China Entertainment’s rescue plan is hard to come by

Chapter 875 The General Administration intervenes, and the great battle is finally over [Part 2]

Beijing Film Bureau.

At this moment, rows of interview vehicles were parked on both sides of the gate, and reporters from various media outlets and websites were waiting there.

"Was that Mr. Chen's car from Wanda just now?"

"Yes, that's right. I interviewed him before, and he was followed by Dadi."

"Old Wang, do you think the two sides will be able to reach a conclusion today?"

"That's hard to say. Theaters have always been powerful, and even with the Film Bureau's intervention, they can't force them to do anything. However, this time the production alliance is quite ruthless, especially Sun Yi, who pulled this surprise screening stunt—nobody expected it."

"Haha, preview screenings? I've never seen such a large-scale preview screening in 100 cities, and they even deliberately excluded the theater chains. Even a fool can see through it."

"He's playing a perfectly legitimate game. Even if you see through it, what can you do? He's acting legally and compliantly."

"Look, here it comes, here it comes, the Starry Sky vehicle has arrived."

Photographers snapped photos of the car driving into the Film Bureau gate.

Not only the starry sky, but as if by prior arrangement, cars from China Film Group, Enlight Media, Bona Film Group, Xiao Ma Film Studio, and even Huayi Brothers all arrived together.

In the parking lot, Wang Zhonglei sat in his car with a sullen expression, too embarrassed to get out and greet the bosses for a long time.

Although businessmen have long since developed a thick skin, Sun Yi's slap in the face this time was still a bit too harsh, as if he had unlocked a penetrating skill.

But there was no way around it; the Film Bureau had summoned us for a meeting, and we couldn't refuse to get out of the car.

"Hey, isn't this our CEO Wang? Not busy today?"

Li Ming, riding a galloping horse, seemed to be waiting specifically for him, so he didn't go up.

If you don't believe me, you won't come out today.

"Oh, Mr. Li, the General Administration invited me for a meeting. No matter how busy I am, I have to come."

"It's not that bad. If you're really too busy, you can ask for leave. I believe the leaders of the General Administration will understand."

Wang Zhonglei's expression changed slightly. These words made it seem as if he shouldn't have come today.

However, I still have to endure it.

Sun Yi didn't even glance at him among the group. After exchanging pleasantries with Chairman Han, he entered the elevator.

Wang Zhonglei very conscientiously waited for the next bus.

Executive meeting hall.

On either side of the long table, the production alliance and the theater chains were clearly separated.

On the left is the production alliance, with Chairman Han sitting at the head and Sun Yi next. At this moment, he is calmly looking at the group of theater representatives opposite him.

Chen Hongtao, general manager of Wanda Cinemas, had a gloomy face and seemed not to see Sun Yi's gaze.

On the contrary, Zhang Yan of Jin Yi nodded to him in a friendly manner.

Sun Yi retaliated.

My mom always said that we should have proper manners.

Tong Gang sat at the head of the long table, looking at the two groups of people on his left and right, especially Sun Yi to his left.

Although he knew they were going to negotiate revenue sharing with the theater chains and had acquiesced, he never expected that in less than a month, Sun Yi would force the theater chains to use their connections to plead with the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television to intervene.

In the face of this situation, it is actually what the General Administration hopes for, so that as an authorized department, it can play a balancing and arbitrating role.

"Alright, now that both sides are here, let's have a chat."

Tong Gang coughed lightly and spoke first, while looking at Chen Hongtao.

It means that you sued the parents first, so you should go first.

Chen Hongtao also knew the significance of this meeting. If their cinema chain hadn't been on the verge of collapse, they wouldn't have been able to plead with the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television to make the decision.

"Director Tong, as you know, all the cinemas in our country are located in key business districts. Land prices and rents change every month, and costs are rising like they're flying off the plane."

“In the past, our box office was not high and we didn’t have enough cinemas. The State Administration of Radio, Film and Television called on us to endure hardship first and then enjoy the rewards later, to develop cinemas first, lay a solid foundation, and provide fertile ground for the prosperity of the film industry. We did as they said, and now the domestic box office has grown and it’s time to bear fruit. But it’s only been a few years, and the production alliance wants to increase the revenue share!”

"We haven't even recouped the cost of building the cinema yet," Chen Hongtao said excitedly, tapping the table with his knuckles. "We can't forget those who dug the well when we drink the water; we can't just turn around and abandon them after we've given our all."

"Yes, Mr. Chen makes a lot of sense. Our box office success today is largely thanks to your theater chain." Tong Gang nodded in agreement.

It must be said that Chen Hongtao's approach was excellent. Just like industrial parks in China, they must complete the "three connections and one leveling" (water, electricity, road access, and land leveling) before they can attract investment.

