Chinese Entertainment: Starting from 1996

Chapter 520: Summit Entertainment's Outstanding Achievements

Following the reports from various branches, the senior executives present, including Liu Zhou, also had a clearer understanding of the development of the group.

It now appears that the group had made a profit of nearly 3 billion last year.

This is a film and television company. It’s incredible to think about it. I believe that even some state-owned enterprises with Chinese characters in their names may not have such a huge profit.

Not to mention the film and television industry. For example, a second-tier company like Huayi would be lucky to have a profit of 200 to 300 million yuan. Even China Film, which owns the most cinema chains in the country, may make less than 1 billion yuan in profit.

It is conceivable how impressive Jiahe’s annual profit of nearly 3 billion yuan is. If it were reported, it would definitely cause quite a stir.

In fact, as a listed company, Jiahe Group needs to release financial reports to the outside world every quarter, and at the end of the year it also needs to release annual financial reports to the outside world.

This is also for the purpose of explaining to shareholders and investors, and to a certain extent it can be regarded as a form of supervision that listed companies are subject to.

However, since Golden Harvest Group is currently building the Golden Harvest Film and Television Base, which is a big spender, the final financial report it released was not very good.

But colleagues in the industry, investors and shareholders are not fools either. From the beginning of the year to the end of the year, we often hear news about Golden Harvest.

Golden Harvest has achieved very good results in movies, TV series and even variety shows. There is no need to make special statistics, you can understand the result just by counting on your fingers.

So it is well known that Golden Harvest made a lot of money last year.

The construction of the Golden Harvest Film and Television Base is also well known. After all, the initial launch ceremony was a huge sensation, and a number of Hollywood superstars were invited.

Jiahe has already announced the planning and investment of the film and television base to the outside world, so everyone knows that this is a high-investment project.

The current financial report does not look very good, it must be due to the conflict between the two.

But Golden Harvest Film and Television Base is a high-quality asset, and the high investment now will bring high returns in the future.

This project was well received by the outside world when it was first announced, and after the lively launch ceremony, it even led to an increase in the share price of Jiahe.

Therefore, the investment in Golden Harvest Film and Television Base is still good news for Golden Harvest.

The brilliant performance of Golden Harvest last year further proved that Golden Harvest Group has a very promising future.

Golden Harvest didn’t just make money last year; it makes money almost every year; it just made more last year.

Although Golden Harvest did not specify in its financial report how much each branch earned, industry professionals have a rough estimate.

Moreover, given the huge investment that Jiahe made in Jiahe Film and Television Base, except for a loan of 1 billion yuan from a bank in Hangzhou at the beginning, there were no subsequent loans. This can roughly estimate how much money Jiahe has made.

In fact, let alone other people, even among the people in the company, few people know how much money Jiahe made last year. Perhaps only Liu Zhou, Zhang Zhao and the group's financial director know.

Even if Liu Zhou knew the situation clearly, he only knew a number and was not very clear about the specific situation, otherwise there would not have been today's meeting.

Now everyone understands that the annual profit is nearly 3 billion, so everyone here has a smile on their face, because they are all creators.

Some people find it hard to believe that they have created such great value.

And this does not include the situation at Summit Entertainment in North America, which also achieved very good results last year.

Last year, Summit Entertainment produced and released a total of six films, the most important of which was "The Twilight Saga 2".

As a hit sequel, The Twilight Saga: New Moon's performance once again shocked Hollywood.

At the beginning of its release, Edwards was very confident about the film and released it in the summer.

This is also the first time that Summit Entertainment has entered the summer season.

As the largest movie season in North America, the summer season is generally the battlefield of the Big Seven Hollywood studios. Unless a second-tier Hollywood film company is backed by one of the Big Seven Hollywood studios, they dare not release their movies during the summer season, as it is very easy for them to become cannon fodder.

Release of a movie is not just about showing it, it also includes promotion and distribution. It is difficult to compete with the Big Seven in terms of promotional and distribution resources. Moreover, the movies released by the Big Seven in the summer are all blockbusters.

