Chapter 16 Internal Screening, Release Date Set
During the post-production phase of Lost on Journey, news coverage about the film—and particularly about Qu Yiming and Uncle Benshan—did not subside. On the contrary, after the “50 Million Wager Incident” was exposed by gossip media, Qu Yiming once again drew massive public attention.
Since the end of the Spring Festival Gala, Qu Yiming hadn’t appeared on any variety or talk shows, nor had he released any new performances or dramas. Yet every now and then, news about him would make headline news or trend online. This kept his name on people’s lips—whether chatting casually or boasting over drinks.
The “50 Million Wager Incident” gave people more fuel for gossip, further spreading the hype around Lost on Journey.
“[Lost on Journey] slapped together! Fallout between master and disciple!”
“To make a movie, Qu Xiaoming falls out with Uncle Benshan, signs a 50 million wager!”
“Chasing dreams, wrong! Challenging authority, right!”
“Qu Xiaoming’s getting cocky, publicly challenges Uncle Benshan for a film!”
“Insiders say Qu Xiaoming might be mentally ill”
“Famed director Chen Kaige sharply critiques: ‘Any Tom, Dick or Harry can be a director now? Lost on Journey is undoubtedly trash!’”
In addition to these clickbait-style gossip pieces, there were also some proper reports—though they got far less attention, such as.
“Reportedly, an internal screening for Lost on Journey will be held soon.”
April 1st, April Fools’ Day.
In the city of Shen, a screening room at the Broadway Cinema had been booked by Benshan Media. The internal screening for Lost on Journey was held there, and all attendees had to sign a non-disclosure agreement.
Not many were invited—aside from Uncle Benshan and Liu Shuangping, some other senior executives of the company came, as well as a special guest.
Han Dong from China Film Group, who was also the executive producer of Lost on Journey.
“This must be Qu Xiaoming, right? Your skits were quite good,” Han Dong said with a smile as he looked at Qu Yiming, who was standing beside Uncle Benshan.
“Nice to meet you, Mr. Han.”
Qu Yiming responded modestly, “Just average—far inferior to my master.”
“This apprentice can’t take compliments,” Uncle Benshan teased. “Praise him a bit and he gets carried away. Let’s head into the theater first.”
Han Dong and his team walked towards the theater alongside Uncle Benshan. Qu Yiming followed them in. Inside the theater, after a bit of polite back-and-forth, Han Dong sat in the center seat of the first row. Uncle Benshan sat to his right, Liu Shuangping to his left. Qu Yiming was pulled in by Uncle Benshan to sit next to him.
Seeing this, Han Dong joked.
“Looks like your master-apprentice relationship is pretty solid—not at all like the media portrays, with all that talk of betrayal and physical fights.”
Uncle Benshan replied, “Ah, it was just a small matter. Yiming was thinking about the company’s future. And young people tend to be hot-headed and competitive—perfectly understandable.”
“Let’s begin the screening.”
As the film began to roll…
The internal screening officially started. Han Dong didn’t underestimate Lost on Journey just because it had a low budget.
On the contrary—he took it very seriously. A few years ago, he had produced a low-budget film, Crazy Stone, which had a budget of just 3 million yuan but ended up grossing over 20 million at the box office.
That experience showed Han Dong that box office success wasn’t limited to big-budget blockbusters—small films could also punch above their weight. The movie started.
Han Dong watched attentively. The first five minutes laid the groundwork—introducing the setting and the characters, one after another. The cinematography was polished, and the plot flowed smoothly without dragging.
Han Dong made a mental note—but so far, nothing had convinced him that this small-budget film could bring in a high box office return. Then the story developed. As the journey unfolded and the mishaps began, the character arcs rose naturally, and Han Dong found himself laughing more frequently, his eyes growing brighter.
But not everyone was amused—someone was watching like he had swallowed a fly.
Liu Shuangping: This movie is actually pretty funny. Could it really make more than 50 million?
By the end of the screening, he had a stiff expression. Then he heard Han Dong comment.
“The pacing is brisk, the plot is tight, and the jokes are frequent—but it also has touching moments. Through the events on the journey, the characters evolve naturally. It’s entertaining, but also has depth. Zhao Dong, are you sure your apprentice made this himself? You didn’t hire a ghost director, did you?”
Hearing such high praise, Uncle Benshan grinned.
“A hundred percent Yiming’s own work—even the script was written by him.”
“Young people these days are really something.”
Then Liu Shuangping asked, “Mr. Han, in your opinion, how much could this film gross?”
Han Dong quickly crunched some numbers, referencing Crazy Stone.
“Should be over 30 million.”
Still more than 10 million short of 50 million. Advantage: me!
Liu Shuangping breathed a sigh of relief.
Uncle Benshan gave him a glance, then turned to comfort Qu Yiming: “Thirty million is already pretty good. I’ve lost money on every film I made. At least yours will make some.”
Qu Yiming laughed wryly.
“I think it’s pretty good too.”
He looked at Han Dong and asked, “Mr. Han, do you think we can release it nationwide on May 1st?”
Back then, the May Day holiday release window wasn’t all that mature yet. But with the holiday, people had time to go to the movies—and that meant more box office potential.
Han Dong replied, “Pretty much. We’ll hold the nationwide premiere in Beijing on April 30, and the full release can start on May 1.”