Naturally, around the same time, all twenty-plus summer releases were ramping up their own promotional campaigns.
The film industry has always been a brutal meat grinder — 60–70% of films struggle to break even, with only around 10% managing to return 3x, 5x, or even 10x their budget.
By now, high school seniors were lounging at home like salted fish, waiting for their results. Other students were also beginning to enjoy their summer break.
What had been relatively quiet theaters in early June were heating up again by the end of the month.
Outside of the two days where 'Rurouni Kenshin: Trust & Betrayal' made a splash with its trailer on Yunteng TV, its buzz quickly got buried by other films.
Especially the big three — 'Original Sin', 'Torchlight', and 'Mirror Fish'. With investment levels well into the 100–200 million range, their promotional efforts were massive.
All three were fronted by top-tier stars in Great Zhou, and every major marketing channel had opened its doors to push them.
Even though Jing Yu had invested heavily in 'Trust & Betrayal''s promotion, by late June, the average moviegoer's impression was simply:
"Oh yeah, there's that movie coming out on the 7th."
And that was it.
Still, compared to the other small indie films releasing that summer, 'Trust & Betrayal' was already leagues ahead.
Those smaller productions had budgets of just a few million, maybe ten at most. How much could they possibly spend on marketing?
Even if the cast and crew were online 24/7 begging for support, the harsh truth was that very few people even knew their movies were coming out on July 7th.
Most films come and go without anyone noticing — people just don't care.
On June 29, Jing Yu was promoting in the Imperial Capital.
By July 1, he had moved on to a major coastal city.
On July 3, he returned to his base in Modo City, where he hosted a fan meet-and-greet.
Meanwhile, the media had begun publishing think pieces and editorials about 'Rurouni Kenshin: Trust & Betrayal's upcoming release.
"Genius TV screenwriter Jing Yu transitions to film — will this be the continuation of brilliance or a spectacular crash?"
"History shows very few succeed in leaping from television to film. Will Jing Yu follow the same path, or will he shine again in this new arena?"
"A beautiful trailer? High audience expectations? 'Trust & Betrayal', the dark horse of the summer? Nonsense! Film isn't that simple — this so-called genius is about to fall hard."
"Did Xia Yining and Yu Youqing save Jing Yu in a past life? Why are they in every single one of his projects? Will fans really follow these TV actresses to the big screen?"
"'Rurouni Kenshin: Trust & Betrayal' presale passes 25 million, ranked 5th among 22 summer releases — but the author predicts the total box office will struggle to break 80 million!"
"This so-called period drama is just a cheap romance in disguise — it will bring Jing Yu crashing down from his pedestal."
"We've done everything we could," Jing Yu said quietly.
It was late at night. He and Cheng Lie were sitting in a car, eating takeout.
Cheng Lie looked a little tense.
The truth was, many film critics in Great Zhou were just waiting for Jing Yu to fail.
And by extension, they were waiting for Cheng Lie to fail, too.
After all, this was the first movie from genius screenwriter Jing Yu and veteran Yunteng TV producer Cheng Lie, ever since they left the TV station.
If it bombed, it would make headlines.
"Relax," Jing Yu said, setting aside a report. "Believe in the work."
"These pre-release research numbers? Don't even bother reading them. If they meant anything, half the movies in this industry wouldn't go bankrupt."
No one would invest in a film if the planning report said it was likely to lose money.
But whether it actually turns a profit, only the market decides that.
It was already 9 p.m., and this was the first real meal the two had eaten all day.
"In terms of marketing budget, visibility, and influence — yeah, 'Rurouni Kenshin: Trust & Betrayal' is no match for 'Mirror Fish', 'Torchlight', or 'Original Sin'," Jing Yu admitted.
"But look — whether it was at Jinhui TV or Yunteng TV, none of my shows were ever expected to succeed before they aired. Every single one earned its reputation through word of mouth."
"As long as people like it after watching — that's enough."
Marketing can only buy you the first wave of ticket sales.
But if you want a true hit, you need good word of mouth.
And when it came to 'Rurouni Kenshin: Trust & Betrayal', Jing Yu was very confident in its reception.
Even back in his past life, Douban, infamous for its "professional trolls," couldn't find much fault with the animated version of 'Rurouni Kenshin: Trust & Betrayal, ' which held a 9.3 rating.
Yes — even the trolls liked it.
As for the live-action film version from his previous life, well… it wasn't terrible. Direction, pacing, visuals, and music were all solid.
But compared to the anime, it was like a 60 vs. 99.
Still, even that version scored an 8.5 on Douban.
Jing Yu's script for the 'Rurouni Kenshin: Trust & Betrayal' movie in this world had heavily borrowed from the anime version, which he deeply loved.
The live-action adaptation of his previous life? He couldn't stand it.
On July 6, the day before release, ads for the big three — 'Mirror Fish', 'Original Sin', and 'Torchlight' — were everywhere.
In television, pre-release exposure, network reputation, and buzz directly impact ratings.
But in film?
There's only one thing that matters: money.
Big-name directors, writers, actors — all of it just comes down to one thing: buying attention.
If skill alone were enough, there are plenty of talented actors out there. Why spend tens of millions on A-listers?
That kind of money could hire acting teachers from the Academy who could put on just as good a performance — but would anyone care?
Jing Yu knew he wasn't as famous as the industry's top film stars. That was normal — he was new.
But what he did have was incredibly loyal TV fans.
Presale tickets had been available since late June.
The top three had always been:
• 'Original Sin' – 80 million
• 'Torchlight' – 65 million
• 'Mirror Fish' – 44 million
But starting on July 3, 'Rurouni Kenshin: Trust & Betrayal' began climbing.
By July 6, it had crossed 30 million in presales, ranking fifth for the summer season.
At that point, Jing Yu finally stopped running around the country and returned to the Modo City film base.
Post-production for 'Love Letter' was still underway there.
He had deliberately planned for 'Rurouni Kenshin: Trust & Betrayal' to release first, followed by 'Love Letter' a month later.
While 'Love Letter' was a classic, its first-time impact — visually and emotionally — couldn't compare to 'Rurouni Kenshin: Trust & Betrayal'.
Releasing 'Rurouni Kenshin: Trust & Betrayal' first would generate buzz for both him and Xia Yining, so that when 'Love Letter' hit theaters, they could save a fortune on advertising.
If audiences were deeply moved by 'Rurouni Kenshin: Trust & Betrayal', there was no doubt they'd be eager to see the same leads together again in 'Love Letter'.
And so, at last —
July 7th arrived.
The official release date of 'Rurouni Kenshin: Trust & Betrayal'.