What is the most critical market in Southeast Asia? Even a fool can answer it - Japan. Japan is currently the largest market after North America, with a box office market of approximately several billion dollars every year. The only market that Phantom failed to conquer is Japan.
Yes, South Korea has indeed won over theater chains and theater chain agents, but in Japan, Phantom can't take advantage of this piece of fat for the time being.
However, everyone has ignored another market - Mainland China, a huge market of more than one billion, as long as 30% of it is developed, it will be enough for Phantom to compete with Hollywood. As long as Xiao Ran does not ignore it, it will be enough.
Well, anyway, he was very discerning and set Phantom's foothold in the mainland early on.
"If Hollywood loses its overseas market, what else can it do?" Xiao Ran did not directly answer Wei Dongling's words, but once again hit the side: "Don't forget that the seven major Hollywood giants can release nearly two hundred films every year. If we
If we blindly attack Hollywood, the most likely outcome is that we will be assimilated by Hollywood!"
"Also, don't ignore that Hollywood has huge overseas distribution channels. In major countries and regions around the world, there are distributors buying their films!" Xiao Ran smiled lightly, this was no joke: "When we started to launch an initiative to Hollywood
After the impact, when we come back, we may find that the Southeast Asian or local markets have declined across the board!"
Xiao Ran's words are not alarmist. Wei Dongling has heard Xiao Ran explain it. Xiao Ran said that since Phantom has transformed into a distribution company, the audience it faces should not be limited to local audiences, and the films it invests and produces should become more and more international.
For example, the success of "The Spy" lies in the fact that Xiao Ran cut out the emotional scenes of family and country in the film so that audiences from other countries and regions would not be disgusted. And Xiao Ran's directing techniques in the film were based on
The images and actions are expressed in an international language, coupled with the action scenes that can be enjoyed by people regardless of race or color, the film naturally became a hit.
"God of Gamblers" benefited from the fact that Xiao Ran used a common problem shared by mankind - gambling as the theme. In this way, the theme can easily make audiences from any country or region feel familiar. In addition, Xiao Ran's character in the film
The technique is to describe the story in a way that creates myths and legends. In this way, it is easy to create an idol feeling. Therefore, this is also the reason why "God of Gamblers" can quickly become popular in Japan and South Korea.
A very simple truth is that the films released by Phantom have markets in Southeast Asia. Under such circumstances, if you plan to make a film related to the Anti-Japanese War, then you must not consider the Japanese market. If you plan to make a film related to the
If Japan shows good intentions to the film, then this film will most likely lose most of the market in Southeast Asia.
Of course, this is not specifically about politics, and it is not an absolute thing. Just like there were many movies that viciously attacked the mainland back then, Xiao Ran did not choose not to watch them, but watched them while cursing in his stomach. However,
This requires one condition, which is that the status of the film in this place must be deeply ingrained.
Therefore, nowadays, the films that Phantom participates in investment, or the films that are released, generally have a certain market in various parts of Southeast Asia. Of course, this is decided by the planning department.
To take an extremely simple example, "New Dragon Inn" is very popular locally and is pretty good in Southeast Asia. However, the box office in Europe is much worse. But Xiao Ran still insists on asking movie theaters to show these martial arts and action movies, and even
Shuxiang Media is required to quickly get involved in the publishing industry and strive to make Westerners accept martial arts in culture.
Since Phantom currently has a certain market in Southeast Asia and Europe, it must consider how to choose the film and subject matter that best suits its own interests, so that the film can gain the largest audience when it is released.
noodle.
Since people all over the world like big-budget police and gangster films, Phantom will focus on producing big-budget police and gangster films, supplemented by other marginal works, so that these films can slowly attract audiences from all over the world and gradually become products in the mainstream market.
Although it is indeed easy to lose money by doing this, Xiao Ran still continues to do it. Because he knows very well that martial arts movies and the like are the essence of Chinese culture, just like Western science fiction. If Westerners want to completely accept Chinese-language movies, they must
We need to make martial arts movies popular in the West. This is what Xiao Ran is referring to: manipulation, and guiding the market, rather than letting the market dominate the manufacturing companies.
Therefore, this is a very simple thing. If the Phantom tries to hit Hollywood with all its strength, it will inevitably ignore the Southeast Asian market. And when the time comes, it will not be very difficult for Hollywood to take advantage of the opportunity. After all, Eastern culture is so popular in the West.
Winning mainstream status in the market is really not something that can be achieved in one or two years.
Thinking of this, Wei Dongling understood what Xiao Ran meant. If the Southeast Asian market is consolidated and this market becomes a loyal fan of Hong Kong films, and the current film technology is definitely not inferior to that of the West, Hollywood can definitely be driven out of the market. With this,
At the same time, we will strengthen the cultivation and impact on the European market. By then, Hollywood will be trapped and unable to play any tricks.
