Chapter 1677 - 823: So Many People Are Watching

Chapter 1677: Chapter 823: So Many People Are Watching

The heat directly surpassed "Death Prediction Letter" and "Annual Meeting," reaching real-time second.

This data isn’t explosive, but it’s also quite outstanding.

Song Chi breathed a sigh of relief.

With such an achievement, Song Chi knew that as long as "Sword Lady" didn’t collapse afterward, it definitely wouldn’t lose money.

The agreement they signed with Hongcheng TV Station and Chestnut Video states that different first-round broadcast results mean different royalties.

After the first-round TV broadcast, there are subsequent second, third, and even more rounds. Online broadcasting will also enter the VIP paid stage after completion, and the company will earn a share at that time.

What’s more, Song Chi has almost finished negotiations with companies in Japan and Korea. The royalties for broadcasting this drama in these two countries are also substantial.

The next day, Song Chi arrived at the company, and everyone had already gathered, just waiting for him to come and celebrate the big success of the premiere.

This ceremony is also a means of company promotion, and it will later be posted online to attract more people to focus on "Sword Lady" this drama.

Song Chi and Wu Chengbao happily celebrated with everyone. When they returned to the office and only the two of them were left, Wu Chengbao said, "Old Song, this time the performance of ’Sword Lady’ is quite good, and the feedback is also positive. Do you think the wuxia genre has regained popularity?"

"Actually, wuxia dramas have always been popular, but because all the good stories have been filmed, the recent dramas are not highly rated, so they aren’t popular." Song Chi said, "Look at ’Four Killers’ starring Xiao Yun, a wuxia film that ended up making over a billion at the box office. Who would have thought that a wuxia film could still earn such high box office earlier?"

Wu Chengbao chuckled and said, "That’s because Xiao Yun is starring. Try changing the lead actor and see."

Song Chi: "A good story is the foundation, and besides, wuxia film production is very mature now, which has also lowered the production costs considerably. Our ’Sword Lady’ is already the top-tier of wuxia dramas, using the best from director to actor to behind-the-scenes team, which is why it’s good. Don’t be deceived by the success of this drama. Without a good story, such a good lineup wouldn’t have been attracted, and the resulting play would be disappointing."

"That’s true." Wu Chengbao sighed, "Our company has two dramas, one ’Sword Lady’ and one ’Jiangyun Platform,’ tying up almost half of our cash flow. Now we can finally get back quite a bit. We have two low-budget online dramas starting filming soon. I’m planning to develop derivative online films for these two web dramas to form a brand. Previously, ’Daughter Will Not Leave the Hall’ performed well, and the second part is already being developed. I’ve also asked the screenwriters to simultaneously write scripts for the online films."

Upon hearing this, Song Chi nodded and said, "Regarding online films, we haven’t really gotten involved before, right? Can they recoup costs?"

"To be honest, the risk with online films is much smaller than with theatrical releases. For well-known IPs like ’Daughter Will Not Leave the Hall,’ developing a series of online films, the cost of making one might be only around ten million. But the revenue share at the end basically exceeds the input cost. It’s hard to say how much can be earned, but there are still other licensing channels to explore." Wu Chengbao said, "We’ve always excelled in producing small yet refined films, and we’ve nurtured quite a few new directors and actors. However, online dramas and films are still quite distant from the mainstream market. For both directors and actors, fleeting popularity isn’t enough for the market to embrace them. Creating series can maintain their buzz and further open up their market recognition."

Song Chi understood Wu Chengbao’s intentions.

Actually, nowadays, why are so many companies creating "XX Universe"? The reason lies here. A new IP is always risky, but if a brand is formed in the audience’s mind, then that universe becomes the largest IP. Any work within this universe has a fixed group of audience and fans supporting it, saving a lot on promotional expenses and lowering the risk of revenue.

Song Chi himself is unwilling to act in such online films, but having started his own company, he’s gradually able to understand why many companies are keen on making online films.

Without cinema as an intermediary to earn the price difference, and no other linkage costs, it goes online directly to start making money. The capital flow is fast, and there’s no need to wait for a schedule.