Hidden Marriage

Chapter 1210: I’ll Give You This Number

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

At night, in a private room in one of Imperial’s fancy hotels.

The room was all brouhaha and everyone exchanged toasts with each other. It was very lively.

The director of ”I Only Like You”, Zheng Kangde, the producer, Wu Kai, the main actors like Liang Biqin, and the other creative staff were all present. At the main seat was a shrewd-looking middle-aged man dressed in a Giorgio Armani tuxedo. He was the manager of The People’s Cinema, Cui Zhihao.

Among the cinema box office ranking in Imperial, The People’s Cinema came in first place by raking in $ 3.8 billion. When it came to a movie, the cinema manager was said to have the ultimate control of its number of shows on the premiere day.

To have settled Cui Zhihao was the equivalent of having guaranteed the success of half the box office.

In the industry, in order to get more screenings, accompanying them for meals and drinks were basic obligations. Blatant bribes like rebates and extra red packets were also a norm in the industry, and Imperial’s number one cinema was no exception.

At the dinner table, Director Zheng Kangde eagerly offered a toast to Cui Zhihao. ”Come on, Manager Cui, I will drink to you once more. We’re counting on you to look after our movie!” Zheng Kangde said as he hinted at Liang Biqin before she quickly walked over to serve Cui Zhihao herself, while keeping her chest indistinctively close in contact with Cui Zhihao’s arm.

Another actress was not ready to be outdone by Liang Biqin, so she flattered Cui Zhihao, ”I’ve always heard that movies which Manager Cui takes interest in will definitely be a hit!”

Zheng Kangde quickly echoed, ”Manager Cui is our industry trendsetter!”

Cui Zhihao was smiling from ear to ear with Liang Biqin on his left, and a beautiful second female lead on his right as he chuckled, ”No, Director Zheng, your theme is fresh and it will attract all the younger audience. It’s the driving factor in the current box office sales. Don’t even mention the famous actors involved; with such strong marketing, you don’t even need to tell me what to do. I will definitely prioritize it!”

”Manager Cui, you lavish us with too much praise. Whatever movies the audience watches are all decided by you. As great as our movie could be, we won’t be able to escape your support!” When Zheng Kangde saw that the atmosphere was about right, he closed in and showed Cui Zhihao five fingers.

”As long as you support us fully, Manager Cui, I can make the decision on our end and give you this number!”

When Cui Zhihao saw the number Zheng Kangde’s fingers revealed, his eyes instantly shone. This meant that he wanted to give him a 50% commission on the ticket sales!

Usually, if a movie distributor wanted to ”collaborate” with a cinema, the cinema would suitably increase the number of screenings, but the pre-requisite was to get some sort of commission from the sales, which was also the so-called ”red packet.” These grey profits would mostly fall into the hands of the cinema manager.

Within the industry, the usual commission rate was 30%, so Zheng Kangde was being rather generous.

Based on Zheng Kangde’s investment, the big shots, and the promotion of this movie, at least $ 300 million at the box office was guaranteed. Based on the 50% commission, he could get more than $ 10 million!

When he thought of this, Cui Zhihao instantly grinned. ”Don’t worry, Director Zheng, I can provide you with this number for the frequency of the movie screenings!”

Chi Zhihao then splayed out his five fingers at Zheng Kangde.

That was half of the total screenings!

Zheng Kangde instantly looked satisfied and gratified. ”Manager Cui, you’re frank indeed!”

In the current market, if the movie could occupy over 30% of the screenings, it would mean that there would be 50,000 shows in a day -- definitely the standard for a blockbuster movie. The Hollywood blockbuster that exploded in popularity recently also only took up 50% of the allotted screenings.