"Lost in Russia" was released on New Year's Eve, causing dissatisfaction among netizens, and Xu Zheng apologized to the staff

Today (January 20), the comedy film "Lost in Russia" directed by Xu Zheng announced that it will be released nationwide on New Year's Eve (January 24). However, netizens left messages condemning Xu Zheng for sacrificing the time of theater staff and family members for the sake of box office and to complete the gambling agreement. Many netizens left messages expressing their sympathy for the theater staff who had to be on duty on New Year's Eve.

The advance release date of Lost in Russia has caused quite a bit of controversy, and Xu Zheng responded immediately:

Because the advance release date caused dissatisfaction among some netizens, Xu Zheng responded with a post and apologized to the audience. He said that this was the first time that the film entered the Spring Festival schedule, and the advance release date was to satisfy some enthusiastic audiences who had an early holiday. The matter of advancing the release date has been discussed with the theater manager. He apologized to the theater staff who had to be on duty on New Year's Eve and gave corresponding benefits. He would contact the ground staff of the film to go to theaters in various places to give red envelopes to the theater staff as compensation. In the article, Xu Zheng also admitted that the advance release date was indeed to increase the box office: "We are indeed trying to increase the box office during the holidays, and it is also for the benefit of the theaters. I hope you can understand if there are any shortcomings." In addition, the reason why Xu Zheng suddenly advanced the release date may be related to the recent epidemic. At the end of the article, he also prayed that the epidemic would not spread: "At the same time, I hope this is the beginning of a good year. I pray that the epidemic will not spread, and the country will be peaceful and the people will be safe!"

The pictures Xu Zheng included in the article were of three films that were confirmed to be advanced in their release date. Xu Zheng did not dodge the main issue in his response, but truthfully explained to the outside world the reasons for the advancement of the release date. He spoke his mind without hiding anything, and his apology was very sincere, which won the understanding of many netizens. One netizen commented: "I feel that this response is quite sincere."