A long time ago, it was a good habit for most Americans to go to the local movie theater every week.

In 1929, the Oscars were born. Back then, about 95 million Americans went to the cinema every week, which was equivalent to four-fifths of the total population at the time!

In 1948, about 65% of the population of the United States went to the theater once a week. That year, theater dealers sold 4.6 billion movie tickets.

By 1958, television sets had infiltrated most North American households, and cinema dealers had sold only 2 billion movie tickets that year. During this period, both theater companies and studios struggled to use innovations such as stereo widescreen, surround sound, and more realistic visual effects to compete with television.

But neither the technical attempts nor the so-called audience appeal Spielberg and Lucas have been able to curb the decline of audience loss.

By 1988, the box office sales figure had hovered to 1 billion movie tickets.

The most important reason for the shrinking number of moviegoers in movie theaters is the squeeze of televisions, or in other words, new forms of entertainment.

On the one hand, it has turned the whole Hollywood publicity method upside down, and on the other hand, it is the diversification of profit channels.

Those who know a little bit about Hollywood insiders, especially filmmakers outside of North America, will always point to a very important fact and ask the local amplitude to protect intellectual property.

This fact is that the box office revenue of the cinema chain has become smaller and smaller in the overall revenue of European and American film companies.

On the other hand, such as videotapes, DVDs, broadcast rights of domestic and foreign TV stations, and derivatives, etc., the revenue generated by these new broadcast and revenue channels has become larger and larger.

This change has led to the so-called "IP effect" - only film companies with more high-quality IP can reap more profits in the expanding peripheral market, and then become invincible.

It is also under the guidance of this ideology that in 1990, Time Warner's Ted Turner directly snatched more than 3,000 movie rights from its library after the failed acquisition of MGM United States!

Although these are all old films before the 90s, the collection of MGM and Luen Mei, the two strongest film libraries in the eight major film studios of the year, definitely made Time Warner make a lot of money. This is also the confidence of Time Warner to dominate Hollywood since the 90s.

"So, we need to expand our library!" Jon Philheimer said after explaining to the crowd.

"I agree with this, the film library can provide a steady stream of cash flow. Sean, the manager of the distribution department, nodded, "However, those successful high-quality films are in the hands of the Big Seven, who can we find to expand?"

Sean's words made many nod in agreement, but Sid showed a faint smile of confidence.

Of course, Jon Fairheimer saw Sid's calmness, and he couldn't help but ask curiously, "Boss, do you know anything?"

Sid, of course, knew that when he recruited Shirley, he had already clearly explained the difference between the "28 effect" and the "long tail theory".

Over the years, Shirley has also been laying out according to such a strategy, but before the fledgling Fire Lion Pictures, there was not enough funds and strength to make the layout. But now that the DV film project and the song and dance film project have been launched, it is time to actually move forward with the plan at that time.

"I do know. Sid nodded calmly.

"That ......" Jon Philheimer couldn't help but make a gesture of please, the idea of expanding the film library and opening up the home video market was an idea that he gradually formed during his time at Lionsgate.

Because the film and television industry can be regarded as the most cash-flow-intensive industry - in terms of production and publicity, whether it is the daily salary crew labor cost or the channel fee for publicity and distribution, a large amount of cash is needed to support. Therefore, the amount of cash flow is a vital lifeline for the current film company.

But unlike the television industry, the speed of capital return in the film industry is actually quite slow. From the establishment of a film project, to shooting, publicity, distribution, and release, to the cinema company to transfer the box office revenue to the film company's account.

It is not uncommon for the period to take as little as one or two years or as long as several years.

As a result, studios have to create new revenue streams to sustain their day-to-day operations. And in Jon Firmheimer's view, this profit point is the home video market!

"The Twenty-Eight Effect is outdated. Sid's first words surprised everyone.

But he continued: "In the past, in Hollywood, 20% of high-quality films generated 80% of the profits. So for studios, chasing and creating big-budget movies that can make a big impact and big box office is the key to success. That's what Big Seven did, and that's what DreamWorks did. ”

Sid's words made everyone nod, and Sid smiled and raised his fingers, "But, they're all wrong!"

"With the advent of the Internet, people will generate a lot of free time as they spend more and more time on entertainment outside of the cinema. This amount of time, relying only on those 20% of high-quality films, is absolutely not enough. ”

"Therefore, under the personalized experience and diversified needs, 80% of ordinary films that can only generate 20% of the revenue can generate even greater revenue. That's what the long tail theory is!"

Although Sid's words are very clear, they are still too unbelievable for today's filmmakers.

"I understand. Henry, the manager of the production department, hesitated and said, "But, do these really work?"

"How do you know if you don't do it? Practice is the only criterion for testing the truth." Sid smiled faintly, he didn't explain much, sometimes, it's normal for advanced ideas not to be understood, the important thing is to be able to implement it.

And Jon Philheimer looked at Sid with dumb eyes, the 28 effect on the long-tail theory, Sid is like a cook, and the things that others still believe are half-believed, and the analysis is clear and clear.

The rest of Fire Lion may have been skeptical, but Jon Philheimer was convinced, because that's what they were going to do at Lionsgate.

"So Jon, do you have a target for the acquisition?" asked Sid while Jon Philheimer was still thinking.

"Yes!" Jon Fairheimer nodded.