Huayu: Starting from joining the mainstream entertainment industry in 96

Chapter 398, Section 396: The Ambition of the Rebel Kings

April 1, 2002, Beijing, Jingxin Building.

The commotion of April Fool's Day had nothing to do with Wang Sheng. He was already sitting in his office early in the morning, dealing with the flood of information that had crossed the Pacific Ocean.

On the afternoon of March 31st, Los Angeles time, Robert White's email arrived as scheduled. At the same time, the official reports from Zhao Jinsong of the team traveling to the US and Kevin Brown of New Line Cinema also arrived.

Wang Sheng carefully read the data in the report:

"Shaolin Soccer" opened in 902 theaters in North America and grossed $812 million in its opening weekend (March 29-31), thanks to its unique "talk show effect" and accurate word-of-mouth from preview screenings!

This figure not only secured its place as the fourth-highest grossing film in North America that week, but also achieved a remarkable $9002 per theater, demonstrating strong audience engagement and market potential.

Especially given the shadow of the prehistoric behemoth that is Ice Age, achieving such results is a prime example of turning adversity into victory.

The report provides a detailed analysis of the audience composition: the Asian community is the core group, contributing a stable output; while young viewers and cult film enthusiasts attracted through media channels such as "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" have become an unexpected force. They are highly receptive to this unconventional "kung fu + football" hybrid style, and have even spontaneously generated a discussion on online forums.

New Line Cinema's excitement was palpable. Kevin Brown praised the "stroke of genius" in the promotional strategy provided by the Sheng Ying team in his report, and clearly stated that, given the strong performance and positive word-of-mouth throughout the opening weekend, New Line decided to moderately expand the screening scale in the second week, aiming to increase the number of screens to around 1100, while also increasing advertising investment on mainstream entertainment media and online platforms.

This start is even better than Wang Sheng had anticipated.

This not only means that "Shaolin Soccer" can recoup its costs and make a small profit in the North American market, but more importantly, it verifies the feasibility of Wang Sheng's "cultural singularity" breakthrough strategy. It explores a seemingly treacherous but potentially direct path for Shengying Media and even Chinese films to enter the international market in the future.

He picked up the secure phone on the table and dialed Han Sanping's number directly.

"Uncle Han, did I disturb you?" Wang Sheng asked in a relaxed tone.

"Just finished a meeting and was just about to catch my breath. What's up, any news?" Han Sanping's voice carried a hint of anticipation.

"Yes, the opening weekend figures from Los Angeles are in: $812 million, ranking fourth on the charts, with per-theater box office approaching $9,000," Wang Sheng calmly reported the numbers.

There was a two-second silence on the other end of the phone, followed by Han Sanping's delighted voice: "How much? 812 million?! Wow! This is much better than we initially expected! It seems that Xinxian has really put in a lot of effort to promote this time!"

"By chance, or perhaps forced by Ice Age, we came up with a surprising solution."

Wang Sheng briefly explained the strategy of using stand-up comedy for "reverse roasting marketing," adding, "It seems to be working well. New Line Cinema is much more confident and is preparing to expand the screenings."

"Brilliant!" Han Sanping exclaimed after hearing this. "Only someone with your brain could come up with such a method! Turning a disadvantage into an advantage, and directly using cultural differences as a selling point! Now, those old guys who still have doubts about our internationalization strategy should finally shut up."

Wang Sheng smiled, then changed the subject: "Uncle Han, the new line really put in a lot of effort this time, so we should also show our appreciation."

As long as their films comply with regulations, we should give them equal treatment in terms of screenings and promotion when they are released in mainland China.

"Reciprocity is essential for lasting cooperation."

"It's natural!"

Han Sanping affirmed, "Compared to opening up the American market and making Chinese films famous in Hollywood, what are these few screening resources? Don't worry, I know what I'm doing, and China Film Group will coordinate everything. This is also a good opportunity to demonstrate our market openness to the international community."

After discussing the good news from North America, the two naturally turned their conversation back to China, to the ongoing reforms of cinema chains and the competition for distribution channels.

"By the way, there's something I need to discuss with you."

Han Sanping's tone became more formal, "In Jiangsu Province, those economically strong cities, their municipal film distribution and screening companies and affiliated cinemas have recently contacted us."

"Oh? What do you mean?"

"Times have changed."

Han Sanping explained, "The new 'Film Management Regulations' and 'Implementation Rules' strongly promote the cinema chain system, breaking down the original hierarchical structure."

The provincial company wanted to keep them firmly in its grasp and establish a provincial cinema chain according to its own ideas, but the conditions and future plans offered were not attractive enough to these cities, and there were too many constraints.

Seeing the momentum of our "China Film Group Corporation," they got the idea to directly affiliate with us, hoping to benefit from having a powerful backer.

Wang Sheng immediately understood the key point.

