When the opening day box office figures were released, it not only broke records in Chinese film history but also stunned many onlookers.
“Heroic Bones” was expected to be a big hit; no one was surprised by this before its release. After all, with such a strong team, featuring the prestigious Director Jin and star Rong Jin, it was worth watching. However, its phenomenal success was still unbelievable.
In recent years, although Chinese film box office records have been continuously broken, none of these high-grossing films were wuxia (martial arts) movies.
In everyone’s memory, the golden age of wuxia films had passed. The visceral thrill of real combat could only be found in old movies. Contemporary wuxia films relied more on special effects and slow-motion shots, with a narrative pace that was often abstract. Besides showing off an air of profundity, they offered little viewing pleasure. A movie could drag on for more than an hour, with viewers often finding themselves bored.
However, “Heroic Bones” seemed to have accurately gauged what the audience wanted. Though Director Jin often had abstract demands during filming, when it came to translating the story onto the screen, he took the most straightforward approach.
The audience wanted an exciting viewing experience, and he delivered. They wanted to see handsome men and beautiful women, and he provided. He clearly understood that while many things are illusory, audience reactions are genuine.
Many directors, in their pursuit of art, make films that leave people bewildered and then blame the audience for not understanding. Those who don’t understand are always considered to be of high artistic taste.
Director Jin always laughed when he read such reports. Some things are naturally understood by those in the know, but if most people don’t understand a story, whose fault is it?
Without flexibility, how can one go far?
Director Jin looked at the box office report for “Heroic Bones” and let out a long sigh of relief. At last, the hard work had paid off.
The next day, “Heroic Bones” not only maintained its opening day box office of over 600 million yuan but also broke the record for the highest single-day box office in the country!
This wasn’t hard to understand. It was a peak weekend viewing period, and breaking the record on the first day naturally made those who missed it curious about how good the movie must be to break the record so quickly. This is also why many films falsely report their box office earnings.
While the cast and crew were thrilled with the box office success, they faced an even more intense promotional schedule. At the most hectic times, they had to travel between four cities in less than forty hours.
In fact, their promotional efforts were less exhausting this time because they traveled by private jet, saving a lot of time.
Despite this, no one was in the mood to enjoy the luxury services on the private jet. They used every moment to catch up on sleep. Even Pang Wen, who usually paid great attention to her image, kicked off her high heels, changed into slippers, and curled up in her small compartment to rest as soon as she boarded the plane.
Even with Chi Feiran’s good health, he found the intense workload overwhelming.
Rong Jin, perhaps due to his experience of staying up late playing video games, managed to maintain the best condition among the group. While Chi Feiran slept soundly beside him, Rong Jin still found time to cover him with a blanket.
Sometimes, Chi Feiran would wake up, groggily glance at Rong Jin, and then fall back asleep with a sense of security, looking at him with eyes full of dependence and trust, like a small animal.
Every time Rong Jin saw this, he felt that Chi Feiran was not just a person but his entire world.
Then Rong Jin would gently and secretly kiss him.
Work was busy, but having this person by his side made all the hardships bearable.
However, not all of their naps could be taken in the relative comfort of a private jet. Hence, the official “Heroic Bones” Weibo account often posted updates about the cast seizing every moment to rest during their promotional tour.
One Weibo post showed photos of the cast sleeping on a long sofa, with only the leading actress Pang Wen occupying a single sofa. The rest of the male cast members were crammed together on a long sofa, visibly exhausted, with uneaten food on the table, and the post was published at midnight.
The intention was to show how hard the cast worked, but the reaction was:
“Oh my gosh! Look at this! They’re sleeping next to each other!!!”
“Wow, this official sugar is too sweet! I cried my heart out during the movie, and now I finally get some sweetness!”
“I cried so hard when Chu Bai died, and almost fainted when Chu Heng saw the grave. I was ready to send a knife to Director Jin, but now the official account is so considerate!”
“Listen to my analysis! Look at how naturally they lean toward each other in their sleep! They even share the same blanket! My god, this isn’t just a blanket; it’s like the red string used in weddings!”
“What’s the red string? Someone explain!”
