Chapter 200: The 10-Billion Movie King
By the second day of release, the reputation of Observing the Stars at Night had fully taken off.
During this period, the film had no real competition. Its opening-day box office had already made a huge breakthrough, and the second day’s earnings did not collapse either. Within the industry, expectations for the movie had been reduced to just three words: “break the record.”
After all, in just two days, the total box office revenue of Observing the Stars at Night had already surpassed 1.3 billion.
With such impressive box office performance, the film’s promotional tour was in full swing. The theme song, special effects, lead actors, supporting cast—every element related to the movie trended one after another. Some media outlets even declared that this Lunar New Year season belonged entirely to Observing the Stars at Night.
Before the film’s release, despite having Lu Xu and Li Yan as the lead actors, there had still been plenty of negative voices predicting the film’s failure.
Previously, Yue Chen had directed other fantasy films, with his highest-grossing one reaching 2.1 billion. In the film industry, that was already an impressive achievement. The failure of Sanzu River had nothing to do with him.
Yet, for some reason, certain marketing accounts automatically compared Observing the Stars at Night to Sanzu River whenever they mentioned it, as if the latter’s failure meant that the former was doomed to fail as well.
In short, as long as Yue Chen dared to attempt a fantasy blockbuster, failure was inevitable—having Lu Xu and Li Yan on board would make no difference.
Comments like “blinded by ambition,” “arrogant and overconfident,” and “obsessed with making money” were common. Lu Xu and Li Yan were fine—after all, they were actors that every production team wanted to work with, so no matter how unpleasant the words were, they never reached their ears.
Yue Chen, however, was different. Even at industry gatherings, someone would occasionally take a jab at him. Some would “sincerely wish” for his film to be a massive hit, while others would half-jokingly tell him that the fantasy genre was struggling and that he should switch to something else sooner rather than later.
Yue Chen remembered all those voices.
After Observing the Stars at Night earned 1.3 billion in just two days, the next time he picked up a call, all he heard were congratulations.
He could only respond humbly, “These days, fantasy films have it rough. They’re hard to make, too. This one nearly drove me crazy. If the box office hadn’t turned out decent, I’d have considered switching genres sooner.”
He didn’t care how frustrated the person on the other end of the line felt. All that mattered was that he was enjoying himself.
After wrapping up Observing the Stars at Night, Yue Chen hadn’t taken on a new project. He had already prepared for the possibility that this might be his last fantasy film.
But in just these two days of the Lunar New Year period—especially on the second day—his phone hadn’t stopped ringing. Some calls were from people wanting to collaborate on new projects, others from investors asking if he needed funding. His number had practically become a hotline.
Although Observing the Stars at Night had required a massive investment, its potential looked just as enormous.
Other films still needed time to build up their box office revenue, but Observing the Stars at Night seemed to have no such struggle. With a surge in both marketing efforts and audience word-of-mouth, it had already become the new benchmark for domestic special-effects blockbusters.
[Do people really need to hype Observing the Stars at Night this much? Who knows, maybe the box office will collapse tomorrow.]
The naysayers continued their relentless criticism, but the audience’s enthusiasm remained undiminished. The theater occupancy rates made that clear. As the days passed, the film’s earnings showed no signs of a sharp decline.
Even the most conservative ticketing platforms projected a 3-billion-yuan box office for the first week of the Lunar New Year. As for the total revenue—so far, no platform had estimated anything below 4 billion.
[If it goes a little higher, could Observing the Stars at Night actually surpass How Much Do You Know?]
[…No way can it be compared to the manufactured blockbuster How Much Do You Know. Observing the Stars at Night was earned one ticket at a time by real audiences.]
[…Once Observing the Stars at Night finishes its run, Lu Xu’s lead-role box office total should surpass 10 billion, right?]
“Looks like it already has.”
Some bored netizen decided to tally up the total box office earnings of films starring Lu Xu. No one had realized it before, but once the numbers were crunched… While his first three films hadn’t quite broken the 2-billion mark individually, they weren’t far off. Adding Fearless Life, which had a total box office of nearly 4 billion, and just two days’ worth of earnings from Observing the Stars at Night, Lu Xu’s cumulative box office revenue had already exceeded 10 billion.
