The Spring Festival passed in a flash. By the end of the holiday week, 'Castle in the Sky' had raked in nearly 2 billion yuan in total box office after eight days in theaters.
But it wasn't the only one to cross the 1-billion threshold—'The Fool' and 'Frontline' had also broken that milestone.
This was what a balanced Spring Festival market looked like. Unlike in Jing Yu's past life in China, where most "blockbusters" relied on marketing hype, often earning 60% or more of their total box office in the first three days, Great Zhou's market was more stable.
Although Great Zhou rarely produced films that broke 500–600 million, let alone 1 billion, in daily box office, movies with genuine quality had lasting power.
Even after the holiday week ended, 'Castle in the Sky' was still pulling in around 200 million daily. The first wave of workers returning to their cities was now catching up on missed screenings.
Looking at the broader picture, this year's Spring Festival season didn't have a single film that dominated entirely. But most movies performed solidly.
'Castle in the Sky' was almost certainly the box office champion. It would easily surpass 3 billion yuan, and given its investment level, its box office ROI was already several times over. Although it didn't have huge merchandising potential, its popularity meant the peripherals wouldn't sell poorly either.
As for 'Frontline' and 'The Fool', while their results didn't quite meet their production companies' expectations, both recouped costs with no issue. It's just that 'Castle in the Sky's phenomenal word-of-mouth cut into their screen share, lowering their take.
The other films? They simply followed behind, picking up scraps while the Big Three feasted.
Overall, the Spring Festival box office outperformed the previous two years. There wasn't a runaway champion, but there was clear growth.
But in just ten short days, Jing Yu had firmly established himself in the film industry with 'Castle in the Sky'.
It was the same principle as in his previous world. Back then, a certain actor-director's film 'Wolf Warrior 2' shot to the top of the national box office. Yet many still dismissed him as "that cold-faced background character from SPL who didn't even get a single line."
People said 'Wolf Warrior 2' was a fluke, that the audience lacked taste, that it was just luck. They claimed his next film would expose his true level.
Then he released 'The Wandering Earth'.
Then more high-grossing films followed. Until eventually, he earned a permanent seat among China's A-list film stars.
It was the same with Jing Yu in Great Zhou.
In the TV world, he had steamrolled competitors and left them in the dust.
But in the film world? His first films—'Rurouni Kenshin: Trust & Betrayal' and 'Love Letter'—were seen as flukes, riding fan hype.
Then came 'The Girl Who Leapt Through Time', and people started admitting: okay, maybe he's a first-tier screenwriter and actor.
Then 'Your Name' came out of nowhere and made over 3 billion yuan.
At that point, his industry peers were stunned.
They didn't want to accept him. After all, that would mean acknowledging their own incompetence.
"We've worked ourselves to the bone for decades and don't have a single film in the top 100."
"This guy? Four films—all in the top 100. 'Your Name' is even in the top 15? What kind of sick joke is that?!"
And now came 'Castle in the Sky'.
Nothing left to say.
"Luck?"
"Fan-hype cash grab?"
"Just good marketing?"
"Lowbrow audiences?"
"He'll flop next time?"
None of these excuses could convince anyone anymore—not even themselves.
Five films.
Three in the all-time top 100.
One in the top 15.
'Castle in the Sky'? Almost guaranteed to land in the top 10.
Jing Yu had let the numbers speak for him.
Blind haters couldn't do anything anymore—audiences weren't that stupid.
So a comical scene unfolded:
Before 'Castle in the Sky' was released, a bunch of self-proclaimed experts predicted it would flop miserably in the ultra-competitive Spring Festival window.
Now? Those same people deleted their "predictions" and published glowing praise pieces instead.
Massive face-turns.
And Jing Yu's fans flooded the comment sections with mocking applause.
In just under two months, with two back-to-back movie releases, Jing Yu became one of the most bankable names in the industry.
Brand advertisers were throwing money at him—even though he rarely took on commercial gigs now, given his role as CEO of BlueStar Media & Film.
But if someone made the right offer? Nothing was off the table.
Once 'Castle in the Sky' crossed 2.5 billion, Jing Yu stopped checking the daily numbers.
He felt the film's performance had lived up to its name.
In his past life, 'Castle in the Sky' didn't do all that well in Japan—at least not compared to Miyazaki's other works. It grossed around 1 billion yen, which was modest. But that had a lot to do with Miyazaki's limited fame at the time and weak promotion.
"Still… timing is everything," Jing Yu muttered as he set aside a report.
If 'Your Name' had been released during the Spring Festival too, it might have done just as well as 'Castle in the Sky'.
But there were only so many prime windows in a year. With two great films, one had to take a backseat.
"Finally, the end of a crazy year."
Inside Jing Yu's office, Cheng Lie let out a long sigh.
He and the other executives at BlueStar Media had finally earned a breather.
Last year, they'd had back-to-back film and TV productions. Both he and Jing Yu had barely slept.
"Feels strange, honestly," Cheng Lie chuckled. "I sat here all morning, and nothing urgent came up. No crisis needing us to jump in."
