Chapter 141 The Huge Profits of "Embroidered Spring Blade"
After being summoned by Han Shanping and Yang Shoucheng, Liu Zhou immediately rushed to Han Shanping's office.

When Liu Zhouyi opened the door, he saw two people leaning back on the sofa with their legs crossed, one smoking a cigar and the other smoking a cigarette, and they looked at him when he came in with a smile.

Liu Zhou suddenly felt as if a thousand horses were galloping through his heart.

Damn!

I was tricked by these two!
Since the two wanted to act, Liu Zhou also cooperated with them. He slowed down his pace, hunched his back slightly, lowered his head and stood in front of the two and said:

"Two big guys, you call me your little brother?"

When the two saw that Liu Zhou acted very well, they looked at each other and then burst into laughter.

"Liu Zhou, it's a waste if you don't go to act." Han Shanping said with a smile.

"Yes, it's obvious that Mr. Liu often watches Hong Kong movies. His acting is so lifelike."

"As soon as I walked in, I saw two big guys sitting there. I was overwhelmed by your aura and couldn't help myself. I'm not acting." Liu Zhou said innocently.

"Okay, stop making fun of me. Why didn't I realize you were so good at talking before?"

Seeing this, Liu Zhou put away his younger brother's attitude, straightened his body, and his expression became firm and confident. He sat down opposite the two men.

But after this little joke, the atmosphere in the room became a lot more relaxed.

At this time, the two of them took out a document and handed it to Liu Zhou. Han Shanping said:

"have a look."

Damn, Liu Zhou felt like they were tricking him again!

Liu Zhou felt that he had to establish his own distribution channels as soon as possible, otherwise he would always feel inferior to others.

But it’s soon!
Liu Zhou breathed a sigh of relief and picked up the two box office profit sharing details.

First is Han Shanping's share, which includes the mainland box office share and other income and expenditure.

The release of "The Swordsman" has reaped the benefits of Zhang Weiping's efforts.

Before the release of "Hero", Zhang Weiping and Zhang Yimou confronted the theater chain and asked them to reduce their share of the profits.

At first, the theater chain refused to agree, but Zhang Weiping later pestered them and even threatened that "Hero" would not be released unless the theater chain gave in.

The reason why Zhang Weiping was so confident was that the overseas copyright of "Hero" had already been sold, the cost had been recovered, and he even made a small profit.

Faced with the bleak film market at the time and the temptation of "Hero", the theater company had no choice but to back down.

Normally, cinema chains take 55 percent of a film’s total box office revenue. If the director is a famous one, they might give in a little.

This time, Zhang Weiping directly asked the theater chain company to take only 45%, the same share as the production and distribution companies.

The theater chain would definitely not be willing to make such a big concession, and then the two sides started arguing, and finally it was decided that the theater chain would take 50% and the producer and distributor would take 41.7%.

This is a qualification only available to great directors.

Seeing that Zhang Weiping was able to win the negotiation, some distribution companies also tried to raise the issue, but the person in charge of the theater chain told them to get as far away from him as possible.

Later, when it was the turn of "The Swordsman" to be released, the people from the theater chain did not dare to act big in front of Liu Zhou.

After just a brief discussion, Liu Zhou secured the same treatment for "The Swordsman" as for "Hero".

Therefore, the producers and distributors of the mainland's 208 million box office can get 41.7%, which is about 87 million.

However, this requires deducting 8% of China Film's distribution fee, which is about 17 million yuan, and the three companies can share exactly 70 million yuan.

Adding the one million sold to the movie channel and the five million from DVD and VCD copyrights, the total revenue in the mainland was 76 million.

The maximum price that a movie channel pays for the broadcasting rights of a movie is one million, and as for the DVD and VCD rights, "The Blade of the Sword" also set the second highest transaction record.

The first place is of course "Hero" because of the presence of Jet Li, the DVD and VCD rights of the movie were snapped up by several distributors.

Finally, it was bought through auction by three distributors for more than 13 million.

The reason why they offer such a high price is that they value the overseas market. Piracy is rampant in mainland China and genuine discs are simply not selling well.

"Blade of the Immortal" did not have Jet Li, a master in selling movies, but it still sold five million thanks to its blockbuster temperament.

The initial investment in "The Swordsman" was 60 million, and later an additional 10 million was added for publicity, bringing the total cost to 70 million.

The box office revenue in the mainland is just enough to cover the costs, and profits still depend on the revenue in Hong Kong, Taiwan and overseas.