Not long after the netizen posted their findings, marketing accounts picked up the news and spread it.
The trending hashtag #Lu Xu Lead Role Box Office Breaks 10 Billion# stood out prominently on the hot search rankings.
Everyone knew that ever since Lu Xu entered the film industry with his debut movie Deception, his box office success wasn’t due to riding on others’ coattails—it was entirely supported by his own star power. Aside from Reverse City, where he wasn’t the absolute lead, he had been the top-billed actor in every other project. Even in Reverse City, his contribution to the box office had undeniably surpassed Zhao Yifan’s.
In short, although Lu Xu hadn’t been acting for long, he had achieved in just a few years what many actors couldn’t accomplish in a lifetime.
One trending topic led to another. Following closely behind was the hashtag #Lu Xu 10 Billion Movie King.
With a total lead-role box office exceeding 10 billion, two Best Actor trophies from the Contention Awards, and one Critics’ Choice Award for Best Actor, Lu Xu remained at the top of the industry—even in the fiercely competitive film world.
[If he hadn’t been robbed of a Golden Flame Award, his acting career would be truly perfect.]
[It’s already perfect, okay? Another massive box office hit. I won’t name names, but the real embarrassment here isn’t him.]
The discussion section under #10 Billion Movie King was almost entirely filled with fans passionately summarizing Lu Xu’s acting career.
— As an idol, he had been a member of Verse, a top-tier group.
— As an actor, every drama he starred in had surpassed tens of millions in viewership.
— In film, he had managed to win both major awards and achieve massive box office success, excelling in both commercial value and critical acclaim.
Not to mention his dominance in brand endorsements and fashion.
But with Lu Xu’s acting achievements being so overwhelmingly strong, these were merely embellishments.
[Just realized—being good-looking is actually Lu Xu’s most insignificant trait.]
[This isn’t something you just suddenly realize. I’ve known for a long time.]
Amidst this enthusiastic discussion about Lu Xu’s career, Observing the Stars at Night continued its unstoppable run. On its third day, its daily box office still held at a staggering 400 million, pushing its total earnings past 1.7 billion with ease.
The production costs had long been recovered. While marketing expenses for the Lunar New Year season were much higher than usual, and theater revenue-sharing terms were stricter, none of that stopped Observing the Stars at Night from making an absolute fortune.
It had become an undeniable juggernaut, firmly claiming the top spot in this year’s Spring Festival box office. For other films released during the same period, Observing the Stars at Night cast an overwhelming shadow.
For example, on its opening day, Observing the Stars at Night earned 850 million, while the second-place film, Haha Wula, brought in 360 million. Several other films also performed decently, with multiple surpassing the 100-million mark.
However, on the second day, Observing the Stars at Night earned 490 million, while Haha Wula saw a steeper drop than Observing the Stars at Night itself. The gap between them, rather than narrowing, only widened.
By the third day, while Observing the Stars at Night still maintained its 400-million daily earnings, the second-place film had dropped to just over 100 million.
This year’s Spring Festival box office hadn’t truly rebounded—if anything, it only seemed that way because of Observing the Stars at Night. Without it, the entire season wouldn’t even have had a fig leaf to cover its underperformance.
Although Haha Wula had decent screen allocation, its attendance rate was far lower than Observing the Stars at Night. There was no way it could carry the Lunar New Year market on its own.
—
After several hectic days, Lu Xu finally got a break from the roadshow. That day, promotional duties were mainly led by the director, while he and Li Yan participated in a Lunar New Year event organized by Huayu Satellite TV.
It was part variety show, part casual festival gathering—celebrities took part in traditional New Year activities and celebrated with the audience.
The first event featured calligraphers writing Spring Festival couplets live. Lu Xu and Li Yan followed along, trying their best to make their handwriting presentable enough for someone to actually want their work.