"That's a good thing," Jing Yu smiled. "Oh, and a few days from now is Lantern Festival. Let's take the day off. I'll book a manor, and we'll have a full-day company party. If even we're this worn out, you can imagine how the rest of the staff feel."
BlueStar employees were among the best-paid in Modo City's entertainment industry.
Thanks to Jing Yu's absurd success rate—300% profit margins were common—one hit could mean billions in revenue.
Since last year, he has invested just under 600 million yuan into film projects. Those films had grossed over 7 billion. Even accounting for revenue splits, that was over 2 billion in earnings, much of it already confirmed, even if not fully paid out.
Over the past year alone, BlueStar's total profit exceeded 3 billion, and that didn't even include older IPs or merchandise sales.
With only 500–600 employees, even if Jing Yu shared just 10% of profits as staff bonuses, the average employee got several hundred thousand yuan, two to three times the industry standard.
And that was excluding base salary, which was already calculated into project budgets.
That's why, despite being a young company, BlueStar's staff included top-tier industry veterans.
Yes, the work was hard. But the pay made it all worth it.
Still, Jing Yu made sure to keep an eye on work-life balance.
The company's next major projects were 'Ultraman Tiga', 'Attack on Titan', and 'Gundam Seed'.
The filming schedules weren't tight, though the VFX timelines were. No need to rush.
On Lantern Festival, the whole company held a grand celebration.
Though year-end bonuses had already been handed out, Jing Yu used the excuse of 'Castle in the Sky' surpassing 3 billion to give everyone another several thousand yuan in bonuses, just one week into the new work year.
After one or two days of celebration, the company snapped back into full-throttle production mode.
Jing Yu's legendary track record in both film and TV had given the whole company a powerful sense of urgency.
Their boss was the most elite creator in the industry. Anyone slacking off would be eliminated quickly.
But working with Jing Yu brought honor, bonuses, and a deep sense of pride. Under those incentives—and the pressure—staff pushed themselves hard.
And now came spring job-hopping season.
Several top-tier veterans who once scoffed at offers from BlueStar Medi & Film were now proactively reaching out, hoping to join the company.
BlueStar began expanding rapidly.
The TV division had, in addition to Jing Yu's three series, four self-produced dramas set to air over the next six months on TV and streaming platforms.
The film division, for once, had no new script from Jing Yu, so in-house screenwriters were finally getting a chance to shine.
Jing Yu personally signed off on a 260-million-yuan investment for three internally developed movies.
He wasn't expecting huge returns. It was a way to develop talent, give teams experience, and let people take risks.
Did they make money? Great. If not? Acceptable.
Jing Yu had always known: a company cannot rely on one man alone.
From the outside, competitors saw BlueStar Media & Film, a company just four years old, becoming a juggernaut.
After the Spring Festival, BlueStar Media began a poaching spree, growing from 600+ to over 800 staff.
"Still small?" Not really.
Eight hundred permanent staff weren't on the level of the "Big Three," but it wasn't tiny either.
Many so-called "big-budget productions" that claimed thousands of crew members actually hired 90% temporary contractors who disbanded post-production.
BlueStar Media & Film, by contrast, had:
Real money
High-quality staff
A stellar hit rate
Even its internally produced dramas, still in pre-production, were already making waves across the industry.
By late February, the Spring Festival heat finally cooled.
Audiences stopped their rewatch marathons. Fan groups stopped fighting.
'Castle in the Sky' crossed 3.7 billion yuan, with daily box office around 7–8 million, down from its peak, but still earning Jing Yu millions a day.
But its run was coming to an end.
'Frontline' finished with 2.12 billion in second place.
'The Fool' ended with 1.98 billion.
Even the fourth to eighth-ranked films earned over 1 billion each.
The total Spring Festival box office reached nearly 13 billion yuan, up 5% over previous year.
It was a season of shared success—
But Jing Yu was the biggest winner.
During this time, 'Your Name' also ended its run.
It lingered through the first week after the holiday, earning an extra 90 million thanks to die-hard fans.
Final box office: 3.16 billion
Ranking: 13th all-time in the Great Zhou
'Castle in the Sky' finished at #8 all-time.
Combined with his past films, Jing Yu's career total as both screenwriter and actor now exceeds 10.2 billion.
No matter how his peers viewed him—
He was officially an industry heavyweight.
In March, Jing Yu quieted down. No major moves in film or TV.
Audiences turned their attention to other projects.
But the search bar on the official film portal still showed:
'Ultraman Tiga'
'Attack on Titan'
'Gundam: Seed'
Each had over 100,000 daily searches.
Jing Yu's fans had not forgotten the three projects he announced last year and then went silent about.
As for his peers? They might not say it out loud, but every major studio was watching BlueStar's every move.
Top-tier screenwriters, actors, directors, and producers releasing one film every 2–3 years was normal.
But with Jing Yu, the industry's nerves were on edge.
No one dared call him "young and inexperienced" anymore.
Both investors and insiders now saw him as:
A creator, actor, and producer at the absolute top of the industry.
Any time he announced a project or release window, every major studio would seriously consider whether to adjust schedules, avoid direct competition, or even retreat.