Michael Patrick is the second largest shareholder of Carmichael Cinemas in the United States, and the largest shareholder of the cinema chain is his father Carl Patrick, the origin of the name Carmichael Cinemas is the combination of the names of father and son.

"Mike, where's my black V-shaped backless salute?" From the back room came the voice of his wife, Fili.

"How do I know,!" Michael Patrick, who is only in his early 30s, cursed in a low voice, he had just watched King Zachary's post-Oscars interview and was disturbed by his wife when he heard a key point.

Today's Carmichael Cinema has only been established for 3 years, and it is not the fourth cinema chain in North America later. Due to the unique development route, cinemas are built in those communities and towns with less than 200,000 people, so the development has not been suppressed and excluded by other large cinema chains. Because these small community film markets are not valued by those large cinema chains at all, they all think that Carmichael and his sons are playing children's games.

In three years, the Carmichael Cinemas has grown from more than 10 theaters at the beginning to more than 80 theaters today, and the development speed is extremely amazing.

Although Carmichael's cinema line has developed rapidly, it has now fallen into a bottleneck. Because of the limited audience resources in small communities, they must reduce costs in various ways, such as reducing publicity fees, decoration costs, management fees, and using old projection equipment.

This low-cost way of spending makes the theaters under Carmicha Cinemas look shabby, and the efficiency of recovering funds is very slow.

Since it is a small community movie theater, if you don't pay attention, you will lose money, so Michael Patrick and his son must be cautious when running it. The father is responsible for the management and expansion of the theater chain, while the son is mainly responsible for keeping an eye on the market and ensuring that the movies shown in his theater are as blockbusters as possible.

Michael Patrick now focuses all his energy on the market, such as the Chinese director who has taken the world by storm, and his every word has been carefully studied by Michael.

"Jingle Bell ......" The phone in the room rang suddenly, and Michael Patrick picked it up and said, "Hey, this is Michael." ”

"Mike, I'm your dad, come to the company right away!" Karl Patrick's voice came over the phone.

"Did something happen to the theater?" Michael Patrick listened to his father's anxious tone and hurriedly asked.

"No, it's Zachary who is in the company." Carl Patrick said.

"Zachary?" Michael Patrick looked at Wang Zijun talking eloquently on TV, and thought to himself, could it be that Chinese director?

Karlpatrick said, "King Zachary, Mr. King of the World. ”

"Okay, I'll be there right away!" Although Michael Patrick didn't know what Wang Zijun was doing at his theater company, no matter what, Wang Zijun's arrival was an opportunity. He grabbed his coat and ran out, shouting at his wife without looking down, "Fili, I have something to do to go to the company." ”

Speeding down the street, Michael Patrick kept thinking about what Wang Zijun was doing when he came to Carmichael. Talking about the release of the film? This kind of trivial matter doesn't need to bother, Wang Zijun will come in person.

Could it be...... Michael Patrick suddenly had a guess in his mind that was very close to the truth.

Half an hour later, Michael Patrick arrived at the headquarters of Carmichael. It is said that it is a headquarters, but in fact, it is just a few office spaces rented in an office building.

Adhering to the consistent shabby and shabby of its cinema chain, even the company's headquarters. In fact, the development of the Kaimike Cinema Line in the past three years has not been smooth sailing, and at the worst time, the debt of their father and son reached more than 6 million US dollars, and the few partners who had just established the cinema line all withdrew their funds and left, leaving their father and son struggling.

Even now, Michael Patrick still owes a lot of money to the bank, and all the money earned by the theater chain has been used to expand, and he is even a little nervous about his usual expenses.

The reason why they are so eager to expand is because the father and son believe that the film market of small communities is still blank, and Carmichael Cinemas should quickly open up the situation and build enough theaters when other theater companies do not pay attention to this area.

Walking into his father's office, Michael Patrick saw Wang Zijun drinking coffee and chatting with his father, and the two seemed to be talking about some joke, and they both laughed.

"Mike is here." Carl Patrick said.

