Super Zoo

Three days after the completion of "Terror Animal City," Suming received the nationwide cinema scheduling information for the movie, with an overall screening rate of about 4% across national cinemas.

It was somewhat amusing to say, as the screening rates of several major cinema chains were all less than 3%, with the lowest being Wanda Cinema Line at just 1.8%. It was only because a few smaller cinema chains had relatively high screening rates, with the largest one, "Construction Corps Cinema Chain," surprisingly giving a rate of 15%, that the overall rate was pulled up.

The big cinema chains aimed to make money, while the small ones, especially those with official backgrounds, were backed by the government. Besides profit, they also had a political mission: to allow a hundred flowers to bloom in the cultural sector. Similar in nature to art cinemas, the more niche the film, the more likely it was to be shown. It was precisely because this mechanism existed that a number of art films were able to survive.

Even so, the total number of screenings was frighteningly low. The screening rate did not fully explain the issue, as the base number of cinemas in small chains was too low. Even if they had high screening rates, the total number of screenings remained limited. One big cinema chain increasing their screening rate by a single percentage point could have more screenings than a small chain did all day. Besides, even the "hundred flowers" small cinemas only offered up to 15% for "Terror Animal City."

Owing to the pitifully weak promotion beforehand, the movie didn't cause much of a stir nationwide. The vast majority of audiences, when booking tickets, merely glanced at it, saw that both director and actors were unknown and that it was a domestic indie production, and essentially ignored it. On the rare occasions when a few viewers were interested and wanted to book tickets, they found that the show times were either in the morning or late at night, and so they gave up.

On Yangchuan City forums and Taoyuan Interest Weibo, there was a certain response. Suming posted the movie release information on Weibo and live streaming platforms.

"Hey, the zoo's open, let's go watch it in groups!"

"It's 'Terror Animal City'! It's out today!"

"I went to the Nuomi website to book tickets and couldn't find it at all. Is there no group purchase?"

"Impossible! I've booked tickets already!"

"Oh, found it, at the end. Fuck, there's only one show at one-thirty in the morning and another at eight-thirty in the morning, I need to sleep..."

"What kind of scheduling is this? Watching horror movies at night, the zoo director sure has some ideas... It's too late, I really can't watch it. I'll go watch 'Tiny Times' instead..."

"Scheduling is not up to the zoo director; it's arranged by the cinema."

"With the recent surge of blockbusters, 'Animal City' is probably going to be cannon fodder and won't stand out, what a pity."

"I might as well wait for the pirate copy to come out and watch it at home..."

Because of the limited screenings and inconvenient show times, many fans from outside the area, despite their intentions to watch, ended up not going.

The situation on Yangchuan City Forums was slightly better. After all, it was the first local movie for Yangchuan City. Many people had joined the discussion with enthusiasm. Now that it was finally released, even though the timings were a bit late, the hardcore fans of "Animal City" still organized a group to watch it, with more than thirty people booking a small screening at one-thirty in the morning.

Suming asked Guo Zijian if he wanted to watch it together, but Guo just shook his head with a smile. After the film's production was complete, he and Suming had been among the first to see it. Unlike most industry insiders, Guo was quite confident in the film.

"Forget it, let's just go, the two of us," said Suming, who bought the last two tickets in the back row and then put on a long-brimmed cap on his forehead and a large mask.

Nangong Yan looked at his odd getup and laughed, "Aren't you hot in that?"

"It's fine, there's air conditioning in the cinema," Suming said muffledly through the mask, pulling Nangong's hand as they walked from the underground parking lot to the elevator.

Wanda Cinema was located on the fourth floor of Wanda Plaza, and the last screening was at 1:30 a.m. The underground parking lot was so quiet that it could breed little ghosts. Sitting in the last tourist elevator that went directly to the cinema, the Wanda Plaza outside the glass windows really had the vibe of a horror film set; not a soul was in sight, and a few sinister mannequins stood by the windows, staring expressionlessly outside through the glass.

Suming deliberately timed his arrival so that he reached the ticket check when the familiar opening music of the animal world—yes, due to a lack of funds, the opening music of Terror Animal City was the background music from CCTV's animal world—had already begun inside, instantly revealing that this film was related to animals.

The inside of Cinema Hall No. 8 was pitch black, and this smallest hall, with a capacity of sixty-eight people, appeared quite full with about thirty-something people. However, Suming knew that this was probably the most attended premiere of Terror Animal City in the whole country. He silently and stealthily walked with Nangong Yan along the small side aisle to the last row and sat down.

Nangong Yan, as if performing a magic trick, took out several beautifully packaged snacks from her bag and lined them up on her lap.

"At least it's a movie I've invested in, can't you take it seriously…" Suming said listlessly, "At least pretend like you are watching the movie attentively."

"But I'm hungry," Nangong Yan retorted as she opened a packet of potato chips and stuffed one into her mouth before offering some to Suming, "Do you want some?"

"I don't want any!" Suming said in frustration, "I want to watch the movie earnestly."

"Fine, don't eat then, I will…" Nangong Yan said as she stuffed another chip into her mouth.

On the big screen, after a dragon-shaped logo that everyone was very familiar with appeared, the movie officially began.

Suming had already watched the content of the movie several times and wasn't unfamiliar with it; what he really paid attention to was the reaction of the entire audience. The movie industry is market driven. It doesn't matter if the cinema chains are not optimistic, if the scheduling rate is low, or even if the girlfriend is indifferent.

As long as the audience buys in, that's what counts! If the audience response is good, the cinemas will naturally increase the screenings!

The pace of the movie was very fast, initially appearing to be a family soap opera, with a brother and sister arguing over whether to protect animals or not.
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Nangong Huang, who played the brother, was very stressed due to the pressure of supporting the family and working hard; he was already in a bad mood and looked down on his sister's 'excessive naivety and kindness'. During their heated argument, he uttered harsh words, which left his sister crying and retreating to her own room, while the brother, exhausted, lay down on the sofa and gradually fell asleep.

Just when the audience might start to feel impatient, the scene shifted, and a new world appeared: Terror Animal City.

The brother was transported to another world: Terror Animal City.

Suming noticed a distinct wave of excitement from the audience at the very moment the curtain rose on Terror Animal City; it was a world dominated by animals that they had never seen before, and it was very novel;

Until that moment, no horror elements had appeared yet.

As the film proceeded from the perspective of Nangong Huang's character, exploring deeper into Animal City, the cinema intermittently erupted with gasps and exclamations of "holy shit"...

A third into the movie, Suming could clearly feel that the audience in the cinema was in a state of extreme tension, and a chilling atmosphere began to pervade the place gradually.

It seemed the effect was quite good; Suming finally felt relief in half of his heart.

Speaking of hearts, he glanced at Nangong Yan. She held half a bag of potato chips in her hand, froze in a fixated pose, her eyes unwaveringly glued to the screen, the chips forgotten.