Rebirth 1983: Building My Business Empire-Chapter 563 - 546 - Overseas Film and Television Rights

Nie Zhan said, "Given the quality of this film, its overseas release should also be pretty good."

While the film might flop in Europe and America, it’s likely to be popular in the countries of Southeast Asia.

Lu Jiaxin said with a smile, "Now three theaters all want to buy the overseas distribution rights, and I’ve asked them to bid. I’ll sell to whoever offers the highest price."

"I won’t sell for less than 5 million greenbacks."

"My target is 10 million greenbacks."

Lu Jiaxin’s target for the overseas film rights to Gambling God was 10 million greenbacks, and since it was an outright sale, she felt the price was not high. However, the highest bid from the three theaters was from Jiahe, at 9 million greenbacks, and they were not willing to go any higher.

Tian Pengyu said, "Boss, this price is already very high. Many films from Hong Kong don’t even make their money back when released abroad, and no one can guarantee their box office success."

Last year’s Legally Blonde, which Princess Bao was only willing to offer two million greenbacks for, did not receive a bid from Jiahe. It was obvious they were not optimistic, and Lu Jiaxin, feeling it would be a loss, did not agree to sell. The overseas film rights are still in the hands of Wanjia Film and Television.

Lu Jiaxin pondered for a moment and then agreed. Although she knew that Jiahe would definitely profit from the outright purchase at 9 million greenbacks, others did not know that. To a company like Jiahe, even the internal estimates probably considered this price high, entailing a significant risk. As for her, she didn’t want to drag things out.

Tian Pengyu was very pleased to see her relent. The domestic box office gross for the movie in Hong Kong was projected to be 35 million, whereas the overseas rights amounted to 70.20 million (fixed exchange rate of greenbacks to Hong Kong Dollars at 1:7.8). Those 35 million would still have to be split with the theaters, but the proceeds from the overseas rights would go entirely to the company.

Once the contract was signed, Jiahe transferred the funds into Wanjia Film and Television’s account. In the film industry circles of Hong Kong, secrets were scarce, and this news was quickly reported.

The box office receipts from Hong Kong theaters would be divided after the film finished showing, but as soon as the revenue from the overseas rights hit the account, Tian Pengyu promptly sent Wang Sanri a 3-million-share (after deducting taxes and various expenses) as per the contract.

Wang Sanri was ecstatic to receive the money. The sum was larger than his combined screenwriting fee and director’s salary! This film had earned him five million.

And, because the returns were substantial, Wang Sanri wanted to strike while the iron was hot and film a sequel. As the project belonged to Wansheng Real Estate, he couldn’t bypass them and go solo—otherwise, he could forget about continuing in this business.

Of course, Tian Pengyu also hoped to make a sequel, but it wasn’t a decision he could make on his own, "Director Wang, as long as the script you write is approved by our boss, we can start filming immediately."

The boss so far had brought out three scripts. Both Legally Blonde and Gambling God had been huge hits, raking in profits hand over fist. The Prestigious Family was still in production, but after visiting the set several times, he felt the viewership wouldn’t be poor.

Wang Sanri readily agreed.

When Nie Zhan went out to socialize, he mentioned Lu Jiaxin to those he was close with and praised his own good judgment before asking when the two were planning to get engaged.

When faced with such questions, Nie Zhan always kept his response consistent, indicating that Lu Jiaxin was still young and the matter of engagement could wait another two years. However, when Old Master Nie inquired, he was definitive in his reply.

Nie Zhan said, "Jiaxin told me it depends on my performance; if it’s good, we’ll get engaged by the end of next year. Grandpa, make sure you get in good health by then so you can preside over my engagement ceremony."

Old Master Nie nodded smilingly in agreement, "Don’t let your mom get involved, to keep her from disrupting your engagement party."

Initially, he had some dissatisfaction with Lu Jiaxin for dating his grandson for so long without paying a visit. But after she came to see him a few times when he was ill, peeling apples and keeping him company, his opinion changed. After several encounters, Old Master Nie realized Lu Jiaxin was also loyal in love, and his previous concerns evaporated.

Seeing him bring up Nie Manlin, Nie Zhan said, "Mommy is currently in the hospital for prenatal care. That man has been a dentist for many years, I don’t believe he has no savings, yet we have to pay for all the medical expenses."

The implication of his words was that this man was with his mommy solely because the Nie Family was wealthy. The only reason for having this child was money.

Old Master Nie, shrewd with age, was well aware of the man’s motives. He said, "I’ve given you all of my shares. As for my stocks and collection, I’ve already made a will, and when the time comes, the four brothers will divide them equally."

Nie Zhan said bluntly, "I hope to be in charge of the private savings that great-grandmother left for mommy. If it’s left to mommy, it will probably be gone in the blink of an eye."

There was no need to beat around the bush, mommy had three children and now only he could protect these antique jewels. If grandpa truly cared for mommy, he would entrust them to him; if not, he wouldn’t insist. After all, the family fund provided a living allowance for each member every month, so she wouldn’t starve.

Old Master Nie had never considered giving this batch of items to Nie Manlin: "Alright, after I’m discharged from the hospital, I’ll hand over these items to you."

After chatting for over an hour, Nie Zhan left. Before going, he checked with the doctor and was reassured that Old Master Nie was recovering well and would be able to leave the hospital in at most half a month.

When Nie Zhan got home, he found that Lu Jiaxin was not there. He asked the butler and found out she had gone to dinner with Su Heyuan. This time, Lu Jiaxin was the host, as the film had made a big profit.

Su Heyuan said, "You made 90 million from that ’Gambling God’, right? I never thought that making movies could be so profitable."

Lu Jiaxin said with a smile, "It’s not off the screens yet, so the exact box office is unclear. Currently, the cinema split is 40/60. If we consider 30 million for the box office, we’ll have 18 million on our end. Overseas rights are 70.2 million. Taking costs, taxes, and various expenses into account, we should pocket a bit over 60 million."

Su Heyuan felt that was already a lot: "A clothing factory with over a thousand employees doesn’t make 60 million a year in profit. Just one movie earning so much, I wonder how many people are envious."

Lu Jiaxin chuckled, "You only see my movies making money, but you don’t know how many movies lose money. Wanjia Film and Television’s predecessor lost over 20 million."

Nie Jingting truly loved acting and studied earnestly with his teacher for a year. He didn’t come back during summer or winter vacations and went to various film crews to be an extra. With big names around, he wasn’t worried about not getting work, just about not having money and relying on the family.

Su Heyuan said with a laugh, "That just shows how lucky you are! Wanting Film and Television used to be a joke in the industry; some said the company had bad Feng Shui. It wasn’t bad Feng Shui, it was simply the boss bringing bad luck. Look, as soon as you took over, the company started making money."

Although other movies didn’t make as much, since Jiaxin took over, she hadn’t invested any more money, which was a big improvement. He always said she was superstitious, but this girl just had fortune in her fate.

"Why bring up so much? What, do you want to invest in my next film?"

Su Heyuan waved his hand and said, "I don’t really understand all that, so I won’t invest. Jiaxin, I’m going back to the Mainland next Wednesday, is there anything you want me to bring to Madam Guh?"

Following stock and foreign currency trades or trading futures was fine because there were risks involved, and making money depended on luck. But movies written by Jiaxin always made a big hit; it wasn’t investing, it was simply splitting the profits. He couldn’t partake in such dealings.

"What are you going back for?"

"Old Master Xie’s seventieth birthday is coming up, I have to go back and celebrate."

Lu Jiaxin only found out today, "Then take a gift from me as well."

"Sure."

The source of this c𝐨ntent is freewe(b)nov𝒆l