The Yau Ma Tei Cinema, which Kang Jianfei bought last year, was renovated in April. The old cinema, which originally had only 500 seats on a single floor, was reinforced and divided into two floors on the lower floor, and then two floors were added to the upper floor, turning it into a modern multiplex with six screening halls and a total of more than 1,300 seats.

Yau Ma Tei is far less prosperous than Central and West Central, but Kang Jianfei's Yau Ma Tei cinema is so well located in the center of the old district, with sufficient traffic and customers around, enough to be used as a leading cinema in a cinema chain. At the beginning, Kang Jianfei spent 6 million yuan to buy this theater, but in fact, most of the money was used to buy this land.

Kang Jianfei's other cinema in Kowloon, the Oriental Cinema, has also been renovated, located on the second and third floors of the Oriental Building, with a total of eight screening halls with a total of more than 1,700 seats.

Although the Yau Ma Tei Cinema has enough customers, most of the audience are grassroots people, so the internal equipment of the theater is so-so. However, the Oriental Cinema is different, the hardware equipment of the eight screening halls is much better than that of the Yau Ma Tei Cinema, and one of them is a high-end VIP screening hall, with seating, sound and projection equipment that are among the best in Hong Kong.

The trial film of "God of Gamblers" was held in the VIP screening hall of the Oriental Cinema, and Jiang Zhiqiang, general manager of the New Era Cinema Line, and more than a dozen representatives of its shareholders attended the event.

Although Kang Jianfei's film belongs to the box office guarantee, the trial film will still be symbolic, and then it will be convenient for the theater to produce and schedule the film.

More than a dozen representatives of the shareholders of the cinema chain walked into the VIP screening hall and admired the furnishings, and the manager of one of the small theaters touched the back of the seat and said: "The chairs are all leather, and the decoration alone has cost a lot of money, right?" ”

Kang Jianfei said with a smile: "The audio equipment is also specially imported, and the ticket price of this screening hall is almost twice that of ordinary movie theaters. ”

Jiang Zhiwen asked quite skeptically: "Will anyone come here to watch a movie?" ”

Kang Jianfei said: "There is no luxury theater in Kowloon, but there is no shortage of rich people. With only 200 seats, I expect demand will outstrip supply. ”

Jiang Zhiwen nodded, he has always managed the four movie theaters of Anle Cinema Line, and his younger brother Jiang Zhiqiang is more responsible for buying films in Europe and the United States.

Hong Kong is more up-to-date than Taiwan, and has followed the international trend in the past few years with the opening of a number of new multiplex cinemas. Compared with traditional single-hall cinemas, multiplex cinemas are more flexible in operation and can also reduce operational risks. If it is a big theater like the Taiping Theater, it is much more uncomfortable, with more than 2,000 seats on the same screen, and if the movie is screened, it will hit the street. The three achievements in attendance represent the vacancy of more than 1,400 seats, which is a huge waste of theater resources.

Anle Pictures' four movie theaters are all single-hall theaters, and Jiang Zhiwen also wants to do multi-hall renovation work, but he has not been able to spare time.

More than 20 people sat down in the 200-seat screening room, which looked a little empty, and the beams of light from the projectors reflected the opening credits of Oriental DreamWorks. Everyone quieted down and watched the film seriously.

Two hours later, "God of Gamblers" was finally screened. The applause was very enthusiastic. But Kang Jianfei heard a perfunctory meaning from it.

Finally, the manager of a theater said: "Gambling films were very popular on TV the year before last, but it is difficult to say if they are put on the big screen." Wang Jing's gambling film was the highest-grossing film, but it also sold 5 million at the box office...... Of course, I'm not saying that Mr. Kang's movie is not good, with Zhou Yunfa as the leading actor. It is certain that the box office will break 10 million, but the audience base that loves to watch gambling movies may not be very large. ”

What this person means is that gambling movies are still a niche film genre, no matter how good they are. The box office won't be much higher.

Kang Jianfei said with a smile: "Manager Zhou's worries are purely superfluous, just look at the ratings of TVB's "King of a Thousand Kings" two years ago, in fact, most Hong Kong people love to watch gambling themes. ”

The manager of another theater said: "I think this drama is enough to watch, there are gambling, kung fu, and gunfights, and the most important thing is the box office appeal of Mr. Kang and Zhou Yunfa." "God of Gamblers" was picked up by Yaohui Cinema, and it is guaranteed to be the best schedule for the summer season. ”

Kang Jianfei turned his head to look at Jiang Zhiqiang, he is the nominal general manager of the New Era Cinema Line, as long as Jiang Zhiqiang speaks, things will be easy to do.

Jiang Zhiqiang nodded and said: "I also think that "God of Gamblers" will be a blockbuster, and this year's summer file ......"

