Chapter 184: Whispers of Fortune and Film

Netizens were chatting when the topic turned to the so-called wuxia curse in the film industry. Some claimed that while Haofang Culture excelled in every aspect, they simply chose the wrong theme.

Others argued that Haofang Culture’s film experience was lacking. Ancient costume dramas and wuxia films are two very different genres. Judging by the title of this wuxia film, it’s obvious that Mingsha Tourism is pushing their scenic spots. Unsurprisingly, a guesthouse has already been erected by Mingsha Tourism, named Longmen Inn.

However, the success of ancient costume dramas doesn’t mean ancient costume films will follow the same formula.

Of course.

Some netizens even maintained that the so-called curse on wuxia films didn’t exist at all; traditional wuxia simply has lost its market and audience.

In the end, netizens concluded that while Longmen Inn might be decent, for thematic and other reasons it could ultimately lose at the box office to New Moon Legend.

Little did they know that as netizens offered their opinions, a lively celebration was underway at a high-end hotel in downtown Yan City.

Only Qi Haoyong, sitting beside Ran Xiangfei, managed a forced smile that couldn’t quite hide the worry etched on his face.

“Mr. Qi, what’s gotten into you? We’re all friends here—just relax!”

After three rounds of drinks,

Ran Xiangfei, noticing Qi Haoyong’s strained cheer, raised his glass and patted his shoulder.

“Chairman Ran, I just can’t shake this uneasy feeling!”

Glancing at Ran Xiangfei, Qi Haoyong murmured.

For the past month, spurred on by Ran Xiangfei, Ning An Cultural Tourism had been investing heavily in ads across multiple channels. Although Ran managed to secure one promotional resource, the remaining costs were borne entirely by Ning An Cultural Tourism.

So far, the promotion has been effective, but it came at the steep cost of an additional 30 million yuan from Ning An Cultural Tourism.

Unlike Haofang Culture, which relied simply on a friendly ad from Yan City TV and a tweet from Tiger Leopard Band and Hu Xiao to achieve a similar promotional impact.

This, of course, created a noticeable cost disparity.

“Uneasy? What’s there to worry about! The film’s promotion is stellar, and the preview buzz is excellent. Just wait for your share of the box office! I bet the pre-sale tickets on New Year’s Eve will exceed a billion!”

Ran Xiangfei’s eyes narrowed.

During this period, as the promotion for New Moon Legend gained momentum, Ran Xiangfei finally relaxed. With Ning An Cultural Tourism’s current buzz, it was certain that announcing Ning An Cultural Tourism as the film festival host would be well received by the public.

Unlike before, when the public was almost convinced it was all about Mingsha Tourism.

“Chairman Ran, that may be so, but I’ve heard that Mingsha Tourism is quietly up to something. Their construction crews only get a day off on New Year’s Eve—what if they pull a stunt?”

Qi Haoyong managed a bitter laugh.

To be honest, aside from the New Moon Legend card, Ning An Cultural Tourism had nothing left to offer. Meanwhile, this film was largely a product of what netizens had uncovered.

Furthermore, Qi couldn’t shake the feeling that Mingsha Tourism’s big moves weren’t even aimed at winning the film festival contest. If they truly intended to compete, they would have halted construction as soon as they lost the hosting rights. How could they still be so active?

Some netizens even noted recently that Hongsha Gang Village, near the guesthouse area, turns unusually restless at night. The chorus of animal sounds is as raucous as a busy dairy farm during milking.

It’s practically impossible that nothing is going on there.

So much so that on quiet nights, lying in bed, Qi wondered if he had been duped by Ran Xiangfei. “Mr. Qi, relax! The Spring Festival release is just the first phase! We’ll casually drop a few more teasers, and the buzz will remain squarely on Ning An Cultural Tourism’s side.”

Mingsha Tourism simply doesn’t stand a chance to steal the attention!

I can confidently say that come March, all entertainment headlines will belong to Ning An Cultural Tourism!

Ran Xiangfei sipped his red wine, his expression one of bliss, completely dismissing Qi Haoyong’s concerns.

“Chairman Ran? The Spring Festival phase is just the first move? What other cards do we have?”

Stunned, Qi Haoyong felt a tightening in his scalp. As the chairman of Ning An Cultural Tourism, he knew all too well that if no further buzzworthy project emerged, he would be held accountable.

Was Ran Xiangfei planning to rope him into another project? At this point, Ning An Cultural Tourism was running on empty, incapable of launching any new initiatives.

“Heh, once the Spring Festival phase wraps up, we’ll officially announce Ning’an Film City as the host for the film festival. Isn’t that a huge selling point?”

Ran Xiangfei shot a sidelong glance at Qi Haoyong.

“That may well be, but aside from that…”

Qi Haoyong hesitated slightly before nodding.

