In October, Universal Pictures released "Doctor Strange," which tells the story of Doctor Strange''s origins.
?Doctor Strange was originally Stephen Strange, a top neurosurgeon. Later, due to a car accident, his hands were destroyed and his career plummeted.
?In order to heal his hands, he exhausted all methods, and finally came to the Himalayas and became a disciple of the legendary magician Gu Yi.
??Strange is a magical genius who continues to grow through learning and eventually becomes the Supreme Mage, the guardian of the earth, protecting the earth from evil spirits from other dimensions.
"Doctor Strange" opened up the setting of the Avengers universe. The Avengers movies before this were all in the science fiction genre.
Even Thor, who was born in Asgard, is only described as an alien with ultra-high technology.
??The appearance of Doctor Strange has added magical color to the world. From now on, technology is no longer the only fighting force in the Avengers universe.
?The magical magic, weird different dimensions, and new fighting modes also bring more freshness to the audience.
In addition, Xiang Nan plays the role of Master Gu Yi, who has white eyebrows and long beard, is elegant and handsome, has an immortal demeanor, and is extraordinary. He has the appearance of a master. Although he is only a supporting role and does not have much screen time, he left the audience with the most lasting impression. Deeply impressed.
Audiences praised Xiang Nan’s role as Ancient One as the most restored character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Not only is the image restored, the most important thing is that the profound and outstanding master''s demeanor cannot be performed by ordinary actors.
So "Doctor Strange" has a North American box office of US$300 million and a global box office of US$870 million. Compared with its cost of US$160 million, it can be said to be quite profitable.
…
In November, Xiang Nan completed the filming of the three movies "John Wick 2, 3, and 4", and then completed a transaction with Apple for US$60 billion in cash and US$60 billion in stock. Universal Pictures was officially sold to Apple.
Afterwards, Xiang Nan resigned as chairman of Universal Pictures, but according to the contract, he remained as honorary chairman, responsible for helping Apple finalize the new year''s filmmaking plan for a period of five years.
?In this way, Xiang Nan was relieved of the biggest burden on his body, and he felt relieved because he had nothing to do. Therefore, after completing the transaction, Xiang Nan and Cong Shan moved back to Xiangjiang. In addition, Shanshan also returned to Xiangjiang with Ning Jian.
To be honest, Shanshan is a little confused about this.
“Brother, why did you sell Universal and return to Hong Kong? You are not very old now. You can work for another ten or twenty years.” Shanshan asked doubtfully.
There are many CEOs in the United States who are over 70 or 80 years old, such as Warren Buffett, Larry Ellison (CEO of Oracle), Maurice Greenberg (President of AIG), Rupert Murdoch ( President of News Corporation), George Soros (Founder of Quantum Fund)…
Xiang Nan is only sixty-one years old this year. She looks younger, about forty at most. She is still very young and energetic, but she actually wants to retire, which is really beyond her expectation.
“This is called the rapid retreat.” Xiang Nan said with a smile, “Can’t you see, with the development of online streaming media, the traditional film and television industry is being destroyed, and the market will become smaller and smaller in the future.
So take advantage of the fact that the stock price is high and the market value is good, seize the time to sell the company. Otherwise, in a few years, believe me, the stock price will definitely not be so high.
Besides, I have a lot of money now, so there is no need to work for another ten or twenty years. In the next time, I am ready to accompany you and Jianjian. "
Upon hearing this, Shanshan nodded.
?Although she has retired in recent years and focused on raising her daughter at home, she is still the president of ATV and has a certain understanding of the external situation.
Now with the rise of online streaming media, the number of viewers of NBC, ABC, CBS and other TV stations has dropped. Even the Oscar Awards has dropped from more than 40 million viewers to more than 10 million. It can be seen that there are some declines. How awesome. Shanshan believes that the ratings decline of these TV stations will be even more severe in the future.
?The reason is very simple. TV programs are really hard to watch. TV stations like NBC, ABC, CBS and other TV stations have a lot of advertisements. A 40-minute episode can be filled with 20 minutes of advertisements.
Almost every ten minutes, there is a five-minute commercial, which cannot be skipped or fast-forwarded. The viewing experience is really bad.
?Hence, many viewers who are not short of money would rather spend money to buy an ad-free membership on streaming media to watch dramas than watch free TV for fun.
?These viewers who are not short of money happen to have the highest spending power. If the TV station loses them, it loses its most important audience.
?Those who are still in front of the TV are either poor people who cannot afford broadband fees and membership fees, or old people who are fussy and do not understand online streaming media.
In short, the spending power of these people is limited, so although more advertisements are broadcast, the benefits are not high. Over time, advertisers are naturally reluctant to place advertisements on TV stations, and even if they are placed, the price will be very low.
As a result, the advertising revenue of TV stations will definitely decrease. The biggest source of revenue for TV stations is advertising.
?Advertising revenue has dropped, and TV stations’ income has dropped, so they no longer dare to spend big money on dramas and variety shows. High-quality dramas and programs will be bought by online streaming media, making streaming media more and more popular.
Under such a vicious cycle, TV stations will one day disappear.
…
The same is true for movies.
More and more people are now choosing to watch movies on streaming media.
?Although the viewing effect is not as shocking as that in the theater, it is more convenient. You can watch movies anytime, anywhere, as long as you have an Internet connection.
In 2018, Netflix’s revenue reached US$15.7 billion, a year-on-year growth of 35%. Net profit was US$1.2 billion, a year-on-year growth of 110%.
? It can be seen that NETFLIX is growing very fast, and its revenue scale is even higher than Sony, Paramount, and Fox.
?It can be seen that the potential of online streaming media cannot be underestimated, and it is not impossible to replace the six traditional giants of Hollywood in the future.
In this case, Xiang Nan did the right thing. Taking advantage of the current good stock price of Universal, it is the right time to sell.
“I see, no wonder you acquired YouTube in 2005, and then invested heavily in NETFLIX. It turns out you had expected this.” Shanshan suddenly realized.
Xiang Nan nodded, “I knew the potential of the Internet from the first moment I saw it.”
“But even if you sell Universal Pictures, you don’t need to move back to Hong Kong.” Shanshan said doubtfully, “Then you have given up all the connections you have built in Hollywood for decades.”
"No matter how long I stay in the United States, I still never feel like home. Don''t talk about us. Even if we immigrated to the United States in the last century and are now fourth or fifth generation immigrants, we still have no sense of belonging in the United States. People treat him like an outsider." Xiang Nan waved his hands and said, "I just don''t want to be treated like a foreigner even when I die."
After hearing this, Shanshan nodded.