Chapter 569 Round E
[Wolf Warrior 2] became a big hit, and the one who gained the most was definitely Wu Jing, the director and starring actor. He is now just like when Gu Wei directed and starred in [Tang Detective] and it became a hit. But it was even more popular than Gu Wei's time. After all, the box office of the first part of "Tang Detective" was far behind that of "Wolf Warrior 2".
The second one is of course Gu Wei. Not to mention how much money [Wolf Warrior 2] made for him, this success has completely confirmed Gu Wei's title as the "King of Box Office" in domestic entertainment.
Even though [Wolf Warrior 2] has not been released yet, the total box office of his movies starring in it has exceeded 16 billion.
This data is unique to Scorpion Baba in terms of current domestic entertainment.
Xu Zheng, Huang Bo, Deng Chao, Shen Teng, these future billionaire actors are still far behind Gu Wei.
The most important thing is that Gu Wei never misses a beat. Although the movies he stars in have mixed reviews, they are always hits at the box office.
This is very scary. Whether it is because of Gu Wei's strong box office appeal or because of his good vision, everyone only cares about the results.
Gu Wei has made his debut for 6 years and has completely built himself into a golden brand with his achievements in one movie after another.
Whether it is in the eyes of his peers or the audience, he is the guarantee of box office.
The last one is the heroine of the movie, Zhang Tianai. Her role in "Wolf Warrior 2" is not that big and she is the kind of person who decorates a vase, but it is undeniable that she is the absolute leading female character in the film.
The heroine of a movie that has sold over 5 billion in box office. Needless to say, her qualifications and achievements are unmatched by anyone.
Coupled with previous films such as "The Richest Man in Xihong City", "Xiu Chun Knife 2" and "Passing Through Your World", Zhang Tianai has completely established herself as a first-line movie star.
If you just look at the box office results, there are only a handful of actresses in the entertainment industry who can compare with her.
The celebration banquet ended relatively late, and everyone was very happy. Wu Jing finally got into the car drunkenly with the help of Xie Nan.
"Actually, Director Wu is not the only one who finds it incredible. I also feel that the box office results of [Wolf Warrior 2] are too exaggerated when I see them every day."
In Gu Wei's car, Zhang Tianai cuddled up next to him.
“We filmed well and caught up with the good times. The current results are due to the confluence of many factors.
Netizens say that [Wolf Warrior 2] is a box office miracle. Since If it's a miracle, it must be extraordinary." Gu Wei put his arms around Zhang Tianai's slender waist and sniffed her hair.
Although Wu Jing drinks a lot, he is not his opponent after all.
"Do you think [Wolf Warrior 2] can really reach 6 billion?" She obviously heard the chat between Gu Wei and Wu Jing at the main table.
“There is hope, but I can’t guarantee it 100%.”
“Do you think there will be more and more movies with a box office reaching 4 billion or 5 billion in the future?”
“It’s not that easy. We can only say that our movie is a special case.
Given the current size of the domestic film market, there will definitely be more and more movies selling two to three billion yuan. But if you want to reach the level of [Wolf Warrior 2], it’s not just about making good movies." Gu Wei thought for a while.
"The science fiction film I'm making now has the potential to hit the box office of 5 billion."
"Your cooperation with Wu Jing again will definitely bring up the topic, but can a domestic science fiction film work? Ten million Don't destroy your sign." Zhang Tianai was still a little worried about him.
"Haha. Don't worry, I never fight an uncertain battle. Since I dare to challenge domestic science fiction films, I have my reasons."
A black nanny car is on the road in Beijing. After walking through it, we arrived at the community where Zhang Tianai lived in a short while.
“Actually, you can consider gaining some weight. Your original figure is very standard. After filming [Operation Red Sea] and being busy with movie promotions these days, I guess you are now less than 90 pounds.”
On the big bed in the bedroom, Zhang Tianai showed off her perfectly proportioned figure unscrupulously. Her figure was slender and her skin was delicate, but her original tallness seemed to have shrunk a bit.
