Huayu is free to do as you like

[Wolf Warrior 2] is a hit, and the one who has gained the most is Wu Jing, the director and starring role. He is now just like when Gu Wei directed and starred in [Tang Detective], which was a hit, but he is even more popular than Gu Wei at that time. After all, The box office of the first part of "Tang Detective" was much lower than that of "Wolf Warrior 2".

Next is of course Gu Wei. Not to mention how much money [Wolf Warrior 2] made him, this success has completely confirmed Gu Wei's title as the "King of Box Office" in domestic entertainment.

Even though [Wolf Warrior 2] has not yet been released, the total box office of his movies has exceeded 16 billion.

This data is unique to Scorpion in the current domestic entertainment industry.

Xu Zheng, Huang Bo, Deng Chao, Shen Teng, these future billionaire actors are still far behind Gu Wei.

The most important thing is that Gu Wei never misses a beat. Although the movies he stars in have mixed reviews, they are always hits at the box office.

This is very scary. Whether it's because of Gu Wei's strong box office appeal or because of his good vision, everyone only cares about the results.

It has been 6 years since Gu Wei debuted, and he has used his achievements in one movie after another to completely build himself into a golden brand.

Whether in the eyes of his peers or the audience, he is the guarantee of box office.

The last one is the heroine of the movie, Zhang Tianai. Her role in "Wolf Warrior 2" is not that big and she is the kind of person who decorates a vase, but it is undeniable that she is the absolute leading female character in the film.

The heroine of a movie that has sold over 5 billion in box office. Needless to say, her qualifications and achievements are unmatched.

Coupled with previous films such as "The Richest Man in Xihong City", "Xiu Chun Dao 2" and "Passing Through Your World", Zhang Tianai has completely established herself as a first-line movie star.

If you just look at the box office results, there are only a handful of actresses in the entertainment industry who can compare with her.

The celebration banquet ended relatively late, and everyone was very happy. Wu Jing finally got into the car drunkenly with the help of Xie Nan.

"Actually, Director Wu is not the only one who finds it incredible. Now that I see the box office results of [Wolf Warrior 2] every day, I also feel that it is too exaggerated."

In Gu Wei's car, Zhang Tianai cuddled up next to him.

“We shot well and caught up with the good times. Our current results are due to the confluence of many factors.

Netizens all say that [Wolf Warrior 2] is a box office miracle, and since it is a miracle, it must be extraordinary." Gu Wei put his arms around Zhang Tianai's slender waist and sniffed her hair.

Although Wu Jing drinks a lot, he is not his opponent after all.

"Do you think [Wolf Warrior 2] can really reach 6 billion?" She obviously heard the chat between Gu Wei and Wu Jing at the main table.

"There is hope, but I can't guarantee it 100%."

"Do you think there will be more and more movies with a box office reaching 4 billion or 5 billion in the future?"

"It's not that easy. I can only say that our movie is a special case.

Judging from the current size of the domestic film market, there will definitely be more and more films selling two to three billion dollars, but to reach the level of [Wolf Warrior 2], it is not just about making good films." As he said this, Gu Wei thought about it.

"The science fiction film I'm making now has the potential to hit a box office of 5 billion."

"Your collaboration with Wu Jing again will definitely attract a lot of attention. But can a domestic science fiction film work? Don't ruin your brand." Zhang Tianai was still a little worried about him.

"Haha. Don't worry, I never fight an uncertain battle. Since I dare to challenge domestic science fiction films, I naturally have my reasons."

The black nanny car drove through the streets of Beijing and soon arrived at the community where Zhang Tianai lived.

"Actually, you can consider gaining some weight. Your original figure is very standard. After filming "Operation Red Sea" and being busy with movie promotions these days, you are probably less than 90 pounds now."

On the big bed in the bedroom, Zhang Tianai showed off her perfectly proportioned figure unscrupulously. Her figure was slender and her skin was delicate, but her original tallness seemed to have shrunk a bit.

