The May Day holiday finally arrived amid everyone's eager anticipation.
For many people, this was a perfect day for relaxation and unwinding. They could finally shed the exhaustion brought by work or studies and properly enjoy some leisure time.
But for many industry insiders, this marked the beginning of a new film release season battle.
Not only those with films actually releasing, but even many industry professionals without current releases would closely monitor the box office trends.
Because this not only indicated the economic development prospects of this year's May Day season box office, but also served as an indicator of future audience preferences.
The several May Day season films that had been building hype for a long time officially faced audiences and began making their box office pushes.
Soon, on May Day itself, a comedy film smoothly climbed to first place on the daily box office chart.
Several other action and suspense films closely trailed behind, ready to overtake at any moment.
However, unnoticed by many in the lower part of the chart, "Law of the Jungle" stubbornly held onto the fourth position.
Above it were this year's May Day hot contenders chasing the box office championship.
Below it were pitiful flop films unworthy of even having their names remembered in the May Day season.
By the time many people noticed it, "Law of the Jungle" had officially broken through the 600 million total box office threshold.
That miraculous turnaround from the low point made everyone dumbfounded.
["Stop fighting, stop fighting, 'Law of the Jungle' has already been achieving daily counter-trend growth in corners you don't know about."]
["Wait, 'Law of the Jungle' hasn't ended its run yet?"]
["This is a bit excessive, right? The May Day season competition is already fierce enough, why is a Festival slot film joining the fun? This is just ridiculous—"]
["? A film's normal release cycle is about one month. If 'Law of the Jungle' hadn't moved up its release date, it would naturally still be showing at this time anyway. Besides, their screening arrangements are already very limited."]
["I just want to watch 'Law of the Jungle,' what's wrong with that? I just love it and watch it repeatedly."]
["Exactly, I need to wait for later reviews for the other films, but 'Law of the Jungle' has been out for a month already, so I can just jump in without thinking. So I'll watch 'Law of the Jungle' first while waiting for reviews of other films, what's wrong with that?"]
["Agreed, I've already watched it twice—once during Festival and once during May Day. No particular reason, I just enjoy watching handsome guys, it clears my mind and refreshes my spirit."]
Although many people weren't too happy about it, audiences wouldn't care about their feelings anyway, still doing their own thing and choosing films worth watching.
So when the May Day season ended and "Law of the Jungle" officially concluded its run, its total box office reached 700 million.
Although it couldn't compare to this year's May Day season box office champion, it had already accomplished its own goals.
And now, the new battlefield had shifted to overseas markets.
This was yet another vast, undeveloped territory—
...
Italy, Mengla Corrett Airport.
The moment Xiao He landed, he received an enthusiastic welcome from O'Deen.
"I knew you would definitely come! Welcome, welcome!"
O'Deen greeted him cheerfully while introducing the person standing beside him: "This is our team's coach, Luca."
"Hello, I'm Luca Rossi, you can call me Luca."
Luca was tall and large-framed with relatively dark skin, a completely bald head, and teeth so white they seemed to glow when he smiled. Although he also used Mandarin when speaking with Xiao He, compared to O'Deen his skills were much poorer, basically only capable of the most basic daily expressions.
Xiao He politely nodded in greeting.
Actually, Xiao He had spotted this coach from far away.
No particular reason—this coach was simply too tall. As Xiao He approached, he even needed to look up to see the other person.
Xiao He even felt this person shouldn't be a racing coach.
Such a burly, two-meter-tall giant seemed more like a basketball coach...
And could someone this large even fit into a race car?
Xiao He's thoughts wandered off track for a moment.
But of course, since he was a coach, he definitely had his special qualities.
Xiao He was new here and unfamiliar with these people, so he didn't ask any questions.
"Brother Xiao."
Xiao Chen, who had gone to collect the luggage, made his way through the crowd pushing Xiao He's suitcase.
Xiao He casually took it, then said to O'Deen: "Let's go."
O'Deen glanced at Xiao He and his assistant Xiao Chen beside him, then asked with some surprise: "You only brought this young assistant this time?"
"Yes, it's only one day anyway, fewer people makes things more convenient." Xiao He nodded, "Should we go see the venue first, or head to the hotel?"
"Then let's go directly to the venue."
O'Deen's expression was somewhat peculiar, but he still motioned for Xiao He and Xiao Chen to follow, then led them to the car Luca had driven.
Surprisingly, Luca was driving a minibus with many seats and a very spacious driver's area.
But even so, Luca sitting in the driver's seat still gave off a strangely crowded feeling, like a giant driving a car.
Xiao He's mouth twitched slightly as he and Xiao Chen randomly chose seats to sit in.
Xiao Chen leaned close to Xiao He and whispered: "They're really strange, bringing such a big car."
As if they had many people with them.
Xiao He thought for a moment, then answered quietly: "Maybe they thought I would bring many people?"
This point didn't need Xiao Chen and Xiao He to ask, as O'Deen had already proactively explained to Xiao He: "Sorry, we thought you would bring a team with you, so we prepared a slightly larger vehicle. We didn't expect you would only have two people."
Xiao He immediately responded: "No problem, it was thoughtful of you."
Actually, now that his fame had grown, Liu Rulan had been considering expanding Xiao He's daily accompanying team—such as makeup artists, bodyguards, dedicated drivers, multiple assistants, etc.—but Xiao He had refused all of it.
Mainly because he really didn't like having a crowd surrounding him.
Moreover, when Xiao He went out, he rarely encountered situations where fans surrounded him. If he hired a group of bodyguards to clear the way, it would feel too deliberate. He'd rather just put on a mask and slip away quietly.
If something really happened, Xiao He could protect himself anyway, and if absolutely necessary, he could just run away.
More people just meant more burdens.
"But I remember Director Zhuang said you're quite famous in China."
O'Deen sat in the front seat, turning sideways to curiously ask Xiao He: "I thought you Chinese stars always traveled with entourages, with crowds of people everywhere you go, making quite the spectacle."
China has many people, emphasizing lively bustling atmospheres.
Xiao He: ?
"Not to that extent, not to that extent."
Xiao He didn't know who was damaging the reputation of Chinese artists overseas, but he still helped explain, "Some of us might bring more people because we have schedules and work commitments, making it convenient for work coordination. But this trip is more of a private itinerary for me, so I don't need to bring too many people."
"I see—" O'Deen twitched the corner of his mouth, looking at Xiao He with great admiration, his tone carrying some emotion, "Then it's probably only you, Xiao He, who does things this way. The Chinese actors we've known have always been particularly arrogant and entitled, very annoying. So I indeed prefer you more."
Xiao He was momentarily stunned, then immediately understood that O'Deen had specific prototypes in mind for comparison.
No wonder O'Deen hadn't liked them before.