Chapter 941: The Highest-Grossing Film in Chinese Cinematic History

"Who is this guy?"

In the moving car, Scarlett Johansson listened to Tina Fey's translation from the passenger seat, a touch of anger slipping onto her pretty face.

"Our movie isn't even competing with his, is it? Why would he step up and say something like that?"

She was naturally speaking to Duke.

Duke gently patted Scarlett's hand. "I know a bit about the film circle here. This director has always liked to attack certain people or films, which is why he's been given the nickname 'Cannon.'"

"'Cannon'?"

Since Duke had used a direct English translation, Scarlett easily understood the term. After thinking about it for a moment, she smiled slightly.

"That's a very fitting description."

Duke knew exactly what kind of person Cannon Feng was. Every time he fired off his metaphorical cannon, he had his own motives. Most people knew Cannon Feng was an outstanding commercial director, but very few realized he was also a master of hype.

The most classic example was his claims about quitting the film industry and stepping down as a director. Cannon Feng had probably said it so many times that even he had lost count. Over the years, almost every time one of his films premiered, he would announce that he was about to retire...

Of course, Duke didn't mind Cannon Feng using his movie to stir up hype. After all, the other party firing shots wasn't entirely without benefit; it was something Warner Greater China Region could absolutely use to generate a certain amount of buzz.

The Mercedes RV gradually slowed down and came to a stop in front of the Crowne Plaza Hotel. After the bellboy opened the door, Duke's two bodyguards immediately hurried over from the car behind them. They took their luggage and, following Western customs, tipped the bellboy.

Looking up at the blocky Chinese characters above the entrance, Scarlett Johansson sighed.

"To think a relatively unknown Chinese city would be this congested."

Just as she finished speaking, she coughed a few times, unconsciously pinching her nose as her brow furrowed tightly.

Duke turned to look at the gray sky. Naturally, he hadn't forgotten this city famous for its springs. The air here faintly carried an indescribable smell. Looking up, it felt like something was blocking out the sky.

He remembered it very clearly. Back when his former self lived in this city during this same time of year, its air quality index almost always ranked in the bottom three.

Originally, Duke had left the crew and brought Scarlett Johansson to this city to see what his other self's hometown looked like. But the air quality today was just too poor; it clearly wasn't suitable for going out.

"Cancel the sightseeing plans for now..."

Inside the presidential suite, Duke spoke to Tina Fey and Scarlett Johansson as they unpacked.

"Let's see if the air clears up tomorrow."

Perhaps she was still unaccustomed to the climate after arriving in China, or perhaps the air truly had irritated her. Ever since coming upstairs, Scarlett would let out a few light coughs every now and then.

"Cough... cough..."

Raising a fist to her mouth, she coughed twice. Scarlett Johansson hung Duke's coat on a hanger and spoke.

"I just can't figure out why you wanted to come here."

Tina Fey gave Duke an equally curious look. She had accompanied Duke to China far more times than Scarlett had, yet she had never seen him show any interest in a city like this.

Naturally, Duke wasn't going to state his real reason. He just shook his head slightly.

"You wouldn't understand."

Scarlett Johansson walked over. Pulling Duke down to sit with her on the sofa, she asked, "Since when did you like playing the mystic?"

"A few days ago in Shanghai, I read a promotional brochure for this city..."

Seeing Scarlett looking at him in confusion, Duke casually replied, "And then I had a dream about traveling here."

"That's the reason?" Scarlett shook her head vigorously. Knowing the kind of person Duke was, she didn't buy it for a second. "Would you really be swayed by a dream?"

Having finished unpacking her things, Tina Fey headed toward the study.

"I'm going to get to work," she said.

Duke nodded. After coming to China, his workload hadn't actually decreased. Many of Lucasfilm's collaborations with the Chinese side required his approval, and most of these were handled initially by Tina Fey before being compiled and handed over to him.

Scarlett passed him a glass of water. Duke took it, drank it down, and walked over to the laptop Tina Fey had already set up, pressing the power button.

Pouring another glass of water for Duke, Scarlett followed him over and asked, "Still working?"

"Our promotional hype targeting that Mr. 'Cannon' has already begun."

Grabbing the mouse and opening the browser, Duke stared at the screen as he spoke. "I want to see what the reaction is like on the internet over here."

Recently, the main promotional focus for Star Wars: The Force Awakens in the Chinese region had undoubtedly been its sky-high Chinese box office. But that kind of promotion couldn't maintain its intense heat forever; fresh topics capable of stirring up public interest were absolutely essential.

Many media outlets were hyping up Cannon Feng's remarks. However, on social media, under the clever guidance of Warner Greater China Region's PR department, the comments from Chinese fans and netizens were skewing completely one-sided.

