Production is about to start soon, and it will be another month or two of continuous shooting. After the filming of "Operation Red Sea" is completed, the actors will also need to be found and receive certain training. Fortunately, there are professionals doing the film preparation, and they will do it regularly.
Just pay attention.
Tang An also chatted with a few of them. Wang Zhongjun was very concerned about "Now You See Me 2" and took Tang An to talk alone.
"Director Wang, Deng Chao's schedule is too tight, and there is no suitable schedule. "Now You See Me 2" can only be released next year."
Wang Zhongjun nodded. He also understood this. "Detective Chinatown 2" will only be filmed in a month, and then Deng Chao can join the cast.
From a time perspective, "Now You See Me" has no problem catching up with the Lunar New Year release.
However, there is "Detective Chinatown 2" in the Han and Tang Dynasties during the Lunar New Year period. "The Peace Wheel" which is tentatively scheduled for the Lunar New Year period also has a lot of investment from Huayi, and there is also a small-budget movie "Wei Ai: Getting Better".
There is no problem in accommodating a few blockbusters in the Lunar New Year festival, but no one is stupid enough to compete with themselves, and publicity resources will inevitably be scattered.
Wang Zhongjun smiled and said, "So Mr. Tang, when do you think it will be released?"
Tang An said, "The movie "Heavenly Army" has been scheduled for the Spring Festival next year, and it also has Wang Dong's investment. It is probably not suitable. My "Operation Red Sea" will be released in July during the summer, so it should be available in August or October.
, it’s not yet clear what will happen during the Lunar New Year period. Let’s see in a few months. What does Mr. Wang think?”
The late summer season and the National Day season in August are pretty good, although not as good as July, the Spring Festival, and the Lunar New Year season, but they are still an important period.
Last year, the three or four blockbusters released in late July and early August failed to achieve the same results. "Wolf Warrior" also received a box office of 800 million, and the National Day movie also produced a billion-level movie.
A cycle of one and a half years and nearly two years is not a long time for a movie that is bound to be a hit, but Wang Zhongjun still thought it would be best to release it this year.
Last year Huayi's performance was quite good, but this year, there is no need to look at it, and there is no way to look at it.
As for the two movies, "Little Love Is Getting Better" and "A Coquettish Woman Has the Best Life", which have an investment of over 40 million, the only one that can be considered a blockbuster is "One Man's Martial Arts" starring Donnie Yen and Wang Baoqiang.
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"Micro Love" is Gu Changwei's second film since joining Huayi. Wang Zhongjun felt that the title was unreliable.
However, Chen He and Yang Ying are also famous because of "Running Man", so it shouldn't be difficult to make some money.
The title of the film "A Coquettish Woman Has the Best Life" is also a bit strange, and the combination of Zou Xun + Wang Xiaoming also made Wang Zhongjun not have much confidence.
Needless to say, Wang Xiaoming has been on the big screen again and again for so many years since "The Chinese Partner".
Zou Xun is a little better. Although the box office of the movies he made in the past two years is not very high, the movies directed by Zhao Wei can sell 700 million at the box office. They are all four major actresses, so they still have great appeal.
Those two movies only made a small profit. Wang Zhongjun’s biggest expectations are "One Man's Martial Arts" and "Taiping Wheel"
Although both "Havoc in Heaven" and Donnie Yen were criticized badly, this is his best action movie, and Wang Baoqiang also stars in it. Not to mention one billion or eighty million, five or six billion is still very good.
Guaranteed.
Of course, these three movies combined are not as good as "Now You See Me 2", and only "The Wheel" can compete.
If it can be released this year, Huayi's performance will be much better this year.
This is probably the bleakest year for Huayi. Xu Ke did not play "Taking Tiger Mountain by Wisdom" with Huayi, and Feng Xiaogang was tinkering with that art troupe film again.
Wang Zhongjun could tell with his toes that Feng Xiaogang would definitely defy the system. After all, he was expelled from the art troupe back then.
