Spring Festival release, given that its screening rate had remained below 20% on both its first and second days, this achievement was already remarkable.
[Before we even realized it… it’s the box office champion of the season!]
[Fearless Life’s box office projections have been raised again. The highest estimate now stands at 3 billion.]
[Today’s box office exceeded yesterday’s! If screenings continue to increase, could it break 400 million in a single day?]
“It all depends on how many more screenings the theaters are willing to allocate.”
From the perspective of moviegoers, raising Fearless Life’s screening rate to 30% seemed entirely reasonable. However, since this was the Spring Festival season, securing 30% of screenings was almost as difficult as reaching the heavens.
Fans could only dare to dream.
Under normal circumstances, audiences didn’t pay much attention to a film’s screening rate. After all, final box office results ultimately depended on a movie’s quality—if a film failed to perform, its screenings would naturally be reduced.
But this year, Uncertain Return’s excessive screening advantage had sparked widespread frustration.
On the fourth day of the Spring Festival season, Fearless Life finally secured its highest screening rate since its release—a solid 27.4%.
However, Uncertain Return still held 25.6%.
This time, even before Fearless Life’s production team could voice any complaints, other film crews began protesting.
On the first day of the Spring Festival season, Uncertain Return and Soaring Ambition had collectively taken 51% of all screenings. Both films were big-budget productions with star-studded casts, so the other film crews had grudgingly accepted it—they had no choice, after all. Competition was competition.
By the fourth day, Fearless Life and Uncertain Return had shockingly taken up a total of 53% of all screenings. In other words, despite all their efforts over the past three days, the other film crews had seen their average screening rates drop instead of rising.
Fearless Life deserved its increased screenings—it was pulling in box office revenue, and its per-theater earnings were high.
But Uncertain Return?
On what grounds?
Forget Soaring Ambition—even the gap between Countdown 18 and Uncertain Return wasn’t that significant.
Yet Uncertain Return had secured 25.6% of all screenings. And Countdown 18?
It was stuck at just 11.7%!
The production team could only laugh in disbelief at these numbers.
They had finally seen some box office growth, and audience reception was gradually improving. The entire crew had been looking forward to an increase in screenings—enough to not only break even but maybe even turn a decent profit.
And then Uncertain Return came along and ruined everything.
Was Uncertain Return the only film allowed to thrive?
The worst part was that Uncertain Return didn’t even deserve its dominance. It was just squatting on prime screening slots while failing to deliver.
Who wouldn’t be furious at that?
