For a film produced by a filmmaker of Yang Hao's level, it is actually very easy to release it overseas.

After all, there are as many as four to five million Chinese people in the United States, which is a considerable market.

But these American film distributors prefer to spend a small amount of US dollars to directly buy out and distribute Chinese films, and then show them in theaters in Chinese communities.

By operating like this, they only need to control the buyout cost, and it will be a sure-win deal.

Many Chinese films are promoted for overseas release, which actually follows this model.

This type of release model usually only has dozens of theaters open, the scale of the release is very small, and the final box office is only a few million dollars.

This is not the result Yang Hao wanted.

What Yang Hao wants is a real release, one where the number of theaters opening is no less than four or five hundred.

It is precisely because of Yang Hao’s insistence that the new movie "The Witch" has not yet reached an agreement on cooperation for overseas release.

But Yang Hao was not in a hurry. He originally planned to wait until the filming of "The Witch" was completed and the post-production was finished before discussing overseas distribution with the finished film.

Ultimately, quality is king in movies.

As long as the quality of the film can be guaranteed, there will be no problem in finding a distributor.

Yang Hao has confidence in "The Witch", and of course he has more confidence in the system.

In the reception room of the China Film Building, with the introduction of Ci Peikang, Yang Hao met the American distributor who was interested in distributing "The Witch" this time.

Before coming, Ci Peikang sent the other party's information.

Yang Hao knew that the other party owned a film company in the United States, operated more than a dozen cinemas, and had joined a cinema alliance.

According to Ci Peikang, if the other party is willing to help with distribution, they have the ability to open a movie in hundreds of theaters.

Yang Hao believed in the assassination of Peikang, so he attached great importance to this meeting.

"Hello, my name is John Jones." When the two parties met, before Ci Peikang spoke, the American distributor spoke first, and he spoke in authentic Mandarin.

Yang Hao was shocked. He was still thinking about whether he should introduce himself in English, but he never expected that the other party could speak Chinese.

"Haha, Yang Hao, don't be too surprised. Mr. John has lived in China for quite some time. He can be considered an expert on China," Ci Peikang explained with a laugh.

"Mr. Yang Hao, I have admired Chinese culture since I was a child. I have seen almost all of the movies you have produced, especially "Knife of the Assassin", which I remember very clearly," John Jones interrupted at the right time.

"Thank you for your compliment, Mr. John," Yang Hao replied politely.

John Jones is an expert on China and settles down in China for a few months every year. He has seen the movies produced by Yang Hao. Because of this, when he heard that Yang Hao's next movie was intended to be released worldwide, he came to see if there was any chance for cooperation.

Although Yang Hao has not been in the industry for long, his achievements in the Chinese film industry are like legend.

In just less than 3 years, the film production volume reached 100 billion RMB, which is about 15 billion US dollars.

Film producers of this magnitude are rare even in the United States.

The Chinese admire the strong, and the Americans admire the strong even more.

They believe more firmly in the "Matthew effect", that is, the strong will always be strong and the weak will always be weak.

They like to work with successful people the most because they believe that successful people are more likely to succeed.

Although Yang Hao's films are only popular in mainland China and have not yet been tested in the global market, Yang Hao's legendary record makes John Jones feel that he can still create greater glory.

Although the risk is great, if it succeeds, the benefits will be greater.

He understands that the bigger the wind and waves, the more expensive the fish.

"Mr. Yang Hao, would you accept the buyout and distribution of the film?" John Jones asked tentatively.

"NO, NO, Mr. John, if you are only willing to offer a buyout plan, then this negotiation can end here." Hearing the other party talking about buyout, Yang Hao refused without even thinking.

Are you kidding me?
Buyout?

Totally impossible.

This time, Yang Hao plans to invest the system's cashback funds to make a big splash.

This movie must make money, so buying out and distributing it would be like working for someone else, right?
Box office share is the basis of negotiations.

"Mr. Yang Hao, I understand your attitude," John Jones nodded to show that he understood.

In fact, John Jones had already learned from Ci Peikang that Yang Hao would only accept a share of the box office revenue for his next film.

But he still wanted to ask Yang Hao in person to see how he would react.