Coupled with the failure of "1942", Wang Zhongjun was not very optimistic about this art troupe film.
If nothing unexpected happens in the past two years, Wang Zhongjun will probably forget about his unhappiness with Han and Tang for the time being thanks to the three-party collaboration "Now You See Me 2".
There is no way, the situation is stronger than the person, although I hate the other party to death, I can't do anything with them, and I can't even fight with them. What can I do, I have to rely on others to make money, so I can't lower my attitude a little bit.
After dealing with Wang Zhongjun, Qin Hong came over, shaking the wine glass slightly in his hand, glanced at the side, and reminded in a low voice, "Director Tang, you have offended Kang Pei this time. He asked for it two days ago.
Several of our cinemas have lowered their film schedules for The Return of the Monkey King."
Tang An nodded, "Thank you, Mr. Qin. I know that, but it's not my business to have a high box office. I can't help it if the audience likes it."
Although several major theater chains are controlled by China Film Corporation, they can't do whatever they want.
The Liaoning-Shenyang Northern and Southern Shinkansen lines are run by local photoelectric tubes. Although China Film and Television Corporation has taken 60% of the shares of Star Cinema Line, the decision-making power is still in the hands of Star Media, and it is not useful to have more shares.
In terms of filming, Tang An has nothing to worry about.
Qin Hong just came to remind us that China Film Group Corporation is already working on the announcement of "Transformers 4".
This is not a confidential matter, and Tang An also knows it.
Qin Hong didn't say much, and then discussed the operation of the theater chain with Tang An.
Star America has not done very well in film investment and distribution in recent years, and its theater business is still its main business.
The general environment of the movie market is good, but there are also disadvantages for theater chains.
Qin Hong sighed, "Although the national box office is currently growing, the growth rate is much lower than the growth in the number of theaters and screens. The cake is only so big, but new theaters are coming in every week, which will inevitably make competition more intense, except for some in good locations.
Cinemas, some cinemas’ single-store profits have begun to decline.”
Tang An thought for a moment and said, "I don't pay much attention to the theater chain, but the quarterly reports show that the operation is not bad. However, the theater expansion is too fast now, and the competition is getting bigger and bigger. Once the market grows,
The slowdown will be a blow to all major theaters."
On the surface, it seems that the investment in a theater only requires initial construction costs. Even if the benefits are average, maintaining subsequent operations will at least be no problem.
However, the construction cost has increased, and every time it is paid back in three to five years, it will be a loss. If the annual profit is too low, compared with the investment of millions, it is actually very uneconomical.
And all the major theater chains are going crazy. Star America's screens have increased by 50% in the past year, Dadi's has even more soared by 70%, and other theater chains have also maintained a growth rate of nearly 40%.
The box office in 2013 increased by nearly 35% compared to 2012, but the screen growth rate has reached 45%.
If the box office is compared to a cake, then each screen is a fork. The current situation is that the cake has not had time to grow bigger, but the forks are prepared too quickly, and they are about to fight.
In another two years, the domestic average box office output of a single screen will plummet by more than 20%.
The theater chains of the Han and Tang dynasties did not expand blindly. Unlike many theater chains, they just opened movie theaters with their eyes closed and crowded in wherever there were people. In the end, no one had anything to eat.
Wanda's method is much better. The theaters are much smaller than those of Xingmei, but it has the advantage of Wanda Plaza, so this situation will not happen.
But it's okay now, it's not obvious yet. If there were three or four movie theaters within two or three kilometers of a street, it would be really difficult.
In short, don't expand blindly. If the hardware and software can keep up, and the location is good, there will be basically no problems.
Qin Hong talked about his idea, "Now the age range of moviegoers is getting lower and lower. For example, during the Spring Festival and summer holidays, many parents will take their children to watch movies. I want to open up a playground in the cinema for female audiences. More, we can open a makeup area and also provide an e-sports area for the waiting audience..."
Qin Hong talked endlessly about his ideas to Tang An, and he was not afraid of being copied.
Once you start doing this, everyone will know it immediately, and there is no need to keep it secret.
