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Wang Ninghao, the comedian, was very busy in the previous paragraph.
Wearing a sweater with the words "Mr. Red Carpet" printed on it, the 47-year-old traveled around, joining hands with Andy Lau to promote the new film.
First, they sold movie tickets in Dong Yuhui's studio, and then they were interviewed by Fan Deng to boost the popularity of the new film.
During the Spring Festival, the box office of "Hot and Hot" and "Flying Life" both exceeded 1.5 billion yuan. The strong enemy is on the side, and the box office of "Mr. Red carpet" is dismal.
Five days after its release, the film grossed only 70 million yuan as of press time.
Of the 11 producers of the film, 6 belong to Joy Media. The company was co-founded by Ning Hao, Dong Ping and Xu Zheng.
Cat's Eye predicts that the total box office of "Mr. Red Carpet" will only be over 90 million yuan, and the film will only get 24 million yuan.
Cooperate again
The new film starred Liu Dehua, 43 years from the film, many young and middle-aged fans.
According to the professional edition of Cat's Eye, 31.2% of viewers over 40 bought tickets before release, far exceeding the industry average of 16.2%.
In the same period, "Flying Life 2" and "Article 20" are dominated by young audiences between the ages of 20 and 24.
"in the early days of the pre-sale, the ticket buyers were mainly fans, and the elderly audience accounted for a high proportion." Yin Tengyu, a senior analyst at Maoyan Research Institute, analyzed it.
Ning Hao and Liu Dehua met in Crazy Stone, when the former was an unknown newcomer director and the latter was an investor.
After a lapse of 17 years, the two joined hands again.
"When I was writing the script, all I could think about was Andy Lau. I wanted to give Brother Hua a gift." Ning Hao said that for more than ten years, he has been looking forward to working with Liu.
He is good at directing absurd comedies, starring in the role of "Director Lin Hao" and saying bluntly that "choosing the film and television industry as the theme is to talk to the audience with a self-deprecating attitude."
"dare to shoot, Ning Hao launched a madness that no one can stop, and ripped off the fig leaf of the entertainment industry." The audience commented.
"Mr. Red carpet" really presents the chaos of the entertainment industry.
"when I was filming 'there are no thieves', a 16-year-old found the hotel and hid under my bed for a day." Andy Lau mentioned in the studio.
This plot was also added to the film by Ning Hao.
"the story he wrote is so true that everyone can't tell the truth from the false." Liu said the script was too straightforward and initially hesitated to take the film.
"Mr. Red carpet" was originally scheduled for release on November 17 last year, less than 10 days before its release. Suddenly, the official announced that it would be released on the first day of the Lunar New year.
"the unpopular period may gain a stable box office for long-term screenings, and there are both risks and opportunities for the Spring Festival, and Mr. Red Carpet chose the latter."
Yin Tengyu told 21CBR that the Spring Festival release not only makes the box office more possible, but also brings greater publicity investment and box office risk.
On the night when Mr. Red Carpet opened its pre-sale, the two visited Dong Yuhui's live studio and sold movie tickets.
With a movie ticket voucher worth 50 yuan in an hour and a half, 600000 tickets were sold in the studio, with a total sales of nearly 12 million yuan.
Unexpectedly, it got off to a hot start and ended in a dismal end.
Three people manipulate the market
Ning Hao, who worked hard to bring goods, also had another identity, boss.
He is from Yuncheng, Shanxi Province. He set up his first company, Bad Monkey Culture, long before Happy Media, and was engaged in film production.
He wants to hold the fate of his work in his own hands.
"I resolutely turned down my father's arrangement to do business. I didn't want to do that, but now I'm in business."
Ning Hao said that the identity of the investor is contrary to the original intention of making the film.
In 2015, he co-founded Joy Media with Xu Zheng and Dong Ping.
As of June 2023, the three people, as concerted actors, jointly hold 40% of the shares of the company and are the actual controllers.
After listing, the company received HK $391 million and HK $513 million from Maoyan Entertainment and bilibili.
The entrepreneurial partners of the two directors have rich experience in capital operation.
Dong Ping is a well-known film investor. His early works include Chen Kaige's Jing Ke stabbing the King of Qin, Jiang Wen's Let the bullets fly, Ang Lee's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and so on.
He serves as chairman of the board of directors of Huanxi Media and is responsible for specific matters.
Xiang Shaokun, CEO of the company, is a senior M & A lawyer who leads a number of investments and transactions.
"without the support of Boss Dong, we would not have achieved what we have achieved today." Xu Zheng said frankly.
In the film and television industry for more than a decade, Ning Hao, Dong Ping and Xu Zheng join hands to maximize the value of commercial films.
Over the past eight years, the total box office of films produced by Joy Media has reached 22.1 billion yuan, of which "Man Jiang Hong", "Crazy Aliens", "I am not the God of Medicine" and "lost in Hong Kong" have grossed more than 1 billion yuan.
During the epidemic period, the company's performance was under pressure for three consecutive years, and the release time of many films was delayed, resulting in a total loss of nearly HK $700 million from 2020 to 2022.
In 2023, the industry picked up, and "Man Jiang Hong", which was voted by happy media, earned 4.5 billion yuan at the box office.
Driven by the film, the company's revenue in the first half of the year increased to HK $1.39 billion, with a net profit of HK $400m.
Unfortunately, "Mr. Red carpet" is no longer so lucky.
The director joined in.
At the beginning of its establishment, Huanxi Media had little experience and insufficient capital, so it opened up a new way for development.
Joyful creation director partner system. The five directors, Chan Ho-sun, Wong Ka Wai, Cheung Yi-mou, Ku Cheung Wai and Cheung Yi-bai, all hold shares in the company.
In addition, Huang Bo, Jia Zhangke, Wen Jun, Wang Xiaoshuai and Chen Daming are all contracted directors of the company and have worked together for a long time.
Specifically, Happy Media does not set the terms of performance betting, but chooses to sign a cooperation agreement with the director, so that the company has exclusive or priority investment rights, production rights and distribution rights, and directors can receive corresponding compensation and share incentives.
"This model allows every director, every producer, every investor to focus on the profitability of the company and the quality of the film, giving everyone a sense of belonging, drive and ambition." Dong Ping said.
Joy Media binds many directors and their works in this way, hoping to win by content and compete with other film and television companies on the same stage.
"if you don't bind this content, how can you compete with Tencent, Youku and iqiyi? We can't compete with money or traffic. " Dong Ping spoke bluntly.
For example, in 2018, Huanxi Media formally entered into a partnership with Zhang Yimou to issue 150 million new shares and pay 100 million yuan in operating expenses.
Since then, the company invested in Zhang Yimou's film "one second" and "Manjianghong" and made a good profit.
According to the agreement, Zhang Yimou will still need to direct two more online dramas for him in the future, with Huanxi Media holding the exclusive investment right.
This strategy of binding the director has been quite effective.
However, the film industry is full of uncertainties because of the lack of a hundred-day bonus.
"Mr. Red carpet" did not live up to expectations at the box office, and Happy Media lost its first battle in 2024.