China Entertainment 1997

Winning the North American weekly championship, increasing the film schedule, Cao Xuan and starring Liu Tianxian came to cooperate with the promotion, and the exposure increased greatly, which greatly helped "Hurricane Rescue".

In the following days, "Taken" has maintained its leading position, and even the release of two new movies has not shaken its leading position.

But it's not without any impact.

Paramount spent a huge investment of US$90 million to create the movie adaptation of the magical children's best-selling book "The Adventures of Elf". Although it was not successful at the beginning, it was because it was a children's IP and could be used as a family portrait.

As we all know, for this kind of children's movie, at least two or three tickets are sold, and the parents of the children take all the tickets, so it is called "Family Portrait".

Domestic movies like this are generally animation or comedy movies. The market in North America is relatively mature, and there are also magical IP series movies such as "Harry Potter" to cultivate the market. Fantasy themes have also become a relatively new theme in Hollywood in recent years. .

Because of this advantage, "Fantasy Elf World" has become the main opponent of "Hurricane Rescue" when "Shuttler" has hit the market.

On the other hand, "The Certain Possibility", another comedy film produced by Universal, had almost no dazzling reputation at the box office.

You can only rely on the first-week momentum of new movies to disrupt the situation, but it is difficult to control the key to the market.

In the following North American weekend box office list, "Taken" took in a box office of US$17.06 million due to its strong stamina and publicity.

Although it narrowly missed out on the runner-up spot behind the $19.2 million film "The Fantastic Beasts", for a movie that has been in theaters for nearly 20 days, this figure is quite good, and can even be said to be excellent.

You know, including the US$6.25 million in the first four days, the box office in a single week is US$23.31 million, which is more than the US$21.08 million in the previous week. It is definitely a typical box office dark horse that relies on word of mouth to counterattack.

Of course, thanks to a bunch of movies from the same period, the film was used as a foil, forcing the audience to go to "Taken".

But the good luck of "Taken" also ends here. The next week, "Assassination", "The Magpie's Nest" and "The Bodyguard" will be released, and the week after that there will be the science fiction blockbuster "Ten Thousand Years Before History".

Regardless of the box office performance of these movies, the release of so many new movies will definitely squeeze the box office space of "Taken".

In fact, when "Elf" was released, many people estimated that "Taken"'s good days were over. Unexpectedly, the performance was mediocre, and even "Taken" almost surpassed "Taken" in the weekend box office charts.

But one can't do the other, and "Taken" has outlasted two blockbusters with an investment of 80 million US dollars, "The Shuttle" and "The Fantastic Beasts."

But next week "Taken" is facing a siege. Since the original box office potential is obviously insufficient, let alone breaking through, if it can guarantee a certain amount of box office, it will be considered a victory.

Both New Line and Cao Xuan know this well, and they don't imagine that "Turmaniac" will be able to kill everyone next week.

In fact, the North American box office total of "Taken" has now reached 59 million+ US dollars, and the film's shooting cost + publicity and marketing was only a little over 20 million US dollars.

The North American box office share ratio of "Taken" is about 50%. In other words, based on the current North American box office data alone, New Line and Stars can earn nearly 20 million US dollars.

Not to mention that "Taken" has not yet ended. Unlike in China, most movies in North America have a long release cycle, especially popular movies, which are often released for four or five months.

Of course, usually after two or three months, the box office revenue is minimal, sometimes just a few thousand or even a few hundred dollars a day.

Even so, there is a long way to go. If "Taken" really maintains its stamina, it may earn more than $20 million at the box office.

This is a North American box office of over US$80 million. Previously, New Line made a desperate investment in The Golden Compass with an investment of US$180 million, and the North American box office was just over US$70 million.

Camila Galano walks with her face raised these days, looking at the New Line executives who are about to leave with disdain in her eyes.

A group of insects, let you see who is the real business wizard...

This "business wizard" is not a boast by Galano, but was personally recognized by Warner executives.

After all, a low-cost overseas movie is expected to earn US$80 million at the box office in North America, and considering it is an action movie, it may also make a fortune on DVD and TV channels.

With such professional vision and ability, how can one not be called a "genius"?

Originally, after the acquisition of New Line, Warner was interested in letting Galano continue to serve in his original position, with at least some increased powers. However, due to the outstanding performance of "Taken", Warner executives have already made voices to allow Galano to take a further step, and even directly take charge of New Line. .

Galano also had some connections at Warner Bros. and was almost excited to death when he heard the news.

