I'm just trying to ride the wave of popularity!

Chapter 255 The Price of Hollywood's Arrogance!

August 9 at 8am.

Paimon Pictures.

Sunlight streamed through the blinds and fell onto the office desk.

Mark stared silently at the constantly changing box office figures on the computer screen.

The North American daily box office figure for "Saw" has reached $380 million, and the cumulative box office has exceeded $3120 million.

"It seems there's a real chance it will break $100 million at the global box office!"

Mark muttered to himself, feeling a sense of disbelief even though he was somewhat prepared.

Immediately afterwards, he picked up the calculator on the table.

With a crisp click of the button, the number 3120 million divided by 12 appeared before our eyes, representing a 260-fold return on investment!
He knows what this means!
This figure means that the record for the highest return on investment in Hollywood, held by "The Witch" in 1999, has been completely rewritten at this moment.

Moreover, this is not the end; the record is being broken at a visible speed!

If this movie really does break $100 million, then...

Just at this time!
Mark's gaze shifted to the newly delivered internal document on the corner of the table.

An insider from the Twilight film crew revealed that the film's actual production cost was less than $12...

With a budget of less than $12, 15 days of filming, and screenings in 320 theaters, this blood-soaked film is now playing on 1800 screens across North America…

Each piece of data was stimulating Mark's nerves!
At that moment, he keenly realized that "Saw" was a film series with immense potential for future releases!

He absolutely has to buy out this series!

Just then, Mark recalled Zhou Yang's mention three weeks earlier of "cooperating with them on the Chinese film export plan."

At the time, he thought it was just a young person's wild idea and didn't take it to heart.

And now.

He took out his cell phone.

“Zhou, this is Mark.” He deliberately lowered his voice to create a sense of urgency. “Saw has grossed over $30 million in North America, and I’d like to talk about the sequel and the Chinese film export plan you mentioned before.”

Zhou Yang's cheerful voice came from the other end of the phone: "Sure, Mr. Mark..."

"Including *Saw II*, I want to package the global distribution rights to all your films!" He paused slightly, his gaze falling on the latest resource Zhou Yang had sent him, *The Black Robe Alliance*: "Especially that one, uh, *The Black Robe Alliance*, I've seen the rough cut, it's very... impactful..."

On the other end of the phone, Zhou Yang suddenly asked, "Mr. Mark, are you sure you've seen it? Could you tell me which scene you liked the most?"

Mark, staring at the slogan "Buttocks Spitting Silk" on the brochure, had a sudden inspiration: "Of course, it's the combat suit design! A revolutionary functional treatment for the buttocks!"

He immediately changed the subject after saying that: "A package deal of twenty million US dollars—that's the highest level of sincerity Hollywood can offer to Chinese-language films!"

Which films are included in the 20 million?

"We will take care of all your previous films that have been released in China, including the three sequels to 'Saw,' as well as your upcoming film, 'The Black Robe Alliance: The Rise of Spider-Man'..."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone: "Mr. Mark, you think you can buy the global rights to six of my films for just 20 million? 'Saw' is still climbing in daily box office, and its Rotten Tomatoes score is at 83%. At this rate, the final North American box office could very well surpass 50 million, and with the global box office, breaking 100 million is entirely possible..."

“But this is a horror movie!” Mark suddenly raised his voice: “Zhou, horror movies have always only earned 30% of their revenue in the overseas market compared to North America!”

"How much do you think 'The Black Robe Alliance' is worth?" On the other end of the phone, Zhou Yang didn't refute, but just asked an unrelated question.

"Listen, Chinese films are performing very poorly at the overseas box office..."

"Last year, 'Qin' sold nearly four million euros in Germany alone..."

“That’s Li Zhengtao!” Mark frowned. “Who else in China besides him?”

"Doesn't 'Saw' prove anything?"

“Zhou! I want you to understand one thing: the success of *Saw* is because the distribution company is Paimon, one of the eight major Hollywood studios. The resources we invested and coordinated were more than you can imagine…”

There was a long silence on the other end of the phone, with no rebuttal.

After a long silence, the person on the other end of the phone sighed, "A package deal of twenty million US dollars is fine, but I want 15% of the film's profits!"

