Chapter 199: Box Office Explosion
At noon, Lu Xu, the director, and Li Yan were in the same car, rushing non-stop to the next roadshow venue. Meanwhile, Li Yan sent a screenshot of the real-time box office figures in their group chat.
On the box office rankings, Observing the Stars at Night was unsurprisingly far ahead, being the only film on the list that had surpassed 200 million in earnings.
“It’s already this much?” Lu Xu asked in surprise.
“Do you have some kind of misunderstanding about the Spring Festival box office?” Li Yan glanced at him. “With this screening schedule, having such numbers is quite normal.”
Lu Xu: “……”
To him, it actually wasn’t normal at all.
He had never experienced the sensation of a film’s box office earnings soaring past 200 million in a flash.
Whether it was Deception or Fearless Life, their first-day box office numbers had been rather average—after all, their screening slots were what they were. As for Feather of Youth and Reverse City, their release periods were nowhere near as advantageous as the Spring Festival season.
It was a sad story.
And while their car was on the way to the roadshow venue, the real-time box office updated again—another 10 million added.
Trailing behind Observing the Stars at Night was the comedy film Haha Wula, which had just broken past 90 million. This movie hadn’t been expensive to produce and was filled with melodramatic elements. Lu Xu had seen people criticizing it as “crude and tacky,” but that didn’t stop the audience from loving it.
Following that was the war film The First Gun. To be honest, its box office numbers were a bit unexpected for Lu Xu. He had thought it should have performed even better—after all, being a war movie, its production costs certainly weren’t cheap.
“The director’s last movie had a bad reputation,” Li Yan whispered to Lu Xu. “People online are calling it a scam film.”
“Well, the box office numbers are still high. As long as investors see those figures, they’ll be willing to fund him,” Lu Xu replied.
Although The First Gun was set against the backdrop of a crucial turning point in a particular war, its investment was not as massive as the outside world had assumed. However, during this Spring Festival season, it was the second most expensive film to produce after Observing the Stars at Night. At the current box office trajectory, there was no way it would recoup its costs.
Despite having more screenings than Haha Wula, The First Gun had earned less than half of the latter’s box office.
Stories like this were not uncommon during the Spring Festival season.
…
By the time the Observing the Stars at Night crew arrived at the cinema, the entire place—both upstairs and downstairs—was packed with moviegoers. The roads were particularly congested due to the holiday season, so they had to get out of the car and jog for a short distance.
[Running puppy.jpg]
[I heard Lu Xu is currently filming a movie where the protagonist is insanely handsome and has an incredible physique. Just look at those muscles—definitely the result of training.]
Netizens: “……”
What kind of X-ray vision did they have to be able to see Lu Xu’s muscles through his thick down jacket?
Maybe it wasn’t X-ray vision at all—just the eight-hundred-meter-thick filter of a devoted fan.
As they walked up the short flight of stairs inside the cinema, the entire venue was filled with fans calling out their names. With every floor they climbed, Lu Xu and Li Yan would wave and greet the fans. In no time, Weibo’s real-time feed was flooded with videos of the two actors interacting with their supporters.
[These two have such a great dynamic—it’s like seeing Wei Qingfang and Zhang Bannu from the movie in real life.]
[My city is the next stop for the ‘puppy’ tomorrow! Got my ticket, and I couldn’t be happier!]
[Hehehe, interactions + wholesome moments!]
The roadshow was all about engaging with the audience and sharing behind-the-scenes details about the film. Lu Xu talked about the preparations the production team had made before inviting him to join, shared some interesting moments from the filming process, and even took the opportunity to praise the director and his co-stars.
Lu Xu started things off, showering praise nonstop at the beginning. Soon after, Yue Chen and Li Yan joined in, returning the favor by praising him just as enthusiastically. The director, in particular, repeatedly emphasized how handsome Lu Xu was and how perfectly he fit the role of Wei Qingfang.
He stressed this point several times, to the extent that Lu Xu started feeling a little embarrassed.
[I’m dying laughing—just how deep is the director’s obsession with handsome men? Was he traumatized by ugly people or something?]
