Huayu: Hard fight against Zhang Weiping at the beginning

Chapter 429 Setting up a stage to sing
In early July, Zhang Chen suddenly received a call from Zhang Weiping, who wanted to discuss increasing his share of the box office revenue.

The producer’s current share of the profits is 43%, and this was fought for by Zhang Weiping.

Initially it was only 35%. Later, with the help of "Hero", Zhang Weiping increased the share ratio to 40%, and with the help of "House of Flying Daggers", it increased to 41%.

This time I approached Zhang Chen because I wanted to work together with Zhang Chen to increase the profit sharing ratio.

The place where the two met was a private club.

Zhang Chen came with people. He couldn't have come alone. His relationship with Zhang Weiping was not good. They even had a grudge against each other. The insulting nickname "the man behind Zhang Yimou" was first used by Zhang Chen...

Zhang Weiping was still looking like a gangster, sitting across the table with his arms and legs spread out.

Zhang Chen fully believed that if this was not China but the United States, the guy on the other side would definitely shoot him in the head.

"I called you here because I want to join forces with you so that we can force the cinema to increase its revenue sharing ratio?"

"How much do you want to mention?"

"45%!"

Wow, the lion really opens his mouth.

As far as I can remember, at this time in the original time and space, Zhang Weiping also used the power of "Curse of the Golden Flower" to demand that theaters raise the share to 43%. A few years later, he raised it to 45% with "The Flowers of War". Later, when "Flying Daggers of Dragon Gate" turned against him, the domestic share ratio finally remained at 43%.

"So much money at once, the theater chain may not be willing to agree~"

"I don't care whether they are willing or not. If you and I work together, they will have to agree even if they don't want to. Otherwise, there will be no movies in the Lunar New Year period..."

Zhang Weiping has a kind of unruly temperament, and relying on this temperament, he is always successful in getting things done.

However, Zhang Chen had other concerns.

He is not only the owner of a production company, but also the owner of a cinema chain. Golden Harvest also has a cinema chain.

He encouraged his father and those coal bosses to invest in cinemas because this industry would be a sunrise industry in the next ten years.

The development of China's film market is closely related to the rapid construction of cinema chains. However, if the profits of cinemas decrease, it will undoubtedly slow down the construction of cinema chains. It is hard to say whether the Chinese film market can then rise as it did in later generations.

"What's there to consider? You don't want to mention it, do you?"

Seeing that Zhang Chen was silent for a long time, Zhang Weiping began to feel nervous.

Before coming, he was sure that Zhang Chen would agree because it would be good for him too.

If you can get more money, why object?

This has nothing to do with personal friendship, it's all about interests.

But judging from Zhang Chen's current expression, it might not be what he thought.

Once Zhang Chen turns against him, his idea of ​​increasing his share of the profits will definitely fail.

It’s easy to guess what the theaters will do. They will definitely use Zhang Chen to check and balance him.

Don’t you want to increase your share of the revenue? Okay, we will reduce your screening schedule and give more screenings to "Painted Skin" which does not increase its share of the revenue.

After a moment's silence, Zhang Chen raised his head and said, "I want to increase the revenue sharing ratio, but I don't want to do it in a one-size-fits-all manner~"

Zhang Weiping stared into Zhang Chen's eyes for a while and said, "Then tell me about your plan~"

As if he was afraid that Zhang Chen would turn to the cinema chain, he also reminded him: "Don't forget, your Pacific Rim cost 8 million yuan. The higher the share, the less pressure you will have to make a profit~"

Of course Zhang Chen knew this. In fact, he had been planning this for a long time.

Even if Zhang Weiping didn't look for him, he was ready to look for Zhang Weiping.

"I want to share revenue with the cinemas on a tiered basis, like in the United States."

When this was mentioned, Zhang Weiping also became interested. He knew something about this aspect. The profit sharing ratio in the United States was much higher than that in China.

“美国发行方和院线一般都是按照时间阶梯分账，比方说第一周双方的分账比例是9:1，第二周变成8:2，第三周7:3，第四周6:4……

The distributor's share of the revenue is high at the beginning, but becomes lower and lower over time, while the opposite is true for theaters.

This will help producers to quickly recover their costs. At the same time, if theaters want to make more profits, they have to extend the screening time and schedule more films...