"It's not as exaggerated as you said. I just weighed 46kg this morning, which is only 4kg lighter than before.

I have a physique that is easy to gain weight. If I don’t pay attention, I can easily gain back the 4 pounds of fat.”

Even so, Zhang Tianai decided to try her best to return her weight to its previous state. She is 165cm tall, so as long as she stays within 100 kilograms, it will not affect her photogenic appearance.

A woman wants to please her appearance, so of course she must listen to Gu Wei's opinion.

"I've already made an agreement with the company. It just so happens that you have time recently, so you can set up your personal studio these days.

The staff is still your current team. In terms of shares, the company accounts for 60% and you personally account for 40%."

Zhang Tianai signed a contract with the company relatively early. She was already an artist under the company before she became famous. After Gu Wei used "Princess" to make her famous, she has made a lot of money for the company over the years.

In fact, Gu Wei planned to help her set up a personal studio as early as the beginning of this year, but then she went abroad to film "Operation Red Sea" and ran out of time, so she has been putting it off until now.

"You're so kind to me, I don't even know how to repay you," Zhang Tianai said quietly while holding Gu Wei's arm.

After so many years of debut, she certainly knows the benefits of star studios. The most basic thing is that opening a studio allows the artist to get more money.

For example, if an artist signs a contract with a management company, if the company shares 30% to 70%, and the company shares 30% to herself, then according to the share division of Weiwei, her management contract will be transferred from the company to her own studio, and 70% will still be her own. Yes, the remaining 30% will go to the company, 18% will go to the company, and 12% will go to the individual celebrity. In fact, he will get 82%.

Another thing is that with a studio, celebrities are no longer just part-time workers, but have more autonomy.

In the future, we can also sign new talents in the name of the studio, invest in film and television dramas, and develop into a small film and television company.

Of course, this is not something that ordinary celebrities can do. Most artists' studios still serve individuals.

Zhang Tianai and Gu Wei already had emotional difficulties.

She always felt that she was wrong in what happened in the first place, and her feelings for Gu Wei were mixed with admiration, guilt and inferiority.

After the two broke up, Gu Wei just spent resources to promote her from a small model to a big star because of a promise he made when they fell in love. He now takes the initiative to open a studio for her.

Looking back on his experiences over the years, how could Zhang Tianai not be moved.

"There is no need to talk about this between us. With your current fame and status, you should also have your own star studio.

It will also be helpful for your future work development.”

Zhang Tianai raised his body slightly and laid his head on Gu Wei's chest.

"Whether I sign with a company or open a studio, I always listen to you. I will do whatever you ask me to do."

On this trip back to the capital, Gu Wei had one more important thing to do besides attending the celebration banquet.

[ByteDance] is raising funds again.

In December last year, Byte's D round of financing was valued at US$12 billion. Now, in just over half a year, the company has launched its E round of financing again.

The financing source this time is [General Atlantic Investment], with a financing amount of US$2 billion and a post-financing valuation of US$26 billion.

[General Atlantic Investments] is a private equity company established in the United States in 1980. It controls hundreds of billions of dollars in funds and has investments all over the world.

However, in recent years, there has been a lot of investment in mainland China. Billions of dollars of capital flow in every year, and some companies with potential are selected for investment.

“In May this year, we launched the international version of Douyin, TikTok, and its development in the North American market is still in its infancy.

It’s just that there is already a product of the same type over there called musical.ly.

Musical.ly is a music short video platform that was launched in 2014. It now has more than 20 million daily active users worldwide, including more than 6 million active users in North America. It has a much greater advantage than us.

To be honest, our Douyin was originally inspired by musical.ly.

However, our development in China is obviously much faster than musical.ly in North America.”

In the ByteDance office, Zhang Yiming was chatting with Gu Wei about this financing.

“Later, after some discussion, we decided that it was a local company with the same product type as ours, so it would be difficult to compete with it, so we might as well just buy it!

musical.ly conducted a round of financing in May last year, with a valuation of US$500 million at that time. After a year, the number of users has increased, and the valuation has also increased relatively.

