Entering the new year, Jing Yu temporarily had no plans for new projects. At present, almost all of the company's operations revolve around extracting the remaining value from Jing Yu's past works.
For example, after 'Ultraman Tiga' concluded, Jing Yu launched a series of new 'Ultraman' projects within the company. The scripts were handed over to subordinate teams, but Jing Yu himself no longer had the energy to act as a hands‑on supervisor controlling quality the way he once did.
That said, during this quarter, a new 'Ultraman' installment returned to the spring season after a one‑year gap.
However, Jing Yu's attention toward 'Ultraman' was no longer as intense as before. Back then, 'Ultraman Tiga' was the first step of the entire franchise. Now, the 'Ultraman' IP had already grown to a certain level of influence among children. It no longer required Jing Yu to personally promote it — even before broadcast, its popularity was already extremely high.
At this moment, Jing Yu's primary focus lay elsewhere.
On 'Spirited Away'.
From project approval to now, 'Spirited Away' has been in production for more than a full year.
Filming had wrapped up by mid‑last year, and the remaining half-year was spent entirely on post‑production by special effects studios.
Promotional efforts had also been steadily building for over half a year. From the first teaser released around June or July last year to now, three promotional trailers have appeared across the Great Zhou film market.
Moreover, unlike Jing Yu's earlier film releases — when his age and lack of seniority led many in the industry to look down on him — after the baptism of 'Your Name' and 'Castle in the Sky', there was now virtually no one who dared to underestimate 'Spirited Away'.
Major cinema chains across Great Zhou had prepared a full month in advance. In first‑ and second‑tier cities, seven or eight out of ten theaters had 'Spirited Away' posters hanging prominently in their main halls.
Among the eleven films scheduled for the Spring Festival season, 'Spirited Away' held the highest anticipation ratings across ticketing platforms, websites, and film forums.
After all, it was the new film from Jing Yu — the Spring Festival box‑office champion of two years ago.
What kind of figure was Jing Yu now?
Unquestionably, the king of Great Zhou television has tens of millions of fans. In film, the total box office of movies he wrote or starred in had surpassed 10 billion, a feat achieved by only three people nationwide.
And on top of that, the popularity of the recently released 'Rurouni Kenshin' game had yet to cool down.
The sheer amount of traffic accumulated around Jing Yu was terrifying. Even veteran directors and award‑winning actors releasing films during the same Spring Festival period felt uneasy the moment they saw the title 'Spirited Away'.
Great Zhou's partnered distributors even offered a 4‑billion‑yuan guaranteed release for 'Spirited Away', proposing a performance bet contract, which Jing Yu rejected outright.
After all, 'Castle in the Sky' had already exceeded four billion at the box office. Let alone 'Spirited Away'. While nothing is ever absolute, Jing Yu wasn't afraid of such risks.
As promotional campaigns for 'Spirited Away' and other Spring Festival films fully kicked off in early January, the entire Great Zhou film industry was flooded with Spring Festival movie news.
"Looking forward to it — the old thief's first movie in two years."
"He churns out TV dramas so fast, why is he so slow with films?"
"Because he's working on three fronts — games, films, TV, plus derivative IP releases. You think he's a machine?"
"Old Thief Productions never disappoints. Hope 'Spirited Away' beats 'Castle in the Sky' and takes first place in Great Zhou box‑office history."
"Honestly, it has a real chance. The current record holder is only a bit over six billion. 'Castle in the Sky' almost did it — too bad there was no overseas release back then."
"Exactly. Overseas box office usually accounts for one‑fifth or even one‑sixth of total revenue. This time's different — foreigners are celebrating Spring Festival with us. 'Spirited Away' goes global on February 1."
"Let's not jinx it. Plenty of famous directors got hyped into oblivion."
"Jinx what? Look at how crazy his popularity growth has been. Even my grandma, farming in the countryside, knows Jing Yu."
"He's raking it in across TV, film, and games. He even made the Great Zhou Rich List last year."
"Wait — really? His company only made tens of billions in profit last year, right? That's enough?"
"Rich lists don't count cash — they count equity, copyrights, valuations. He owns dozens of IPs. Combined valuations are already over 10 billion."
"Exactly. Those rich‑list guys look rich on paper. Try getting them to cash out. Jing Yu can casually drop 1–2 billion on new projects without blinking."
"Watching him make money hurts more than my losses. He's my junior from the same school…"
"Can't hate it. Pure talent‑driven rise — just insanely exaggerated."
"If 'Spirited Away' also takes box‑office number one, he'll be god‑tier. Film and TV are both at the absolute peak."
