Chapter 691: The Matrix of 2004

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In terms of TV series, the second season of "Lost", "Prison Break", and the first season of "The Big Bang Theory" have ratings of more than 10 points, of which the second season of "Lost" has more than 7 million viewers, the second season of "Prison Break" has more than 9.5 million viewers, and the newly released "The Big Bang Theory" is the most popular, with a large audience of 11.5 million, exceeding the 10.8 million ratings of the first season of "Prison Break". ”

"In addition to TV dramas, our production of The Voice of America, as well as America's Got Talent, which produced its first season this year, have become phenomenal variety shows. The former has a whopping 22.3 ratings, and the latter also surpasses 17.4. ”

"As a result of a series of excellent TV dramas and variety shows, the two pay TV stations CW Public Television, Canal+ and TNT are growing in the U.S. and around the world, especially in Europe. Canal+ currently has 3.37 million paid subscribers in Europe and Africa, and TNT has 4.1 million paid subscribers in North America. In the two quarters of 2004, we received a total of $1.134 billion in advertising revenue and paid subscription revenue from TV and variety shows. ”

"In terms of games, Villefort Game Studios, Counter-Strike, Half-Life, Road to Survival, and Call of Duty continue to generate revenue, especially the second part of Call of Duty, which has sold more than 7.59 million copies. The second part of the Korean legendary studio "Legend" has created a peak of 900,000 simultaneous online people in China, "Audition" and "Bubble Hall" are also one of the most popular casual games in China, and the development of "Dungeons and Warriors" has been completed for most of the time, and it will be officially tested at the beginning of next year. ”

"The world's studio in the capital of China, "Under Heaven", "Fantasy Journey to the West", and "Journey to the West", the three online games are currently one of the most popular games in China, especially the "Fantasy Journey to the West" just launched this year has created 310 million registrations and 2.7 million simultaneous online peaks. ”

"Xuele Mountain Studio, the second part of "Ghost" is expected to be officially tested in October this year and will be on sale in the middle of next year. The third part of the "Home" series is expected to be officially tested early next year, and will go on sale at the end of 2005 or early 2006. As for the second installment of the "Demon Hunter" series, it is still in development, and Mike has not yet given an exact message on when it will be released. ”

Mike Mohuaimi, the general manager of the Snow Mountain Studio, one of the original Blizzard Triumvirate, was born in Blizzard, and he also inherited Blizzard's old habit of sharpening a sword for three years. Although the three development groups of Ghost, Home, and Demon Hunter have been formed for nearly two years, they have not yet come up with a mature game.

"Blizzard Studios, "World of Warcraft" officially opened in March this year, and the market response was good, and the specific release will wait until November. The third part of "Diablo" and the second part of "StarCraft" "Wings of Freedom" are still in the process of development, and according to the plan given by Frank, Wings of Freedom will not be officially tested until the middle of next year. And there are no more detailed plans for the third part of "Diablo" at the moment. ”

Frank Pierce, General Manager of Blizzard Studios, is one of the Big Three.

"Fantasy Studios, the first edition of Pirates of the Caribbean has been released and has now sold 1.47 million. "Harry Potter" has launched the first version of the open beta, and is expected to be officially released by the end of the year, "National Treasure" is still in development, and Alan responded that it will be in open beta early next year and go on sale in the middle of the year. ”

Alan Adhan, the general manager of Fantasy Studios, is perhaps the fastest of the Big Three. Three games can basically be completed in a year and a half. In particular, "Pirates of the Caribbean" has been released, and it is selling well.

“… The animation and music business generated revenue of $1.73 billion in the two quarters of 2004. Among them, in terms of animation, Marvel surpassed DC to become the world's largest comic platform, with 2,733 registered cartoonists, 29,000 new comic works, and 23.78 million registered users. "Red Flame Battlefield", "Midnight Soldier", "Rebirth Man" and other works have more than 1 million online subscriptions. ”

Pixar's "The Incredibles" and "Kung Fu Panda", the former has been produced and is currently undergoing pre-release publicity work, which is expected to be released in September. "Kung Fu Panda" is set for Christmas. ”

"Matrix Music, thanks to the promotion of "The Voice of America", the newly signed Adele and Taylor Swift, many songs on the Billboard chart, are currently the most popular female singers in North America and the United Kingdom. The business in China is also progressing rapidly, and "Super Girl" has helped us acquire four high-quality singers with a deep fan base. At present, Matrix Music is the company with the most diva-level female singers among the world's four major record companies. In mid-2004, it surpassed Universal Music to occupy 24.9% of the global music market. ”