Of course, it is impossible to follow this ratio when it is actually used in China. The specific distribution needs to be discussed later~"

"You wishful thinking, how can you be sure that they will accept this profit-sharing method~"

Zhang Chen spread his hands and said, "I can't be sure, so we need to set up a stage and perform together. For example, at the beginning, we both act like we are ready to open our mouths.

Just like what was said in that little story, if you directly said you wanted to open a window on the wall, they would definitely disagree. But if you first said you wanted to lift the roof, they would disagree, and then if you said you wanted to open a window, they would probably agree..."

"Hehe~"

Hearing Zhang Chen’s bad idea, Zhang Weiping also laughed.

Some of the people the two brought with them couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Zhang Chen really has a clear understanding of human nature.

“So it can be higher than 45%?”

"will not."

Zhang Chen shook his head: "But they will definitely not agree to 45%. I estimate that the final result will be that everyone will make concessions, and 43% will be about right...

As for the revenue sharing ratio I mentioned, we can definitely go a little higher in the first week, 45%, 43% in the second week, 41% in the third week, and 39% in the fourth week...

According to my past experience, the box office in the first week accounts for about one-third of the total box office, and the first two weeks accounts for about half.

In other words, the first two weeks are basically enough for us to recoup our investment, and the rest of the screenings are pure profit.

This way we can quickly recoup our investment. In order to make more profit, the cinema chain will extend the screening time and schedule more films. The more they show, the more we earn. Isn’t this a win-win situation?"

"What if they deliberately give low screenings in the first two weeks?"

"Mature theaters won't do this~"

Zhang Chen stretched out his finger and waved it with a firm tone: "The popularity of movies depends on publicity. Only if the momentum is strong in the first two weeks can the attendance rate be guaranteed in the later part. Unless the theater chain wants to punish you, it is impossible for them to do such a stupid thing~"

Zhang Chen thought of everything. Zhang Weiping thought about it and felt that what he said made sense.

Instead, a trace of fear arose in my heart.

Zhang Chen didn't know that Zhang Weiping had already felt that since he had Yu, why did he have Liang? He continued:
“There is no need to stick to one revenue sharing method; everyone can discuss it based on the size of their own film.

The revenue can be divided by date, or by total box office or staged box office. For example, if the total box office exceeds 1 million, it can be divided according to one ratio, and if it exceeds 2 million, it can be divided according to another ratio. Or if it is within 1 million, it can be divided according to one ratio, and between 1 million and 2 million, it can be divided according to another ratio. It all depends on the respective positioning..."

Zhang Chen dared to propose this method because it has actually been implemented in history.

In the original time and space, "1942" adopted a tiered distribution method based on box office performance. The box office distribution ratio between the distributor and the theater chain was divided in a tiered manner according to the total box office at each stage. If the box office was within 3 million yuan, the distribution ratio was 43:57. If it exceeded 3 million yuan, it was 45:55. If it exceeded 8 million yuan, it was 47:53...

In order to counter "1942", "The Banquet", which was released at the same time, chose to split the revenue according to time periods.

首周43:57，次周41:59，再次周39:61，直至下画；
To put it bluntly, this method is actually to give concessions to cinemas and theater chains, so that they will give more support in terms of scheduling and screening time for their films.

Everyone has their own unique ideas.

Zhang Weiping lowered his head and thought, trying to find some problems, but in the end he couldn't find any. Zhang Chen had already considered everything very comprehensively.

"Okay, just do as you say."

The plan proposed by Zhang Chen was more flexible and easier to be accepted by theaters, so Zhang Weiping had no reason to refuse.

Anyway, this ratio is negotiable, and as long as the film is good, the producer will be in a strong position.

"So when are we going to confront them? Do we need to bring in other producers?"

"Forget about the others. It's easier to accomplish with fewer people. As long as there's no betrayer between the two of us, this thing can be accomplished~"

In later generations, it is entirely possible that the profit-sharing ratio could have reached 45%. However, Bona Films turned against the film because of the box office of "Flying Daggers of Dragon Gate". In the end, the official decision was made to set the ratio at 43%.

The more people there are, the more difficult it is to reach a consensus on ideas. It would be better for the two of them to just step down and make it a fait accompli.