The box office of "The Blade of Eternal Youth" in Hong Kong was 35 million. Emperor Entertainment Group took 8% of the distribution fee, and the producer took 42%, which is about 15 million Hong Kong dollars.

The box office of Wanwan is NT$40 million, which is equivalent to RMB 9 million, and the producer also took 42%, which is 3.8 million.

That is to say, the total income of Hong Kong and Taiwan converted into RMB is 19 million.

The total domestic income added up is 95 million.

Liu Zhou accounted for 60% of the investment in "The Blade of Eternal Youth", Emperor Entertainment Group accounted for 30%, and China Film Group accounted for 10%.

Therefore, Liu Zhou was able to obtain domestic income of 57 million.

Then there is overseas income, which is divided into three parts: South Korea, Southeast Asia and outside Asia.

Because the amount involved this time is relatively large and because it is the first time for the three parties to cooperate, the contract signed for overseas distribution is more rigorous.

Although the copyrights outside of Asia were negotiated by Liu Zhou, both China Film Group and Emperor Entertainment Group contributed, so the revenue from this part was directly divided among the three companies.

This part is the $7 million deal with Lionsgate, and Liu Zhou can get $4.2 million.

The total sales in the Nanyang region were US$2.5 million, but Emperor Entertainment Group’s 8% distribution fee, or US$200,000, had to be deducted first.

The remaining 2.3 million was divided among the three parties, and Liu Zhou was able to get about 1.4 million US dollars.

Finally, there is one book and one country.

The total number of viewers of "The Blade of the Dragon Saber" in South Korea reached 1.2 million, which is equivalent to a box office of nearly 5 million US dollars.

At the beginning, Liu Zhou and CJ Group negotiated a 30% share, which is 1.5 million US dollars.

Then there is the first one. "The Blade of the Immortal" was released not long ago, and its box office reached 1.8 billion yen, which is less than half of "Hero".

But this result is already quite good for Chinese films.

1.8 billion yen is about 17 million US dollars when converted into US dollars. Liu Zhou also negotiated 30%, which is 5.1 million US dollars.

The total revenue of "The Blade of the Dragon King" in Japan and South Korea is 6.6 million US dollars.

The distribution in these two countries was related to Liu Zhou, so he also had to take an 8% distribution fee from this income, which is 530,000 US dollars.

Of the remaining 6.07 million US dollars, Liu Zhou can get 3.64 million US dollars, plus the issuance fee, which is about 4.2 million US dollars.

Therefore, Liu Zhou’s total overseas income is US$9.8 million.

This may not seem like much, but when converted into RMB it is a lot, about 85 million.

Adding the 57 million yuan in revenue from the mainland, Liu Zhou earned a total of 142 million yuan from the movie "The Blade of the Dragon".

After deducting the investment cost of 42 million, Liu Zhou's net profit was just a small goal.

Of course, this part of the money still needs to be used to pay taxes, but there is no need to be so anxious, you can use this money first.

No wonder production companies are obsessed with blockbusters. If they are well made, they can really make a lot of money, and the influence they create cannot be compared to those small productions that are trying to make a big profit with a small investment.

Looking at the long string of numbers, Liu Zhou couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. He was finally not short of money!

Han Shanping and Yang Shoucheng couldn't help but smile when they saw this.

This time, China Film and Emperor Entertainment Group also made a fortune following Liu Zhou. Although not as much as Liu Zhou, it was still tens of millions.

The cooperation among the three parties was quite pleasant, and the distribution work was clearly divided.

"Mr. Liu, how is it, is everything ok?"

"You have made the data so detailed and clear, so of course there is no problem."

"That's good. Mr. Liu, do you have any new plans?"

"Well, not yet. I may need to go to Hollywood next. Lionsgate Films invited me to direct a movie."

Hearing Liu Zhou's words, both of them looked surprised.

"Boss Liu, I didn't expect that you would quietly break into Hollywood!"

"I guess I was lucky because I've dealt with Lionsgate before, and this time they just sent me an invitation. I'm not sure whether we can reach a cooperation."

"Boss Liu, you are too modest. Now that you have spoken out about this matter, it should be almost certain!"

Yang Shoucheng’s guess was quite accurate!

Liu Zhou has indeed reached a final consensus with Lionsgate, and all that’s left is signing the contract.

Han Shanping also noticed the smile on Liu Zhou's lips and knew that Yang Shoucheng must have guessed right.

"Liu Zhou, work hard in Hollywood. If you need any support, call me. Mainland filmmakers need excellent role models like you!"

