Author: Weinika
Editor|Li Chunhui
It's another year of earnings season, and at the end of April, various film and television companies have announced their 2023 report cards one after another. As expected, the fan circle pays more attention to the financial reports of domestic entertainment than industry insiders. As long as an actor's work is mentioned in the financial report, it will be widely publicized by fans as a big-character poster. Today, financial report nominations and annual meeting roll calls have become a new dimension for measuring the performance of star actors. However, being mentioned does not mean that you are really making money, and if you only praise the quality and do not mention the numbers, it may just be a face-saving rhetoric.
Which drama is making money in 2023? It also depends on the indicators related to money. For example, the 2023 financial report released by Mango TV bluntly praised two dramas - "To a Windy Place" and "Camp with Love", because they set a new record for the amount of investment and the number of project cooperation customers in Mango TV's dramas in the past three years.
As we all know, for the platform, whether a drama makes money or not mainly depends on two indicators: investment promotion and the number of members. The existence of a record-breaking is enough to make the platform make a lot of money.
At the same time, Great Aim also ranked "To a Windy Place" in the top five works in terms of revenue in its 2023 financial report. The next four dramas are Yang Zi and Xu Kai's "Cheng Huan Ji", Hu Yitian and Liang Jie's "Please Fall in Love with Me Like This", Huang Zitao and Wu Gang's "Spring Warm Sun" and Li Randi and Wang Yang's "All the Way to the Sun".
The total revenue of these five dramas is 1.25 billion, accounting for more than half of the main business income of Great Aim . But to say that Huace drama was the most profitable last year? Ningmeng may not agree.
Because Ningmeng only relied on three dramas, she was about to catch up with the income of Huace's five dramas. Ningmeng's 2023 financial report shows that the long drama has broadcast three parts: "Love Only", "Asking Heart" and "Yinian Guan Mountain", with a total income of 1.17 billion.
On the whole, the report card of drama companies in 2023 shows that the income of good students and poor students is getting more and more different. In the long run, the last batch of high-priced contracts signed by each company and the platform before cost reduction and efficiency increase will be completed in 2023, and 2024 will be a year full of uncertainties, which can really see the water level after cost reduction.
Huace and Ningmeng sit firmly on the head, but there are hidden worries
In addition to Mango TV, which has the nature of a platform, and Ruyi Pictures, which focuses on movies, Ningmeng Film and Television and Huace Film and Television should be regarded as gifted students among the listed companies in dramas in 2023.
And it is difficult to distinguish between Huace and Ningmeng, which is higher and which is lower. Great Aim will have a revenue of 2.2 billion yuan in 2023, which is undoubtedly the top of the list. But strangely, its net profit is lower than that of Ningmeng. Ningmeng, whose revenue is 1 billion yuan less than that of Great Aim Group, has a net profit nearly 100 million yuan higher than that of Great Aim and reached 480 million yuan.
The difference in net profit is due to the content strategies of the two companies. Great Aim is a well-known mass production company, and the output of dramas has always been at a high level. In 2023, a total of 7 dramas will be broadcast, 3 fewer than in 2022. However, the number of starts is the same as in 2022, with 5 dramas being launched.
Huace, who is well aware of the problem of opening many dramas and large expenses, specifically mentioned the pre-sale of its reserve dramas. At present, there are 8 drama projects in post-production/review or ready for broadcast, 4 drama projects are planned to be launched in the second quarter, and 1.981 billion yuan of pre-sale contracts will be completed in 2023, with a cumulative pre-sale of 3.798 billion yuan.
Compared with 2022, the two businesses with the biggest decline in revenue are film sales and brokerage business. I don't know if it has anything to do with the box office failure of the main control of "Burning Winter" and the departure of the head male artist Hu Yitian. But in general, the TV drama business of Great Aim has not been greatly affected. The first quarter of 2023, when "To a Windy Place" was broadcast, was the highest annual revenue quarter for Great Aim and achieved a net profit of 146 million yuan, accounting for about 38% of the annual revenue.
Ningmeng Pictures' good results in 2023 may come from the fact that the three copyright dramas have been sold at a good price. Customer A, who will contribute 700 million in 2023, is likely to be Tencent Video. Tencent Video broadcast two Ningmeng dramas last year, namely "Love Only" and "Ask Heart". Among them, the price of "Love Only" may be 340 million yuan. According to Ningmeng's 2023 semi-annual report, the transaction amount of Ningmeng and Tencent Technology was 340 million yuan, and only one drama "Love" was broadcast in the first half of the year.
From this point of view, the price of "Asking Heart" starring Zhao Youting, Mao Xiaotong, and Jin Shijia is comparable to "Love Only". Customer B, who will contribute 330 million to Ningmeng in 2023, is likely to be iQiyi. Ning Meng broadcast a big drama "Yi Nian Guan Mountain" on iQiyi last year, and the price of 85 flowers Liu Shishi returning to the ancient puppet must not be low.
The revenue of these three dramas has made Ningmeng's gross profit margin reach 39% in 2023, much higher than Huace's 27%. However, under the general trend of video platforms to reduce costs and increase efficiency, after the high-priced contracts signed in the past are fulfilled, there may not be such good dividends in the future.
Hard Candy Jun noticed that in addition to actively laying out the short drama track, Ningmeng is also expanding overseas copyright business on a large scale. In 2023, Ningmeng's overseas copyright income will reach 38.81 million, which is higher than the income of the domestic short drama business. This may be due to the overseas localization production of Ningmeng's layout and the promotion of overseas remakes of its own IP. In 2023, Ningmeng will jointly develop local content with groups such as Thailand's GDH, KANTANA, and Indonesia's MNC, and shoot the Thai version of "Thirty Only", and is currently producing the Thai version of "Crime Hunting Guide".
