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

Chapter 262 The Battle of the Box Office!

Early in the morning of June 9.

It rained heavily.

[Huaying International] Office.

Li Minghao stood by the window, looking at the hazy view outside, his heart filled with mixed feelings.

The "Domestic Film Protection Month" initiative on the table was slightly glaring under the light.

Following the "Domestic Film Protection Month" director-focused meeting held by China Film Group Corporation on September 3, representatives from 30 cinema chains across the country immediately convened a coordination meeting.

The meeting focused on the scheduling plan for the domestic film protection month, and reached a consensus after relevant departments made clear statements, emphasizing that scheduling decisions should be based on film quality and market demand, rather than personal relationships.

And he, not only him, but all three major cinema chains in China signed their names on it.

"How much has 'The Black Robe Alliance' grossed?"

The torrential rain outside the window continued to fall, interspersed with flashes of lightning.

The atmosphere inside the room was unusually oppressive. The assistant stood in the middle of the office with his head down, not daring to breathe.

When Li Minghao suddenly asked this question, the assistant was slightly taken aback, and then quickly placed the latest movie box office chart on the table.

"The total box office of 'Black Robe Alliance' has exceeded 5000 million RMB in three days, and today's daily box office has exceeded 1740 million RMB!"

Li Minghao picked up the box office data for "The Black Robe Alliance" and silently stared at the glaring 1740 million RMB figure...

At that moment, he felt as if he had been struck hard in the heart, and an indescribable sense of suffocation welled up in his heart.

9 month 12 day.

[XuanShi Entertainment] presents the Chinese premiere of "Black Robe Alliance".

On its opening day, the film grossed over 1500 million RMB, with the theaters packed to capacity and even the aisles crowded with fans holding standing tickets.

The box office continued to rise thereafter. In just three days, from the 12th to the 15th, the film's total box office exceeded 5000 million RMB, with a single-day peak of 1740 million RMB, setting a new box office record for this type of film in China!

This is a pleasant surprise for cinemas!

The more spectacular the box office performance of "The Black Robe Alliance," the more money they make.

This is a Chinese domestic film, and the revenue-sharing agreement between [Xuanshi Entertainment] and the cinemas is more generous than that of any previous domestic film.

The 3.81 million RMB box office of "Spider-Man" in China seems impressive, but after deducting taxes and Hollywood's share, the actual revenue is only equivalent to 1.5 million RMB in domestic box office revenue. The revenue sharing ratio of "The Black Robe Alliance" is even more astonishing, almost 2% higher...

On the computer screen on my desk, the popularity of "Black Robe Alliance" remains astonishing!

The movie has been released for three days, and the film and television section of Jiaoya Forum is flooded with discussions about "surpassing the masterpiece of British cinema," with over a thousand new posts added in a single day...

The discussion on forums such as [Movie House], [Wandou Movie], and [Tieba] was astonishing. In just three days, the pinned post for "The Black Robe Alliance" garnered an astonishing 500 million views. Countless netizens analyzed the film frame by frame, with numerous posts exclaiming that it "revolutionized their understanding"...

Open any major portal website, and you'll find everything from "Saw" to "The Black Robe Alliance," from Hollywood to China, to Shen Long's story, and then to "The Longest Nite: Reboot," which surpassed $700 million at the North American box office and entered the top five of the Chinese export film box office charts...

One topic after another seems to be telling the same story: the movie "Black Robe Alliance" is going to be a hit!
This should have been a moment of celebration for all cinema chains, as 27 out of 30 major cinema chains nationwide had obtained the screening rights!

However, for the three cinema chains, including Huaying International, this brilliant achievement was like a resounding slap in the face, so loud that they didn't even have the right to participate in this grand event.

A month ago, Dong Qichang took the film source of "Black Robe Alliance" to 27 cinema chains and signed a revenue-sharing agreement for the film with the utmost sincerity.

Besides those three families...

In fact, after the "Domestic Film Protection Month" meeting, Li Mingrui thought that "Xuan Shi Entertainment" would take advantage of the mediation of relevant departments and take the initiative to talk to them about cooperation...

After all, no one would turn down money.

Li Mingrui was actually thinking that if Zhou Yang came to his door in person, he would take the opportunity to wipe the slate clean and work together to make money!
But, no one expected...

"Mr. Li, Huaying International's Hong Kong-listed shares plummeted 12% today, wiping out nearly HK$1.5 million in market value... Shareholders are questioning why we missed out on the screening rights for 'The Black Robe Alliance'..."

The rain outside the window is getting heavier and heavier!

After much hesitation, the secretary finally gave the feedback.

Li Mingrui remained silent, only gazing out the window at the torrential rain.

About thirty seconds later...

He took out his phone and dialed that familiar number.

"Little Dong..."

"Mr. Li, what's up so late?" On the other end of the phone, Dong Qichang's voice was calm but tinged with a hint of detachment, as if he had already anticipated this moment.

Hearing the businesslike tone on the other end of the phone, he took a deep breath, forced a smile, and made his voice sound as gentle as ever: "Xiao Dong, we've been working together for so many years, and we've had our share of disagreements, but we've always managed to make peace and move forward side by side. These days, I've been reflecting on the years we've spent together, and I deeply realize that you are the biggest contributor to [Huaying International] getting to where it is today..."