"Are you crazy? Hollywood's top directors only get 20%!" Mark's eyes widened: "10% plus a buyout is the highest price for Chinese films exported. Even the film company behind Li Zhengtao only gets 15%!"

Zhou Yang's voice suddenly turned cold: "That's a pity, Mr. Mark. Mr. Pete from Universal Pictures just messaged me; they're very interested in the Saw sequel."

The phone rang with the sound of it being hung up.

Mark stared at the latest box office figures for "Saw" on the screen.

The daily box office figure was just refreshed to $420 million at this time.

After a long silence, he dialed Zhou Yang's number again.

“Listen, without Paimon’s distribution channels, your shoddy ‘Black Robe Alliance’ won’t even sell on videotape. And you’re not even the director! Just some unknown Chinese director. Do you know what our package deal is for Bollywood? Three million! We’re only offering you twenty million, depending on the performance of ‘Saw’… like this!” He suddenly lowered his voice: “We’re very sincere about working with you. One last offer: 12% commission, plus a package deal of $2300 million for the ‘Saw’ film series, and all your previous films, including this little-known director’s ‘Black Robe Alliance’…”

Silence fell on the other end of the phone. Mark continued, "Zhou, don't think Universal will really want you. They can't even be bothered to do Chinese subtitles... Apart from us at Paimon, one of the eight major Hollywood studios, no one can offer a higher price than us. This is the highest price we can offer you!"

"..."

..........................................

[XuanShi Entertainment] Office.

After hanging up the phone.

Zhou Yang silently looked out the window.

[Global Films] did call him, but the price was lower.

Shen Long sat opposite Zhou Yang, but kept his head down.

The last rays of the setting sun outside the window will shine on his face...

However, the excited light in his eyes gradually dimmed.

Half an hour ago!

When the news came that the pre-sale tickets for "Black Robe Alliance" sold out in seconds, Shen Long was trembling all over.

He stumbled and rushed excitedly into Zhou Yang's office, reporting the situation to Zhou Yang, as if he had a million words he couldn't express.

The failure of "The Mine" had frustrated him for too long, and he longed to prove his worth with a film!
therefore!

For the past three months, he has practically lived on set. His bloodshot eyes were always visible in front of the monitor at 3 a.m.!
The wound from the prop nails was still scabbing over on the back of my hand!
Editing again and again, creating special effects again and again, and working tirelessly through the night to complete the story illustrations!
When I get sleepy, I close my eyes for a while on set, and when I wake up, I continue working...

All of this is the most insignificant price to pay to become a "great director"!
When he learned that the Black Robe Alliance had a chance to go to sea, he was so excited that he was speechless...

However, when the negotiation content was played on Mr. Zhou's phone, his excited emotions instantly froze.

He heard Paimon Pictures refer to "The Black Robe Alliance" as a "buy one get one free bonus".

From Universal Pictures, the sound of papers rustling could be heard; clearly, they hadn't even finished reading the documents before quoting a package price of $20 plus a 4% cut...

All of this was like a bucket of cold water poured over his face...

Despite his distress, the thought of China's film export performance filled him with bitterness.

In 2004, the export situation of Chinese films was worrying, and they had long been relegated to a marginal position in the global market...

Despite record-breaking domestic box office performances, Chinese films have consistently underperformed overseas. Apart from a very few works, such as Li Zhengtao's "Qin," which achieved some success in the European market, the vast majority of Chinese films have grossed less than a million US dollars overseas, and have even become mere "cultural embellishments" for film festival screenings.

North American cinemas tend to limit screenings of Chinese films to theaters in Chinese communities, with a screening rate of less than 0.3% in the mainstream market.

The five major Chinese film companies monopolize overseas distribution resources, and in order to make a profit, they drive down the price of Chinese films to the level of Bollywood by "selling them off in a package." Most of the transactions are only buyout agreements worth millions of dollars, and they must be accompanied by stereotypical labels such as "Oriental wonders" and "kung fu elements."

This predicament has made it difficult for Chinese films to shake off their awkward image as "cheap cultural consumer goods" in overseas markets.

He had thought that the huge success of Mr. Zhou's "Saw" in North America would break this status quo, but after hearing what was said on the other end of the phone, Shen Long suddenly realized that nothing had actually changed...

