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

Chapter 367 The Crazy Capital Behind Zhou Yang!
The market is already in chaos...

Who doesn't know?

but……

……

In the conference room of [Tianyu Entertainment].

Smoke billows.

Everyone stared blankly at the various data points of "Transformers" with grim expressions.

As a result of Zhou Yang's series of bundled attacks on various consumer markets, the pre-sale tickets for "Transformers: My Girlfriend is a Robot" surged again on the second day, and the day and night slots were completely filled!
Zhou Yang's [Xuan Shi Ticketing] system experienced a surge of nearly 800 million visits overnight, it's gone completely crazy!
The movie "Transformers" was still generating buzz on its second day, with pre-sale tickets remaining strong.

but……

The movie "Transformers: My Girlfriend is a Robot," which capitalized on the hype, has generated even more buzz, practically dominating the trending topics in the entire Chinese film industry!
Nobody could have predicted this!
Zhou Yang's move was incredibly ruthless!
When you see a familiar poster, a familiar composition, but with a different name!
It was as if everyone's face had been slapped hard!
I'm angry!
I'm excited!
He wanted nothing less than to kill Zhou Yang!
Some were even clamoring for the Ministry of Justice to come over...

however……

None of this is of any use.

after all……

If they could kill Zhou Yang, their legal department would have done it long ago. They wouldn't have waited until today. That damned Zhou Yang tries to ride the coattails of every trending topic, but he always walks on the edge of the law, acting like a disgusting troublemaker!

"Mr. Chen, should we reduce the scope of our cooperation for this event?"

The door opened.

Deng Baichuan walked in with his phone in hand, his expression quite complicated, under everyone's gaze.

Looking at Chen Lei's gloomy face, he finally chose to break the silence!
His words struck everyone's hearts like a hammer blow, and Chen Lei remained silent.

Transformers, a super IP carrying Hollywood's ambitions, should have been the trump card to reap the rewards in the Chinese market!

From IMAX special effects theaters to themed pop-up stores, from limited-edition figurine pre-sales to car brand collaborations, they have already laid out a complete industrial chain spanning film, retail, and real estate. When the time comes, it will all explode at once, officially taking control of all the capital in China!
But now, Zhou Yang's 15 yuan ticket price is like a knife, stabbing them hard in the heart and ruining all their plans!

"We cannot surrender!"

"But if we don't lower our prices..."

"..."

Whispers filled the conference room, but eventually everyone turned to look at Chen Lei.

Chen Lei sat in the corner of the Tianyu Entertainment conference room, the cigar between his fingers long since extinguished.

Amidst the swirling smoke, his gaze was fixed on the comparison chart of pre-sale data for "Transformers" and "Transformers: My Girlfriend is a Robot" on the projection screen.

He never imagined that one day he would be driven to desperation by a domestic film.

"Surrender? What can we use to surrender?" A voice came from the side, its throat a little hoarse.

That was Li Mingrui from the Huaying International Cinema chain.

Everyone watched as he slowly stood up: "Of the sixty-dollar ticket price, thirty-five dollars go to Hollywood, leaving us with only ten dollars. We can't lower the price; we can't concede profits! Let Wanda subsidize it? You want to do market share and save money at the same time? There's no such thing as a free lunch!"

"Yes!"

After a chorus of agreement, the meeting room fell silent again.

Chen Lei closed his eyes.

"Notify all partners... Starting tomorrow, give up 15 yuan in ticket price space. The difference... will be deducted from our profit share! Of course, we can't directly lower the price. Everyone needs to cooperate. The original price cannot be changed, but everything must be done in the form of an event. We still want to break box office records! As for Zhou Yang's own cinema chain, we will not give him any profit!"

"But what if Zhou Yang gives us screen time for our movie..."

"Does Transformers not even have enough to smack Zhou Yang's lousy movies? Let him make a few more, and we'll make sure he dies!"

The last few words were practically squeezed out through clenched teeth!
..........................................

On September 12, before dawn, the Chinese film market was hit by an unprecedented wave of price cuts.

The LED screen of Wanda Mall suddenly lit up at five o'clock in the morning, and the scarlet words "Transformers Limited Time Special Offer 39 Yuan Coupon" pierced the night and instantly ignited the silent street.

