Ten films gather together for the Spring Festival and the new cultural company may become the biggest winner

After several rounds of film and television asset securitization, the Spring Festival has become an important battlefield for listed companies to wrestle. There will be 10 films released during this Spring Festival. Behind many films, listed companies such as Light Media, Huayi Brothers, and Wanda Theater Line are looming.

After several rounds of film and television asset securitization, the Spring Festival film has become an important battlefield for listed companies to wrestle. There will be 10 films released during this Spring Festival. Behind many films, listed companies such as Light Media, Huayi Brothers, and Wanda Theater Line are looming.

Data from domestic blockbusters Jizai

Yien think tank shows that among the 10 films released during the Spring Festival, 9 films were released on New Year's Day (January 28, 2017). Among them,"Journey to the West and Conquering Demons","The Troubles in the Sky","Bears Infested·Fantasy Space","Teachers Are Crazy","Rules of the Game","Waves and Waves", and "Happy Comedian" are domestic films,"Kung Fu Yoga" is a co-production between China and India, and "Forgetfulness Village" is a co-production between the mainland of China and China Taiwan, and the film released on the fifth day of the Chinese New Year (February 1, 2017) is the imported animated film "The Great Felice".

Supervised by Stephen Chow and directed by Tsui Hark, the 3D fantasy comedy "Journey to the West" is produced by Alibaba Pictures, China Film Group and Yihua Co., Ltd.(UK). The film is a sequel to "Journey to the West to Conquering Demons". In 2013, Stephen Chow's "Journey to the West to Conquering the Devil" became the dominant player in the Spring Festival with a box office of 1.246 billion yuan and topped the box office list for the whole year; in 2016, Stephen Chow's "Mermaid" recorded a box office of 3.39 billion yuan, and secured the top spot in the box office of the year with a large advantage. Industry insiders said that driven by Stephen Chow's IP, the performance of "Journey to the West" during this Spring Festival is worth looking forward to.

As the fourth film of the "Bear Infested" IP animated film under the new third board company Huaqiang Fonte, the investors in "Bear Infested·Fantasy Space" include Huaqiang Fonte and LeTV Pictures. In fact, this is not the first time that both parties have invested in animated films on the "Bear Infested" IP. Huaqiang Fangte and Le Pictures jointly invested in "Bear Infested" in 2016, earning a cumulative box office of 288 million yuan; in 2015, they jointly invested in "Bear Infested in Snow Ridge Bear Style", earning a cumulative box office of 296 million yuan; in 2014, they jointly invested in "Bear Infested: Bear Soldiers", achieving a cumulative box office of 248 million yuan.

Industry insiders said that animated films created by "Bear Infested" IP have performed relatively steadily in recent years. Since 2016, animated films have continued to heat up. With the combined effect of theme parks, animations, derivatives, movies and other products, the box office of "Bear Infested·Fantasy Space" is expected to increase significantly during the Spring Festival.

In addition, Enlight Media participated in the investment and distribution of the comedy and action movie "The Big Bang", which was starred and directed by Wang Baoqiang; Wanda Cinema Line invested and distributed the drama and comedy movie "Forgetfulness Village"; the comedy and action movie "Kung Fu Yoga" The producers include Yaolai Film and Television Culture, a wholly-owned grandson company with Wentou Holdings indirectly holding 100% of the shares, and the distribution company is Huayi Brothers.

Related performance commitment

"New culture may become the biggest winner in this Spring Festival." An unnamed analyst told reporters.

New Culture previously announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, New Culture Media Hong Kong Co., Ltd., and Young&Young International Corporation (referred to as "Young&Young"), which is 100% controlled by the company's actual controller, Yang Zhenhua, plan to invest 1.04 billion yuan and 286 million yuan respectively to invest PREMIUM DATA ASSOCIATES LIMITED (referred to as "PDAL") held by Stephen Chow. After the completion of this equity investment, New Culture Hong Kong holds 40% of its equity, Young&Young holds 11% of its equity, and Stephen Chow holds 49% of its equity.

Financial data shows that as of September 30, 2016, PDAL's owner's equity was 62.8585 million yuan, and its revenue and net profit from January to September 2016 were 81.1751 million yuan and 64.185 million yuan respectively. In terms of performance commitments, from fiscal year 2016 to fiscal year 2019, PDAL achieved net profit after deducting non-recurring gains and losses and the impact of non-cash expenses and expenses in the consolidated statements, which was no less than 170 million yuan, 221 million yuan, 287.3 million yuan and 361.7 million yuan respectively.

The announcement shows that in addition to PDAL's written waiver, PDAL and its subsidiaries enjoy a priority investment right of no less than 20% of the total investment for film and television works in which Stephen Chow serves as the controller or creator. PDAL is a company registered in Hong Kong. The fiscal year of Hong Kong companies covers the period from April 1 of the current year to March 31 of the following year.

Regarding "Journey to the West to the Demon" produced by Stephen Chow, industry insiders said that PDAL may have participated in the investment of the film. The box office performance of the film will be directly related to whether PDAL can fulfill its performance commitments.

In addition, Cultural Investment Holdings previously disclosed the situation of the company's investment in the film "Kung Fu Yoga" and stated that the film's partners were Beijing Taihe Entertainment and Culture Development Co., Ltd. and Youth Film Studio. Beijing Taihe Entertainment Culture Development Co., Ltd. is the executive producer. However, the company's investment amount and proportion have not been disclosed yet. Other films that WIC Holdings has invested in include "I am Not Pan Jinlian" and "Railway Flying Tiger".

Influencing the box office throughout the year

"The box office in 2016 finally ended in growth, which also made people in the circle breathe a sigh of relief." According to data from the Film Bureau of the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television, the total box office of movies nationwide in 2016 was 45.712 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 3.73%, a significant drop from the growth rate of 48.7% in 2015. At the beginning of 2017, the New Year's Day box office was cold, casting a shadow on the development of the film industry. On New Year's Day in 2017, the box office on the third day was 662 million yuan, which was about 200 million yuan less than the 863 million yuan on New Year's Day in 2016.

In recent years, the proportion of the Spring Festival box office in the annual box office has increased year by year. Statistics show that the box office on the 7th day of the Spring Festival in 2015 was 1.994 billion yuan, accounting for 4.52% of the total box office of 44.069 billion yuan in 2015; the box office of the Spring Festival in 2016 was 3.6 billion yuan, accounting for 7.88% of the total box office of 45.712 billion yuan in 2016.

Industry insiders said that there is a lack of "blockbusters" during the New Year's Day period, but many blockbusters will be released together during the Spring Festival, and the performance of the Spring Festival box office market is worth looking forward to.

According to data from the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, the total number of screens in China reached 41,200 in 2016, making it the market with the largest number of movie screens in the world. At the same time, listed film and television companies are accelerating their exploration of overseas markets. In 2016, overseas box office revenue of domestic films reached 3.825 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 38.09%.

Industry insiders said that with the further integration of the theater assets acquired by Wanda Cinema and other companies in cross-border acquisitions overseas, Huayi Brothers, Aofei Entertainment, LeTV Pictures and other companies are accelerating the overseas distribution of domestic films, actively investing in overseas films and participating in global box office share, overseas box office revenue, film derivative revenue, etc. will further increase the contribution to performance.

Editor: Nancy