“… The main park and cinema business, and the expansion of the four Universal Studios in Hollywood, Orlando, Osaka and Barcelona have all been completed. In the two quarters of 2004, revenues of $5.14 billion were generated. In terms of cinemas, we currently have 46 luxury cinemas in North America and Europe, and another 5 new ones, with a total of 623 screens, through acquisitions and new construction, and generated revenue of $360 million in the two quarters of 2004. ”

“… In the streaming business, in the two quarters of 2004, Hulu had 37.9 million registered users, 3.32 million paid users, with a revenue of $223 million and a net profit of $64 million. ”

“… The consumer products business, in the two quarters of 2004, earned a total of $1.57 billion in film and television peripherals. ”

After flipping through the information and listening to Buddy Morris's introduction, Guo Shouyun was quite satisfied. The matrix developed faster than he expected. It was not in vain that he tried his best to copy the well-known film and television dramas and games in his memory for five years, as well as a series of painstaking layouts.

In terms of revenue, among the six Hollywood giants, they have surpassed Disney and Time Warner, which has been affected by the giant pit of AOL, second only to News Corporation.

"How's Van Helsing' going?"

For the magic revision of "Van Helsing" co-produced with Sony Columbia, Guo Shouyun is still looking forward to it. After all, the main line is set according to his brain hole, but the side plots are different.

"Post-production is currently underway, and it is expected to be officially released in September. After Buddy Morris finished speaking, he stopped talking and glanced at Guo Shouyun's expression, "Boss, director Michael Bay said that there are too many special effects shots in "Transformers", and I am afraid that the plan to release it at the end of this year will not be realized. ”

Guo Shouyun frowned, and after thinking about it, he nodded.

"Yes... By the way, let Director Michael put the footage of Bumblebee and Jazz for the final production. In addition, abandon the cooperation of these two figures with car manufacturers. ”

He knows better than anyone how high the box office of "Transformers" is, and such a good opportunity to advertise, if he doesn't have a car company, it would be fine. How is it possible to give it to someone else when there is already a Red Star car?

If it weren't for the poor technology of Hongyan's heavy-duty trucks, the market in the United States and Europe would be almost zero, and the company would not have pickup trucks and rescue vehicles in-house, and he would not even give up the models of Optimus Prime, ambulances and iron sheets.

"Yes!"

"Fast and Furious, will it be released next year?"

Buddy Morris nodded, "According to the plan, the production will be completed in the second half of this year and released early next year." But Lin plans to take a break after finishing the production of "National Treasure". I'm afraid we're going to have to choose another director. ”

"How long does Lin Yibin plan to rest?" asked Guo Shouyun.

"Three months!"

"Three months is not too long. And I'm not optimistic that anyone else will be at the helm of the filming of "Fast and Furious", so I'll leave it to Lin Yibin to direct. ”

"Fast & Furious" is better suited than "Transformers" to promote the new cars owned by the Ruby Motor Group. After the launch of the amazing Rover sedan series, MG SUV series, as well as the scissor door and shark face MG sports car series, the box office of "Fast and Furious" will go to a new level, and of course, Rover, which has a century-old brand building, will also be rejuvenated.

"Also, the bidding for vehicle advertising for the third part of "Fast and Furious" has been temporarily suspended. ”

As the CEO of the matrix, Buddy Morris also knows more or less the news that his boss has invested in an automobile group in Huaxia. Although he doesn't think that the products of the car company located in Huaxia are worthy of the classic "Fast and Furious" series of the matrix, as well as the "Transformers" with an investment of more than 100 million, the big boss's tone is very resolute, and he doesn't want to touch the mold.

Especially now that the high-level struggle of Ruby Company and the exit of John Roberts are constantly fermenting in the United States under the impetus of many media. Although this kind of thing may not necessarily be your turn, it is better to be cautious in front of the big boss.

"Something happened to MGM's acquisition?"

After reading the matrix's annual interim report, Guo Shouyun looked at Buddy Morris.

"We had already negotiated with Gary Barber to buy all of MGM's shares for $12 per share. But Sony Columbia suddenly stepped in, bringing together Providence Equity Partners, Texas Pacific Capital Fund, Kongscut, DLJ Commodity Banking Partners, and Sifang Group to buy MGM in a leveraged buyout. ”

"Leveraged buyout?"

At present, the consortium formed by Sony has formed a 'MGM Holding Company' and intends to use this company as the main company to acquire all the shares of MGM Pictures. ”

"What about the price?"

"$13 per share!"

"$13, these guys are really calculating. … What about Gary Barber, Sonny must have given him a lot of benefits, right?"

"This is unknown at the moment. However, a leveraged buyout will definitely require the cooperation of management. At MGM Pictures' scale, he earned at least more than $50 million from the acquisition. Otherwise, he wouldn't have broken the contract when he had almost signed a contract with us. ”