Entertainment: I just want to be the boss behind the scenes

Chapter 476: Play "To Become Famous" for me this week!
"Boss, Heng Teng just sent over the data. Yesterday's preview data is out."

In the office, Hua Yan came in with a document and handed it to her boss while speaking.

Meng Bai took the document and flipped through it, his eyebrows raised when he looked at the numbers on it - on August 8, "Fame and Fame" had 16 preview screenings, with a box office of 11000 million, an increase of 2200%. The total box office in three days accumulated to 36 million.

The movie started on the 14th, and it was just one weekend until yesterday. The box office data of 4600 million would be a very poor result if it was officially released, but as a preview, it is already very good.

After all, "The Eight Hundred", which started previews at the same time, has only grossed 7000 million yuan so far.

Including today, there are still four days of previews, and the number of screenings will continue to increase. Judging from the growth rate of the first weekend, the preview box office is likely to exceed 100 million before the official release.

Don’t think that a box office of 2018 million is nothing. The current record for the preview of a domestic film is "Journey to the West: The Women Kingdom" during the 1.5 Spring Festival, which only had a box office of million.

But then again, the only theaters that are eligible for preview screenings for movies of this size are usually large theaters in first-tier and super first-tier cities, with annual box office revenues generally exceeding 10 million.

Such huge revenue also means that there must be a huge flow of moviegoers. It is normal for movies to perform well in these theaters.

However, such high-profit theaters are still a minority in the entire market. The revenue of most theaters is still in the range of one hundred thousand to one million. Therefore, there will be movies that perform well in previews but fail miserably after their official release.

Of course, this does not mean that the preview results are worthless. In addition to building word of mouth in advance, theaters can adjust the schedule of the official release based on the attendance and results of the preview. The film company can also make a rough estimate of the overall performance of the film through the changes in various data and change the subsequent publicity and promotion plan.

Looking at the documents in his hand, Meng Bai put aside the slight worry he had before.

Although he initially wanted to use "Fame and Fame" to test the market and serve as a touchstone, it does not mean that he has no expectations for the performance of this film.

However, this is just a low-budget production, without any star lineup or traffic. Secondly, the content of this movie can be summarized as "a group of people having a meeting in a room", without cool special effects and large scenes, and there are not many comedy jokes. It depends on the audience to slowly feel the atmosphere of the movie.

To be honest, this kind of film is not really in line with the expectations of today's audiences for big-screen works. Most audiences go to the cinema either to see those wonders that cannot be seen in reality, or to find an excuse for couples to spend two hours together in silence.

But "To Be Famous" is a black comedy based on suspense and reasoning, which requires some thinking.

This is also the reason why Meng Bai chose this film instead of "Accidental Murder". The latter obviously has more box office prospects, while the former is used to "take a gamble".

Taking advantage of the fact that cinemas have just reopened and audiences' enthusiasm for watching movies has revived, and at the same time there is not much competition from big-budget films, it is worth taking a chance on this movie. Who knows, you may be able to "turn a bicycle into a motorcycle."

After putting down the documents, Meng Bai's cell phone rang before he could say anything. He took a look and saw that it was Chen Zhixi calling.

"I was just looking for you, Sister Xi." Meng Bai said with a smile, "Can we say that we are in sync?"

"Haha, please don't. Mr. Meng's telepathy should be kept for your female confidantes." Chen Zhixi said jokingly, then returned to a serious tone and asked, "What do you want to talk to me about?"

"I just saw the data from yesterday's preview, and the results are pretty good." Meng Bai said, "It hasn't been rated yet, but I see people are already discussing it on many platforms. Judging from the messages and comments, the overall response is pretty good."

"Indeed, the cinema chain has also conducted statistics, and the reviews of the preview audiences on the film are basically the same, with most of them being positive."

Meng Bai stroked his chin. "If this trend can be maintained after the official release, then our previous estimate of 500 million box office may be a bit too conservative."

"As for the estimate, it's better to be conservative so that everyone can feel at ease. Otherwise, if the estimate is too high and we don't get it in the end, it would be a bit embarrassing." Chen Zhixi said.

"Haha, that's true." Meng Bai laughed, "By the way, Sister Xi, do you have something to talk to me about?"

"I just learned something, but it's hard to say whether it will have any impact on us." Chen Zhixi's tone was a little hesitant.

"Oh, tell me first."

"Huayi has just sent a new distribution plan for The Eight Hundred to the cinema chain. I'll send it to you to take a look."

