After two weeks of screenings and test screenings, the film "The Red-Necked Knight" is finally about to usher in a full screening.

Because of the on-demand screening and small-scale test screening, the box office performance is very good, and the word-of-mouth is also quite good. Martin used this to convince theaters to arrange more screens.

To this end, Martin and the distributor decided to hold a premiere to do one last promotional promotion before the actual screening.

The premiere happened to be over the weekend, and Martin sent an invitation to Link. Link thought that after Jessica came to Ozette, he basically never left. So he planned to go to this premiere and go out with Jessica by the way. Also, he wanted to talk to the brothers Martin and Nolan.

However, he couldn't leave Hannah home alone. So the family of three came to Los Angeles again.

Link certainly didn't need Martin to arrange accommodation. He has a special VIP card from the Hilton and can stay in their presidential suite at any time.

Although there are many things to attend to for the premiere, Martin arrives at the hotel after learning that Link has checked into the hotel. Link welcomed him into the living room and said with a smile, "Congratulations, Martin." Your film gets the treatment it deserves. I wish you a great movie!"

"Thank you!" Martin looked smug. Because the results of the screening and test screening were quite good, not only did he have a lot of confidence in the movie, but also allowed him to successfully increase the previous more than 2,000 screens to 3,200. This allows him to expect more from the box office of the film.

Martin smiled as soon as he sat down and said, "Thank you for coming to the premiere of the movie." You know, now you're more famous than most of Hollywood's stars. I'm even worried that your appearance tomorrow will make the media only report on you and not mention the movie at all. ”

Link finds a bottle of Queen of the Blue Lagoon in the small bar. He opened the wine and said with a smile: "Then I won't let the media know." ”

Martin turned his glass and said, "That's not going to work." I think they'll at least mention that Link Hans, the God of Gamblers and Oneiroi who never failed to invest, invested in The Red Necked Knight. He saw the bottle in Link's hand and said. "Queen, you know, I only drank one bottle of the box you sent, and I was reluctant to drink the remaining five bottles. And you only sell 300 bottles a month. I can't buy it at all. ”

He shook the wine glass skillfully for a while, then put his nose into the wine glass and sniffed the wine deeply, tasted the wine again, and then sighed and said: "I really miss it! Although it has not yet reached the best drinking period, the rich aroma of the wine gives people the feeling of a newly crowned queen, although it is young, but the queen's dignity and elegance, the performance is still perfect." ”

When Link heard that he was exaggerating, he sat down with a smile and said, "Tell me when you finish drinking, and I'll have someone sell you extra." ”

The two wines, Queen and Huoyun, were only sold in small quantities at this time, not because they were in small quantities, but just a marketing ploy. There are hundreds of thousands of bottles of both wines, and they will be brewed again this year. There will be no less in the future.

Now it is sold in limited quantities, which can keep the reputation of the two wines, but because of the number of these two wines, the public also knows about them. So no one will collect it, at most it will be more reserved.

That would make the market get into the habit of drinking the two wines, although they are expensive, rather than collecting. That would lay a good foundation for the mass sales of these two wines in the future.

"Haha, I thought you'd give me another box!"

"You know, Blue Lagoon Wines, I've handed over to my marketing team to run the operation. A lot of the time, I have to listen to them. I think they'd rather sell a few more bottles. Because that's their performance. Link joked. "Of course, I think I can get them to give you a discount. ”

"Okay. I'll buy it. Maybe I can open a few bottles of feasting at the celebration of the movie. Martin brings the conversation to the film. "You know, from the test screenings, plus now that we have more screens, we can expect more from the box office. ”

"So, we should be very confident?"

"Of course! We can be confident. The results of market research conducted by the distributor indicate that the film should have grossed $150 million in the North American market before the end of the large-scale screening. Of course, that is only a preliminary judgment, and everything will not be determined until after the release. ”

In fact, Martin is still very confident in the issuer's assessment. Because as long as the film has been test-screened, the accuracy of the distributor's investigation is quite high.

Link heard that the North American box office was estimated to be $150 million, and he didn't feel much joy in his heart.

He knows that like an independent film shot by Martin, when the film is filmed, it is not only necessary to pay dividends to the theaters, but also to the distributors. It's good that the producer can get 40% of the box office. And their investment is 50 million dollars. After calculation, the profit at the box office is actually not high.

He smiled and said, "I don't think the result is much worse." But do you have any plans for overseas distribution?"

"You know, I'm not a big director, and if you want to have a better share of overseas distribution, you need the film to do well in the United States. The better it performs in the U.S., the better it will be for us to negotiate with overseas publishers. ”

When Link talked about film distribution, he asked, "What is the situation in the industry with the distribution of films now?"

Each country has restrictions on foreign imports. Some are restrictions on quantity, while others are restrictions on the number of companies introduced.

