Chapter 155: Investigation by Shaw Cinemas

Around seven o'clock, the rain turned into a fine drizzle, and the vehicles of the film crew slowly came into view.

When they saw Yan Xu and Joey Wong walking out of the house, most of the crew members were dumbfounded. They never expected that the torrential rain and howling wind of the previous night would cause the leading man and leading lady of the film to spend the night together in this desolate wilderness.

"Young Master Yan, why are you here? You didn't spend the night here, did you?" Corey Yuen walked up to Yan Xu and asked.

"Don't even mention it. You left without even saying a word to us. The wind and rain last night almost froze us to death. Is there any food? We haven't eaten yet!" Yan Xu's stomach was rumbling with hunger.

"Ah-Sheng, hurry up and buy some breakfast for Young Master Yan and Xiao Xian." Seeing Yan Xu complaining of hunger, Corey Yuen quickly instructed his assistant.

"Didn't you listen to the radio yesterday? A tropical cyclone changed direction and struck Hong Kong. There were warnings everywhere about heavy rain and strong winds last night," Corey Yuen continued.

"I did listen to the radio! Didn't it say yesterday that it moved east from the south and wouldn't have a major impact on Hong Kong? Damn it, those so-called experts really just talk bullshit," Yan Xu cursed with dissatisfaction. He originally thought only the modern-day so-called experts were unreliable, but he didn't expect such unreliable experts to exist even back then.

"Who can accurately predict the weather? It changes on a whim. The weather forecast reported it again a little after five o'clock, saying the tropical cyclone had shifted once more and was going to strike Hong Kong," Corey Yuen said.

Ever since he picked up Joey Wong into the car, Yan Xu had turned off the car radio. Shortly after five o'clock, they had just finished dinner and arrived at Lantau Island. No wonder they hadn't heard the broadcast. Moreover, Yan Xu should be glad he hadn't heard the broadcast, otherwise, it would have definitely prevented last night's romantic encounter.

"What's wrong with Xiao Xian?" Corey Yuen asked with a puzzled look, watching Joey Wong walk with a slightly halting gait, supported by a crew member.

"Miss Wong sprained her ankle," before Yan Xu could answer, the crew member supporting Joey Wong spoke up. Obviously, this was the answer Joey Wong had given him.

"My car broke down halfway yesterday, and it was pouring rain. We had to run up the mountain. It was too dark, and she accidentally sprained it," Yan Xu also looked at Corey Yuen, while he and Joey Wong exchanged a glance.

They knew very well what caused Joey Wong's halting gait. On one hand, Joey Wong had indeed sprained her ankle, and although Yan Xu had massaged it, it wasn't completely healed. On the other hand, Yan Xu's rather ungentlemanly performance last night had left certain parts of Joey Wong—who had just transformed from a girl into a young woman—red, swollen, and aching.

***

The filming of *A Chinese Ghost Story* went exceptionally smoothly. Perhaps due to the breakthrough in the relationship between Yan Xu and Joey Wong, both the emotional scenes and ambiguous shots they performed passed without a hitch. Especially the intimate scene between the two felt completely natural, as if it was meant to be.

Aside from the filming of *A Chinese Ghost Story*, Yan Xu had many other matters to attend to. As the company's first film, Wong Jing's *The Romancing Star* had finished post-production, and Yan Xu had already viewed the rough cut in the screening room. Although there were some changes in the cast, Wong Jing's directing style remained unchanged. Just as in Yan Xu's memory, it was filled with hilarious scenes and perfectly catered to the tastes of Hong Kong citizens. Wong Jing's trademark vulgar and slapstick comedy style was fully displayed in this film.

Due to some issues with language and plot, the film was rated Category II, which was well within expectations. As for the release of the film, it had also been finalized. Through Wong Jing's father, the film successfully entered the Shaw Brothers' circuit and was scheduled for release on December 22nd. Combined with other cooperating cinemas, the number of theaters screening this film reached twenty-eight, truly covering the entirety of Hong Kong.

Of course, such a release window was fiercely contested by many film companies in Hong Kong, marking the opening of the Lunar New Year film battle. It was absolute territory for blockbuster releases: D&B Films' *It's a Mad, Mad, Mad World* and *The Thirty Million Dollar Rush* were attacking from both front and rear; Cinema City's comedy-styled *Happy Ghost II*, led once again by Raymond Pak-ming and his Happy Girls troupe, marched onto the screen in hopes of continuing the strong momentum of the *Happy Ghost* series.

As for another film giant, Golden Harvest, its two subsidiaries Bo Ho Films and Win's Film Enterprises were stepping up. One was the comedy *The Lunatics*, and the other was *Armour of God*, which Yan Xu had written for Jackie Chan and Alan Tam. The release dates for both films were set for January. Especially for *Armour of God*, Yan Xu hadn't expected Jackie Chan to finish filming and release it so quickly, which was practically creating a massive roadblock for his own company.

The powerful combination of a film heavyweight and a Canto-pop superstar possessed tremendous explosive force. Yan Xu could already imagine the terrifying box office figures; perhaps next year only John Woo's *A Better Tomorrow* would have the strength to compete with it.