Wang Zijun turned around and stood up, stretched out his hand to Michael Patrick and said, "Hello, Mike." Well, can I call you that? ”

"Absolutely, it's my pleasure." After Michael Patrick shook hands with Wang Zijun, he found a seat and sat down, and asked, "The two of you seemed to have a good chat just now." ”

"Yes, I was talking to old Mr. Patrick about the English." Wang Zijun smiled.

After greeting for a while, Kalpatrick said to his son, "Mr. Wang wants to invest in Carmicha Cinemas, and I want to hear your opinion, Mike." ”

"Investment?" Although Michael Patrick vaguely guessed Wang Zijun's purpose, he was still a little surprised at this time and asked, "Why did Mr. Wang think of investing in Carmicha?" With your financial strength, you can completely acquire those large cinema chains. ”

Wang Zijun smiled: "Mike, don't be presumptuous. If you look at the number of theaters alone, Carmichael Cinemas can already rank among the top 20 theater chains in the United States. ”

Michael Patrick smiled self-deprecatingly, he knows his own affairs, most of his more than 80 movie theaters are single-hall small theaters, the only few multiplex theaters, and the number of screening halls in a single theater is only two or three. Compared with the luxury multiplexes of those cinema giants, Carmichael Cinemas is a beggar.

"How much money is Mr. Wang going to invest?" Michael Patrick asked.

Wang Zijun stretched out a finger and smiled at Michael Patrick.

"10 million dollars?" Michael Patrick was happy in his heart, this 10 million is life-saving money, with it, Carmike Cinemas will go through the most difficult period.

Wang Zijun shook his head and said, "It's 100 million." ”

"What?" When Michael Patrick heard this number, he jumped up in surprise and looked at his father in disbelief.

Kalpatrick nodded at his son, who had not reacted much better than his son when he heard the number.

Michael Patrick realized his gaffe, and hurriedly sat down and asked, "Mr. Wang, 100 million US dollars is more than enough to buy the entire Carmichael Cinema Line, do you want to buy us completely?" ”

If Wang Zijun really wants to buy the entire theater chain, Michael Patrick is already excited, because the more than 80 broken theaters are worth a maximum of $20 million.

"No, I'm just investing," Wang Zijun said, "I only need 85% of the shares of the cinema company, and the remaining 15% of the shares will be distributed by you yourself." I have only one request, and that is that I want the $100 million I injected into a physical cinema as soon as possible. ”

"Why? Why choose us instead of acquiring other cinema chains? Michael Patrick felt a little unsure in the face of the pie falling from the sky.

Wang Zijun complimented slightly: "I very much agree with the two Mr. Patrick's theatrical business philosophy, and I think that the small community film market has a very broad prospect. As for buying up those big cinema chains, to be honest, I can do it with my money. But that would cause a lot of trouble, and the Hollywood giants were already hostile to my company, and if it caused the wrath of the theater publishers, it would be really troublesome. Unlike your cinema chains, which don't pay much attention to small community film markets, we can expand as much as we want in the coming years, as long as we have enough money. Wang Zijun smiled, "You have the ability to operate and expand, and I have the capital, this is a perfect combination." Isn't it? ”

Michael Patrick had all kinds of ideas in his head, and although he was a little unwilling that the father and son could only get 15% of the shares combined, he still couldn't withstand the temptation of $100 million. Now, with this $100 million support, it can at least shorten the development time of Carmichael's cinema line by ten years.

Michael Patrick glanced at his father, and Patrick Sr. nodded slightly, apparently they were on the same page.

"I have to say, Mr. Wang, your proposal is very tempting." Michael Patrick said, "But the distribution of shares, whether it needs to be discussed again." ”

Wang Zijun said categorically: "No, I only need 85% of the shares, which is already a very big concession, which is 100 million US dollars." If you don't agree with that, I think I have $100 million in my pocket, and there are a lot of people who are willing to work with me. ”

"Can I think about it?" Michael Patrick Road.