Let's not talk about his "Black Robe Alliance" anymore!

Even with the impressive performance of "Saw" in North America, the situation for its sequel, "Saw 2," didn't improve much. The revenue sharing price remained exactly the same as "Saw," and the price for a buyout of all subsequent installments even seemed lower...

“President Zhou, it doesn’t matter to me. I can give up the profits. I can even give up the overseas box office revenue, not even a single penny…” He looked up at Zhou Yang.

Zhou Yang shook his head: "We can choose not to sell, but not at a low price. The 'Black Robe Alliance' can be developed into a cinematic universe, so we can't sell the rights, and we certainly can't package it with other movies! The 'Martial Soul' series is the same..."

Shen Long nodded after listening.

During the brief silence in the office.

There was a knock on the office door.

Zhang Jingya walked in.

"Mr. Zhou, Carl and Kevin, the heads of the copyright department at [Warcraft Pictures], are here..."

"Hmm? [Warcraft Pictures]?"

"Yes!"

....................................

Paimon Pictures.

Four days have passed since Mark spoke with Zhou Yang.

In just four days, Saw's global box office surpassed $4300 million...

During this time, Mark received a message that Universal Pictures had indeed contacted Zhou Yangfang, but their offer was much lower than theirs.

Of course, the revenue share for "Saw" was higher than theirs, but it seems that Zhou Yang's side did not sign a contract.

For four days, Mark waited for Zhou Yang's call...

However, Zhou Yang never replied to him, nor did they discuss the price.

Mark finally sighed.

I dialed Zhou Yang's number.

"Twenty-five million RMB was used to buy out the distribution rights for the sequels to the 'Saw' series, plus a 13% global revenue share..."

There was silence on the other end of the phone.

He then sighed, "Mr. Mark, we've already signed an agreement with Marvel Studios. They spent $3000 million to buy the distribution rights to all our previous films. In addition, we'll receive approximately 35% of the subsequent box office profits. Furthermore, we've signed a five-year strategic cooperation agreement. We've licensed the rights to the upcoming 'Wu Hun' and 'Anti-Superhero' film series to them. Once they regain the rights, they'll give us priority access to merchandise and film screenings..."

“What!” Mark’s eyes widened. “That comic book company that’s going bankrupt? Paimon has a well-established distribution network. Those comic book companies don’t understand movies at all. Their network…get back the copyright? Are you kidding me? Their copyrights are so profitable right now, how could they possibly get them back? What ability do they have to get them back!”

“I’m sorry, Mr. Mark…”

"Wait, thirty million! 20% cut! But I want exclusive negotiating rights. Send my legal team over right now!"

"I'm afraid it's too late." Zhou Yang sighed. "We've already signed the contract..."

"I remember the person in charge of [Warcraft Pictures] is Karl, right? I remember we signed a performance-based agreement. Once the agreement ended, he was immediately kicked out. All the contracts you signed before were invalid, and it's questionable whether you'll even get your money!"

"They've already transferred the money!"

"..."

Several tens of seconds later.

The phone hangs up.

Mark silently looked at the documents on the table and the box office information for "Saw," and finally frowned.

Then, he took a deep breath.

I called a senior executive at Paimon and talked to them about Saw, and asked for another negotiation offer...

However, when Zhou Yang was called again, the phone went unanswered, as if it had been switched off.

Just then, the secretary knocked on the door and came in, bringing the latest news from Zhou Yang's side.

In China, "The Black Robe Alliance" will officially premiere in two hours...

Meanwhile, in Hollywood, Marvel Studios, having just acquired the rights to "The Black Robe Alliance," rushed back to Los Angeles and urgently contacted previously partnered theaters. This afternoon, they finalized the release dates for several of Zhou Yang's films. However, "The Reboot," a film that hadn't garnered much attention, received special attention from Marvel Studios, with a limited advance screening. It's rumored that Karl signed another performance-based agreement for this, mortgaging his Los Angeles villa…

Mark nodded after hearing the news.

His expression was very calm.

But for some reason, a vague, inexplicable sense of unease arose in my heart...

(Two chapters guaranteed. I'm having erectile dysfunction today, so I'm in a really bad mood. I'm going to get a foot massage. I'll continue with 10,000 words tomorrow!)

(End of this chapter)