Famous! Ch.237

Chapter 237: Discussion

Lu Xu had also been following the box office performance of The Sovereign Descends the World for a while. This year’s Spring Festival film season had been quite peaceful, with no fierce competition leading to bitter rivalries. Dragon Palace, The Sovereign Descends the World, and Robot Creation Manual all had their own loyal audiences.

The most common review Lu Xu had seen about The Sovereign Descends the World was that it was “a film that requires patience.”

Not long after the movie’s release, Chang Aiwei had hinted at plans for a sequel. Many viewers expressed their support, but whether the sequel would actually happen depended largely on how well the film performed at the box office.

Beyond that, it also depended on how strongly the production team wanted to make a sequel.

Lu Xu’s first movie, Deception, had left a suspenseful ending that could be used for a sequel. Unfortunately, Deception had only been successfully made in the first place because of Yue Hui’s personal persistence. After the film became a huge success and brought Lu Xu a substantial profit, more people set their sights on the project. Everyone wanted a share of the pie, and after much back-and-forth, the progress of Deception 2 ended up being delayed instead.

Yue Hui had even completely distanced himself from the project. “If they want to fight over it, let them. At least I didn’t lose any money.”

Back then, Yue Hui had simply wanted to bring the Deception script to life. Once the film was made, his goal had been achieved. As for how the sequel would develop and whether he himself got pushed out of the project, it didn’t really matter much to him.

In the entertainment industry, this kind of situation was commonplace.

When a film became a blockbuster, having a completely new team for the sequel was considered mild. Sometimes, the original creators were kicked out entirely, while the new team clung tightly to the success of the first film, milking its popularity for all it was worth.

Opportunities had to be seized, and riding the wave of success was simply part of the game.

Of course, The Sovereign Descends the World was different from Deception. Although The Sovereign Descends the World was performing well at the box office, it didn’t have the same global appeal as Deception. On top of that, the historical genre itself deterred many investors.

Just because the first installment of The Sovereign Descends the World made money didn’t mean audiences would buy into a sequel.

It wasn’t uncommon for a niche film to succeed once, but for it to keep succeeding… that was a much tougher challenge.

“If the box office surpasses 2 billion, we’ll have the budget for a sequel,” Chang Aiwei privately calculated. “The first film’s sets haven’t been dismantled yet, and we can reuse the costumes too—that’ll save quite a bit.”

The sets of The Sovereign Descends the World were widely praised for their beauty. Not long after the film’s release, other production teams approached Chang Aiwei, hoping to use the sets for their own projects.

The director agreed. Either way, this would help the production team recover some costs.

—

Although the Spring Festival season had officially ended, until the Lantern Festival on the fifteenth day of the new year, theater attendance remained much higher than usual. The strong word-of-mouth for this year’s Spring Festival films had already spread, and while box office numbers had started to decline, the drop wasn’t significant.

The Sovereign Descends the World was still earning over 100 million yuan daily.

On the day the film’s total box office surpassed 2 billion, the director invited Lu Xu and Zheng Xiao to a celebratory gathering. He brought out a bottle of fine liquor he had treasured for years. While the two of them poured themselves only small amounts, the director looked visibly distressed, prompting Zheng Xiao to tease, “Director Chang, why don’t I just take this bottle home? That way, you won’t have to suffer watching it disappear.”

Chang Aiwei replied, “I’m not suffering.”

“No, you definitely are.”

After a long back-and-forth, the director could only watch helplessly as the bottle’s contents gradually vanished.

#A species that eats and drinks endlessly#

#My male lead and male second lead#

…

After the Spring Festival season ended, not only The Sovereign Descends the World, but also Robot Creation Manual and Dragon Palace maintained steady box office performance.

On the film’s fourteenth day in theaters, The Sovereign Descends the World unexpectedly saw a slight increase in ticket sales after a period of decline, with its daily box office surpassing 150 million yuan.

As a result, The Sovereign Descends the World suddenly claimed the top spot on the daily box office rankings—for the first time since its release.

The reason behind this surge was an online post by a well-respected film analyst, who dissected the connection between the “Empress Dowager” appearing in dreams and Emperor Qi Yi.

Inside Qi Yi’s palace, there was a specific sword. If the dream version of the “Empress Dowager” was real, the sword would appear; but if the “Empress Dowager” was merely a fabrication by a concubine, then the sword had never existed at all.

Moreover, the relationship between the “Empress Dowager” and Qi Yi wasn’t as straightforward as the film initially portrayed.

“If Qi Yi’s parents had been normal people, he would have grown up to be a normal person too, rather than becoming the cold and unpredictable ruler he is.”

Intrigued by the depth of this analysis, moviegoers flooded back into theaters for another viewing.

