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

Chapter 311 Offense and Defense Made Easy! Can You Stop Me?
"Xu, the conditions [Xuan Shi Entertainment] just offered are that they will only take 45% of the box office revenue... and the rest of the income will all go to us... Of course, as a long-term partner, we prefer to continue our cooperation with you. However, in addition to these conditions, Mr. Zhou promised to purchase a minimum of 50 IMAX movie tickets and prepay $2000 million. Xu, can you match these conditions?"

"They're insane! This revenue split is a losing proposition. They're not here to do business; they just want to take advantage of the situation to inflate the price of Star Wars, squeeze our profits to the limit, and make us lose money!"

"..."

As the sun sets, the sky is ablaze with evening glow.

Xu Haibo pushed open the door to the copyright department office of Fox Film Corporation and sat down opposite Hans, the Asia copyright manager.

However, the moment the other person spoke, he felt a sudden darkness before his eyes and his heart sank slightly.

$2000 million USD is equivalent to nearly 1.6 million RMB. Paying this price in advance means that Star Wars needs to gross at least 3.2 million RMB in China to break even. In a sense, this effectively locks in Star Wars' box office in China at over 3.2 million RMB...

Of course, if it were just this one condition, Xu Haibo would have tolerated it, but they would only take 45% of the box office revenue!

What does it mean?
Even if Star Wars grosses 4 million RMB in China, and only 2 million RMB is given to the theaters, and the theaters get 45% of that, it's still only 2 million RMB!

This suicidal pricing strategy is not business competition at all; it's clearly an attempt to drive Tianyu Entertainment to its doom!

"Xu, don't get excited. Let's look at some data from our Star Wars first, and then we can decide..."

Seeing Xu Haibo's shocked expression, Hans smiled and slowly pushed a set of data to him.

Seeing him trembling as he took the data, he laughed: "Xu, Star Wars, as a top global IP, is an epic, hall-of-fame science fiction masterpiece, and its commercial value far exceeds that of ordinary superhero movies."

"Since its inception in the 70s, the series has amassed 1.2 million die-hard fans. The prequel trilogy alone, from 1999 to the present, has grossed a total of $25 billion worldwide."

"Besides the movie itself, its merchandise market is equally impressive: in 2004, sales of related products reached $300 million, and the LEGO Star Wars series has long been among the top-selling toys worldwide. The video game Star Frontier, released two years ago, has also performed exceptionally well, with sales exceeding 1 million copies in its first month and accumulating sales of over 10 million copies within two years."

With a smile on his face and a calm gaze, Hans slowly recited a series of astonishing data.

Xu Haibo looked down at the documents in his hands, but his heart felt as if a huge rock was pressing down on it, and even his breathing became heavy.

He was very familiar with these data. When he was vying for the rights to Star Wars, he had already conducted detailed market research and knew better than anyone else the significance of this movie in the world. It is no exaggeration to say that this epic science fiction blockbuster was the lifeline that Tianyu Media had risked everything for in 2005.

However, this epic sci-fi blockbuster, which carried all of Tianyu's hopes, has now become a Damocles' sword hanging over their heads.

Their last trump card was a paltry $2500 million buyout price for the China region.
It's absolutely impossible that it's 45% of the box office revenue plus $3000 million!
“We…” His throat trembled uncontrollably.

The voice he spoke carried a hint of bitterness.

Finally, he heard his own hoarse voice: "I'm sorry, please give us time. We need a 24-hour assessment."

“Okay…but, Xu, you know that Chinese man named Zhou Yang is very ambitious…we can wait, but the higher-ups at Fox probably won’t be able to wait much longer…”

“He can’t possibly pay that price!” Xu Haibo gritted his teeth and stared at Hans.

Hans just smiled and didn't say anything.

After a brief silence in the office, Xu Haibo stood up and walked out of the office with somewhat heavy steps.

After leaving Fox, he got into his car and silently dialed the company's number.

The person who answered the phone was Deng Baichuan, the chairman of Tianyu Media. After Xu told Deng Baichuan what had just happened, a piercing roar came from the other end of the phone, accompanied by gritted teeth and the sound of things being smashed. Finally, the phone returned to calm: "President Xu, don't rush back. Go and investigate the source of Zhou Yang's funds!"

Xu Haibo's grip on his phone tightened slightly: "What do you mean?"

“There must be something fishy going on behind this suicidal bidding! Coal bosses can't burn through money like that,” Deng Baichuan’s breathing came through the phone. “I just received news that Zhou Yang’s [Xuan Shi Cinema Line] is simultaneously launching commercial complex projects in 23 cities across the country, with the first phase alone involving an investment of over 50 billion yuan.”

"Wait, you mean he's using movies as a tool to attract customers to his commercial real estate projects? Movies are just one part of it..."