Wang Zijun said: "Of course you can, but you only have 16 hours to think about it, and I will go back to Asia tomorrow morning." If you don't give me an answer by then, then I will give the money to my subordinates in Asia, and he will take the money to build a cinema chain in the United States. At that time, we will no longer be partners, but competitors, because I am also optimistic about the small community film market. ”

After Wang Zijun finished speaking, he got up to say goodbye, the father and son glanced at each other, and old Patrick suddenly stood up and pulled Wang Zijun, and said with a smile: "Why is Mr. Wang in such a hurry, it's decided." Let's find a lawyer to draft the contract! ”

"Wise choice!" Wang Zijun had a bright smile on his face.

With the ability of Patrick's father and son, coupled with Wang Zijun's abundant funds, Carmichael's cinema line will definitely develop more smoothly than in the parallel space, and it can become one of the top five cinema companies in North America in a few years at most.

Wang Zijun's investment in Carmac Cinemas is not a whim, in addition to making money, the deeper purpose is to pave the way for the distribution of Chinese films to North America.

If you want to release a large number of Chinese films in the United States, if you don't have your own theater, it will become very difficult, what films can be released, when they will be sent to you, and when to pull your films, the initiative is in the hands of others. And after winning Carmicha Cinemas, Wang Zijun's plan will become more handy.

Of course, Wang Zijun can't go too far. For example, when a hit film is released, Wang Zijun can't force Patrick and his son not to release those popular films, and instead play Chinese-language films with fewer audiences. It can only be said that under the condition of ensuring the interests of theaters as much as possible, more Chinese-language films will be screened, and the Chinese-language film market will be slowly cultivated in North America.

Because of the investment in the theater chain, Wang Zijun stayed in the United States for more than a week.

Today's Carmichael Cinemas has not yet been listed on the NASDAQ, otherwise Wang Zijun's investment will definitely make Carmichael's stock grow wildly. The trio's dealings were all done in secret, mainly to keep them from attracting attention, and it wouldn't be fun if some smart people came to compete with the small community film market because of this.

For more than a week, the three of them were locked in the house to discuss the future development plan of the theater chain. First of all, the management model of the cinema line was formulated, which roughly followed the previous low-cost business philosophy of Carmichael Cinema, and at the same time, Wang Zijun also proposed some later theater management methods.

Then, based on the survey data in hand, the expansion route of the Carmack cinema line was formulated: first, it would roll out a chain of theaters in the United States as soon as possible, then gradually march into Canada three years later, and begin to develop in Latin America five years later. It is estimated that by about 1990, Carmichael Cinemas will have 300 cinemas and 1,500 to 2,000 screens.

"King, I wish us a happy cooperation!" Calpatrick, who is in his 60s, raised his glass.

Wang Zijun raised his glass and said with a smile: "I also wish Carmicha Cinema a smooth development and become the leading cinema chain in North America." ”

Michael Patrick was much more passionate, shouting, "For Carmichael!" ”

"Cheers!"

"Cheers!"

The three of them raised their heads and drank it all, Wang Zijun put down the wine glass and said: "I invested in a movie "New Shushan Swordsman" in Hong Kong, and I am about to enter North America. This is an oriental magic production, I think there should be a market in the United States, you can try it. ”

"No problem." Kalpatrick immediately agreed, anyway, it is the off-season for movies, even if this Chinese film recommended by Wang Zijun hits the street, Carmichael Cinemas will not have much loss.

Michael Patrick said: "Wang, to be honest, it is difficult for Chinese films to sell at the box office in the United States except for kung fu films. The Jack Chen, who once worked with you in "Food Truck", his witty action movie "Extreme Agent" released on Christmas did not sell very well, only more than 10 million. And I've heard that the investment budget for this film is $5 million. ”

"Of course I do." Wang Zijun said with a wry smile, Wang Pictures invested $3 million in this movie, fortunately, there is still the Asian market to support it, otherwise Cheng Long's "Extreme Agent" filmed due to the butterfly effect will make Wang Pictures lose money.

Wang Zijun said: "Jack Chen is a very good actor, I think he will definitely succeed in the United States, and the same is true for Chinese films." ”

(To be continued)