Following this, the official websites of more than ten major cinema chains, including Hengteng Cinemas and Huaying International, were simultaneously updated. Although ticket prices remained unchanged, messages about discount coupons decreasing from 39 yuan to 20 yuan and banners offering 10 yuan restaurant vouchers with ticket purchases flashed across various online stores...

"Crazy! All crazy!"

A cinema manager in Yanjing, holding reports buried under refund slips, watched helplessly as the screening rate for "Transformers" soared to 78%...

In the mall's atrium, scalpers holding "buy one get one free" signs crowded around the Transformers model. Some even tore off the original price tags and altered the prices on the spot with markers.

The crackdown in the capital market is more brutal than imagined!
In response to Zhou Yang's massive price reduction!

[Tianyu] urgently partnered with 30 brands to launch a "watch a movie and win a car" campaign; [Huaying International]'s cinemas directly offered a "19.9 yuan sniper price," with discounts, allowing viewers to watch "Transformers" for as little as 30 yuan, a promotion that resonated throughout the mall!

"This is not a business war, it's a massacre."

"The entire market has been engulfed in a frenzy of capital warfare!"

The editor-in-chief of [Film Vanguard] stared at the real-time data and muttered to himself.

Zhou Yang's 15-yuan ticket price was like a scalpel piercing an artery, forcing the entire industry to bleed profusely in order to save itself.

On social media, under the hashtag #TransformersPriceSlashBattle#, moviegoers shared shocking screenshots of price comparisons: for the same IMAX screening, two cinemas three kilometers apart had a price difference of up to 60 yuan.

One of these two cinema chains is part of the "Cinema Chain Alliance," and the other is a capital-backed chain led by Chen Lei. It seems that the "Transformers" movie in the "Cinema Chain Alliance" under "Xuanshi Entertainment" doesn't offer many discounts...

This brief gap caused a temporary impact on the cinema chains within the [Cinema Chain Alliance] from public opinion!
But soon...

The cinemas in the [Cinema Alliance] went completely mad, their eyes bloodshot from the fight!

"All Transformers movie tickets under the [Cinema Alliance] have been drastically reduced in price! Now only 29 yuan! Box office statistics will be based on 29 yuan. All previously purchased tickets can be exchanged for cash and used at [XuanShi Mall]!"

"In addition, as long as you register as a user under [Xuanshi Entertainment] such as [Movie Home] or [Xuanshi Online Shopping Mall], you can enjoy a 7% discount on all Transformers tickets from any cinema. Yes, any Transformers ticket from any cinema chain! You can use it at [Xuanshi Entertainment]'s online store for everything from motorcycles and cars to various merchandise! All at a 7% discount!"

When the [Cinema Alliance] issued this ultimatum, countless movie fans went crazy!
The next day, the entire film market was in complete chaos!
Some consumers rushed into Zhou Yang's territory with a 39 yuan coupon stub from Wanda, went on a shopping spree, then used the money they saved to buy tickets for the movie "Transformers," and then continued to spend with the discount coupons...

That night, CCTV Finance described the chaotic situation as a "tale of two extremes": on one hand, there was the triumphant news of "Transformers" breaking 4000 million yuan in box office revenue in a single day; on the other hand, some neutral cinemas were lamenting that they were losing 11 yuan per ticket. Yes!

As the price war among capital giants intensifies, neutral cinema chains, which are neither Zhou Yangfang nor capital players, are caught in the middle and become cannon fodder.

"I'm losing 11 yuan on each ticket, how can I do business like this!" An independent cinema owner stared at the empty screening room and slammed the refund slip on the ground.

They received neither Zhou Yang's subsidies nor could they withstand the price reduction pressure from Tianyu Entertainment, ultimately losing everything due to the pressure from both sides.

On social media, screenshots of small and medium-sized cinemas collectively complaining have gone viral—some cinemas were forced to schedule "Transformers" in midnight screenings, but were still complained about as "fraud" by audiences;
Some cinemas in third- and fourth-tier cities have even closed down, with signs saying "Temporarily Closed" posted on their glass doors.

