Huayu: Starting with Hijacking from "The Story of a Noble Family"

Chapter 78 Arranging for Parents, Xu's Mother's Worries and Warnings!

"It's almost reached 5600 million in box office revenue; it's really heading towards 6000 million!"

"Currently, it seems very likely that the box office will exceed 6000 million, but it is unlikely to exceed that."

"6000 million in box office revenue isn't enough for you!"

"Cellphone has surpassed 5000 million yuan at the box office. Even without Xu Heng's film, Cellphone's box office in mainland China would most likely have surpassed Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets!"

"Xu Heng has stolen Feng Xiaogang's title as the year's box office champion! Feng Xiaogang must be furious!"

"The box office for 'Flying Eagle' doesn't seem to be doing too well. It's only grossed 800 million in 4 days. A production cost of 1500 million US dollars can't even beat the daily box office of 'Our Times,' which had a production cost of 300 million. I wonder how the box office is in Hong Kong today!"

"The box office in Hong Kong won't be much at best, so don't get your hopes up! This film is clearly targeting the Chinese-speaking market, so it's basically guaranteed to lose money!"

"Currently, the highest-grossing film in Hong Kong is Stephen Chow's 'Shaolin Soccer,' which has grossed HK$6000 million. Even if 'Flying Eagle' achieves the same box office as 'Shaolin Soccer,' it's basically impossible for it to break even. The only question is how much it will lose!"

"How could 'Flying Eagle' possibly compare to 'Shaolin Soccer' at the Hong Kong box office? It's hard to say about other places, but in Hong Kong, the combined box office appeal of Yang Ziqiong, Richie Jen, and Li Bingbing is definitely less than that of Stephen Chow alone!"

"It's a pity that 'Shaolin Soccer' couldn't be released in mainland China, and 'Jade Goddess of Mercy' looks like it's going to be a complete financial disaster. 'Infernal Affairs 3' did alright at the mainland box office, but overall it's probably still a loss, or at least it certainly won't make much money."

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The box office figures for several other films were reported along with those for "Our Times".

Feng Xiaogang's "Cell Phone" finally broke 5000 million yuan at the box office after 32 days of release.

If it weren't for Xu's "Our Times," "Cellphone" would definitely have grossed even higher at the box office, and it wouldn't have been a problem for it to surpass "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" at the mainland box office.

"Jade Goddess of Mercy," starring Xie Tingfeng (who played Xiao Yanzi), only grossed 800 million yuan at the mainland box office after 25 days of release, and now most cinemas have stopped showing it.

After 38 days in theaters, "Infernal Affairs 3" grossed 3600 million yuan in mainland China and 3000 million Hong Kong dollars in Hong Kong.

However, the production cost was as high as HK$7000 million, which is more than the combined box office revenue in mainland China and Hong Kong.

Last Thursday, a co-production film, "Flying Eagle," was also released in mainland China. Starring Yang Ziqiong, Ren Xianqi, and Li Bingbing, the film's production cost was announced to be as high as 1500 million US dollars.

As a result, the box office on the opening day was only 3.5 million yuan, and the box office in the first four days was only 8 million yuan.

It will also be shown in Hong Kong today, but it seems that it is basically impossible to recoup the costs, let alone make a profit.

Most cinemas are closed during the Chinese New Year holiday, but some cinemas, especially those in big cities, remain open.

Seeing the box office performance of these films, the Tianya film and television review section immediately became lively.

Another day passed, and on January 20th, the 1th day of the Lunar New Year, Tangren officially announced that Xu Heng and Liu Yifei would play the male and female leads, Li Xiaoyao and Zhao Ling'er, in the TV series "Chinese Paladin".

As soon as this news came out, the film and television review section and the computer technology section of Tianya immediately became lively again.

Especially in the computer technology section, more and more fans of the original work now believe that Liu Yifei is more suitable to play Zhao Ling'er than He Meitian!

On January 21st, Lunar New Year's Eve, Mr. Xu once again prepared a sumptuous New Year's Eve dinner.

At the dinner table, Xu drank two glasses with his father, and he could tell that his parents clearly had something they wanted to tell him.

"Xiao Heng, how much money will your movie make approximately?"

Halfway through the New Year's Eve dinner, Xu's mother suddenly spoke up.

Her son had been home for two days, but she hadn't asked him too many questions, at least not in great detail.

"It's about 2000 million, less than 3000 million."

Xu Heng picked up a piece of food; he still trusted his parents very much.

In his previous life, he returned to his hometown with several million dollars and lay low, but his parents didn't want a single penny from him.

Since he has no children after his divorce and has no plans to remarry, they are still thinking of saving more money for his future retirement.

In this life, he won tens of millions, and his parents never asked him for the money.

"When will this money arrive in your account?"

Mother Xu asked again.

"It will probably be March at the earliest."

Xu Heng said directly.

Currently, cinemas settle accounts monthly. The box office revenue for this film on its opening day will be counted in December of last year, so the settlement with the cinemas can be completed around the end of the year.

The settlement period between cinemas and distributors is 20 days, but it usually takes up to a month, meaning the money doesn't arrive at the distributor, China Film Group, until February.

