Photo/Screenshot of the TV series

The highly anticipated Chinese TV drama "Joy of Life 2", finally premiered on CCTV-8 and Tencent Video on May 16th to much fanfare.

Based on the novel of Mao Ni (pen name) and adapted for television by Wang Juan, Joy of Life 2 is directed by Sun Hao and stars Zhang Ruoyun, Li Qin, and Chen Daoming in lead roles.

The popularity of "Joy of Life 2" is undeniable. According to the official Weibo account of "CCTV TV Series", the real-time live broadcast attention peak of the drama on CCTV-8's prime time slot exceeded 2.

Within 57 minutes of its premiere, the drama's real-time popularity on Tencent Video had already exceeded 30,000, and it broke 31,000 in the 68th minute, becoming the first drama in the platform's history to enter the "Explosive Dramas Club" on the same day of its premiere. Topics related to the drama, such as #Joy of Life 2# and #Joy of Life 2 King of Dramas#, took turns topping Weibo's Hot Search list.

Public information shows that among the production companies of "Joy of Life 2", Tencent Video, Yuewen Film and Television, and New Classics Media, which are all part of the Tencent ecosystem, occupy three seats. Other production companies include CCTV, Huayi Brothers, and Huawen Picture. On May 16th, Hong Kong-listed Yuewen Group (0772.HK) rose 2.72%.

On March 18th, Yuewen Group released its 2023 annual performance report. The report shows that Yuewen Group achieved revenue of RMB 7.01 billion in 2023; the net profit attributable to shareholders was RMB 800 million, an increase of 32.3% year-on-year, corresponding to a net profit margin attributable to the parent company of 11.5%, an increase of 3.5 percentage points year-on-year. At the same time, Yuewen's operating profit reached RMB 710 million, an increase of 12.8% year-on-year.

Southwest Securities Research Report stated that 2024 is a big year for Yuewen Group's IP. In addition to "Joy of Life 2", "Guardians of the Dafeng" and "Full Bloom" will also be scheduled for release this year. According to the data, "YOLO, which was jointly produced by Yuewen Group's New Classics Movies and Yuewen Film and Television at the beginning of the year, won the Spring Festival box office championship with a box office of RMB 3.46 billion.