After the acquisition of New Line, although it is a subsidiary of Warner and is controlled by the parent company in many aspects, and even has some instrumental features, a skinny camel is bigger than a horse. After all, it is still a film and television company ranked high in Hollywood. If it can become New Line The head of the line has really taken off Galano’s career.

As a result, Galano, who was originally satisfied with the North American box office of "Taken", regained his ambition.

"Taken" has limited North American box office potential, making it difficult to do anything new. Galano immediately followed up on "Taken"'s copyright income and global box office.

But the former is fine, while the latter requires Cao Xuan's nod.

Galano immediately blocked Cao Xuan, who was about to return to China, to discuss global distribution and the development of the sequel to "Taken"...

"Hurricane Rescue" is produced by Fanxing, with limited investment from New Line, and both parties will share profits based on region.

The distribution and profits in Asia belong to Fanxing, while the North American distribution goes to New Line, and Fanxing enjoys 30% of the profits. The subsequent development rights of other regions and movies are also in the hands of Fanxing.

During the initial negotiations, New Line did not allow Fanxing to take too much advantage. North America, the largest market, only gave up 30% of its profits, which proves that New Line was still very cautious.

But even so, New Line still underestimated the movie "Taken", so it is now passive.

Not only does Fanxing have the initiative in international distribution negotiations, but the worst thing is that New Line has no involvement in the subsequent development of "Taken".

In other words, if "Taken" is filmed as a sequel, Cao Xuan can skip New Line and cooperate with any film company in Hollywood as long as he is willing.

As for a sequel to a low-cost action movie that is expected to gross US$80 million at the North American box office and has already exceeded US$35 million at the Asian box office, and is highly regarded by the North American DVD market and TV channels, no Hollywood movie will turn it away.

Even before Galano came to see Cao Xuan, people from Paramount and Lionsgate had sent people to the door, and a senior executive from Universal also had a phone call with Cao Xuan.

Galano knew this well, so before coming, he had been trying his best to let Cao Xuan continue to cooperate with New Line.

If the performance of "Taken" is expected to make Galano the future head of New Line, then letting this successful IP leave New Line will completely shatter his dream of becoming a leader.

All the positive work Galano has done for "Taken" will come back to him. No matter how successful the movie is, his guilt will be greater.

But at this juncture, Galano needs the help of "Taken" and cannot hold him back.

So there is only one way, at all costs, to get Cao Xuan to agree to continue cooperation with New Line for the sequel to "The Rescue".

………

beverly hills, mansion

Cao Xuan sat in the tea room, brewing a few cups of tea in a smooth manner and serving it to Galano.

"Mr. Galano, try it. One of the top ten famous teas in China, the best Lu'an Guapian. This is rare in the United States."

Galano picked it up, took a sip like Cao Xuan, and praised it very much.

“Great tea, amazing taste.”

"nice! You love it."

Cao Xuan smiled politely, not believing that this American could drink this tea well.

In fact, under normal circumstances, Cao Xuan has coffee and drinks prepared at home to receive guests from abroad or who are more accustomed to Western style.

However, Cao Xuan came here with the intention of negotiating today, which was considered a psychological warfare to put pressure on Galano.

I don't know if it's useful, but at least Cao Xuan doesn't have to accommodate him and can enjoy tea by himself.

In fact, he didn't have a hobby of drinking tea before. He can drink soft drinks, water, tea, and coffee. Sometimes he even drinks more coffee when he is busy at work and needs to stay up late.

But in the past two years, under the influence of Empress Nishinomiya, who likes tea ceremony, Cao Xuan gradually began to like drinking tea every day to calm down and nourish his mind. For Cao Xuan, who is busy at work, it is a good way to relax.

"Taken" won the first battle. Although Cao Xuan will not immediately become a well-known star in Hollywood, the door has been opened to Cao Xuan.

Jet Li once said that when he was most popular in Hollywood, the bosses of the six major Hollywood companies came to his home and begged him to make movies.

Of course, this was a bit exaggerated. There were not many big names in Hollywood who were more famous than him at that time, and the bosses of the six major companies would not flatter him, but there would certainly be no shortage of smiling faces and flattery and film contract invitations.

In the same way, although Cao Xuan is not as good as Jet Li in his peak period, he is no longer an "unknown person" in the film industry.

So Cao Xuan was very relaxed at this time, but Galano was a little anxious.

But he was also an old fox in the workplace. No matter how anxious he was, he did not reveal his purpose easily. Instead, he talked about two other serious matters first.

