In the blink of an eye, half a month had passed, and it was now mid-April.
Lionheart Network continued to live up to expectations, maintaining its strong momentum after a successful first day.
Currently, registered members had reached 24.3 million. Besides the surge of 14.5 million on the first day, it had averaged 800,000 new users daily thereafter, a truly explosive performance.
This achievement was naturally due to the immense contributions of The Voice and house of cards.
According to Lionheart Network's internal monitoring data, 53% of new users chose to watch these two productions immediately.
This shows how powerful the driving force and appeal of a hit series can be!
Before I transmigrated, Netflix's rise was powered by house of cards alone, which brought in over ten million paying members.
Of course, the contributions of other films and TV series cannot be overlooked. No matter how appealing The Voice and house of cards are, most people would watch them at most twice, or revisit a specific episode for a memorable scene.
A heavy viewer could finish both productions in two days, and then the website's content depth would be needed to retain them.
This time, MGM had almost swept up all excellent overseas dramas, securing at least five years of exclusive online broadcasting rights.
This was achieved by leveraging information asymmetry; others simply didn't understand what exclusive online broadcasting rights were. After learning of his idea, most people thought they had made a profit.
In their view, Lionheart Network definitely wouldn't survive. Five years of exclusive online broadcasting rights? I'd be impressed if you lasted a year!
So, the price for these copyrights was very low. In short, both sides believed they had made a profit.
The film and television section accounted for the majority, with popular movies like transformers, the lord of the rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, the lord of the rings: the two towers, and Shrek all reaching millions of views.
The most popular exceeded five million views, while even the less popular ones had over three million.
Weaker IPs like final destination, a nightmare on elm street, and 007 also contributed hundreds of thousands or millions of views.
Following closely behind the film and television section was the Japanese anime section, with Dragon Ball, Slam Dunk, Bleach, Naruto, and Detective Conan all garnering many fans, showcasing the strong presence of Japanese anime in the American market.
After that came British dramas and other genres. Once the data stabilizes, low-cost films and TV series with poor viewership will be discarded.
For Chinese dramas, a batch of excellent productions like the story of a noble family, demi-gods and semi-devils, and Kangxi Dynasty were also introduced.
Under the banner of cultural exchange and cultural export, Old Han approved them casually, at prices even lower than cabbage.
But after half a month of observation, the viewership data was dismal. The comment section had already provided the answer.
Most viewers complained about the length. Looking at them, they were at least thirty episodes long, with some reaching sixty or seventy episodes. Audiences accustomed to American dramas lost half their interest before even starting.
It's worth noting that while American sitcoms might have longer seasons, each episode is only 20 minutes, which is equivalent to only twelve or thirteen episodes of a regular-length drama.
They could get into British dramas and some Japanese dramas because British dramas are more concise and fast-paced, and some Japanese dramas are not long.
However, Chinese and Korean dramas and other genres still have some way to go to pique the audience's interest.
Eric had previously suggested that Old Han make cuts, ideally to within 20 episodes, or divide them into several parts.
For example, a 46-episode Kangxi Dynasty could be edited into several parts, titled Season 1, Season 2, Season 3.
Although it was just a change of disguise, for American audiences, it would immediately feel familiar, and acceptance would increase significantly.
It's just that he didn't know what they were doing over there, but his suggestion was not adopted.
supernatural also had a very good reputation, with an IMDb rating of 8.4, which is considered high quality, but the number of raters was an order of magnitude less than house of cards.
Moreover, compared to house of cards, which appealed to all age groups, supernatural's data showed that teenagers accounted for over 77%, making it a drama primarily aimed at young people.
Comments also focused on the simplicity of the production and the brotherhood.
"This show is so poor!"
"supernatural tells you how a poor TV series should be made."
"The episode with the little girl in the painting gave me goosebumps, completely unexpected plot, too scary!"
"Isn't this a supernatural drama? Why does the crew have money to hire two handsome guys but no money for special effects?"
"supernatural once again proves one thing: how important the personal charm of the lead actors is for a good drama!"
"MGM isn't short on money, is it? The costumes and sets for house of cards look ridiculously expensive. How come supernatural is so simple? Are they even from the same mother? Such differential treatment?"
"I feel like MGM deliberately shot the drama in this style to highlight the protagonists' personal charm, rather than grand scenes and scary moments."