“Back from Baidu to explain: ‘In ancient times, the bride and groom would hold a red silk during the wedding ceremony.’ That red silk is called the red string!”
“Wow, you guys are cultured. Turning a blanket into a wedding string? I’m impressed!”
The CP (couple pairing) fans took over the comment section, overshadowing comments like “Our star worked so hard, I’ll support with a second viewing!” or “Third viewing support!”
This was somewhat annoying. A little mention and a laugh would have been fine, but flooding the comments was uncomfortable for those indifferent to the CP stuff.
“Could CP fans please keep to their own spaces? Is the topic not enough for you? Must you find a presence under the official account? Their hard work and exhaustion are due to their dedication! Your comments are ruining their public image!”
This sparked a lot of agreement. Ever since the movie was released, sensitive fans felt that the senior-junior brother relationship in the movie was deeply emotional and questionable.
The pre-existing CP fan base for the senior-junior brothers grew unprecedentedly after the movie’s release, with CP comments appearing under almost every popular Weibo post related to “Heroic Bones.”
Many bloggers had to tag their posts with “no CP comments,” but the official account couldn’t show such clear bias, and because it was the official account, it became a CP fan party.
Some rational CP fans realized this wasn’t appropriate, but others, especially younger fans, were quick to retaliate.
“What? Is Weibo your property? Telling others to keep to their own spaces, how arrogant! I like commenting under the official account! What are you gonna do about it?”
Alright, so this led to another argument.
If it weren’t for the news about “Xia Gu” breaking three billion at the box office, it probably would have gone on even longer!
Of course, as “Xia Gu”1Heroic Bones continued to perform well at the box office, voices of doubt began to emerge in the film reviews. Is it really that good?
“Although the martial arts effects are decent, with the box office being so high, honestly, I’m a bit disappointed. I thought the story would be great, but it just feels like a bunch of teenage angst. The core of the story is basically the male lead having a heroic complex and getting himself killed because of it. How can everyone say it’s good?”
“I also think the story is average. Although the visuals are good, considering it broke three billion in just two weeks, it really makes me feel like the audience this time around isn’t great.”
“It’s just herd mentality. I joined in because I saw long lines. It’s quite enjoyable if you don’t think too much, but you can’t scrutinize it.”
“Ha, I even thought a certain sinking ship story was average. It’s just about a cheating woman and a poor artist, the ship hits an iceberg, and then a bunch of people die at the end. Yet, that’s considered a classic!”
“Haha, you’re all such great film critics. Why not think about what the director is actually trying to convey? Dreams, justice, helping the weak—these are all very passionate elements, but to some people, it’s just ‘teenage angst.’ I believe a story doesn’t need to be complex; it all depends on how the director tells it. Some people tell stories dryly, while others make them full of life. That’s the difference!”
“Full of life my foot. It’s all the same to me. They’re just relying on Rong Jin and Pang Wen’s good looks. With those two, both male and female audiences buy it. Oh, and they’re selling the bromance too. Director Jin is really keeping up with the trends.”
“The main reason is that there haven’t been any big blockbusters recently, so with ‘Xia Gu’ having such a high screening rate, it’s bound to explode at the box office.”
As the box office for “Xia Gu” continued to climb, various analytical posts started popping up everywhere. Initially, Chi Feiran was too busy to read them, and later, there were just too many to keep up with.
By the end of July, “Xia Gu” officially announced an extension of its run by one month. By this time, the box office numbers had already exceeded 5.5 billion. Although the box office trend wasn’t as explosive as it was at the beginning, compared to many movies whose box office numbers plummet after release, this steady and lasting trend still left people in awe.
Initially, there was a lot of debate about whether it deserved such high box office numbers, but later, people calmed down and just wanted to see how far it could go!
In August, the promotion work for the “Xia Gu” crew temporarily came to an end, and Chi Feiran was about to start his university military training. However, before the training started, there was new activity among the CP fans!
A user named “Want Candy Bunny” posted: “Stayed up late to edit this! Video.”
This blogger always posted high-quality videos, and the CP fans instantly swarmed!