The first is the development of the North American copyright for "Hurricane", including DVD, TV channel broadcast, peripherals, etc.

As mentioned before, there are three reasons why Hollywood movies make money: a strong local box office market, huge global distribution channels, and large-scale copyright peripheral development capabilities.

Needless to say, there is no need to say much about the former two. For the latter, ordinary movies can feed on DVDs, TV and the emerging streaming media, forming a movie universe with IP influence, and they can make huge profits from peripheral development.

For example, Marvel's peripheral development revenue is not as good as the box office, but it is still a very considerable amount, and the key is to keep eating.

The peripheral products of "Taken" are quite limited, but DVD and TV channels are still promising.

Compared with those Hollywood special effects blockbusters that pay attention to audio-visual effects, action movies, horror movies, comedies and other themes have always been the favorites of DVD and TV channels.

Especially in terms of DVD sales and rentals, action movies are very popular. The sales figures of Cao Xuan's predecessors Cheng Long and Jet Li are very good.

Jet Li, in particular, was able to get into the tens of millions of dollars club even though the box office was not stellar, all thanks to the success of the DVD market.

Chinese people + action movies, coupled with excellent box office results, make New Line extremely confident in the revenue related to "Taken".

The estimate given by the North American team of "Hurricane Rescue" is 20 to 50 million US dollars.

It's hard to tell whether Galano is exaggerating to a certain extent in order to show off his merits, but this data is still recognized by Warner, and it is obvious that they are also very confident in "Taken".

The second is the release of "Taken" outside of North America and Asia.

In fact, there is nothing to discuss about this matter. Fanxing has its own overseas channels, but they basically sell copyrights. The actual distribution is obviously not as good as some independent channels and can rely on Warner's new lines.

The rest is very simple, one party produces the works, the other party produces the channels, and the two parties split the money 50-50.

Don’t look at North American overseas box office collections of 40%, but putting aside tariffs, exchange rates and miscellaneous expenses, you can often get 25~30%, even if you are lucky.

Therefore, as long as the global box office is not the kind of movie that far exceeds the local box office, most Hollywood movies still mainly take the North American box office.

When they first negotiated, the two companies first divided their businesses into Asia and North America, because these two markets offered them the greatest opportunity to eat meat.

As for other areas, they can be regarded as bones with some meat at best.

Of course, now that the meat is almost eaten and the mouth is free, naturally you can't let go of the bones. After all, no matter how little meat is, it is still meat.

And for Cao Xuan, although as an investor, he can't get too much profit from the global box office, but as an actor, the more box office on the books, the better it is for his career.

The most straightforward metaphor is that there is a big difference in salary and celebrity status between a male lead with a global box office of US$200 million and a male lead with a global box office of US$100 million.

At present, the Asian box office of "Taken" is basically dominated by the mainland and Japan. The mainland's box office is 170 million yuan, equivalent to about 23 million U.S. dollars, Japan's box office is about 10 million U.S. dollars, and Hong Kong, Taiwan and other countries add up to almost 2 million U.S. dollars.

Unlike in North America where the film only became popular after word-of-mouth fermentation, Cao Xuan has a strong box office appeal in Asia. It was an instant hit at the beginning, and the box office distribution was more at the front and less at the back.

According to estimates, the box office in Asia will only be around US$40 million at most, plus North America it is expected to be US$80 million, and the box office in the two places is US$120 million.

It may not seem like much, but it is already the highest-grossing film in Cao Xuan's history. Even "Painted Skin", which broke the mainland box office record, did not have a global box office of US$80 million.

Not to mention that there are important ticket warehouses in Europe, Australia and other places behind. With luck, tens of millions of dollars may be recorded.

Although this data is not as good as the original version of "Hurricane Rescue", it has exceeded Cao Xuan's prior estimate. He thought it could only reach 30% of the original version, but now it seems that it can reach at least 60%.

As a newbie in Hollywood, this data is amazing...

Because of this amazing data, Cao Xuan was confident. He finalized the overseas distribution with Galano and continued to slowly play with the teapot and cups in front of him.

Later, they also showed off their fancy tea art. Although it was not perfect, it was still remarkable.

He was having so much fun here that Galano couldn't help but finally spoke up.

"Cao, do you have any plans for a sequel to "Taken"?"

"The sequel, the story has been filmed, how can I continue it?"

"Let Chen (the male protagonist) come back to rescue other targets, including girlfriends, celebrities, presidents, hostages, witnesses. In short, there are so many things that can be filmed. It can be a series."

