Super Zoo

With the hit screening of Animal City, the first two overseas distribution companies that arrived, Vieshow from Baodao and the one from the Philippines, inevitably took the initiative to raise their offers, especially Baodao, which directly increased the price almost tenfold to 7 million Huaxia currency, and the Philippines also increased their offer. Together, they amounted to almost 10 million, and this number could still be negotiated further. The initial offers from the two were a little over a million Huaxia currency, based on the assumption that the mainland box office would make less than 10 million in three days. After four weeks, however, the total box office in the mainland had surpassed 350 million, and naturally, their offers rose with the tide, with a new and higher price proposed almost every day. Suming did not respond at all, still letting the entertainment company host them with good food, drinks, and fun without any substantial negotiations. The two companies were as anxious as ants on a hot pan. As Animal City became a hot screening, more and more companies interested in purchasing the overseas distribution rights emerged. Previously, Long Wu mentioned that seven or eight countries, including India, Japan, Korea, and others had contacted Suming with not too low offers, with four countries' cinema lines even sending delegates to Yangchuan City. Although Suming did not openly discuss or make contact regarding the price of distribution rights, he was very 'open' in other respects, not hiding the intentions of other countries to purchase the rights. Whenever the other companies inquired, the public relations comrades from the entertainment company would cheerfully say, "Mr. Su has been really busy lately, please wait a little while. Rest assured, Mr. Su treats everyone equally, for instance, such and such country, and such and such company, Mr. Su hasn't entertained them either..." In response, the other parties would almost certainly ask, "That company wants to buy the distribution rights too?" The public relations people would cheerfully respond, "Of course, it's not just them, such and such are also in discussions..." They even arranged for all of the personnel negotiating distribution rights to stay on the same hotel floor in the same building. The hotel staff were surprised to find that a good part of the sixth floor was occupied by foreigners, oddly enough, many of whom seemed to know each other from before. Being from the same industry and with similar job functions, it was not strange for them to know each other. The foreigners negotiating during the day would visit each other, have talks, sometimes arguing to the point of blushing and getting red-eared, only to sit in the hotel bar downstairs at night, laughing and drinking merrily. All of them had received the same information; the producer, Mr. Su, agreed to sell the overseas distribution rights but hadn't made any substantial contact with any of them. "Mr. Park, as a senior figure in the industry, what do you think Taoyuan Entertainment is up to?" "Mr. Sakata, you flatter me! I think it's clear, they want us to compete with each other!" "But since we are from different countries, showing the movie domestically, there is no conflict of interest, and the purchase price of the distribution rights does not affect each other, there's no possibility of competition." "Mr. Songpashan makes sense!" "The way Huaxia people think is really puzzling; neither agreeing nor declining, just leaving us hanging without any cost, isn't it?" "Mr. Chen, with many ethnic Chinese in Singapore, what is your opinion?" "Oh, although we both have yellow skin, I'm not a Huaxia person. Our thinking in Singapore is closer to Westerners, and I honestly can't surmise." "Gentlemen! I have a suggestion. Since they've given us the chance to come together, why don't we reach an agreement first?" "Please speak, Mr. Sakata." "Obviously, they want to sell the overseas distribution rights and aim to sell them at a high price, so they will eventually contact us. To protect the interests of each country, I suggest that we form an alliance. In negotiations, no company should harm the interests of others. Based on our respective countries' box office expectations, we can negotiate collectively with the Taoyuan Company to try to lower the distribution price as much as possible." "I agree with Mr. Sakata's opinion." "I also agree." ... There's a solution to each problem, just as there's a way to deal with any predicament. If you're in the business, you can't be afraid of getting grit in your teeth. While Suming sought to raise the distribution price and still hadn't contacted the various countries, they also had their ways to deal, covertly banding together in a small alliance, preparing to join forces to push down the price of Animal City's distribution. The effectiveness of this alliance was unclear for the moment, but there was strength in numbers, and collective negotiations would surely put more pressure on Suming than individual companies coming to 'beg', possibly even directly affecting the film's distribution throughout Asia if not handled properly. Of course, within the alliance, not all the companies from each country were of one mind. "Mr. Ek, I understand, thank you very much for letting me know," Suming said to a thin, small-statured man sitting in front of him. He was the Deputy General Manager of a Malaysian cinema line, Mr. Ek. "Apostle of the great Mazda, you are the mentor of all Jews in Malaysia, serving you is an honor for me and my family," Mr. Ek nodded and smiled. Although the Fire Worshiping Sect had waned in power, as a once world-class religious sect, it was like a centipede that does not topple easily, spreading widely across the world. In the early 20th century, followers of the sect even established a vast commercial empire, with the East India Company being one of the most famous parts. Branches of the Fire Worshiping Sect scattered around the globe included many Jewish members, possessing notable business acumen. The owner of this Malaysia cinema line was a follower of the sect, and Ek was his nephew, with their family being devoted to the Fire God for generations. When a deity exists only in legends, intangible and untouchable, it can ignore its followers, but once the deity walks the earth in the flesh as a Divine Envoy, it must bring tangible benefits to its faithful, or dissatisfaction and doubt will inevitably arise. "The Fire God will reward your loyalty," Suming said in a prophetic tone, "Mr. Aier, you can continue to team up with them and negotiate with my company, but I assure you, your cinema line will be the only authorized one in Malaysia, and the distribution price will definitely be the lowest." "Thank you for the Fire God's generosity," Mr. Aier hesitated briefly before speaking, "Please be careful, those cinema line people from various countries are very experienced in negotiations. Forgive my bluntness, but in their eyes, you are still a novice." "Alright, I understand," Suming said as he got up to see off the visitor. Every profession has its habit of picking on newcomers, because they are inexperienced, have shallow knowledge of the industry, and lack extensive connections. Not picking on them would be a waste, and picking on them still wouldn't benefit the seasoned professionals. However, Suming hadn't planned on letting anyone take advantage of him from the start. He had no intention of personally dealing with these people. "Brother Shi, congratulations, you've made a killing this time," Suming said, smiling at the camera. "Mutual congratulations, we're all getting rich," Long Wu was also smiling.