The prosperity of China's film market is inseparable from the construction of cinemas by cinema chains.

Tong Gang turned to look at Sun Yi.

The latter nodded slightly and then took out a document.

He had long anticipated that the theaters would use this opportunity to elicit sympathy.

"Mr. Chen, I have some data here, but I'm not sure if it's accurate?"

"Currently, Wanda Pictures is the largest cinema chain in China, with a total of 866 screens. According to the financial report of the listed company, your cinema chain revenue reached 27.8 billion yuan in 11, leading the second-ranked China Film Stellar Cinemas by 8 million yuan, and 10 million yuan in 6."

"Among the production companies here, let alone 27.8 billion, there are very few that can even reach an annual income of 6 million."

That's because we have strong profitability.

Chen Hongtao was about to retort, but Sun Yi didn't give him the chance.

"Mr. Chen, our request for profit sharing this time is not to rob the rich to help the poor, but to balance the development of the industry."

"From a global perspective, Hollywood is very biased towards film studios, and even in Russia it's about 50/50. As the film industry develops to a certain stage, it will definitely shift towards content providers."

“We haven’t even asked for a tilt, not even a 50/50 split, just a 2-point increase.”

After Sun Yi finished speaking, he looked at him with a smile.

Chen Hongtao was speechless for a moment.

“Mr. Sun is right. From a global perspective, the film industry does indeed prioritize content providers.” Director Tong Gang smoothed things over and then looked at Chen Hongtao. “Mr. Chen, how about your theater chain agrees to these two points?”

"Director Tong, we also have our difficulties. For a movie, the production company takes a sum of money, finishes production, and just waits for the release. No matter how much the box office is, whether it's 100 million or 1 billion, their costs are still the same."

"And what about us? How many viewers do we serve for a movie that grosses 100 million? How many viewers do we serve for a movie that grosses 1 billion?"

"Our revenue share is high, but our costs in this area are also rising. There's depreciation of cinema equipment, staff costs, and the higher the box office, the higher our costs will be."

Chen Hongtao continued to explain the issue from the perspective of cost.

To be honest, his remarks were quite novel in perspective, and all the bigwigs in the production alliance were completely caught up in them.

It seems that what they said actually makes sense.

"Mr. Chen, something's not right." Seeing that the situation was not good, Sun Yi quickly raised his objection. "Your theory sounds reasonable at first glance, but the increased cost is not proportional to the extra profits brought by the increase in movie fans and audiences."

"If it were me, I'd love to see more of this so-called 'cost'."

Chen Hongtao's expression changed. In his excitement, he forgot that Sun Yi's Starry Sky also had a cinema business and knew exactly how cinemas made money.

The film's box office revenue accounts for at most half, while the other half comes entirely from the audience attracted by the film.

The two exchanged blows, and overall, Sun Yi's side had the upper hand.

"Alright, alright, one of you disagrees, and the other wants to add more. This conversation will go on forever," Director Tong Gang interrupted the two.

"The General Administration invited both of you to a meeting today, so we can't just leave without saying anything." "How about this, I'll offer a compromise."

"As for the profit sharing, we'll raise it to 45%, as suggested by Mr. Sun and the others."

"Ju Tong!"

Chen Hongtao couldn't sit still any longer; how could this have been decided so suddenly?

"Wait until I finish speaking." Tong Gang frowned slightly, raised his hand, and immediately stopped Chen Hongtao.

The latter could only shut his mouth in frustration.

"The bureau's intention is to provide your cinema chain with a certain amount of reward and subsidy." With that, Director Tong Gang instructed the meeting minutes staff to bring out several unsigned official documents and hand them to both parties, continuing:
"For cinemas where domestic films account for more than 50% of the box office revenue throughout the year, the State Administration of Radio and Television will refund 5% of their paid film special fund as a subsidy."

"Five points, that's more than double the two points you refused to budge on. How about that, are you okay with it now?"

The theater representatives looked at each other in bewilderment.

These conditions seem generous, but they are actually extremely difficult to achieve—the quality of domestic films varies greatly, and to support 50% of the box office share, it means that the scheduling and operation of domestic films must be significantly improved.

High-quality domestic films, in particular, must be promoted with great effort.

Otherwise, this subsidy is just a mirage, something you can see but can't actually receive.

Many representatives from the cinema chains looked up and glanced at Sun Yi.

When it comes to high-quality domestic films, they are basically inseparable from the theme of "Starry Sky".

If you want that 5% reward, you'll have to treat the starry sky like your father from now on.

Think of me, a prestigious cinema chain!