“Aside from that? It might stir some netizen chatter, but it’s more of a hot topic than a real bombshell.”

“Apart from that? Just wait for the official announcement—you’ll see; it’s going to be an absolute bombshell. Every eye will be on this film festival.”

Setting his red wine glass down slowly, Ran Xiangfei left his statement tantalizingly unfinished.

“Ah…”

Though his anticipation was piqued, Qi Haoyong felt a slight relief; as long as he wasn’t forced to make another investment, things would be manageable.

“Alright, relax! Everything is under control. Let’s go join our friends for another round—why just sit here all stiff?”

“Okay, let’s do it!”

None of the outsiders knew what ‘big bombshell’ Ran Xiangfei held in store; far away in Su Province, Xu Hao and Haofang Culture were completely in the dark—especially Xu Hao,

who had already begun preparations for the final phase of the Qingming Scroll. He had no time to pay attention to this matter.

All he cared about was that the ancient architecture forum at the end of March was critical for Mingsha guesthouse—so much so that the entire task of getting Longmen Inn on the screens was entrusted to Mr. Fang.

Time flew, and before anyone knew it, it was already 11:30 PM on New Year’s Eve.

Since tomorrow was New Year’s Eve—a day off—many local employees had already gone home to celebrate with their families, planning to reconvene at the guesthouse the next day.

This left the guesthouse district much quieter than usual tonight, yet Haofang Culture’s office building remained brightly lit.

Every staff member in the office area was glued to their computer screens, including Mr. Fang.

No surprise there,

this was Haofang Culture’s first film release and they wouldn’t take it lightly.

At midnight, the film’s pre-sales would officially begin, with a theatrical launch at the break of New Year’s Day.

For this Spring Festival release, Mr. Fang hadn’t had a single day off in nearly a month—juggling censorship submissions and negotiations with cinema operators—and managed to wrap everything up just days before the deadline.

“Mr. Fang, what do you think our ticket sales will hit in the first hour of pre-sales?”

After a brief wait, one of the managers couldn’t hold back any longer and looked at Mr. Fang.

Based on the hype, the first-day screening rate for Longmen Inn could have been much higher. But whether due to online rumors or other factors, Longmen Inn’s overall first-day screening rate ended up five percentage points lower than that of New Moon Legend.

New Moon Legend boasted a 25% rate, while Longmen Inn’s rate was 20%.

However,

even though its rate was lower than New Moon Legend’s, it still met expectations. During the Spring Festival, when films are in abundance, a 20% opening rate is impressive. Future scheduling will depend on occupancy and audience reviews.

“I hope we hit five million!”

Glancing at his staff, Mr. Fang remarked.

Under normal circumstances, multiplying the first hour’s pre-sales by ten would roughly equate to the entire box office for New Year’s Eve—even if there were slight differences, it wouldn’t be too significant.

For Mr. Fang, the box office target wasn’t outrageous; a final total of four to five hundred million would be considered a success. After distribution and taxes, Haofang Culture would net around 150 million.

No more words were needed.

The budget for Longmen Inn was laid out clearly!

The male lead—chosen by Mr. Fang from candidates in other film cities based on the script—is an unknown actor earning two million, while the main villain is portrayed by the company’s own martial arts director, Zheng Dan, at an even lower cost.

Altogether, the total actor fees amounted to less than ten million. With promotional support from Yan City TV and a boost from Yun Province’s Ace Mediation, spending was kept minimal. Even when adding in entertainment expenses, it was under one million.

As for building Longmen Inn along with costumes, makeup, and props—the costs were surprisingly low.

Some costumes were even borrowed from Mingsha Tourism’s security team. Construction costs were minimal, and thanks to Xu Hao’s leadership, the ancient architecture team had become incredibly professional. In total, materials for Longmen Inn cost only about 500,000.

And that’s before considering plans to offer immersive storyline experiences to guests—so that Longmen Inn could actually function as a lodging facility. Otherwise, costs would have been even lower.

All in all, the entire Longmen Inn project cost around 12 million. With box office shares reaching 150 million, the profit margin would be huge!

So any talk of a box office curse on wuxia films? Mr. Fang simply ignored it!

Longmen Inn only needs 50 million in box office to recoup costs. What’s a curse compared to that? “Five million? In one day, that’s 50 million! That should be about right.”

Upon hearing Mr. Fang’s estimate, the manager hesitated.

The film features no big-name stars, but with the generated buzz and a strong opening screening rate, 50 million shouldn’t be out of reach!

Mr. Fang said nothing further, fixated on his computer screen.

It was between 11:57 and 11:58 PM—just a minute apart at midnight!

Real-time box office data for Long Kingdom were featured on a special Spring Festival section online, with numbers dancing like little sprites. Every minute, even every second, brought new changes.

Mr. Fang and his staff were glued to the Longmen Inn column.