Chapter 799: Men Become Bad When They Have Money
After New Year's Day, the box office of "Party A and Party B" continued to soar.
On January 7, the second week box office results of "Party A and Party B" were updated again.
23.8 million, and the cumulative box office reached 40.3 million in two weeks after its release. This figure has exceeded the performance of the later "Party A and Party B".
The quality of "Party A and Party B" has not changed at all compared to later generations. The reason for the significant increase in box office is entirely due to the increase in the scale of screening.
The later film "Party A and Party B" was released in 1999. It only obtained the screening rights in a dozen major cities across the country and finally achieved a box office revenue of 36 million.
But this time, "Party A and Party B" was released two years in advance and in more than 30 cities across the country. It was not surprising that it achieved a box office figure of 40.3 million in just two weeks.
Of course, this number is quite shocking for the current Chinese film industry.
Affected by piracy, the box office revenue of most domestic films released today is concentrated in the first three weeks, and the box office drops sharply after three weeks.
The same is true for "Party A and Party B". Two weeks after its release, pirated videotapes and VCDs are already available for purchase at many pirated movie booths.
But even so, according to the current box office trend of "Party A and Party B", the total box office is very likely to exceed 60 million, which is the best result achieved by domestic films in the past two years.
The emergence of "Party A and Party B" not only created the concept of the Lunar New Year holiday for the Chinese film industry, but also made director Feng Xiaogang the most watched name in the Chinese film industry.
In the past two weeks, Feng Xiaogang has been walking with a floating posture. Although he has reminded himself many times, he still can't help feeling smug.
He slept in that morning and it was almost 11 o'clock when he came to his good dream.
Mr. Wang and Mr. Peng were chatting at the moment, with a hint of excitement on their faces.
"Hey, Director Feng is here!" Wang Shuo greeted him in a sarcastic tone.
Feng Xiaogang bared his teeth and said, "Master Shuo, you are such a joker. Don't you recognize me? I am Xiao Feng!"
Wang Shuo's frown finally relaxed. "Stop joking. There's something important going on!"
Feng Xiaogang's face turned serious when he heard this. "What's the matter?"
Wang Shuo said: "When Weimin invested in Party A and Party B last year, Weimin promised us that if the box office profit exceeded 50%, we would get dividends. Now the box office of the movie has exceeded 40 million..."
Wang Shuo’s words can be summed up in one word: money!
Feng Xiaogang hesitated and said, "The movie hasn't even been released yet, so it's not a good idea to ask for money now. What Teacher Lin promised us must be good."
"Of course I feel relieved for Weimin. But this is too much money. Wenhua is now led by Yu Dong, the squinty-eyed boy. I'm afraid if it's delayed for too long, there will be more trouble. Haiyan told me that they are now selling TV series, and some TV stations have begun to default on the balance."
After hearing what Wang Shuo said, Feng Xiaogang also started to feel nervous.
"Party A and Party B" was invested with 2 million yuan, and now the box office has exceeded 40 million yuan. It should be easy to get 60 million yuan in the end. They get the production share.
Assuming the final box office is 60 million, 10% of the 38% box office share, minus taxes, this is the money they can get. Feng Xiaogang's abacus beads were clacking in his mind.
At least 1.6 million.
As Feng Xiaogang thought of this number, he felt his breathing quicken.
Money can move people's hearts, but Feng Xiaogang and Wang Shuo are different. After all, Wang Shuo's novels sold well in the past few years and he has seen money, but he was born in a poor family.
Since he started working, the most money he has earned is the royalties from writing scripts for others. In the past, when he was a director, he had to beg others to do jobs for him, so he didn't dare to ask for money. He just took a salary.
After opening Good Dreams, the company did earn quite a bit of revenue, but it required a large investment and many social engagements, and the three of them were not good at running a business. Although the company was making money, Good Dreams always gave people a feeling of desolation as if it would close down tomorrow.
The box office dividends are given to the main creative team, which includes not only Feng Xiaogang and Wang Shuo. Everyone gets money according to their contribution, and there will always be one-tenth. But even if only one-tenth is given to him, it will be enough for him to work for half his lifetime.
Feng Xiaogang's heart was pounding, his mouth was dry, "Master Shuo, let's contact Teacher Lin."
"Don't worry, it's not appropriate to go to Teacher Lin right away. Wenhua is managed by Yu Dong now, so you should talk to him first. If it doesn't work, then communicate with Teacher Lin." Peng Xiaolin suggested.
