Life in the Light and Shadow of Chinese Entertainment

"I was wondering if we should go get some late-night snacks." Wu Yang had a bit of a toothache.

Upon hearing this, Liu Yifei's eyes lit up. She had been the center of attention at the banquet and hadn't had time to eat anything. Now it was almost 11 o'clock, and she was indeed a little hungry.

"Your attempts to change the subject are still as clumsy as ever, but I'm magnanimous. Hmm, your punishment is to come with me for barbecue. Let's go to Garden Road!"

Liu Yifei's eyes lit up as she complained.

……

The release of "Transformers 2" in June raked in a record-breaking 4.55 million yuan at the box office.

China Film Group went all out in its promotion, and even the extras in the film were played by big-name stars.

The topic of "counting stars" in the movie started circulating online, causing the box office to soar.

By the time Wu Yang finished post-production on "Love Like a Bouquet," it was already October 20th.

Meanwhile, "The Founding of a Republic" has officially surpassed 3.8 million yuan and obtained the key to extension, and is expected to break the 4 million yuan ceiling of domestic films.

As for whether it can surpass the box office of "Transformers 2", everyone knows in their hearts that it is basically impossible.

Because everyone who can go to the cinema has already seen the movie, even if they have the key to extend the screening period.

The main audience for movies has changed from general moviegoers to groups of organizations booking entire theaters.

These people are at best icing on the cake, but they can't offer help in times of need!

Han Sanye wasn't too disappointed. The main reason for making this movie was to celebrate the 60th anniversary.

Besides, a mainstream commercial film can rake in 4 million yuan at the box office, what more could you ask for?!

I didn't see Master Han holding a screening, but he looked like he was in a radiant mood!

This time, various overseas distributors were invited again, and the screening was held in the screening room on the first floor of China Film Group.

Since the previously purchased film "First Love" has not yet been released, Wu Yang is still relying on "Buried Alive" to maintain his popularity.

In fact, selling the issuance rights now is a losing proposition.

It's just that their positions are different, and so are their perspectives on the problem.

Han Sanye's goal is to promote Chinese culture overseas, thereby increasing his political achievements.

Huayi Brothers is pursuing the gimmick of simultaneous global release and the secondary market to support the stock market.

Given this demand, the revenue-sharing agreement becomes a destabilizing factor.

After all, the revenue sharing is based on the contract, and the success of the film depends on the film itself; the distributor will at most do some promotion.

However, if the distribution rights are bought out, the effect will be different.

In order to recoup costs or even make a profit, overseas publishers will spare no effort in promotion and marketing.

One is partnering with someone, the other is running your own business.

The outcome was obvious if you thought about it, since Wu Yang became famous overseas with "Buried Alive".

But that movie was, after all, a suspense thriller, even though it won the Oscar for Best Director.

This only proves that Wu Yang is very good at shooting suspense and thriller films, but it does not guarantee that he can handle other types of films.

The major investors are China Film Group and Huayi Brothers. Wu Yang only holds a 10% share this time, so naturally he has no say.

Moreover, Wu Song knew that the total box office of these two low-budget romance and youth films would probably not exceed 4 million yuan.

Therefore, selling overseas copyrights is quite worthwhile.

Moreover, the purpose of making these two films was first to promote Liu Yifei, and secondly to build connections with China Film Group.

As for the collaboration with Huayi, it can only be described as a fortunate coincidence.

Wu Yang wasn't worried about how much he would ultimately earn; as long as he didn't lose money, it was equivalent to making a profit.

These days, even films by Zhang Yimou, Chen Yimou, and Feng Xiaogang have times when they lose money.

Let alone other directors, the film industry is ultimately a winner-takes-all game.

The norm in the development of the film industry is that a few people make money while most people lose money.

The European and American distributors who bought "First Love" last time did not show any determination to acquire "Love in a Bouquet" this time after reading it.

On the contrary, the two distributors from Japan and South Korea valued "Love Like a Bouquet" more.

The bids kept rising, until the publisher of the small-time product asked for $420 million.

Korean publishers seemed hesitant, but this attracted the attention of publishers in Europe and America.

The person in charge representing European and American publishers was also hesitant about whether to make a move.

After all, if the competitors make money, it's like we're losing money. Besides, judging from this trend, the final price should be about the same as "First Love".

If the movie becomes a box office hit but you haven't sold any, it could easily become leverage for your competitors to attack you if they find out.

Just as he was considering it, the distributor of the Korean product gritted his teeth and shouted out 450 million dollars.

Before he could even go to see the publisher of "Little Life," he heard his father's voice.

"I'll offer $500!"

Ultimately, if the asking price from European and American publishers exceeds $500 million, they will not raise the price any further.

First, there's his authority: he can decide on amounts under 500 million himself, but amounts over 500 million require approval from the general manager.

Of course, regardless of the price, any loss will affect his annual performance evaluation.

The peaceful life that was originally so promising suddenly took a hit when they heard the price quoted by their American dad.

The distributors of Korean pop-ups also kept glancing at their American "daddy," while only the distributors from Hong Kong and Taiwan were interested.

Like a spectator, they not only seemed stingy when bidding, but also completely became spectators when the price exceeded $300 million.

Ultimately, neither the Korean nor the European and American publishers raised their bids, and the European and American publishers successfully acquired the overseas distribution rights for "Love Like a Bouquet" for a high price of $500 million.

This time, the film was released simultaneously worldwide, with the release date set by the European and American distributors: February 14, 2010, Valentine's Day.

Wu Yang was not involved in the overseas distribution rights of either film at all; in the first case, he even left it until the very end.

This time, after watching the movie, I said hello and walked out of the screening room, dodging the magical attacks of several big smokers.

The overseas distribution rights for "First Love" were sold for $450 million, which immediately recouped the costs, and the domestic box office was pure profit.

China Film Group took a 7% share and received 2050 million yuan, while Wu Yang took a 3% share and received 1020 million yuan.

Because of the exchange agreement signed with Huayi, Huayi generously only took 800 million, while Wu Yang received 220 million.

"Love Like a Bouquet" has now sold for $500 million, which is equivalent to 3415.5 million yuan according to the real-time exchange rate.

They recouped their costs once again, and the domestic box office revenue remained pure profit.

In this collaboration, China Film Group invested 1500 million yuan, taking a 5% share, and now it will receive more than 1700 million yuan, directly recovering its costs and even making a small profit.

Huayi invested 1500 million, but only secured a 3% share, receiving over 1000 million, leaving them 500 million short of recouping their costs.

Wu Yang provided both the script and the cast, taking up 2% of the budget and earning over 680 million yuan.

Before the two movies were even released, Wu Yang had already earned more than 800 million yuan!