With a wry smile, Wei Dongling discovered that with this change in the company's strategic goals, many subsidiaries may have to make corresponding strategic adjustments. After hesitating for a moment, he estimated that the loss would not be big, and then he nodded heavily: "No problem,
Just do as you say!"
Seeing that Wei Dongling finally understood his hard work, Xiao Ran smiled comfortingly. If Wei Dongling didn't understand, it would be a waste to do it. At this time, he said with shame on his face: "I did something wrong.
"In the past, I thought it would be enough to acquire a Hollywood company, but now I realize that this is really not good for the company."
This was of no benefit in the first place, but now Xiao Ran has figured it out. Acquiring film companies will only make Hollywood more and more powerful, just like Sony did. At most, it can only gain one vote in this market. But
His purpose is not to make money, but to develop movies. Therefore, this transaction is really not cost-effective.
"Besides, I have always thought that there is no need for the company's films to be released in North America, unless they are in mainstream theaters!" Xiao Ran now wished he could slap himself in the face. If he had realized this mistake two years in advance, he might have been able to defeat Hollywood for Phantom.
Two years in advance: "But now I think about it, I was wrong. If you want people from one region to accept the movies or culture from another region, the most important thing is to have regular contact! We don't even give North American audiences the opportunity to contact them.
How can we get recognition in the future?”
What Xiao Ran thought of was "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and "Hero". These two films were also released in mainstream theaters in the United States. But this is the road paved by countless Hong Kong films. If there were not many Hong Kong films in non-mainstream theaters before,
It was released online to make North American audiences familiar with and understand Chinese films. How could it have many fans later!
It is true that there is no such thing as a blockbuster, but it is too foolish to always expect a blockbuster. If you think about some things from a different perspective, you will understand that it is possible to moisturize things silently.
"What do you mean?" Wei Dongling smiled bitterly. Sometimes when a company develops to a certain stage, it must go through difficult choices like now. Once the decision is wrong, everything will have to be redone.
Xiao Ran nodded heavily: "Yes, let Lan Hua contact the seven major Hollywood companies tomorrow and negotiate with them. We must try our best to sell all the films.!"
Lan Hua turned out to be Ge Wenqiu's deputy. After Ge Wenqiu went to Europe, Lan Hua rose to power with his own ability. The reason why Xiao Ran said this was because all seven major companies sent people to contact Phantom, hoping to buy it.
North American rights to several Phantom films.
In fact, since Xiao Ran won the award at Cannes, seven major North American companies have been in contact with Phantom. Especially after "The Spy", the contact was particularly frequent. However, the conditions could not be negotiated at all, and only Warner was willing to let "The Spy" first.
It will be released in non-mainstream theaters. If the effect is good, the number of theaters will be gradually increased. The rest will only be released in art theaters.
"As for which company to choose, that's a question..." Wei Dongling hesitated for a moment. Every time he thought about the seven major companies, he wanted to curse, because those bastards were not here to negotiate business at all, but to rob.
The price offered by Fox, a subsidiary of Murdoch's media empire, is not bad, but first of all, it is impossible to get it in a mainstream theater, and secondly, it has to buy out the copyright, that is, buy all the future copyrights of this film.
Such a condition simply made Xiao Ran look like a fool. Not to mention the rights to distribute Zhoubian products and video tapes, but to say that the lifetime copyright of the film belongs to Fox almost made Xiao Ran want to find the negotiator and beat him up.
Dayton.
It's too late for Xiao Ran to buy the film library now, so he still expects him to sell the copyright? Isn't this just like a daydream? Moreover, after Phantom bought the New Art City film library, it made a huge profit just from the distribution of video tapes.
It’s a big ticket, and I’ve made a profit on the peripheral products of “A Better Tomorrow”. This is my first profit from peripheral products. If I want to buy the copyright, I’ll give up on it.
As for MGM, Wei Dongling didn't give it any thought after learning from Xiao Ran that it was controlled by the mafia. Paramount is actually not bad, but its business is mainly concentrated in North America and is slightly weaker in overseas distribution.
A little bit.
On the other hand, Warner is good. The conditions offered by Warner can still be considered, and the price is not low. It can be negotiated on the copyright. After thinking about it, he quickly decided: "It is better to consider Paramount and Warner
Well, I think, since it will take four or five years before it is possible to launch an attack on Hollywood, then the distribution rights in North America can be sold to them for five years!"
Xiao Ran nodded. Fortunately, his trip to North America made him aware of this problem. Otherwise, the collapse of the Phantom Movie Empire would be just around the corner. After thinking about it for a while, he told Wei Dongling: "You know
Our focus is on the mainland, so I think it is necessary to buy two pieces of land in the mainland to build a shooting base. Otherwise, when the real estate heats up, it will be another loss!"