For any film, the proportion of audiences who watch it two or three times isn’t typically high—after all, a movie can’t rely solely on repeat viewers to achieve a strong box office performance.

However, the willingness of audiences to rewatch it was at least proof that the film had solid quality.

This year’s Spring Festival releases had their own merits. The Sovereign Descends the World was packed with hidden details that kept audiences coming back, Robot Creation Manual also had a fair number of repeat viewers, while Dragon Palace had the least rewatch appeal.

While Dragon Palace had post-credit scenes, The Sovereign Descends the World contained subtle metaphors that many viewers didn’t notice on their first watch.

In short, when The Sovereign Descends the World suddenly rose to the top of the box office rankings, a wave of confused moviegoers was left behind, dropping comments filled with nothing but “?”

[This year’s Spring Festival film season—anything is possible.]

[It feels like all the production teams are playing some kind of secret game that outsiders can’t comprehend.]

[So… is Dragon Palace next in line to take the top spot? I just want to ask.]

At the same time that The Sovereign Descends the World climbed to the top of the daily box office rankings, netizens checked the overall box office leaderboard for the Spring Festival releases—only to realize that The Sovereign Descends the World was now at the very top.

[?????]

[I swear, before the Spring Festival lineup was announced, no one would have believed that The Sovereign Descends the World would actually end up leading the box office.]

[LMAO, Lu Xu’s box office magic is still going strong—biubiubiu—this is insane. I just realized that The Sovereign Descends the World, Dragon Palace, and Robot Creation Manual are all super close in earnings. Dragon Palace is currently trailing, but all three films have surpassed 2 billion!]

[Impressive!!!]

[Terrifying!!!]

[I was convinced that Robot would be this year’s Spring Festival box office champion. But now that The Sovereign Descends the World has taken the lead, the final result is really up in the air.]

—

The box office battle between the three films wasn’t just being watched by the production teams—audiences who were simply enjoying the spectacle couldn’t resist placing bets either.

The Sovereign Descends the World held the top spot for three days before Robot Creation Manual knocked it down.

However, The Sovereign Descends the World surged back to first place the very next day.

If Liu Rennong were still in the industry, people might have started suspecting that the production team had made some kind of secret deal with him to manipulate the box office.

All in all, The Sovereign Descends the World’s box office trajectory was like a wild rollercoaster.

One day, it was losing to Robot Creation Manual, and the next, it was back on top. And just when all three films’ daily earnings struggled to break the 100-million mark, The Sovereign Descends the World was the only one that could still occasionally spike.

The Sovereign Descends the World and Robot Creation Manual remained neck and neck at the box office for a long time. In the end, due to its subject matter, The Sovereign Descends the World fell just slightly short of Robot Creation Manual.

This year’s Spring Festival season ended with Robot Creation Manual securing a final box office total of 3.3 billion, The Sovereign Descends the World at 3.1 billion, and Dragon Palace trailing behind with 2.8 billion.

Given the current state of the film market, achieving such numbers was already an impressive feat.

Although The Sovereign Descends the World didn’t claim the Spring Festival box office crown, Lu Xu’s ability to draw audiences still sent shockwaves through the industry.

[At this rate, if he films just two more movies, his cumulative box office as a leading actor will hit 30 billion.]

[A man as fast as the wind, unstoppable like a storm.]

[If The Sovereign Descends the World can rake in 3 billion, does that mean any movie Lu Xu stars in will now start with a minimum baseline of 2 billion?]

2 billion… If this goal were set for any other actor, it would seem almost impossible. But when it came to Lu Xu, no one seemed to doubt it.

[After all, the last time Lu Xu had a movie gross under 2 billion was a long time ago.]

[He only has three films that made less than 2 billion. One of them even won him a Contention Award for Best Actor. And… even though that one film only made just under 2 billion, using the word ‘only’ here feels like the biggest flex ever. But combined, those three movies still brought in around 5 billion, right?]

[Deception doesn’t count.]

[HAHAHAHA, so if we’re ranking pure achievements now, Lu Xu basically gets his own category. Even in terms of awards, his trophies outshine everyone else’s.]

[Of course, Lu Xu himself doesn’t even want to compare with others—there’s no need. He’s at a completely different level.]

…

The impact of The Sovereign Descends the World surpassing 3 billion at the box office went beyond just numbers.

A month after the film’s release, Chang Aiwei, Lu Xu, and Zheng Xiao attended a panel discussion focused on analyzing the movie’s success. Each of the main creators shared their insights, while the experts present explored the potential for developing more historical films based on the audience response The Sovereign Descends the World had generated.

The film’s box office performance proved that historical movies could be made successfully.

The settings didn’t necessarily have to be grand—small-scale stories could also work. The narrative could focus on an obscure historical figure rather than a famous one.

