CHAPTER 1838: CHAPTER 962: SURPRISINGLY PRETTY GOOD?

After a while, most of the student audience in the cinema had already left.

"So, how was it? Everyone share your thoughts."

Ding Yue looked at his buddies beside him and asked.

Since the entire cinema belonged to Ding Yue, after the movie was over, Ding Yue and his friends decided to stay for a while to discuss this animated movie, "League of Legends: The First War".

"It was really enjoyable to watch; I was fully engaged the entire time, the plot and effects were pretty good."

Huang Youjie straightforwardly gave his assessment.

"Yeah, I think the overall quality of this ’League of Legends: The First War’ is pretty solid, with quite a few highlights. Yue, I’m starting to feel that this ’League of Legends: The First War’ might be a box office hit."

Xu Bin looked at Ding Yue, sounding a bit worried.

The reason for the concern is mainly because this animated movie, "League of Legends: The First War", is scheduled for the same release period as Feiyue Animation Studio’s animated movie "NeZha the Devil Child". If this ’League of Legends: The First War’ performs well, it will clearly impact the box office performance of "NeZha the Devil Child".

After all, "NeZha the Devil Child" is a movie from their own studio, so Xu Bin obviously considers things from his own perspective.

Upon hearing this, Ding Yue nodded slightly and said, "It seems like everyone has a pretty good opinion of this ’League of Legends: The First War’. I also think it’s well-made. Looks like this year’s summer vacation animated film battle is going to be fierce, not easy at all."

As Ding Yue spoke, he couldn’t help but sigh.

This year’s summer vacation sees a showdown among domestic animated films, and it’ll be interesting to see who can laugh last. This time, Ding Yue really can’t say for sure; even though he has great confidence in his "NeZha the Devil Child", facing competitors like "League of Legends: The First War" could end up in any number of ways.

This is the first time Ding Yue has shown such uncertainty when facing a challenge from Penguin Group’s films. In the past, he was always confident that his studio’s films could crush those of Penguin Group.

"Looks like Penguin Group is getting serious this time."

Huang Youjie teased, "They’ve been marketing ’League of Legends: The First War’ for so long, they gotta at least aim for a 5 billion box office, right?"

"No way! 5 billion? Isn’t that a bit exaggerated?"

Xu Bin exclaimed in surprise.

For domestic animated movies, even including Hollywood’s imported ones, none have surpassed the 5 billion mark in box office. Should it surpass 5 billion, it would truly create a miracle for animated films.

Of course, Hollywood has animated films that have grossed over a billion dollars, but those are global box office numbers, which is different.

"It’s not impossible. Haven’t you noticed that the ticket prices for ’League of Legends: The First War’ are set slightly higher?"

Ding Yue chuckled softly as he pointed this out to Huang Youjie and Xu Bin.

"Really?"

Huang Youjie responded, puzzled.

He hadn’t paid attention to the ticket prices since all the tickets were bought by Ding Yue.

"In regular theaters, our ’NeZha the Devil Child’ is priced at 31 yuan, whereas ’League of Legends: The First War’ is priced at 38 yuan. In IMAX theaters, our ’NeZha the Devil Child’ is priced at 52 yuan, while ’League of Legends: The First War’ is 67 yuan. Although not doubled-up or anything, compared to normal animated films, ’League of Legends: The First War’ is indeed a bit more expensive. Gotta say, Penguin Group is quite cunning."

Ding Yue explained the difference in ticket prices between "NeZha the Devil Child" and "League of Legends: The First War" to Huang Youjie and Xu Bin.

"Wow, Yue, now that you mention it, it’s true. Previously, animated movie tickets were generally priced like our ’NeZha the Devil Child’, but this ’League of Legends: The First War’ is indeed a bit pricier, varying from 7 to more than 10 yuan more. Penguin Group really is a schemer."

Huang Youjie was surprised upon hearing this.

"With this, the box office for ’League of Legends: The First War’ might actually be higher than we initially expected. Originally, I thought ’League of Legends: The First War’ had such a massive gaming user base and decent quality, so its reputation wouldn’t be bad. A box office of 30 to 40 billion seemed reasonable. And now, with these ticket prices... it might just surpass 5 billion. Holy moly."

Xu Bin analyzed and expressed his astonishment.

"Whatever."

Ding Yue shrugged and said, "The situation is what it is. As long as ’NeZha the Devil Child’ does its best, it’s good enough for me. In my opinion, Feiyue Animation Studio has already done a great job with ’NeZha the Devil Child’."

"Absolutely, I think besides the exciting elements, the emotional content in ’NeZha the Devil Child’ is handled very well. It doesn’t try too hard with the emotional parts, yet can display deeper father-son, friendship, and master-apprentice relationships."

Huang Youjie nodded in agreement.

Ding Yue, along with his buddies Huang Youjie and Xu Bin, had already watched "NeZha the Devil Child", although it hadn’t been released yet. But hey, being the financier behind Feiyue Animation Studio means Ding Yue could watch the film early.

"Exactly, I think ’NeZha the Devil Child’ is more enjoyable. Although ’League of Legends: The First War’ is good, ’NeZha the Devil Child’ provides a better viewing experience."

At this point, secretary Wen Ruohan proudly expressed her opinion.

Back when Ding Yue and his buddies were watching "NeZha the Devil Child", secretary Wen Ruohan was also in the office watching it. Hence, Wen Ruohan was qualified to compare "NeZha the Devil Child" and "League of Legends: The First War".

Clearly,

both Wen Ruohan and Huang Youjie and Xu Bin felt that compared to "League of Legends: The First War", Feiyue Animation Studio’s "NeZha the Devil Child" was indeed better.

"Let’s see how the reviews go. Whoever gets better reviews between our ’NeZha the Devil Child’ and ’League of Legends: The First War’ should secure more box office revenue domestically. I’m confident in ’NeZha the Devil Child’."

Ding Yue decided not to dwell on it.

Since they’re already clashing with Penguin Group’s "League of Legends: The First War" this summer, they’ll just have to face it head-on and see how it ends.

As for the outcome, whether it wins or loses, it doesn’t really matter.

Win or lose, with the quality of "NeZha the Devil Child", Ding Yue is confident it won’t lose money. Feiyue Animation Studio’s productions have never turned a loss.

"Check it out, Yue. Penguin Group’s promo is trending first already. It just finished its preview showing and is already trending number one."

Xu Bin took out his phone and saw "League of Legends: The First War" topping Twitter’s trending list, even marked as "explosive".

"Haha, just basic tactics."

Ding Yue chuckled and took out his phone, eager to see some genuine reviews from netizens about "League of Legends: The First War".

The first step was to filter out marketing accounts or hired shills from Penguin Group, and then find some real comments. Ding Yue found that netizens’ evaluations of "League of Legends: The First War" were indeed quite good, similar to what Ding Yue and his buddies Huang Youjie and Xu Bin thought about it.

This shows that if Ding Yue and his friends, Huang Youjie and Xu Bin, find something good, it generally aligns with the preferences of most people.

Unless something unusual occurs.

Seeing the continuous stream of positive reviews online, along with Penguin Group’s vigorous marketing, it looks like "League of Legends: The First War" is really going to explode!