At the end of the day, moviegoers and TV drama audiences are mostly the same people — everyone watches both.
But most drama industry figures can't extend their influence into film. Otherwise, those famous TV actors from Jing Yu's past life wouldn't flop every time they did a movie.
Take Liu Moufei, for example — she was a top-tier TV actress in her teens, but despite twenty years in film, never made a truly iconic movie. Or Fan Mou Bing, infamous for flopping at the box office, yet as soon as she did TV, ratings exploded.
Many in Great Zhou's film industry had always felt Jing Yu's power in the drama world, but they couldn't understand why his drama fans would blindly support his movies too.
It all came down to trust.
He had never made a bad project. So, fans supported him unconditionally.
In late July, the promotional campaign for 'The Girl Who Leapt Through Time' was proceeding exceptionally well, and it quickly became the most anticipated pre-release film across all platforms.
Everything went smoothly. Competing studios releasing films at the same time couldn't help but feel a growing sense of dread.
At least in terms of marketing, they had no way to beat Jing Yu.
Even if they wanted to smear him online, they couldn't dig up any real dirt.
"Why does this guy suddenly want to break into film? Isn't he already making a fortune from dramas?"
Meanwhile, Yunteng TV aired Episode 5 of 'Fate/stay night' right on schedule.
While 'Fate/stay night' and 'Fate/Zero' shared the same universe, their original creators were completely different.
The game 'Fate/stay night' was written by Kinoko Nasu, while 'Fate/Zero' was a novel set in the same world, authored by the beloved Urobuchi Gen.
Even the media from which they originated reflected their different storytelling priorities — so naturally, the TV adaptations also felt very different.
'Fate/Zero' had a sense of epic romanticism that 'Fate/Stay Night' largely lacked. Instead, 'Fate/stay night' focused heavily on main character development, with less emphasis on side characters.
You could see it clearly:
Every episode of 'Fate/Zero' sparked deep discussions around the background of major characters.
Diarmuid, Iskandar, Artoria, Gilgamesh, Sola-Ui, Waver, Kayneth, and even Kayneth's cheating wife and the teacher coldly executed by Kiritsugu Emiya — 'Fate/Zero' left viewers remembering dozens of characters.
But with 'Fate/stay night', the post-episode discussion looked more like this:
"Illyasviel is so cute."
"Is it possible that Kiritsugu and Taiga end up together?"
"I hope Tohsaka Rin becomes the main heroine."
"I hope Matou Sakura becomes the main heroine."
"Please let Gilgamesh die already."
"I want mana transfer scenes."
"Seriously, I want mana transfer."
"When are we getting to the mana transfer?!"
So yes, both series generated major buzz — but the focus of discussion was very different.
In terms of dramatic storytelling, 'Fate/Zero' was more interesting.
But when it came to commercial value and franchise expansion, 'Fate/stay night' was clearly stronger.
Of course, the inclusion of a romance arc for Artoria in 'Fate/stay night' made her popularity skyrocket compared to 'Fate/Zero'.
In Episode 5, during her conversation with Emiya Shirou in the dojo—
She once again explained why she desired the Holy Grail:
To change her country's past.
To start over.
Seeing her remain steadfast in her goals, even after being betrayed during the Fourth Holy Grail War by Kiritsugu, deeply moved viewers.
"Hearing her wish again… it really hurts."
"Iskandar's speech was all for nothing, huh?"
"She's a king — of course, she won't easily accept someone else's ideals. Realism can mock idealism all it wants. But if Artoria changed her beliefs that easily, that would be out of character."
"If I got the Grail, my wish would be to get three more wishes."
"Bro, that's a bug exploit. Sit down."
"Fate/stay night's music honestly hits harder than Fate/Zero's. This tragic version of 'Glory of the King' is addictive."
"It's already second on this quarter's digital music chart — probably gonna hit #1 soon. Also, the instrumental 'Unyielding Faith' is ranked sixth. I listen to both every night before bed — I'm basically turning into a soft boy."
"Old Thief Jing Yu is just insane. His creativity is endless."
Episode 5 wrapped up quickly.
Fans once again entered their weekly waiting mode.
Ratings: 12.1%, the same as last week — no drop, no rise.
Unbelievably stable.
With Episode 5 aired, the timeline smoothly transitioned into August.
'The Girl Who Leapt Through Time' was set to premiere on August 13, just ahead of Qixi Festival.
Leading up to that was the Summer Blockbuster Season, one of the most important film windows in Great Zhou.
So far, the sci-fi film 'Singularity of Life' has topped the summer box office with 1.2 billion yuan.
But now its daily box office has dropped below 3 million.
All major cinema chains in Great Zhou were ready to pivot toward Qixi.
Even Jing Yu, as lazy as he could be, wasn't lounging in Modo City anymore.
Starting in early August, he traveled across Great Zhou's top-tier cities to promote the film and attend fan events.
Truth be told, this was the first real opportunity for the two lead actors of 'The Girl Who Leapt Through Time' to meet and connect with Jing Yu, the investor himself.
On August 11, Episode 6 of 'Fate/stay night' aired.
Ratings remained stable — a fluctuation of less than 0.02%, no drop, no rise. Almost unnaturally consistent.
On the same day, Qixi Festival's box office pre-sales officially began.
This year's Qixi slot featured 12 new films, including five with investment over 50 million yuan:
'The Girl Who Leapt Through Time': 58 million
'The Deep Blue Sea' (claimed a $105 million budget — though film budgets are often inflated — but it had a strong cast)
'Dreamer', with a 91 million budget
'Fireflies in Summer', at 62 million
'Unlovable', at 51 million
These five were locked into direct competition.