"Who plays that female lead? She's so beautiful, especially in that white gauze outfit, it really struck my heart. Crystal, Crystal Liu?"
"Crystal Liu is very good. Her action scenes are so beautiful, better than Sam and Dean. I seem to see the shadows of Lucy Liu and Michelle Yeoh in her, and she's also very pretty."
"I also think Crystal Liu is very pretty, but that denim outfit is more comfortable and more like a monster hunter. Is she Japanese? Korean? Filipino?"
"Are your eyes all bad? Crystal Liu's nationality is written in the cast list. She is American, a Chinese American."
"I think I'm in love with this girl, Crystal Liu. Does she have any other works? Who knows what films and TV series she's been in?"
"Upstairs, Lionheart Network has a Chinese TV series starring her. Crystal Liu wears ancient Chinese costumes in it; you will definitely be mesmerized by her. Also, she is in Gal Gadot's new movie, the hunger games. Wait for it to be released."
The most acclaimed characters in supernatural were naturally the Winchester Brothers, but Liu Yifei's discussion rate was also very high.
Especially since she filled the void of action scenes that the Winchester Brothers lacked, wielding a whip and crossbow as weapons, her styling was quite impressive.
Liu Yifei's presence made the plot more exciting and enjoyable, earning widespread praise.
Moreover, in discussions about her, 'beautiful' was an inseparable word, showing that even Westerners know what a good-looking Chinese person looks like.
The nonsense of'slanted eyes' is absolutely prejudice and vilification, a deliberate attempt by capital to disgust Chinese audiences and show off their superior attitude.
Among MGM's four self-produced dramas, only Peppa Pig's reputation had not yet fermented, but Eric firmly believed it would sweep the world like shark tale.
Dual Star Entertainment had already produced a large quantity of Peppa Pig merchandise and put it on shelves as per Eric's request. The sales of this little pig's merchandise far surpassed those of adult dramas.
After beating out a host of competitors, the passion of the christ finally relinquished its box office crown, with DreamWorks' expedited release of shark tale taking over.
Currently, the passion of the christ's North American box office has reached 290 million US dollars.
Overseas, it also caused a sensation, with box office performance mirroring North America's all-red, earning 191 million US dollars.
With a global box office of 481 million US dollars, it officially unseated the hangover's 460 million US dollars, claiming the title of the 2004 global box office champion.
And its box office staying power was still strong, with BOX predicting it could exceed 650 million US dollars.
Suddenly, MGM occupied the top two spots on the year-end chart, reigning supreme for a time.
However, although the passion of the christ's box office was higher than the hangover, the final share MGM would receive was far less than from the hangover, as the film was fully funded by Mel Gibson's company, and MGM only earned distribution fees.
Socially, after more than a month of disputes, the fervor finally subsided. Demonstrations in major cities died down, and discussion levels dropped significantly.
The PK between Judaism and Protestantism did not yield a winner. These two deeply entrenched factions have been fighting for thousands of years, and neither has managed to completely eliminate the other.
However, the ban on Mel Gibson still existed. Now, everyone's attention was focused on MGM, The Big Six, and various TV stations, anticipating the outcome of this major battle.
"Bang!" Nicole threw a card and pointed at Eric.
"Missed!" Eric drew a card from his hand and played it.
"Want to hit me? It's not that simple!"
Nicole looked at Theron: "Theron, quickly hit him, he only has one card left, it's definitely not a beer."
Theron smiled, then drew a card and pointed at Nicole: "Bang!"
Nicole was utterly bewildered: "Why shoot me? You've got it wrong, we're both outlaws, Eric is our target!"
Nicole appeased her, saying, "But you only have one health point left. If you're killed by someone else, they'll draw three cards. It's better to let me draw three, that way I'll have a better chance of taking down Eric!"
Her explanation made sense. Nicole thought about it and didn't play the 'missed' card she was holding.
Her character was successfully eliminated, and Theron drew three cards from the deck.
Then she laughed wildly: "Hahahahaha. I got the Volcanic Pistol! Equip the Volcanic Pistol, and you'll all die! No one will survive!"
"Bang!"
"Bang!"
"Bang!"
Theron played cards continuously, quickly taking out Neil, Bell, and Ken Watanabe, then turned her gaze to Eric.
"Two health points, one card, you're finished! Bang!"
Eric deducted one health point: "Wait, Theron, how about you let me recover for one round, and I'll give you ten minutes of extra screen time?"