“It’s not as exaggerated as you said. I just weighed 46kg in the morning, which is only 4kg lighter than before
I have a body that is prone to obesity. If you don’t pay attention, these 4kg are very fat. It’s easy to gain weight back.”
Despite saying this, Zhang Tianai decided to try her best to return her weight to its previous state. She is 165cm tall, and as long as she stays within 100 pounds, it will not affect her photogenic appearance.
A woman wants to please her own appearance, so of course she must listen to Gu Wei's opinion.
"I have already made an agreement with the company. As you have time recently, you can set up your personal studio in these days.
The staff is still your current team, and the company holds 60% of the shares. You personally account for 40%”
Zhang Tianai signed a contract with the company relatively early. She was already an artist under the company before she became famous. After Gu Wei used [Princess] to make her famous, over the years, She made a lot of money for the company.
In fact, Gu Wei planned to help her set up a personal studio as early as the beginning of this year, but then she went abroad to film "Operation Red Sea" and ran out of time, so she has postponed it until now.
"You are so good to me, I don't even know how to repay you" Zhang Tianai said quietly while holding Gu Wei's arm.
After debuting for so many years, she certainly knows the benefits of star studios. The most basic thing is that opening a studio allows the artist to get more money.
For example, when an artist signs a contract with a management company, if the artist is divided into 30% to 70%, and the company is divided into 30% to 70%, then according to the share division of Weiwei, her management will be transferred from the company to her own studio. 70% is still hers, and the remaining 30% will go to the company, 18% will go to the company, and 12% will go to the individual celebrity, and she will actually get 82%.
Another one, with a studio, celebrities are no longer just part-time workers, but have more autonomy.
In the future, we can also sign new people in the name of the studio, invest in film and television dramas, and it can completely develop into a small film and television company.
Of course, this is not something that ordinary celebrities can do. Most artists’ studios still serve individuals.
Zhang Tianai and Gu Wei already had emotional difficulties.
She always felt that she was wrong in what happened in the first place, and her feelings for Gu Wei were mixed with admiration, guilt and inferiority.
After the two broke up, Gu Wei just spent resources to promote her from a small model to a big star because of a promise he made when they fell in love. Now he takes the initiative to open a studio for her. .
Looking back on his experiences over the years, how could Zhang Tianai not be moved.
“There is no need to talk about this between us. With your current fame and status, you should also have your own star studio.
It will also be helpful for your future work development."
Zhang Tianai raised his body slightly and laid his head on Gu Wei's chest.
"It doesn't matter if you sign with the company or start working. Regardless of the room, I will always listen to you. I will do whatever you ask me to do.”
On this trip back to the capital, besides attending the celebration banquet, Gu Wei has one more important thing to do.
[ByteDance] is raising funds again
In December last year, Byte's D round of financing was valued at US$12 billion. Now, in just over half a year, the company has launched its E round of financing again.
The financing party this time is [General Atlantic Investment], with a financing amount of US$2 billion and a post-financing valuation of US$26 billion.
[General Atlantic Investments] is a private equity company established in the United States in 1980. It controls hundreds of billions of dollars in funds and has investments all over the world.
However, there has been a lot of investment in mainland China in recent years. Billions of dollars of capital flow in every year, and some companies with potential are selected for investment.
“In May this year, we launched the international version of Douyin, TikTok, and its development in the North American market is still in its infancy.
It’s just that there is already a product of the same type over there called musical.ly.
musical.ly is a music short video platform launched in 2014. It now has more than 20 million daily active users worldwide, including more than 6 million active users in North America, which is a much greater advantage than us.
To be honest, our Douyin was originally inspired by musical.ly.
But our development in China is obviously much faster than musical.ly in North America.”
In the office of [ByteDance], Zhang Yiming was chatting with Gu Wei about this Financing matters.
