Chapter 668: The Protracted War with Disney: The Iron Must Be Strong

“Is there no better way?”

Tang Qing looked at Su Yang. Now that Disney has acquired the second largest cinema chain, this will have a huge impact on Qingyao Group.

Qingyao Group currently holds the initiative when collaborating with cinema chains in China, with a relatively high profit share and a relatively high screening schedule.

But now that Disney is the cinema chain's owner, things might be different. The commission will certainly be lower, and the film schedule will certainly be reduced. But Disney doesn't dare to directly refuse to make films; after all, Disney is also doing business when it buys cinemas.

"There's no perfect solution. Our competition with Disney is just normal business competition. We haven't reached the point of resorting to dirty tricks yet, nor have we reached the point of a falling out. Although Disney has bought the second-largest cinema chain, there are some things they dare not do too blatantly. If they really dare to overturn the table, believe it or not, I will make their cinemas unable to show a single Chinese film..."

Su Yang said with a smile, which made Tang Qing laugh.

Yes, it's not time to fall out yet. If we really did, there would be plenty of ways to deal with Disney in China. With Su Yang and Qingyao Group's influence in China, they could really make Disney's theaters completely shut down.

If they were a little more cunning and used some tricks, Disney's cinema chain wouldn't even be able to open. The frequent fire inspections would be enough to make them collapse.

"Actually, from another perspective, Disney's purchase of the cinema chain is also actively handing us the leverage. $56 billion, if they really lose a lot of money, that would be interesting."

Tang Qing said this with a smile, which made Su Yang laugh too. Right, who says buying a cinema chain always brings advantages? Sometimes opportunities can also be crises. If Disney had done business honestly in China and followed the rules, everything would have been fine.

If they really resort to underhanded tactics, it would be excessive. This cinema chain could one day become a liability. $56 billion is a huge sum for Disney. If this investment fails, it will have a significant impact on Disney's stock.

“Should we also start a cinema chain?”

Tang Qing couldn't help but say, "After all, if Qingyao Group had a cinema chain, it would have a greater advantage."

"There's no need. Haven't you noticed that our country's laws are becoming increasingly sophisticated? Sooner or later, we'll be like the US, with no overlap between theater chains and production companies. We're already conspicuous enough. A tall tree attracts the wind, so we can't stand out any more. Having a streaming platform is already pretty good. People should learn to be content. Competing with Disney is a long-term battle, so we'll take it slow..."

Su Yang said seriously. Qingyao Group is already a giant. And it is a cultural super giant in China.

It can be said that Qingyao Group has already attracted enough attention. So some things must be given up. Even though it knows that owning its own cinema chain will bring huge benefits, it cannot do so.

Because China is taking antitrust issues more seriously, many internet investment giants have begun quietly disposing of some of their assets. Penguin, for example, has previously given up some of its interests.

Because in China, companies that are too big to fail are not allowed to exist. The same is true for Qingyao Group. Movie theaters have many benefits, but Qingyao Group will not get involved.

Streaming platforms, on the other hand, have also drawn in many investors, dividing up the pie. The same principle applies to the future listings of various subsidiaries. The pie is so large that sometimes you have to share some of it in order to continue to grow and gain more.

This competition is a protracted war. However, for China's cultural industry, the arrival of Disney may not be all bad.

Disney has entered China, and Qingyao Group has entered Europe and the United States. Next, the two sides will compete in the global market, and they need to take a global perspective.

There was a lot of discussion on the Internet, but Qingyao Group remained very calm and all its actions were carried out step by step.

Sony Pictures quickly reached a cooperation agreement with Qingyao Media and sent people directly to China to participate in the production of "Harry Potter". This production was mainly based on Qingyao Media, and Sony was simply the one paying the bills.

There wasn't much to do, but the future box office dividends would be divided into proportions. At the same time, the investment was also directly paid out according to the contract ratio.

At the same time, Sony Pictures is also planning to build its headquarters in Zhucheng. This move is very welcome in Zhucheng, after all, Secretary Zhao had been thinking about turning Zhucheng into the Hollywood of the East some time ago.

If Sony Pictures builds a subsidiary and an office building in China, it will be more meaningful to promote this matter. If this thing is successful, Zhucheng will benefit greatly.

In addition to "Harry Potter", the Marvel Universe plan is also accelerating.

In Japan, Jimeisha is a relatively old animation company. However, it has declined now. Jimeisha is no longer well-known in Japan. There are only two comics serialized under its name, and they are not very famous.

In Japan, the animation industry is also very competitive. People only see Japanese anime as awesome, but they don't know that the internal competition in Japanese anime is even more awesome.

The more developed an industry is, the more involution it experiences. The same is true for the animation industry. In Japan, there are many people working in the animation industry, and there are even more animation companies than there are hairs on a cow.

The number of episodes produced is constantly reaching new heights, but it is becoming increasingly difficult to create good works. Look at the works on the rankings, those that are currently very popular are all works that have been serialized for many years.

In this environment, Jimeishe, an old company, now has very small annual profits.

In the conference room, people from Qingyao Group and shareholders of Jimei Society started negotiations again.

This time, Qingyao Group wanted to acquire Jimeishe, build a new company and acquire a company. After discussion, it finally chose to acquire a Japanese animation company.

Jimei Society was the target that Qingyao Group ultimately chose, not because of its strength or its cheapness, but because Jimei Society had something Qingyao Group wanted. This thing didn't seem valuable to Jimei Society, but in the eyes of Qingyao Group, it was very valuable.

"$340 million, this is our company's final offer. I believe you all know how much you are worth. We come here with sincerity. And we have more options, not just your Jimei Society."

The Qingyao Group negotiator spoke seriously. They weren't under too much pressure. For them, while Jimeishe's offerings were valuable, they weren't absolutely essential. Their primary goal was to acquire a Japanese animation company and lay the foundation for their Marvel Universe project.