Today, Hantang Media Group is the largest film and television company in China in terms of size, scale and valuation.
The downturn in the domestic film market in the first half of the year made the overall situation of film and television cultural stocks average. Huayi had no movie releases in the first half of the year, and its market value fluctuated around 10 billion, unable to stabilize above 10 billion.
More than 50% of Guangxian's business is in program production, which is quite stable.
Bernard's listing on Nasdaq was also tepid.
Huace's main business is the production of TV series. Although there are not many phenomenal TV series, the business is still good.
Moreover, "The Listener", which Huace participated in the investment, did well at the box office, so it is considered to be in relatively good shape.
TV drama production companies have always been more stable than movies. If you find a reliable screenwriter and some famous actors, the investment is not too big, and you can basically make money if you can become a star.
The old film company Chengtian is almost finished and has switched to a theater business.
Hantang's current valuation is worth two Huayi, and the company has more than 3,000 employees across the country.
The company's film distribution team alone, headquartered and resident in various provinces and cities across the country, totals more than 500 people, and the film promotion and marketing team is no less than this.
TV series distribution and marketing teams also have hundreds of people.
At present, the company is still following the path of an old-school publishing company, which is simply not possible for ordinary companies.
In two years, after the Internet has fully matured, the threshold for distribution has been lowered, and hundreds of distribution companies have suddenly appeared.
It didn't last for two years, and a large area died again.
The poor die the fastest during famine, and they die quietly.
The death of a hundred small companies would not be as shocking as the collapse of any giant.
I had lunch in the company at noon and spent more than three hours reviewing the company's business over the past four months.
At this point, it is no longer necessary for Tang An to tell which TV series will be a hit. Your TV series department will make this, which movie is a dark horse. Send someone to talk about the project, or which director's new movie will be a hit. Get involved in advance.
These things are handled by the people below. With the current scale and channels of the Han and Tang Dynasties, a large number of scripts are received every day, and directors are constantly coming to the door with projects to seek investment.
Movies invested by other companies have no distribution channels of their own. The first thing that comes to mind is these giants. They have no business at all.
No, the two summer movies "Tiny Times" and "The Wind Listener" were very popular. In the past few months, the company's distribution department has received distribution business for several more movies.
"Witness" invested by Weike Media.
"101 Proposals" invested by Xinli Media and Asia Times Media.
"Rooftop Love" invested by Hengda Pictures and Yindu.
These are the only three movies that Tang An has watched, and there are also a few blockbuster movies.
With resources and channels, people will take the initiative to send money to your door. Those who do things will never control the resources and channels to make money.
There were even more investments to be made. There were more than ten movies, most of which had never been heard of. The distribution and production departments would do their own evaluations, so Tang An just took a look.
Except for a few that would be big hits at the box office, Tang An marked them, and the people below would also pay special attention to them.
No, one of the dozen or so movies seeking investment is "Journey to the West: The Return of the Great Sage".
Production started a few years ago, and there are ten investors. However, the only big companies are Hengdian Film and Television, and Ludong Film and Television, which produces TV series, is somewhat famous. The others are all miscellaneous small companies.
Judging from the documents, Guangxian also participated in the project at the beginning of the year, but later withdrew.
The total investment is 70 million yuan, but there is still a shortfall of 20 million yuan.
The evaluation given by the production department is also not optimistic. Although animated films are now making some progress and the Journey to the West theme is also well-known, recovering the cost is a problem.
Including issuance income, the investment is less than 30%, and the probability of return of capital is still relatively high.
However, the cycle given by the production team will take 15 years to complete, so the investment and repayment cycle at this time is three years.
No matter where you look at it, it's a loss-making business.
It was also the right thing for Wang Changtian not to participate. After all, not everyone can predict things in advance.
Tang An thought for a while and called Zhao Jun, director of the production department, to come in.
"Old Zhao, we can invest 20 million for this animated film "Journey to the West: The Return of the Great Sage". Go talk to the other party and shorten the production cycle by another year, so that it can be released in 14 years. Regardless of lack of money or lack of people
, we will solve it all.”
"Journey to the West: The Return of the Great Sage"?
Zhao Jun was a little surprised. He was not optimistic about this film. The cycle was too long. This could be seen from the fact that few film and television companies in the industry had invested in it over the years.
However, being able to put it in front of Tang An also has merits. Zhao Jun believes that animated movies are now gaining momentum.