Galano was well prepared, Barabala made a lot of talk, and Cao Xuan looked calm.

Of course he knew that "Taken" could be a series. The first part was set in Japan to lay the foundation, and the following parts could be set in any country or city.

Moreover, in the original version of "Taken", because the male and female protagonists are a father and a daughter, although it was a big selling point, it also became a limitation and the movie could never get rid of the daughter and ex-wife.

Although this version of Cao Xuan also puts a lot of effort into family ties, the bond between brother and sister is not so strong. In the sequel, the sister, father, and girlfriend can continue to be arrested, or they can become other people.

For example, the male protagonist is summoned by Interpol to go on a special mission. Although the plot is a bit bad, as long as there is a box office, other things are not that important.

The racing cars in "Fast and Furious 9" are really driven into space. As long as there is a box office, the next one will be filmed.

Of course, Cao Xuan still wants to be proud, and he doesn't want to be completely tied to a movie series, so whether he can make several movies depends on the quality of the script.

But no matter how many movies are made in the future, "Taken 2" will definitely be made. There are even several outlines of the Starry script.

One is still starring Liu Tianxian, a younger sister who went to study in a European country. As a result, she was caught by bad guys or enemies, and the male protagonist went to rescue her.

One is a father, who was previously set to be a businessman. The script can be changed to go abroad to do business. For profit reasons, he is detained by bad guys, and the male protagonist goes to rescue him.

There is also a girlfriend, an ex-girlfriend or a current girlfriend that I know. Anyway, she was caught by the bad guys, and the hero went to rescue her.

Cao Xuan prefers the first or second script. The former is popular, while the latter is in line with the theme of a hero saving a beauty, and the audience loves to watch it.

As for the son saving his old father, it is very positive, but from a business perspective, it is not a wise choice.

Of course, there is no need to say these words to Galano now. Whether we can cooperate in the future depends on his sincerity first.

When Galano saw Cao Xuan's expression, he understood what was going on. He knew that there was no need to go on and on, so he stopped beating around the bush and got straight to the point.

"Cao, how do you feel about our cooperation this time?"

"very good."

Cao Xuan pondered for a moment and gave his answer. This was not perfunctory. He really felt that it was a pleasure to cooperate with Xinxian this time and recognized Xinxian's ability.

The North American box office of "Taken" has been so high. Regardless of its popularity, film quality, hip extension at the same time and other reasons, the New Line distribution team also deserves a lot of credit.

"In this case, we might as well continue to cooperate on "Hurricane Rescue". To show our sincerity, we will give another 5 points of North American revenue and you will get 35%."

"hehe."

Cao Xuan sneered: "Mr. Galano, I admit that we have enjoyed our cooperation this time, but I doubt your sincerity."

At the beginning, "Taken" was able to get 30%, but now the global box office has exceeded 100 million, and only 35% is given to him. Doesn't this make Cao Xuan a fool?

Faced with Cao Xuan's ridicule, an old man like Galano did not show any embarrassment and said shamelessly: "Add 3 more points, 38%."

Cao Xuan was too lazy to talk nonsense with him: "If this is your company's sincerity, I think we don't need to talk. We can cooperate again in the future if we are destined."

Galano realized Cao Xuan's seriousness, suppressed the fake smile on his face, and lowered his head to think for nearly two minutes.

"50% of the revenue in North America will go to Fanxing in Asia, and half in other regions. The film copyright will still belong to you. We will not intervene in the production, but we must enjoy the terms of priority cooperation.

Cao, I believe that no film company in Hollywood is willing to offer such generous terms. "

Cao Xuan was silent, Galano was right, other film companies can only open to 45% at most, and there are a lot of conditions.

For example, those who want to profit from the Asian box office, those who want to intervene in copyright and production, and those who even want to hire Cao Xuan to make another movie at a low price.

Cao Xuan believed in New Line's ability, not to mention that now that he was Warner's own son, the resources he could mobilize were even better than before.

There is not much difference between working with New Line and working directly with Warner. While Warner has too many big productions on its hands, New Line will treat "Taken" as a big treasure.

Although "Hurricane Rescue" has made its mark, its launch is limited. Cao Xuan still prefers to cooperate with medium and large companies other than the six major companies.

In this case, it is better to use it than to use it raw, not to mention that the terms offered by New Line are the most generous.

After thinking for a few minutes, Cao Xuan spoke under Galano's nervous eyes: "I personally support New Line, but after all, the company does not make the decision alone. I have to discuss it with other people."

"No problem, I'm waiting for your good news."

