Who are you calling powerful?.

Chapter 657 Blue Whale's Good Start in 2018
After returning from his hometown, Wei Yang visited his wives and children one by one and dealt with some personal relationships.

Before joining the crew of "Chi Le Chuan", I took some time to care about the related work and this year's layout of various companies.

On the Red Shark side, Wei Yang basically did not interfere in the specific work.

It was different for PPTV, Blue Whale and other related companies. After staying at PPTV for two days, Wei Yang came to Blue Whale for a meeting and listened to reports from several senior executives on the opening and Spring Festival periods.

The New Year's period was only mentioned briefly, after all, a lot of information and data had already been reported to Boss Wei during the Spring Festival holiday.

Therefore, the main focus of the meeting was on the work to be carried out during the Spring Festival and after the Spring Festival.

The head of the film department opened the PPT in the conference room and introduced the situation to Wei Yang and many senior executives.

This year's Spring Festival movie market is quite lively even without Boss Wei.

Many movies were released, among which the movies produced and invested by Blue Whale were "Operation Red Sea" and "Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back".

Of the two films, the one that the industry insiders and Blue Whale executives are more optimistic about is "Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back."

Although it was not directed by Stephen Chow himself, he served as the producer and also invited Xu Ke to join the cast.

The lineup is also impressive, with the current most popular actor Zhang Ruoyun participating in the show, and another one is Mao Zijun who is highly promoted by Bingyang Entertainment, both of whom are considered popular young actors.

Many celebrities were invited to play supporting roles, including powerful big stars such as Yan Ni and Lim Yoona, as well as popular young stars.

However, what is most worth mentioning is that its style is consistent with "Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons", which topped the film and television industry that year, and it belongs to the same universe as Stephen Chow's Journey to the West.

This is also the biggest selling point of the movie "Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back".

This year, the film that is considered to be the biggest rival of "Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back" is "Monster Hunt 2".

Many people believe that this year's Spring Festival box office champions will basically come from these two movies.

Although "Monster Hunt" was overshadowed by Boss Wei's "Detective Chinatown" and its box office performance was somewhat controversial, the published statistics are indeed astonishing.

The first film was a huge hit, and the outside world has high expectations for this IP. Some even think it is the second "Detective Chinatown 3."

Ranked third is also a Journey to the West series, namely "Journey to the West: The Women Kingdom".

King Guo, Huang Xiaoming, Dilraba Dilmurat, Xiao Shenyang, Gigi Leung, and Sister Zhiling, just considering the luxurious lineup, this movie is the number one in the Spring Festival period.

Although the previous "Journey to the West" and "The Monkey King 10" received terrible reviews, they have always had good box office results, with both films grossing around billion yuan.

Therefore, it is expected to be the third and second place in the Spring Festival period.

If "The Monkey King 2" and "Monster Hunt " don't perform well, they might still be able to compete for the championship.

In comparison, "Operation Red Sea", which has no accumulation and popularity of previous works and is a main theme military film, is not well received by everyone.

Of course, the outstanding performance of "Operation Mekong" and "Wolf Warrior 2" in recent years also proves that this theme has strong dark horse attributes.

Most importantly, "Operation Red Sea" is produced by Blue Whale Investment.

Even though everyone thinks that "The Monkey King 2" is the highlight, the Blue Whale's brand name also brings uncertainty to "Operation Red Sea".

So although this movie ranks fourth, it is very close to "Journey to the West: The Women Kingdom" and is seen as a dark horse that may break the Spring Festival period pattern.

There are two more movies that are easy.

One is the old friend "Boonie Bears" series, which is indispensable during the Spring Festival every year, with average box office and a steady harvest of children's market.

The other one is "Nineteen Generations of Ancestors" directed by the fat black man from Deyun Club, starring the popular Xiao Yueyue, along with Xiao Hei Pangzi's group of apprentices and many guest stars. It is really lively, but not many people take it seriously.

Deyun Club and the little black fat man are both very popular and well-known, and are indeed strong in the crosstalk world, but as for movies, those who understand will understand.

To put it bluntly, as soon as the movie was released, it was regarded as cannon fodder by everyone and ranked at the bottom, even below the "Boonie Bears" movie.

The little black fat guy has a pretty good attitude himself. He probably doesn't have high expectations, and he just says a few tough words to save his face.

In general, Blue Whale is still in a relatively strong position in the entire Spring Festival period.

The result was the same and better than expected, but the direction was slightly different from what was expected.

...

"…We initially focused on Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back, and secured more than 25% of the screenings. The first-day box office was also good, with 3.5 million yuan, ranking second."

"But we soon discovered that there was a discrepancy between the film's reputation and box office trends."

"..."

Different from the Spring Festival period in previous years, Boss Wei participated in most of the events, and also provided arrangements and guidance for those who did not participate.

During this year's Spring Festival, Wei Yang truly delegated power and made almost no arrangements, leaving Blue Whale and the crew free to play.

This also directly led to Blue Whale's wrong decision at the beginning of the Spring Festival.