Tang An listened to the dark thread in his head, wondering why Qin Hong went bankrupt so quickly.
Any industry will look for other profit points after encountering bottlenecks or problems in its own profits, and movie theaters are no exception.
Later, many movie theaters had a large number of entertainment equipment, such as claw machines.
But Star America later became more powerful, and successively opened maternal and child life centers, digital 3C experience halls, red wine areas, and e-sports areas in its cinemas.
Selling mobile phone cards, mobile phones, red wine, cosmetics, maternal and child products... the whole place has become a grocery store, barely a convenience store.
At that time, the efficiency of theaters began to decline, and a lot of manpower, material resources and money were spent on these things. It didn't take long for Star America to be dragged down. Of the 500 theaters in the country, only 30 or 40 theaters were open normally, and the others were closed.
However, looking at Qin Hong speaking with great enthusiasm, it was obvious that he had considered it in many ways, so it was not easy for Tang An to pour cold water on him.
After thinking about it, Tang An waited for him to finish and then said, "This is not impossible, but there is currently no domestic precedent. It can be tried out in some theaters first."
Qin Hong nodded, "Director Tang is right. I have already found some theaters in major cities to start implementation."
Tang An said, "Big cities may be more receptive. After all, the more developed the place, the higher the income and consumption. However, the consumption level of residents in second- and third-tier cities and counties cannot be compared with that in big cities. Watching a movie and then buying more Rice crackers and drinks only cost 70 or 80 yuan, so it’s hard for the audience to spend money on other things.”
This can only be said so far. What someone has thought carefully about cannot be dismissed by others with just a few words.
...
Tang An left before the celebration banquet was about to end. There were too many things to do and there was no time to delay at the banquet.
During the Spring Festival holiday, I didn't deal with the company's affairs. The two or three days before the Spring Festival were about the same. I was about to join the team, and Tang An had to make arrangements for the company.
In the large conference room, all senior executives from directors and above of each department were present.
In terms of finance, there has been no large-scale expenditure during this period. The promotion and distribution of "The Return of the Great Sage" was done by Hantang Pictures, Wuzhou Distribution, and Hengdian Pictures.
Currently, the group has less than 100 million in cash on its books. In terms of debt, the group's debts have all been paid off, including the loans for more than 200 properties. It has been five years since the end of 2009.
Originally last year's summer release of "Interstellar" brought in a lot of cash, but it couldn't stop the group from spending money like water.
In the digital field, three Hollywood companies including Kailu Pictures spent nearly one billion, Weibo spent more than one billion, and Forbidden City Pictures and Capital Culture spent more than one billion on two investments. If you repay a large loan, you will suddenly be out of money.
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This is still a lot of profit turned over by its subsidiaries. Although it is not much, and some are still in the red, it is quite considerable when added together.
Variety shows and TV series, in particular, are quite profitable. It is expected that the variety show business under Tudou Pictures alone will earn at least 5.6 billion in profits next year.
If you are debt-free and light-hearted, you can free up your hands and feet to do your work.
Let’s take a rough look at the film, television and variety show projects that the group will participate in this year. There are so many projects that I don’t have the energy to pay attention to them.
The group's own business, the business of the four major companies, and the films of Hantang Pictures, Tudou Pictures, Qidian Pictures and other companies.
The films of other subsidiaries also have some investment from the group, including the variety shows of Tudou Pictures. The group now only invests part of it, and then sends some people to supervise it. The specific matters are handled by the variety show division of Tudou Pictures.
With enough platforms and resources, the production team is also very professional, so there is basically no need to worry too much.
After going through these projects one by one, Tang An asked about the Beston merger and acquisition case.
Wu Fenghui, deputy general manager of the Investment and Development Department, reported, "Director Tang, actually before us, SMG Media was planning to reorganize Bestcom and Oriental Pearl in an attempt to create the first large-scale aircraft carrier worth hundreds of billions in the cultural media industry."
So fast?
