The opening day box office for 'Rurouni Kenshin: Trust & Betrayal' ended at 73 million.
It ranked third among the 20+ films released in the summer season.
First place: 'Original Sin', with 130 million.
Second place: 'Torchlight', with 99 million.
Third place: 'Rurouni Kenshin: Trust & Betrayal'.
But by the end of day one, the entire Great Zhou film industry had taken note—this film was the dark horse of the summer season.
Everyone knew that a film's box office performance was influenced by two main factors:
External: marketing.
Internal: scheduling and screen allocation.
And those schedules? Theaters adjusted them based on audience interest and demand, which were themselves influenced by early word-of-mouth and promotion.
On July 7th, the release day, 'Original Sin' monopolized over 30% of national screenings.
Yet its box office share was only 24% of the day's total 534 million.
That's low.
Likewise:
'Torchlight' had 21% of screenings and earned 18% of the total box office.
'Mirror Fish' had 15% of the screenings and earned 13% of the total.
The three films combined held over 65% of total screens, yet only brought in 55% of the box office.
Meanwhile, 'Rurouni Kenshin: Trust & Betrayal' had just 5% of the screenings...
...but raked in 73 million, or 13% of the total day's earnings.
And theaters? They follow data.
Despite minimal marketing, 'Rurouni Kenshin: Trust & Betrayal' had been mocked by the media and dismissed by critics from the TV drama world. Many predicted it would flop.
Yet with no hype, it still exploded in performance. High occupancy rates were one thing—
But that 9.5 rating on Yindou Net, combined with the avalanche of posts about Yukishiro and Kenshin flooding film forums?
Every cinema manager with half a brain could see what needed to happen next.
They weren't going to leave money on the table.
By midnight, as the last screenings ended, the forums entered their busiest period of the day.
Despite 'Original Sin' pulling the highest numbers, online chatter was dominated by Trust & Betrayal.
"Strongly recommend 'Rurouni Kenshin: Trust & Betrayal'! I watched four movies today.
'Mirror Fish'? Pure poison.
'Torchlight'? Felt like an antidote.
'Original Sin'? Made me realize even 'Torchlight' was garbage.
But after 'Trust & Betrayal'?
I just regret wasting time on the other three—I could've watched Kenshin four times in a row!"
"The best film of the summer, no question. Miss it and you'll regret it."
"I've followed Jing Yu's dramas for years. This made me cry. Jing Yu—when are you finally going to do a romantic comedy?!"
"I came for Jing Yu x Xia Yining as a couple… and got a tragedy instead."
"My stomach still hurts… But no regrets. For the love between Yukishiro and Kenshin, I'll sacrifice my health."
"Petition for Rurouni Kenshin: Part II!"
"Yukishiro is Kenshin's scabbard!"
"I want Yukishiro's scarf. Jing Yu, please release merch!"
"I want Kenshin's sword! I want to learn Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu!"
"Come on. Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu? You'd be a fat pig getting stabbed."
"Still, it sucks! 'Rurouni Kenshin: Trust & Betrayal' had such low screen share, its box office couldn't even beat 'Torchlight' or 'Original Sin'. That's just wrong."
"Guys, help boost this film. And if you rated it 9.8 or 9.9 on Yindou Net, go back and change it to a perfect 10!
Doesn't Yukishiro deserve it? Doesn't that final scarf scene deserve a ten?!"
The fans raged late into the night.
And their viral promotion had an immediate effect.
"Is it really as good as people are saying online?"
"A drama writer's first film, and not a single hater in sight?"
Curious newcomers, swayed by word of mouth, started snapping up tickets for the next day.
The following day, all three major competitors ('Mirror Fish', 'Original Sin', and 'Torchlight') saw their screen shares drop by 2–3%, with those spots redistributed to 'Rurouni Kenshin: Trust & Betrayal', bumping its total to 12%.
Of course, the other film studios weren't happy, launching official protests to the theaters.