This is an inevitable choice for local power players, taking advantage of favorable policies, to try to break free from the original provincial monopoly and seek stronger partners.

"Affiliation is acceptable,"

Wang Sheng put forward the core condition almost without hesitation: "But since we have joined 'China Film Prosperity,' the operation and management rights of these cinemas must be uniformly handed over to 'Prosperity Cinema Management Co., Ltd.'"

This is the foundation for ensuring the brand, service standards, and scheduling efficiency of cinemas; there can be no exceptions.

"That's what I meant too, and I've already clearly conveyed it to them."

Han Sanping agreed, but then added with a hint of helplessness, "However, after hearing about this condition, they hesitated a bit."

"What are you hesitating for? Are you worried about losing your autonomy?"

"That's part of the reason, but more importantly, they have a new idea." Han Sanping paused and said, "The several cities discussed that they might as well unite themselves and form a new provincial cinema chain based on the city companies."

They are familiar with the local market and have a geographical advantage.

Then, we hope that China Film Group will provide policy support, mainly through cinema licenses and communication with higher authorities, while Shengying will contribute content, guaranteeing the first-run screening rights of all its films in that cinema, and also through partial capital investment, to cooperate.”

After listening, Wang Sheng pondered for a moment.

This is a compromise, and it reflects the complex mentality of local forces in the wave of reform—they want to leverage the power of the national platform, but are unwilling to completely relinquish their dominant position.

"This model is also worth considering."

After a moment's thought, Wang Sheng replied, "They do have the advantage of local experience and connections when it comes to operating cinema chains within the province."

We don't necessarily need to hold a controlling stake. Establishing close channel partnerships to ensure our high-quality content can smoothly enter local markets is also a victory.

For the 'China Film Prosperity' cinema chain, my idea is still to stick to self-built cinemas and core city acquisitions as the main approach. This way, we have the strongest control and can fully implement our strategic intentions.

For these local cinema chains, we can act as important channel partners, providing them with priority support in terms of content.

"You're thinking the same thing!"

Han Sanping breathed a sigh of relief. He was afraid that Wang Sheng would insist on eating it all. "Even a powerful dragon can't suppress a local snake. In some areas, cooperating with local strongmen is much more efficient than us trying to take it on our own."

It can rapidly expand coverage while reducing the costs and friction of direct management.

"That's settled then. I'll have my people continue negotiating with them. The core issue is ensuring we have control over film scheduling and that our content is prioritized for implementation."

"it is good."

Han Sanping then brought up another matter, "Also, the Special Fund Office has officially issued a document to take over and upgrade the computer box office statistics center of our 'China Film Prosperity Cinema Circuit'."

The intention is clear: to use this as a model to create a unified, real-time, and transparent box office statistics system connecting all cinemas nationwide, thus completely eradicating the persistent problem of underreporting and concealment.

Wang Sheng was not surprised by this, as it was an important part of his and Han Sanping's proposals to higher authorities when they were pushing for the reform of the cinema chain system.

Data transparency is the cornerstone of market standardization.

"This is a good thing, and it's an inevitable trend," Wang Sheng stated. "We will have Tencent's technical team fully cooperate with the Special Fund Office's work."

They have advantages in software development and data system setup, so we can take this opportunity to integrate our previous experience into the national system standards.

This is crucial for the healthy development of the entire industry in the future.

"I'm relieved to hear you say that," Han Sanping said with a smile. "Now, we have the upper hand in both technology and distribution channels. With the successful launch in North America and the continued cultivation of our domestic channels, our momentum is truly burning!"

"..."

After chatting with Lao Han about other plans for a while, Wang Sheng hung up the phone and then called Zhou Xingxing to tell him about the success of "Kung Fu Soccer" in the North American market.

As the Hong Kong property market recovers, Stephen Chow, who is racing towards becoming a real estate tycoon, said gratefully, "Mr. Wong, thank you so much for your help back then. If it were just my personal strength, I really wouldn't have been able to drive the success of the North American market."

Stephen Chow then added, "By the way, Mr. Wang, I have a new project I'd like to discuss with you. I hope we can share the copyright."

Wang Sheng didn't find it strange that Stephen Chow made demands of him.

With the huge success of "Shaolin Soccer", Stephen Chow's influence naturally increased.

Wang Sheng replied casually, "Sure, tell me, what kind of story is it?"

Stephen Chow gave a brief account of the story.

After listening, Wang Sheng wondered, "Isn't this Kung Fu Hustle?"

He asked, "How much investment is needed?"

"At least HK$100 million."

"can."

Stephen Chow: "Mr. Wong, shall we have a detailed chat after we meet at the Hong Kong Film Awards this month?"

"Shaolin Soccer" received multiple nominations at the 20th Hong Kong Film Awards held this month.

"No problem, then I'll talk to you when we meet..."

(End of this chapter)