November twelfth.
The grand reshuffle of Hong Kong is nearing its final half-month.
A week has passed since the massive gang war.
In just seven days, two major gangs, the Wo Shing Wo led by An He Bin and the Sun Yee led by Qiao Tan, fought the fiercest battles.
These two gangs had skirmishes daily, with countless members killed or injured.
Their combined losses were approaching one hundred million, with two-thirds of that spent on compensation for families and repairs for their territories.
Fighting is fighting with money, and if both sides continued, the other three major gangs would seize the opportunity to absorb them.
Therefore, after An He Bin and Qiao Tan met privately, the conflict between the two gangs slowly subsided.
There were no large-scale brawls, but minor frictions continued, not enough to escalate into a major conflict.
Besides these two major gangs, one other gang rose to prominence in the Hong Kong underworld within seven days.
That was the Bai Lian Sheng from the Tsing Kwai district.
After their chairman Da Yong Long, strategist Wang Shi, and several other hall masters were killed in a bombing.
A Cheng Rong, the sole survivor, naturally ascended to the position of chairman.
Upon taking office, he first consolidated the gang, then redefined the hall structure, and finally promoted his trusted confidantes to key positions.
In just three days, the Bai Lian Sheng was resurrected under his leadership.
After reorganizing the gang, A Cheng Rong also revealed his ambition.
Under the guise of revenge, he continuously encroached upon smaller gangs near Bai Lian Sheng.
Following the "frame-up and entrapment" scheme provided by Xu Yue Jin, A Cheng Rong took over half of Tsing Kwai district in just four days.
Those willing to surrender to Bai Lian Sheng were spared their lives.
Those who refused either had their entire families wiped out or disappeared completely...
A Cheng Rong's brutal methods gave him a terrible reputation in the underworld.
However, no one dared to comment on him in public.
Because those who did either ended up being hacked to death an hour later or shot dead.
The other two major gangs in Tsing Kwai district, the Yee Wo and the Yee Chun.
Their respective chairmen had already realized that A Cheng Rong was using the excuse of revenge to seize territory.
Now that Bai Lian Sheng occupied half of Tsing Kwai district, its strength was enough to rival the two gangs.
Therefore, after private consultations, the two chairmen secretly formed an alliance.
To prevent A Cheng Rong, this mad dog, from suddenly going berserk and absorbing them as well.
Excluding the three gangs currently in the spotlight, the remaining twenty-odd gangs also had their own disputes.
According to official statistics, after the great turmoil, the number of casualties among all Hong Kong gangs had exceeded ten thousand.
The funeral industry, in particular, had made a fortune in a single week.
...
Gao Fei, who had been closely monitoring the movements of Hong Kong gangs, also noticed the huge profits in the funeral industry.
However, he wasn't envious, as the gang war in Hong Kong was temporary. Once the grand reshuffle was over, such widespread conflict and death would not continue.
He was more focused on the box office performance of the film "God of Gamblers."
Because Gao Yue Film and Television had gained good critical acclaim for the movie "The Impish Life."
When audiences learned that "God of Gamblers" was also produced by Gao Yue Film and Television.
Coupled with Huo Dong Cheng's behind-the-scenes promotion using his connections.
Upon its release, the first-day box office revenue immediately surpassed ten million.
Within two days of its release, the box office exceeded forty million, with over two million viewers.
Furthermore, due to the film's influence, Hong Kong was swept by a "God of Gamblers" craze within two days.
In front of cinemas, bars, and other gathering places for young people, a very uniform sight could be seen everywhere.
Young people, with their hair slicked back with wax, a toothpick in their mouths, and a golden box of chocolates in hand, perfectly mimicked the attire of the movie's protagonist, Gao Jin.
Some of the more dedicated youngsters, no matter how hot the weather, wore their black trench coats as if they had a built-in fan, never taking them off from morning to night.
Besides imitating Gao Jin, many young people were also captivated by the characters of Chen Xiao Dao and Long Wu.
In short, "God of Gamblers" received rave reviews upon its release.
From middle-aged men in their forties and fifties to young people in their late teens, anyone discussing the movie invariably praised the exaggerated gambling skills, the incredibly charismatic presence of protagonist Gao Jin, the loyalty of the ruffian Chen Xiao Dao, and Long Wu's masterful marksmanship.
In November, a total of nine new films were released in Hong Kong.
And "God of Gamblers," released on November tenth, immediately climbed to the top of the box office in just two days.
None of the nine new films could compete with "God of Gamblers."
Imperial Hotel.
Gao Fei was very satisfied with the box office data of "God of Gamblers."
The film's explosive success was within his expectations.
When "The Impish Life" first entered Hong Kong, Gao Fei's sensitive identity would have affected the grand reshuffle, so he could only release the film through the shell company Gao Yue Film and Television.
There was no pre-release promotion or buzz, only that terrifying ghost face poster.
It was only after the film continuously sent people to the hospital and the news was confirmed that the movie finally became a hit.
The immediate success of "God of Gamblers" within two days of its release was largely due to Huo Dong Cheng.
After Gao Fei had a confrontation with him earlier, and with the connection through Zhang Zi Heng.
Huo Dong Cheng had privately released exciting clips of "God of Gamblers" through various channels such as Hong Kong's internet and television for pre-release promotion.
Over a week of promotional buzz, the movie's highlight clips attracted a large number of viewers.
As soon as the seven cinema chains opened their pre-sale channels for "God of Gamblers" tickets, they were immediately sold out.
This trend was almost catching up to Gao Fei's own movie, "Black and White Edge."
Additionally, "God of Gamblers" was not a horror film, but an entertaining commercial movie.
Therefore, the seven cinema chains directly reduced the screening slots for the other nine films and fully allocated screening times for "God of Gamblers."
All the cinemas under the seven companies even cleared out two-thirds of their auditoriums to provide viewing spaces for the audience.
Gao Fei looked at the data report for the second day of release.
Calculating carefully, the box office for the next month should be heading straight for eight hundred million.
Once "God of Gamblers" is released on mainland China's online platforms, with the sheer number of mainland viewers, the film's final revenue will definitely exceed one billion.
"An investment of ten million, a return of one billion, the film industry truly makes money!"
Gao Fei muttered as he put down the data report. Jin Qiqi, who had just finished a phone call, stepped forward and said, "Boss, there's bad news and good news. Which one do you want to hear first?"
"Good news!"
"Our film 'You Are the Apple of My Eye' has passed censorship. The pre-production buzz for the past half-month has been very successful. The social media accounts for 'You Are the Apple of My Eye' now have over ten million followers.
The movie is scheduled to be released on New Year's Day, and based on current data, the first-day box office is estimated to exceed one hundred million!"
"And the bad news?"