Seeing Han Shanping speak so seriously, Liu Zhou put away his smile and said seriously:
"Don't worry, Mr. Han, I won't embarrass us Chinese people."

"When are you planning on leaving for Hollywood?"

"It should be over after May Day."

"Mr. Liu, I wish you all the best in Hollywood in advance!"

"Thank you!"

After dividing the money, the three of them went to have a meal together and then left.

The next day, Liu Zhou came to the company early and called Zhong Lifang over.

"Mr. Liu, are you looking for me?"

"Yes, how much money do we have in our studio account?"

"Probably close to thirty million!"

"so much?"

"Mr. Liu, TV series are also very profitable. Last year we produced two TV series and earned more than 10 million.

Although we only invested in the TV series "The Sky of History" this year, our studio has already gained a reputation, coupled with the participation of Gao Xixi, Li Xuejian and Zhang Fengyi.

This TV series alone has made a profit of over 10 million, so wouldn’t the total be close to 30 million?”

"I see. Since TV dramas make so much money, we can increase our investment in the TV drama field."

"I think so too. We have received many TV drama projects and I am selecting them now!"

“So what are the projects we have confirmed this year?”

"For now, there is only one project, 'Drawing Sword', but it is only in the preparation stage."

"Has the male lead been decided?"

"It's settled. The director has chosen Li Youbin."

"That's good, but I want to tell you that this year we will only be working on the project 'Drawing Sword' and all other projects will be stopped."

Zhong Lifang was a little confused after hearing what Liu Zhou said. Didn’t you just say that you wanted to increase the investment in TV series?
But she quickly adjusted herself and said seriously:

"Boss Liu, are we going to make any big moves in the second half of the year?"

Liu Zhou couldn't help but smile and said:

"Yes, remember what I told you when I interviewed you?"

Zhong Lifang pondered for a while, and suddenly said:
"Boss Liu, are you planning to take action against Jiahe?"

"Yes, it's time!"

"But our 30 million in funds is not enough, unless we sell some stocks."

"Sell the stocks later. Their prices change every day. It would be a big loss to sell them now. You can take a look at this."

After saying that, Liu Zhou handed a document to Zhong Lifang.

Zhong Lifang opened it and said in surprise:
"Boss Liu, is this the dividend from Xiuchundao? One hundred and forty-two million, there's actually so much."

"Yes, all the money will be in our account before June. After deducting the 10 million we borrowed from Emperor Entertainment Group, we will have 162 million. By the way, how much is the investment in "Drawing Sword"?"

"We made a budget and it will cost about 15 million."

"Cut off two million and tell the director that the investment in Bright Sword is only 13 million."

In the previous life, Hai Run invested 10 million yuan in the movie "Drawing Sword", and it was still made into a classic.

Liu Zhou didn't intentionally make the crew live a tight life. Sometimes this tight situation can better stimulate the potential of the crew's main creators, and "Drawing Sword" is a typical example.

"Okay Mr. Liu."

Since the boss has made the decision, just do it.

"Then the company will set aside two million to maintain operations, and another twenty-seven million. I need to go to Hollywood, so you can use one hundred and twenty million."

"Boss Liu, 120 million is not enough."

"I know, I'm not asking you to acquire Jiahe right away, but I want you to spend all of the 120 million in the second half of this year and quietly acquire Jiahe's shares.

Be careful not to be discovered, otherwise it will alert the enemy. No one is interested in Jiahe’s stocks now, so it is not difficult to acquire them.

But this matter is rather complicated, and I don’t feel comfortable leaving it to other people, so I need you to stay in Hong Kong for the second half of the year.”

"Okay Mr. Liu!"

Golden Harvest Films was the target chosen by Liu Zhou three years ago.

This old Hong Kong film giant began to decline after Zou Wenhuai grew old, and "Feng Yun" was its last burst of glory.

After Jackie Chan left for Emperor Entertainment Group in 2002, Golden Harvest completely ceased production and only relied on its cinemas and distribution network across Asia to maintain operations.

This company is the best complement for Liu Zhou. It can not only completely make up for his weak distribution capabilities, but also allow Liu Zhou to officially enter the cinema industry. It can be said to be perfect!
Historically, Golden Harvest was acquired by Cheng Tian, ​​but they made a mess of it, wasting such a long and glorious brand.

Liu Zhou did not have the strength before, but now he has enough funds through investing in the Internet.

So Liu Zhou felt that now was the time to take over this company!

(End of this chapter)