For the survey, both the men's and women's groups each had 100 participants, ages ranging from 19 to 45. People Magazine believed Douglas and Zimmerman would easily dominate.
But the results were surprising. Among the men surveyed, 43.3 percent said Chu Zhi was more handsome. About 30 percent of men on Fifth Avenue thought he looked better than Zimmerman, which put them neck and neck, with Douglas only slightly ahead.
In the women's group, Chu Zhi, Douglas, and Zimmerman won by a landslide. Out of 100 women, 85 chose Chu Zhi, 7 chose Douglas, 5 chose Zimmerman, and 3 either said they liked all of them and couldn't choose or didn't like any.
"I know this actor, his name's Chu Zhi. I just watched Unsinkable. He's not just handsome, he's beautiful. His face is a work of art."
"I think his features are the most perfect among Asians. He's got the mystery of East Asia in him. Every time I see him, my heart melts. If I ever had the chance to date an East Asian guy, I wouldn't say no, but only if he was as good-looking as Chu."
"Of course I'd pick Chu Zhi. Just imagine, waking up every day and seeing that face. I'm jealous of Idolia, jealous of every person who's ever kissed this man."
"I desperately hope he has a child, so those genes won't go to waste. If not, a hundred years later, all that beauty would just vanish."
Among the 85 women who chose him, there were Asians, Latinas, Black women, European women, even Native Hawaiians.
Maybe People Magazine arranged it for racial fairness, because Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders make up less than half a percent of America's population.
"Chu Zhi's handsome, sure, but this ratio's way too exaggerated." Gudas, the team leader for this survey and the magazine's fourth editor-in-chief, found the results hard to believe.
Most magazines have only three editors-in-chief. People is such a big publication that it has five.
Two Hollywood heartthrobs, Zimmerman and Douglas, being completely overshadowed in women's eyes?
Douglas is Dior's global menswear ambassador, while Zimmerman has his own brand and is the face of Brioni. Both are celebrated in the fashion world. Losing to an Asian guy was something Gudas refused to accept.
"It's probably because of Unsinkable. The halo from playing Li must've boosted him." Gudas quickly did another test, finding 50 women who hadn't seen Unsinkable yet.
Even though the film had stirred up a storm in North America, finding people who hadn't seen it wasn't hard.
Out of 50 women, 37 still picked Chu Zhi. The "Li filter" did exist, but even without it, most women still thought he looked better than Douglas and Zimmerman.
Once looks hit a certain level, it's hard to compare objectively. It all comes down to personal taste. It's like trying to rank Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, and Keanu Reeves.
Still, both surveys showed the same thing: Chu Zhi's appearance had a clear advantage over Douglas in women's eyes.
Gudas admitted he was in the world's top beauty tier, but why was he so dominant among women? Were male and female standards of beauty really that far apart?
As People's fourth editor-in-chief, he decided to personally lead a team to write a feature article. The data had to be solid, so the second survey asked more detailed questions about why the women made their choices.
The article would be published in two days. People is a weekly, always released on Tuesdays.
But forget two days later, today was the 13th, another day where the Emperor Beast strutted his stuff around the globe.
Chu Zhi and Lin Xia happened to show up at the same cinema, though it wasn't planned. They just both ended up at the StarMAX International Cinema in Shanghai.
He'd actually been given a rare day off by Brave Bull and the other companies' decision-making teams. That kind of thing only ever happened with Aiguo. After all, the Emperor Beast had mastered CPU's core essence.
He was about to get busy flying around promoting Unsinkable. If the box office tanked, he had to roadshow. If the box office soared, he had to roadshow even harder.
Before all that work, he decided on a whim to go to the movies. He picked Agent 0811, the big rival to his own film.
Calling it a "rival" wasn't quite right. On its third day, it had earned 350 million RMB on opening day, then 470 million the next, climbing to 820 million RMB total, overtaking both Star Ranger and Critical Point, which together made only 780 million.
As a side note, Saturday box office numbers are usually higher than Friday's.
Lin Feifei, of course, picked the 3D IMAX theater. Tickets were 68 RMB. He always bought the most expensive ones, not necessarily the best. He'd heard the VFX in Unsinkable were insane.
"Big sister, didn't we just watch Titanic yesterday? Why are we watching it again today? Isn't that overkill?"
"It's not. The first time's for the story."
"And the second time's for what?"
…
Lin Xia overheard this little exchange while waiting in line. He found the audience so lively and cute, the very reason China's film market thrived.
Inside the IMAX hall, with over 400 seats, about 70 percent were filled. Pretty good.
During the movie, he didn't hear anyone crying, which felt normal. He'd gone in with high expectations, so to him it met the bar, but it didn't move him much…
The love story between Li and Rose didn't stir him at all. What hit him instead were the elderly couple clinging to each other as the ship sank, and the mother soothing her kids to sleep.
