"Did the screening rate increase?"
Early in the morning, right after waking up, Su Yan contacted the distributor of '5 Centimeters per Second'.
At this point, Su Yan might not be powerful enough to do whatever he wanted, but ensuring that his work received fair treatment during the summer blockbuster season wasn't difficult for him.
If others wanted to suppress him, they couldn't just do it with words—they had to spend money.
But if they could spend money, could Su Yan not spend it as well?
Because of that, from promotion all the way to the film's release, '5 Centimeters per Second' basically hadn't suffered any major disadvantages.
It was far better than when 'The Garden of Words' premiered last year.
Su Yan got up early and began cooperating with the distributor to hold press conferences and fan meetings in Tokyo to promote the movie.
And once the film's reputation and ratings came out, the theater chains acted extremely quickly.
Early in the morning, cinemas had already begun placing the promotional posters of '5 Centimeters per Second' in the most prominent positions in the lobby, displayed side by side with the posters of 'Windmill'.
Meanwhile, starting Saturday, ordinary moviegoers on forums also began discussing it.
["So, can someone who watched '5 Centimeters per Second' tell me—is the movie really as exaggerated as people online say? Is it really a breakup masterpiece?"]
["Don't listen to those haters slandering Su Yan. What breakup masterpiece? If the story were actually bad, would it have a 9.4 rating?"]
["Exactly! They're all paid trolls from other films trying to smear it. Don't believe them. This movie is positive energy from beginning to end. The ending is heartwarming and deeply touching. I almost cried over the unwavering love between the male and female leads!"]
["My daughter watched it with me in the cinema. She walked out smiling! This morning she told me she wants to watch it again!"]
["A masterpiece. '5 Centimeters per Second' is an absolute healing masterpiece! The male and female leads live happily together and even have three kids. What breakup story? Don't listen to the nonsense."]
["Why are the comments about these two movies so weird on the forum? Half the people say it's depressing, the other half say it's healing. Are you premiere viewers suffering from split personalities?"]
["Those are just people messing around. If you can't tell which is true, then don't bother. Just know that whether people say the ending is healing or depressing, no one is saying the movie is bad. Everyone is praising it as worth watching."]
["That's right. I watched both 'Windmill' and '5 Centimeters per Second'. 'Windmill' felt worth the ticket price. But '5 Centimeters per Second' exceeded the ticket price by far. I already booked a ticket to watch it again this morning, and if nothing unexpected happens, I'll watch it a third time this afternoon."]
["Go watch it. You definitely won't regret it! But I recommend going alone."]
Early that morning, the online sentiment surrounding '5 Centimeters per Second' had completely changed compared to the previous night.
The first batch of fans who had been emotionally devastated had already reached a consensus:
Trick as many people as possible into entering the cinema.
And when new viewers came out of the theater, they also fell silent.
After seeing the tone of the comment sections online, even though they felt miserable inside, they followed the trend, joining the next wave of deceiving new viewers into experiencing the emotional devastation.
Of course, movie fans in the Xia Nation weren't fools. Many people could see what was happening.
But once they noticed it, they became even more curious.
Why would people give such high ratings to a movie they themselves described as painful and depressing?
Why were they cursing the screenwriter Su Yan in one post while showing off tickets for their second and third viewings in another?
What kind of charm did this movie actually have?
Fundamentally speaking, the worst thing for a movie after release is silence.
As long as there's discussion and buzz, it's basically the audience promoting the film for free.
Only then can a movie develop long-term momentum.
Why do fan-driven movies often have extremely high box office for the first one or two days, then collapse afterward?
Because even if a popular celebrity has many fans, compared to the hundreds of millions of moviegoers in a country, it's still a small group.
If the general audience doesn't notice the film, the box office will never grow.
This applied to Su Yan as well.
No matter how many fans he had, only a portion of his television drama fans would actually go to theaters to support his films.
For a true blockbuster, the majority of box office contributions always come from ordinary viewers.
And if those normally silent viewers start talking about the movie and recommending it—
Creating organic promotion—
Only then can the film succeed.
And clearly, on Saturday, '5 Centimeters per Second' was showing exactly that kind of momentum.
Although both '5 Centimeters per Second' and 'Windmill' had 22% screenings that day—
From the morning onward, '5 Centimeters per Second' was already outperforming 'Windmill' in box office trends.
The seat occupancy rate of 'Windmill' was roughly the same as the previous day.
But '5 Centimeters per Second' had a significantly higher attendance rate than the day before.
