Chapter 344

On the seventh day of the first lunar month, just after the New Year holiday ended, Yi'an held a grand New Year box office celebration banquet.

Attendees included the casts and crews of Love Call Transfer 2, Peach Blossom Luck, Ip Man, and key members of the Crazy Stone team, whose film had just surpassed 300 million yuan in box office.

Normally, celebration banquets are held for single films, and Yi'an had always done it that way before.

Today, they were combined because Yi'an intentionally wanted to create momentum.

These films included a super hit, a dark horse success, and two others that all exceeded average standards, achieving solid profits.

Big hits and small wins alike, spanning the entire New Year season—there couldn't have been a better performance, clearly demonstrating Yi'an's rise and dominance in film.

So it had to be done together; only together could Yi'an's cinematic prowess be shown clearly and directly.

Du Guowei, Deputy General Manager of Yi'an Film and Television and the designated General Manager of the restructured film division, personally took the stage to present the results.

"... As of now, our company has co-produced and distributed four films during the New Year season: Love Call Transfer 2 grossed approximately 39 million yuan, Peach Blossom Luck exceeded 35 million yuan, Ip Man surpassed 120 million yuan, and Crazy Stone broke 300 million yuan, bringing the total New Year season box office to over 500 million yuan..."

"Additionally, films we distributed—including The War of the Chancellors: Part II, Women Not Bad, and Family Happiness—have cumulatively grossed about 400 million yuan, bringing the total distribution box office for the entire New Year season to nearly 900 million yuan..."

Clap clap clap~

The banquet attendees applauded enthusiastically, and many were stunned by these figures.

One New Year season earned nearly a billion yuan—too profitable.

Of course, that's from those who don't understand the industry; anyone familiar with film production behind the scenes knows it's not that simple.

Especially in distribution: Yi'an exclusively distributed very few films, and the data is heavily inflated.

Even among co-producers, profits were often shared with partners, and some films weren't fully controlled by Yi'an.

Corporate reports always stretch the truth—even when there's real connection, they scream to the world that Yi'an is number one.

Below the stage, Hua Yi and Orange Sky, their rivals, sent no representatives; only Fatty Yu came specifically to join the festivities.

Hearing these figures, Fatty Yu's expression turned complicated: "You Yi'an have grown so fast."

Du Guowei's figures were inflated, but even after squeezing out the water, the remaining value was still substantial.

And this was just one New Year season—earlier films like Painted Skin and multiple summer releases also performed excellently.

In 2008, it's hard to say who had the best film business, but without doubt, Yi'an was the fastest-growing.

Especially since Yi'an merged with the former Yi'an Cinema Chain, expanding operations and greatly increasing scale.

Before the Spring Festival, Southern Metropolis Daily released a ranking of mainland film industry power players.

China Film's Han Sanping ranked first, Seeing Yan Li ranked third—the top private company, even surpassing Hua Yi's Wang Zhongjun.

Fatty Yu, head of Bo Na, the mainland's largest film distributor, fell to seventh place; he only made it that high because Hong Kong and Taiwan bosses weren't included—if they were, he'd have dropped out of the top ten.

Fatty Yu felt conflicted—he'd always known Yi'an had potential, but never imagined it would be this good.

Veteran industry giants like Hua Yi and Bo Na, who had built their empires step by step since the early 2000s, were now casually overtaken—or even surpassed—by Yi'an, as if they'd just pressed the accelerator.

"Just lucky."

Seeing Yan Li smiled; Yi'an's performance last year was good, but there was no room to relax yet.

Hua Yi was still strong, and this sighing Fatty Yu wasn't an easy opponent either.

Last year, Bo Na's performance was mediocre, with few hits or breakout films, its momentum fading under pressure from Hua Yi and Yi'an—even Orange Sky, which acquired Shaw Brothers, overtook Bo Na.

Because of this, Fatty Yu got serious, investing heavily and forming resource-sharing partnerships on multiple projects.

For example, co-producing The Golden Empire with Hong Kong's famed director Wang Jing and Wang Pangzi.

Partnering with Taiwan billionaire Mr. Guo to invest over 100 million yuan in the historical epic The Silver Empire.

Also co-producing Mulan with Star International Media and Xiao Ma Benteng—high budget and high profile, linked to multiple top stars.

Oh, Bo Na also joined The Siege of Chang'an as a co-producer.

These were just the big-budget films; there were also many mid- and low-budget films—roughly a dozen or more.

Clearly, pressured by Yi'an, Hua Yi, and others, Bo Na had entered an arms race.

This wasn't something Bo Na could solve by surrendering or withdrawing from the race for the top.

Once Yi'an, Hua Yi, and others went all-in, they'd spare no cost to expand and seize market share.

Bo Na had to grit its teeth and keep up—if it survived, it might still have a seat at the table; if it didn't, it could become cannon fodder, barely clinging to life with no hope of going public—something Fatty Yu could never accept.

So Bo Na couldn't afford any侥幸; whether it wanted to or not, it had to grit its teeth and join the rat race.

"I heard Yi'an is raising funds."

Fatty Yu began probing for information on Yi'an, to better prepare Bo Na.

Seeing Yan Li glanced at him and didn't hide it: "Yes, the merger of the two businesses went smoothly—we're raising capital to further integrate resources and facilitate cinema chain expansion."

This wasn't a secret; many people had contacted Yi'an, and many were watching—basic information couldn't be concealed.

