Los Angeles.

Daenerys Entertainment Division in Burbank.

It's Friday, December 1.

"The Imprint of Gucci" earned $9.55 million in its first week with 532 screens, and the documentary, which was originally intended for publicity purposes and not to make a profit, far exceeded all expectations, and Ira Deutchman immediately began to prepare to increase the number of screens screened for the documentary.

However, Gucci has made a decision that is difficult for him to accept: the North American screening of "Gucci Imprint" will always maintain the scale of 532 screens, and not a single screen will be added.

"The Imprint of Gucci" earned $9.55 million in the first week with just 532 screens, and word-of-mouth and popularity are also rising, and if the number of screens is gradually expanded to about 1,000, the total box office of this documentary in North America will definitely easily exceed $50 million.

Now, if only 532 screens are maintained, the total North American box office size of "The Imprint of Gucci" is likely to be only $40 million, which is at least a $10 million box office difference.

In comparison, because the preliminary work has been done and the additional 500 screens are added, Gorgate Pictures only needs to pay $500,000 in copy and transportation costs.

"Ella, this is actually Mr. Westeros's own decision. ”

In Ella Deutchman's office, Gucci U.S. president Angela Ahrendz, who came to Los Angeles to discuss the follow-up promotion of "The Imprint of Gucci" with Goron Pictures, explained this in the face of Ella Deutchman's questions again.

When Ella Deutschman heard that Simon had decided not to increase the number of screens on "The Imprint of Gucci", she immediately dismissed the idea of persuading Gucci to change her mind.

Before the formal signing of the employment agreement, Ella Deutchman had a face-to-face conversation with Simon, and Simon made it clear to him that although he had a 5% net profit sharing clause in his remuneration agreement, the operation of Gorgate Pictures must still be subordinated to the interests of the entire Daenerys Entertainment, and the company's internal coordination mechanism will not change.

The same is true for other companies that expand throughout the Westeros system.

Ella Deutschman's compensation package includes a 5% net profit sharing clause for Gordon Pictures, but because of Simon's requirements, he is destined to put Gordoor's interests first in everything, let alone make Gorgate Pictures his own private domain.

Ella Deutchman was ousted from the company by several partners, and now, he is in Hollywood in terms of power and salary beyond the reach of his previous partners, and he is very satisfied with this, so he does not resist Simon's decision.

He didn't dare to resist either.

Also working in Burbank, Ira Deutchman could feel how hard Robert Rehm's life was during this time.

Instead of kicking him out of the company, Simon paid for the purchase of the Manhattan property on his behalf.

However, Rehm, who was originally the third person in Daenerys Entertainment after Simon and Pascal, is now divided into three, and Pascal has apparently begun to meddle in the company's distribution.

It is conceivable that as long as Pascal completes the takeover of the company's distribution network, Rem will be completely marginalized and can be kicked out at any time.

What makes Rem even more uncomfortable is that with Daenerys Entertainment's current influence in Hollywood, if Simon doesn't let go, he has nowhere to go. Rem is in his fifties this year and has left Hollywood, and it is simply impossible to change careers to other jobs.

Therefore, knowing that he is being marginalized, Robert Rehm not only cannot resist, but must also do his job dutifully to avoid early dismissal.

After completing the three-year term of the contract, the two sides parted peacefully, and Rem could continue to find other jobs, and if he was kicked out of the company early, there would be no place for him in Hollywood now.

Ella Deutchman didn't want to fall into Rehm's situation.

However, Ella Deutschman still didn't understand Simon's decision and asked Arentz: "Ange, I understand that Gucci didn't make a profit by making 'The Gucci Imprint', but as a brand promotion documentary, shouldn't we let more people see it?"

"Ella, Gucci is a luxury company, which means that our company's products are not for the general public. If "The Imprint of Gucci" hadn't been a big hit, we'd certainly want more potential consumers to see the documentary. Now, we wanted to create a state where everyone knows about the documentary, but not everyone can see it, so that Gucci can distance itself from the public and maintain its brand style. Angela Arrenz said, handing a follow-up marketing plan to Deutchman, "So, Gucci intends to add $3 million to the promotional budget to maximize the visibility of the Gucci Print." ”

Ella Deutchman took the information and did a simple mental calculation in her mind.

If the number of screens is not increased, based on the $40 million North American box office of "The Mark of Gucci", excluding all costs, Gucci will be able to share about $3 million in profits from the box office in the future.