Moreover, it is said that "Havoc in Heaven" will be released in 2014, and it may be able to drive the sales of the Journey to the West theme, which can be regarded as a buzz.
However, all of Zhao Jun's evaluations were written in the document. Since Tang An decided to invest after reading the document, Zhao Jun agreed and was ready to find the producer.
"By the way, our investment must include copyright. We will discuss it with Hengdian and jointly publish it." Tang An warned again.
"The Return of the Great Sage", it was this movie that completely drove the domestic animation film industry, it can be said to be a milestone.
But it's a pity that there will never be another animated film with a box office close to 1 billion.
There is a difference between the production of animated films and movies. Most of the art talents in this area are concentrated in state-owned studios, while private film and television companies have money but no people.
Trampling the sky to pieces, acting unbridled and unruly.
What would happen if "The Return of the Great Sage" and "Havoc in Heaven" collided!
Which one do the audience like more, Donnie Yen's muscular monkey or this skinny Great Sage?
However, "Havoc in Heaven" was invested and distributed by China Film Group Corporation. Even if you win against China Film Group Corporation, you will offend the other party in the future.
However, "Hong Kong" will be released during the Spring Festival of 2013, and "Detective Chinatown 2" will be released during the Spring Festival of 2014.
If "Havoc in Heaven" is still scheduled to be released in the spring of 2014, then Tang An can take the initiative to find China Film, lower his attitude, and say that "Detective Chinatown 2" does not need to compete with "Havoc in Heaven", and give up the schedule to China Film, and change
Watch movies of the same type as "The Return of the Great Sage" and drink some soup to keep up with the popularity.
It's not a problem to release it a year and a half in advance. The production team worked on it for eight years because they had no money. Otherwise, it is not a masterpiece like "Avatar", so why would it take such a long time?
There are still 15 months, which is enough.
"Detective Chinatown 2" was replaced by a little-known animated film. It was too late for China Film to be happy. After all, the first part of "Detective Chinatown" had a box office of 1 billion.
Even if "The Return of the Great Sage" kills "Havoc in Heaven", it is unlikely that China Film will hold a grudge against Tang An.
On the contrary, if "Detective Chinatown 2" is released as planned, the two sides will become enemies.
The huge sales of Journey to the West movies will definitely lead to the rise of the big IP called Journey to the West. The Return of the Great Sage, which unexpectedly killed "Havoc in Heaven", will definitely get more cake in this IP feast.
However, Hengdian Film and Television is the main investor, so it still needs to convince the other party first.
...
After reading these documents, I called the secretary to send them back to various departments.
"Are they here?" Tang An stretched his arms and asked.
"Already waiting, Chairman, when do you think it will start?"
Tang An looked at the time and said, "Just like now, make me a cup of tea and bring it over."
It’s not easy to work as soon as you come back.
When I arrived at the conference room No. 2, I opened the door and went in. The general managers of the four studios and the shareholder artists in Beijing were all here.
There are a total of seven studios. Originally, Han and Tang each held 60-80% of the shares. Although each studio previously invested another 20 million, each shareholder also invested money, and the changes in the shares were not significant.
Yang Mi and Tang Yan Studio accounted for 82% and 77% of the shares respectively.
Xu Zheng Studio accounts for 61%, and Wu Ershan Studio accounts for 73%.
Yang Wenjun's studio holds 86% of the shares. In comparison, he is the least famous. Tang An arranged for two other directors to join.
Chang Jihong's company holds 72% of the shares, and Liu Ye and Sun Li are also among the shareholders.
Zhou Shiwei's studio holds 75% of the shares.
The seven major studios have previously established joint-stock film and television companies.
Here today are the general managers and star shareholders of the four major brokerage companies.
Tang An greeted everyone and got straight to the point.
"It has been almost three years since we joined the group from the end of 2009 to now. Three years have passed and the development has been pretty good. This year we have also invested in several TV series."
Three years in the entertainment industry is not a short time. It is enough time for an unknown newcomer to rise and for a popular star to fall quickly.
The four celebrity-focused companies have signed many artists and are engaged in film and television production, publicity and public relations and other businesses.
The other three companies, which are mainly directed by directors, are not involved in artist management business.
Everyone didn't know what Tang An wanted to say, so they didn't say anything, waiting for him to continue.