Yang Hao directly denied the buyout and distribution, which made John Jones aware of the situation.

Generally speaking, if you are not very confident in your movie, choosing to buy it out is actually the safest way.

With Yang Hao's firm attitude, there is only one possibility: he is confident in the quality of his next movie.

Moreover, John Jones knew that Yang Hao's next movie would be a science fiction action blockbuster. This type of movie, unlike Yang Hao's previous comedies, had a market in the United States.

The genre of the film was suitable, Yang Hao was determined, and combined with Yang Hao's legendary past achievements, John Jones couldn't help but develop a strong interest in Yang Hao's new film.

"Perhaps, Yang Hao's next movie will also bring surprises at the U.S. box office like Legend?" Seeing Yang Hao's confident look, John Jones had this thought in his mind.

"I heard from Mr. Ci Peikang that you have requirements for the number of theaters for the overseas release of your next film. Can you tell me your specific requirements?" John Jones got straight to the point without any nonsense.

Hearing John Jones's direct question, Yang Hao's face couldn't help but become serious. He didn't answer immediately, but thought about it in his mind for a while.

Then he slowly opened his mouth and uttered a number: "More than a thousand."

"NO, NO, this is impossible," John Jones waved his arms and shouted when he heard Yang Hao's exorbitant number.

"Yang, do you know the significance of opening a thousand movie theaters?"

"For a movie, the number of theaters given for its opening is not just a random number, but a relatively complete set of rules and regulations."

"First of all, we have to look at the production cost of the film. For example, your next film, The Witch, has a total cost of 5 million, which is only million U.S. dollars. This can only be considered an A-level production."

"If it was a movie from one of the six major film companies, an A-level movie with an investment of 80 million, and guaranteed to be opened in 1,000 theaters, then there would definitely not be a big problem, but now this movie is your movie, Yang."

"Although you are an excellent director and producer in China, it is still unknown whether you can adapt to the American environment."

"Besides, all the actors in this movie are Chinese, so it is very difficult to achieve good results in the United States." "The most important thing is that the promotion budget of this movie in the United States should not be very large."

……

John Jones is a very good speaker. He said a lot of things, but to sum it up in one sentence, it is completely impossible to open more than a thousand cinemas.

Yang Hao actually knew that it was impossible to open a cinema with more than a thousand tickets.

When "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" opened in the United States, the number of theaters was only 16 in the first week. As word of mouth spread and the box office increased, the number of theaters gradually increased.

第3周给到143馆，第7周693馆，第9周1000馆以上，第16周给到2000馆以上。

Although it is 2015 now and the number of cinemas has more than doubled compared to a decade ago, it is still a pipe dream to want to have a thousand cinemas opening for the film.

"You ask for a sky-high price but pay it back cheaply. So, Mr. John, how much do you think is appropriate?" Yang Hao pushed the question back to the other party.

"I think about 150 museums is appropriate," John Jones calculated carefully.

Yang Hao's movies still have a lot of weight in the hearts of Chinese people. If there are only 150 theaters, even if this movie does not suit the American climate, arranging these theaters in Chinese communities should also be a profitable business.

"It's too little, Mr. John. If you only promise 150 museums, why should I cooperate with you?" Yang Hao shook his head and directly rejected the proposal.

150 theaters. This is too much of an insult to Yang Hao. With Yang Hao's current record as the number one commercial film in China, he only requires 150 theaters for the opening. There are a lot of people rushing to cooperate with him.

Hearing Yang Hao's words, John Jones also showed an awkward smile.

It is exactly as Yang Hao said, if only 150 museums can be guaranteed, there is really no need for Yang Hao to cooperate with him.

But now that we haven’t even seen the finished film, it would be too risky to hastily reach a distribution agreement.

John Jones didn't dare to make this decision for a while.

"Mr. John, would you like to take a look at the storyboards and special effects drawings I drew for this movie?" As he spoke, Yang Hao took out the storyboards and special effects drawings from his bag and handed them to John Jones.

"Storyboard? Special effects pictures?" John Jones, who is an expert on China and always pays attention to the developments of Chinese films, knows that Yang Hao's screenwriting skills are very strong and he has a strong interest in what Yang Hao handed over.