The company's negotiators have reached an agreement with musical.ly to acquire their entire company for US$1 billion.

As a result, the US$1 billion raised last year is not enough, and the company has also spent a lot on development in the past six months.

In addition, TikTok has entered the North American market, and we also need the support of a strong ally there, so we started this round of E financing.

[General Atlantic Investment] is about choosing good allies.”

Gu Wei had seen reports on the several financing rounds of [ByteDance] in the news. At that time, he was just looking at the news, sighing at the rapid growth of ByteDance's valuation and the huge amount of financing. He did not know the actual amount of each financing. The amount, including the selection of financing objects, is carefully planned.

For fast-growing companies, especially unicorn companies with huge potential like ByteDance, if you want to invest in them and make a profit, you don’t have to have money alone.

Either they can help when the company encounters difficulties, or they can provide resources that others do not have.

Gu Wei was able to invest in the stock just in time for the period when [ByteDance] was in a crisis of public opinion, [Douyin] had not yet been released, and its flagship products [Today's Toutiao] and [Neihan Duanzi] caused a lot of trouble. One involved Infringement of other news websites, one with vulgar content and incorrect guidance.

That period was also the most underestimated time since [ByteDance] was founded.

Later, the new flagship product [Douyin] came out, and Gu Wei, the major shareholder, relied on his fame and influence in the entertainment industry to help [Douyin] become famous and channel his own traffic into this new music In the short video.

Douyin, which was only launched a year ago, has grown rapidly and has now become the second largest short video platform in China after Kuaishou.

Only then did he bind himself to ByteDance and become Zhang’s most reliable partner.

Helping Gu Wei in times of need and providing later resource support are what Gu Wei relies on to enter the core layer of [ByteDance].

If he is simply rich, even if he comes in through chance financing in the early stage, he will still be marginalized by the management through various methods in the later stage.

"It's up to you to decide these things. I've said it since I started investing, and I believe in your ability."

Zhang Mingming smiled at Gu Wei's trust and said nothing.

"Your movie is very popular recently." After getting down to business, the two started chatting again.

"Are you talking about [Wolf Warrior 2]? You are so busy at work and still have time to watch movies?"

"Although I am busy at work, I still need to relax occasionally. I am not a tough guy. Only by relaxing can I last a long time.

In the first few years when I started my business, I really didn’t care about anything. Now, although the company is getting bigger and bigger, there are dedicated people responsible for many tasks. I only need to control the general direction, which is relatively easy.

Besides, your movie [Wolf Warrior 2] is not an ordinary hit right now."

Gu Wei picked up the tea in front of him and took a sip.

"How do you feel? Is the shooting good?"

"It's pretty good. Although I am a layman in the film and television industry, I still have basic appreciation skills.

My blood boiled throughout the movie.

I plan to book some shows in the cinema near the company in the next few days, and as a welfare organization employee, I will go to see them together."

"Haha. Then thank you, Boss Zhang, for supporting the box office."

"You are also the boss, so everyone should support your work." Zhang Yingming smiled.

"But having said that, is it so profitable to make movies now? The box office is expected to exceed 5 billion in the past two days. Our company's revenue last year was only 6 billion, which is about the same as the box office of your movie."

Even though ByteDance’s current valuation is so high, the amount of financing this time is even as high as 2 billion U.S. dollars, but its full-year revenue in 2016 was only 6 billion yuan.

However, Internet companies cannot just look at revenue. The most important thing is market share and development speed.

[ByteDance] is developing extremely fast, and its market share is increasing year by year. It is only August, and the entire company's revenue this year has already exceeded 10 billion yuan.

And Gu Wei knows that with the popularity of TikTok, ByteDance’s revenue will basically double year by year. He remembers that advertising revenue alone exceeded 120 billion yuan in 2019.

The full-year revenue in 2022 will even exceed US$80 billion, of which operating profit will be US$20 billion.

