704 Waterloo?

When Qin Guan handed in his thesis to Professor Martin, he found out that "Mean Girls" had lagged behind other films that had premiered during the same period. The distributor had scheduled the first screening during the first week of summer vacation, when Qin Guan and Cong Nianwei would be getting their diplomas.

They just wanted to meet the demands of their college and their parents. Qin Guan's film seemed pure and clean among all those violent Hollywood blockbusters.

The teen movie just focused on school love, which made it seem like a feeble flower amid the rustling autumn wind against the formidable crusade of the other blockbusters. Film critics began to badmouth it at first.

"This is Qin Guan's first commercial film. The award-winning actor's script-selecting criteria may be inversely proportional to his acting skills."

"I wonder how long 'Mean Girls' will hold out before it collapses. It has the weakest potential after all."

"Can indie films and commercial films unite? Or could the actor be facing his own Waterloo?"

The audience was more or less influenced by the film experts. Some older people expressed their unfavorable opinions about the film.

A part of Qin Guan's fans was attracted by his acting skills, not his looks. Instead of fighting with the haters like his loyal fans, they remained calm and just replied to the posts peacefully.

"I'm a pure fan. I always focus on his performance, no matter the film genre."

"Yes. Every film must have some highlights, even if it's bullsh*t. For an award-winning actor like him, a good interpretation of his role is a big enough success."

"Kudos!"

"Kudos!"

This set a good example for Qin Guan's blind fans, who learned how to control their emotions and defend their idol in the right way.

They all united in harmony. The fans living in the same city or nearby cities contributed to the box office. American schools closed in late June, so the film was in theaters during the beginning of the longest, happiest student vacation.

Students were tired of doing boring homework, and kids pestered their parents for some weekend activities. Their parents took them to the cinema, which they loved. Out of all the films in theaters, "Mean Girls" was the only one appropriate for family audiences.

Everyone bought several tickets at once. It only took a few families to fill a small theater, so most cinema owners experienced a happy surprise. Their smaller theaters were crowded, while the larger ones were nearly empty.

The audience in the small theaters was talking and laughing, while the so-called blockbusters made the audience sleepy. The cinema owners, who were acute businessmen, used the audience's feedback to adjust the timetable the next day.

There were no complaints by the blockbuster distributors, as the latest box office and film reviews could be found in the newspapers.

The first week of the summer season, the North American Box Office went as follows:

No. 1 Mean Girls, 4.3 million dollars

No. 2 Alien vs. Predator, 3.8 million dollars

No. 3 Kill Bill Vol. 2, 2.8 million dollars

No. 4 The Butterfly Effect, 2 million dollars

…

The statistics shocked all the film production companies in North America.

"Alien vs. Predator" had invested a lot in high-tech effects during post-production. The "Kill Bill" sequel had attracted millions of dollars, but most people had expected more from "The Butterfly Effect". Who could have predicted that a teen comedy with a limited budget would top the list!

All experienced producers were stupefied. The confident critics had also zipped their mouths. They had originally planned on dissing the film after it lost the battle.

A strange silence prevailed in all film sections of the media. No fights. No praises. Everyone just remained quiet.

Of course, the Chinese media and Qin Guan's official blog did not count. All entertainment forums had fallen into the whirlwind of "Mean Girls" as young people gathered online to express their feelings.

"A good actor underestimated by American commercial film producers."

"My mom felt young again by watching Qin Guan. We didn't know that he was so young. We thought he was a middle-aged actor!"

"He is so handsome in this film. Don't you think so?"

"Of course! He looks amazing!"

"Yes!"