Huayu: A Commercial Director

Chapter 193 I Want Shares
"They just announced a collaboration with Stephen Chow, and now they're going to collaborate with Golden Shield?"

Wang Changtian's company is so close that if you stroll over to Shouzhe Film Studio, you might mistake it for his company.

Although it only has three floors, it can generate terrifying profits. In Lao Wang's words, Chen Shouzhe's earnings are enough to buy the building they are standing in.

Unfortunately, Chen Shou had no such intention, and no one knew where the money he earned went; everyone knew he was very rich now.

He's on the rich list, but that only includes his movie revenue. Since his company isn't publicly listed, very few people besides the finance department and Chen Shouzhe himself know exactly how much he's earned.

"No, where did you hear that?" Chen Shou couldn't possibly say that; the script wasn't even finished yet.

"It's all over the industry. You went to Golden Shield for five days in a row. Did you really think we didn't know? There must be some kind of collaboration going on," Old Wang said.

"No, that's not true. I just went to Golden Shield to check some files and documents," Chen Shouzhe shook his head.

"If you don't want to talk about it, that's fine. Just give us a straight answer on how Stephen Chow's movies are. We can't just kick Enlight Media out of the picture. They've been handling the distribution for years, and they haven't wronged you," Old Wang said.

"Old Wang, we should have a talk too." Chen Shou put down his cigarette butt and revealed a malicious smile.

"W-what's wrong?" Wang Changtian noticed the ill intent in Chen Shouzhe's expression and immediately became alert, looking at Chen Shouzhe warily.

"Nothing much. You've been involved in my projects all these years and made quite a bit of money. I haven't made much from Guangming," Chen Shou said with a smile.

"So, you want to participate in the Light Source project? Sure, just tell me what kind of project you want," Wang Changtian said magnanimously, waving his hand.

“No, I want shares in Enlight Media,” Chen Shou said bluntly.

"This...you're not kidding, are you?"

"No, although we are cooperating, it's not necessary to cooperate with Enlight Media. The company's management has a lot of opinions right now. Our company has been producing works and constantly getting everyone on board. China Film Group can't bring us much return, and we will gradually fall behind in the future, or even disappear. The same goes for Enlight Media. Enlight Media can provide distribution now. In fact, regarding distribution, our company's senior management, including President Zhong, all say that we can completely set up our own distribution team or have other companies distribute the products."

If Enlight Media wants to continue participating in Shouzhe Pictures' projects, it would be best if Shouzhe Pictures invested in our company. This way, our company can recoup some of its investment and avoid constantly giving back. There's a lot of feedback from below. The company has grown significantly, and although it's made a lot of money, it's not a publicly listed company. We should consider expanding the company's scale; we can't rely solely on me, right? That would make our industry too singular.”

After hearing Chen Shouzhe's words, Wang Changtian understood that Chen was asking for benefits.

Indeed, the film industry has always made them money, but what have they given in return?
Almost none. Chen Shouzhe had never participated in any of their company's projects. It wasn't that he didn't want to, but rather that they didn't have any good projects to offer.

The financial report released a few days ago showed that the company earned several hundred million yuan, one-third of which came from the profits of Shouzhe Pictures. It was Chen Shouzhe who led the company to make money.

If Guangmang can't come up with something to convince Chen Shouzhe, Guangmang will probably end up like Zhongying. The current Chen Shouzhe is not the same as before; he can't be easily manipulated and needs others to help him.

He already has enough power to eat alone, just like in A Chinese Ghost Story and WALL-E.

It has been proven that he is capable of succeeding worldwide. The higher-ups also need him to produce films for the international audience and expand his influence. Moreover, the Golden Globes and Oscars are just around the corner. If Chen Shouzhe can be brought into Enlight Media, having such a great director on the board will undoubtedly be a significant boost to the company.

"Don't you want to surpass Huayi?" Chen Shou asked with a smile.

"If I had known, I wouldn't have come. I would have gone back to the board meeting and gotten back to you then." Wang Changtian felt the chair was too hot, so he stood up after sitting down for a short while.

"You should finish it as soon as possible, preferably before the end of the year," Chen Shou said.

"Are you confident?" Wang Changtian asked nervously.

“Nomination is no problem,” Chen Shouzhe nodded. “Okay, I’ll do it as soon as possible.” Wang Changtian sighed, seemingly lost in thought. If he agreed, his pockets would immediately bulge considerably; Chen Shouzhe was quite wealthy.

The film "Mojin: The Lost Legend" was officially released on the 23rd, marking the start of the Lunar New Year film season.

A major IP film ignited the Lunar New Year film season, and on Christmas Eve, Alibaba's film "The Ferryman," which was prepared last year, was also released on the same day.

This is the peak of e-commerce's popularity right now. They're going on a marketing spree during every holiday. In this era of the "she-economy," who doesn't have a suitor?

The price of an apple has been inflated to several hundred yuan; these merchants have gone mad.

Compared to an apple that costs several hundred yuan, a movie ticket that costs tens of yuan, or a restaurant that costs several hundred yuan.

Isn't the 688 yuan package at the bathhouse a good deal?

The pre-sales reached a staggering 110 million yuan, leaving countless companies in the film and television industry speechless. It's only been a few years, not even two. Before 2008, a movie breaking 100 million yuan was something to celebrate, but now breaking 100 million yuan on the first day is commonplace, and people even think it's nothing special.

They've all gotten too cocky. Are movies really that profitable?

They were highly suspicious, since they hadn't made any money, so who was actually making money?

There is only one answer: Chen Shouzhe.

The film grossed 1.87 million yuan on its opening day.

Another movie that has grossed over a billion yuan. Wuershan and the main cast have already started promoting it, starting from the capital, going to Shanghai, and then continuing south, promoting it station by station.

Chen Shou alone accounted for half of the investment in this film, while Daqian World and Deyun Society each contributed 5%. Guo Degang has been promoting it a lot on Weibo these days.

Wanda and Enlight Media received relatively less funding this time, but their support was substantial. The joint issuance by the two companies meant they had already received a significant share of the profits from the distribution.

Instead of a fixed price, it's five percent of the film's box office revenue. After deducting various miscellaneous expenses, the remaining ninety percent is split between the theaters, the distributors, and finally the production company.

Both companies, one with a cinema chain and the other with a strong distribution network, are working very hard to promote their products.

However, some people have strong opinions.

"Wrong values."

"A tomb raiding movie with absolutely no positive energy, how did this kind of movie get released?"

"Movies that promote illegal activities should be banned. How can they be shown? What if people imitate them?"

"Isn't the government going to do anything about feudal superstition?"

They're all film critics. As for why they post these things, well, that's a matter of opinion, just take it as entertainment. These days, who treats them like human beings?
Film reviews exist to help viewers avoid pitfalls or interpret the deeper meaning of a film, rather than to offer praise when they receive a reward and then hurl insults when they don't.

These people are already notorious, and Chen Shou is too lazy to pay them any attention. He used to give them some red envelopes, but now on the internet, major websites have their own ratings, and the comments from audiences who bought tickets to see the show are more authentic.

(End of this chapter)