diskusbooks Chapter 496 The Toughness of the Cinema Chain
Chapter 496 The Toughness of the Cinema Chain
On November 16, the joint open letter was sent to eight major cinema chains in China.
In the conference room of Xinghe Cinemas, Xu Liang threw the open letter onto the table.
"A bunch of old foxes."
"Mr. Xu, the joint signature includes the character 'Dawn'."
What does Mr. Fu mean?
Should we ask General Manager Fu?
Xu Liang's expression was somewhat complicated.
"I'll go upstairs and ask."
Just as he finished speaking, his phone, which was on the table, rang.
The caller ID showed Fu Yibai.
Xu Liang answered the phone.
"Mr. Fu."
"Have you received the open letter?"
"Just received it."
What do you mean by this?
"Is Galaxy following the theater alliance, or is it because Dawn joined the production company alliance...?"
Fu Yibai interrupted Xu Liang's speculation.
"The Milky Way is the Milky Way, and the dawn is the dawn."
As for the production alliance, Chenxi is just a figurehead. Xinghe Cinemas can decide its own stance as it sees fit, without having to consider Chenxi's situation.
Go ahead and do it.
After hearing this, Xu Liang felt relieved.
"Understood, Mr. Fu."
Then I'll proceed according to Xinghe's own interests.
"Um.
However, one thing is certain: negotiations are negotiations, but we shouldn't escalate the situation.
We're all in the same industry; we'll be dealing with each other again in the future.
"clear."
After hanging up the phone, Xu Liang slammed his phone down on the table, feeling much more relaxed.
On November 20, the cinema alliance's counterattack officially began.
Wanda Cinemas was the first to issue a public statement, explicitly rejecting the revenue-sharing adjustment plan proposed by New Pictures.
The statement was strongly worded, saying that New Pictures' demands "lack support from industry practices" and "put unreasonable pressure on cinema operations."
That afternoon, China Film Stellar Cinemas followed suit with a statement, using slightly milder language than Wanda, but conveying the same core message: disagreement.
Galaxy Cinemas' statement was released at 8 p.m.
The draft personally prepared by Xu Liang contained only one core point: Galaxy Cinemas will adhere to the current revenue-sharing ratio and will not accept any form of unilateral price increase.
Shanghai United, Bona, Jinyi, Dadi, Hengdian and other cinema chains also expressed their opinions in the following two days, and their attitudes were highly consistent, that is, they disagreed.
The cohesion of theater alliances is much stronger than that of film production alliances.
This is not surprising, as the interests of cinema chains are highly aligned, and no single chain would be willing to compromise on revenue sharing.
Because once this precedent is set, producers can use the excuse, "We mentioned it in 'The Flowers of War' last time, so we'll mention it again this time," for every blockbuster film released.
On November 28, Zhang Weiping could no longer sit still.
He summoned several core members of the production alliance to New Pictures Company for an emergency meeting.
The atmosphere at this meeting was completely different from the last one.
The tea and snacks on the long table remained untouched, and everyone wore expressions of varying degrees of anxiety.
With the Lunar New Year film season fast approaching and each studio having films ready to be released, a prolonged stalemate could ultimately lead to mutual destruction.
"The theaters are taking a very tough stance, so we must increase the pressure on them."
Zhang Weiping stood in front of the whiteboard, holding a marker in his hand, a fine layer of sweat beading on his forehead.
"I suggest we issue another joint statement clearly stating that if theaters do not accept the revenue-sharing adjustment, the alliance will reconsider its partnership with the relevant theaters."
This statement doesn't need to name any specific theater chain, but it should make its stance clear.
The meeting room was silent for a full ten seconds.
The representative from China Film Group was the first to speak.
"A joint statement can be issued, but it shouldn't be too definitive."
Once it's declared a death sentence, there's no room for maneuver, which is bad for everyone.
China Film Group's opinion is that the statement should emphasize industry consensus and long-term interests, and should not use a threatening tone.
Wang Zhongjun then made a statement.
"Huayi supports issuing a statement, but the wording should be carefully considered."
After all, we have a long-term cooperative relationship with cinemas. If we ruin that relationship over one project, it will be detrimental to the screening schedule of Huayi's subsequent films.
Zhang Weiping stood in front of the whiteboard, twirling a marker in his hand several times.
He was clearly not satisfied with the moderate and conservative attitude of these bigwigs, but he also knew that without their support, the alliance was just a paper tiger.
"Okay, I'll control the wording. It will be issued in the name of the alliance."
Zhang Weiping eventually compromised.
On November 30, the joint statement of the production companies alliance was officially released.
The statement emphasized the core position of production companies in the film industry chain and pointed out the structural problem of rising production costs in recent years without corresponding adjustments to revenue sharing ratios.
We urge cinemas to establish a more reasonable profit-sharing mechanism with film producers, taking into account the long-term development of the industry.
The statement was written in a mild tone, with no threatening words whatsoever. The strongest statement was that the theaters should seriously consider the reasonable demands of the producers.
After the statement was released, the theaters' reaction can be described in one word: "no reaction".
No one responded, no one commented, and the official Weibo accounts of various cinema chains continued to post screening information and promotional activities as usual, as if this joint statement did not exist at all.
Zhang Weiping waited in his office all day, until 10 p.m., but there was still no response from the major cinema chains.
He finally realized that this battle was much harder to fight than he had anticipated.