Domination in America, Starting from being a Boxing Champion

After arriving at the office, Ivanka began to tackle the backlog of work.

For instance, she reviewed the new job report from Jeff Jones, the newly appointed COO of the International Division, and examined the status reports of the original International Division, which were rather troubling.

There were also project budget review forms from the Production Department, including the budget for "The Vow."

Additionally, there were financial statements from the finance department; after borrowing another eighty million US dollars, Lionsgate Films' debt had reached 260 million US dollars, a figure that was quite stressful.

There was also information on the latest movies distributed by Lionsgate Films.

"Bridesmaids," after being released for 48 days in North America, had successfully exceeded 100 million US dollars at the box office. Due to the impressive box office performance, with weekly drops still within 30%, there was significant market potential, and theatres suggested extending the film's showing.

Just like "The King's Speech," which was released at the end of last year and, because of its good box office performance, was still being shown in over two hundred art theaters by June.

Extending the showing period of good movies is also beneficial for theaters.

In Hollywood, movie box office revenue isn't simply calculated by multiplying the total box office by a certain percentage to determine the revenue for the producers, distributors, theaters, MPAA, etc.

Box office revenue is divided by stages, with a typical public showing period of about 45 days.

This phase relies on promotion to attract viewers; distributors who invest more money get a higher percentage of the revenue. For powerful companies like the Big Six studios, some can take over 90% of the revenue.

The main reason is that theaters do not have the capacity to produce movies and are quite dependent on the Big Six; without the movies from the Big Six, theaters cannot profit, so they can't propose high prices when negotiating with the Big Six.

Meanwhile, the movies from the Big Six are usually big productions that attract large audiences, and theaters can make a substantial profit from peripherals like popcorn and soda.

For a large independent production company like Lionsgate, although theaters also offer them favorable terms, they are not comparable to the Big Six.

During the public showing period, the production and distribution companies can take about 80% of the revenue, determined by the contract signed by both parties.

After the end of the public showing period, theaters willing to extend the showing also receive subsidies on box office revenue sharing. The longer the extension, the higher the percentage of revenue the theaters receive, up to eighty percent. This is also why many theaters are willing to show less popular quality films.

The box office performance of "Bridesmaids" was good, and several theaters cooperating with Lionsgate proposed an extension plan; the revenue sharing and distribution ratios varied depending on the box office performance and the rate of decrease.

If Lionsgate does not agree, they can arrange for people to negotiate and discuss a mutually beneficial figure.

This aspect of the work is handled by the distribution company of Lionsgate.

Ivanka only needed to be aware of this matter, review the work reports submitted by the distribution department, raise any objections she might have, ask the person in charge of the distribution department, and if there were no objections, sign off on the document and file it.

Besides "Bridesmaids," there were also two other Lionsgate productions, "The Lincoln Lawyer" and "Tyler Perry's Madea's Big Happy Family."

Because of the good box office performance, both films would also be extended to the end of the year, though the sharing of box office revenue and the number of theaters were somewhat less than for "Bridesmaids."

Besides, the box office performance of "Mr. Tree," which Link had purchased, was also good.

In its fourth week, it earned 2.07 million US dollars from 466 theaters, reaching a cumulative box office of 5.48 million US dollars.

This result surprised Ivanka, even though Link had specifically written a song to help promote the film at the beginning of its distribution, which was quite a short-term effect lasting about one or two weeks.

Now in its fourth week, the film still managed a 50% attendance rate, indicating it was of good quality.

When Link had bought the North American distribution rights for this film, he had spent just 150 thousand US dollars, plus 1.8 million on marketing.

If this film's North American box office reaches eight million US dollars, the return ratio would be four times, undoubtedly making it a box office hit.

Ivanka put down her pen, rested her chin on her fingers and thought for a moment, then picked up the phone to call Jeff Jones, the new head of the International Division.

He was also one of the four junior colleagues Ivanka brought over when she joined Lionsgate, previously serving as the head of the senior content development department under Warner Bros. Pictures, and he had experience in movie distribution, making his background quite deep.

"Mr. Chairman, what instructions do you have?"

When the call connected, Jeff Jones asked.

Ivanka mentioned that the box office results of "Mr. Tree" were good, and recalled that the International Division had a rule that when a film acquired by the division, after distribution, achieves a certain revenue-to-expense ratio, the International Division would grant a bonus to the personnel who acquired the film. What was that ratio?

"Over three times. The higher the box office, the greater the revenue-to-expense ratio of a film, the bigger the bonus as well, Mr. Chairman. Are you suggesting we issue a bonus to Andrew Kramer?"

Jeff Jones asked tentatively.

"To Andrew Kramer?"

Upon hearing his words, Ivanka immediately turned cold and said indifferently, "The rights for this film were purchased under Link's instructions. What does it have to do with anyone else? If there's any bonus to be issued, it should go to Link, not anyone else."

"...Yes, that's right. Our department will have a meeting to discuss this later, and we'll arrange to give Mr. Baker his bonus based on the box office results of 'Mr. Tree.'"

Jeff Jones quickly added.

"Hmm!"

Ivanka nodded in satisfaction.

Although Link was a major shareholder of Lionsgate, holding a stock ratio of 97.2% after the company went private, it was important to distinguish between personal and professional interests. Link had handled this situation very well and deserved to be commended.