A Little Chinese Arthouse Film Sets New Box Office Records — Because Its Marketers Tricked The (Now-Angry) Public

Filmmaker Bi Gan’s Long Day’s Journey Into Night, described by a correspondent as a “dreamy pseudo-noir,” grossed nearly $38 million on its first day, nearly unheard of for an art flick in China. How? That first day was Dec. 31, and the producers marketed the film (no relation to the Eugene O’Neill play) as the perfect romantic date flick for New Year’s Eve. The overnight reaction on social media was not pretty. — Variety