"Which institutions?"

"The main ones we're talking to are Jingwen Guang, China Resources is considering increasing investment, and several PE firms that can help push for an IPO, to connect with relevant resources."

Seeing Yan Li still didn't hide it—Fatty Yu was an insider, had been eyeing an IPO for years, and understood all this.

Sure enough, Fatty Yu counted on his fingers.

Jingwen Guang, a state media group, guaranteed official resources and connections; China Resources, a central enterprise and commercial real estate giant, aligned with cinema chain expansion; private equity funds provided capital and IPO support.

Every angle was covered—if executed well, it could launch Yi'an all at once.

Normally, there'd also be an internet company involved for channel cooperation and future planning, but Seeing Yan Li had Weibo, so no extra effort was needed.

What internet company today was better suited to partner with a film company than Weibo?

The more he thought about it, the more envious and covetous Fatty Yu became.

Hua Yi's star strategy was good, but compared to Yi'an's comprehensive, integrated development strategy, it clearly lacked vision.

Not to mention, Yi'an itself could play the star card—and it had Seeing Yan Li, an absolute commercial superstar.

He'd come to gather intelligence, but by the end, Fatty Yu was fixated on Yi'an's stock.

Definitely profitable—next chance, I'll buy some. Damn, if only I could get some original shares.

Yu Fat wanted to shamelessly ask if he could swap some shares with Yi'an and Bonar, but feared asking would only invite humiliation, and even more feared Yi'an would simply swallow Bonar whole.

"Your Yi'an is about to fight a wealthy war."

Yu Fat spoke with sour envy—he had always believed in Yi'an's prospects, let alone those institutions; Yi'an would surely raise a lot of money.

The notoriously stingy Boss Yan was about to start throwing cash around.

"Wealthy? I'm afraid it won't be enough."

Seeing Yan Li, upon hearing this, began complaining of poverty: Yi'an really needed to raise a lot of money this time, but most of the funds would be poured into cinema chains.

Film production and distribution would still rely primarily on Yi'an's own capital, and might even lend some to the cinema business.

"Not enough—how many cinemas are you opening this time?"

Yu Fat could barely hide his shock; Seeing Yan Li smiled without speaking. Now that money was available, and with the post-financial-crisis opportunity to buy low, he would spend as much as possible—if it didn't hurt the IPO, he might even borrow from a bank.

"..."

After a long silence, Yu Fat suddenly smiled with relief: "I'm now very curious what those two Wang CEOs look like."

Seeing Yan Li raised an eyebrow: "I'm curious too."

Their expressions were certainly not pleasant!

Wang Zhongjun closed the Weibo page about Yi'an's celebration party and glanced at his younger brother.

"What did Xiao Gang say?"

Wang Zhonglei sighed: "He finally gave in—he's willing to make another film for the company, 'If You Are the One 2,' to guarantee profits."

The New Year's release of 'If You Are the One' was a massive hit, making Huayi rich beyond measure, but Feng Xiaogang still had his own ideas.

He didn't want to be trapped on the Feng-style comedy path; he wanted to make real blockbusters and films with intellectual depth.

Perhaps spurred by last year's shock, it reminded him of old memories, and he decided to make 'Tangshan Earthquake.'

Internally, Huayi had varying degrees of resistance to this project—a disaster emotional film demanded huge investment, might not please audiences, and carried commercial risk.

Huayi was on the verge of going public; any mishap could severely damage its prospects.

The Wang brothers had privately worked hard to persuade him, but Feng Xiaogang was adamant.

He was now famous and wealthy, lacking neither money nor reputation—he simply wanted to prove himself.

The failure of 'Assembly' had always been a wound in his heart; now he would use 'Tangshan Earthquake' to reclaim his face and reputation.

Feng was the house director and had always been strong-willed in creative matters; the Wang brothers had no choice but to concede—he would make 'If You Are the One 2' as a safety net, and Feng Xiaogang couldn't keep clashing with two bosses forever; eventually, he too conceded.

Thinking of this made Wang Zhongjun feel stifled.

With the IPO imminent, Yi'an watching like a hawk, and Feng Xiaogang causing trouble again, he now had to take sleeping pills just to sleep.

After muttering a few complaints about Feng Xiaogang, Wang Zhongjun brought up the topic of celebrity equity stakes in the company.

Since last year, Huayi had begun increasing capital through equity stakes—more accurately, offering original shares to bind and secure celebrity shareholders.

Feng Xiaogang was the first to invest, and received the most original shares—roughly 3%.

Then came Big Beard—he as the core figure of Huayi's TV business—held slightly less than Feng Xiaogang.

After that came the top male and female stars: Huang Xiaoming and Li Bingbing; their original shares were second only to Feng and Zhang, nearly reaching 2% each.

Li Bingbing initially bought only half, but Huang Xiaoming bought the full amount outright.

It was said that, due to insufficient cash on hand, he specifically borrowed money—his boldness was undeniable.

Later, Li Bingbing and his sister consulted someone again, and under his advice, increased their investment and bought the full amount.

Other artists did not hold shares as high as Li and Huang.

In truth, giving such high stakes was useless, because not many celebrity artists dared to buy.

As always, many stars didn't understand finance or stocks and remained wary, especially after recently enduring the financial crisis; their attitude was inevitably conservative.

Like Young Master Zhou, she held a prominent position at Huayi—if she were to invest, her stake would be nearly as large as Huang Xiaoming's.