Chapter 488: Back and forth, tactics emerge one after another

The battle over revenue sharing initiated by the distribution alliance was on a larger scale than last year's.

With both producers and distributors joining the fray, it meant the upstream and midstream of the film industry were uniting to challenge the downstream cinema chains.

Furthermore, directors leading the New Year slot—such as Feng Dapao, Chen Kexin, Wang Jing, Lu Chuan, and Wong Kar-wai—along with a large number of directors and producers in the industry, voiced their opinions in front of the media, hoping the cinema chains would concede to alleviate the ever-increasing production costs.

Originally, according to the distribution alliance's plan, the cinema chains should have continued to concede and compromise just as they did with Zhang Weiping back then, but unfortunately, they were all wrong.

Perhaps having been provoked time and again, the cinema chains were also stirred to anger, so their attitude this time was extremely tough, directly adopting a dismissive stance toward the distributors' notifications.

As for the statements from those directors, the cinema chains ignored them entirely because the status of the two sides was completely unequal; what was there to respond to? "President Wei, your previous decision was wise. The attitude of the cinema alliance is very clear: we will absolutely not retreat again."

Listening to Zhao Feng's report, Wei Jin nodded, not surprised by this.

Although cinema chains indeed have guaranteed income regardless of the season, retreating once and then retreating again meant giving away pieces of the cake and meat.

And it wasn't as if every film could, like those from Shanhe Media, make the entire industry's cake bigger and achieve a win-win situation.

"Alright, just do your own job well and stand together with the large cinema chains."

Honestly, Wei Jin was not optimistic about the cinema chains either; among the thirty-plus chains, the internal structure was not a monolith. One couldn't help but think this spectacle would still have more to see.

The last imported revenue-sharing film of the year was Li An's *Life of Pi*.

Seeing that it was half a month away from release, Li An specifically ran to Beijing to hold a film press conference.

Many major domestic directors were invited, and Wei Jin was no exception.

Although he didn't have much of a friendship with this Taiwan director, after some consideration, Wei Jin still went to show his support.

Come to think of it, the experience of this marquee director among Huaxia filmmakers was indeed somewhat legendary.

Li An was a traditionally trained director who began stepping into the film and television industry in the 80s, but his successive short films didn't make a splash, so he remained idle at home.

It wasn't until the early 90s that, relying on his feature film debut *Pushing Hands*, he received nominations for the Jury Special Award and Best Director at the 28th Golden Horse Awards, beginning to emerge.

Since then, Li An seemed to have opened a cheat code, constantly refreshing all kinds of awards and honors.

In '93, he won the Berlin Golden Bear for *The Wedding Banquet*; in '94, he was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the Golden Globes and the Oscars for *Eat Drink Man Woman*. To date, Li An holds two Golden Lions, two Golden Bears, two Oscar trophies, three Golden Globe trophies, and six Golden Horse trophies.

In terms of awards and honors, Li An was by no means inferior to Wei Jin or Zhang Yimou, and in terms of quantity alone, he was even a step ahead.

However, Wei Jin had to admit that Li An indeed had the level.

His first attempt at a 3D film was done exceptionally well; after the 20-minute 3D clip was released, it won thunderous applause.

After the press conference ended, Wei Jin gathered with directors from Shanhe Media such as Zhang Yimou and Ning Hao to chat for a while, discussing the recent dispute between distributors and cinema chains.

This matter had indeed blown up, and both sides were deadlocked.

Over a dozen cinema chains, led by Wanda and Shanhe Cinema Line, issued a joint statement: "If the distributors forcibly demand an increase in the revenue-sharing ratio, then the cinema alliance will no longer screen these eight films!"

The distribution alliance, led by China Film Group, did not show weakness either, stating bluntly that if the cinema chains did not agree, they would not provide the films.

Even when the Film Bureau stepped in to call for both sides to sit down and negotiate, they were rejected by both, who directly stated they would not accept negotiations.

"Junior brother, what do you think will happen if they can't reach an agreement in the end?"

Ning Hao had no films releasing this year and asked in the tone of a bystander, while the others, Zhang Yimou, Tsui Hark, and the rest, also expressed concern.

"That shouldn't be likely..."

Wei Jin shook his head, setting the tone first, then explained:

"To say something unpleasant, both sides have been backed into a corner, but given the domestic style of doing things, it's impossible not to leave a little room for maneuver. With more than half a month left, a solution will eventually be found."

