Chapter 49: An Initial Triumph, Daily Viewership Surpasses One Million

As the pioneer and first premiere of online movies, it is safe to say that there had never been any domestic online movie prior to this. Therefore, before the results came out, no one knew whether Chen Mo’s "Mr. Vampire" would succeed.

Even Chen Mo himself did not know whether this movie could achieve the expected results.

In fact, Chen Mo underestimated his influence as "the first person to eat a crab."

During this period, the online movie was promoted through various channels. Not only netizens were paying attention, but in reality, many people in the film and television industry were also watching closely.

After all, at this time, the prestige of online movies had not yet been dragged down to the lowest level like in later generations.

To be honest, regarding the box office of "Mr. Vampire," Chen Mo didn't have the slightest certainty in his heart. After all, when he entered the online movie industry in his past life, it was several years later.

However, the three video streaming websites quickly compiled their first-day data.

Starting at 8 PM on December 3, Sohu Video was the first to deliver good news: within 13 hours, valid clicks exceeded 200,000, and the cumulative single-platform box office surpassed one million.

Soon after, Youku and LeTV also sent good news. It took them 14 hours and 14.5 hours respectively for their valid clicks to successfully surpass 200,000. All three video websites individually crossed the one-million box office mark, accumulating a total box office of over 3 million.

By 8 PM the next day, the box office statistics from the three video websites were out.

Sohu Video recorded 382,000 valid clicks in 24 hours, with a box office revenue of 1.91 million.
Youku Video recorded 326,000 valid clicks in 24 hours, with a box office revenue of 1.63 million.
LeTV Video recorded 308,000 valid clicks in 24 hours, with a box office revenue of 1.54 million.

Combined, the 24-hour box office of the three video websites for "Mr. Vampire" unexpectedly reached an astonishing 5.08 million.

Of course, this data could not be compared with blockbuster movies released simultaneously in theaters, such as "Just Another Pandora's Box" or "Sacrifice," but compared with other theatrical movies released during the same period, this box office was already enough to turn heads.

One must know that in this era, there weren't actually many movies whose daily box office could exceed ten million.

Yet "Mr. Vampire," an online movie, surprisingly grossed over five million in a single day.

Even Chen Mo was somewhat surprised. One had to admit that the advantage of being the first person to eat a crab was highlighted right here.

With such great news and such a wonderful promotional opportunity, the three major video websites naturally would not miss it. They quickly released the news, which prompted enthusiastic media reports.

"The first online movie, 'Mr. Vampire,' achieves a victorious debut, with a first-day box office of five million! Online movies may hold great promise!"

"The online movie 'Mr. Vampire' wins both critical acclaim and box office success, with a first-day box office exceeding five million and over a million views, announcing the resounding success of the online movie project!"

"First-day box office exceeds five million; online movies may change the audience's viewing habits! Theatrical films welcome a formidable rival!"

"Internet miracle repeats itself, first-day box office exceeds five million, paid online movies accepted by audiences, poised to become the biggest catfish in the film market!"

If prior to this, online movies were at most just a concept that everyone was unfamiliar with, and media reports were merely passing mentions, then when the results of "Mr. Vampire" grossing over five million in 24 hours came out, it made it impossible for anyone to ignore them anymore.

It might seem that compared to blockbusters pulling in tens of millions a day, a mere five million in box office was somewhat underwhelming. However, one must remember that for online paid streaming of "Mr. Vampire," calculated at just 5 RMB per valid click, a box office exceeding five million was equivalent to over a million valid clicks.

Do not underestimate this number. This was not free content, but paid content, so there was basically no such thing as artificial click inflation—after all, inflating clicks was equivalent to buying box office tickets.

Chen Mo would not do such a thing, and similarly, the video websites would not do so at this stage either, because they also needed to test the scale of online movies and the true level of audience acceptance.

In fact, this figure was already astonishing enough because, as an inaugural online movie, the three major video platforms spared no effort in promoting it to achieve such numbers.

This box office made all three major online video platforms beam with joy. One must remember that this was only the first-day data.

Of course, in terms of the movie's exhibition cycle, although online movies did not have a strictly defined theatrical run, Chen Mo knew that the golden box office period for online movies was actually shorter than that of theatrical films.

Theatrical movies have a screening cycle of about a month, whereas an online movie with large-scale promotion like "Mr. Vampire" would consider a blockbuster window of ten days or so to be exceptionally good.

Moreover, a movie ticket for a theater could only be watched by one person, but a single online payment allowed multiple people to watch repeatedly.

However, since "Mr. Vampire" was the first online movie, people had no prior concept of it and subconsciously benchmarked online movies against theatrical releases.

Many people also overlooked the massive promotional resources from the three major video websites that "Mr. Vampire," as the pioneering online movie, had received—this could not possibly be the norm.

Even so, the five-million first-day box office of "Mr. Vampire" still elicited gasps of amazement. Media reports boldly proclaimed a shift in viewing patterns, and filmmakers in the industry began paying attention to online movies, which they previously paid little heed to.

In truth, "Mr. Vampire" achieved such results precisely because its preliminary promotion was spot on. If it had been broadcast exclusively on a single video website, perhaps half of this box office would have been the absolute ceiling. After all, in this era, the user base for paid online subscriptions was limited.

Although the first-day box office fell significantly short compared to theatrical films, the five million in revenue and over a million paid streaming views still allowed this movie to truly break out into the mainstream.

Thus, when "Just Another Pandora's Box" announced its first-day box office of nearly 30 million, it suddenly discovered that it wasn't the only one shining brightly.

Reports about an online movie titled "Mr. Vampire" were almost overshadowing them.

Although the box office of this online movie was merely a fraction of "Just Another Pandora's Box," it still generated tremendous attention and media coverage.

The first online movie, "Mr. Vampire," surpasses five million in first-day box office! Viewership exceeds one million!

Meanwhile, another major New Year production was released today—none other than Poet Chen's "Sacrifice"!

This mega-production, whose first-day pre-scheduled box office was projected to exceed 20 million, found itself in an even more frustrating position on December 5. Not only was it overshadowed by "Just Another Pandora's Box," but it also had to contend with the spoiler that was "Mr. Vampire."

Driven by promotions and word-of-mouth fermentation, on the second day, the box office of "Mr. Vampire" experienced a significant surge compared to the first day.

In less than two days, it unexpectedly reaped a box office total exceeding ten million!

If the first-day box office might have still been dismissed by many as a mere flash in the pan, then the second-day box office revenue surpassing the first day, accumulating over ten million in two days and more than two million paid views, was certainly something worth shouting from the rooftops.