My 1999

Chapter 713 Universal Pictures 4.0

"BOSS, this is Universal Pictures' report for the three quarters from 2004 to now."

Xu Liang was not polite and took the document from Ron Meyer's hand and started reading it.

Since acquiring Universal Entertainment assets.

The animation, comics, games, publishing and other businesses that originally belonged to Universal Pictures have basically been integrated into Hongmeng North America.

Five dollars remain in the Universal Pictures business.

Film production, cinema, promotion, copyright and peripheral product development.

7 films were produced.

"Meet the Father 2," "The Bourne Supremacy," "Van Helsing," "Star II," "The Conjuring," "Transformers" and "Victory Light."

Seven movies have been released, and only "BJ's Diary 2: The Edge of Reason" produced by Miramax has a box office of over 100 million.

Looking at Xu Liang flipping the reports, Lang Meyer felt very uneasy.

Last year, "Van Helsing", which was strongly opposed by the other party, was really poorly received.

The production cost plus publicity and distribution amounted to more than 200 million.

In the end, it only earned $300 million at the box office.

Even including DVD and peripheral revenue, the film cost the company $100 million.

In contrast, "The Conjuring", which the other party strongly urged James Wan to film, was released in July and topped the box office with US$41.53 million in its opening weekend.

It became the highest-grossing horror movie in 2004 and the best-grossing opening for an original horror film.

Now the global movie box office has exceeded 250 million US dollars. If you include some countries where it has not yet been released, the box office results will definitely exceed 300 million US dollars.

In comparison, the production cost of this film was only US$20 million, and the cost of publicity and distribution was less than US$50 million.

The company earned a net profit of $80 million from the box office alone.

Moreover, horror movies are generally sold on DVD, plus film and television peripherals.

One "The Conjuring" movie could earn Universal almost $120 million in net profit.

Not only did it make up for the huge losses of "Van Helsing", but it also made some money.

"Is Transformers ready?"

"It will be over in half a month, and the early announcements have been arranged." Ron Meyer said quickly.

"When will it be released?"

"Christmas."

Xu Liang nodded, this is indeed a good time.

"BOSS, I want to apologize to you. Because of my negligence, "Van Helsing" caused huge losses to the company."

“Do you understand why ‘Van Helsing’ failed?”

Xu Liang asked.

"The main plot is mixed, and there is too much content mixed into a two-hour movie." Meyer said quickly.

"That's just one of the reasons.

In my opinion, the biggest failure of "Van Helsing" is that it is too dull. It feels like a return to the depressive Middle Ages, which is simply suffocating.

Audiences go to movie theaters to have fun and relax.

As a result, "Van Helsing" directly made them depressed.

It’s surprising that the box office is doing well.

Moreover, what puzzles me is that there is clearly "The Mummy" Zhuyu in front.

Why don't you learn a little bit?

Wouldn't it be okay to add some relaxing elements to the horror theme to make the overall atmosphere less depressing? "

Looking at Meyer who said nothing.

Xu Liang breathed a sigh of relief.

"Lang, the company's management has always made clear rewards and punishments. You bear the main responsibility for the failure of "Van Helsing", so your bonus has been deducted this year."

Meyer was relieved.

He thought he would be fired.

The results are now significantly better.

"BOSS, I accept the company's punishment and thank you very much for your continued trust."

Xu Liang nodded slightly.

"Find a good screenwriter and polish the script of "Van Helsing 2"."

"'Van Helsing 2'?!"

Looking at Meyer in disbelief, Xu Liang handed over the information he had prepared in advance.

"Let's see."

Meyer took it and quickly opened it.

There are a few words written on the title page.

"Dark Cinematic Universe Development Plan".

"Currently, Universal has created the very successful "The Mummy" series and also filmed "Van Helsing." Although the latter did not do well at the box office, it still left a deep impression on the audience.

It has the value of continued development.

So, I plan to add Dr. Jekyll, The Invisible Man, Frankenstein, The Hunchback of Notre Dame and The Phantom of the Opera to the base of Van Helsing and The Mummy.

However, "Van Helsing" takes place half a century away from "The Mummy".

The function of "Van Helsing 2" is to make up for this half-century, so that the two can achieve temporal harmony.

But before developing "Van Helsing 2", filming of "The Wolf Man" will begin.

Notice.

The "Werewolf" I want is a powerful monster with supernatural strength, not a strong man with claws. "

In his previous life, he had seen Universal's "The Wolfman", which was another "Van Helsing"-style bad movie.

It's obviously a monster movie, but it turns out to be an art film.

This cost $160 million in production costs.

"I understand." Meyer agreed quickly.

""The Wolfman" will be released in 2006, and "Van Helsing 2" will be released in 2007."