There was a long silence on the other end of the phone, then a sigh: "Some things, let bygones be bygones..."

"Xiao Dong, let me be frank. You've seen the box office success of 'The Black Robe Alliance.' The market needs it. We at [Huaying International] are willing to give up 5% of our revenue share, as long as you can send the copy over..." Li Mingrui's hand holding the phone trembled slightly, as if he had finally made a momentous decision. Since [Huaying International] got on track and joined the ranks of China's top three cinema chains, Li Mingrui had never made a phone call like this before.

Dong Qichang on the other end of the phone fell silent for a long time again: "President Li, the film scheduling agreement was signed a long time ago. If we make changes now, other cinemas will have objections..."

Li Mingrui's nails dug deeply into his palms, but his tone softened further: "How about this, I'll add another 3%! Or... you name your terms... We need box office revenue, while you need market influence. After all, when you're at the table, the higher your performance, the more secure your position..."

In September, with the end of the summer movie season and the gradual removal of Hollywood films from theaters, the Chinese film industry experienced a brief lull in imported films, with only a few Chinese films being released. However, these Chinese films failed to make any splash in the market.

It was precisely during this vacuum period that Zhou Yang's film filled the void and achieved astonishing box office numbers!
In a sense, "Black Robe Alliance" represents not only a film, but also market influence, as well as the reshaping of the landscape and the struggle for discourse power in the entire Chinese film industry.

These three major cinema chains represent about 60% of China's box office market, and he didn't believe that the people at [Xuan Shi Entertainment] would give up this market...

The sound of documents being turned over came from the other end of the phone, followed by Dong Qichang's voice: "I'm sorry, Mr. Zhou just set a rule: if we don't cooperate with someone, we'll never cooperate with them again..."

Upon hearing this, Li Mingrui froze, then his face turned ashen: "Doing business isn't about throwing tantrums. Give the phone to Zhou Yang, I want to talk to him..."

There was a long silence on the other end of the phone, before Dong Qichang finally let out a long sigh: "President Li, you should know President Zhou's temper... Actually, before I left Huaying International, I told you that doing business isn't about throwing tantrums..."

"You!" Li Minghao trembled with rage. "Dong Qichang! You really think you're all grown up now! Don't forget who promoted you from a lowly screenwriter to director. Without [Huaying International], you'd still be wiping benches in a rural cinema. You should know how to be grateful!"

There was a long silence on the other end of the phone.

But this silence was like a bucket of gasoline poured on his heart.

He suddenly kicked over the trash can with a loud thud, the sound of which startled his secretary, causing her to take two steps back.

"Mr. Li, calm down," the secretary was interrupted sharply before she could finish speaking.

"You're asking for it, aren't you?" Li Minghao grabbed the box office report for "Black Robe Alliance" and slammed it against the wall. "Dong Qichang, tell Zhou Yang, you tell Zhou Yang, we'll run into each other all the time in this industry. If he dares to push his luck to the extreme, I'll sell everything I own to make sure he's dead!"

He had just finished saying that.

The call was disconnected!

He slammed his fist on the table!

The phone rang again!

When he received the call again, he was stunned!
Then, his slightly distorted face suddenly showed shock and disbelief...

then!

I got excited!

"Is the news accurate?"

"it is good!"

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

Rain in Yanjing City.

It was still raining, interspersed with bursts of thunder.

Shen Long sat in his office, his gaze somewhat complicated.

"Mr. Zhou, are you sure you don't want to settle?"

In the past two days, he received calls from three major cinema chains, including the five major film companies in China.

The tones on the other end of the phone varied: some pleaded for peace in a humble manner, some probed with sarcastic remarks, and some even directly threatened to jointly block [Xuan Shi Entertainment]'s future projects...

What alarmed him most was that a director who had previously suppressed them called him personally, his tone gentle yet sharp: "Xiao Shen, it's good that young people have drive, but don't forget, filmmaking is a 'collective art,' you can't go far by going it alone..."

After hanging up the last call, Shen Long took a deep breath.

The rain intensified as he stared at the box office figures for "The Black Robe Alliance" on his desk. It had broken $50 million in three days, and "The Revenge of the Fallen" was receiving rave reviews in North America, soon to break $10 million at the box office!
All of this was earned by risking their lives!
His gaze fell on Zhou Yang.

But Zhou Yang's eyes were sharp. He narrowed his eyes and said, "We fought our way out of the blacklist step by step. We have never bowed down or compromised with anyone. We have never relied on bowing down or compromising. Since they want to play, then let's play along. This year, I am the only director at the table. But next year... you, Director Che, will be at the table with me!"

Zhou Yang looked at the torrential rain outside the window and said calmly.

Shen Long was slightly taken aback!
A moment later, I felt the blood in my body boiling.

He nodded vigorously!

Just then, a muffled clap of thunder sounded outside the window.

Immediately afterwards...

The door is open!
Zhang Jingya rushed in, her face somewhat pale.

Then...

"The Hollywood movie 'Catwoman' has been released ahead of schedule! They're trying to sabotage us!"

(End of this chapter)