After receiving Gu Wei's verbal promise, Chen Hongtao felt much more at ease and continued to report the company's financial report for the past January.
Due to the Spring Festival period, the company's total revenue from cinemas in January this year reached 2.14 billion yuan, a record high in the past three years.
It has reached 96.8% of the revenue in the same period of 2019."
Hearing this, Gu Wei raised his eyebrows and was not surprised.
After three years of the epidemic, the film and television winter is real. It is already very good that Wanda Film has been able to survive and gradually catch up with its performance before the epidemic.
"The company's cinema chains account for approximately 15.6% of the country's total screen count, but their share of box office revenue in January reached 23.7%.
This is mainly because most of the company's cinemas are located in busy areas, with high customer flow and high attendance rates.
The equipment is new, with a large number of laser theaters, giant screen theaters, Dolby theaters, and IMAX theaters, and the ticket prices are higher than those of ordinary theaters."
Hearing this, Gu Wei interrupted him: "How did the company arrange the screening schedule for these movies released during the Spring Festival?"
"This year, six movies were released during the Spring Festival, with The River Red and The Wandering Earth 2 being the most popular. The company allocated most of its screenings to these two movies, accounting for about 70%.
The remaining 30% is given to [Nameless], [Boonie Bears], [Deep Sea] and [Exchange Lives].
Judging from the box office results of the first week of the just-concluded Spring Festival period, there is nothing wrong with the company's decision.
"Man Jiang Hong" currently has a box office of 2.6 billion yuan, "The Wandering Earth 2" has 2.16 billion yuan, and the other four movies are all below 1 billion yuan.
This week we plan to further reduce the screening schedule for the last four films, especially the worst-performing ones, "Deep Sea" and "Swap Life," and allocate more screenings to "Red River" and "The Wandering Earth 2."
There is nothing wrong with what Chen Hongtao said. This has always been the logic behind theater scheduling.
The more popular a film is, the more screenings the cinema will give it. If the film has good data, the cinema will give it more screenings, and if the film has poor data, the cinema will also take away the original screenings.
The fundamental purpose of cinema scheduling is to attract more audiences and make more money. This is the reality.
"What is the current national screening share of "Man Jiang Hong" and "The Wandering Earth 2"?"
Chen Hongtao thought for a moment and said, "As of today, The Wandering Earth 2's national screening share is 26%, and Red River is 33%, which is in line with their current box office trends.
The company's film scheduling ratio is basically consistent with the overall ratio.
Both films are highly anticipated big productions. Relatively speaking, The Wandering Earth 2 has a better reputation, but Red River has been more actively promoted. Also, because it's a comedy, the subject matter has some advantages during the Chinese New Year period."
Gu Wei nodded slightly and tapped the table with his fingers: "Well done.
However, I think that as a cinema chain and a terminal for film screening, an important link in the industry, we need to shoulder certain responsibilities and missions.
It's not just about revenue and performance, there's more to consider.
For example, some films with excellent quality and special status and significance in domestic film history can be given more resources to support them."
Before he finished speaking, Chen Hongtao glanced at Gu Wei and immediately reacted, saying, "Boss Gu has considered everything.
I had the same idea originally.
As a landmark masterpiece in domestic science fiction films, The Wandering Earth deserves more support!
Originally, Wanda Films had no investment in these two popular movies during this year's Spring Festival. It was simply a theater chain, and it would show more of the movie with high attendance, high popularity, and the ability to make money.
However, he remembered that his new chairman seemed to be the main producer of "The Wandering Earth", so this made a distinction between close and distant relatives.
".I'll arrange it later and transfer some of the screenings of 'Man Jiang Hong' next week to 'The Wandering Earth 2'!"
Speaking of this, Chen Hongtao thought of something and frowned slightly: "But it may not be adjusted too much.
These blockbuster films have already signed a scheduling agreement with the company before they are released, and if we go too far, we risk violating the contract."
Gu Wei didn't say anything either, but crossed his fingers in front of him.
The quiet environment put a lot of pressure on Chen Hongtao, and he had an idea.
“Actually, there is no other way.
The screening ratio cannot be adjusted too much, but you can also make adjustments to the time and showtime.
I will arrange for the cinema to allocate as much of the daily prime time as possible to "The Wandering Earth 2", and the remaining time to "Man Jiang Hong".
This does not violate the contract and can still achieve the desired effect.
It will definitely help [The Wandering Earth 2] achieve better results!"
Hearing this, Gu Wei finally laughed: "Very good, Mr. Chen, let's do it according to your idea."
To be honest, Gu Wei's actions seem to be both a contestant and a referee, which feels a bit unfair.
But this is the reality of business competition. People will do anything to achieve their own interests, as long as it is within the scope of the law.
The United States prohibits film production companies from investing in theater operations in order to prevent monopoly and ensure market competition.
But there is no such regulation in China. Gu Wei spent 4.5 billion to acquire the cinema chain, and the money cannot be wasted.
It doesn't matter who you schedule the film for. For the price of a movie ticket for "The Wandering Earth 2", both the cinema chain and the producer make money, so of course they will favor their own people.
As to whether this will affect the revenue of Wanda Films.
What he promoted was not some unprofitable bad movie, but a top domestic science fiction movie like "The Wandering Earth 2". If it was scheduled for screening, the audience would still buy tickets to watch it.
Moreover, no matter from what angle he considers it, Gu Wei does not want "The Wandering Earth 2" to lose to "Man Jiang Hong" in the end.
One is a masterpiece of domestic science fiction films with an investment of 600 million yuan and 4 years of preparation, and the other is a fast-food comedy with a small investment and supported by star traffic. If "The Wandering Earth 2" loses, it will be a blow to all those who are interested in big-budget science fiction movies.