"Tsk, don't forget that I was the one who found you for this alliance. As long as you don't betray us, no one else will..."

Zhang Weiping was very dissatisfied with Zhang Chen.

Chang Cheh no longer dwelled on this: "As for when to reveal my plan, let's wait a couple of days. I plan to use this method for "A Quiet Place" this time, and it can also be regarded as a way to explore the way for the Lunar New Year holiday at the end of the year..."

Three days later, representatives from 35 domestic cinema chains gathered in Beijing.

Zhang Chen invited them to a screening of "A Quiet Place", but the representatives were puzzled as to why Zhang Weiping was also at a screening of Xingchen Entertainment.

Watch the movie first. Only if the quality of the movie is good enough will they have a basis for negotiation.

When the film finished and the lights came on, smiles appeared on everyone's faces.

Ye Ning from Wanda spoke first: "Director Zhang has once again brought us an audio-visual feast. This type of film has never appeared in China before, and the setting is very novel. This time, we at Wanda will definitely give our full support to "A Quiet Place"..."

Ye Ning was a hire hired by Zhang Chen.

On the surface, the relationship between Wanda and Star Entertainment is very ordinary, and they only had some cooperation in the recent "Pacific Rim".

But in fact, Wanda stands on Zhang Chen's side.

This is probably the hidden benefit of him getting Da Tiantian.

Lu Zheng is the director of Wanda.

Ye Ning took the lead, and others followed suit.

Managers of large theater chains like Wu Hehu, Zhao Jun, and Gao Jun do not need to support Zhang Chen, but other small theater chains still have to rely on big directors like Zhang Chen.

Zhang Chen smiled and said, "Thank you for your support, but I have other things to discuss with you this time..."

After saying that, he looked at Zhang Weiping in the back row.

Others noticed his action and had a bad feeling in their hearts.

They have already guessed something~
After all, Zhang Weiping raises the revenue sharing ratio every time Zhang Yimou releases a blockbuster. Last year's "A Single Man's Journey" was an art film, so it doesn't count. This year's "Curse of the Golden Flower" is just the third commercial blockbuster. They all guessed that Zhang Weiping would definitely bring up the old matter again, but they didn't expect that this time it would be with Zhang Chen...

Sure enough, after Zhang Weiping revealed the 45% profit sharing ratio, the scene went wild.

This is not a discussion, this is flipping the table.
Then there were endless quarrels.

In the end, it was Wanda's Ye Ning who said, "Director Zhang, you also own Golden Harvest Cinemas, you should know the profitability of cinemas, our profits are very thin.

Cinema chains are asset-heavy, and rents for equipment are rising every year. A set of projection equipment used to cost 19 yuan, but now it has risen to 39 yuan. In addition, it is a continuous wear and tear, so it won’t be long before it has to be replaced…”

Ye Ning's words successfully resonated with representatives from other theater chains. Yes, it's not easy for us either.

Wu Hehu and the other three musketeers were pushed out as representatives to speak: "You two, 45% of the revenue sharing ratio is too high. We cannot accept it..."

Zhang Weiping immediately glared and said: “If any cinema does not accept this ratio, we will refuse to provide copies to them~” Zhang Weiping played the role of the good guy in the play. He had a rogue character and he did not even need to act, he was one.

Seeing the public's excitement, Zhang Chen came out to play the good cop: "Everyone, don't be anxious, let's discuss it properly. I also know that the theaters are in trouble, but the current situation is that the producers who invested a lot of money have indeed taken the biggest risks, but the benefits they have received are not equal. In comparison, the risks taken by the theaters are too small.

But I don’t want to be too radical. Harmony brings wealth. How about this, let’s modify the profit-sharing method…”

Zhang Chen then announced his own tiered profit-sharing plan, which divided the profits based on time and box office revenue.
Sure enough, this time the theater representatives did not reject it outright and began to consider the matter carefully.

The discussion lasted for two days, and it was finally decided to use "A Quiet Place" as a sample for an experiment, with the revenue sharing based on the release date. In the first week, the revenue sharing ratio between the producer and the theater was 45:55, and then the producer would transfer two points to the theater every week...

This plan was finally determined after discussions among many parties.

