Besides Asian countries, North America is also very receptive to Lao Qi's films. Hua Lai has no experience in dealing with Hollywood studios yet, and is currently negotiating with them to try and get a good price for Lao Qi.
With Lao Qi being so popular, Chu Yu hopes he can go even further this year. In addition to arranging for him to act in a blockbuster directed by Wan Dao, he also invites Lao Qi to participate in the investment.
They even gave Lao Qi a 10% share of the overseas revenue.
The seventh brother has a big name, but Hua Lai doesn't have its own cinemas. This means that all of Hua Lai's films need to cooperate with cinemas to get screen time and good screenings.
In this way, cinemas also have their own publicity and screening costs. It is estimated that Hua Lai can get about a quarter of the profits from the annual box office. If Lao Qi can earn 20 million for a movie, Hua Lai can get 5 million.
Hua Lai is a large film company with several directors, each releasing six or seven films a year. This year, Hua Lai is expected to release 30 films, making it a truly large company.
Chu Yu had experience from her previous life and roughly knew which movies were famous, but famous movies were not necessarily good at the box office. She was unsure about the box office performance, so she could only instruct her company employees to take all movies more seriously.
If you can't afford to make bad movies, it's better not to make them at all than to follow the trend.
This year, martial arts films have been very popular, and several directors are developing their own IPs, such as Wong Fei-hung, Chen Zhen, and Fong Sai-yuk. They have also bought the rights to several martial arts films. The films they have made are indeed good, but there are obvious signs of fatigue.
Chu Yu pondered that if the martial arts film was to be made for another year, Hua Lai would reduce its investment in martial arts films in the next year or two, in order to make room for other films.
Chu Yu took some time to meet with Zhong Buyi. Zhong Buyi hadn't seen Chu Yu in a long time. On the day of Chu Yu's wedding, he rushed back to attend the wedding, but the two only met briefly and didn't have time to exchange words before he returned to the film crew to continue filming.
"Are you adjusting well after getting married? Will it affect your work?" Zhong Buyi asked.
Chu Yu shook her head, "It doesn't affect anything, otherwise I wouldn't have time to come to Hong Kong."
The two had worked together for many years, and Chu Yu had been grateful to Zhong Buyi for his mentorship. Zhong Buyi, at a young age, had made dozens of films and made great contributions to Hua Lai. However, Chu Yu knew that once someone became famous, they would be entitled to go solo. The reason he didn't go solo was because of his good relationship with Chu Yu.
If Zhong Buyi decides to leave Hualai and start his own studio one day, Chu Yu won't be able to stop him. It would be better for her to take the initiative to propose it.
"Set up a studio?"
"Yes, you're a well-known director now, and I think it's time for you to go solo. If you set up your own studio, you'll get a larger share, and we'll still have a cooperative relationship. It's a win-win situation, and that's how the relationship will last longer."
Zhong Buyi understood what she meant. Many directors in Hong Kong have their own studios and can find an investor to cooperate with to attract investment, bearing their own profits and losses. The cooperation model proposed by Chu Yu could save Zhong Buyi from having to worry about more things.
He was certainly tempted, but he never thought of leaving Hualai. Even if Chu Yu didn't increase his share, given Chu Yu's kindness in recognizing his talent, Zhong Buyi was still willing to work like a slave for Hualai.
Chu Yu understood what he meant, but people always strive for higher positions. Zhong Buyi is now a well-known director, and every film he makes is a box office hit. No matter how powerful Hua Lai is, he can't treat him like a new director.
Sooner or later, they would have to split up. Now that the studio is under Hua Lai's name, Hua Lai can benefit from the fame and Zhong Buyi can also make money through investment. Everyone can make money without any problems. Isn't that a win-win situation?
"I've seriously considered having you set up your own studio. Once you have your own studio, you'll have complete control over what kind of films you want to make. Our investment department won't interfere. In addition, your own investment will increase, and if the films make money, you'll earn even more."
Of course, if the movie loses money, he will also lose money; that's for sure.
However, Zhong Buyi will have more say. The art film he wrote before received good reviews after its release, but unfortunately, the box office was only so-so, and it barely broke even in the end.
But Zhong Buyi is so famous that he no longer cares about money. Sometimes he is willing to spend time and energy to film things he wants to film.
He doesn't care whether he makes money or not.
But if he stays in Hualai, he won't have this autonomy. It's good to let him make his own decisions.
Zhong Buyi smiled. Every step Chu Yu took was beyond his expectations. In fact, Hua Lai releases more than 30 movies a year. Even if every movie is a box office hit, Hua Lai can only make tens of millions, less than 100 million in profit a year, based on a 25% box office profit margin.
This is nothing compared to Chu Yu's real estate business in the South China Sea!
But Chu Yu still takes every one of Hua Lai's films seriously.
“If the market opens up, Hollywood blockbusters will soon be entering China.” Chu Yu poured Zhong Buyi a glass of water. “As Chinese filmmakers, we have to do something for this country’s market.”
Zhong Buyi was quite optimistic, "Hollywood blockbusters, how big does it have to be to be considered a blockbuster?"
"They always film big scenes with dinosaurs, car chases, and shipwrecks. Tell me, if you were a viewer, wouldn't you be tempted by these Hollywood special effects?"
Zhong Buyi fell silent. Chu Yu tossed him a notebook. "I heard there's a novel about dinosaurs abroad that's been quite popular. Hollywood studios want to buy the rights to make a movie out of it. Go buy the rights to this novel. If you want to make it, make it yourself; if you don't want to, resell it to Hollywood."
Zhong Buyi was stunned for a moment. The movie's title sounded like a blockbuster. He had never imagined that a movie could be set in the Jurassic era, telling the story of dinosaurs and humans.
Zhong Buyi nodded. "I'll have someone contact them right away."
Chu Yu said, "Our Chinese film industry needs to find a way out. This year, martial arts films seem to be sluggish. I plan to find a way out on our own. Starting next year, our company will make more nonsensical comedy films."
Lighthearted romantic comedies are also easy to win over audiences. These films have short shooting times, low budgets, small scenes, and no dangerous stunts, yet they are likely to achieve good box office results.
Zhong Buyi has never made this kind of movie before and wants to give it a try, but there aren't many screenwriters who can write good nonsensical movies; some things are a matter of chance.
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