"Later, after discussion, we felt that it was a local company with the same product type as ours, so it would be difficult to compete with it, so we might as well just buy it!
musical.ly had a round of financing in May last year. At that time, the valuation was US$500 million. After a year, the number of users has increased, and the valuation has also increased relatively.
The company's negotiators have negotiated with musical.ly to acquire it for US$1 billion. Their entire company.
As a result, the US$1 billion raised last year is not enough, and the company has spent a lot on development in the past six months.
In addition, TikTok has entered the North American market. We also need the support of a strong ally there, so we started this round of financing
[General Atlantic Investment] is a chosen ally.”
Gu Wei had seen reports on [ByteDance]’s several financing rounds in the news. The value is growing rapidly and the amount of financing is huge. I don’t know that the amount of each financing, including the selection of financing objects, is carefully planned.
Highly developing companies, especially [ByteDance]. If you want to invest in a unicorn company with huge potential, you need to have money to either help the company when it encounters difficulties, or to provide resources that others don't have.
Gu Wei was able to invest in the stock just in time for the period when [ByteDance] was in a crisis of public opinion, [Douyin] had not yet been released, and its flagship products [Today’s Toutiao] and [Neihan Duanzi] It caused a lot of trouble, one involving infringement of other news websites, one with vulgar content and incorrect guidance
That period was also the time when [ByteDance] was most underestimated since its establishment.
Later, the new flagship product [Douyin] came out, and Gu Wei, the major shareholder, relied on his fame and influence in the entertainment industry to help [Douyin] become famous and increase his traffic. Import it into this new short music video.
Douyin, which has only been around for a year, has grown rapidly and has now become the second largest short video platform in China after Kuaishou.
At this point, he bound himself to [ByteDance] and became Zhang Yiming’s most reliable partner.
Sending help in times of need and providing later resource support are what Gu Wei relies on to enter the core layer of [ByteDance].
If he is simply rich, even if he comes in through chance financing in the early stage, he will still be marginalized by the management through various methods in the later stage.
"You can decide these things. I have said since I started investing in shares that I believe in your ability."
Zhang Yiming smiled at Gu Wei's trust. , said nothing.
"Your movie is very popular recently." After talking about the business, the two started chatting again.
“You mean [Wolf Warrior 2], you are so busy at work and still have time to watch movies?”
"Although I am busy at work, I have to relax occasionally. I am not a tough guy. Only by relaxing can I last a long time.
In the first few years when I started my business, I really didn't care about anything. Now, although the company is getting bigger and bigger, , but there are dedicated people responsible for many tasks, and I only need to control the general direction, which is relatively easy.
Besides, your movie [Wolf Warrior 2] is not an ordinary hit now."
Gu Wei picked up the tea in front of him and took a sip.
“How do you feel? Is the photo good?”
"It's quite good. Although I am a layman in the film and television industry, I still have basic appreciation skills.
My blood is boiling after watching the whole movie.
I am planning to visit the company near the company these days. The cinema has booked some shows, and as employees of a welfare organization, we can go to see them together."
"Haha. Then thank you, Boss Zhang, for your support of the box office."
"You are also the boss, everyone supports you. The work is also what it should be." Zhang Mingming smiled.
"But having said that, is it so profitable to make movies now? The box office is expected to exceed 5 billion in the past two days. Our company's revenue last year was only 6 billion, which is about the same as the box office of your movie."
Although [ByteDance]’s current valuation is so high, the amount of financing this time is even as high as 2 billion U.S. dollars, but the full-year revenue in 2016 was only 6 billion yuan.
However, Internet companies cannot just look at revenue. The most important thing is market share and development speed.
[ByteDance] is developing extremely fast, and its market share is increasing year by year. It is only August now, and the entire company's revenue this year has already exceeded 10 billion yuan.
And Gu Wei knows that with the popularity of TikTok, [ByteDance]’s revenue will basically double year by year. He remembers that in 2019, advertising revenue alone was exceeded 120 billion yuan.
The full-year revenue in 2022 will even exceed US$80 billion, of which operating profit will be US$20 billion.
