Chapter 410: Midnight Slot

He was truly in the clear now!

Chen Mo thought confidently. Even if something unexpected happened, he had two backup ways to spend money.

First, the purchase and renovation of an apartment building.

Second, the investment in the science fiction film.

Either of these paths could easily account for over a hundred million in expenditures.

So, even if one of his subsidiaries experienced a sudden turn of events that resulted in a profit, he had ways to burn through that unexpected income.

This time, nothing could stop him from fully converting the System Funds.

………………..

Blue Film Studio,

Manager’s Office.

Wang Bin found Luo Xiao, looking excited.

“Brother Xiao, everything went smoothly with the film censorship board. I’ve calculated the timeline, and the earliest we can release is August 15th.”

“Mm, that works. Have you communicated with the theaters?”

Luo Xiao set aside the script in his hand and looked up at Wang Bin. He was somewhat surprised by Wang Bin’s efficiency.

Upon hearing this, Wang Bin gave a wry smile.

“The situation with the theaters isn’t very ideal.”

“What? Are they refusing to screen our movie?”

Luo Xiao frowned slightly. If things were as he suspected, it would be a problem. If theaters didn’t have faith in their film and refused to show it, it would be difficult to resolve.

After all, no matter how well a movie was filmed, if it couldn’t get into theaters, no one would see it, let alone generate box office revenue.

“It’s not that,” Wang Bin shook his head and explained. “The main issue is that our movie doesn’t have any ‘traffic stars^[1]‘ or established veteran actors. The theater supervisors are skeptical about our film.”

“So, in terms of scheduling, we’ve basically been relegated to the midnight slot—anytime after 12:00 AM.”

Wang Bin felt helpless. He knew the midnight slot well; there simply weren’t many people who went to the movies at that hour.

Furthermore, they hadn’t done any promotion for the film. With a naturally small audience and zero marketing, the number of people watching their movie would be even lower. This would undoubtedly have a massive impact on the box office.

“Is that so?”

Luo Xiao frowned, though he felt a slight sense of relief. Regardless, this outcome was better than not being able to screen in theaters at all. Still, being relegated to the midnight slot worried him.

After a moment of silence, he suddenly remembered the two young masters from Beijing who had invited them to dinner after the filming wrapped up in the capital.

One of them, named Chen Cong, had mentioned that his family owned a theater chain. He had said that if the movie ever released, he could help with the scheduling.

Luo Xiao considered it. Ultimately, he had to pin the film’s hopes on Chen Cong. Although he didn’t know if Chen Cong would still remember his words, he had to try and reach out.

“Do you remember Chen Cong, the one we had dinner with in Beijing? You could try contacting him to see if he can help. We don’t need the prime slots, just something better than midnight.”

“Right! How could I forget Chen Cong? He did say he’d help when our movie came out. I’ll contact him right away.”

Wang Bin nodded excitedly.

“Mm.”

Luo Xiao nodded, then glanced at his phone. It was almost noon—lunchtime.

“Let’s go. We’ll grab some lunch first and look into it more when we get back.”

“Right. Manager Wei and the others have been following our progress with the theaters. We can update them while we eat.”

Wang Bin agreed. The two of them stood up and headed out of the office.

……..

Mingri Group Cafeteria.

After getting their food, Luo Xiao and Wang Bin scanned the room and spotted Wei Yan and the others in the distance. They walked over.

“Director Luo, Manager Wang, you’re a bit slow getting down here today!” Wei Yan joked casually as he watched them approach.

“We were discussing some things and lost track of time.” Luo Xiao set his tray on the table and sat down. “By the way, the release date for the movie is set. It’ll be the 15th of this month.”

“August 15th?”

Wei Yan pulled out his phone and checked the calendar. “The 15th is a Sunday, a day off for the company. In that case, I’ll organize the employees to go and show some support.”

“Boring Short Video can do the same,” Li Shen added from the side.

They had already planned to show their support. After all, this was Blue Film Studio’s first movie and President Chen’s first step into the film industry. As members of Mingri Group, it was only natural for them to go and support it.

Moreover, they knew from Luo Xiao that the movie hadn’t been promoted, so the audience numbers would definitely be low during the initial release period. That made their support even more vital.

“How about this: let’s mention it in the managers’ group chat. We’ll try to organize as many employees as possible to see the movie on Sunday. Of course, Sunday is their rest day, so we shouldn’t force anyone. We’ll just explain the situation, and whoever wants to go can sign up.”

Wei Yan rubbed his chin as he spoke. President Chen had always advocated against infringing on employees’ rest time, so they couldn’t go against his wishes.

“Thank you!” Luo Xiao said, his face full of gratitude.

Even if they organized the entire group’s staff to go to the theater, it wouldn’t boost the box office revenue by much, but the gesture alone was enough to make them happy.

“Don’t mention it. We’re all part of the same group. Isn’t helping each other out what we’re supposed to do?” Wei Yan waved it off dismissively.

“Exactly!” Li Shen and the others nodded in agreement.

The group finished their meal quickly. Wei Yan took the opportunity to send the news about Blue Film Studio’s new movie releasing on August 15th into the group chat.

Responses started rolling in almost immediately.

Song Xia: Received. The midnight slot is perfect. We can head to the theater right after we get off work. I’ve been looking forward to this for a long time.

Jiang Cheng: Received. I’ll notify the employees. Once we have a head count, I’ll pre-order the tickets so we can all go together.

Yao Beiguo: Since it’s President Chen’s first theatrical release, we definitely have to show up. I’ll bring the club members along.

Pang Tao: Received. However, we haven’t finished recruiting all our staff yet, so I can’t bring many people. Oh, wait—a lot of the villagers work at the Pet Park. I can organize them to go. It’ll help build the bond between the villagers and the Pet Park.

Li Shen: Everyone, pay attention. Let’s coordinate which company goes to which theater and buy tickets in advance. It’ll be a mess if everyone crowds into the same cinema.

Luo Xiao: Thank you, everyone!!

Translator’s Notes

1. traffic stars: A literal translation of ‘liuliang mingxing’ (流量明星), referring to celebrities who have a massive online following and high commercial value, regardless of their professional acting skills or experience. ↩