nycdaug Chapter 229: World (1)
Chapter 229: World (1)
Morning of November 25th, at a movie theater in Seoul.The women who had just gotten off the elevator looked at the theater lobby and showed quite surprised expressions.
“Wow - look at all the people.”
“Crazy, I’ve never seen this many people crowding in at this hour.”
“Same here, same here.”
Even though it was an early morning screening time, the theater lobby was bustling with a crowd several times larger than usual. What stood out was that there were more women. It was only natural. Today was the premiere of the movie 'Blood Hunt', and most of the people packed into the theater were Rojun’s fans. Maybe because of that, quite a few people could be seen taking proof shots in front of the 'Blood Hunt' posters displayed throughout the theater lobby.
Either way, it was quite a sight.
It wasn’t common to see such a crowd gathering at such an early hour.
Soon, as the first screening time of 'Blood Hunt' approached, the audience in the lobby began to move one by one. They entered the theater following staff directions. What was amusing was that each time a viewer entered the screening room, their eyes widened.
“Damn, it’s already packed even for the morning show.”
“Looks like Blood Hunt’s viewer count is gonna be insane??”
There were still many waiting in the lobby, but inside the screening room, it was almost full except for the front rows. Although it was an unusual sight, the audience quickly adapted, found their seats, and by the time the roughly 10-minute advertisement run ended, even the front rows had filled up quite a bit.
“I’m so hyped for the movie, especially because it’s Rojun’s first one.”
“From the trailer, looks like there’ll be more brutal scenes than expected??”
“Right? It’s kinda unexpected. I thought since Rojun wrote the script, it’d be lighter in tone.”
“Wonder what Rojun’s acting will be like??”
While many in the audience were chatting excitedly about Kang Rojun.
-Sss.
The lights in the screening room dimmed.
It meant 'Blood Hunt' was starting now.
Thanks to that, the hundreds of people who had been chatting energetically went silent, their eyes fixed on the giant screen, and powerful sound effects echoed through the spacious theater. On the big screen the audience was watching, the 'Blood Hunt' title appeared.
The first actor to appear wasn’t Jung Tae-soo, nor was it Rojun.
-[“P-Please spare me!”]
-[“No can do. Do you know how much you’re worth right now?”]
-[“Please!!”]
In line with the theme of 'Blood Hunt', it opened with a kidnapping and brutal murder scene unfolding before the audience’s eyes. That immediately escalated the tension and urgency, and it was only after that top actor Jung Tae-soo made his appearance.
After about 40 minutes of runtime, the expressions of the audience began to change.
‘Oh! It’s Rojun!’
Kang Rojun, whom they had been eagerly waiting for, appeared on the big screen. But soon after, the hundreds of viewers were either slightly opening their mouths in surprise or letting out quiet gasps of shock.
‘What the... Rojun’s acting is insane.’
Rojun’s image transformation was more shocking than expected.
At the same time, at the 'Tale of the Strange Moon' historical outdoor set.
While 'Blood Hunt' was being screened across the country, 'Tale of the Strange Moon' had been filming since early morning. The set had already been prepared in advance, and scenes featuring Kang Rojun and a few other actors were underway.
Currently, there was a short break as the set was being adjusted for the next scene.
Thanks to that, supporting actors dressed in historical costumes were scattered around, eating distributed snacks, while about a hundred staff members were busy placing filming equipment according to the plan.
Kang Rojun could be found in the waiting zone for actors.
His hair tied in a topknot, wearing a light purple traditional robe. With his gat resting on his knees, he was focused on his phone. Nearby extras kept sneaking glances at Rojun, whispering among themselves.
Because Rojun’s glowing visual in real life was dazzling.
Truthfully, this had been the atmosphere ever since today’s filming started. Regardless, Kang Rojun.
“......”
He was completely immersed in searching. A quick glance showed that what was displayed on the screen ranged from 'Like a Kaleidoscope' to recent achievements of Kang Rojun or 'Vanguard'. For reference, 'Like a Kaleidoscope' was still hot in both Korea and Japan.
《‘Like a Kaleidoscope’ firmly holding its No.1 spot on Netflix Korea and Japan with no intention of stepping down / Photo》
'Vanguard' sweeping the Grand Prize at the 'K-POP Awards' and achieving the first-ever ‘Grand Slam’ had made headlines not only in Korea but also in the Japanese media. Songs related to Rojun, like 'Dreamlike', were also deeply embedded in the upper ranks of the music charts.