Everyone nodded, agreeing with Wei Jin's view; only Ning Hao had a rather peculiar train of thought.

"Come to think of it, Li An's *Life of Pi* is good; it's an imported revenue-sharing film, so he doesn't need to worry about this. Maybe the more chaotic it gets, the higher his screen allocation will be."

"That's impossible. The closer it gets to the New Year slot, the less room for maneuver both sides have, and the easier it will be to reach a consensus."

Everyone nodded again: "That makes sense."

That film, *Tiny Times*, which had been controversial and highly anticipated since its project initiation, started filming.

Although Guo Xiaosi was a rookie director, the producers were clearly very optimistic about this series of films adapted from a bestseller, and the opening press conference was held very grandly.

However, what made it awkward was that media directly asked Guo Xiaosi how he explained the plagiarism issue, which made the latter's face turn black, and he forcibly argued that it was just borrowing.

But the media remained relentless; after all, the court's verdict was that *Dreams Fall in the Flower* had plagiarized *Inside and Outside the Circle*.

In the end, it was the host who came out to smooth things over, guiding the topic back to *Tiny Times*.

Among the cast of this play, Yang Mi had the highest status, so she was the most dazzling one in the eyes of the media today.

"Mimi, there was news previously that you took this play yourself, not through the company's connection. Is that true?"

"That is indeed the case."

Yang Mi admitted it directly and then added with a smile: "However, I still want to thank the company for its cultivation; otherwise, Director Guo wouldn't have designated me to play the female lead, hehe."

Yang Mi's words showed no regard for the other actors; after all, her status was there, and even the other so-called main actors didn't mind at all, only envy in their eyes.

"Then there is news claiming that because you took this play, you missed *New Police Story 2013*. Is that so?"

The smile on Yang Mi's face froze, then returned to normal.

"I wouldn't call it missing out. As an actor, one must be responsible for the film. Since the schedule has been set, the rest is not within my consideration..."

"Mimi, in a few days it will be the Golden Horse Awards. Your *Love is Not Blind* is also shortlisted for Best Actress, competing on the same stage as Jing Tian. Do you think the hope is high?"

Hearing this question, Yang Mi forcibly suppressed the displeasure in her heart.

"This is my first nomination. Regardless of whether I can win, I feel it is a great progress and recognition. As for the final result, leave it to the judges. Thank you."

After answering this question, Yang Mi stopped talking, and the media turned the topic to the producers and other actors.

At this time, Ceng Li brought Yang Mi to a quiet place.

"Everything is settled with Director Guo, right?"

"Hmm, it was discussed before. The scenes will be adjusted a bit, and I will only attend on the day of the awards ceremony. I hope there will be a good result..."

In front of the media, Yang Mi appeared very humble, but at this moment, fighting spirit ignited in her eyes.

"Hmm, relax your mindset." Ceng Li could understand Yang Mi's attitude. As an actor trained at Beijing Film Academy, no matter how great the ambition, the desire for awards would not be lacking.

Moreover, the gold content of the Golden Horse Awards was not low. If she could really win it, it would be a huge boost to Yang Mi's commercial value, and Ceng Li was happy to see it happen.

Time entered mid-November.

In the film market, the reputation of Huayi's *Tai Chi 2* had completely collapsed, and its box office performance was even inferior to the first one.

After being released for ten days, the box office was less than 50 million, which could be called a bloody loss.

The rest of the films, whether domestic or imported flat-fee films, performed extremely poorly.

The entire film market didn't have a single film worth mentioning, which made Wei Jin somewhat regret missing this window period.

On the other side, the cinema chains and distributors were still arguing endlessly, but it didn't affect the promotion of the New Year slot films at all; after all, these were all pre-set processes.

However, the cinema chains' unyielding attitude still made people in the industry panic.

Under these circumstances, the Film Bureau couldn't sit still and urgently introduced a new policy.

The core content of the document was also very simple: cinemas where domestic film box office revenue reached more than 50% this year would have the special funds paid by these films fully refunded by the Special Fund Committee; for those with a share of more than 45%, 80% would be refunded.

Honestly, the original intention of this policy was good; it supported domestic films and compensated cinema chains, which could be called killing two birds with one stone.

According to the data released in the third quarter, domestic film box office accounted for 39% of the total market. With the release of nearly ten films in the New Year slot, it was entirely hopeful to raise the proportion to 45% or even more than 50%.

Unfortunately, the cinema chains didn't buy it, because the policy brought short-term benefits, while the distributors' demands were damaging their long-term interests.