But this time, Summit Entertainment has joined forces with Lionsgate, and "The Twilight Saga 2" is a popular sequel, so Edwards dared to compete in the summer season.

"The Twilight Saga 2" did not disappoint and delivered a very good report card.

It grossed $14 billion in its first weekend, second only to Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight" and Sony Columbia's "Spider-Man 3."

The latter two films are both popular superhero movies and are signature series of Warner and Columbia.

Although the first part of "Twilight" performed well and the novel is now popular in North America, it really cannot be compared with Batman and Spider-Man.

Moreover, many people who like "Twilight" like it very much, but there are also many people who don't like it, so this movie is actually a bit controversial.

Now it is able to surpass so many Hollywood blockbusters and become a presence on par with Batman and Spider-Man, which is something many Hollywood peers did not expect.

"The Twilight Saga 2" not only achieved excellent box office results in its first weekend, but also achieved excellent total box office results.

The North American box office reached nearly 2.9 million US dollars, and the global box office reached 7.09 million US dollars, ranking sixth in the global movie box office rankings.

The main reason why Lionsgate is so determined to acquire Summit Entertainment is the outstanding performance of "Twilight".

With the huge success of the second movie, it also means that the entire series has become a gold mine. For Lionsgate, what they lack most is this kind of popular series of movies.

Later, if the acquisition failed, they were willing to merge, but Summit Entertainment was also of great use to Golden Harvest, so they never agreed.

In fact, not only Lionsgate, but even the Big Seven in Hollywood are now very interested in Summit Entertainment.

If the first film attracted the attention of the Big Seven after its release, and two or three of the Big Seven in Hollywood expressed interest in acquiring it, now all seven have contacted Edwards to express their willingness to acquire it.

Of course Edwards refused this. He knew that this would definitely be suppressed by the Big Seven in Hollywood, but he was not afraid.

Now that Summit Entertainment and Lionsgate have joined forces, they can barely be considered a Hollywood giant and can withstand their suppression for the time being.

Although Summit Entertainment and Lionsgate are now two separate companies with great risks, the benefits of cooperation far outweigh the disadvantages. Edwards believes that the other party dare not part ways with Summit Entertainment, and Lionsgate will be even more suppressed. After all, Lionsgate is building overseas distribution channels, which is the reverse scale of the Seven Majors.

Therefore, in the short term, the two companies will still have a honeymoon period.

In fact, the main reason why Summit Entertainment has attracted so many companies is of course the Twilight series, but the company's outstanding potential is also a factor that cannot be ignored.

Since Summit Entertainment was acquired by Golden Harvest, it has not only developed the "Twilight" series, but also produced films such as "Step Up 3: Step Up", "The Hurt Locker" and "Lucy".

"Step Up 3" is also a youth film series, a model of low cost and high return.

Although "The Hurt Locker" did not have a very high box office, it won the Oscar for Best Picture and had a considerable influence.

As an independent film, "Lucy" has grossed $300 million worldwide and has also attracted much attention.

The results in 2010 and were better each year, and last year, , the results were even better.

In 2010, Summit Entertainment produced "The Twilight Saga: Part Two", which grossed $2.9 million in North America, ranking fourth in the North American annual box office rankings.

In addition, Summit Entertainment also collaborated with 1.4th Century Fox to produce "Rise of the Planet of the Apes", which grossed $3.82 million in North America, ranking th in the North American annual box office rankings, and its global box office reached $ million.

This is also a movie that can be made into a series, and it can be considered a small hit.

This movie was initiated by Summit Entertainment itself. If the copyright was not in the hands of 20th Century Fox, Summit Entertainment could have done it alone.

Summit Entertainment is also responsible for the subsequent production, while 20th Century Fox is responsible for investment and distribution.

But this also shows the production ability and strength of Summit Entertainment, which can be said to have brought new life to this old movie.

However, Summit Entertainment is not doing a one-time deal. Although the final copyright of the new "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" series still belongs to Fox, the sequel requires joint investment from both parties. At the same time, Summit Entertainment will enjoy full copyright profit sharing for the first three years of the new movie.

So this also allows Summit Entertainment to have a long-term series of movies, although it requires cooperation with 20th Century Fox.