It wasn’t that audiences rejected historical films—far from it. If they could embrace The Sovereign Descends the World, a film about their own country’s history, then even foreign history films—filled with countless indistinguishable kings named something the Second through the Eighteenth—could also be well received.

What audiences couldn’t accept were films that were simply terrible.

During the discussion, Lu Xu shared his thoughts on portraying Qi Yi, explaining the research he had done before filming and how he interpreted the script while acting.

“First, I needed to understand what kind of Qi Yi the script required—what role he played in the story. Was he cowardly or courageous? Gentle or domineering?”

The truth was—no one in the audience cared about what Lu Xu actually said at the panel. The only thing they remembered was how good he looked in his frameless glasses, how sharp his suit was, and how effortlessly he embodied an “anime protagonist” aesthetic.

Lu Xu: “….”

Alright then.

Still, as a professional actor, it was his job to keep learning and thinking about his roles. As long as audiences found him entertaining or attractive, that was enough.

Movies existed to bring people joy. Actors had already earned more than enough wealth—it wasn’t their place to turn around and criticize their audience.

In short, The Sovereign Descends the World had indeed raised industry expectations for historical films—just as Observing the Stars at Night had “revived” the fantasy genre.

[I sincerely hope Lu Xu will make a horror movie!!! The current horror films are just so incredibly boring!]

[+1!!! I’m so tired of horror movies where the protagonist wakes up and realizes everything was just a dream. The law may forbid mythical creatures after the founding of the country, but no one said ghosts couldn’t appear!]

[LMAO, the last horror movie I watched had the protagonist talking a ghost into redemption. I was so mad I nearly smashed my TV. And the worst part? The atmosphere was actually built up really well, so I had high expectations—only for it to end with, ‘Turns out, this was all just a dream Xiao Shuai had.’ What a joke!]

[Why can’t Lu Xu do a legal drama? Just imagine him in a suit—he’d look too good.]

[Petition for Lu Xu to star in a showbiz-themed film. Don’t ask why. I just need to see it.]

[I second this!]

After rounds of discussion, a rather eerie hashtag made it to the trending list: #Want To Slice Lu Xu Into Pieces#.

Lu Xu: “…Think of something less horrifying.”

He could already tell—even after all the hard work he had put into filming, his fans still didn’t think he was working hard enough. In their eyes, only filming 100 movies a year would be acceptable.

So, in response to #Want To Slice Lu Xu Into Pieces#, he posted a simple Weibo update: [Not happening.]

[What do you mean ‘not happening’?!]

[Totally possible!!!]

[Honestly, someone should just develop cloning technology. A copy-paste version of Lu Xu seems entirely feasible.]

[I’m laughing so hard. Let the poor guy live.]

Fans who had followed Lu Xu for a long time knew this scenario had played out many times before. Back when he was still doing TV dramas, it was the same. Now that he had transitioned to films, he still couldn’t escape their demands: [No need to shoot too many movies in a year, 100 should be just right.]

[One movie every two days, plus a rest day. Work for two, rest for one—not tiring at all.]

[???!! Even if Lu Xu were a mule, a mule still has its dignity! He shouldn’t be living like this.]

[Lu Xu: This is Weibo, not a wishing well. Thank you.]

Every now and then, fans would also wish for Lu Xu to join more singing and dancing variety shows: [At least let me cleanse my eyes a little. Have you seen today’s idol survival shows? The contestants just stand there looking absolutely horrendous, yet they think they’re incredibly handsome. A squint of the eyes, a raise of the brow—they act like they’re some top-tier heartthrobs. Meanwhile, I’m sitting here, fearing for my very life…]

[Hahahaha stop, I can already feel people getting offended!!]

[Seriously!!!! And after debuting, they all start acting too. If they were at least good-looking, fine—but 99.9% of them aren’t! I genuinely don’t get it. Where have all the handsome guys gone?!]

[Where have all the handsome guys gone?! (insert a desperate, earth-shattering roar) And these ugly ones? Their scandals are beyond bizarre. In comparison, Lu Xu is truly a breath of fresh air in the entertainment industry.]

[Honestly… they all know the truth. They don’t even dare to mention Lu Xu anymore. Back then, every time they brought up their idols, they’d claim, ‘I aspire to be like Lu Xu!’ LMAO. Now they’ve realized they can’t even dream of catching up.]

[Agreeing with the talent show idea +1. At least let those people see what real handsomeness looks like. Stop embarrassing themselves. The fact that I once supported these people? A dark stain on my past. I can’t even admit it out loud, hahaha.]

Lu Xu realized that even after all these years, his fans were still obsessed with the idea of him being a judge on an idol survival show.

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