Global Film Emperor

Chapter 465 The Company Was Smashed?

“Ohhhhhhhh~”

"What are they doing? Why are they making so much noise?"

Elena opened the hotel room door, and instantly, a group of people's excited shouts reached her ears. Frowning, she walked in and saw a group of people, led by Mickey, sitting on the sofa, cheering for the cartoon characters on TV. She glanced at the scene, which was rather bloody, no wonder it aroused the excitement of these grown men.

"I'm watching that Attack on Titan thing, but unfortunately I'm not interested... Would you like something to drink?"

"Anything is fine."

After receiving the reply, Elena handed Lu Ze a bottle of coconut milk from the Coconut Palm brand. Mickey had discovered this stuff and was amazed after taking a few sips. He immediately took it back to the hotel to share with everyone. Judging from the dozen or so empty coconut milk cartons on the sofa and coffee table, Lu Ze could guess how popular it was among them.

The chilled coconut milk tasted great. I opened it and drank half a carton in one go. I sat down on the side of the L-shaped sofa, not joining the group watching TV. I saw a Romeo and Juliet aluminum tube on the table, opened it by myself, picked up the lighter, and lit the cigar by rotating it to make it burn fully and start to emit its aroma.

Mickey, engrossed in the story, seemed to only notice Lu Ze's arrival when he smelled the burning cigar. He picked up the empty aluminum tube, opened his hands still covered in potato chip seasoning powder, and complained to Lu Ze.

"That's my food for today! It's so expensive in China, much more expensive than in Britain."

"Put the TV on for a moment. The box office report for the first week is out. Take a look."

The paper report was placed on the table. When they started talking about serious business, turning off the TV did not cause any complaints. Mickey frowned, picked up the report and slowly looked at it, but his hands were not still. He slowly moved the report on the table and successfully took the cigar from the ashtray when Lu Ze was not paying attention and put it in his mouth.

"Seven hundred and thirty million? Good heavens, Elena! Quick, do the math! What's the exchange rate now? One to seven points? How much is that?"

"That's just over a hundred million."

Because the regulations differ from country to country, Lu Ze was in charge of the box office and various data in the Chinese market. Apart from the opening day's box office, Lu Ze only called Mickey and others to inform them of the general situation. Now, with a complete box office report showing very good results on the table, Mickey realized that "Exile" had actually made so much money!

Based on the box office revenue in other countries calculated by Universal Brothers' accountants, Exile has now grossed $240 million worldwide, with nearly half of that coming from China. This demonstrates the immense earning power of China's huge box office market, which is undoubtedly also related to the strong support from cinemas.

However... this is the profit before deducting the share from each company. If the share is deducted, the profit that can be deposited into the Universal Brothers account... is only about fifty million dollars.

Even though this film was approved as a Sino-foreign co-production during the review process, Lu Ze's investment was ultimately made in the UK and invested in Universal Brothers. His shares in Universal Brothers are also foreign-owned shares. The essence of the Sino-foreign co-production is still that it is invested in by the British side. Therefore, the revenue sharing will also be in accordance with the rules, with a 25% share, just like all imported films, without any special treatment.

This immediately dampened the smiles of the crowd who had been overjoyed upon hearing that the film had grossed over 100 million yuan. The team, who had been showered with praise and accolades in China, had even started fantasizing about what luxury cars they should reward themselves with. But when all that was said, the profits generated in a week were barely enough to break even…

It's not just China; apart from some Nordic countries and the UK where taxation is more relaxed, almost all countries are like this, with strict controls on taxes for imported films.

"So... we haven't actually made any money at all?"

"You could say that." Upon receiving the reply, Mickey's face immediately fell. He finished his coconut milk in one gulp, picked up his cigar, crossed his arms, and buried himself in the soft sofa to begin his contemplation.

"I was originally thinking of buying a private jet..."

"You look like an airplane to me. Don't be so envious just because Fatini has an airplane."

Seemingly struck by Lu Ze's words, he awkwardly retorted, saying it was for everyone's sake, so that anyone in the company could use it when they needed to go out. But in reality, apart from himself, no one had ever considered buying a private jet.

After much discussion and a rough estimate of how much box office revenue could be generated in the remaining days, the matter was finally put to rest. The television was turned back on, but now everyone's attention was no longer focused on the animation. Instead, they started looking at plane tickets and discussing when to leave.

"Why don't you all stay here and come home with me? It's your first time in China, so why not experience a Chinese New Year in the countryside?"

Everyone was tempted, but this option was ultimately rejected. They still had too much to do when they got back. Kesha and Lucas's reckless mentality resurfaced, and they decided to go to the Amazon to film another documentary. They had already started researching routes and itineraries. Once the money was in place and they finished filming "Atonement," the two of them would leave and prepare to live with an African indigenous tribe for six months.

Mickey is also writing the script for "Nothing to Hear" and the company is expanding. Recently, many talents in the film industry have submitted their resumes to "Universal Brothers". He will need to interview them one by one. There are a lot of things to do. He also wanted to visit China New Year, but he didn't have enough time. He could only make an appointment for next year. He will definitely come back to visit again.

As for the others... whether they were interested or not, they all lost interest. After all, everyone knew that Lu Ze's invitation was just for show. The people who were actually invited were not going, so why should they bother?
So they booked their plane tickets and left this afternoon. Lu Ze didn't try to stop them. Seeing them start packing their luggage, he didn't move. He sat on the sofa and booked a train ticket back to Lü Hua.

He took them to the airport first. Lu Ze would be going to England after the New Year, which would only be a month or so, so he didn't feel any reluctance. After the group boarded the plane, he left and went into the supermarket to browse around. Thinking that he had everything at home and didn't lack anything, he only took out two jars of sesame paste.

Six hours later, after getting off the high-speed train, a cold wind blew in, and it was much colder than the capital. I tightened the collar of my trench coat, went back to the bar, ordered two dishes from the restaurant next door, and sipped a couple of sips of baijiu by myself.

The lame cat circled around, its mouth watering. Under the light, it drooled so much it almost hurt the eyes. Even so, it still didn't get a single bite. It got angry and sneaked out when Lu Ze opened the door, trying to run away from home. Naturally, it got a good beating. Sometimes, when you look at it, you feel like it's much smarter than the average cat, but it never forgets to use its intelligence for its own good. It's greedy and lazy, with the body of a cat but the heart of a pig.

After taking a shower, he continued to work on his first book until midnight. When he got sleepy, he took off his blue light blocking glasses, picked up the cripple, and went back to the bedroom to rest.

But just half a minute after I lay down on the bed, the phone rang. I picked it up and glanced at it; it was Mickey calling. I guessed they were already in Singapore for a connecting flight.

"Hey?"

"What the hell are these idiots doing? Are the cops just sitting around doing nothing? They haven't caught a single person? How's Old Jill? It's good that he's alright, it's none of his business. He's just an old night watchman in the mailroom, you expect him to stand up and stop them? You're asking the impossible! These lunatics! I'm not letting them off the hook. Did they steal anything?"

"Hello? What's going on?"

"My company got my ass smashed!"

"..."

(End of this chapter)