This is the charm of Internet companies. When it comes to making movies, let alone Gu Wei himself, the box office of the entire domestic movie market for the whole year is only 60 billion yuan, which is far inferior to the developed [ByteDance].

So does the entertainment industry make money? Compared with ordinary people and even the middle class, it is very profitable. Small stars have assets in the hundreds or tens of millions, and those in the top tier can basically reach hundreds of millions.

But compared to the big guys in other industries, the ceiling is relatively low. Cheng Long, Uncle Benshan, the two Huayi brothers, Yu Dong, and Wang Changtian are all worth a few billion. They can reach tens of billions. He can already compete for the position of the richest man in the entertainment industry.

If Gu Wei reported all his assets now, he would be the real richest man in the entertainment industry.

It's a pity that he, the "richest man", is still not enough in front of some big shots.

In the entertainment industry, the most important thing is actually fame. With great fame and high influence, money and status are naturally not a problem.

"It can't be compared like this. The company only received 20 US dollars in cash from this financing. How many movies do I have to make to earn this money?

And we have to compete with Tencent and Alibaba. We will become the leading company in the Internet industry in the future, and I will have to ask Boss Zhang to take care of me."

"Haha. Let's work hard together. We're still a little far behind now."

"The company's development has entered the fast lane, and I think it will only happen in the past few years."

"Then let me borrow your good words."

For this financing, the preliminary work has basically been completed. The contract is officially signed, and Gu Wei, as a shareholder, just signs the agreement.

The E round of financing was completed, [ByteDance]’s valuation became US$26 billion, and Gu Wei’s shares were diluted a bit to 10.23%.

Starting from the angel round when the company was established in 2012, [ByteDance] has raised funds 6 times. The composition of shareholders is extremely complex. Gu Wei’s 10.23% may not seem like much, but he is already the second largest individual shareholder after Zhang. .

This asset seems exaggerated, even close to 20 billion yuan, but it actually has little impact on him.

[ByteDance] is not listed. As long as Gu Wei does not intend to sell these shares, it is only paper wealth after all.

After all, he still relies on his income from being a star and an entertainment company to buy a manor, a large plane, and other personal expenses.

"Don't forget the cocktail party tonight."

After the contract was signed, Byte executives headed by Zhang Mingming were obviously very excited.

"Forget it, I don't have anything in common with these people in the financial circle, so I won't come forward."

Zhang Yiming thought for a moment and thought that Gu Wei was indeed a bit out of place at the last financing reception and nodded.

“That’s okay, you’re so busy so I won’t waste more time on you.

But I still have to come to the company more often when I have time.”

"What?" Gu Wei asked curiously.

"Every time you come, the young people in the company are very excited. Some newcomers have improved their work efficiency after knowing that you are a shareholder." Zhang Yiming pushed up his black-rimmed glasses and said with a smile.

“You are treating me as the company’s mascot.

Lao Zhang, you are worthy of being a boss, you really make the best use of everything to the limit."

“You are the spokesperson of [Douyin], and besides, this is all for the development of the company and the welfare of employees.

Why are you going to go on stage to sing a song or something at this year’s annual meeting? "

"How much do you pay for appearance fees?"

"Does your company still require appearance fees?"

"Brothers will settle the score. You know that my current commercial performances are priceless." Gu Wei has almost stopped performing in commercial performances in recent years. He is not short of money now, and he doesn't want to go out even if he has time to rest at home. Work.

"You make a price"

"Lao Zhang, if you perform on stage with me, I can do it for free." Gu Wei rolled his eyes and turned around.

"Well, I can sing, but I'm tone-deaf." Zhang Yiming hesitated.

Even though he was having fun teasing Gu Wei, he started to back off when it was his turn.

“What are you afraid of when we sing together? There’s me too.

Someone just said that they would provide benefits to employees."

Zhang Yingming looked at Gu Wei's half-smiling expression and gritted his teeth.

"Okay, then we will go on stage together and make everyone happy."