"OK."

"In addition, our plans for filming the "Dark Cinematic Universe" will be posted on the company's website to increase the attention of movie fans."

Meyer nodded in agreement.

"Has the shooting plan for 2005 been finalized?"

“There are currently six films scheduled, including Serenity, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, The Master Key, Jarhead, The Perfect Man and King Kong.

In addition, they will co-produce "Munich" with DreamWorks and "Golden Producer" with Columbia.

Except for "King Kong", which is a large-scale production worth over 100 million yuan, the others are medium-sized productions. "

Xu Liang nodded slightly.

Of all the movies, he only remembers "King Kong."

He forgot about the box office, but it wasn't on the list of bad movies he remembered.

So Xu Liang didn't say much.

"Does James Wan have any shooting plans next year?"

"not yet.

But don't worry, we have signed five film contracts with him. "

"Don't treat him badly in terms of treatment. James Wan is a master of making horror films."

"clear."

As a veteran who has been in Hollywood for half his life, Meyer is not stupid.

The continuous success of "Saw" and "The Conjuring" have proven the value of each other in R-rated films, so of course they must be taken advantage of.

“Have you seen Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code?”

"Seen."

"The company has purchased its film and television adaptation rights and put them into next year's filming plan."

"OK."

With the success of "The Conjuring", "Transformers" has not yet been released, but it is a good film.

Meyer admired Xu Liang's vision for film investment and no longer resisted his intervention in the company's production.

Xu Liang handed over another document.

"This is a story that the company bought from Croatian illustrator Milan Trik. Take a look, filming will start in the second half of this year and it will be released in 2006."

Meyer took it and took a look.

The title page reads "Amazing Night at the Museum."

When I opened it, it was just a summary of a story about an ordinary middle-aged man who became a night watchman at the Museum of Natural History in New York.

He was surprised to find that when the last rays of the sun disappeared over the horizon, everything in the museum came alive.

It was like being enchanted and came alive around him, and began a series of destructive activities.

Tyrannosaurus rex and king hunnu ruined the marble corridors, while lions and monkeys roamed the display cases.

The man is distressed to find a way to restore everything to the way it was.

Meyer was very interested in the idea of ​​​​this story based on his intuition developed over many years of experience.

“That’s it for this year’s shooting plan.

"King Kong" and "The Da Vinci Code" are the company's key projects.

Next year, "Werewolf", "Night at the Museum" and "Transformers 2" will be produced.

It's up to you to decide the rest. "

Two to three blockbusters a year, plus Marvel's superhero movies, are enough.

"BOSS, where is the medium production?" Meyer couldn't help but ask.

"Do you still want to replicate the success of "The Conjuring"?"

Meyer nodded.

"Low investment and high returns are the projects that any film and television company CEO desires."

Xu Liang thought about it.

He has watched many Hollywood movies, including many non-blockbusters.

"The Hangover" series, "Juno", "Little Miss Sunshine", "American Pie" and the like, but most of them forget the plot.

I only remember a rough idea.

A movie like this may not have the same results as the original work.

So he has been hesitant.

Seeing Meyer's expectant eyes.

"Let me think about it and let you know if I have any inspiration. If not, forget it."

Meyer nodded.

"By the way, the director of the "Werewolf" movie is Christopher Nolan."

There are not many Hollywood directors that Xu Liang is familiar with. In addition to Steven Spielberg, James Cameron, Peter Jackson, and George Lucas, they are also Explosion Bay and the "real-shooting maniac" Nolan.

Explosive Bay remains the director of "Transformers" at his request.

He was deeply impressed by Nolan's "Batman" trilogy.

Especially "Batman" is also dark.

If this man can successfully shape "The Wolf Man", "Van Helsing" and the subsequent Dark Universe movies, Universal will make a lot of money.

Meyer didn't refuse.

He knows Christopher Nolan.

Director of "Memento".

Although it didn't do well at the box office, it was nominated for the Golden Globe and Academy Awards for Best Screenplay.

"BOSS, Nolan has already taken over Warner's "Batman" and may not have time to shoot "The Wolfman"."

"If the price is higher, no one will refuse the money." Xu Liang said directly.

The current Nolan is not the Nolan who became famous after filming the "Batman" trilogy and was not short of money.

"OK."

Thanks to films like "The Conjuring," "Meet the Father," "The Bourne Supremacy" and "Van Helsing," Universal Pictures currently has $2.18 billion in box office revenue.

Promotional revenue was $730 million.

Theatrical revenue was $840 million.

Revenue from peripheral products was US$820 million.

Revenue from copyright licensing was US$620 million.

Taken together, Universal Pictures' total revenue for three consecutive quarters was US$5.19 billion and net profit was US$1.58 billion.