In China, for example, there is a limit on the number of introductions per year. At the same time, only individual enterprises are eligible to introduce. Many countries in Europe also have such regulations, and only a few companies are qualified to import foreign films. That puts the film exporter at a disadvantage in the dividend negotiations.

But if the movie does well at the box office, in the European market, they can talk about a better box office share.

In fact, Link himself doesn't care much about the income from the movie. Because he knows that it is unlikely that he wants to get a large percentage of the profit from the movie itself.

It's not uncommon for low-budget films to get high box office at the end of the day. But in fact, all that money was made by the publisher. Because those low-budget films are usually bought by the distributor before they are screened, the price at which the distributor buys the various rights of the film is usually only a fraction of the final box office.

Because even if you are a filmmaker, you are not sure whether the movie can make money. Being able to recoup costs and make a profit before the screening is small, but it's acceptable.

And the high-grossing movies in history are actually high-investment. Moreover, the production cycle is relatively long, and the funds will be pressed for a long time. Relying only on box office sharing, it actually doesn't make much money, and the utilization rate of funds is relatively low. Therefore, the yield of the movie itself is not high.

Link's investment in films is just testing the waters. Or maybe I was looking for a way out of investment. It can also be said that he hopes to improve his social status.

His only idea for investing in film is to increase his influence through the industry.

But there's more to the industry than just investing in movies. He can also participate in distributions, such as theatrical chains. And the media.

He came to Hollywood this time not just to attend the premiere of the movie. At the same time, I also want to talk to people in the film industry about the film industry. Like Martin and the Nolan brothers.

Martin didn't know he was interested in film release, he just thought it was curiosity. He said with a smile: "When it comes to the distribution of films, each country has different regulations. The only thing I'm more familiar with is the United States. ”

He took a sip of his wine and continued: "Film distributors in the United States can be film production companies or independent distribution companies. It can even be a company that owns a cinema chain. The only restriction is that the company that makes the movie cannot own the theater. At least on the bright side. ”

What he said is also true. In fact, many film production companies, although they do not have a cinema chain under the company's name, they can absorb shareholders who own the cinema chain. In that way, their films can have more advantages in theatrical arrangements. So that kind of provision actually has a role, but it is not very important.

Of course, the studios don't go too far. For example, banning a certain person or a movie or something, at least it won't be too obvious. The previous ban issued by the U.S. government was a mess within Hollywood. If they were still that messy, maybe tougher restrictions would have been introduced. That's not good for everyone.

Link asked again: "The current theater chain only gets dividends, isn't that always making money?"

Martin laughed and said, "Of course it can't be. Every time a movie is screened, the cost of the theater chain is the same, labor, venue, film, equipment depreciation, etc., those are all costs. If the occupancy rate of a single movie is too low, it will be a loss. Because they're only getting a part of the box office. ”

"In that case, only a small percentage of movies can make money for theaters. ”

"Even during the screening of money-making movies, for cinema companies, there is a part of the time to make money and part of the time to lose. Especially in the last decade or so, film technology has innovated rapidly, and the original investment in projection equipment innovation has also increased. The profitability of many cinema chains is actually not high. ”

Link nodded thoughtfully and said, "Then the cinema chain is also a very risky investment." ”

Martin was stunned for a moment when he heard this, and said, "You mean, you plan to invest in theaters?"

Link nodded and said, "Yes." That's what I think. But hearing what you say, I think I need to be more cautious. ”

Martin smiled and said: "You have enough money, if you really want to invest in theaters, it's not impossible." But whether you're buying or building a new theater chain. As long as you want to have enough say in this industry, the investment will be large. Can a piece of screen show 3D movies, the investment is at least hundreds of thousands. That only includes the projectors, the fit-outs and other equipment, and so on, not the venue. And there are more than 10,000 screens in the United States. ”

Link knew he had guessed some of his thoughts when he said that.

"Actually, I don't want to control the projections," he laughs. I just want to have my own voice in the film industry. "Culture, for a country, is very important. And movies, so to speak, are a kind of American culture.

He wants to occupy a place in the cultural industry in the United States and give himself a greater voice in the United States. With this kind of investment, he can not think about how much money he makes. Because this kind of investment can make his investment in other areas smoother, which is the "profit" he wants.

That kind of investment, like doing charity, Link does not force a monetary return.

Charity can make a person have a better image. In the United States, even if you are the boss of the mafia, as long as you are ostensibly charitable, the ordinary people of the United States will identify with you before the crime is exposed.

In many ways, America is a superficial society. Americans also like to look at only the surface.

That's the fundamental reason why Link has to work tirelessly to manage his reputation!

But he couldn't accept too serious a loss. Because losing money in business can also damage his reputation.