The importance of "Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back" is placed before "Operation Red Sea".

Wei Yang saw it all but did not remind anyone, or perhaps he was intentionally observing the executives of Blue Whale.

After all, Boss Wei has only been around for a few years.

Therefore, Wei Yang has been preparing for a rainy day, and the production has been on the right track. Even if Wei Yang does not have a keen eye, Blue Whale will still be able to produce high-quality works in a relatively stable manner.

But it is hard to say about the vision, decision-making and specific operations of the senior management.

This is a hidden danger for Blue Whale. In the past, Wei Yang was a bit arbitrary in Blue Whale.

There was no other way. Wei Yang couldn't explain many things. He couldn't let the opportunities slip away during his entrepreneurial and rising period, so he could only force himself.

Even if the executives have different opinions, they will be suppressed rudely, and the executives are only responsible for obeying orders.

As it turned out later, Boss Wei was always very wise and capable, with a vision and courage comparable to that of a god.

As a result, Wei Yang's prestige in the company continued to rise, and the senior executives were also convinced. Later, they had an almost pathological trust in Boss Wei, and whatever Wei Yang said was the final word.

Even if Wei Yang's judgment and command occasionally deviated or even made mistakes.

In view of Boss Wei's other brilliant achievements, they would also express their understanding, and even take the initiative to use various excuses to explain and exonerate Wei Yang.

In short, the boss is definitely right, it was all due to accidents and improper implementation.

Frankly speaking, Wei Yang was also immersed in this deified state for a while, but he finally came to his senses.

Prudence, calmness and self-awareness have always been considered Boss Wei's few virtues.

However, due to development needs, changing circumstances and many other reasons, Wei Yang did not start until the last two years, when Blue Whale completely reached the top.

Consciously reduce the frequency of cheating and cultivate the independent awareness and ability of executives.

In case one day in the future, Wei Yang is unable to open his third eye and his magic is gone, Blue Whale at least has a group of "cobblers" and everyone can make the best use of them.

During this Spring Festival, Wei Yang simply became an "outsider" just to see the true level of Blue Whale executives.

How should I put it? Wei Yang was a little disappointed at first.
Especially these people made the wrong choice of focus in "The Monkey King 2" and "Operation Red Sea".

Of course, Wei Yang also understands that, from a normal perspective, Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back is indeed more popular. However, Wei Yang is somewhat relieved that, although Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back is given more attention, the executives did not neglect Operation Red Sea, but instead kept it afloat.

This decision also directly saved Blue Whale from its early Spring Festival mistakes.

Two days after the Spring Festival, although "Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back" had good box office, Blue Whale executives who sensed something was wrong held a quick meeting and made an accurate judgment.

"The Monkey King 2" has a mediocre reputation and is likely to be weak in the middle stage and lack stamina.

At the same time, they also turned their attention to "Operation Red Sea". Although its box office in the first two days was not as good as "Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back", the trend was good and it was on the rise.

More importantly, this movie has a very good reputation, and it can even be said to be the number one movie during the Spring Festival.

A movie with mediocre reputation may decline or even collapse in the future, but its box office is strong right now.

It has an excellent reputation and there is a lot of room for box office growth in the future, but it is uncertain how far it will go.

The executives present discussed for most of the night. It was said that the entire conference room was filled with smoke. Those who did not attend were also sitting in front of their computers. Finally, they made up their minds.

The company shifted its focus during the Spring Festival to "Operation Red Sea" and provided strong support to it.

This decision is risky!
Even from a realistic perspective, executives should remain where they are, and in this way, Blue Whale's final results may not be bad.

Like now, if we take the initiative to point out the mistakes, if we win, it is just expiating our sins and may not please you. But if we fail, it will be adding insult to injury.

But whether it was out of public interest or because I felt that Boss Wei had a unique vision, I dared not fool him.

In the end, Blue Whale executives collectively demonstrated remarkable courage.

Before, they put their eggs in two baskets and did not neglect "Operation Red Sea". This also made the conditions of all parties of "Operation Red Sea" good and it was not left too far behind by the films of the same period, which provided a certain basis for a turnaround.

As soon as Blue Whale invested resources and provided strong support, the effect was immediate and "Operation Red Sea" quickly became a dark horse.

It started to gain momentum from the afternoon of the third day. With the success of word-of-mouth and publicity, the box office of "Operation Red Sea" continued to rise, and it topped the list on the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, beating "Monster Hunt 2" hard.

You know, "Operation Red Sea" only broke 5 million in the first three days.

And it only took two days for the box office to go from 5 million to 11 billion, spanning 6 million!

Moreover, as of the end of the Spring Festival period on the seventh day of the Lunar New Year, the box office of other movies had plummeted, while the box office of "Operation Red Sea" had increased instead of decreased.

Breaking 15 billion in seven days!
Breaking 20 billion in nine days!
The estimated box office of "Operation Red Sea" on Hualuo.com increased from just over 10 billion at the beginning to over 20 billion and then over 30 billion.