[Upstairs, you might actually be onto something. There was a report before saying that Director Yue Chen forcibly replaced an actor because they were ‘ugly,’ but to this day, no one knows who that actor was.]
Li Yan then shared his experience of acting alongside Lu Xu, and the main theme was—unsurprisingly—praise. “The scenes between Wei Qingfang and Zhang Bannu often passed in a single take. Many viewers said they enjoyed watching them, and I have to say, I really enjoyed filming them too.”
On the big screen, a scene of Wei Qingfang and Zhang Bannu rushing toward their final mission played, sending the audience into a frenzy of screams.
At that moment, Yue Chen revealed a subtle detail—something that a casual viewer might not have noticed unless they had been paying close attention.
At the beginning of the film, when Wei Qingfang was possessed by a demonic force, Zhang Bannu—despite acting alongside him—had actually been wary of him. He had secretly placed a restriction on Wei Qingfang.
But when Zhang Bannu made up his mind to transform into a Kunpeng, he burned away that restriction—signifying that, whether Wei Qingfang was a demon or a human, he was free in Zhang Bannu’s eyes.
[Wait, that was in the movie?]
[AAAAHHH! No wonder I felt something was off! There was a mark on the back of Wei Qingfang’s neck—I thought it was left by the demonic force and was worried he’d turn into a demon later.]
[So it was Zhang Bannu all along… sigh… sigh…]
The detail Yue Chen revealed at the roadshow quickly made its way onto the trending topics list.
For this year’s Spring Festival season, the production team had spent a significant amount on marketing. With a big-budget film, heavy promotion was inevitable. Observing the trends, Lu Xu noticed that Observing the Stars at Night had made it onto multiple trending topics in just one day.
Fortunately, the audience’s feedback under the trending posts was overwhelmingly positive.
[Wait, it was Zhang Bannu who placed the restriction?!]
[Don’t love too hard, brother.]
[Sigh… It’s clear that both Zhang Bannu and Wei Qingfang are rational to the extreme, but they were willing to show each other a rare moment of softness. This is the ultimate display of brotherhood.]
[I can only say that the film already gave them the best possible ending. They made the most logical choice, and it was the right one.]
By evening, discussions about Observing the Stars at Night had intensified. The production team seized the opportunity to release behind-the-scenes footage, including concept art and references for the demonic creatures.
Before filming began, the team had put in an immense amount of preparation—something Yue Chen took great pride in.
[So much attention to detail!]
[Go watch Observing the Stars at Night! You won’t regret it—10/10 for visuals, 10/10 for the story, 10/10 for cinematography. It feels like traveling through the Three Realms with the protagonists. Even the horror elements are on point—not gross, just thrilling! Go watch it!]
[+1, +1!]
The more heated the audience discussions became, the more the box office numbers soared. Instead of slowing down in the evening, Observing the Stars at Night’ ticket sales only accelerated.
300 million, 400 million… The production team had initially estimated the film’s box office total to be around 500 million. But by the end of the day, the single-day box office growth alone had surpassed 600 million.
Including the 250 million from presales, the total box office revenue had skyrocketed to 850 million.
[Spring Festival Box Office Booms: Observing the Stars at Night Hits 850 million on Opening Day, Best Performance in Five Years!]
[Spring Festival’s First Big Explosion!”
[Spring Festival Box Office Hits 1.6 Billion on Day One!]
Within the industry, especially among cinema operators, the biggest concern had been whether Observing the Stars at Night alone could drive the overall Spring Festival box office. However, the results proved that not only did the film boost sales, but it also pushed the total first-day box office beyond 1.6 billion—making it the best Spring Festival performance in years.
[Unbelievable strength!!]
[Do you think it can break 1.2 billion tomorrow? I feel like it could go even higher!]
[Both are fantasy blockbusters—just look at Observing the Stars at Night, then look at Sanzu River. Back when Sanzu River tried to use Lu Xu for hype and failed, they lashed out by spreading a bunch of rumors about him. Later, when Lu Xu took on Observing the Stars at Night, some people even mocked him for ‘falling off’.]
