Chapter 1484
Making a Big Profit
Before the Lunar New Year, we organized a dinner party in the large courtyard house, just like last year.
Now, including the people from Deyuan Society, there are more than 300 people who have arrived.
Zhang Yuan can no longer personally hand out red envelopes at the door because he can't keep up with the demand.
They specifically brought over 100 million yuan in cash to distribute at the event.
Those who received the money were naturally overjoyed.
People work for money, so stop talking nonsense.
You don't pay them, yet you force them to perform. Even if you treat them to a meal, they're lucky if they don't curse you in their hearts.
Just like last year, Zhang Yuan gave the same order: employees don't need to perform. We have plenty of artists, so if anyone needs to perform, it should be the artists.
Moreover, the leadership is still not allowed to participate in the lottery.
But cheating still exists, because Lao Han is here this year too...
Giving him just two cases of Mengniu milk isn't appropriate.
And Zheng Xiaolong, who is brimming with pride because of the huge success of "Empresses in the Palace," wouldn't be satisfied with just two cases of Yili milk tea.
Therefore, we specially prepared several sets of commemorative gold jewelry for the Year of the Dragon, specifically for important partners.
Then they got a bunch of this year's new phones and tablets, all Apple products.
Although he is a shareholder of Xiaomi, if he were to use a bunch of Xiaomi phones for a raffle, his employees would probably complain about it on Weibo.
There are some things that are truly beyond our control, and most people's thinking has always been, "Foreign things are so beautiful."
"Before we begin the first round of the lottery," Zhang Yuan stood in front of everyone, and Zhang Ziyi immediately jogged over to hand him the microphone, taking over the assistant's job.
Zhang Yuan glanced at it and said, "It has to be you."
That woman really knows how to get things done.
"Thank you, let me say a few words first."
"I won't go into any long-winded explanations."
“A few days ago, I spent an afternoon reporting to the leaders at a meeting of the Federation of Literary and Art Circles. I was not only tired of it, but I also felt the urge to curse you all during your meetings.”
Hehehe...
A burst of laughter erupted from the audience.
Since they were all on his side, he spoke his mind freely.
Old Han watched with a smile, not at all annoyed.
"Let's talk about something more practical," Zhang Yuan said, raising his hand.
"First of all, I would like to thank director Tsui Hark, who is not present today."
"And director Zhang Yimou, who has already gone home for the Chinese New Year."
Director Ning Hao was already sitting in the audience.
"With the help of these great directors, our film industry across the Taiwan Strait has continued the strong momentum of last year."
"For two consecutive years, we have become the production company that has garnered the most box office revenue during the Spring Festival!"
As soon as he said that, a thunderous applause erupted from below.
Zhang Ziyi, in particular, raised her hand and cheered, leading the way in shouting.
She shouted to please Zhang Yuan.
The other employees shouted because they had just received red envelopes.
The reason for the red envelopes is that the company is doing well.
Moreover, company employees also received internal movie tickets and went to see the movie many years ago.
Internal references and information gathering are necessary.
Zhang Yuan also plans to build a small screening room in the office building specifically for internal reactions and reviews.
Large film companies all need such a room, and they usually invite senior film critics or insiders to preview the films.
When Zhang Yuan mentioned movies and the Lunar New Year film season, everyone felt inspired!
Flying Swords of Dragon Gate has grossed nearly 6 million yuan at the box office!
Many media outlets have praised it as the martial arts film with the best visual effects ever made.
Its biggest advantage is its visual effects; in terms of plot alone, it's not as good as "Dragon Inn".
Some film critics have criticized the plot.
Zhou Xun's performance was far inferior to that of Maggie Cheung and Brigitte Lin.
Li Lianjie's action scenes are still exciting, but his acting skills are still inferior to Liang Jiahui's.
With Chen Kun, it was exactly the opposite.
His action scenes aren't as good as Donnie Yen's back then, but his fit with the role is incredibly high!
The name "Factory Flower" has already spread online.
Chen Kun is here today too; I still hold shares in his studio.
This person also smiled and applauded from below the stage.