The settlement period between the distributor and the production company is also 20 days, and it usually takes up to a month.

That means he could receive his share of the film's opening day box office revenue from China Film Group as early as March, and he would receive the full share of the box office revenue around April.

After all, even if the movie is still showing in February, it won't increase the box office much more.

If we take the impact of the Chinese New Year into account, the time for the settlement of accounts may be delayed by another half month to a month.

In addition, 5% of the box office revenue is deducted from the National Film Industry Development Special Fund and 3.3% from the business tax and surcharges, leaving 91.7% as the distributable box office revenue.

Currently, the revenue sharing ratio between the distributor and the producer is 40%, which means that the distributor can receive 36.68% of the total box office.

After China Film Group deducts a 6% distribution fee, the money he ultimately receives is roughly equivalent to 34.48% of the total box office revenue.

As he spoke, he glanced at his mother again: "What, you want to manage my money?"

His mother was an accountant in a state-owned enterprise back in the day, and she was quite capable.

At least that's what his mother said; in his previous life, he rarely made mistakes managing the accounts of the family's small restaurant.

Because she married his father, his mother can now only keep track of trivial accounts at the family's small restaurant.

Although I don’t regret my initial choice, it’s normal to have some thoughts now that I have the opportunity to manage a lot of money, especially for my son!

"With so much money, there definitely needs to be someone trustworthy to look after it!"

Xu's mother did not deny it, nor did she care at all that her son had seen through her thoughts.

She was only doing it for her son's good, and had absolutely no selfish motives, so what was there to feel guilty about?

She then looked at her son and asked, "What's wrong? You're not worried, are you?"

"How could that be? I wouldn't trust anyone else, let alone you!"

Xu Heng quickly denied it.

It's not that he's afraid of his mother, nor that his mother is unreasonable.

But no matter how reasonable his mother is, she's still his mother. Even if he wins an argument, he can't argue back!

Moreover, with his mother managing his finances, he could indeed feel much more at ease, even though his real money didn't come from the entertainment industry.

However, if her mother goes to Beijing to help him manage the company's finances, wouldn't her father be left alone at home?

So he looked at his father again: "Why don't we close the family shop?"

"Then what else can I do?"

Xu's father clearly shared this idea.

The family's current savings are enough to support him until retirement, and his expenses are not high, so he doesn't need to ask his son for money.

Moreover, the store is too busy right now, and he can't handle it all by himself. If this continues, he'll be exhausted sooner or later.

Now that his son doesn't need his help, there's no need for him to work so hard.

Most importantly, his wife went to the capital to help their son manage the accounts, and he definitely wanted to go with her!

The problem is, he can't do anything except cook!

"You could open a large restaurant or a private kitchen in Beijing; with your skills, you'd never lack business!"

Xu Heng added that this was something he had already thought about.

In his previous life, his parents had no major health problems, but he still needed to be careful in this life, as he didn't want them to be too tired.

His father had always dreamed of opening a large restaurant.

Moreover, the security situation is not as good as it will be in the future, and since this is a small place, we need to be even more careful.

"Really?"

Mr. Xu was immediately excited.

He had this idea for a while, but opening a large restaurant would cost a lot of money, and he didn't want to ask his son for money.

Moreover, opening a restaurant in Beijing would definitely require even more money.

However, he was very confident in his skills!

"Why not? My company isn't too busy, so Mom can still manage the restaurant's accounts!"

Xu Heng continued, and to make his point more convincing, he put on a smug expression.

"I can earn over 2000 million from just one movie. How much does it cost to open a restaurant? So what if I lose money!"

"Besides, with your skills, is it possible for you to lose money?"

"If all else fails, when I become a big director in the future, anyone who wants to make my movie will have to spend money at your place first. That's called an unspoken rule, you know!"

Of course, he was just saying it casually.

The suggestion that my dad open a restaurant in Beijing was simply to find something safe and easy for my parents to do.

His company didn't really have much to do besides collecting money, and the owner of a big hotel certainly didn't need to cook himself.

As for losing money, not to mention that his father's skills are indeed quite good, even if he really loses money, it doesn't matter at all!

"You think you can get away with anything without a relationship?!"

Upon hearing her son mention "unspoken rules," Xu's mother couldn't help but slap his hand hard with her chopsticks.

She was aware of all the rumors about her son, but fortunately, she knew they were false and had absolute faith in her son's character!

Her only worry now is those female celebrities in the entertainment industry, especially since her son has now become a movie director and made so much money from his movie!

"I'm telling you, you better not mess around outside!"

Xu's mother looked at her son with a serious expression and asked again, "How are things going between you and that girl?"

"What do you mean, 'what'? We're just friends!"

Xu naturally knew who his mother was talking about, but his mother certainly wouldn't believe it.

"I don't care what your relationship is, but there's one thing you must remember: she's a young girl, so you can't do anything inappropriate!"

Xu's mother warned again.

She believed in her son's character, but she understood his personality even better.

And compared to those female celebrities in the entertainment industry, at least that girl was quite young when she met her son, and there weren't any messy things going on.

Since her son entered the entertainment industry, she has become extremely interested in all kinds of news and gossip about it!