Special feature of 1905 film network At the just-concluded Beijing International Film Festival, Yu Dong, the chairman of Bona Film, announced the trend of three new films: the film led by director Liu Weiqiang will start in mid-September; Will be retaken at the end of October; The spy war film Unknown, which depicts underground party member, is also on the agenda. All three films will be released in 2021.
Under the blessing of a series of news, Bona Film’s latest prospectus has also appeared in the industry and the public’s field of vision. This 711-page prospectus has a huge amount of information. Not only many filmmakers appear among them as shareholders; A number of unexposed new film plans, Bona’s profitability in the past three years, and the current development of the domestic film industry are also included in this prospectus.
It is planned to raise 1.43 billion yuan. Shoot six films.
Among the large amount of information covered in this prospectus, we are more concerned about Bona’s unpublished "inventory". After all, these films under development or waiting for release will meet the audience in the future.
In Bona’s inventory list, we saw a table called "products in progress". The so-called in-process product refers to the product that has not been finally completed after the raw materials are put into production, which can be understood as a project under production. It includes already released films such as The Captain, and many other projects.
Among them, the most important film is the one that Lin Chaoxian has been planning to shoot, with the theme of the Sino-Russian train robbery, which has been prepared for many years. According to the information in the prospectus, in the past three years, the film still has a budget investment every year, with a total investment of about 1.84 million yuan. It is speculated that the project is still in the development stage.
The other film is a new film directed by Chen Kaige (formerly known as "Flowers in the Dust"), starring Haoran Liu, Chen Feiyu, Sophie and Vicky Chen, which was completed at the beginning of this year. According to the prospectus, Bona invested nearly 20 million yuan in this film.
Two other films are also expected to be Bona’s next key projects: 4.5 million yuan has been invested, and 6.8 million yuan has been invested in "Hot Blood". These two films are also one of the investment directions of Bona’s proposed funds.
According to the contents of the prospectus, Bona Film plans to raise 1.425 billion yuan this time, and plans to invest 605 million yuan in Bona Film Project and 820 million yuan in Bona Cinema Project respectively.
605 million film project funds have been implemented since 2018, among which "The Prequel of Taking Tiger Mountain by Outwit" has the largest planned investment, and Bona has provided a budget of 245 million yuan for it. In addition, the projects to be invested by the fund-raising include 7 films, such as Boiling Blood, Book and Sword, Love and Hatred, Yesterday, A Heroic Generation, A Beautiful Country, and Ma Ge is a City. Among them, "Wulin Monster" and "Ma Ge is a City" have been released.
From the proposed investment list, we can also find that the investment direction in film production has shifted. The bulk of Bona’s funds is moving closer to the red classic theme and realistic theme. The investment in costumes, martial arts and other themes is declining.
For example, the costume fantasy movie "Wulin Monster" has been released, and the planned investment amount is only 52 million yuan. The Book of Swords and Enemies, which appears in the other list, should be adapted from Jin Yong’s martial arts novel of the same name, and the proposed investment amount is only 60 million yuan. The investment difference between the two films and the prequel to Taking the Tiger Mountain Outward is more than four times.
The maximum net profit for three years is 310 million. Star shareholders’ shares can be unlocked
In addition to the inventory of Bona Film and the new projects to be invested, this prospectus discloses that Bona Film achieved operating income of 1.997 billion yuan, 2.784 billion yuan and 3.116 billion yuan respectively from 2017 to 2019, and realized net profit attributable to shareholders of the parent company of 199 million yuan, 264 million yuan and 315 million yuan.
The performance in recent years is inseparable from the works launched by Bona Film. For the first time, we also learned about the gross profit margin of major films invested and distributed by Bona Film in the past three years.
During the reporting period, Bona Film invested in and released 37 films, with a cumulative box office income of 26.202 billion yuan. In the prospectus, the profitability of 36 films was analyzed and sorted out, with the Spring Festival film in 2018 and the National Day film The Captain in 2019 showing the most outstanding performance.
Among them, Operation Red Sea made a box office of 3.651 billion yuan, and the gross profit of film investment was 202 million yuan, with a gross profit margin of 60.39%; The gross profit of the issuance was 414 million yuan, with a gross profit margin of 100%, and the total profit reached 616 million yuan. The Captain made a box office of 2.871 billion yuan, and the gross profit of film investment was 262 million yuan, with a gross profit margin of 69.39%. The gross profit of issuance was 259 million yuan, with a gross profit rate of 100%, and the total profit reached 557 million yuan.
From this point of view, the gross profit of issuance is actually higher than that of investment. As Bona, who started as a publisher, it is indeed expected.
In recent years, the films invested and produced by Bona Film always focus on the mode of big directors and famous actors. In fact, Bona Film has indeed absorbed many star shareholders. According to the shareholding structure disclosed this time, actors such as Zhang Hanyu, Huang Xiaoming, Zhang Ziyi and Chen Baoguo, and directors such as Huang Jianxin and Han Han are all Bona shareholders.
However, at present, the commitment letter of Huang Jianxin, Han Han, Zhang Hanyu, Huang Xiaoming, Mao Jun Jie, Zhang Ziyi and other shareholders "not to transfer or entrust others to manage the subscribed shares" has expired, and their shares have been unlocked since April 1 this year.
Revealing the operation mode of the film industry:What is the matter of investment and distribution?
In addition to new films and business information, this 711-page prospectus also introduces the operation of the film industry. For the ordinary audience, it is also a way to understand the investment, production and distribution business.
Investment business can be divided into two types: main investment and participation investment. The main investment business is the whole process of film creation and production organized and supervised by the company. First of all, we should determine the script, then find a suitable director or producer, and sign a contract with the contracting company to which the director or producer belongs.
For example, for a film like Operation Red Sea The Captain, Bona is responsible for developing the script, and then find directors such as Lin Chaoxian and Liu Weiqiang, and sign agreements with their production companies, and the companies to which the two directors belong will make specific shooting and production.
As the main investment company, in order to raise more funds or spread risks, it will look for opportunities for other companies to participate in the investment. If we still take the above two films as an example, Bona is the main investment company or the sponsor, and other companies are the participating companies, and finally enjoy certain benefits.
At present, there are two kinds of issuance: agent issuance and buyout/guaranteed issuance.Agency distribution is that the distribution company is responsible for the promotion of the film and pays the publicity expenses in advance. After the film is released, the company will recover the publicity expenses paid in advance and collect a certain percentage of the box office account and copyright sales income as the agency distribution commission.
At present, most of the large-scale production films basically belong to the mode of agent distribution. For large-scale films with good box office market prospects, the agency distribution rate is often low. Bona, as a distribution company, naturally accepted the agency distribution of the films made by itself. This is also the income source of the gross profit of film distribution such as Operation Red Sea and The Captain mentioned above.
Buy-out distribution means that the distribution company pays a fixed price to the producer in one lump sum to obtain the distribution right and income right of the film, while the film producer no longer shares the income or bears the loss. For example, some imported films, commonly known as "film approval", can be understood as paying a fee for the domestic distribution company and buying out the domestic distribution rights and income rights of the film.
Guaranteed issuance is the most popular issuance method in recent years. When the films were released, they were all guaranteed. The issuing company will promise the producer a certain box office, which is the guaranteed box office. If it exceeds the guaranteed box office, the producer will distribute it to the issuer according to the agreed figures. If not, the issuer will need to pay a certain amount to the producer.
For the industry, reading this prospectus may be more about whether Bona Film can fulfill its long-cherished wish and go public smoothly. However, this informative prospectus can also be read by ordinary viewers, from which they can learn a lot about the film industry.
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