Xiao Ran is thinking now, maybe it's time to talk to Yindu, or it's a good thing to talk to someone with a higher level. At least it has to lay a solid foundation for the future. Thinking of this, I don't know why my mind is wandering.
After passing the TV-related stuff, I immediately said: "In the TV industry, I think news cannot be ignored, and we should try our best to use bold and novel ideas. In terms of media..."
Mentioning this, Wei Dongling immediately remembered one thing. That was earlier, Xiao Ran asked him to find a comic author with delicate writing skills and knowledge of football to make a series of comics. Anyway, Shuxiang has already joined the publishing industry, so it is much easier.
"The comic book author you want has been found, Shuxiang. They all said it was very good and they were selected!" Wei Dongling became more and more confused about what Xiao Ran wanted to do: "But why are you looking for him? Do you want to make comics?"
Xiao Ran nodded. He had read two football novels on the Internet before, "Do You Care If I Play Football" and its sequel "We Are Champions". This series can easily become popular, as long as it can open up the joints in the mainland.
Sell it to the mainland and then adapt it into cartoons. That will be another way to monopolize the Chinese animation market.
It's getting more and more complicated. Xiao Ran only feels that the path he is taking is getting more and more difficult. Movies, TV, print media, animation, publishing, stocks, real estate, these messy things are entangled with him, and even made him lose money this year.
I can't find time to direct a film.
Xiao Ran suddenly discovered that Phantom had to embark on a path of monopolizing culture, which often seemed inevitable. With Phantom having enough financial resources, it might not be a bad thing for Xiao Ran to support other domestic cultures. However, such a situation
In the past, he was getting deeper and deeper into trouble, and he might even be forced to join the gaming industry in the future. By then, he would have truly become a super empire of culture and entertainment. But Xiao Ran estimated that he was half dead from exhaustion.
"They have all left, why don't you go and have a rest first!" The hostess Lin Qingxia came to the two of them with light steps and asked: "It is already very late at night, and you have a lot of work tomorrow!"
Xiao Ran nodded and smiled at Lin Qingxia, took her hand and motioned her to sit down, and then lay unscrupulously on the edge of the swimming pool: "A Dong, it seems that we haven't chatted in private for a long time. We always talk every time we are together.
Work is so tiring!"
"In front of me, what are you saying about being tired!" Wei Dongling let go of his work and became a completely different person. He bared his teeth and shouted: "You don't work more than half a year of me in a year!"
"It's not that exaggerated, but thank you for your hard work. Without you, I really don't know how to support this huge group!" Xiao Ran vaguely saw a hint of joy in hardship in the corner of Wei Dongling's eyes. In fact, they are all very tired.
, every decision is related to whether the ideal can be realized, and they always have no rest.
"What are you talking about? If you want to thank me, why don't you give me a Rolls-Royce!" Wei Dongling also followed Xiao Ran's example and lay down, feeling the cold ground, and suddenly felt a sense of relaxation all over his body: "I
I’ve been coveting it for a long time, but I’ve been reluctant to spend the money to buy it!”
Lin Qingxia saw the happy expressions on the faces and eyes of Wei Dongling and Xiao Ran, and she lay down dubiously. However, she felt uncomfortable all over, so she lay half on Xiao Ran's body and looked at the sky and said, "A Dong, I think you are waiting.
It’s a good opportunity to blackmail A Ran like today!”
Xiao Ran and Wei Dongling both laughed. None of the three of them took the most expensive car in the world seriously. Xiao Ran wanted to give Wei Dongling another billion worth of shares, but Wei Dongling refused to accept it, so what did this car mean?
Lin Qingxia looked at the faintly visible starlight, felt the slight heat coming from Xiao Ran's body, and suddenly smiled: "As a sister-in-law, I have never given you anything, so I might as well give it to you this time!"
"No, isn't Aran's yours?" Wei Dongling sat up straight and deliberately pretended to be confused and glanced at Xiao Ran and Lin Qingxia: "Besides, I remember that Aran is a few years younger than me.
The one who is here should be my sister-in-law!"
"What does it have to do with it? As my sister-in-law, I should have thought of it a long time ago!" Lin Qingxia and Xiao Ran said this to Wei Dongling in unison. The two looked at each other, and then Lin Qingxia smiled secretly and continued: "Don't forget, A Ran is the boss.
It’s normal to call me sister-in-law!”
Wei Dongling shrugged helplessly: "There's really nothing I can do against you two parents-in-law. If Qingxia you want me to call you old, then I'll call you sister-in-law!"
"Then it's better not to do it!" Xiao Ran immediately rejected this possibility and deliberately glanced at Lin Qingxia who was pretending to be angry before saying: "Otherwise, I won't be able to get into bed after you leave!"