The illustrious Cannon Feng believed that Star Wars: The Force Awakens had plenty of spectacle, but lacked heart.

"You're just showing me a spectacle, and I'm not satisfied with that. What I look for is heart. Whether it's a film or a stage performance, it needs to be made with heart."

These were the words Cannon Feng later posted on Weibo, which drew fire from countless fans and netizens—Yeah, Personal Tailor, I walked out before it even finished.

More and more sharp comments surfaced online, creating a wave of voices on social media slamming Cannon Feng.

"Let's set aside whether Director Feng's opinion is fair or not. Just looking at the level of domestic film production, China definitely still has a long way to go to catch up to Hollywood. Every country has different cinematic styles, and almost no other country can match Hollywood blockbusters. Chinese films are leagues behind in technology—which can be caught up to with hard work—but when it comes to the sincerity put into making a movie, we really should learn from American blockbusters."

"Nowadays, shoddily made Chinese films are incredibly common, and their heavy commercialization is widely criticized by domestic audiences. Watching a bad movie once means you got fooled; watching another one means you're just stupid. There's nothing wrong with supporting domestic films, and it should be encouraged, but blindly supporting them will only spoil Chinese cinema. It's exactly because Chinese films have disappointed audiences time and time again, remaining unrepentant and growing more profit-driven with each release, that fewer and fewer people will be willing to foot the bill in the future."

In fact, the way Duke saw it, Chinese cinema could develop in two directions. One was to form its own unique style, strictly avoiding blindly following trends and churning out uniform, incomprehensible messes. The other was to develop commercially, but the sincerity had to be there. A blockbuster should feel like a blockbuster; slapping on a blockbuster banner while throwing together a disjointed mess would only ruin the reputation of Chinese cinema as a whole.

Some Chinese netizens were relatively rational, refraining from aimless, reckless attacks.

"Director Feng really is confused sometimes and clear-headed at others. Not long ago, he blasted variety show spin-off movies like Running Man and won countless likes and support. Now he's trashing Star Wars: The Force Awakens and drawing endless curses. Everyone is free to evaluate a movie, and Director Feng is no exception. It's just a case of 'the bad student doing poorly, and blaming the top student for studying too well.'"

Some fans were completely merciless.

"Domestic directors just aren't cutting it, and now watching Duke Rosenberg rake in cash, they're feeling uncomfortable... But they never stop to think: even if you added all their box office numbers together, could it beat the amount Duke Rosenberg generated all on his own?"

A movie would never become a massive hit purely by being well-shot and well-produced. The outstanding promotional marketing for Star Wars: The Force Awakens was undoubtedly the key to its current box office explosion, and in a way, Cannon Feng had actually given Star Wars: The Force Awakens a helping hand.

Following its one billion RMB box office haul in just three days, Star Wars: The Force Awakens remained completely unrivaled in the Chinese theatrical market over the next ten days, thoroughly dominating the field.

However, Star Wars: The Force Awakens couldn't possibly maintain its ultra-high momentum of one billion RMB every three days; that was simply impossible. After the first three days of its opening week, the hype inevitably saw a slight decline, but over these ten days, it still raked in a solid one billion RMB.

In its thirteen days on screen, Star Wars: The Force Awakens surged past 2 billion RMB at the box office, effortlessly overtaking the 1.997 billion RMB record set by Duke's other film, The Avengers, to become the highest-grossing film in Chinese cinematic history!

Likewise, outside of North America, the Chinese market was the highest-grossing market for Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

Its title as the world's second-largest box office market was absolutely well-deserved.

Even though Star Wars: The Force Awakens was on fire globally, with box office tickets and merchandise selling like crazy, Duke wasn't in the best of moods. Having arrived in this city famous for its springs, they had only been sightseeing for half a day when Scarlett Johansson started feeling obvious discomfort in her throat, her cough gradually turning severe.

Even though the doctor didn't think the issue was too serious, Duke decided to cut this rather unpleasant trip short.

"I want to go back to Los Angeles."

The perpetually gray sky here had left Scarlett in a terrible mood.

"I miss Malibu and our Duke Manor."

Now that Star Wars: The Force Awakens had been screening in China for nearly half a month and had surpassed 2 billion RMB at the box office, it had already exceeded his and Lucasfilm's expectations. With the various promotional campaigns also drawing to a close, there wasn't much point in staying here any longer.

"Alright, darling," Duke said, gently tapping her forehead. "Let's go home then."

What's past is past in the end, and Duke wasn't the type to obsess over it. He had figured out this kind of issue decades ago.