Wang Zhonglei: optimistic about the development potential of the live entertainment sector, and will focus on industrial films in 2017

However, the revenue of Huayi Brothers' film and television entertainment sector in 2016 decreased by 9.3% compared with 2015. In the 2016 annual performance express, the company said that during the reporting period, the film and television entertainment industry experienced shocks, and the growth rate was lower than market expectations. The revenue of the company's film and television entertainment sector and internet entertainment sector did not meet expectations, and the performance fell compared with the same period last year

The main films that Huayi Brothers participated in the investment and distribution in 2016 include "Lu Yao knows Ma Li", "rock and roll Tibetan mastiff", "I'm not Pan Jinlian", "the death history of romantic", etc., as well as the box office revenue of two high box office films in 2015, "dragon searching formula" and "old cannon". However, the box office of "I'm not Pan Jinlian" was 480million yuan, and the box office of the new year's film "the death of romantic" was 120million yuan, both lower than expected, which also affected the profits of the film and television entertainment sector

Wang Zhonglei said frankly that this is due to the differences caused by different types of films. "In 2016 films, Huayi's main types tend to be literary and artistic drama films. From the perspective of the production of a film company, it should be more comprehensive, and there should be commercial film production." The box office of "Dragon Quest" was 1.37 billion yuan (cross year movie, here only refers to the box office of 2015), ranking seventh in the box office list of 2015 films. This is a standard work of industrial film system, and also achieved commercial success. Perhaps, based on the contrast of market returns brought by different film types in 2015 and 2016, Huayi Brothers will focus on films of the industrial system in 2017. Wang Zhonglei said: "this year, there will be a series of commercial films such as" Di Renjie's four heavenly kings "directed by Tsui Hark," eight hundred "directed by Guan Hu, and" Yin Yang division "

Huayi Brothers has always been inclined to develop films in the industrial system. Wang Zhonglei said, "a large commercial film system is the pillar of the whole industry. In the face of domestic films with relatively weak film industrial system, this has always needed to be developed." Not long ago, Huayi Brothers joined hands with Kungfu film to launch a super film plan of "five blockbusters in the next three years", including many industrial films such as "Di Renjie's four heavenly kings" and "painted skin prequel"

Reporter: Recently, Chinese companies have launched diversified cooperation with Hollywood, including film investment, joint ventures or mergers and acquisitions. Huayi has an early layout in this regard, such as cooperating with STX and establishing a joint venture with Russell brothers in the United States. What kind of demands does Huayi hope to achieve through such cooperation

Wang Zhonglei: these two cooperation are still based on Huayi's international layout. Internationalization is a very important layout among Huayi's three strategies

International cooperation based on film and television is diversified, and institutions are becoming more and more complex. Pure film and television institutions and financial institutions are doing it. The investment of Huayi international is mainly based on two levels: one is the content level. STX and Russell are both based on the content ontology to develop and launch global films together, which is not entirely based on capital investment. For example, we must merge and acquire some companies, because Huayi is not an investment company; Secondly, high-tech companies help upgrade the film industry, such as the investment in VR company in Silicon Valley this year. VR company is a research and development company committed to solving the technology between VR and film and television shooting, which is also based on the internationalization strategy. All investment contents and the industry should have good interaction

Reporter: China and the United States have launched new negotiations on imported films. Public opinion believes that China's film market will be more open. What changes do you think this will bring to China's imported film market? For example, will the quota of imported films be increased

Wang Zhonglei: this year is the beginning of a new round of film negotiations in the WTO. The negotiations still have a length of time and will not be too fast. The market changes in the past two years are different from those in the past. Nearly 100 imported films have been distributed in commercial cinemas, more than half of which are distributed synchronously around the world. From 2016 to the first quarter of 2017, China has been a relatively open film market, and there is no more room for further opening in the future, because American commercial series are basically in China. More quotas for imported films should be high-quality feature films. As a supplement to the film market, it plays a positive role in improving the appreciation level of audiences and good market division

But what I pay more attention to is the preparation of domestic films under this situation. Domestic films have inherent advantages, the demographic dividend continues to expand, and the number of film viewers and frequency are improving. The advantage of domestic films lies in the cultural affinity. Domestic audiences like domestic films, but are not satisfied with the current level of domestic films. Chinese film companies and creators respect the market, audiences, and their careers in this regard, and make films well, What I just said is not a burden

Reporter: Huayi mentioned that it would speed up the layout of cinemas. Last year, four new cinemas opened, and launched the high-end brand "Huayi Brothers film collection". It also participated in the fixed increase of Dadi cinemas. Next, what will Huayi do in terms of the layout of the cinema? How much market share do you expect to occupy in the cinema market

Wang Zhonglei: cinema line investment has been in the layout since it was listed. The reason why the layout is more cautious is a strategic consideration. Is Huayi committed to the cinema line, or is it focused on the stage of creative content development and publicity. At present, capital M & A in the cinema market is not particularly market-oriented, and the transaction price, target and P / E ratio exceed the market too much. Therefore, Huayi's investment strategy in the cinema line is mainly to manage the output and build its own cinemas as head resources. Huayi's brand is more compatible with the cinema lines in mainstream cities. It does not excessively pursue the number of screens, but the input-output ratio of a single theater. Although there are only 19 cinemas now, its profitability is very strong, surpassing many cinema line companies with 100 or 200 cinemas. This is an important strategic direction of Huayi in the cinema line. Our goal is to hope that Huayi's film investment company and cinema line company can enter the top ten and become the mainstream cinema line within 3-4 years

editor: Nancy