Wang Shuo nodded, "Xiao Lin is right."
The three of them made a plan and were very excited. They were just about to call Wenhua Film and Television to find out the truth, but they didn't expect Yu Dong to come to their door first.
"Hey, this is Mr. Yu, how come you have time to come here?"
When they saw Yu Dong, the three of them greeted him with smiles. Now this is their God of Wealth!
Yu Dong smiled, "I'm here to comfort you heroes!"
His words made Wang Shuo and the others feel good. Wang Shuo looked at the people following behind Yu Dong. He asked, "Just to express his condolences, why did you bring them here? Are you going to treat us to a meal?"
"Come, come, please take a seat! Xiaolin, pour the tea." Wang Shuo said enthusiastically.
Yu Dong waved his hand and said, "I won't drink the tea."
He didn't let Wang Shuo guess any more, and continued with a smile: "The movie has been released for two weeks, and the box office has exceeded 40 million. I talked to Teacher Lin and came here today to confirm the box office dividends I promised you."
Upon hearing this, Wang Shuo could no longer maintain his politeness and an expression of inexplicable surprise appeared on his face. Feng Xiaogang and Peng Xiaolin were even more amused and their teeth were already laughing.
"Mr. Yu, isn't the movie still in theaters?" Feng Xiaogang said.
Yu Dong said generously: "The overall situation has been decided, it won't be a problem."
He waved his hand, and Xiao Gong behind him stepped out and put the black leather suitcase in his hand on the coffee table in the office.
With a "click", Xiao Gong opened the button of the black leather suitcase, revealing countless piles of Mao Zedong's banknotes inside.
Time and space in the office seemed to come to a standstill in an instant. Wang Shuo, Feng Xiaogang, and Peng Xiaolin stared at the money in the suitcase. The huge impact not only made them speechless, but also made their expressions a little dull.
Yu Dong was very satisfied with the impact caused by this box of banknotes. His behavior became more and more calm and generous, and he learned Lin Weimin's demeanor and behavior from his usual observations tenfold.
"Hehe, here is 800,000. It is distributed according to your contribution ratio to the main creative team. The company directly settled the box office dividends for you based on the box office of 60 million. If there is more, there will be no refund, and if there is less, there will be compensation."
His words finally brought Wang Shuo back to his senses. Looking at Yu Dong's calm and indifferent expression, Wang Shuo felt inexplicably irritated.
Why does this character look so familiar?
Although he was thinking this in his mind, the expression on Wang Shuo's face was completely the opposite. He smiled and held Yu Dong's hand.
"Oh, Mr. Yu is really generous!"
Feng Xiaogang and Peng Xiaolin on the side also followed Wang Shuo's steps and flattered Yu Dong without any hesitation. Even though Yu Dong prided himself on being thick-skinned, he couldn't stand it anymore after hearing the end.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the money has been delivered. I think you should deposit it as soon as possible. After all, it is not safe to keep so much money outside." Yu Dong said.
Yu Dong brought a few people with him today, including cashier Sister Xu, clerk Xiao Gong, and two new employees from Wenhua Film and Television Distribution Department. With so much money, he wouldn't dare to bring it to Haomeng Company alone. If it's missing, lost, or robbed, whose money will it be?
"Yes, yes, what Mr. Yu said is correct."
Wang Shuo and his companions followed suit and took advantage of the opportunity brought by Yu Dong to run to the bank and deposit the money.
Wang Shuo did not deposit all of the 800,000 yuan, but kept 20,000 yuan instead.
"Have a good dream tonight, everyone stay here!"
No one understood what a good dream meant, but knowing that Chairman Wang was going to spend a lot of money today, they naturally responded enthusiastically.
That evening, at Maxim's Western Restaurant, Wang Shuo brought people from Good Dream Company, the cast of "Party A and Party B", and Mandarin Films to have dinner there, and the atmosphere was lively.
After dinner, many people were already drunk. Wang Shuo waved his hand, hailed several taxis, got in the car and said to the driver: "Let's go to Sheraton!"
The driver understood immediately.
Several taxis left, leaving behind a few female comrades who spat at the backs of the taxis as they drove away.
Pooh!
Men become bad when they have money!
The next morning, Yu Dong came to Wenhua Film and Television in high spirits. He had just sat in the office for a while when Wang Shuo and Feng Xiaogang arrived together.
As soon as they saw Yu Dong, they smiled brightly, "Mr. Yu, we're here to talk to you about the new movie!"