However, the distributors appeared confident, because the chips in their hands were all hot films for the New Year slot. The closer it got to the slot, the more passive the cinema chains became.

Han Sanping even had the mood to call Wei Jin to tease him.

"Wei Jin, this time the advantage is with me. What Zhang Weiping could accomplish, there's no reason for us distributors to unite and still lose. Just wait for the arrival of the new era..."

"Uh... then I wish Chairman Han his wish comes true, and I'll just lie down and win along with you."

"Hahaha, just wait and see."

Wei Jin soon witnessed Han Sanping's methods.

The five major distribution companies jointly released the *Notice on the Progress of Negotiation on Box Office Revenue Sharing Ratio*.

According to the information released in the notice, more than 28 cinema chains had signed new screening contracts with the five major distributors.

In addition, there were hundreds of cinemas that bypassed their affiliated chains and directly negotiated new revenue-sharing ratios with the distributors.

According to the data released in the notice, the market share occupied by these cinema chains and cinemas combined had already exceeded 70%.

"Damn, this really looks like the trend is set. Old Han has some tricks, tsk tsk."

After sighing, Wei Jin flipped through the emails from North America.

*Taken 3* had been released in North America for a month and had now entered the routine disposal stage.

Sometimes one has to admit that the influence of word-of-mouth on the box office is indeed too great.

The results of the first and second parts in North America were both over 150 million, but this third part was only 96.8 million USD.

But fortunately, Summit Entertainment hyped the concept of the "final chapter" very hotly, so the performance in the overseas market was quite good.

Europe, Australia, Japan, South Korea, and other regions cumulatively reported 168 million USD, and the global total box office reached as high as 264 million USD.

Waiting for it to be released domestically as an imported film next year, it was estimated that it could take another 30 to 50 million USD.

By then, with a global total box office of 300 million USD, it could be considered a perfect ending for this series.

The distributors' attitude was tough, and the cinema chains' counterattack was also timely.

The next day, 27 industry giants including Wanda, New Film Association, Shanhe, and Dadi Cinema Line held a press conference in Beijing.

In front of hundreds of media reporters, they directly announced the paper version of the *Joint Declaration* stamped with official seals.

"We absolutely do not accept the tough and rude demands of the distributors. We 27 mainstream cinema chains have reached a consensus to refuse threats, absolutely not compromise, and resolutely will not screen those 8 films!"

The key interesting point was here, because the market share of these 27 cinema chains that issued the joint declaration had already reached 80%.

The entire entertainment circle, the media, and even netizens began to discuss it.

"One side says they took down 70% of the cinemas, and the other side is an alliance of 27 cinema chains occupying 80% share. What the hell is going on? Did the market double?"

"Hehe, I guess there are two possibilities: either both sides are bluffing, or there are fence-sitters participating on both sides."

"Damn, there's something to this. False and true, all is fair in war. It seems both sides still have a fight ahead..."

The increasingly aggressive attitude of both sides caused the matter to escalate instantly, and even Ceng Li, who usually didn't pay much attention to industry news, expressed curiosity.

"Xiao Jin, what do you think is going on?"

Looking at the thirst for knowledge on the beautiful woman's face, Wei Jin did not hide it.

"There are indeed fence-sitters, and both sides are dividing and winning over."

Although he didn't participate this time, with Zhao Feng revealing bits of news from time to time, Wei Jin knew some inside information.

However, this time, the methods of China Film Group's distribution company were somewhat vicious, directly bypassing the cinema chains to contact the cinemas under them individually, which was how they got the 70% market share.

After listening to Wei Jin's explanation, Ceng Li frowned.

"Chairman Han doing this, isn't he afraid of completely offending the cinema chains?"

"Hehe, they are already offended."

To be honest, Han Sanping's behavior was equivalent to bypassing Shanhe Media and directly letting companies like Starry Sky Culture or Shanhe Ink follow him, which was definitely something that would invite hatred.

According to Zhao Feng's report, many state-owned cinema chains were already boycotting the distributors led by China Film Group, and it was unknown how much more trouble would be caused later.

"Chairman Han this time can be considered to have been pulled onto the chariot by Huayi, but with his temperament, maybe he had long wanted to do this."

Wei Jin admitted that Han Sanping was indeed dedicated to the development of the industry, but the revenue-sharing matter involved too much. Unless the higher-ups issued a document directly, it would be absolutely impossible to negotiate.

This time, Han Sanping would most likely be used as a gun. (End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 489 =====