hollywood melon man

Chapter 49: Dividing the Cake (please follow up)
  By the end of September, "Dead Man" has already grossed US$5274.6 million at the box office in North America, surpassing the performance of Gilbert Jr.'s "Shark Tank".

The most important thing is that the film is still in theaters and can continue to collect box office revenue.

At the same time, Disney arranged for the overseas release of the film in early September. As of the end of September, overseas box office had also won 3852.9 million US dollars, and the film's global box office total reached 9127.5 million US dollars.

It is certain that the film will gross over 100 million at the global box office. Little Gilbert has once again achieved remarkable results, and his name is once again resounding in Hollywood.

Tom Cruise's new movie has a global box office of over 100 million, so it's time to throw a party to celebrate.

Little Gilbert's two films in a row have grossed over 100 million, so it was natural to celebrate with great fanfare.

Touchstone Pictures had already arranged to hold a celebration banquet at the Hilton Hotel to celebrate the good results of the film.

But before that, the film first ushered in the first round of box office distribution.

Disney and theater chains have signed the most conventional account sharing agreement, which is the declining account sharing model.

Take "Death Comes" as an example. Disney signed a contract with theaters, and Disney could get 80% of the movie in the first week.

If you are familiar with the Chinese film market in the previous life, you will exclaim when you see this share ratio, how is this possible?

In the Chinese film market, producers and distributors can only get about 40%, and in many cases it is less than 40%.

But in Hollywood in the 1990s, this was indeed the way theaters and distributors split accounts.

At this time, movie theaters mainly relied on popcorn, cola and other peripheral products to make profits.

In the second week, Disney was able to get a 70% split.

In the third week, other studios can get 45% to 60%, and Disney can still get 65%.

After the fourth week, studios usually get a cut of 25 to 45 percent.

Disney usually doesn't fall below 40% in the first four weeks, and only drops to the same standard as other studios in the fifth week.

Why is Disney so special? This is due to the strong chairman Michael Eisner.

Under his leadership, Disney and theater companies signed many overlord clauses.

Because the profits from Disney's animated movies have always been considerable, theater companies had to hold their noses and accept this account sharing clause.

Thanks to the high bill-sharing ratio, Disney received a little more than $3700 million when North American theaters split the bill for the first time.

But don't worry, "Death is Coming" has established a separate studio, which means Disney can also take the distribution commission that belongs to the publisher.

This is the humble thing about Hollywood companies. Even though the investors and publishers are the same, they still have to give you the right hand and create more accounts out of thin air.

Without a reliable accountant to keep an eye on it, complicated accounts can overwhelm other investors.

In the end, it was clear that the film had made a profit, but it was losing money in the accounts.

At this time, even if you pray to God or Buddha, it will not work. Your share has been lost.

However, even if you go to court, it will be difficult for the court to decide. A lawsuit arising from the division of accounts usually takes five to six years without a problem.

Only the parties involved know how much money, time, and energy is spent.

Of course, this trick can only deceive outsiders who don't know the industry but want to make a fortune through movies.

Film companies would not dare to do this to their own people in Hollywood, especially directors and stars.

Because this is equivalent to pushing these high-quality directors and stars to other film companies.

If things go on like this, after your reputation is bad, who will still be willing to cooperate with you...

Fortunately, little Gilbert belongs to the type who cannot be fooled. Although the payment of the share will definitely be delayed for a while, Disney will never let his money go away.

With all of this figured out, it's time to calculate how much Disney and Gilbert Jr. will each make on their first split. Ignoring fractions, Disney first deducted a commission of 15% from the North American distribution, which is approximately US$5.55 million.

After taking away the distribution commission, Disney will also deduct the cost of promoting the film from it.

Including printing copies, PR for preview screenings, warehousing and transportation, hiring a research company, and other publicity expenses.

In addition, the remaining one-third of the remuneration of the crew and cast members must be settled.

It all adds up to a hefty sum of money, totaling $9.5 million.

In addition to the advance payment of US$9.5 million in publicity and distribution expenses, the US$5.55 million distribution commission is Disney's net profit earned through distribution, and does not need to be shared with anyone.

With a little more than $2195 million left, it was the turn of Gilbert Jr. and Touchstone Pictures, a subsidiary of Disney, to split the account.

According to the previous contract, the salary of director, screenwriter and producer Gilbert Jr. was one million US dollars, accounting for one-tenth of the film's investment share.

At the same time, it is stipulated that if the film's North American box office exceeds 50 million, it will automatically trigger a 5% box office profit share.

However, there is no need to worry about the box office profit part, because the film is still in theaters. After the final box office is released, we will see which bracket it can reach and then divide it into shares.

Even so, Gilbert Jr. also received a share of US$219.5 million from the box office.

Of course, agent Sheena Boone and PricewaterhouseCoopers accountant Kevin also have to share in Gilbert's income.

The amount is not high, adding up to about 22 US dollars, but this is only the first payment, and there will be further revenue sharing in the future.

If you want someone to do a good job for you, you must not treat them poorly financially. Talking about ideals and the future is of no use, only real money can buy you sincerity.

So little Gilbert didn't default on the payment, and happily let Sheena Boone and accountant Kevin take away their share.

This share of income is much higher than the dry salary of one million US dollars.

However, this is not the end. After that, the film will also have revenue from overseas distribution, video tapes, and TV broadcast copyrights.

Accountant Kevin made an estimate for Little Gilbert, who could earn an income of US$4 million to US$5 million from the "Death Comes" project.

This is a very considerable income. In the 1990s, it was a very high income.

No wonder the vampires on Wall Street have been tricked time and time again by unscrupulous Hollywood companies, but they still persist in their obsession. This seems to be more profitable than stocks.

Speaking of stocks, little Gilbert bought Apple stocks immediately after the first payment arrived.

At this time, Apple was a bad stock in the stock market. When he arranged for his manager David to buy stocks, David looked at him with a caring fool's expression.

Little Gilbert did not explain this.

After all, Steven Jobs has been kicked out of Apple and is working on Pixar animation, but he has not returned to Apple yet.

However, any reborn person who pays a little attention to the IT industry knows how huge Apple will be in the future. It will be the first technology company in the world to have a market value of US$2 trillion or even US$3 trillion.

Little Gilbert doesn't know or understand anything about the Internet or IT industry.

But he knows which companies will make a fortune in the future, and that's it.

Little Gilbert decided to continue to buy Apple shares. No matter what, he would not lose money.

At the same time, Gilbert Jr. also purchased a small amount of Microsoft stock.

But it's a pity that Microsoft, unlike Apple, is a popular stock. He can't buy much of it, and he doesn't have enough money to spend.

But there are still many investment opportunities ahead. After all, the next era is the booming era of Internet IT companies. As long as little Gilbert seizes the opportunity, he can make a lot of money.

(End of this chapter)