Then, as if his tied topknot was itchy, Kang Rojun scratched his head.
-Swish.
He accessed Vanguard’s YouTube channel. A smile quickly spread across his lips.
''Royal Procession' MV passed 30 million views!'
The 'Royal Procession' music video, which brought 'Tale of the Strange Moon' into the spotlight with the collaboration announcement, had now surpassed 30 million views and was racing toward 40 million. It had received hotter responses than any other song 'Vanguard' had done so far. However, 'Royal Procession' was still practically in the first half.
Once 'Tale of the Strange Moon' launched globally, it would again attract attention from international audiences as the main OST.
'That’ll be the second half. It could hit 100 million views or something?? Whoa - 100 million views.'
Just as Kang Rojun changed the search keyword to today’s release, 'Blood Hunt'.
-Swish.
Someone came up beside Rojun.
“Rojun.”
When he looked up, he saw PD Jung Soo-ryeong wearing a cap pulled down low, pointing at his phone with her index finger.
“Checking how 'Blood Hunt' is doing?”
Rojun nodded with a faint smile.
“Yes, I was curious.”
“It’s your first movie, so of course you’d be curious. What do you think? Like, about the audience numbers or stuff like that.”
“Honestly, I don’t know. I really enjoyed it at the preview screening, but how the public will take it...”
“Movies feel different from dramas, don’t they?”
“They do. I can’t exactly explain it, but it’s like a 100-meter sprint?”
“And dramas are a long-distance race?”
“Yes.”
“Well, that sounds about right.”
With a shrug of her shoulders, PD Jung Soo-ryeong took out her phone and searched for 'Blood Hunt'.
“There’s no audience count yet, but the articles keep popping up. Audience reviews will probably go up after the first screening ends. It’ll do well. How many big bombs went off before the release?”
Kang Rojun knew that too. The buzz so far had been tied to him, and 'Blood Hunt' was enjoying the trickle-down effect. PD Jung Soo-ryeong, who had already experienced such things before, lowered her phone and continued.
“All those things lead to audience numbers. Sure, if the film itself sucks, it’ll just flash and fade, but come on, it’s a movie written by Writer Rojun. No way that happens, right? If word-of-mouth spreads, 3 million will be a breeze.”
As Rojun nodded with an impressed “Ooh", PD Jung Soo-ryeong gave her prediction.
“Why stop at 3 million? I think 'Blood Hunt' could hit 10 million.”
Kang Rojun wasn’t particularly surprised. He’d imagined it himself, after all.
“To be honest, when I made a bet with the 'Blood Hunt' team, I bet on 10 million too.”
Later on.
Kang Rojun resumed filming 'Tale of the Strange Moon', and a few hours later, the first screening of 'Blood Hunt' ended. Immediately, those who had seen it for the first time went online.
"I have to upload my review right away!"
“And my rating too!”
To write their evaluations of 'Blood Hunt' and give it a rating. The flow on the first day of release is crucial enough to affect the film’s future audience numbers. Especially for a film like 'Blood Hunt', which had strong buzz. If a work draws massive attention before release but turns out to be an empty can when opened, it flops mercilessly. And at several times the speed, too.
If it’s the opposite, the firepower explodes.
The ratings and reviews for 'Blood Hunt' were fortunately solid from the start. No, maybe it would be more accurate to say the audience was raving.
Kang Rojun checked the movie reviews in the late afternoon.
“Oh! The reviews are good! And the ratings too!”
Rojun’s eyes curved into a bright smile, clearly in a good mood. It was a very natural reaction. He had written the screenplay himself, and it was his first film released to the world. And now, the audience was praising it this much.