In addition to these two films, Summit Entertainment also independently produced another film, "Salt," which grossed over 100 million dollars in North America. The film ranked 23rd on the North American movie box office list.

This is an action film with a certain sci-fi thriller element, co-produced with Angelina Jolie. Although its global box office is not as good as "Lucy", its North American box office is not inferior, and the box office of over 100 million is very impressive.

Summit Entertainment, a second-rate film company, produced three movies that grossed over 100 million yuan in one year, which was even better than the performance of Universal and Paramount, two of the seven major Hollywood studios.

You can imagine how coveted Summit Entertainment is.

In fact, at this point in time, any well-known Hollywood film company either has the Big Seven as shareholders, or cooperates with the Big Seven and leaves the distribution to them.

The film companies that once wanted to challenge the Big Seven were either acquired or incorporated.

New Line, which was once known as the second only to the Big Seven in Hollywood, was acquired by Warner in the 1990s. Miramax, which was once famous, was also acquired by Disney in the 1990s.

There is also DreamWorks, which was ambitiously founded by Spielberg and wanted to become the eighth largest. After a period of glory, it not only fell apart in the new century, but its live-action film department was absorbed by Paramount, and its animation department was absorbed by Universal and Paramount.

So in the late 1980s and early 1990s, after the Big Seven in Hollywood were acquired by media giants, Hollywood's second- and third-tier film companies were also acquired by the Big Seven in Hollywood one after another.

With each layer upon another, several global media giants have formed in North America, and Hollywood has almost been divided up among the Big Seven.

Because the release of a movie requires the cooperation of publicity, especially in the new century, the importance of publicity has become even more important.

Most of the publicity resources in North America are in the hands of those media giants. Therefore, MGM, one of the seven major Hollywood studios without the support of media giants, has very poor risk resistance and is far less competitive than the other companies.

If it weren't for the additional online promotional channels, it would be difficult for Lionsgate in the original time and space to survive independently.

Just like now, Lionsgate and Summit Entertainment’s collaboration also requires paying a greater price for publicity.

Therefore, the existence of Lionsgate and Summit Entertainment at this time is very glaring in Hollywood, especially when the cooperation between the two companies is getting better and better.

However, the two companies joined forces, and the Big Seven were somewhat helpless for a while.

Their current attitudes towards the two companies are still somewhat different. There is nothing much to say about Lionsgate, and they will definitely suppress it.

As for Summit Entertainment, since it is more focused on the production field, the seven major companies mainly focus on recruiting and winning over it.

But if Summit Entertainment continues to refuse to accept their olive branch, suppression will surely follow.

The better Summit Entertainment's performance is, the more severe the suppression it will face.

Last year, Summit Entertainment made Hollywood take notice.

Because in addition to the three movies that grossed over 100 million yuan, the other three movies produced, one in collaboration with Lionsgate and two independently produced, were all considered successful at the box office.

The three films grossed a combined $1.6 million in North America, plus $2.9 million for The Twilight Saga: Rise of the Planet of the Apes, $1.4 million for Rise of the Planet of the Apes, and $1.2 million for Salt.

Summit Entertainment's total North American box office in 2010 was $7.1 million, ranking seventh, surpassing MGM and second only to the other six.

MGM is an exception because it was acquired by Wanda, but now it is about to be expelled from the Big Seven.

Even for the other six companies, such as Universal and Paramount, their performance might not be higher than Summit Entertainment if they did not win by quantity.

This achievement is actually secondary. What Lionsgate and the Big Seven are most envious of is Summit Entertainment’s strong production capabilities.

By the second decade of the new century, Hollywood movies have become increasingly dependent on adaptations and superhero movies, and excellent original movies have become less and less common. A few years later, many professional Hollywood film critics even shouted that Hollywood movies are dead.

In fact, there are already such signs, which further demonstrates the value of Summit Entertainment.

If they can acquire Summit Entertainment, not only will the company's production capabilities be greatly enhanced, but a potential competitor can also be eliminated. It would be a win-win situation, and they would win twice.

(End of this chapter)