Tang An was a little surprised. This reorganization should have happened at the end of the year, but he didn't expect that the other party was preparing a year in advance.
Bestone and Oriental Pearl are the top three groups in the domestic cultural industry by market value, with both market values exceeding 30 billion.
"Tell me more specifically."
Tang An sat upright and listened to Wu Feng explain the specific situation.
"Currently, the reorganization of BesTV and Oriental Pearl is almost certain. This was promoted by their common controlling shareholder, China Media Group, in order to integrate the major companies under China Media Group and create a pan-entertainment company as its core.
A cultural aircraft carrier covering the Internet, real estate, finance, technology, value-added services, film and television production, games, smart TVs, etc.
In addition to the reorganization of the two major groups, it also involves companies such as Wuhan Media and SMG Interactive, and even the other party plans to engage in TV shopping and online shopping, and prepares to acquire Oriental CJ."
China Media Group also has too much appetite, integrating its two major companies to create a billion-dollar giant.
Tang An said, "So, this reorganization is inevitable?"
Wu Feng nodded, "This reform is required by the Magic City Government and is almost irreversible. If we want to participate, we can only wait for the other party to issue private placements at that time."
Tang An frowned. The Magic City Government was in charge, so it was impossible for them to interfere.
As for divesting Beston's TV business, it is not possible now. This is Beston's core business.
Then we can only wait until the reorganized company raises funds. Remember, in less than two years, the market value of New Oriental Pearl will reach 200 billion, and this investment will be worthwhile.
However, this reorganization was definitely a failure. It didn’t take long for the market value to drop to 50 to 60 billion. We had to get out in time and wait until then to see if there was an opportunity to spin off the TV business and win it alone while it was at a trough.
There are only 7 TV licenses in the country, so it’s not that easy to get.
But this is imperative. If you want to become a real media group, rather than a film and television company using the name of a media group, it is not that simple.
Guangxian Media can barely be regarded as a media group. It was known as "a TV station without a TV station" at the time. It owned the largest terrestrial TV program network in the country and broadcast 6 hours of TV programs every day.
But it is just a "TV station without a TV station". Unlike the film and television industry, Guangxian's TV network has penetrated into the restricted area of the optoelectronic media field, involving sensitive "mouthpieces".
This resulted in Guangxian's accounts being sealed by the tax bureau for half a year. Optoelectronics also stipulated that Guangxian's "China Entertainment Report" be renamed "Entertainment Scene", "World Entertainment Report" was renamed "Overseas Entertainment Scene", and "Chinese Entertainment Report" was renamed "Overseas Entertainment Scene".
"Network Report" was renamed "Network World".
It's obvious...
Later, Guangxian established a company with the Central Education Station and began to want to interfere in the operation of the TV station. As a result, Jingcheng Optoelectronics took action, and all cable TV stations in Beijing were unable to receive the signal of the Central Education Station during that period.
And Guangxian's goal is in Beijing, in order to compete with Beijing Satellite TV.
Wang Changtian did not give up and tried to establish joint ventures with TV stations and education stations in Nanjing, Chang'an and other places to intervene in the overall operation of TV channels.
However, this road was quickly blocked by the competent authorities, and even paid digital TV channels were not allowed to enter.
In China, there are no real private media companies, and TV stations are not accessible to private companies. Poly was able to acquire Tourism TV because Poly is a central enterprise.
TV stations can't touch it, so they can only get involved with TV. If they can get the license, Tudou TV can have a 50% share of smart TVs... No, 30% is enough.
In the next five years, the coverage rate of Internet TV will exceed 50%, with a 30% share, which means covering 15% of households across the country.
If it's a 50% share, that's 25% of the family.
Of course, even if it can be done, it will be useless. Once the government writes a piece of paper, everything will be messed up.
Weibo, Toutiao, lifestyle service website Nuomi.com, video websites, TV clients, plus some print media and news websites, can barely be regarded as a real media group.
No matter how awesome you are, it won't do. The national conditions are like this, and the government will not allow you to be so arrogant. It will attack you every minute.