"Is this bribing an opponent?"
"Yes, blatant bribery. Accept it, madam," Eric said shamelessly.
"But if you add scenes for me, won't the movie run too long?"
"That's the director's business. At worst, we can cut ten minutes from Watanabe's scenes."
"Nani!"
Ken Watanabe's face changed dramatically. His screen time wasn't much to begin with, and a large portion of it was in a half-dead state. If another ten minutes were cut, what would be left?
Theron narrowed her eyes, feigning thought, then suddenly sneered: "I don't believe you, bang!"
"Ah!"
Eric dramatically screamed and fell backward, landing right on Nicole, who was squatting behind him secretly peeking at cards. The two were forced to roll together, almost kissing.
"Hahahahaha. I won! I won! I'm the first. Huh?"
Seeing this scene, Theron, who had been shouting victory, suddenly became like a duck whose neck was squeezed, unable to make a sound.
The two quickly separated. Nicole looked at her with feigned exasperation, bringing the topic back to the game: "You tricked me, I thought you were an outlaw."
"Yeah, I also thought Theron was an outlaw, I didn't expect her to be a traitor!" Neil also spoke up, very perceptive.
Bell and Ken Watanabe slowly stood up and retreated, probably sensing the atmosphere was a bit heavy and strange, not wanting to get involved.
Fortunately, Theron didn't mind too much. She raised an eyebrow and boasted, "The newly crowned Oscar Winner, my acting isn't for show! Right, old Oscar Winner!"
Nicole's mouth twitched. She naturally liked the title of Oscar Winner, but adding 'old' made her feel very awkward.
However, considering her and Eric's actions just now, she didn't feel right arguing.
"Bring some drinks and fruit, they're all gone."
Eric called out, and the staff quickly brought supplies. Everyone chuckled, as if no one took it to heart, and started eating and chatting again.
That's right, during a break on set, a group of big-name stars and wealthy individuals were gathered around playing a board game Eric brought, called 'Bang!'
Or, to use a name more familiar in China—'Sanguosha'!
It's that game affectionately called 'Dog Card' and 'Dog Planner' by players, which claims its game is thriving but was topped the bad review list on Steam upon release—Sanguosha.
In it, 'Bang' corresponds to 'Kill,' 'Missed' corresponds to 'Dodge,' the 'outlaw' is equivalent to a 'rebel,' the 'traitor' is equivalent to an 'informant,' the 'Volcanic Pistol' is the 'Zhuge Repeating Crossbow,' killing an outlaw draws three cards, and the traitor can win by killing the last person.
Undoubtedly, Sanguosha is a complete plagiarism of Bang! From rules to roles, from roles to characters, from characters to skills, from skills to equipment, from equipment to various stratagem cards, perhaps Sanguosha's only original element is its Three Kingdoms background.
Eric originally wanted to create this board game to make money, but a quick check showed it already existed, created by Italians in 2002. He could only give up.
The goal of making money couldn't be achieved, but he figured it would still be good for entertainment.
He had been looking for a way for the women to accept each other, so he simply brought it to the set to play, hoping to boost Nicole and Theron's friendliness.
The result was pretty good; everyone had a lot of fun playing, except for the last scene that just happened.
"The board game seems to be very effective, it can be promoted and tried."
"If board games don't work, then poker. If poker doesn't work, there's mahjong. It would be great if I could conquer them with mahjong."
"Will there be a harmonious scene in the big villa in the future?"
"Theron, Nicole, Liu Xiaoli, Zhou Wenqiong at one table; Ashley, Mary, Liu Yifei, Elizabeth at another."
"No, wouldn't that be the Olsen Family three-on-one? We should bring Elena that woman in too; the Olsen Family can have their own table."
"Liu Yifei alone won't do. Counting Gadot, at least find her two more card partners."
"Carol, that lady, is good; her explosive drumming is truly amazing."
"Mei Mei also seems possible, no, no, her temper is too stubborn, always likes to write about ex-boyfriends in songs, restless."
"Paris Hilton, that little bitch, always tries to seduce me, but her temper isn't good either."
"Britney is beautiful and virtuous, and her submissive personality is quite good. I even helped her take down Justin, she should be thanking me, but wouldn't that be like jumping from one scumbag's pit into another scumbag's pit?"
"I really am a scumbag, but I'm rich!"