"Xu Lu, congratulations! Not only did your film become a box office hit, but you also created a new film genre. It's truly amazing!"
On the other end of the phone was Mr. Yang's congratulations.
Xu Lu smiled and said, "It's nothing, just a niche film. It didn't make much money, just enough to pay the company's employees' salaries."
"Tch, you're being too modest. You're using eight or nine hundred million to pay salaries?"
Mr. Yang was speechless.
But when I think about how the other party's kung fu films grossed 5 billion dollars and the three Iron Man movies grossed nearly 2 billion dollars, I realize that...
The current value of Mr. Zombie is only around 800 or 900 million, which is really nothing for Daxu Culture.
Of course, if this data were given to a small film and television company, they would probably be overjoyed.
Thinking about this, Mr. Yang felt a little sentimental.
In less than two years, Daxu Culture has grown from a startup to a company comparable to her own, Xia Lifei Film & Television.
Moreover, she had witnessed all of this grow up, so one can imagine how much progress the other person had made.
The two chatted for a few more minutes before hanging up the phone.
However, Mr. Yang received news that afternoon that Xia Lifei Films had also launched a zombie movie project.
Upon hearing this news, she was stunned and also felt somewhat embarrassed.
After all, Xu Lu was sidelined by Xia Lifeng Film and Television before he switched jobs and started his own business.
Now Xia Lifei wants to film a zombie movie that someone else pioneered. If word gets out, people in the industry will definitely laugh at him.
"Now I'm almost embarrassed to talk to Xu Lu. After all, I'm also a shareholder of Xia Lifei, and the company is using his idea. It's really..."
Surprised, Mr. Yang immediately went to the company's senior management to explain the matter.
Coincidentally, in addition to several senior executives, Xiong Tang, the general manager, was also present.
After hearing Mr. Yang's explanation, Xiong Tang immediately laughed and said:
"Mr. Yang, what you're saying doesn't make sense. There are so many people making zombie movies out there, why can't Xia Lifei make one?"
Oh, just because that zombie movie was made popular by that kid named Xu Lu, we can't make our own?
I know that General Manager Yang has a good relationship with that kid surnamed Xu, which is why I feel guilty, but the company is all about efficiency.
It's obvious that zombie movies are profitable now. It would be ridiculous for a company to ignore a lucrative opportunity and worry about saving face.
"Yes, Mr. Yang, even if we don't make it, someone else will. There are at least 30 to 50 companies that have started 'zombie movies' projects."
Everyone's making them, everyone knows this type of film has huge potential, it's still an untapped goldmine, whoever gets in first will make money..."
Mr. Yang couldn't find a reason to refute these people's arguments.
Although she is one of Xia Lifei's shareholders, she does not have much say and naturally cannot influence the decisions of other senior executives in the company.
Now that the company's shareholders see the zombie movie market booming, they think this type of film can make money, so of course they don't care about reputation.
What is reputation worth to them?
"Sigh, look at the mess this has made. Oh well, let's just tell Reba to tell Xu Lu this news!"
After a long silence, Boss Yang finally chose a roundabout way to achieve her goal, because she felt she simply couldn't bring herself to ask.
On the other side, Dilraba, upon hearing the news, was also astonished, her mouth agape, and she said angrily:
"How could they do this? They have no shame at all. When they hid Xu Lu away, they probably never imagined this day would come."
Now that they see Xu Lu's zombie movies are making a fortune at the box office, they're all eagerly following suit and making their own zombie movies. These people are shameless! Honey, can't you say something about these people...?
Mr. Yang sighed and said:
"Alright, alright, there's no use in scolding. The company sees that zombie movies can make money, so they won't care about any of this. Besides, you're overestimating my abilities."
Although I became a shareholder because I filmed several TV series, it was only because the company felt I had value...
Alright, Dilraba, if you have time, tell Xu Lu about this. Tell him I'm also very sorry, but there's nothing I can do about it. Sigh, I really am powerless!
Dilraba hung up the call with Boss Yang and immediately contacted Xu Lu, indignantly recounting Xia Lifei Film and Television's decision.
And she said angrily, "Xu Lu, don't you think these people are shameless?"
Hearing this, Xu Lu smiled and said:
"What's so shameless about this? It's nothing. I've seen far more shameless people before, so I'm not surprised at all."
Hearing that Xu Lu wasn't very angry, Reba breathed a sigh of relief, then suddenly remembered something and said:
"By the way, Sister Mi said she was very sorry about this, but there was nothing she could do. She asked me to tell you that she was probably too embarrassed to call you."
"It's alright. There are so many companies making zombie movies these days, it doesn't matter if Xia Lifeng makes one more. Besides, not just anyone can make a movie that becomes a hit."
Xu Lu smiled and said this.
He didn't really take Xia Lifei's involvement in making a zombie movie seriously.
On the one hand, it is also based on the judgment of the facts. When a new type of film is born, anyone can make it.
Although Xia Lifei's behavior is somewhat despicable, he ultimately did not break the law, and he simply doesn't care about verbal condemnation.
Another aspect is what he just told Dilraba: anyone can make a movie, but whether it makes money or becomes a hit is another matter entirely.
In the current film and television industry, it's probably impossible to find another company besides Daxu Culture that makes a fortune from every single film.
Here's another set of big data: nearly 600 movies are released in China every year, but less than 30 of them are profitable.
In other words, only one in twenty of all films released make money, not to mention the percentage that makes a lot of money, which is obviously even lower.
So many people are diving headfirst into the zombie movie genre this time. Assuming there are a hundred zombie movies released, less than five will be able to make money.
With the added bonus of new genres, he could make money with ten of them.
Unfortunately, Da Xu Culture's next two zombie films, 'Mr. Ghost' and 'The Demon-Slaying Landscape', will definitely be among the ten films that will make money.
That leaves only eight films for over ninety other companies to compete for.
Xu Lu didn't believe that the films produced by Xia Lifei Films would necessarily be among the remaining eight profitable ones.
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