Mr. Sun, are you free tonight? How about we grab dinner? I know a few restaurants there that are really authentic.
Jin Yi's general manager, Zhou Yan, had already started fawning over Sun Yi.

Forget about Wanda, go play by yourself.

Chen Hongtao did not expect that in just a short period of time, the already wavering morale of the theater operators would completely collapse.

But he still wanted to struggle.

"Director Tong, aren't these conditions too harsh?"

"Is that too harsh?" Tong Gang's expression was calm, but his tone was somewhat intriguing. "Then why not just maintain the status quo and let the audience choose for themselves?"

"This"

Chen Hongtao was speechless. When he left home that morning, he saw movie fans protesting at the company entrance with signs that read "We want to see domestic science fiction" and "Reject the monopoly of cinemas".

He gave Sun Yi a deep look, gritted his teeth, and took out a pen.

The other theater representatives all stared intently at Chen Hongtao's pen, wishing they could write for him themselves.

Hurry up and sign it, everyone's waiting!
When the meeting ended, Director Tong Gang stopped Sun Yi a few steps behind, patted him on the shoulder, and asked, "So, are you satisfied with the result?"

"With Director Tong involved, they'll definitely be satisfied."

"No, no," Tong Gang waved his hand, "It's the concern of our superiors."

Speaking of leaders, Sun Yi recalled the scene two days ago when Director Tong Gang called him back to Beijing to meet with the Director-General.

The meeting was short, only about 20 minutes. The leader didn't say much, just some casual conversation. In the end, he said, "You are a promising young man. You should continue to contribute to the country's film industry in the future."

Director General, even Chairman Han isn't someone you can just see whenever you want; you have to make an appointment in advance.

"Mr. Sun, Mr. Sun, could you tell me about the outcome of this meeting?"

"Director Sun, has the revenue-sharing negotiation with the theater chains been reached this time?"

As soon as Sun Yi opened the door of the film bureau, he was surrounded by reporters who had been waiting for a long time.

"Please make way, everyone. Details of the meeting will be announced later."

"Mr. Sun, please tell us first." "Yes, Mr. Sun."

"Well, let's put it this way: from today onwards, the film industry is entering a new chapter."

After saying this, Sun Yi immediately got into the car, leaving the reporters, whose interest had been piqued but who had no answer, behind.

"Mr. Sun, Mr. Sun."

wipe!
Back on Xiaoyun Road, as soon as I opened the door, Liu Yifei came running out of the kitchen.

She had her hair tied in a ponytail, wore a cartoon apron, and was holding a small shovel. Her eyes were wide open, and she looked at him expectantly.

As Sun Yi took off his suit jacket, he peeked into the restaurant.

Oh, they've even prepared red wine.

Is this a victory celebration banquet?
Liu Yifei nimbly snatched the suit jacket, then continued to look at Sun Yi, her eyes already showing some anxiety.

Sun Yi didn't open his mouth, but looked at Liu Yifei with a smile.

Well~~~~
Liu Yifei wrinkled her nose and stomped her feet in frustration.

"Wow, it smells so good! What delicious food did you make, my dear wife? Did you burn the kitchen down?"

In the past, if Sun Yi had dared to tease Liu Tianxian like that, she would have definitely retaliated, and most likely with physical retaliation. But this time, she didn't. Instead, she stomped her feet anxiously and said, "Tell me quickly."

"What? I asked you what delicious food you're making?"

"If you don't tell me, you can forget about knowing or eating."

Liu Yifei pursed her lips and opened her arms, her expression conveying the message that if she didn't speak now, she wouldn't even be allowed inside.

Sun Yi goes left, Liu Tianxian goes left, Sun Yi goes right, and Liu Tianxian goes right.

They're on guard.

There was nothing Sun Yi could do; he couldn't fly, and he certainly didn't dare to engage in collisions.

"Okay, okay, stop fooling around. I haven't changed my clothes or washed my hands yet."

"What do you say!"

"Fine, fine, I'm scared of you."

Sun Yi raised his hands, making a four with one hand and a five with the other in front of Liu Tianxian.

Liu Tianxian's beautiful eyes widened in surprise, then suddenly widened, "You negotiated it? You succeeded?!?!"

"Yes." Sun Yi nodded affirmatively.

"Ah, honey, you're so amazing~" Liu Yifei was overjoyed, grinning from ear to ear as she jumped onto Sun Yi. "I knew it, we could win, honey, you're the best~"

As she spoke, she even offered a kiss.

The French style~~~
This emotional value made Sun Yi feel quite arrogant.

He grabbed Liu Tianxian's pert bottom and spun her around in a circle.

"Sisi, why do I feel a little wet on my back?"

"Oops, the shovel! There's oil on the shovel!"

"."

(End of this chapter)