"Dream bigger. If 'Pokémon' or 'Yu‑Gi‑Oh!' explode globally, he'll top all three industries."
"Games are harder. The all‑time top series has nineteen installments and 190 million sales. He'd need a decade to match that."
"Still, if even one of 'Pokémon' or 'Yu‑Gi‑Oh!' sells over 20 million, that's already top‑30 in history."
"I just want him to hurry up and start a new mega‑project. 'Attack on Titan' ended ages ago!"
Jing Yu scrolled through the forum comments, deep in thought.
Like his fans, Jing Yu indeed harbored ambitions for 'Spirited Away' to challenge Great Zhou's box‑office crown.
Great Zhou audiences shared strikingly similar tastes to people from Jing Yu's previous world.
But box‑office dominance couldn't be copied at will. Just because 'Spirited Away' achieved it before didn't mean history would repeat itself here.
A prime example was 'Castle in the Sky' — mediocre box office in his previous life, yet outperforming 'Your Name' in Great Zhou.
Quality alone didn't guarantee box‑office success. Otherwise, countless excellent films from Jing Yu's previous world wouldn't have underperformed, while films like 'Hi, Mom' could crack 5 billion yuan.
A blockbuster's success relied more on traffic, capital, IP foundation, and promotion than pure quality.
Was 'Spirited Away' an excellent film? Absolutely.
Was it god‑tier? Not quite.
But a high‑quality film, combined with Jing Yu's current popularity, was why he dared to eye the top spot.
In quality, he was confident 'Spirited Away' wouldn't lose.
In capital and promotion, its budget ranked first among all Spring Festival releases.
In star power — even without Best Actor awards, Jing Yu's popularity eclipsed most award‑winning actors.
Quality, capital, operations — 'Spirited Away' lacked nothing.
At a minimum, Jing Yu had favorable timing and momentum.
Now—
"All that's left is a bit of luck."
Market behavior could be estimated, never predicted.
Closing his laptop, Jing Yu picked up the schedule beside his desk.
The itinerary for the next month was packed to the brim.
Production on 'Spirited Away' alone exceeded 200 million, with nearly another 200 million spent on promotion. Jing Yu naturally took it seriously.
From now until February 1, he would tour thirteen first‑tier cities nationwide.
Early January remained relatively calm.
After two episodes, 'Ultraman Gaia' hovered between 9% and 10% ratings — lower than 'Ultraman Tiga', but entirely expected.
The first installment always felt freshest. A second inevitably caused some fatigue. And honestly, Jing Yu felt 'Ultraman Gaia''s story was weaker than 'Ultraman Tiga''s.
Still, it remained the top‑rated spring drama, cementing Jing Yu's dominance.
On the gaming side, one month after 'Rurouni Kenshin' launched, the company rolled out several mid‑ and small‑scale games — average in quality, but fan‑oriented:
'Ultraman Match‑Three'
'Evangelion Elemental Battle' mini‑game
'Hyouka' derivative puzzle game
These were experimental. If the reception was good, more would follow.
Time flew.
By mid‑to‑late January, the film industry finally entered full battle mode.
Media outlets began releasing Spring Festival box‑office predictions.
Jing Yu's operations, publicity, and business teams mobilized together, coordinating closely with cinema chains — the goal was simple:
Secure screenings.
At this point, the Spring Festival market outlook was clear.
Highest audience anticipation? 'Spirited Away'.
Predicted box‑office leader? 'Spirited Away'.
Even Jing Yu himself pondered whether 'Spirited Away' could seize the historical crown.
But all of that hinged on one thing:
Top screening allocation.
Thirteen films competed this season — none weak. Two had production budgets exceeding three billion alone.
Yet cinemas leaned toward 'Spirited Away'.
Why argue with fans and money?
Mid‑January, ten days before the Spring Festival, preliminary results came in:
"Nationwide, 'Spirited Away' will likely receive over 21% of screenings. Overseas, with no major competing releases, screenings should exceed 10%."
The department head reported excitedly.
He'd joined Bluestar within its first half‑year.
Years ago, during 'Rurouni Kenshin''s release, they had begged cinemas for screenings — now, the advantage lay firmly with them.
"Twenty‑one percent…" Jing Yu pondered.
"Can we push higher?"
"That's the limit. Thirteen films, and we're already over one‑fifth."
Jing Yu nodded.
"Alright. Proceed. Also, add another 30 million to ticket subsidies. Let's pull in as many viewers as possible on day one."
After the staff member left, Jing Yu gazed out the window.
The snow in Modo had begun to melt.
Only ten days left.