Fortunately, its release date was set for mid-January, by which time the theatrical run of *The Romancing Star* would be entering its final stages. Otherwise, Yan Xu would definitely be crying his eyes out.

This also meant the box office battle in mid-to-late January would be utterly magnificent. D&B's all-star cast *Rich and Famous*, Cinema City's robust brand *Lucky Stars* series sequel *Lucky Stars Go Places*, and the co-production *North and South Shaolin* were all massive money-pennies. Any other film company getting caught up in that fray would undoubtedly end up losing their shirts.

Aside from arranging matters for *The Romancing Star*, Yan Xu also found time to make a cameo appearance in Sammo Hung's new film *Rich and Famous*, a promise he had long made to Sammo. At the same time, he attended the celebration ceremony for *Mr. Vampire*. A low-budget film grossing over twenty million at the box office was something few had anticipated, shattering the glasses of many film company bosses. Even Sammo, who had high hopes for the film, never expected such an exaggerated performance. It instantly turned Uncle Ying into a hot commodity and brought vampire films directly into the field of vision of top executives at numerous film companies.

1986 was just around the corner, and this was the busiest period for Yan Xu within the company. Although he had delegated the company's main operations, certain matters still required him, the boss, to make the final decisions. Things like the company's year-end banquet, as well as the year-end benefits and bonuses for the employees, all needed his approval.

"Young Master Yan, this is the information you wanted regarding the Shaw Brothers' cinema circuit!" As soon as Yan Xu returned to his office, without even taking a sip of water, Poon Ka-tak followed him inside.

Ever since he learned the news that the Shaw Brothers' cinema circuit was going to be released on the market, Yan Xu had kept his eyes locked on it. For a film company to develop long-term, theater chains and cinemas were indispensable, and this matter was treated as top priority by the entire Dragon Clan Pictures.

Through Wong Jing's father, news regarding the Shaw Brothers' theater circuit came in one after another. This time, the Shaw family intended to handle sixteen cinemas in the Hong Kong region. These sixteen cinemas were scattered across the most prosperous districts of Hong Kong, and every single one of them was exorbitantly expensive.

However, these sixteen cinemas were not for sale; they were up for lease. Uncle Six was extremely shrewd; these cinemas were located in prime areas, and Hong Kong's housing and land prices were currently soaring. These cinemas might double in value in a few years, so he would never easily let go of these golden eggs. Leasing them out was his best solution. Moreover, although the reduction and conclusion of Shaw Brothers' film production were already a foregone conclusion, there was no guarantee they wouldn't have a chance at a comeback in the future, at which point these cinemas would once again play their role.

Yan Xu was not short of money right now. After founding Dragon Clan Pictures, he still had one to two million in cash in hand. His share from the profits of *The Taxi Driver* in Hong Kong was five million, and the copyright sales of *The Spanish Apartment* to Europe and America brought him over seven million. Furthermore, the theatrical release in Japan had already been settled; although it didn't reach the two billion yen of *The Taxi Driver*, it still yielded around 1.7 to 1.8 billion yen. Because he waived twenty percent of the royalties, the forty percent falling into Yan Xu's hands amounted to over twenty million. Thus, he had about thirty-five million in cash at hand. If he wanted to purchase the Shaw Brothers' cinemas, his funds would only be enough to secure one or two of them. But by leasing them, with his financial strength, he could absolutely swallow the entire lot. Very few film companies in Hong Kong could pull out that much cash all at once.

Yan Xu looked at the data on the Shaw Brothers' cinema circuit in his hands. These sixteen cinemas were like sixteen diamonds embedded in the bustling districts of Hong Kong, but looking at their turnover, a layer of dust was cast completely over these sixteen gems.

"Since internal Shaw records couldn't be obtained, all the figures are market surveys and estimations, but the discrepancy is minor and should be practically identical to the actual numbers," Poon Ka-tak said from the side while watching Yan Xu lower his head to read the documents. Such data was obtained through his connections with TVB; although not entirely accurate, it was infallible as a reference.

The Shaw cinemas could screen over thirty films a year, with each film averaging a ten-day run. Due to the decrease in Shaw films and consecutive box office slumps, only a small fraction of these thirty-odd films were Shaw productions, while the rest were films produced by other film companies. The average box office for these films was only around 1.3 million. Based on the average screening time, the total daily box office for the sixteen Shaw cinemas should be between 100,000 and 150,000. In other words, each cinema's daily box office was around 8,000 dollars. Deducting the revenue share of the film production and distribution parties, they could obtain about 4,500 dollars, resulting in a monthly income of roughly 135,000.

Out of this 135,000, they still had to deduct monthly staff salaries of about 50,000, plus monthly utilities, taxes, ticket printing, poster publicity, and other miscellaneous expenses. Each cinema would have a surplus of around 40,000 to 50,000, meaning the annual profit for each cinema was roughly 500,000. This didn't even account for the expensive annual maintenance and machinery repairs of the cinemas, let alone upgrades every few years. Such a figure was definitely a huge income for a small company, but for cinemas occupying prime locations, renting out the storefronts alone could achieve this figure annually.