Meng Bai looked at the computer and saw a PDF message from Chen Zhixi on WeChat.

He opened the document, quickly skimmed over the official jargon at the beginning, and went straight to the main text below.

"…When the film is officially released on August 8, theaters with an annual box office of more than 21 million yuan will use the normal revenue sharing method to screen the film. Theaters with an annual box office of between 1000 million and 200 million yuan will use the 'collective buyout distribution' plan. Theaters with a box office of less than 1000 million yuan will need to determine a minimum guarantee amount based on 200% of the actual box office of the previous year and prepay the minimum guarantee fee to the account designated by the distributor before they can screen "Eight Hundred"."

Seeing this, Meng Bai frowned slightly.

Huayi also said that it would update the key every day. Each theater chain would have to wait until the day's screening to receive the movie key to unlock the movie screening rights.

"What is Huayi thinking?" He was a little puzzled. Not to mention the key, this was the first time he heard that a cinema required payment before showing a film.

Chen Zhixi said: "Their explanation to the public is that they want to punish small cinemas for piracy and stealing box office revenue."

Since the entry of new capital in 2013, the film industry has experienced a wave of rapid growth. Domestic film box office records are broken every year, and cinemas have also opened from first- and second-tier cities to small towns.

Such rapid growth will naturally lead to management chaos. In order to "grab the market" as quickly as possible, major cinema chains do not strictly manage franchised theaters. Those theater chains' self-operated and large theaters are fine, but various small theaters are the hardest hit by "piracy" and "box office theft".

It has been estimated within the film industry that at least 20% of box office revenue each year is not recorded.

From this point of view, there seems to be nothing wrong with Huayi asking small cinemas to pay a deposit.

"Huayi said that it was to ensure the healthy development of the industry, but I think that it was mainly because of their consecutive losses in the past two years," said Chen Zhixi.

As the "big brother" of private film and television companies, Huayi has gradually gone downhill after its glory days. Especially after the company proposed "de-filming" in the past few years and prepared to transform into cultural tourism real estate, the company's situation has deteriorated.

Then, as the fuse of the "800 million incident", the initiator of the cold winter of the film and television industry, and the focus of tax reform policies, Huayi's days have become increasingly difficult in the past two years.

In 2018, Huayi reported a loss of 10.9 billion yuan. In 2019, it lost nearly 40 billion yuan.

The situation was supposed to improve this year, but the flu hit and revenue slowed down. If the company loses money again this year, it will be warned of delisting risks according to the regulations of the China Securities Regulatory Commission.

In order to protect the interests of the company, Huayi attaches great importance to "Eight Hundred", which is the first and most promising project to be released this year. As early as the promotion, the slogan of "20 billion box office" was shouted.

It is for this reason that Huayi issued such a peculiar "cooperation plan" with the aim of ensuring the performance of the film and thereby reversing the company's decline.

"This isn't right. Even if the box office of Eight Hundred exceeds 20 billion, Huayi can only get 40- million at most. How can it make up for the billion loss?" Meng Bai was confused by their operation. "Maybe they want to collect funds as soon as possible. The asset value of their company doesn't seem to be much." Chen Zhixi said, "Let's not consider what they think for now. The key is what impact this plan will have on us?"

Meng Bai pondered for a moment: "Sister Xi, what you mean is that we can take advantage of their weakness this time and win over those small cinemas?"

"That's what I mean. Small theaters don't have much cash flow to begin with, and with the six months of closures due to the flu, their cash flow is definitely not high. Huayi's deposit requirement will inevitably exclude many small theaters."

"But the turnover of these small cinemas is very low. Even if we attract them, the impact on the box office performance will not be significant."

"The operating income of small cinemas is indeed low, but there are too many of them. I looked at the statistics from last year and found that there are more than 200 cinemas with annual box office revenues below 20 million nationwide, accounting for about % of the box office revenue. If we can really make use of them, they will be a very large group."

Meng Bai was surprised. He only started to enter the film industry in the past two years. His understanding of this market was not as deep as Chen Zhixi's. He did not expect that small cinemas would have such a high share.

"If we can get 20%, then it is indeed worth considering." Meng Bai said: "Sister Xi, you are more professional than me in this field of film. You decide what to do. I trust you."

"Okay, that's what I want you to say." Chen Zhixi said with joy in his tone, "I'll contact the theater chain, maybe they can give us a surprise."
-
Shuchuan, Guang'an.