"Wait a minute," Jiang Zhiwen said suddenly, "Anle Cinema Line has already arranged this year's summer file. ”

The displeasure on Kang Jianfei's face flashed, and he asked with a smile: "What arrangements does Manager Jiang have, you might as well say it and let everyone learn it." ”

In the past, Jiang Zhiqiang was responsible for purchasing films, and Jiang Zhiwen was responsible for operation. After Anle Cinemas joined the New Era Cinemas, Jiang Zhiqiang became the general manager of the New Era Cinemas, and Jiang Zhiwen still continued to run his Anle Cinemas, but the job of buying films was replaced by someone else.

Jiang Zhiwen said expressionlessly: "Anle Cinema has made summer arrangements and is ready to release "Mr. Duss" in July, and "God of Gamblers" can only be ranked after "Mr. Duss" is finished. ”

Anle Cinema Line originally only screened Western films, because seeing the rise of Hong Kong films, Jiang Zhiqiang agreed to his younger brother Jiang Zhiwen to join the New Era Cinema Line, wanting to take the opportunity to make a little more money.

Because of the different production locations, Anle Cinemas can get a higher box office share for Western films released on the screen. Compared with the two, if "God of Gamblers" and "Mr. Duss" are comparable at the box office, then the release of "Mr. Duss" will make Anle Cinemas earn more.

Another thing that makes Jiang Zhiwen unhappy is that in the past, his younger brother Jiang Zhiqiang was responsible for the purchase of films, but after the establishment of the New Era Cinema Line, the purchase of films by Anle Pictures was delayed. Due to the change of people to buy films in Europe and the United States, under the unfamiliarity of the business, the Hong Kong screening rights of "ET" were actually snatched away by Shaw Brothers Pictures, and the box office sold 20 million during the Spring Festival.

Jiang Zhiwen has always been worried about this, if he doesn't join the new era of Lao Shizi's theater, then "ET" will definitely be screened in Anle theaters.

Although the box office of "Home Alone" screened by Anle Cinema at that time was more, it was shared by more than ten shareholders, how could it be comfortable to eat alone? If "ET" is screened in Anle Cinemas, due to the insufficient number of cinemas, its box office will definitely sell two or three million less, but under the long stream, Jiang Zhiwen can earn millions more.

"Mr. Duss" ranked third in the North American box office last year. The box office is second only to "ET" and "Home Alone". Jiang Zhiwen finally bought the Hong Kong screening rights of this movie, and he had great box office expectations for this, so he didn't give Kang Jianfei any face, and insisted on starring in "Mr. Duss" in the summer.

Jiang Zhiqiang's expression was quite embarrassed at this time, he had a good personal relationship with Kang Jianfei, but on the other side was his own brother, and he really didn't know how to round the field.

Other small theater dealers looked at Jiang Zhiwen dissatisfied, because the Western films Jiang Zhiwen bought were basically eaten alone, and even if they were asked to screen them, they would only give a small share, so most of the theater dealers had a bad impression of Jiang Zhiwen.

Kang Jianfei glanced at Jiang Zhiwen with a cold look in his eyes. Then he said in a hurry: "Since Manager Jiang has already made arrangements, then I won't force it, after all, everyone has the right to choose freely after signing the temporary theater agreement." ”

This is the difference between bandits and regular armies, when it is good to fight with the wind. Everyone rushed up, and maybe they could kill the officers and soldiers. But when there is a divergence of interests, each hill will act in its own way. It's already good that we didn't fight each other.

The Golden Princess Cinemas Line is a regular army. The New Era Cinema is an alliance of bandits.

Jiang Zhiwen didn't want to completely offend Kang Jianfei, he remedied: ""Mr. Duss" should be completed at the end of July, and then I will arrange for "God of Gamblers" to be released immediately. ”

Kang Jianfei said with a smile on his face: "It's easy to say, it's easy to say, Manager Jiang can arrange the release whenever he wants." But let's make it clear first, Anle Cinemas can't get a discount on copy gold. ”

Copy Gold Discount Program. At the beginning of the establishment of the New Era Cinema Line, Kang Jianfei used it to protect the profits of small theaters, and the copy rent decreased according to the decline in attendance.

If Anle Cinemas releases "God of Gamblers" at the end of July, it will be nearly a month late to other theaters. Attendance will certainly be insufficient. Kang Jianfei's refusal to admit the promise of a copy gold discount will greatly increase the screening expenses of Anle Cinemas, which can be regarded as both a warning and a retaliation.

Jiang Zhiwen's face was a little unsightly, but he didn't say anything, just said a few words and left.

Jiang Zhiqiang stood in place and sighed, his brother and Kang Jianfei had a grudge this time, although they didn't break up on the spot, they would definitely not be able to cooperate closely in the future.

The rest of the people had a preliminary discussion on the film schedule and publicity plan, and then dispersed, and as for the specific operation, they would gradually discuss it another day.