To put it more seriously, it will have a very serious adverse impact on the future development of domestic films.
This is not an exaggeration.
If "The Wandering Earth 2" loses, many film companies and investors will think that there is no point in spending so much money and time. It would be better to find more stars and hire a big director to shoot a comedy in a short time.
Chinese films need comedies, but if one day there are only comedies left, then it’s over.
A little later, Gu Wei accepted another interview arranged by the team.
The main purpose is to respond to the acquisition of Wanda Films in recent days.
The reporters asked many questions about the equity acquisition, and Gu Wei responded normally. Finally, a reporter asked a question off topic, asking which of the movies in this year's Spring Festival schedule Gu Wei was most optimistic about?
"Of course it's [The Wandering Earth 2], I'm "Liu Qi"!" Gu Wei joked.
"Before the movie was released, I had promoted The Wandering Earth 2 on platforms like Weibo and TikTok. I believe in Guo Fan, the production team of The Wandering Earth, as well as Brother Jing and Brother Hua.
After the movie was released, I booked a private theater to show my support.
I can only say that Director Guo’s films are getting better and better, and the actors’ performances are also very outstanding.
"The Wandering Earth 2" is worth going to the cinema for, and I hope that domestic science fiction films will get better and better!"
In the new week, after finishing his work in Beijing, Gu Weifei returned to the Hainan crew to continue filming, but the issue of Wanda Films changing its ownership continued to ferment.
On the day Gu Wei was interviewed, he also promoted "The Wandering Earth 2" on his personal accounts on platforms such as Weibo and Douyin.
Taking advantage of the popularity of his entry into Wanda Film, coupled with the increase in the screening schedule of "The Wandering Earth 2" this week.
On Monday, "The Wandering Earth 2" took 189 million yuan at the box office, surpassing "Red River"'s 125 million yuan, becoming the national box office champion of the day.
In the following week, "The Wandering Earth 2" continued to maintain its strong performance, and its total box office exceeded "Red River" and reached 3.46 billion yuan after 14 days of release.
The box office trends of the two most popular movies in this year's Spring Festival are now basically clear. If nothing unexpected happens, "The Wandering Earth 2" will be the champion of this year's Spring Festival.
This is somewhat different from the original time and space. Originally, "Man Jiang Hong" had a slight victory over "The Wandering Earth 2". Due to Gu Wei's intervention, the box office of "Man Jiang Hong" and "The Wandering Earth 2" is almost the same.
This incident shows how important scheduling and promotion are to a movie's box office.
".What's there to thank me for? I'm also a producer of the film. If it's a hit at the box office, I'll make money. Isn't it normal for you to help promote it?
The increase in screenings is because our films are good and have high attendance rates.”
In the crew's rest area, Gu Wei hung up the thank-you call from Guo Fan.
Meng Ziyi, who was sitting nearby, heard him on the phone and asked curiously, "Is that Director Guo Fan?"
Gu Wei nodded.
"In the past two weeks, both 'The Wandering Earth 2' and 'Red River' have been very popular. It's not just about the movies and the box office. There's been a lot of discussion online lately about how 'The Wandering Earth 2' initially lagged behind and then overtook the box office."
Gu Wei put down his phone, picked up the cup and took a sip of water: "What did you say?"
"Well, many netizens say that because you bought Wanda Film, you favored your own production, The Wandering Earth 2, in terms of screening schedules, which is why we have the current situation."
Gu Wei nodded slightly: "Yes, so what? Isn't this what should be done?"
Meng Ziyi didn't expect Gu Wei to admit it so quickly. Shouldn't things like this be done in private but always appear respectable?
She suddenly thought of something: "I just saw a news report that Dong Ping, Chairman of Huanxi Media and producer of Man Jiang Hong, complained in an interview that some industry tycoons are both film producers and cinema chains, which has led to a skewed schedule for film screenings.
He also cited the example of the American film and television industry where producers and theaters cannot have both, saying that doing so would be suspected of monopoly.
Netizens say he is playing tricks on you."
Gu Wei laughed: "[Huanxi Media] can't even clean their own ass, and Dong Ping still has the nerve to play tricks on me.
No matter what I do, it is within the scope of laws and regulations and even the industry's unspoken rules.
Didn’t I think I didn’t know the little tricks they used in the first week to promote “Man Jiang Hong”?
Ghost theaters, stealing box office, ordinary audiences don't know, so how could I not know?
Meng Ziyi nodded angrily: “Then they are really terrible!
What do you think the box office of "The Wandering Earth 2" will be? Will it surpass the first one?"
Gu Wei thought for a moment and said, "Probably not. According to the current box office trend, the final figure may be between 4 and 5 billion.
To be honest, the plot of the second part is not as appealing as the first part, and after watching the first part, the audience did not feel as amazed when watching the second part. "
“I think the most important thing is that you are not in the second part.
If you could act like this, it would instantly crush "Man Jiang Hong" and be a box office hit!" Meng Ziyi said cleverly with her big, watery eyes.
Gu Wei smiled.
"I haven't seen The Wandering Earth 2 yet. There's no night show tonight. How about we go watch it together in the evening?" Meng Ziyi invited.
"Not today. Liu Shishi has her last scene this afternoon, and we have to hold a wrap-up party for her tonight~"
Meng Ziyi felt a little disappointed.
However, she thought that she only had a few days of filming left and it would be soon to be completed.
Looking at Gu Wei beside me, I felt that time was passing too quickly, and I was even more reluctant to leave. (End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