However, this film also has investments from China Film Group and Bona Film Group, so he does not hold the full share.
However, the company's gross profit can still reach tens of millions, which is quite good.
As long as it makes money, that's Zhang Yuanxiang's principle.
The revenue from "Flying Swords of Dragon Gate" alone was enough to cover the company's daily expenses for a year, and he was overjoyed.
But Bona felt he had lost out.
If I had known, I would have paid in full; there would have been no need to split the money with this kid.
He also invited Yu Dong today.
After Zhang Yuan finished talking about the profits of "Flying Swords of Dragon Gate," he glanced around the seats and noticed that Bona Film Group wasn't there.
mean!
We talked about "The Flowers of War" again. It has been in theaters for three weeks and has grossed over 5 million yuan!
The final box office is expected to exceed 6 million.
Moreover, he managed to reduce the cost of the film to just over 100 million yuan, making a huge profit.
However, the overseas box office was very poor, and the Oscars only gave it a nomination, which made Zhang Yimou complain to him several times.
Ultimately, the problem lies in the subject matter.
Even with the inclusion of the plot of "Saigon Girl," the anti-Japanese war theme meant that foreigners simply didn't understand the conflict between China and Japan.
Don't they see you as one country?
It's another war scene, with the fighting taking place in the enemy's most advantageous position.
Moreover, in recent years, not only Chinese concept stocks, but also Chinese film aesthetics have declined in Western markets. It's not something that Zhang Yimou can achieve simply through hard work.
Zhang Yuan listened patiently, thinking, "I've already made money, so just say what you want."
Roughly calculated, this film alone could bring in nearly 200 million yuan for the company, resulting in the shareholders clamoring for year-end dividends.
Just like last year, he gave up his share of the profits and allocated 5000 million to these guys to share.
A new supplementary agreement was also signed.
Because of the good box office and high profits, too many investment institutions are now eyeing the company!
They brought in dozens of VCs and PEs.
He wasn't worried about VCs, who typically invest only a few million, or at most tens of millions, in a single venture.
But private equity funds are more dangerous.
To avoid a situation similar to the "possession" incident at South Beauty, his profit-sharing condition was that he would have the right of first refusal to acquire shares for three consecutive years.
We can't wait until these guys sell all their shares to private equity firms, or I'll have nowhere to turn to cry.
Several companies are already in talks with him about selling some of their shares due to the poor state of the Hong Kong film market.
"Congratulations to Director Ning Hao on his comeback!" Zhang Yuan pointed to the big head again.
"What are you saying? It's like I'm impotent." Big Head started off in a ridiculous way, and his wife pulled him back.
"The Golden Era has now grossed over 100 million yuan, making it a very successful commercial film."
There's a saying: "Oranges grown south of the Huai River are sweet oranges, but those grown north of the Huai River are bitter oranges."
"There was a small problem with the previous film, 'No Man's Land'."
"But when we returned to our company, these problems no longer existed."
"Wishing Director Ning continued success!"
Those in the front row immediately understood that his words were a sarcastic jab at Hua Yi.
Whoever has the money calls the shots!
These three films released during the Lunar New Year holiday have already grossed over 13 billion yuan at the box office.
This doesn't even include the Lunar New Year blockbuster "Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf," which is guaranteed to gross over 100 million yuan.
This is also why Lao Han was willing to accept the invitation today.
This year's Lunar New Year film season, Zhang Yuan drew his sword and looked around in bewilderment, finding himself completely without an opponent!
Neither Chen Shiren nor Feng Xiaogang have any new films released this year, and the only one among the three directors with a project still in his hands is still his, and he made a fortune from it.
How incredibly lonely it is to be invincible...
And they've dominated the Lunar New Year film season for two consecutive years—that's incredible!
Who was the last company to claim dominance in the Lunar New Year film season?
It's Huayi!
It is now the first listed company in the Chinese film industry.
Whether the cross-strait film industry that has now taken over can become the next Huayi Brothers is a matter of considerable debate.
That's for sure!
Many people have predicted that once Cross-Strait Films goes public, it will definitely surpass Huayi Brothers to become the new industry leader.
