On Wednesday and Thursday, Su Yan and Dimensional Pictures intensified the promotional push for 'Your Name'.
The film's female lead was played by Gu Qingyuan, who was also starring in the hit drama 'Kimi ni Todoke' this season, making the promotional synergy incredibly effective.
A large number of drama fans openly stated on forums that they would support the movie just because of her.
Meanwhile, media across the Xia Nation didn't just focus on Su Yan—
They began targeting the creators of 'Three People', 'Bone Temple', and 'Summer Night', asking their writers, directors, and actors whether they had confidence in beating Su Yan's new film at the box office.
Some reporters even deliberately stirred trouble.
One particularly outrageous journalist asked the producer of 'Summer Night' how it felt to withdraw from the Spring Festival season to avoid being crushed by 'Rurouni Kenshin: Movie', only to run into 'Your Name' in the summer.
The producer's face turned livid as he had security escort the reporter out—
And that incident made it into the top five trending topics on Thursday.
Soon, Thursday night arrived.
With the premiere approaching, Su Yan returned to the Tokyo area.
While promotion was important, the company still had three projects in production or preparation there—he couldn't stay away for too long.
That evening, the main cast and crew of 'Your Name' gathered together again for the first time in two months since filming wrapped.
They recorded a short group video and released it online as the final piece of promotion before the premiere.
And just like that—
Thursday passed.
Friday arrived.
From early morning, Zhong Qingxuan was already in an excited mood.
She had booked her ticket for 'Your Name' long ago, but during work hours, she kept secretly opening the ticketing app to check real-time pre-sale data.
After all, the four major films releasing that day wouldn't have their first screenings until around 7 PM—
So everything now was still pre-sales.
'Your Name': 152 million
'Three People': 77 million
'Bone Temple': 63 million
'Summer Night': 45 million
Just from pre-sales, it was obvious—
'Your Name' was on a completely different level compared to its competitors.
It wasn't just because of higher screening allocation.
Even accounting for that, its box office efficiency per screening far exceeded the others.
As a die-hard Su Yan fan for three years, Zhong Qingxuan couldn't resist slacking off at work and chatting nonstop in fan groups.
["This is what you call dominance! Before, we were always chasing others—now we're leading from day one!"]
["Don't celebrate too early. This is just day one. Long-term box office still depends on word of mouth."]
["Word of mouth? Do we need to worry about that with Su Yan? He has niche works, but never bad ones."]
["As long as it's not like 'Life is Strange'—too depressing. Fantasy romance is great, broad appeal… just please don't go tragic!"]
["Relax. He's changed this year. 'Rurouni Kenshin: Movie' and 'Kimi ni Todoke' weren't depressing. 'Your Name' should be the same."]
["Wait—everyone look! Su Yan just posted something new!"]
["What?!"]
Zhong Qingxuan's eyes sharpened.
A new post?
She quickly switched apps and opened Su Yan's creator account.
There was only one line:
["The regret of '5 Centimeters per Second'… will have a different outcome in 'Your Name'."]
Classic Su Yan—being cryptic again.
The regret of '5 Centimeters per Second'?
That could only mean one thing—
Two people drifting apart over time, their love fading into the crowd.
Why bring that up now?
Zhong Qingxuan blinked.
Could it be—
This movie had a similar premise? Childhood friends, separation, reunion later in life?
But unlike '5 Centimeters per Second', they wouldn't miss each other in the end?
Her heart started racing.
She checked the time.
3:27 PM.
"Just let me get out of work already…"
Friday afternoon was torture for office workers across the Xia Nation.
Zhong Qingxuan finally dragged herself to 6 PM, packed her bag, and rushed to a nearby cinema.
The moment she entered—
It was packed.
In this downtown theater, crowds filled the space.
Half were students on break.
The other half were office workers like her.
As always, the most eye-catching people were cosplayers of Su Yan's past works—
Especially those dressed as characters from 'Rurouni Kenshin: Movie', with replica reverse-blade swords bought from Dimensional Pictures' official store.
Some even practiced moves in open areas, drawing crowds.
There were also plenty of cosplayers dressed as characters like Gilgamesh and Artoria.
The crowd naturally split into different fan groups—
But in terms of numbers, Su Yan's fans clearly outnumbered all others combined.
"We're the majority now."
Zhong Qingxuan felt a surge of confidence.
After all—
If the majority dressed unusually, then it was everyone else who felt out of place.
Waiting inside the theater felt much faster than working.
Before she knew it, the announcement for entry began.
At the ticket check, a long line formed for 'Your Name'.
Inside the large screening hall, with several hundred seats—
More than 80% were already filled.
Zhong Qingxuan gradually calmed down.
Before the movie started, she checked the real-time box office again:
191 million.
And this was still just the opening window.
She wondered—
How much would it reach by midnight?
Before she could think further—
The lights suddenly went out.
The screen flickered—
And the first image appeared:
A brilliant, radiant sun beyond the stratosphere.
Below it, endless white clouds stretched across the sky.
Then—
A meteor pierced through the clouds.
Above the clouds, it was still daylight.
Below them—
Night.
A streak of light crossed the sky, igniting and fragmenting as it burned through the atmosphere, leaving a long, glowing trail.
The scene—
No one yet knew its meaning.
But Zhong Qingxuan—and everyone in the theater—was instantly drawn in.
Just like '5 Centimeters per Second'—
The visuals of Su Yan's films…
Were breathtaking.
Even without understanding the story yet—
Just the visuals alone made the ticket worth it.