[LOL, if 850 million on opening day is ‘falling off,’ then please, let my little puppy ‘fall off’ like this every day!]
[850 million! Hell yeah! I’m betting on Observing the Stars at Night breaking 4 billion total! This opening-day number really inspires confidence!]
In the past few years, perhaps due to declining interest in foreign blockbusters, the domestic box office had been dominated by local films. This had led to an influx of low-quality productions with terrible reviews. As a result, the film market had cooled significantly, and it had been a long time since a movie had surpassed 100 million on its opening day. Even films reaching 850 million on day one—like Observing the Stars at Night—were rare.
What made this even more impressive was that Observing the Stars at Night hadn’t even ranked at the top in presales. Instead, its same-day ticket sales had been the real driving force.
On the second day, Lu Xu and the rest of the team were still tirelessly running from city to city for roadshows, moving from C City to their next destination. The production team had considered splitting up Lu Xu and Li Yan for separate roadshow events, but in the end, it was clear that having the whole cast together generated much stronger enthusiasm from the audience.
Both Li Yan and Lu Xu were well-respected actors, and Observing the Stars at Night could not have achieved its box office success without both of them.
As the film’s box office continued to break records, several industry insiders spoke out:
[People keep saying audiences don’t want to watch movies anymore. Then why are Observing the Stars at Night and Fearless Life still drawing viewers?]
[Some films get their screenings guaranteed and still only make 400 million on opening day, while others get no special treatment yet double that number. Why does audience preference seem to be the complete opposite of what some industry players expect?]
On the second day, Observing the Stars at Night continued to deliver astonishing numbers—its drop in revenue was surprisingly low, with a single-day total of 490 million.
Typically, the second-day earnings of a commercial blockbuster would drop by at least half compared to its opening day, but Observing the Stars at Night had an almost terrifying retention rate.
[…How is this even possible? Is Observing the Stars at Night really that good?]
[YES, IT IS!!!!]
In reality, the film’s strong second-day performance was directly linked to its explosive first-day success.
Audiences loved to follow trending films—the hotter the movie, the more people wanted to see it. By this point, Observing the Stars at Night had already built a solid reputation.
Beyond that, the movie’s high box office numbers were also fueled by enthusiastic word-of-mouth recommendations.
In nearly every discussion about the Spring Festival movie season, there were countless viewers passionately promoting Observing the Stars at Night.
Film critic “Movie Diary” analyzed Observing the Stars at Night from multiple perspectives and wrote:
[Most audiences are captivated by Observing the Stars at Night’ visual effects, but for me, the story itself is what truly draws me in.
[Though both focus on demon vanquishing, Observing the Stars at Night planted an intriguing narrative seed early on. While the demon-slaying serves as the main storyline, the friendship between Wei Qingfang and Zhang Bannu runs parallel to it. In fact, if the latter hadn’t been portrayed with such depth and nuance, the former would have been nothing more than a cold, mechanical tale.
[Even though the film didn’t dedicate extensive screen time to emotional storytelling—using only sparse yet precise strokes—it still set Observing the Stars at Night apart from other films, making it far more engaging. The director and screenwriter put real effort into developing the emotional depth of the characters, and audiences naturally responded to that. Moreover, this emotional depth isn’t limited to human relationships; it extends between humans and demons, and even among demons themselves.]
This was the insight from Movie Diary. Meanwhile, another film critic specializing in special effects blockbusters also dedicated a detailed analysis to Observing the Stars at Night.
He admitted that in terms of pure visual effects quality, Observing the Stars at Night did not surpass Hollywood blockbusters and was even slightly inferior. After all, China’s CGI industry had started much later, and reaching this level of quality was already an achievement in itself.
However, Observing the Stars at Night excelled in its unique artistic vision. It stayed true to its own style and storytelling approach instead of blindly imitating Hollywood. This originality made the film feel fresh and exciting to audiences.
Given Observing the Stars at Night’ success, this critic wasn’t surprised. Visual effects were only one of the film’s many strengths—it also had a compelling story and the star power of its lead actors.
The dual lead casting of Li Yan and Lu Xu proved to be far more effective than most had anticipated.