Of course, many people were unhappy to hear this, especially those from the Huayi faction.
But their performance during this year's Lunar New Year film season left them speechless.
If you were to say that last year was a coincidence or an accident, it would be because "Let the Bullets Fly" and "Ip Man 2" supported the market.
So what should we say this year?
You can't have good luck every year, right?
Zhang Yuan stated that this is what operation is all about.
When luck comes, you win. And this only refers to the Lunar New Year film season, not including other productions throughout the year.
"Painted Skin" sold for over 100 million.
The reviews for "A Chinese Ghost Story" were not great, but Sissi's ability to attract box office revenue was still acceptable for the time being. In addition, with the support of the old IP, although the reviews were not very good, it still grossed more than 100 million in the entire Asian region.
The box office revenue alone could cover the costs, but when online games and other sponsorships are included, the company actually made a lot of money, with a profit of tens of millions.
The only thing Zhang Yuan didn't like was that the revenue from this film was actually earned by exploiting Xiaolongnu's accumulated popularity.
The total box office revenue generated by film industries across the Taiwan Strait this year is close to 20 billion!
It is already a leading company even before it goes public.
And the one in power is this young man.
Zhang Yuan handed the microphone to Da Peng, who was acting as the host. Da Peng was also there today and had officially signed a contract with his company before the new year.
He sat down at the table with Jiang Zhiqiang and Lao Han.
"Hey, judging from these people's reactions, everyone admires you."
“Most of them worship the RMB,” Zhang Yuan replied to Boss Jiang with a smile.
"That's true, you have good taste."
Mr. Jiang was extremely envious.
Although the company was highly profitable and everyone was happy to receive dividends, Zhang Yuan generously refused them.
But he knew that they didn't care about that small share of the profits at all!
Not to mention the revenue from TV dramas, those three most popular Qing Dynasty dramas this year each sold at least 100 million yuan worth of content, so he can get a lot of money from them.
There are also two overseas works.
Fast & Furious 5 has grossed nearly $7 million worldwide!
How much does Mission: Impossible cost?
This doesn't even include revenue from CDs and streaming media.
The film companies on both sides of the strait earned tens of millions just from handling distribution in the Asian region.
He owns a quarter of the shares, as well as all the copyright revenue from the Asian region.
Universal Pictures never imagined that this IP series would not only be revived, but also become the company's most profitable project.
Now that Zhang Yuan looks old, I feel like all that money went to this Asian guy.
Jiang Zhiqiang and the others also regretted this project because after Zhang Yuan bought it back then, they all disagreed with investing in it and only lent him money.
Now, seeing that a single film could bring in tens of millions of dollars in bonuses, his left eye is completely bloodshot.
Why wasn't the right eyeball involved?
Because his right eyeball will also be featured in another film.
He brought back an investment project for "Kick-Ass," but these guys disagreed.
In the end, he gritted his teeth and scraped together money from all sides, even using funds from mortgaging his Uku shares, to invest $1000 million in the film.
The total investment was less than $2500 million.
Now, after the clip was shown at San Diego Comic-Con, it went viral!
The release plan was naturally accepted by theaters across North America.
The final box office was close to 1 million US dollars, and with the revenue from merchandise, the profit was tens of millions of US dollars.
Just from these two foreign films, his theoretical earnings this year will be tens of millions of US dollars.
Jiang Zhiqiang looked at him as if he were looking at a walking money-printing machine.
Otherwise, how could he have the confidence to buy the king-of-the-hill apartment in Diaoyutai No. 7 Courtyard in full for Shu Chang to live in?
This ticket cost him 6000 million.
Thinking back, when he bought a house in Shanghai earlier, tens of millions of yuan would have exhausted his cash reserves.
It's only been a short time, but things are completely different now.
With the money he has now, he could never spend it all in his lifetime if he didn't gamble or get married.
But no one ever feels they have enough; he felt he still hadn't earned enough.
"There's something else I admire about you," Jiang Zhiqiang said, then looked at Lao Han.
"It's just a matter of scheduling; it's all arranged well."
