Chinese Entertainment: Becoming a Superstar After a Breakup

Chapter 111 Just do it!

After Shen Ze and Tian Qi parted ways, he began to calculate the money he could afford. He accepted the price of five million, even though he knew Taihe was making a profit, but it was only fair.

If you don't let them make a profit, why would they sell the film rights back to you? They bought it for two million, and you take it back for two and a half million? Is that even possible?

With a profit of only a few hundred thousand, they'd rather gamble on the box office. Besides, "The Coffin in the Mountain" cost more than two million.

It's a bit of a pity that he became famous too late. When he found out that it was sold for two million, he didn't have the money to buy it, and he never thought that they wanted to move him to another place. He also never thought that if he had negotiated back then, he could have bought it back for three million.

That won't work now. According to Xin Yukun, the film is scheduled to be released in a month. Even if Taihe is reluctant to invest in distribution, they will still contribute a small amount, at least several hundred thousand. That means the expenses alone will be two to two million. They definitely won't give you three million.

Five million was probably Taihe's ideal price. Shen Ze didn't think about how many times to negotiate. He knew the movie's box office would definitely be high, and he would earn the most money no matter what, which was enough for him.

Taihe was afraid of scaring him away, and he was also afraid that things might change if he waited too long. After calculating the money, it seemed that he could actually raise the funds.

However, if they pool their resources like this, Gulnazar might not be able to pay back the 1.5 million.

The demolition compensation for his house is already locked in at 3.7 million yuan, and there's also his salary for "The Best of Us". According to the schedule, the salary should arrive in full next month, which will be just enough.

Of course, he's not stupid. He can't just say whatever price you want. There's no such thing as a one-time bid that's finalized. He's not afraid to spend money; he simply doesn't want to be taken advantage of. Bidding at Taihe is a risk-free way to make pure profit, so he'll definitely leave some room for negotiation.

Shen Ze felt that four to four and a half million was a very reasonable price. Taihe couldn't have all the good things. He could only make a little money. Only he could raise the upper limit of "The Maze of the Heart". Without him, it would take several years to recoup those millions.

He thought about his money; he had to seize this opportunity. As for repaying Gulnazar's money, he'd deal with that later; it was a matter of a few days, and she should understand.

He was just thinking about how to talk to Tian Qi when she called, saying she had to go back to Beijing and they should meet again tomorrow to discuss the situation.

Tian Qi was a little anxious, which was normal. If she really calmed down, "The Coffin in the Mountain" was an asset with little value. If Taihe hadn't invested in Xin Yukun, they probably would have had to think twice. Now that they were finally able to sell it, they naturally wanted to recoup their costs first.

Two days later.

"It's a pleasure to work with you." Tian Qi said with a smile as she watched Shen Ze sign his name. The contract was signed, and the money would arrive within a month.

"It's been a pleasure working with you. I'll need your company's help again next time." Shen Ze looked at Tian Qi, thinking to himself, "Don't cry when you see the final box office results of this movie."

-

Xin Yukun and Ren Jiangzhou were also dragged over to sign the contract. Xin Yukun looked at Shen Ze, a little confused. "You're really going to buy it?"

And before buying it, you have to persuade him to buy it, but he is unwilling to take the risk. In fact, he made a lot of money from this movie, but he absolutely cannot spend it.

The film rights have been returned, but Taihe has already connected with theaters, so this can continue. However, Shen Ze is worried that Taihe might swallow the returned money. Normally, there wouldn't be a problem, but they might think they're getting a good deal, so he's prepared for that.

This is pretty easy to do. It doesn't go through the distributor's account, but into a third-party escrow account. He doesn't need to worry about that. That's how most blockbusters do it. They supervise each other. Unless it's the kind of movie where you don't want to pay a single penny in distribution fees and rely entirely on the distributor, who can only ask for a share, they still wouldn't trust you.

However, "The Coffin in the Mountain" did not have this concern. The contract stated that the distribution fee of 800,000 yuan was already included in the contract. Mr. Shen spent 4.3 million yuan to obtain the online and theatrical distribution rights of "The Coffin in the Mountain".

As for overseas copyrights and digital film copyrights, Ren Jiangzhou and Xin Yukun had already earned them two million yuan in cash. Despite their pitiful situation during filming, they gained some fame and earned back several times that amount.

"No matter what I say, you won't listen. I don't have as much confidence as you." Xin Yukun looked at Shen Ze, not knowing what to say.

"Just don't regret it. I really think this movie's box office is pretty good. You should invest some yourself," Shen Ze said.

"I don't know what you're thinking," Xin Yukun said.

Shen Ze looked at him, feeling no pressure at all. He had reminded him several times, and now it seemed that he really didn't think it was a good idea. However, their judgment was quite good. If it weren't for destiny, Shen Ze wouldn't have dared to do this.

"Alright, I'm going back now. I'll redo the opening sequence. As for the release date, when are you planning to release it? Still October?" Xin Yukun asked. He was really looking forward to the movie's release. Only a theatrical release would make it a true theatrical film. The plan was to release it next month.

"However, during the National Day holiday, our movie definitely won't be showing. The most suitable time is the second half of the month. This isn't about editing; how about the end of the month?" Shen Ze said.

"Okay, you can decide as long as it's on your mind." Xin Yukun's smile broadened. As long as it was going to be released, everyone left.

This schedule was set by Shen Ze himself when he was certain that the cooperation would be reached. The original plan was actually October 16th, but since he was already here, the schedule had to be changed.

The date October 16th wasn't chosen randomly. There was no chance during the National Day holiday; everyone would be scrambling for screenings, and you simply couldn't compete. The first week after the National Day holiday is the 16th.

However, Shen Ze noticed something interesting: "The Witness" was scheduled to be released at the end of the month, the last week of October. Was there even a choice? Jiaxing had ripped him off by 1.5 million yuan, so they were letting him calm down by releasing the film in the same period. He still held a grudge against the old woman who had stirred up trouble between him and Reba.

The other party may not take them seriously, but when the facts are proven true, you'll understand everything.

Furthermore, during that period, the biggest commercial film was "The Witness," but on the 16th, "Ant-Man" was released, so the former was definitely weaker than the latter.

However, there was also a champion on that day, but only in comparison to the original "The Coffin in the Mountain". On that day, there was another art film, the famous "Mountains May Depart" which was made by his fellow townsman.

Both are art films, but Director Jia is far superior to Xin Yukun; it's only right that they weren't released in the same period.

I wonder if Section Chief Jia will have a change of heart after seeing the box office performance of "The Coffin in the Mountain". But it has nothing to do with Shen Ze, since he is not familiar with him.

For Shen Ze, he never considered art films as his rivals. He believed that fate had brought him to the strongest release date, with a guaranteed box office of 450 million yuan. He wondered how much "The Witness" had originally made at the box office.

It's terrible. I haven't seen it, but I guess it probably won't exceed 400 million. Whatever, that's all.