Industry analysts have found that within just three days, 23% of the nation's neutral cinema chains have faced an unprecedented capital shock, while the remaining 76% have gradually begun to align themselves with either side in exchange for resources!
A senior manager, with tears in his eyes, gave a bitter smile to the media: "Now it's either kneeling down to choose sides, or lying down and waiting to die... This market no longer belongs to us, we can't afford to fight anymore!"

……

9 Month 14 Day!
[Dajinlong Capital]

This is the capital company founded by Li Dachun.

It covers everything from movie theaters to various consumer goods, real estate, and online shopping malls...

They followed Zhou Yang's lead without any conditions, and almost all of them were involved in various industries!

They have ventured into various industries and achieved profitability in all of them!

Among them, the real estate and cinema businesses performed the best.

When Li Dachun initially invested in cinema complexes and real estate projects, he anticipated potential losses.

However, with the opening of cinemas and real estate projects, and with Zhou Yang's series of actions generating immense buzz, the hype continued!
But damn it, they actually sold the house back!
Moreover, after the land price increase was hyped up, they still managed to make a profit of nearly 8 million yuan after deducting costs!

It wasn't just Li Dachun who made money!
All the coal mine owners who invested with Li Dachun made money!
even!

Oh shit!

These coal mine owners were surprised to find that in some areas, developing real estate could yield profits comparable to coal mining, and the process was much less cumbersome...

As soon as the houses were built, a huge crowd of people came to Zhou Yang to buy them. They immediately collected the money and issued property certificates. Some people who couldn't get a house in other places even used their connections to buy one through them...

In some places, even before the houses were built, just by putting up a sign for Zhouyang, a huge number of people immediately came to buy them, and they were snapped up like crazy!
If Zhou Yang hadn't insisted that the buildings had to be completed before they could be sold, they could have made even more money!
At this very moment, these coal mine owners, who had made their money, saw that a competitor had emerged!

They were all bloodthirsty!
"What are your instructions, Mr. Zhou?"

"No instructions! No instructions means we're doing the right thing!"

"Throw money at it!"

"Keep throwing money at it!"

"beat!"

"Kill them, damn them!"

In the conference room.

Li Dachun looked down at the dozens of coal bosses below and slammed his hand on the table!

"These capitalists want Transformers to break historical records, right? We won't let them!"

"Notify the cinemas, notify all of us partner cinemas, fucking reduce movie ticket prices to 20 yuan, and we'll cover any extra cost!"

"Are you taking advantage of our lack of money?"

"Grass!"

"beat!"

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

9 month 15 day.

early morning.

Only a few hours left until the premiere of Transformers...

[Tianyu] Everyone stared in shock at the box office figures!

Zhou Yang's "Cinema Alliance" has managed to slash ticket prices down to 20 yuan!
That's right, 20 yuan!
Pre-sale box office revenue instantly shrank by one-third!

At this moment, Zhou Yang's cinemas account for about 60% of the national cinema chains, which means that the box office statistics of "Transformers" will shrink by one-third!

The entire market went absolutely crazy!

The coal bosses behind Zhou Yang have spared no expense and even resorted to ruthless tactics in an effort to suppress the total box office of "Transformers"!
"Our cinemas are all losing money, while Zhou Yang's cinemas are making money for us... but they don't have many screenings..."

Upon seeing the pre-sale ticket data, Deng Baichuan muttered to himself!
How insane!

Oh, world!
These guys!
This is the first time they've seen such a completely self-destructive and harmful operation!
"Mr. Deng, in Zhou Yang's [Cinema Alliance], the screenings of 'Transformers Metal' have already overtaken those of 'Transformers' by a huge margin!"

"They're going against the market! I don't believe that if Transformers is a box office flop, they'll continue to lose money by showing it! I don't believe they'll burn through a month's worth of money just to counter Transformers! If Transformers can't crush Transformers' market influence after the two movies are released, I'll take the blame!"

"But what if they don't crush them?"

"Do you think it's realistic or even possible that a global IP can't suppress domestic films?"

"..."

A brief silence fell over the office.

Xu Haibo then lowered his head.

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

9:9 AM on September 15th!

The Chinese film market is witnessing a historic clash—

Under the gaze of countless people...

Transformers and Transformers: My Girlfriend is a Robot were released at the same time!
(End of this chapter)