Ten days after its release, the estimated total box office data is over 35 billion+.

After "Wolf Warrior 2", the momentum of the main theme military theme was extinguished by Da Hei Niu's "Sky Hunter".

Unexpectedly, a few months later, "Operation Red Sea" would reignite the fire.

It was just this one time that Da Hei Niu used his miserable life experience to make everyone understand that mainstream themes are indeed promising, but it depends on who is filming it…

When some people are in glory, others are in obscurity!

The dark horse "Operation Red Sea" rose to fame by riding on the success of other movies released during the same period.

"Monster Hunt 2", which was regarded as the biggest favorite, had a highlight moment of breaking the 5 million box office on the first day, but its reputation was poor and it lacked stamina, and it was beaten down.

"Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back" and "Monster Hunt 2" are not much different.

After all, Blue Whale had almost no involvement in the production of this movie. The foundation and style are there. Even if the actors were changed compared to the original version, the improvement is only slightly limited.

Among the films publicly invested and produced under the name of Blue Whale, "Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back" can compete in the top three in terms of quality and reputation.

This made Blue Whale executives feel fortunate if they had kept things as they were.

Even if "Operation Red Sea" can still make a push in the later stage, delaying the best harvest period of the Spring Festival will inevitably have an impact on the box office. It is hard to say whether it can maintain the momentum.

With only "Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back" being overshadowed by "Monster Hunt 2" at the box office is not a big deal. But it would be troublesome if the reputation of Blue Whale was affected.

At present, although "Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back" has also had some impact on Blue Whale, the stronger performance of "Operation Red Sea" has offset these negative effects to the greatest extent. Blue Whale is still a "high-quality blockbuster film and television" processing factory.

Wei Yang was quite satisfied with the performance of the executives.

Although there were some problems in the early stage, it was understandable. The most important thing was to discover the mistakes quickly and correct them decisively, and the subsequent series of remedial measures were also done well, which shows that they are still trustworthy.

Therefore, Wei Yang also gave a lot of praise and affirmation at the meeting to increase the confidence of the senior executives so that they would not have to ask him for decisions when something happened.

Judging from the current situation, Blue Whale has been a huge success during this year's Spring Festival.

The box office of "Operation Red Sea" is expected to reach more than 35 billion, and "Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back" should have no problem reaching 15 billion+, but how much [+] it can get depends on luck.

For the two films, even after deducting various expenses and dividends, Blue Whale’s actual box office profit alone would still have to reach several small targets.

Taking into account the equally lucrative opening season, Blue Whale had a great start in 2018.

In addition, Boss Wei did not care about any early mistakes, but instead gave extremely high praise. The atmosphere on the scene suddenly became much more relaxed and lively.

Taking this opportunity, Wei Yang announced another good news.

After negotiations, PPTV agreed to acquire 650% of Blue Whale's shares at a valuation of RMB 20 billion, to be paid off in 3 to 5 years.

There is no other way. PPTV really cannot pay 130 billion in cash at one time. Even if it can, it cannot pay it, otherwise the website will have no money to develop.

Therefore, after discussion between the two parties, payment was made in installments with very relaxed terms to take into account the financial pressure on PPTV as much as possible.

It is obvious that this was done intentionally by Boss Wei.

After all, he is both the buyer and the seller, and the two families are considered one family. As long as the amount of money is not a problem, some specific terms do not need to be so harsh.

Besides, Wei Yang is the chairman of PPTV, and his signature is required whenever money is paid, so there is no need to worry about being cheated.

Some people think that the market value of 650 billion is expensive, while others think it is sold cheaply. As I said, different positions and personal valuations make it difficult to have an accurate and objective standard.

It's almost the same, so let's cut the Gordian knot quickly.

First, it allows both parties to put aside their disputes, become a family, get closer, and work together.

Secondly, Wei Yang also took into account the series of impacts brought about by the subsequent collapse of Huayi. The entire industry was hit, and Blue Whale might also be affected, so the sooner it was decided, the sooner it would be at ease.

Although Blue Whale executives were happy about the good news, they also felt a little disappointed.

After all, no matter how much the shares are sold for, they will all belong to Boss Wei and they cannot get a share. In fact, Blue Whale executives are more inclined to exchange shares with PPTV.

But this matter was too complicated. Wei Yang himself had an ambiguous attitude, PPTV was firmly opposed, and there were some frictions between the two companies, as well as a struggle for the right to speak between the producers and the platform, etc. In the end, the stock exchange was not successful.

Today, Blue Whale has no influence on PPTV. Although PPTV owns 20% of Blue Whale’s shares, it is more symbolic. With Boss Wei as the major shareholder, Blue Whale still remains independent.

So, although this deal seems to have many benefits on the surface, it seems to be no different from the previous ones.

The two companies are independent of each other but work closely together, and Boss Wei still has firm control over both companies.

Well, if we have to find a change, it is that Boss Wei quietly took away 130 billion RMB...

(End of this chapter)