Tang An continued, "Although the film and television industry was not so hot in the first half of this year, it will definitely reach a new peak after the Lunar New Year holiday, and the outside world and the media circle will pay more attention to this industry."
"Our companies now have a bright future, and many people are eyeing them. I was blocking them before. But for everyone's rapid development, we must attract outside capital and resources."
"Today I am here to tell you about this matter. In the next year, your companies will successively raise funds."
Everyone was a little surprised. Hantang Media never accepted capital from outside, so why should they use several of their companies to raise funds at this time.
Although it was a bit unexpected, the four general managers, Zhou Jia, Chang Jihong, Liu Yu, and Zhou Shiwei, were still very happy.
Many film and television companies have gone public one after another and made a lot of money. They are not willing to just be a small agency.
Without financing, there would be no way to retain the Han and Tang dynasties, unless those artists were willing to be actors and just get paid for filming, and at most participate in part of the investment.
Who doesn’t want to make more money? Later, if a big-name star owns seven or eight companies, he will be his own boss and someone will work for him.
Even Wang Baoqiang dared to release Ning Hao's movie with a guaranteed minimum of 2.8 billion. Once the bet was right, he would make more money than he had made in several years of filming.
Tang An observed their expressions and continued, "Currently, four companies including Oriental Pearl Group, DMG Entertainment Media Group, Great Wall Film and Television Media Group, and Cultural Investment Holdings are interested in investing. If you don't have any questions, I will send someone to discuss the details.
Funding and proportionality issues.”
Oriental Pearl Group is a state-owned enterprise, a subsidiary of the Magic City Culture and Broadcasting Group, and the first listed cultural company in China. Its current market value is nearly 40 billion, which is higher than the combined market value of Gehua, a subsidiary of Jingcheng Optoelectronics, and China Television, a subsidiary of CCTV.
Most of the shares of Fengxing.com are owned by Oriental Pearl, which is willing to sell it to Hantang Media, but also wants to get involved in the film and television industry.
DMG Media Group is one of the largest independent communication agencies in China, with a market capitalization of tens of billions. It has participated in the investment of blockbusters such as "The Founding of the Republic", "Resident Evil", "Looper" and is currently in post-production.
"Iron Man 3" also has investment from dmg Media.
Jiangzhe Great Wall Film and Television Media Group is one of the largest TV drama production and distribution organizations in China.
Cultural Investment Holdings is also in the cultural industry, but it has not been involved in film and television before.
Everyone present immediately weighed it up in their minds. Among the four companies, it would be best for the company's development to accept investment from Oriental Pearl and SMG Media.
But the decision-making power was in Tang An's hands. They couldn't say it in public, so they could only go to Tang An in private.
Tang An knew what they were thinking. There were far more companies that wanted to invest than these four companies, but the first two had the most resources and channels. Great Wall Film and Television Group's TV production business was the top in the country, and it had no relationship with many TV stations including CCTV.
Qian, who shoots documentaries for major TV stations all year round.
As for Cultural Investment Holdings, it switched to the film and television industry and was not short of money. Later, it successively acquired several medium-sized film and television companies, and also acquired shares in Wanda Pictures, becoming the third largest shareholder of Ahli after Wanda Group.
These four companies are the investors found for the four brokerage companies. As for the companies of several directors, whether it is Xu Zheng or Wu Ershan, their films are all worth billions, so they will be in their hands for the time being.
Two years later, when there was still one year left on their contracts, Tang An planned to learn from Dong Ping's later success in Huanxi Media, and set up a company to give each of these directors a share of the stock.
It is necessary to give profits, but the bulk is still in hand, and there is still distribution.
Dong Ping is just a businessman. Huanxi Media doesn’t even have the ability to distribute, so others make a lot of money.
The four general managers thought about it and agreed, and requested that they also inject capital.
The meeting is just an intention, the details will have to be discussed with other companies slowly.
After the meeting ended, Zhou Jia, Liu Yu and the others looked at each other, chatted familiarly with each other for a while and then left the conference room.
The four major studios also compete with each other. After all, many places rely on groups.
After leaving the conference room, Zhou Jia winked at Yang Mi, who immediately understood and walked towards Tang An's office.
The other three companies were helpless as Tang Yan was still filming in Xiangjiang.
They also tried to find several good prospects to approach Tang An. They had various heights, shapes, and ages. Almost all of their artists tried, but none of them could climb into Tang An's bed, so they had to give up their thoughts.