The event was being broadcasted live. Fans had initially tuned in, expecting to watch Lu Xu embarrass himself. But to their surprise—his calligraphy was actually much better than they had imagined!
“I practiced a bit when filming Son of Heaven, then again when shooting Lives Beyond Death the Chivalry,” Lu Xu said with a sly smile on camera. “Some of you definitely thought my handwriting would be ugly, didn’t you?”
Fans: “……”
Busted.
Of course, compared to the master calligraphers, Lu Xu’s handwriting still wasn’t up to par. When the local uncles and aunties instinctively lined up in front of the experienced calligraphy masters, completely ignoring the two handsome young men standing stiffly in the cold wind, Lu Xu’s smile disappeared.
[HAHAHAHA his expression changed instantly.]
[Not smiling anymore, huh?]
[Lu Xu definitely has some comedic talent. Damn it, why am I not there in person?!!]
[…He went from a handsome guy proudly showing off his calligraphy to the king of awkwardness. Hey, Wei Qingfang and Zhang Bannu just saved the world—at least give them some respect!]
[Absolutely hilarious—someone already made a comparison meme of Wei and Zhang next to these two looking all pitiful. One looks dashing and elegant, while the other… Well, to enhance the festive spirit, they even wore red scarves. Too bad no one cared.]
Lu Xu and Li Yan’s “calligraphy” remained completely unwanted. Even the show’s production team started worrying on their behalf and urged them to find a solution.
Then, Lu Xu pulled off another one of his stunts—he dragged Li Yan to the supermarket next door, grabbed two baskets of eggs, and launched a “Spring Couplets + Free Eggs” giveaway. Instantly, a long line formed in front of them, and they almost ran out of couplets to hand out.
Fans: “…Wait, you can do that?”
More importantly, Lu Xu’s movements were alarmingly smooth. An elderly lady, acting out of habit, pulled out a one-yuan coin to buy a couplet. Without thinking, Lu Xu instinctively accepted the money and handed her an egg in return.
The moment he completed the transaction, he turned and caught Li Yan giving him an indescribable look.
Lu Xu quickly shoved the money back.
[Cash in, goods out. Deal.]
[I’m dying, Super Salesman Lu Puppy.]
And just like that, the calligraphy segment wrapped up with a hint of awkwardness. Even after all that effort, the two baskets of eggs weren’t completely given away. Since no one else wanted them, Lu Xu and Li Yan just packed them up, planning to take them home after the show.
Next came the sugar painting segment. Writing was something they could more or less manage, but sugar painting—an activity requiring actual artistic skill—was a real challenge for both of them.
Lu Xu ended up drawing an unspeakably ugly creature and confidently declared it to be Zheng Xiao. But since it was so hideous and, in his words, “It keeps staring at me. I’m scared.”—he promptly snapped it in half and ate it on the spot.
…Turned out, it actually tasted pretty good.
Zheng Xiao, who was busy filming in a distant location and hadn’t watched the livestream, suddenly found himself being tagged repeatedly. Confused, he logged onto Weibo and posted a giant question mark, tagging Lu Xu in the process and adding, [The insults are getting out of hand.]
[Curse him! We want to hear it!]
[This is the price of being friends with Puppy! Puppy is literally a dog.]
Zheng Xiao even performed a dramatic ticket-stub-ripping act on Weibo. But after a reminder from netizens, he suddenly realized that having a ticket stub meant he had already spent money on Observing the Stars at Night.
[Are we sure this isn’t a marketing stunt by the movie’s PR team?]
[@ZhengXiao, can you please ask your friend Lu Xu to stop eating?! The only thing he hasn’t eaten is the Spring Couplets—he’s gone from sugar paintings to New Year rice cakes, and I’m losing my mind!]
[…Their eggs got taken by someone nearby to make tea eggs. I can already picture these two sitting down to eat them later. Introverts who avoid socializing but are somehow top-tier eaters, huh?]
[I’m laughing so hard I’m on the floor. Every master present has that I want to say something, but it’s the holidays, so I’ll just let it go expression. At least they can eat. Being able to eat is a blessing.]
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