In the backstage office of the city cinema, Liu Liang held a lit cigarette in one hand, with a long ash on the cigarette butt. He frowned and stared at the phone in front of him.

After waiting for a few seconds, the screen flashed and the call was connected.

He quickly put out the cigarette in his hand into the ashtray, cleared his throat quickly, and asked anxiously: "Hey, Brother Li, this is Lao Liu... I still want to talk to you about the deposit."

"Didn't I tell you that the deposit is set by the theater headquarters. There's nothing I can do about it." A helpless voice came over the phone.

"Yes, I know. But other theaters have borne the cost on their behalf. Even if our theater doesn't bear the cost, we should at least give some subsidies or discounts, right?"

"Do you think I didn't ask you and the headquarters? They just said one thing: solve it yourself."

"Fuck!" Liu Liang couldn't help but curse.

He owns two cinemas and has been operating them since 2015. When the market was good in the past two years, he joined the local Pacific Cinema Line.

This year, the cinema was closed for half a year due to influenza. Although he laid off many employees and the landlord also reduced some of the rent, he still lost a lot of the money he earned in previous years.

He is actually looking forward to Huayi's "Eight Hundred". As a cinema owner, he believes that this movie can attract a wave of audiences.

In fact, he is not the only one. His colleagues are also looking forward to this film when chatting with each other. Many people even call it a "market-saving" work.

He was disappointed that he didn't get a spot for the preview two days ago, but he didn't take it too seriously. Anyway, if he really went to the preview, there wouldn't be many viewers, so he didn't care about the money.

During this period, he was waiting for the official release to alleviate the losses in the past six months.

Unexpectedly, before the official release, he heard a piece of news that the film producer of "Eight Hundred", Huayi, wanted to collect a "deposit" from the small cinema.

At first he thought it was a rumor, but two days later he received a notice from the theater chain that he had to pay first if he wanted to be in the movie.

Although Liu Liang's two cinemas are both located in the city, they are not in the core area and their sales are average. Last year, the box office revenue of one was 180 million and the other was 160 million, both below 200 million.

According to the film company's regulations, he had to pay a total of 12 yuan in "deposit".

Although he owns two cinemas and their assets are worth a lot, most of his income is actually spent on hardware equipment, decoration and rent.

A one-time payment of 12 yuan would have been enough to keep him afloat last year, but now it would have directly cut off his cash flow.

He originally wanted to ask the cinema chain if they could provide some support. After all, he heard that many other cinema chains had given discounts or even directly covered the cost.

I just didn’t expect that my own cinema chain was so stingy and didn’t even give me any support.

"Damn it, I should have chosen another company earlier." Liu Liang cursed in his heart.

But then again, this matter ultimately comes down to the film company's problem.

"What I want to say is, Lao Liu, you have to pay the deposit as soon as possible." said the person on the other end of the phone.

"I'll give him a grandson!"

Liu Liang cursed, "Such a big company, spending tens of millions or even hundreds of millions every day, and now it's trying to take our little money. A few days ago, I even printed some promotional posters and roll-up banners for The Eight Hundred at my own expense, but they were all wasted. From now on, I won't show any of Huayi's movies!"

"Don't say such angry words. How are you going to attract audiences if you don't show new movies?"

"It's not like they only have a new movie. There's also a movie called 'Famous'. They won't have to pay a deposit too, right?"

"Oh, that's not the case. By the way, when you mentioned that, it reminded me that the film producer sent some promotional gifts and the like. I'll give them to you later."

Liu Liang was stunned for a moment, then said excitedly: "Look! Look! What a difference! Really..."

In fact, these promotional gifts are not worth much, and they were nothing in the past. But the problem is that when compared with the other, the gap is immediately apparent.

"So you're going to be in the new movie 'Famous' next?"

"The last one is the last one, anyway there are still some old movies to support the show. The Qixi Festival is in another week, and there will be new movies that can be released during the Qixi Festival, so he won't be missing another one like "Eight Hundred"."

After hanging up the phone, Liu Liang closed his eyes and thought for a while, then called the cinema manager over.

"Take down all the publicity for The Eight Hundred out there. We won't be starring in this movie anymore."

"Ah?" The manager was stunned for a moment, "So what's our new movie next week?"

"Isn't there another one?" Liu Liang said, "Cancel all the screenings of 'Eight Hundred' and play 'Famous' for me this week!"

(End of this chapter)