Chapter 409 - 404: Spring Festival

Chapter 409: Chapter 404: Spring Festival

New Year’s Eve.

Jiang Xia and Lin Yanwan were spending it at Li Weiya’s house, while his father-in-law and mother-in-law had taken Xiao Man to Jiang Xia’s home.

At the dinner table, the two groups had a video chat open on their computers, allowing the family to have a reunion dinner in their own unique way.

The parents were very understanding about the two kids not being able to come home for the New Year. After all, what could be more important than the premiere of the Cat and Mouse movie?

Hearing Jiang Xia say that the limited release had already grossed over seven million in three days, Lin Gaoyuan couldn’t help but sigh. This made money far faster than his painstaking work making toys.

And this was just the limited release. Once it went nationwide, it would probably rake in tens of millions in a single day.

"Dad, you need to get the movie-related merchandise into production as soon as possible. After the Spring Festival, the toy market is going to be incredibly hot," Jiang Xia said slowly, raising his glass to the computer screen.

"Okay, I’ll start work after the fifth day of the New Year. If no one wants to work, I’ll offer double, even triple, wages," Lin Gaoyuan agreed with a nod.

He was now relying on selling Cat and Mouse merchandise. Last year alone, he’d made tens of millions in pure profit. Following Jiang Xia’s advice, he had expanded his toy-related business into all sorts of areas, which led to a significant increase in sales.

He finally understood the wisdom in taking good advice. The best decision he had ever made in his life was probably realizing his mistake quickly and not stubbornly continuing to interfere in his daughter’s private life.

"Weiya, thank you for taking such good care of the two kids in the Imperial Capital," Xia Shanshan said with a smile.

"Teacher Xia, don’t mention it. It’s what I should do as their godmother. Besides, Ah Xia and Yanwan are very low-maintenance," Li Weiya said with a gentle shake of her head.

"Xiaxia, is the movie’s nationwide release right after midnight tonight? Wanzhou Cinema didn’t have the limited screenings, and Xiao Man has been dying to see it for ages," Ji Wanqiu asked with a smile.

"That’s right, Mom. It releases nationwide at midnight. You’ll be able to see it in any theater in the country. The showtimes should be plentiful throughout the Spring Festival, running all the way until the end of March," Jiang Xia said.

"Yay! We can go see the movie tomorrow! Good luck in the Year of the Rabbit, good luck in the Year of the Rabbit!"

Lin Xiaoman held her chopsticks, her little face beaming with joy. The only thing she was probably unhappy about was that her sister and brother-in-law hadn’t come home for the New Year, and with her parents busy with their own things, she was bored all by herself.

"Sister, Brother-in-law, when are you coming home? I miss you so much," the little girl pouted.

"Be a good girl, Xiao Man. Your sister and brother-in-law are very busy. They’re making a movie, you know. Otherwise, how would you have cartoons to watch?" Ji Wanqiu said.

"I know. I love Cat and Mouse, too. But I haven’t seen you and Brother-in-law in a long, long time. I miss you, and Yuyuan misses you too."

"Be good, Xiao Man. We’ll come home as soon as we’re done with work, and we’ll bring you lots and lots of presents," Lin Yanwan said, her voice gentle as she looked at her sister on the screen.

"Really?!"

"When have I ever lied to you?"

"Oh, yeah! I like you the most, Sister!"

"Aren’t I your favorite?" Jiang Xia couldn’t resist teasing his little sister-in-law.

"Yes, yes! I like Brother-in-law the very, very most!"

Under the table, Lin Yanwan discreetly pinched his waist.

As the family finished their reunion dinner amidst waves of laughter, Shen Ying felt a particular pang of envy.

All she could do was call home to let her parents know she was safe and tell them not to worry, that she was doing well at the company.

Li Weiya noticed this and silently thought to herself, ’After things settle down, I’ll definitely have my son accompany her on a trip back home.’

Before they knew it, the clock struck midnight. The 2011 Spring Festival had arrived right on schedule.

Jiang Xia stood on the balcony, looking out at the quiet Capital City, feeling a little unaccustomed to the silence. ’If I were back home,’ he thought, ’the air would be filled with the roar of firecrackers by now.’

At that very moment, theaters all across the country began checking tickets for the Cat and Mouse movie. Countless fans waiting to see the first film of the new year streamed inside, packing the cinemas.

The real-time box office numbers were skyrocketing. For Qitian Animation, tonight was destined to be a sleepless night.

Lin Yanwan gently wrapped her arms around Jiang Xia’s waist from behind, resting her head on his shoulder. "Honey, ready for bed?"

Jiang Xia caressed her delicate hands. Thinking about the movie’s promotional event tomorrow, he nodded slightly. "Yeah, let’s sleep."

Spending the New Year without the sound of firecrackers just felt like something was missing.

He had to make up for it.

He pulled his wife back to the room. While they celebrated the New Year with some fireworks of their own, the Cat and Mouse movie was earning explosive praise from fans all over the country.

In less than five hours after its release, the real-time box office gross had already surpassed twenty million, with an average attendance rate of nearly 40%. It became the fastest film of the year to break the ten-million-yuan mark.

At this rate, it was clearly on track to break the opening-day box office record of over thirty million set by the recently released Let the Bullets Fly.

After all, the people choosing to watch it at this hour were the most loyal fans of Cat and Mouse. Once daytime arrived, the parents would begin their official occupation of the theaters with their children in tow.

Daytime was when the Cat and Mouse movie would truly show its power.

◇

The next day at 7 a.m., Jiang Xia slowly woke up, holding his wife’s soft body in his arms.

He pulled his phone out from under the pillow to check the news online and saw that the box office had already passed twenty-five million. Media outlets of all kinds were sending their congratulations to Qitian Animation.

As an animated film, it was crushing a host of traditional commercial blockbusters to lead the daily box office chart. With a decisive 41% of all showtimes, it was more than twenty million ahead of the second-place film.

This proved that it wasn’t that animated films couldn’t achieve great results; it was that before Qitian Animation, no one had been able to make a *good* animated film.

With the popularity of Cat and Mouse currently soaring, countless fans who had already seen the movie became a volunteer army of promoters. On forums, Tieba, Weibo, D Station, and in chat groups, they posted pictures of their movie tickets and the packed, bustling scenes inside the theaters.

This incredible atmosphere, in turn, attracted countless more people to drag their friends and family, their sons and daughters, to the cinema to see the Cat and Mouse movie that the entire internet was raving about.

’If I remember correctly,’ he thought, ’in my past life, Avatar, directed by James Cameron and released in 2010, pulled in a massive 1.34 billion in this country and held the championship throne for four years.’

’With the ferocious momentum the Cat and Mouse movie has now, it’ll be difficult to surpass that record. A conservative estimate would put the final box office at around eight or nine hundred million before it leaves theaters.’

’But what if I leverage the "Rise of National Animation" angle and ruthlessly play on people’s patriotism? Who wants to see a foreign film sitting on top of a domestic one?’

’If I follow the marketing playbook from Nezha the Demon Child, I might just be able to take the Cat and Mouse movie to a whole new level.’