John Jones carefully looked through the storyboards and special effects drawings drawn by Yang Hao.

The more he looked, the more shocked John Jones's face became.

This isn't a movie storyboard at all; it's just like reading a comic book.

From this storyboard script, John Jones felt a sense of familiarity.

"Lucy", yes, "Lucy".

In Yang Hao's new movie "The Witch", he felt the taste of "Lucy".

They are all stories of superheroine revenge, with clean fights and cool special effects.

"Can Yang Hao's new movie 'The Witch' achieve the box office success of 'Lucy'?"

"Impossible, impossible. The global box office of Lucy is 4.59 million US dollars." John Jones shook his head and drove away the unrealistic thoughts in his mind.

"Yang, can you really make a movie with the effect of storyboard?" John Jones was a little skeptical.

He has been in the film industry for decades and has seen too many movies with first-rate scripts and first-rate storyboards, but the final results are crap.

"When the film is finished, you are welcome to watch it," Yang Hao did not explain too much, just stated with a smile.

The calmer Yang Hao appeared, the more John Jones felt that Yang Hao was confident.

Thinking of this, John Jones' heart couldn't help but pound.

If Yang Hao's movie can really recreate the glory of "Lucy", and he can also distribute this movie, then doesn't it mean that he can retire directly with just this movie?

"Yang, I now promise to guarantee that the number of theaters opening this film will be 500. If I can really shoot the storyboard effect you drew, I will definitely use my greatest connections to increase the number of theaters opening this film." The temptation of profit made John Jones unable to maintain his gentlemanly demeanor, and he made the promise with excitement on his face.

Yang Hao was satisfied once he had agreed on the number of cinemas to open the film. As for the box office share ratio, as long as it was not too outrageous, he would accept it.

With the system, money is no longer Yang Hao's primary motivation. Yang Hao now prefers fame.

The box office share that was finally agreed upon was the same as the share that China Film Group gets from overseas films, which is 25 percent.

To be honest, if the other party could increase the number of theaters opening movies and reduce the profit sharing ratio by one or two percentage points, Yang Hao could accept it.

"Happy cooperation." Upon hearing John Jones' promise, Yang Hao directly extended his right hand.

"It's a pleasure to work with you." After the agreement was reached, John Jones showed a happy expression on his face.

Ci Peikang was considered a witness to this cooperation, and he also showed a happy smile at this moment.

Not only is this movie invested by China Film Group, there is a bigger reason, which is that Chinese films have not made a splash overseas for many years.

If Yang Hao succeeds, he, as the helmsman of China Film, will also be proud.

He is only in his fifties this year. If he is limited to the department level, he will have to retire at the age of sixty. But if he goes one step further, the retirement age will be sixty-five.

The further you look, the more possibilities there are.

Thinking of this, Ci Peikang became even more concerned about promoting Yang Hao's new film to be released overseas.

Walking out of the China Film Building and breathing the fresh air outside, Yang Hao felt refreshed.

It was a great move to collaborate with China Film Group right from the start.

Without China Film, it would be basically impossible to reach an agreement with overseas distributors this time.

"The Witch" is his first film to go international, and Yang Hao decided to use the cashback system to make a big splash.
-
I rested for a night and returned to the crew the next day.

Yang Hao did not hide the reason why he left the crew yesterday from everyone. Several core members of the crew knew that Yang Hao went to discuss the overseas release of "The Witch".

"Director Yang, how are the negotiations for the overseas release of "The Witch" going?" As soon as he arrived at the crew, Li Guoan walked up to Yang Hao and asked about the overseas release of "The Witch".

At this time, Meng Ziyi, Nazha, Li Xian, and Chen Xiao also gathered around, listening attentively and waiting for Yang Hao's answer.

The success of this film is directly related to their future development.

Especially Meng Ziyi, if this movie becomes as popular as Yang Hao’s previous movies, then Meng Ziyi’s status in the circle will soar on the spot.

Like Zhang Ziyi, it is possible to become an international movie star directly with a movie like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. (End of this chapter)