In fact, at first, the company's senior management wanted to schedule "The Golden Era" for the Spring Festival period, that is, to be released around the first day of the Lunar New Year.
During this period, when everyone is on holiday, many people will take their families to see a movie.
He has connections with Lao Han and can make arrangements.
Zhang Yuan refused sternly.
Because "The Golden Era" is actually an anti-Japanese war drama, and there have been many dramas on this subject in the past two years.
Moreover, it has a tragic ending, as not only did the main characters all die, but the female lead also died.
This is so upsetting! You're making people watch this during the Chinese New Year?
Compared to Ning Hao's previous works, there is a difference in style.
Like other directors, Big Head wanted to act profound as soon as he became famous.
Viewers will be disappointed when they see the result.
Another important reason is that this year's Spring Festival film season includes "Mission: Impossible 4" and "Sherlock Holmes 2".
It's those two movies: the one where Tom Cruise climbs the Burj Khalifa, and the one where Downey and Jude Law are "gay".
Zhang Yuan: You want Ning Hao to beat them both up?
Even with the best available time slots, you're doomed if you run into these two big fish in the sea.
Therefore, he overruled all objections and insisted on scheduling his work before the Lunar New Year.
As for the "good spots" in the Spring Festival film season, he reserved them for "The Viral Factor," which was mainly invested in by Eagle Entertainment.
It's the movie he introduced Jing Tian to.
The outcome probably won't be good...
Anyway, Jing Tian is box office poison, so it doesn't matter.
Moreover, the addition of Jing Tian will fill a significant gap in the production team's budget, at least allowing Eagle King Lao Yang to lose less money. I can say I've done right by my own people.
Because of this film, Jing Tian, as well as Bai Bing, the second female lead, were also invited by him.
This ice is indeed quite white...
Compared to Jing Tian's appearance, he still prefers Bai Bing's more dignified look.
“Yes, your prediction was accurate,” Old Han chimed in.
"Several imported films scheduled for the Spring Festival season have performed very well in overseas releases, and their performance is expected to be very strong."
"It was my supervisor who gave me the opportunity and helped me find a suitable time slot."
"I'll toast you properly later."
“One cup isn’t enough!” Old Han waved his hand.
"I heard you did quite well at the meeting at the Federation of Literary and Art Circles."
"After you came back, many leaders said that you were very magnanimous and spoke appropriately."
"That's right, I'm saying what they want to hear..." Zhang Yuan suppressed his inner thoughts and nodded shyly.
"It's all thanks to your excellent teaching."
"You better behave yourself, okay?"
"Try to attend more meetings; it might be the key to becoming a representative of the people in the future."
Old Han pulled him by the shoulder and said, "When it comes to choosing people, it's just a matter of a few people deciding."
"If you can just mention it at a crucial moment, you'll get promoted!"
"We still need you to mention it, since no one else recognizes me."
"Please take me out to see the world often in the future."
Old Han has more contact with officials; he mostly interacts with business people.
"There's one more thing, filming for 'Painted Skin 2' will begin after the New Year."
"Time is tight, and I'd like to schedule the release before Christmas this year."
"Oh, sequels to successful works should get the green light in the censorship process," Old Han replied.
He then understood.
"Speaking of which, I also have something to ask you."
"Old Zhang, that's Zhang Qiang, who's standing next to me."
Zhang Yuan nodded, indicating that he understood.
This is the vice president of China Film Group.
"He wants to make a film about the entrepreneurial stories of China."
"We are currently assembling a team."
"Come visit when you have time."
"What kind of entrepreneurial story is it?" Zhang Yuan didn't quite understand.
"Um..." Old Han scratched his head, "What's that called again? It's that English teaching company."
"New Oriental!" Han Jianu glanced at her father with a hint of disdain.
What kind of brain do you have?
"Yes!" Old Han slapped the back of his head: "It's New Oriental."
"Zhang Qiang contacted the company's founder and just wrote a script."
"I'm talking about that company."
Zhang Yuan's heart skipped a beat; he finally understood.
It's just "American Dreams in China." (End of Chapter)