Gucci clearly intends to invest all the proceeds generated by the documentary into the brand's promotion.

Thinking of this, Ella Deutchman inevitably asked curiously: "Angie, can I inquire about Gucci's revenue during this time?"

Angela Arrenz nodded with a smile and said, "I don't know much overseas, but in the United States, Gucci's sales last week were $8.03 million, an increase of 51% compared to the previous week." It should be able to break $10 million this week. ”

When Ella Deutschman heard this, she immediately understood why Gucci would willingly give up the box office revenue of "The Mark of Gucci".

The profit margins of luxury goods are very high, but on the US side of Gucci, the gross profit generated by a week's sales is probably more than the money that Gucci can make from the box office of this documentary.

As president of Gucci America, Angela Arendz is more likely to see first-hand how the Gucci Imprint has boosted sales of Gucci products.

The end of the year is the peak sales season, and without the Gucci Seal, the weekly sales in North America would have remained at around $5 million, which is enough for Gucci USA to exceed its sales target of $150 million this year.

Now, due to the release of "Imprint of Gucci", sales in Gucci stores have increased significantly.

The U.S. subsidiary, which had expected sales of between $20 million and $25 million in December, is now expected to reach $40 million, far exceeding expectations and pushing Gucci's total sales for the year to $170 million.

Because of the rapid improvement of Gucci's performance, many media outlets have recently discussed that the Gucci family made a huge loss business at the beginning of this year.

Based on Daenerys Entertainment's $170 million purchase of a 63% stake in Gucci, the company was valued at just $270 million at the time. In less than a year, many media outlets believe that Gucci's value has skyrocketed to $1 billion.

With that in mind, Arendz and Deutschman began to discuss the follow-up promotion of the Imprint of Gucci.

More than half an hour later, after the matter was over, Aaronz was saying goodbye to Deutchman outside the office, and Madonna, who was wearing a short black trench coat and black boots, turned around from the staircase.

Angela Arentz naturally knew Madonna, and after the two warmly hugged each other, Madonna said: "I also said that I would call you at night, Anji, can you help me find one for the black metal buckle chain handbag that was recently launched? ”

Angela Arenz explains: "This is a limited edition based on a recent documentary, and there are only 100 of them. There were 30 stores in North America, and last weekend there were none. However, I can have someone bring one to you from Europe. ”

"Thank you, Angie, you're so nice," Madonna asked, taking Arentz's arm around her, "but since it's so easy to sell, why don't you produce more?"

Angela Arenz said with a smile: "If you produce more, you won't call it a limited edition, these 100 handbags are all numbered, and there are only 100 in the world, no one will be more, no one will be less." ”

Madonna certainly wouldn't be unaware of what a limited edition is, but just casually made a joke.

The two agreed, and Angela Arentz said goodbye and left, and never mentioned the money.

Madonna asked for a $2,999 price tag, which is already 10 times the price of some Gucci basics.

Gucci can't compare with Hermès, the 'king of handbags', in the field of handbags, and the price of high-end handbags in the past was around $1,000, and this $2,999 handbag can be described as a very cautious attempt by Gucci to hit the higher end, so only 100 pieces were produced.

In order to avoid the embarrassment of being unsalable, the 100 handbags will also be sold in North America, Europe and Asia.

The results of the trial were clearly very good.

The 30 handbags in North American stores actually sold out quickly on Saturday morning, and now nearly a week later, and celebrities like Madonna still have a lot of ideas, which shows that the handbag has also been very successful in terms of publicity.

Gucci has also previously gifted this limited-edition handbag to several actresses who have worked very closely with Daenerys Entertainment for street photography promotion, and Madonna was not among them although she attended the last Gucci show.

However, Madonna offered to ask for it, and Angela Allenz did not hesitate at all, and the gift of the handbag to the singer would certainly be of great benefit to Gucci's brand promotion.

Naturally, Madonna wouldn't be on Burbank's side for no reason.

Angela Arentz leaves, and Ella Deutschman and Madonna go to the office and sit down.

"Maggie, about your concert documentary next year, Gordon Pictures can take on this project. However, the $2 million advance payment you made plus a 40 per cent profit share is unfortunately impossible for me to agree. ”

The last time Madonna was in Milan and Simon brought up the matter of making a documentary about her world tour next year.

Simon was lukewarm, but Madonna kept it in mind.