Zhang Chen initially preferred to share the revenue based on the box office at different stages, but after discussing with the theater chain, they believed that A Quiet Place had no chance of breaking 45 million, so they chose to share the revenue based on time, which was more beneficial to them. The compromise was to increase the first week's revenue share to %.

……

2006/ 7/ 11

A Quiet Place had a grand premiere.

This is the first time that Xingchen Entertainment has held a premiere in Shanghai. All previous premieres, although held in different locations, were always held in Beijing.

This time, at the request of Wu Hehu, the premiere was scheduled in Hall 1 of Shanghai Film City, which is also the main venue of the Shanghai Film Festival.

"A Quiet Place" is a Sino-US co-production, but it only had its premiere in China.

Dong Jianqiang invited more than 100 heads of media outlets and theater chains.

Generally speaking, a premiere is part of the promotion, but it is more often held for theaters to see, so that theaters can see the producer's confidence in the film and hope to schedule more screenings.

But Zhang Chen doesn't need it.

[Zhang Chen's work] These four words are now the most resounding signboard. Since its debut, it has never failed and no theater chain can refuse it.

Not to mention that this is also an attempt at profit-sharing. Everyone wants to see which party is most benefited by this form, or is it really a win-win situation?

"Uncle Guoli, Uncle Daoming~"

After walking the red carpet, the guests came in one after another, and Zhang Chen kept greeting everyone.

Zhang Guoli was in high spirits. When "Search" was released in the middle of last month, it had sold more than 4000 million yuan in total, which really dropped a lot of people's jaws.

Even though the box office of movies nowadays often reaches 100 million, those are still blockbusters.

An ordinary movie is considered a big hit if it can gross over 3000 million.

Originally, "Crazy Stone" was released in June and it was called a box office dark horse with sales of just over 6 million.

So the 4000 million views of "Search" are not a small number.

The cost of this film was only over 700 million yuan. Taking into account the box office share, overseas copyright and movie channel copyright, the profit is at least 1000 million yuan.

Moreover, this film was mainly invested by Zhang Guoli's Taihe Minzhong, and Xingchen Entertainment did not have a large share.

He made millions from a movie and made his son famous. What else could he not be satisfied with?

Zhang Guoli was very happy. As expected, there was still a future in cooperating with Zhang Chen.

"Search" is the first film project handled by Zhang Guoli after Feng Xiaogang left Taihe Minzhong.

Originally among the people of Taihe, the two had a division of labor.

Zhang Guoli is responsible for TV series and Feng Xiaogang is responsible for movies.

Later, Feng Xiaogang and Zhang Chen fell out over a movie, and he also gradually drifted apart from Zhang Guoli.

Feng Xiaogang withdrew and Zhang Guoli took over Taihe Minzhong.

He was already invincible in the field of TV dramas, so he wanted to make his way into the film industry.

But this trick is not easy to use.

I have tried it several times before, and failed every time.

Only then did I think of cooperating with Xingchen Entertainment, and it turned out to be a success.

Director Chen smiled and said, "Zhang Chen, don't forget that you still owe me a copy of "Sanction Agents"~"

He just made a guest appearance in "The Man from Nowhere" two days ago, but there is no news about the launch of the "Sanction Agent" project, even though "Sanction Agent" is the first one in the agent universe.

"Uncle Daoming, please be patient and wait. It will be almost done after "The Man from Lonely Planet"..."

This is indeed his fault, but it is not a blank check.

After the release of "The Man from Nowhere", the spy universe took shape and "Sanctions" can be put on the schedule.

The three were chatting when a voice came from the distance: "Haha, so you are here~"

You can tell from the special voice that it’s Zhao Benshan without looking back.

"Uncle Benshan, Teacher, you are here too~"

Zhao Benshan also came with Fu Donglai. The movie "Falling Leaves Return to Roots" they collaborated on also had a box office of 4000 million, which is comparable to "Search". In fact, the two movies were competitors at the time.

Zhang Guoli and the other person also knew each other and greeted each other.

"I heard that your film "A Quiet Place" made a big splash in Cannes. I have to take a good look at it today~"

"Easy to say, easy to say~"

"Director Zhang, you are here~"

I had just said two sentences when Wang Jinghua arrived again.