By 2 PM, the daily box office of 'Windmill' had exceeded 30 million yuan.
But '5 Centimeters per Second' had already approached 40 million yuan.
At this point, people in the film industry began to feel uneasy.
Sure, the cast of '5 Centimeters per Second' wasn't weak.
But 'Windmill' starred an award-winning actor and actress, clearly a stronger lineup.
And its investment was significantly higher.
So how had it been suppressed by '5 Centimeters per Second' at the box office on only the second day?
A fan-driven movie?
Bullshit.
Both films had actors with large fanbases.
But if that were the case, then why—
Despite having higher investment, stronger actors, and heavier promotion—
Was 'Windmill' still being overtaken?
The media also began reacting.
Earlier, they had been cautious. After all, last year 'The Garden of Words' only ranked third in its release period and didn't even surpass 600 million yuan in total box office.
With competition this fierce in this year's summer season, how could '5 Centimeters per Second' beat a massive production like 'Windmill'?
But reality had turned absurdly dramatic.
Since that was the case—
The media stopped holding back.
📰Genius Screenwriter Su Yan's New Film Receives Overwhelming Praise — A Strong Contender for Summer Box Office Champion!
📰On Its Second Day, '5 Centimeters per Second' Likely to Claim the Daily Box Office Crown!
📰The King of the Television Industry Enters the Film Industry With the Same Dominance. The Production Team of 'Windmill' Issues Multiple Statements Calling on Fans to Support the Movie in Theaters!
📰'5 Centimeters per Second': A Masterpiece That Portrays Love With Astonishing Depth. Love Isn't Always Beautiful—It Can Fade With Time. Given enough time, you may even forget the face of the person you once loved deeply.
📰Latest Work From a Genius Screenwriter! '5 Centimeters per Second'—A Romance Film That Moved the Entire Xia Nation.
📰Originally a Niche Artistic Romance Film, '5 Centimeters per Second' Has Become a Strong Box Office Contender Thanks to Su Yan's Fame. Will Su Yan Replicate His Rise in Television Within the Film Industry?
📰After Watching the Film Last Night, I Couldn't Sleep. I Dare Say '5 Centimeters per Second' Is the Best and Most Profound Romance Film in the Xia Nation in the Past Ten Years—Bar None.
📰Breaking Away From the Cliché Happy Ending. Pleasing the audience is merely the lower path. Even unforgettable love will fade with time. What '5 Centimeters per Second' truly teaches us is not despair, but that we should not remain trapped in the past. Like Takaki in the story, once everything becomes clear, turn around, smile, and keep moving forward.
To many of Su Yan's peers in the industry—
Su Yan seemed like a man with magic.
He was like a natural vortex of public attention.
Television.
Film.
Everything he touched created waves.
Before '5 Centimeters per Second' was released, no one believed the movie would flop.
Su Yan's screenwriting ability was unquestionable.
The film's 200+ million yuan investment was also there.
But since 'The Garden of Words' only made less than 600 million last year, people assumed that even with improvement, in such a competitive season, 700–800 million total box office would already be good.
The movie could recover costs from theatrical revenue and make profits later through streaming platforms, DVDs, and overseas rights.
Before release, most people in the Xia Nation thought this way.
But no one expected—
The opening day box office would be 83 million yuan.
And the opening rating would be 9.4.
Then by Saturday night—
The second-day box office soared to 131 million yuan.
The screening rate had increased by only 6%, yet compared to Friday's 83 million, the total box office jumped by 57%.
Of course, Saturday was a weekend with daytime screenings, so growth wasn't entirely surprising.
But 'Windmill', a film with bigger stars and a larger budget, actually lost the daily box office crown on its second day.
And with the same screening rate, its box office was only 110 million yuan.
This left many people in the film industry speechless.
Ridiculous.
Even a dark horse shouldn't be this dark.
Was 'Windmill' doing poorly?
Not at all.
With a two-day total exceeding 200 million, it was clearly on track for over 1 billion yuan.
Yet it was still suppressed by '5 Centimeters per Second'.
And even more terrifying—
Su Yan still had another film scheduled for release next month during the same summer season.
Originally, people thought 'We Made a Beautiful Bouquet' was just filler.
After all, Shen Liqian, a television drama queen who had never acted in a movie, supposedly lacked box office appeal.
Competitors releasing films in the same period thought that breaking even would already be good for that movie.
But now—
They were panicking.
Something felt wrong.
The situation had changed.
And seriously—
The summer box office champion couldn't possibly be taken by Su Yan, right?