After the success of "The Imprint of Gucci" last week, Madonna had her agent in initial discussions with Ella Deutchman. She's a shrewd woman, and knowing that after the success of "The Gucci Imprint," Daenerys Entertainment certainly wouldn't mind taking on another similar documentary.

And, because of "The Mark of Gucci," it's certainly easy for Hollywood to get investment in these kinds of documentaries, but because of a young man who continues to do miracles, Madonna is very adamant about partnering with Daenerys Entertainment.

"Ella, "The Mark of Gucci" should be able to recoup $50 million at the box office alone, and that's just North America. I believe that my concert documentary is also not lacking in this potential, so the $2 million advance plus the 40% profit share is very reasonable. ”

Ira Deutchman shook her head: "Music documentaries and fashion documentaries are different. Michael Jackson's "Shadow Dancer" four years ago, you must know that MGM arranged 906 opening screens for that documentary, which can be described as high hopes. But it ended up grossing only $4.21 million. ”

Madonna looked at Deutchman and smiled: "Ella, MGM has declined, it is difficult for them to do anything, everyone knows this." ”

"Okay, Maggie, I'll just say the terms of cooperation that Gordon Pictures can accept," Ella Deutschman said without engaging in too much unnutritious nonsense with Madonna, "The budget for this documentary is initially calculated at $3 million. We have two options, one is the partnership between Gdoor Pictures and Gucci, where Gucci participates in half of the investment in "The Imprint of Gucci" and pays the publicity costs in advance, so it enjoys a corresponding share, and Gorgate Pictures takes a 15% distribution commission from the revenue of each channel. ”

Madonna also knew that Gucci didn't expect to make money at all, but only to promote the brand, which is why she went out of her way to invest in it, and she had seen the cost figures for the "Gucci Mark" in some recent newspapers. Gucci had $7.5 million out of a total of $10 million in production and publicity budget, and she wasn't willing to take that risk.

"What about the second one?"

"The second is the upfront plus profit sharing model that you proposed. Daenerys Entertainment bears all the production and distribution costs, but I can only give you an upfront payment of $500,000 plus a 20% profit share. ”

Madonna's original $2 million advance payment was roughly equivalent to buying out the rights to the documentary. Ira Deutchman compressed the advance payment to $500,000 at this time, which is equivalent to Madonna's current salary level.

After thinking about it for a moment, Madonna said, "$1 million, 30% profit share." ”

Ella Deutchman shook her head, "Up to 20 percent." ”

Madonna grabbed the handle of Deutchman's words and said, "Okay, $1 million, 20% profit share." ”

"Maggie, I mean $500,000 plus 20% profit share, you have to understand that if you don't choose the first option, Gorgate Pictures will have to bear the entire investment risk. ”

Madonna insisted: "$1 million plus 20% profit share, that's my bottom line." Ella, if you don't agree, I'll go and work with other film companies. ”

Ella Deutchman had a look of embarrassment on her face, hesitated for a moment, and then reluctantly got up and stretched out her hand to Madonna, and said, "Okay, Maggie, we'll make a deal." ”

Madonna got up and shook Doichman's hand, and as soon as she sat down, she felt like she could have gotten more if she had held on a little longer.

It seems that Ella Deutschman shouldn't be so talkative. Everyone in the circle knows that he likes to give people ultimatums the most, just do it, just don't do it.

This......

A certain guy suddenly came to mind, and Madonna immediately regretted it even more.

Sure enough, you should hold on a little longer.

However, although she regretted it, Madonna did not regret it, and the $1 million advance payment plus 20% profit sharing should also be the final plan that Gaomen Pictures can accept.

If you think about it, the box office level of "The Mark of Gucci" Madonna is not too extravagant, after all, there is a failure of "Shadow Dancer" in the past, but as long as the North American box office of this documentary can reach one or two million dollars, she will be able to get a total of millions of dollars in the future, which is also a lot of income for her.

And, although it is not extravagant, who dares to say that it is impossible.

The team predicts that her concert next year should be able to earn more than $50 million at the box office, and she will personally take 40%, which is $20 million.

If the concert documentary can really do as well at the box office as "The Imprint of Gucci" under Simon Westeros's management, just 20% of the documentary's omni-channel revenue can catch up with the revenue brought to her by the concert itself.

This is also the fundamental reason why Madonna did not choose other Hollywood studios that could give her more upfronts.

Although shrewd, Madonna is not lacking in this adventurous spirit.