Since founding Shijiu Culture with Zhang Chen, Wang Jinghua has become strong and powerful. Even though they have left the big tree of Huayi, their development is even better than before.

This made her feel even more that her original decision was correct.

Zhang Chen kept greeting people. Today's premiere was his home court, so everyone who came would definitely say hello to him.

Zhao Benshan seemed to have something to talk to him about, but seeing Zhang Chen was so busy, he just said, "You go ahead and do your work. We'll talk again when you're not busy."

Zhang Chen was indeed busy today. Many people came just for his face, so he had to greet them all.

"Director Zhang, I wish the movie a big hit~"

"Binbin, Xiaoming~"

Fan Binbin and Huang Xiaoming appeared together, and they obviously walked the red carpet together.

"Thank you, thank you, I appreciate your kind words~"

More and more stars came into the venue. The main creators of "Wulin Waijia" also came this time, but they were all in the field of TV dramas and did not know most of the people present.

Zhao Benshan suddenly came near them and started chatting~
"Teacher Zhao~"

"Everyone, please don't be polite. We are all comedians. If we have common topics, I will come over to chat with you~"

Zhao Benshan is a comedy star and a nationally recognized sketch king. He is not comparable to these little Karamis.

"Your drama is quite interesting. People in our part of Gada always like to watch it~"

"Thank you, Mr. Zhao, for the compliment."

"I heard that the second season has been sold?"

"Well, it was just sold last month, and it should be aired next month~"

"Well, I can't miss it~"

Zhao Benshan was not a man of high rank. After a few words, everyone who was originally nervous calmed down and gradually smiled.

"Your drama is great. It has established its brand. As long as the script doesn't fall apart, you can keep filming it..."

Several people were proud of it and they thought so too.

Participating in "Wulin Waijia" is equivalent to finding a stable job. As long as people keep watching this drama, the company will definitely continue filming it.

"Are you going to film the third season now?"

At that time, domestic TV dramas had no concept of seasons at all. They were just called the first part or the second part. His "Liu Laogen" and "Ma Dashuai" were both called this way.

"Well, not yet. The company asked us to wait for the second half of the year. It seems that they are going to shoot a "Wulin Wai Zhuan Movie"?"

"'Wulin Wai Zhuan Movie'? Make the story of 'Wulin Wai Zhuan' into a movie?"

"That seems to be the case. I heard from Manager Dong that Director Zhang seemed to mean this~"

Everyone seemed very excited when talking about this. Movies, they were finally going to make a movie.

The chain of contempt exists in every industry. It is generally believed that movie actors are superior to TV actors, and even TV actors themselves think so.

However, Zhao Benshan became interested after hearing the news.

He has always wanted to expand his career, including sketches, movies, and TV series.

The TV series industry is going well, but the film industry has not been able to make any progress.

Until this year's "Return to Roots".

Zhao Benshan's own review:
His acting in "Return to Roots" is similar to that in his other previous movies, but only "Return to Roots" was successful.

What does this mean?
This shows that the success of "Falling Leaves Return to Their Roots" has little to do with him, or it may be related, but not decisive.

This conclusion is discouraging, but it may be true.

He wanted to continue this model of cooperation to consolidate his position in the film industry, but when he asked, he learned that Fu Donglai had no plans to shoot the next film.

Moreover, Fu Donglai made it clear that the success of the movie actually had little to do with him. The script was forced upon him by Zhang Chen. In fact, Zhang Chen was the biggest contributor to the success of the movie.

This is certainly modest, but it does make sense.

Zhao Benshan also admitted that the success of "Falling Leaves Return to Their Roots" was firstly because it was a work of Xingchen Entertainment, and secondly because of Fu Donglai and himself, Zhao Benshan.

Originally, he was planning to talk to Zhang Chen about the movie today, but Zhang Chen was too busy, so he could only find another opportunity to talk about it later.

But when Lao Zhao accidentally heard the news that Zhang Chen was going to make a "Wulin Waijiao Movie", he became interested.

"Wulin Waijia" is a comedy itself, and it is naturally on the same channel as himself, so Lao Zhao was thinking about whether he could get Benshan Media involved.

I'm just not sure about Zhang Chen's attitude.

After all, this is someone else's project and a mature IP. It makes no difference whether Benshan Media is there or not.

(End of this chapter)