But in the film industry, theaters usually hold the real power—unless you're releasing a surefire blockbuster, your leverage is limited.
And these three films? After release, their numbers weren't improving.
Big-name leads or not, if your movie can't fill seats, theaters won't bother.
With better screening access, 'Rurouni Kenshin: Trust & Betrayal's box office surged again.
Normally, day-two numbers drop after opening day.
But by the afternoon, experienced analysts could already predict where each title would land.
'Original Sin' dropped from 130 million on day one to just 90 million by 8 PM. It might barely break 100 million by midnight.
'Mirror Fish'? Crashed to 30 million.
'Torchlight'? Just over 50 million.
Neither of those last two was on par with 'Original Sin', and now they had 'Rurouni Kenshin: Trust & Betrayal' to compete with—a film riding on sheer audience love.
Let's be real: audiences have limited time, just like we only have one stomach for breakfast. Even if all the options are decent, we'll always go for the best one.
So even if 'Rurouni Kenshin: Trust & Betrayal' ranked third in screening percentage on day two, its attendance rate and buzz were #1.
From morning to night, its box office didn't waver.
Those who watched it on day one recommended it to others.
Day two viewers did the same.
By 8 PM, it had crossed 90 million, just behind 'Original Sin'.
Jing Yu didn't need to spend on paid reviews or extra marketing.
The fans had taken over. And they'd created a positive feedback loop.
Meanwhile, Cheng Lie, Yu Youqing, and Xia Yining—still dealing with post-release logistics for 'Rurouni Kenshin: Trust & Betrayal' and 'Love Letter'—were completely stunned.
At first, the 30 million presale for 'Rurouni Kenshin: Trust & Betrayal' was encouraging, but nobody had dared get their hopes up.
In Great Zhou, some films made half their total earnings from presales.
The movie's cost had exceeded 50 million, with another 20 million on promotion. To break even from the box office alone, they needed at least 200 million.
Everyone was anxious—not due to doubt in Jing Yu's script, but because none of them had ever done a film before. There was no way to gauge their drawing power.
All they hoped for was to hit 140–150 million and make up the rest via merchandise and licensing.
But—
Inside Blue Star Media HQ:
"Wait... at this rate, won't 'Rurouni Kenshin: Trust & Betrayal' recoup both production and promo costs tomorrow?" Yu Youqing blinked.
"It really might…" Xia Yining murmured, still dazed.
Online, fans were now calling her Snow Goddess, thanks to the overwhelming love for Yukishiro.
She'd always had less popularity than Yu Youqing during their drama days…
But now?
In just a few days, she'd overtaken her.
Fortunately, they got along well—as long as Jing Yu wasn't involved. They were close in private, and neither of them minded the fame contest much.
"Not just that," Cheng Lie put down his phone.
"Just got word from distribution—tomorrow, 'Rurouni Kenshin: Trust & Betrayal's screenings are jumping to 23%, making it the #1 scheduled film."
"Wasn't 'Original Sin' #1? It had 28% today!" Xia Yining asked in surprise.
"Where do you think our extra 10% came from?" Cheng Lie grinned, then turned to Jing Yu.
"Hey—why so quiet? Not happy?"
"Of course I'm happy," Jing Yu replied calmly.
"But honestly, 'Rurouni Kenshin: Trust & Betrayal' doing this well? I expected it.
So I'm not that worked up."
After all, in his past life, 'Rurouni Kenshin: Trust & Betrayal' had earned 2 billion yen in a country of 100 million people.
In Great Zhou, with a population in the billions, today's box office wasn't even surprising.
Sure, there was no manga source this time, and the promo was limited. Even though theaters had smartly increased their screening share, the growth was within his expectations.
Still, it was enough.
"At least now," Jing Yu smiled, "I don't have to worry about going back to working for a TV station if this flopped."
He turned to Xia Yining.
"Now let's see—based on our performance in 'Rurouni Kenshin: Trust & Betrayal', how many people will show up next month to see 'Love Letter'?"