This is the charm of Internet companies. When it comes to making movies, let alone Gu Wei himself, the box office of the entire domestic movie market is only 60 billion yuan for the whole year, which is far behind the developed [ByteDance] Far worse.
So does the entertainment industry make money? Compared with ordinary people and even the middle class, it is very profitable. Small stars have assets in the hundreds or tens of millions, and those in the top tier can basically reach hundreds of millions.
But compared to the big guys in other industries, the ceiling is relatively low. Cheng Long, Uncle Benshan, the two Huayi brothers, Yu Dong, and Wang Changtian are all worth a few billion. Those who can reach tens of billions can already compete for the position of the richest man in the entertainment industry.
If Gu Wei reports all his assets now, he will be the real richest man in the entertainment industry.
It's a pity that he, the "richest man", is still not enough in front of some big shots.
The most important thing in the entertainment industry is actually fame. With great fame and high influence, money and status are naturally not a problem.
“It can’t be compared like this. The company got 20 US dollars in cash from this financing. How many movies do I have to make to earn this money?
And we have to compete with Tencent and Alibaba. In the future It will become a leading company in the Internet industry, and I will have to ask Boss Zhang to take care of me then."
"Haha. Let's work together, and we are still a little far behind."
"The company's development has entered the fast lane. I think it will only happen in the past few years."
"Then I can borrow your good words."
This financing, the preliminary work Basically everything is completed, the contract is officially signed, and Gu Wei just signs the agreement as a shareholder.
The E-round financing ended, [ByteDance]’s valuation became US$26 billion, and Gu Wei’s shares were diluted a little to 10.23%.
Since the angel round when the company was established in 2012, [ByteDance] has raised funds 6 times, and the shareholder composition is extremely complex. Gu Wei’s 10.23% may not seem like much, but it is already the only one named Zhang. the second largest individual shareholder.
This asset seems exaggerated, even close to 20 billion yuan, but it actually has little impact on him.
[ByteDance] is not listed. As long as Gu Wei does not plan to sell these shares, it will only be paper wealth after all.
His purchase of a manor, a large plane and other personal expenses depended on his income from being a star and an entertainment company.
“Don’t forget the cocktail party in the evening.”
After the contract was signed, Byte executives headed by Zhang Mingming were obviously very excited.
"Forget it, I don't have anything in common with these people in the financial circle, so I won't come forward."
Zhang Yiming thought for a moment that Gu Wei was indeed a bit out of place at the last financing reception, and nodded.
"That's fine. You're so busy so it won't take up more of your time.
But I still have to come to the company more often if I have time."
"What?" Gu Wei asked curiously.
"Every time you come, the young people in the company are very excited. Some newcomers have improved their work efficiency after knowing that you are a shareholder." Zhang Yiming pushed up his black-rimmed glasses and said with a smile.
“You are treating me as the company’s mascot.
Lao Zhang, you are worthy of being the boss, you really make the best use of everything to the limit”
“ You are the spokesperson of [Douyin]. Besides, this is all for the development of the company and the welfare of employees.
Why do you want to go on stage to sing a song or something? ”
"How much do you pay for the appearance fee?"
"My company still needs the appearance fee?"
"Brothers will settle the accounts. You know that my current commercial performances have a price but no market." Gu Wei has almost stopped doing business performances in recent years, and now he is not short of money. When he has time, he is not willing to go out to work even if he stays at home to rest.
"You make a price"
"Lao Zhang, if you perform on stage with me, I can do it for free." Gu Wei rolled his eyes and turned the tables.
"Well, I can sing, but I'm tone-deaf." Zhang Yiming hesitated.
Even though he was having fun teasing Gu Wei, he started to back off when it was his turn.
"What are you afraid of when we sing together? Aren't we still there?
Someone just said that they would provide benefits to employees."
Look at Zhang Yiyi Looking at Gu Wei's half-smiling expression, he gritted his teeth.
"Okay, then we will go on stage together and make everyone happy."
(End of this chapter)