Kang Jianfei drove to the crew of "Five Lucky Stars" to visit the class, Zhong Chuhong took over two plays at the same time some time ago, and now he is finally a little relaxed. Zhang Jianting's "Seven Days of Wrong Love" has been completed and is ready to be released in early June, and the box office of this small-budget film is expected to scare many people.

Oriental DreamWorks has already had two films completed this year, including "Seven Ghost Chasers" directed by Yu Yantai with a box office of 7.6 million, and "Into Love Street" directed by Mai Donjie with a box office of 9.2 million.

Because Yu Rentai has been with Kang Jianfei for two years, his film concepts and techniques are much more advanced, coupled with better film scheduling and ticket price increases, the movie "Ghost Chasing Seven Heroes" has a box office of more than 3 million higher than the original time and space. And "Into Love Street" has two actors, Chen Huimin and Li Yanshan, starring two actors, coupled with a great plot of the movie, and with a better promotional film, the box office is directly more than twice that of the original time and space.

The success of DreamWorks' two consecutive movies has made the company very motivated, because the more the company makes money, the more bonuses everyone will give at the end of the year.

"Happy Ghost 4", which is produced by Zeng Zhiwei and directed by Mai Donjie, has also entered the preparatory stage, and plans to continue to use Li Lizhen and Wu Junru as the starring roles, and several other girls will choose newcomers. This move can keep the audience fresh, and it can reduce the salary expenses of the movie, after all, the salaries of the girls in "Happy Ghost" have increased a lot after they became famous.

And McDonald's brother McDonald's bear also officially quit the TV production department and gave up his original position to Xu Xiaoming, and he himself will specialize in making movies in the future.

McDonald's ambition is greater than that of Xu Ke and Chen Xunqi, and even surpasses Hong Jinbao, Mecca and others. The first few people made movies, either because of their ideal interests, or purely because they made more money, but McDonald's ambition is very clear, he wants to build his own film kingdom like Zou Wenhuai and Kang Jianfei.

And judging from McDonald's market vision and film talent, he has that ability, but unfortunately his business talent is insufficient.

McDonald Bear is short of money to start a company, and Li Shaoxia, who provided him with funds in parallel space, has long stopped making movies. Kang Jianfei does not plan to open a bunch of satellite companies like Golden Harvest, nor does he plan to invest in countless small companies like Golden Princess, he decided to open a McDonald Bear film studio after careful discussions with McDonald's Bear.

McDonald's Bear Film Studio is responsible for its own administrative expenses, applying for a budget at DreamWorks when making a film, and how the box office is split depends on the situation, which is more free than Xu Ke's studio.

After the establishment of the McDonald Bear Film Studio, Xu Ke also discussed with Kang Jianfei, and its treatment was changed to be the same as that of the McDonald Bear Studio, which was more flexible and fair than before.

McDonald Bear Film Studio has just been established, and it immediately came up with the plan for "Detective Bald Girl". After Tang Shuxuan's approval, he immediately came up with the script and shooting plan, and now he has gone to Zhou Mingfang to apply for budget funds.

In the parallel space, "Detective Bald Girl" was not conspicuous at the Hong Kong box office, but due to the effective operation of McDonald's Bear, the film was sold to more than 80 countries around the world, making McDonald Bear make a lot of money.

What's even more rare is that there is no big Hong Kong company to help operate, and the biggest contributor to being able to sell films in so many countries is the famous Hong Kong filmmaker and distributor Zhang Jiazhen.

Zhang Jiazhen was the distribution director of Debao later, and he became popular with Ziqiong Yang, and Wu Yusen's "Across the Seas" and "Changing Face" were all produced by this person.

And such a bullish character is the only employee of McDonald's Bear Film Studio at this time, and he is a stunned young man who doesn't understand anything.

In another time and space, after McDonald's "Detective Bald Girl" was filmed, he didn't understand the fart and went to France to sell the film with it. At this time, international film transactions were all paid in US dollars, and he stupidly converted Hong Kong dollars into US dollars, and then US dollars into francs.

When Kang Jianfei became an employee of McDonald's Bear Film Studio in Cheung Ka Chun, he also wanted to dig up this famous figure in later generations. As a result, after some contact, I found that this person didn't understand anything, and he was not even as good as an ordinary employee of the DreamWorks distribution department, so he didn't have much intention of digging people.

After all, McDonald Bear is still nominally helping Kang Jianfei to make money, and it is really not authentic to dig up the collaborator's subordinates, so it's a big deal to hire McDonald Bear after he trains Zhang Jiazhen with a high salary.

In addition to McDonald's "Detective Bald Girl", Zhong Zhiwen, who has been a photographer and assistant director before, finally began to take charge of himself this time and served as the official director of "Royal Sister 3". (To be continued......)

PS: Well, I'm sorry, I've been playing a little crazy these days.