CHAPTER 855: CHAPTER 857: A DIFFICULT CHOICE

"Come on, let’s toast!" Director Qian held a skewer in one hand and a glass of white wine in the other, raising his glass and standing up.

The cast members gathered around the table also stood up one after another. Some had coconut juice, some orange juice, and some were drinking different kinds of wine, white, red, yellow, all sorts. The differently colored glasses clinked together with a crisp "ding"—

"Cheers!!"

After finishing the toast, everyone took a sip, their faces brimming with joyful smiles.

Who wouldn’t be happy? The total box office for "Special Action" released yesterday has already been tallied: over 500 million!

This figure is the highest first-day record among all the films released this year!

It’s already the evening of the second day now. Although the full box office hasn’t been completely tallied, the morning box office has come out, and it’s a whopping 200 million!

Judging by this trend, the afternoon box office will only be higher than the morning’s, and the evening will be higher than the afternoon’s. So thinking it through, the second day’s box office is even higher than the first!

The premiere was held yesterday afternoon, wasting the morning time. The high box office is because a significant portion of netizens was attracted by the online hype, creating a buzz.

This kind of buzz isn’t uncommon. Many films are very popular on their first day, but after a few days, they lose steam.

That’s because the film’s quality isn’t as good as online buzz suggests. When real reviews come out, some people are reluctant to spend money to watch it.

The fact that "Special Action" had a higher box office on the second day than the first suggests a few types of audiences.

One type is the netizens drawn by the online hype who came because everyone was praising it but haven’t specifically analyzed the film.

Another type is those who saw it yesterday and said it was good. The word of mouth continued to ferment online, and then those people would promote "Special Action" elsewhere, attracting more viewers.

And then there’s a third type that includes both, with viewers coming who fall into both categories.

No matter if the future box office of "Special Action" drops or continues to rise, just the high box office of these two days is worth celebrating for the crew.

Director Qian was a bit drunk, rambling to He Jinxia about the hardships of filming, what he did for the movie, what he sacrificed, how hard it was...

Listening once in a while, one can’t help but sigh: this is a great director dedicated to the great film industry!

But everything has its limits. When something is heard too much, the initial grandeur and passion felt will gradually fade away, leaving only a sense of helplessness.

He Jinxia had a graceful smile on her face, listening to Director Qian repeating his dream-chasing journey without showing a hint of impatience.

Perhaps it had been some time since Director Qian last saw He Jinxia, so he missed her a lot and just chatted incessantly with her.

In the past, it was Gong Hongyu who was responsible for listening!

He Jinxia glanced at Gong Hongyu, finding him sipping a small drink leisurely and eating with leisure.

His eating was slow and steady, very elegant, making it hard to see him as the rugged, soldierly character he played in the crew.

He Jinxia thought of something Luo You had mentioned to her before coming and couldn’t help but say, "Gong Hongyu, ’Special Action’ is a big hit. If you want to continue in the entertainment circle, this movie is a great debut opportunity. Have you thought about signing with an entertainment company?"

As soon as she said this, the conversations of others quieted a bit, and they all looked at Gong Hongyu, wanting to hear his answer.

If an artist chooses the right entertainment company, they will have to go through fewer twists and turns than other artists.

He Jinxia’s words hinted that she might want to bring Gong Hongyu into Tonghua Entertainment... everyone pondered in their hearts.

Gong Hongyu hadn’t expected He Jinxia to ask him this and was momentarily stunned. After thinking for a while, he said cautiously, "I haven’t considered it yet. I want to wait until the results of ’Special Action’ are more stable before deciding on the next steps."

He Jinxia shook her head slightly, "You’re thinking too slowly. Regardless of whether the film’s future box office gets higher or lower, it won’t add to your bargaining chips. Right now, you’re a second-tier actor, and the treatment those companies give you will be at most second-tier.

This is the ceiling, it can’t get higher, and it won’t be influenced by the film’s subsequent box office."

After all, Gong Hongyu is still a newcomer. An excellent project gave him a good start, but that start is limited at most to top second-tier treatment.

Entertainment companies won’t elevate Gong Hongyu to first-tier treatment just because the film’s box office explodes later. Second-tier and first-tier are completely different worlds.

Gong Hongyu’s performance has been noted by them, and even if the future box office score is poor, his treatment won’t be bad, so he doesn’t need to wait to consider it.

Given the current results, it’s enough for Gong Hongyu to negotiate a good deal with the company. Hoping for more is basically impossible.

Gong Hongyu pondered for a while, a wry smile crossing his face as he touched his nose slightly embarrassed, "Senior, honestly, until now, I don’t even know if I should enter the entertainment circle.

I became an actor because my family said I fit the image and it would be a pity not to be an actor, and also because actors can earn a lot, so I took off to the filming base to play extras.

But after acting for a while and getting a general understanding of this field, I feel it’s very different from what I imagined, completely different, and not something I enjoy, so it’s a bit hard to decide."

Gong Hongyu sighed deeply, "Director Qian treats me very well, and everyone in the crew has been very good to me. But not every crew will be this friendly to me.

Besides, my performance in this movie is something unknown to others, but you must know, I was almost playing myself. Those online saying my acting is excellent and impressive, well, that’s because they’ve never known me."

There was a noticeable confusion in his eyes, "Can someone like me, with no foundation, really become a good actor?"

He Jinxia answered without hesitation, "Yes, you have the talent. You’re not afraid of the camera. As long as you want to, you can do it!"

Gong Hongyu was momentarily speechless, not expecting He Jinxia to hold him in such high esteem.

He Jinxia continued, "Give it some thought, you can consult your family and friends, gather opinions widely, and then make your decision based on your feelings.

Whether you want to enter the entertainment circle or not, you have to give me a definite answer; when you come to a conclusion, call me and tell me."

He Jinxia shrugged, giving a mischievous smile, "After all, I bear the company’s heavy responsibility of trying to bring you in. If you don’t give me a clear answer, the company will blame me!"