"Regardless of whether Zhou Yang's story is true or false, we must acquire the rights to 'Star Wars,' as it concerns our Tianyu Media stock in May and June! Liu Jinghua has been very popular in the investment circles lately, attracting a lot of capital. Our most important task now is to stabilize our capital. We haven't made much money from the box office of 'Star Wars,' but we can still make some money from the DVD Blu-ray release!"

"I see!"

Not far away, the sun had already set, and the earth was gradually darkening.

Xu Haibo walked into the Fox Film Corporation office again and met Hans, who was on the phone.

The moment I saw him walk in...

Hans put the phone on speakerphone and deliberately amplified his voice.

"Mr. Zhou, do you mean that for 'Star Wars,' you're willing to take only 35% of the box office profits, plus an additional $500 million? Is that what you mean?"

"Yes, Mr. Hans, we can discuss the price further..."

"But Xu from Tianyu Media is looking for me..."

"I'll add another 500 million, making it 4000 million US dollars!"

"Haha, that's so high! I'll have to think about it carefully..."

"..."

With a series of piercing shouts from Hans, the phone finally ended. Hans turned to look at Xu Haibo, his smile particularly bright!
Zhou Yang's quote over the speakerphone hit Xu Haibo like a hammer blow.

Hans deliberately pushed his phone towards the center of his desk, seemingly deep in thought, and appeared unaware of Xu Haibo's arrival. Then, he subconsciously looked up and said, "Forty million US dollars, 35% split. Mr. Xu, you don't look too good?"

Xu Haibo clenched his fists; his suit lining was already soaked with cold sweat.

“We…” Xu Haibo heard his voice growing increasingly hoarse: “Our Tianyu Entertainment cannot meet this requirement.”

As he uttered those words, it was as if he had exhausted his last bit of strength: "That Zhou Yang, he couldn't possibly offer that price, absolutely not!"

Hans remained silent, his expression growing increasingly calm: "Then please leave!"

Xu Haibo's throat trembled again, as if he wanted to say something, but he couldn't utter a word. In the end, he turned around and walked into the office.

But just as he was about to open the door and leave...

He took a deep breath!

I felt my whole body becoming increasingly heavy.

If Zhou Yang really does pay this money, then...

In May and June, Tianyu Media didn't release any big-budget films; they only released low-budget domestic movies!

Meanwhile, Zhou Yang held two Hollywood films in his hands, "The Wrath of the Gods" and "xXx: Return of Xander Cage." Under the stranglehold of these two Hollywood films, low-budget domestic films, unless they could become a blockbuster with a scale that shocked the entire Chinese market like "Saw," simply wouldn't be able to support the Hong Kong stock market. In fact, they might even be strangled by Zhou Yang...

Can domestically produced films become hits?
Even if it has the potential to be a hit, can it be as big as "Saw"?

Even if he had that ability, could he survive the onslaught of two Hollywood movies?

Will Zhou Yang, who controls 12 cinema chains, allow them to gain momentum?

……

One possibility after another flashed through Xu Haibo's mind...

From Hollywood movies to Chinese cinema chains, and then to joint ventures...

The same methods they used to strangle Zhou Yang are now coming back to haunt them...

but……

He had nowhere to go!
Their [Tianyu] system is too bloated, involving too many things, and almost all shareholders have a stake in the stock...

They can't possibly make domestic films like Zhou Yang, nor do they have Zhou Yang's seemingly supernatural ability to make Hollywood movies...

They had tried this path before the millennium, but without exception, they had all failed!

Moreover, since the millennium, only one Zhou Yang has emerged!

They don't dare to gamble!
……

He turned his head to look at Hans, took a deep breath, gritted his teeth, and clenched his fists.

"We'll sign!" He said this as if all the strength in his body had been drained away.

"It's a pleasure to cooperate with you." Hans smiled and stood up to shake hands.

"..."

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

[XuanShi Entertainment]

In the office, Zhou Yang squinted.

Zhang Jingya looked at Zhou Yang with a complicated expression: "Mr. Zhou, $4000 million, 35%, this price, are you really going to sign? This is a complete loss..."

"Signing is fine too. It'll prevent those five major film studios that once crushed us from releasing any big films in May and June, while we can use this movie to attract viewers! Not signing is also fine, we can raise the price so they can't make any money and suffer huge losses..."

Just after Zhou Yang finished speaking, the phone rang.

It was a call from Fox Studios.

The other party regretfully stated that Tianyu Media had already signed the contract.

On the phone, Zhou Yang's voice carried a hint of regret, and he made some polite remarks about wanting to raise the price, while also boasting about Star Wars...

After hanging up the phone, Zhou Yang adjusted his glasses.

"Tell them to give Director Shen half a month to film 'Moon Wars 2'!"

(End of this chapter)