['Blood Hunt' / Released on November 25, 2021]
[Rating: 9.6]
[Viewer & Netizen Reviews / 471 participants]
– Fucking good / s****
– Haven’t watched a movie that made time fly like this in a while ㅋㅋㅋㅋ also, Rojun’s acting is insane... / q****
– Rojun’s half-crazy scene in the middle... his acting was killer ㅋㅋㅋㅋ and he’s super handsome / 5****
– A bit brutal and scary... but the actors’ acting prowess was crazy.... Rojun’s acting transformation is crazy... / g****
– No weak links in acting from Jung Tae-soo or anyone else, and especially a major rediscovery of Rojun ㄷㄷㄷ no words needed, just go watch / t****
– Rojun wrote this script?? He’s the real deal as a writer too / 1*****
– 10 million viewers totally possible / k*****
– Now I get why Director Yoo Ji-heon was so obsessed with Rojun’s work ㅋㅋㅋㅋ fuck / l****
Any screenwriter or director would be dancing by now. And in reality, as Kang Rojun read through the audience reviews, the corners of his mouth never stopped turning upward. Sure, here and there were some harsh or mocking comments thrown in.
– Wow ㅋㅋㅋㅋ this place is a shrine to Rojun’s fans?? It was boring as hell / n****
But over 99% of the reviews were full of praise.
As some of the hate comments said, the initial boom might have been powered by Rojun’s fanbase. However, watching the reactions all day long, the dominant opinion was that the movie was genuinely good.
《[MovieTalk] 'Blood Hunt' shows signs of dominating the film scene, rave reviews flood in on opening day / Photo》
《No.1 in ticket pre-sales 'Blood Hunt', audiences who watched it on release say “The actors' performances were insane and it was fun!”》
Both the media and public opinion had high expectations for Blood Hunt’s performance.
The morning of the 26th, one day later.
In the meeting room of 'BG Pictures', the production company behind 'Blood Hunt', Director Yoo Ji-heon and the key members of the film gathered. They had been monitoring reactions to 'Blood Hunt' all morning, and when the time finally came, a beam projector lit up the screen.
The official site for the domestic box office. In other words, it displayed the previous day’s audience numbers.
The laptop was being operated by Jang Hak-seon, the manager at 'BG Pictures', and within a few minutes, the film titles and various figures were visible to everyone, including Director Yoo Ji-heon.
And then.
"Wow!! We did it, we did it!!"
"I knew it would be like this! Congratulations, Director-nim!"
“Audience numbers are overwhelming!”
The staff erupted. They cheered, clapped, and gave Director Yoo Ji-heon thumbs up. Finally, with a soft sigh of relief, he cracked a smile.
A natural reaction, all things considered.
[November 25, 2021 Audience Count]
1. 'Blood Hunt' / Release Date: Nov. 25 / Audience: 470,551 / Total Audience: 470,551
2. ‘Addict’ / Release Date: Nov. 25 / Audience: 79,210 / Total Audience: 79,210
.
.
.
A staggering 470,000+ viewers in just one day. An overwhelming solo run that left competitors in the dust. No, it was fair to call it a rampage.
On top of that, pulling 470,000 on a weekday made Blood Hunt’s performance comparable to other historic films that reached 10 million viewers.
“At this rate, 10 million! It’s not just a dream anymore, right?!”
The numbers were similar.
Meanwhile, at GN Entertainment.
Of course, GN Entertainment had already confirmed the explosive opening numbers for 'Blood Hunt'. By now, it wouldn’t be just GN Entertainment, 'Culture Drawer' must be in a frenzy as well. In fact, the success benefited 'BG Pictures' and 'Culture Drawer' even more than GN.
Because it was Kang Rojun’s screenwriting capabilities that were front and center.
GN Entertainment was in charge of ‘Actor Rojun’, but at this point, it didn’t matter. Kang Rojun’s main and side jobs were interconnected organically. Whatever succeeded would end up boosting the rest. No matter what it was, GN Entertainment kept track of 'Blood Hunt', as well as Vanguard’s single album and the status of 'Royal Procession'.
More than anything, the activities for Vanguard’s single album were approaching, so they needed to tighten the somewhat relaxed schedules of the members again. The major event 'K-POP Awards' and the first-half push of 'Royal Procession' were now complete, so it wouldn’t be a burden.
Then the staff continued reporting to CEO Ha Seo-hwan.
“Preparations for the music video shoot of the single track 'zephyr' are complete, and we’ve started collecting tracks for Vanguard’s second album, as you requested.”
As he slowly nodded, aligning Vanguard’s current influence with its future, CEO Ha Seo-hwan spoke.
“Hm. Also.”
He suddenly uttered a massive project.
“Start planning Vanguard’s world tour.”