"If only these people hadn't boarded, the world would still be the same, but they'd still be alive…" Lin Feifei muttered to himself.
When the lights came on, he realized people had cried. The theater's sound system had just drowned out the sobs. Now that it was quiet, he saw plenty of tear-streaked faces.
Just as he left the cinema, his agent Brother Xian texted. Director Jin Guanhua's audition had gone well, and he'd been accepted into the new film.
"There's no first in literature, no second in martial arts." The old saying was right. Jin Guanhua was one of the top directors alongside Wang Anyi. The entertainment world often said, "South Guanhua, North Anyi."
Of course, the pairing only applied within China. Internationally, Wang Anyi was far more famous.
"Getting recognized by a great director, that's another solid step forward." Lin Xia held back his joy.
Then his phone lit up with notifications:
[Palme d'Or-winning director Laird Bagon calls Unsinkable a trash film, but says the actor is brilliant.] Weather app, 35 minutes ago.
[Unsinkable overtakes rivals, becomes number one at the North American box office.] Browser, 40 minutes ago.
[Chu Zhi voted 'World's Sexiest Man' by YouTube users.] Weibo, 15:43.
Why was his notification bar filled with Emperor Beast news? Simple, he searched for Chu Zhi a lot. Big data remembered.
"Bagon huh… like Director Wang, she's won top awards at Europe's three major film festivals. But in film, just like in music, Chu's crushing everyone with ease."
It had taken Lin Xia five years to transition from singer to actor, five years of hard work to finally land a chance with Director Jin Guanhua.
But Chu Zhi? His debut was After I Close My Eyes, a film that blew up all across Asia. His second was Wang Anyi's Shiyi Lang, where he played the absolute lead.
And now, Unsinkable, which at this rate was destined to turn him into an A-list Hollywood star.
How many Chinese actors dreamed of breaking into Hollywood? Yet most ended up with minor roles or only appearing in "China-only versions."
"I know Chu's a '98 Tiger, but what are you, Tigger? Bouncing up way too fast."
Lin Xia muttered, but he wasn't bitter. After all, being a "Nine Thousand Years Old" wasn't bad at all. Among the stars of the '90s, he was still the brightest.
They left the cinema without noticing each other. They were watching different films, and besides, both were celebrities. They had to dress up a bit before going out, or else being recognized could cause chaos.
"0811 kinda failed. The main character's breaking his own setup," Chu Zhi said to himself. He was a premium Bilibili member and had watched the first two installments.
How did he find the time, busy as he was? Simple. There's always enough time if you count the scraps. People waste hours scrolling before bed or even staying longer in the bathroom because of their phones. Add up those fragments, and you can do a lot.
"0811 was supposed to be a super high-profile agent, but that doesn't mean he's brainless. The guy acts without thinking of the consequences."
"All for spectacle, but the motivations don't add up. Flying a passenger jet into a fighter jet? He could've just turned back and swapped for another fighter. Instead, they sacrificed a whole cabin full of lives. Seriously?"
If you could do that, why not crash a plane into the New York Trade Center? Personally, Chu Zhi only gave Critical Point an eight out of ten. As long as you ignored the logic, it was a fine popcorn flick.
That's why Critical Point and Empire of Tomorrow had steady box office declines, while Star Ranger plummeted. Negative reviews kept piling up.
Unsinkable was the opposite. Reviews were glowing. Many Western viewers even called it the best love story in film history.
Box office numbers:
Day 3: $92.7 million (North America), 3157.9 million RMB (China)
Day 4: $35.5 million (North America), 2156.4 million RMB (China)
Day 5: $32.4 million (North America), 2468.1 million RMB (China)
Why did it look like North America's numbers dropped sharply after day three? Simple, weekend sales couldn't compare to weekdays. That's why premieres there are always on Fridays.
By the next Friday, it'd bounce back. So it wasn't really a drop. Even so, in just five days the global box office broke $1 billion.
Turns out women know best what women want to watch. Yang Linbin was right.
Xu Qiao thought Unsinkable wouldn't reach $1 billion under so much competition, but it did it in five days.
In those five days: about $320 million in North America, 1.5 billion RMB in China, and $110 million combined from the UK, Japan, and South Korea.
Top contributing countries were: North America, China, the UK, South Korea, Japan, Brazil, Mexico, India…
Everyone in the film industry was floored. At this rate, it was heading straight for a top 5 spot on the all-time box office charts.
Who'd have thought? James Cameron, who'd never had a big-budget project, and Chu Zhi, an Asian lead whose film even faced funding cuts during production, pulling off such a massive success.
"Tell me, what's the perfect combo? You tell me what's the perfect combo!" The Fox Studios president was going crazy with joy.