Galano was overjoyed. He had investigated Fanxing and knew that Fanxing was basically Cao Xuan's voice. Cao Xuan agreed, and the matter was settled.

In contrast, Galano is now worried that offering such generous terms is beyond his scope of authority, and whether he can agree to it depends on Warner's nod.

Galano left Cao Xuan's mansion and went straight to Warner Company, where he found his patron Richard Fox, the first vice president of Warner, and asked for assistance.

Today, the Warner family has basically withdrawn from direct management of Warner Pictures. President Jeff Robinoff is responsible for managing the group, and Richard Fox is the second-in-command. He is responsible for the acquisition of New Line.

Galano is considered a confidant of Richard Fox, and he definitely wants to support him in his promotion, but president Jeff Robinov definitely doesn't want him to do so.

New Line is not small, and after joining Warner Pictures, it is also an important part of it. Its president is comparable to the vice president of the group, and is definitely a core executive.

Richard Fox, the second-in-command, is already strong. If there is another New Line president as his henchman, Jeff Robinov, the boss of Warner, will not be able to be the boss.

But Richard Fox is not weak in power, and is the person in charge of New Line's merger and acquisition project. He has a high say in New Line's restructuring.

Galano was originally the senior executive of the new line, and with Richard Fox helping him, he had sufficient conditions for his promotion, but he still lacked key contributions.

"Taken" put him in a good situation. If more Hollywood companies are eyeing him and finalize the cooperation for the sequel of "Taken", his chances of getting the top job will be even higher.

So when Richard Galano saw this extremely generous contract for Fanxing, even though he frowned wildly, he still helped to force it.

For this reason, both he and Galano have left an excuse. If "Rescue 2" fails in the future, they will have to suffer a setback.

However, Galano could no longer control that much. After getting the permission from above, he immediately contacted Cao Xuan again.

Before Cao Xuan returned to China, the two parties drew up a rough contract intention.

In addition to the above-mentioned profit distribution, "Rescue 2" is expected to invest 30 to 40 million US dollars, with Stars providing 80% and New Line 20%.

Among them, Cao Xuan's personal salary is a full 11 million US dollars, and he has officially entered the tens of millions of US dollars salary club after Cheng Long and Jet Li.

Although this movie is produced by Fanxing, the salary is not particularly accurate, but with the endorsement of New Line, at least it is not Cao Xuan's own entertainment.

By the way, Liu Tianxian, as the heroine of a movie with a box office of over 100 million US dollars, has also seen her salary increase several times.

When filming "Hurricane", I received 2 million yuan. This price is not low. You must know that Zhou Gongzi, who made "Painted Skin", is now less than 5 million yuan in salary, and there is no market for it.

But after the release of "Hurricane", Liu Tianxian's salary skyrocketed, and now exceeds Zhou Gongzi, at 6 to 8 million yuan.

Don't be too high-minded, who makes Liu Tianxian have "international influence" now? Except for a few such as Gong Huang, International Zhang, and Michelle Yeoh, there is no other actress with better overseas box office data than Liu Tianxian.

Therefore, stars big and small are trying their best to squeeze into Hollywood, gilding a circle, exporting to domestic sales, that is, they are "international stars", and their salaries have skyrocketed.

Especially in the past two years, the mainland film market has improved, and more and more people are willing to spend money. If you meet a rich man, it is possible to spend 10 million yuan on Liu Tianxian.

Regarding this, Damimi cried with envy. Her current movie salary is less than 1 million, and no one is looking for her to star in the most important good movies.

I'm willing to spend money on a bad movie, but Fanxing definitely can't let the young lady in charge go to a desert island to sell meat in a bikini for millions. She can't afford to embarrass that person.

Not to mention Da Mimi, even Fan Xiaopang, Gao Yuanyuan and others are envious of her. That's Hollywood.

These big-name celebrities have been working hard for a long time, but they can barely get ahead with just one international chapter, and they haven't taken on many new movies in almost two years, so they can hang out in Hollywood without being embarrassed.

In the field of TV dramas, Liu Tianxian effortlessly became the fairy sister and the nation's first love. Now she stars in her first movie, which has a global box office of over 100 million US dollars.

It's not that they are making trouble. If this is really not the case, why would Boss Cao praise her so much?

Because of this, Dongxi Ergong has received countless anonymous text messages in the past few days, reporting and warning them.

You must be careful to guard against Liu Tianxian, and by the way, her mother Liu Xiaoli.

At least one of the mother and daughter is their love rival, maybe both are...