Yu Dong's face was full of joy. Why did he take a box of money and run to Haomeng yesterday? Wasn't it to win people's hearts?
When he was on a business trip before, he heard from others that the coal bosses in Shanxi liked to use suitcases filled with money to hit people. He tried it yesterday and the effect was surprisingly good. It seems that this trick can be used frequently in the future.
"That's great. I also want to talk to you about the new movie!"
While Wenhua Film and Television and Haomeng Company were ecstatic about the success of "Party A and Party B", Haiyan was reporting to Lin Weimin in his office about the ratings of "Season of Flowers and Rain".
On January 1, the TV series "The Season of Flowers and Rain" officially landed on CCTV-1 during prime time.
From the announcement of the adaptation at the Cloth Tiger press conference in March at the beginning of the year, to the nationwide auditions for actors, and then to the production and broadcast, over the past six months, Wencheng Film and Television and Haiyan have poured a lot of money and effort into this TV series. The six-month-long promotion also borne fruit on this day.
On the first day of its broadcast, the ratings of "Season of Flowers and Rain" exceeded 20%.
In the following week, the ratings of "Season of Youth" soared and easily broke through the 40% mark.
Nowadays, it is different from the past. It is difficult for TV dramas to achieve the terrifying viewership rates of 80 or 90 percent as before. As soon as "Season of Flowers and Rain" was aired, it was like the arrival of a king and almost secured the title of CCTV's annual viewership champion in 1996.
"The TV series has only been aired for half of the time, and the ratings still have room to rise. Maybe it can reach the 50% mark."
When Haiyan said this, his expression became somewhat excited.
In recent years, people's entertainment options have become more and more diverse, and it is becoming increasingly unrealistic for TV dramas to get high ratings as soon as they are broadcast as before. The fact that "Season of Flowers and Rain" has achieved such dazzling results is a huge success for Wen Cheng.
"Well, you did a great job. By the way, what is the audience's feedback on this TV series?"
Haiyan was even more excited after hearing this. "Great, very good! This novel itself has a strong mass base, and coupled with our vigorous promotion over the past six months, the people are very interested in this TV series. I asked someone to collect information from several local TV newspapers. I wouldn't say it's all positive reviews, but there are almost no criticisms."
"Season of Flowers and Rain" carries a lot of hard work from Wencheng Film and Television. It has ample production funds, the plot is highly restored to the original, the casting is very suitable for the characters, and they are all handsome men and beautiful women. Although idol dramas were not popular at that time, everyone has a love for beauty, and when the audience sees the young actors on TV, they always have a preconceived good impression of them.
The combination of many factors destined the success of "Flower Season and Rainy Season".
The TV series has been aired for just over a week now. Although the ratings are high and it has been reported in news from all over the country, the real whirlwind has not yet started. Haiyan has recently been communicating with local TV stations regarding the copyright for the second round of broadcasting.
Wencheng Film and Television positioned "Season of Flowers and Rain" as the first youth idol drama in China. The finished TV series lived up to the title and now it has created such brilliant ratings. Haiyan is full of ambitions in terms of copyright fees.
The purchasing fee that CCTV paid to Wencheng Film and Television was 200,000 per episode. The copyright fee for the first round of broadcast of "Season of Flowers and Rain" with 30 episodes was 6 million.
The production cost of "Season of Flowers and Rain" was 3 million yuan, and Wencheng Film and Television subsequently invested another 1 million yuan in publicity costs, but the first round of broadcasts alone made them 2 million yuan.
"We will still sell the copyrights in a package this time, with 5 million for satellite TV, 3 million for provincial TV stations that are not on satellite, and 1 million for city-level TV stations."
Haiyan told Lin Weimin the price he had set for the second round of copyright for "Flower Season and Rainy Season". Lin Weimin raised his eyebrows and asked, "Aren't you afraid that those TV stations will poke you in the back?"
Haiyan laughed and said, "The more they scold me, the happier I am. I like to see them buy something even after scolding me."
"You, keep a low profile!" Lin Weimin warned.
Haiyan restrained his smile, "I'm just telling you this. How dare I be so arrogant in front of them? After all, they are our customers."
After that, he said seriously: "I have good news to report to you. The second round copyrights of six provincial TV stations and municipalities including Hunan, Pengcheng, Guangzhou, and Shanghai have been sold!"
Hearing this, Lin Weimin finally showed a surprised expression, "So fast?"
(End of this chapter)
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