Chapter 1764 Filling the Gap

Both Eddie and Reitz had reservations about developing mid-budget films.

Donna added, "I specially sent people to conduct research and found that the developing film market around the world is very interested in this type of film that specializes in telling stories, especially Country Z and India, which are the two most populous countries in the world. The market, I think their needs deserve our attention.”

After a pause, she pulled up a set of data from her IPAD, "In addition, according to our survey calculations, the gross profit margin of medium-cost movies with stars is around 24%, which is twice as high as the average.

Although medium-sized movies are not the current mainstream in Hollywood, they are not necessarily the direction of Hollywood.

In fact, the six major studios have not completely isolated the production of medium-cost films. The films they submit to compete for Oscars every year are actually very close to STX's positioning.

I think this may not be a good path. The movie-watching craze brought about by Oscar-winning films every year proves that the audience actually needs this type of film.

Moreover, STX Group Chairman Adam Ferguson is worthy of our investment, and no one in Hollywood doubts his sense of smell. "

Yang Cheng was stunned for a moment, "Adam Ferguson?"

Seeing that he didn't seem to know this person, Eddie helped explain, "He used to be the chairman of Universal Pictures. When he saw "Teddy Bear" that was rejected by Fox, he immediately made the decision to take it. Hot item.

The three years that Adam took power were the most profitable period in the history of Universal Pictures. Of course, this was inseparable from the cooperation between him and Donna. The foundation of Universal today was almost laid by the two of them. "

Donna nodded and said, "Yes, Ferguson is still very capable, but he was fired by Comcast for various reasons, and they directly parachuted an executive from the parent company to replace him. This is also the one I decided to leave. The important reason is that the new guy doesn’t understand movies at all.”

Yang Cheng nodded thoughtfully, "So you want to invest in STX, is it more because of Ferguson?"

Donna hesitated for a moment and then said firmly, "It can be said that Adam comes from a film family. When he was a child, Adam's father worked as the director of the marketing department at Columbia Pictures. At that time, the entire Hollywood followed a rule: there must be clear good people in the movie. and a clear bad guy so the audience knows who to root for.

This was the wisdom of Hollywood in that era, which was to take stories as the core and shoot genre films that could attract audiences. Adam had been exposed to this concept since he was a child, and this concept was deeply engraved in his bones.

"

Yang Cheng suddenly realized, "No wonder he joined STX after being fired."

Then he said with emotion, "Actually, I can understand that the main reason why there were so many good movies in that era was that everyone was willing to tell stories with heart, unlike now, where you can make a lot of money just by establishing a superhero."

Eddie also admitted, "Yes, in the past, the protagonist of the movie served the story, but now the story serves people. In other words, as long as the protagonist is charming, it no longer matters what story is told, such as Tony Stark~ "

Donna finally smiled, "I'm glad to hear you say that. In short, there is no market for mid-budget movies. As long as the story is told well, they can still become classics.

Adam made "Teddy Bear". After coming to STX, the first movie he was responsible for was "The Deadly Gift", which was released last year and earned nearly 60 million US dollars at the global box office at a cost of 5 million US dollars. This is definitely a hit. . "

Yang Cheng nodded affirmatively upon hearing this, and Eddie had to admit, "STX's ability to discover the selling points of the movie during project development, and at the same time have precise budget control and schedule management capabilities, is definitely a credit to Adam Ferguson."

Donna corrected, “Not only that, but they also know how to use a weapon – stars.

STX will always try its best to cooperate with stars to make its movies stand out among similar movies.

For example, the key movie released this year, "Free State of Jones", stars Matthew McConaughey.

In addition, "The Irishman", which was discussed in Cannes, is even more star-studded. With these stars joining the film, the film will naturally gain attention. Although this will increase the cost invisibly, the threshold for recovering the investment will also be lowered. "

Donna took a sip of coffee and leaned on the back of the sofa, "I've been working with Adam for three years. I can't say I fully understand him, but at least I know what kind of person he is?"

Yang Cheng was curious, "Oh? What kind of person is he?"

"He is very pragmatic. He knows that the ultimate goal of a movie is to make money. If it does not make money, no one will be willing to engage in this industry. Only by maintaining profitability can this industry continue to develop.

So he would never lose money to make a "Fight Club" or "The Shawshank Redemption." These movies are good but not easy to sell.

He knew this very well, so he proposed the route of star-driven mid-budget films.

In Adam's view, the box office numbers of superhero blockbusters are indeed good, but the cost is too high, the cycle is long, and the profit margin cannot reach the ideal figure. The consequence of all this is that the total production of movies has dropped, and a large number of star resources and theater resources have been left idle. , if these blank and idle resources can be utilized, it will definitely make money.

Quality is not enough to make up for quantity. The money to make a Marvel blockbuster is enough to produce more than 5 medium-cost movies. Even if each movie only earns tens of millions, the total is definitely not a small number. "

Yang Cheng understood what Donna meant. He also had a theater chain of his own. There was no essential difference whether it was in South Korea or Country Z.

It is true that theaters can get higher box office revenue by relying on blockbusters. However, film companies only need to worry about the 10 weekends when their own films are released every year, but theaters have to worry about the 52 weekends throughout the year. There can never be no blockbuster releases. Just close the door and say thank you, right?

From this perspective, medium-cost films not only have room for survival, but also have many resources to utilize.

As long as the peak release period of blockbusters is staggered, more thoughtful and complex films like those released by STX will still attract more and wider audiences to the cinema with their good reputation, not just those who A 20-year-old boy came to see the explosion scene.

Relying on the theater chain's demand for different types of movies, STX can even ensure that its movies can be opened on at least 3,000 screens like the Big Six, and receive the same share ratio as the Big Six.

Calculating it this way, it doesn’t take much. As long as 8-12 high-quality films are released in a year, it is enough for STX to get a net profit that is no less than that of the six major movies. Thinking of this, I can’t help but feel hot. Making money is only one aspect, expanding its influence. Strength is what Yang Cheng values ​​most.

The reason why the Big Six can become the Big Six is ​​because while they focus on their own projects, they also have a sufficient number of satellite companies to fill in the blank areas for them. This is far behind the newly emerged New Era Pictures!

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