Other companies drink soup to get by
In addition to Great Aim and Ningmeng, the rest of Ciwen Media, Tangde Film and Television, Huanrui Century, Straw Bear Entertainment, Baina Qiancheng, Perfect Film and Television, and Happy Blue Ocean...... Either you lose money or you make porridge money.
Perfect World, which mainly relies on the game business to make money, is the best among the poor students. In 2023, the film and television business will achieve a revenue of 1 billion, but the net profit will only be more than 93 million. Perfect aired more dramas last year than Huace, but the combined income was not as good as Huace's five dramas and Ningmeng's three.
These dramas include many word-of-mouth and non-popular ones, such as "Stars Fall into Sugar", "Protecting the Heart", "Chasing the Light", "Agent Mission", etc., as well as some ratings and no Internet popularity, such as "All Wishes Come True", etc., as well as some "The Legend of Yunxiang", "Warm and Sweet", "Welcome to McNugget Village", etc.
The most surprising thing for Hard Candy Jun is that Huanrui Century, which became popular and became a leader, turned out to be in a state of substantial loss last year. The 2023 financial report shows that Huanrui Century has a net loss of 397 million. It seems that although a high-reputation hit drama "Lotus Building" has made the artist Cheng Yi popular, it can't support a company.
The high-priced contracts signed by the platform with film and television companies in the past have also been adjusted, and Huanrui is the one with the deepest experience. In the 2023 financial report, Huanrui once again mentioned two major contracts with Alibaba and iQiyi. The contract value with Alibaba was gradually reduced from 594 million to 530 million. As of the 2023 annual report, the contract still only recognizes 500 million in revenue. Hard Candy Jun has also analyzed before, and the two dramas associated with this contract are most likely the upper and lower parts of "Agarwood Like Crumbs" and "The South Wind Knows My Mind".
Huanrui's contract with iQiyi is related to two dramas, and the amount has dropped from 600 million to 540 million, and a "Lotus Building" is currently broadcast, and Huanrui has confirmed an income of 220 million. There are still more than 300 million repertoire B shows that it is in preparation, but according to the current general trend of reducing costs and increasing efficiency, Hard Candy Jun estimates that this price may drop again.
Sensei said that the head drama company Huanrui has nothing to earn, and even iQiyi's "own son" Straw Bear can only drink soup. Straw Bear Entertainment, which accounts for nearly 20% of iQiyi's shares, will only collect a net profit of 63.25 million in 2023, a year-on-year decrease of 71%. It is said that there were a lot of episodes broadcast by Straw Bear last year, including "Come on Today", "Hello, My Opposite Boyfriend", "White Castle", "Daydream Me" and "My Assistant is Not Simple", etc., but each one was broadcast quietly.
In 2023, the customer 1 who will contribute 324 million revenue to Straw Bear is most likely to be iQiyi. Compared with the 745 million revenue contributed in 2022, 2023 will be directly halved. It seems that the good days of selling dramas with high profits are gone.
Which one is the most profitable to be broadcast?
When Youaiteng has a clear banner to reduce costs and increase efficiency, there is a platform that is silently increasing investment and collecting a lot of big dramas. This platform is Mango TV, which earned a net profit of 3.5 billion yuan last year, which is enough to stand out from the crowd.
With Mango TV, a platform with a lot of money, Great Aim should not worry about the price. And with the case of happy cooperation in "Going to a Windy Place", the cooperation between the two sides in "National Beauty" must be more handy.
"The Glory of the Country" is undoubtedly the most profitable TV series of Great Aim in the future. starring Yang Zi and Li Xian, the national CP, after the current hit drama "Dear, Loved", they went their separate ways, and finally got together after 5 years.
In the spring investment promotion drama list released by Mango TV, there are still many potential stocks to make money. For example, Luo Yunxi's "Water Dragon Yin", Xin Zhilei's "Benevolence Club", Song Qian's "Another Blue" and Jing Tian and Zhang Linghe's "Four Seas Chongming". Mango TV has also won many big dramas from leading companies, such as "Alley People" by Noon Sunshine, "Five Blessings" by Huanyu Film and Television, and "Spring Breeze and Rain" by Bainan Qiancheng.
In addition, Great Aim also holds two potential costume trump cards - "Splendid Tranquility" and "Seven Nights of Snow", both of which are starring 95 students. The former is Zhang Wanyi, who has soared in popularity because of "Sauvignon Blanc", and the latter is Zeng Shunxi, who is known as the "Peach Prince". Their heroines are 95 Hua Ren Min and 90 Hua Li Qin.
Ning Meng bet on a 95 flower, holding two dramas starring Tian Xiwei, a modern drama "Half-Familiar Boyfriend" and a costume drama "Midnight Return". Ningmeng has no obvious equity connection with Tian Xiwei's brokerage company, we can only say that Ningmeng is very optimistic about Tian Xiwei. And the most popular drama in Ning Meng's hand is "Crime Hunting Guide 2", which has recently been launched in a low-key manner, and the starring Tan Jianci and Jin Shijia have all returned.
Ciwen, who has not performed well this year, also has some good cards in his hands, such as the drama version of "Article 22" "Just Defense", starring Gao Ye, Zhang Luyi, and Bai Jingting. The film version directed by Zhang Yimou has the same starring Gao Ye, which has achieved both word-of-mouth and box office success, so the drama version has also been expected by some audiences. Another national security-themed "Deep Sea 1950" starring Yu Hewei, the representative of the uncle circle who carries the drama.
Looking at the dramas to be broadcast throughout 2024, the most profitable champion drama is naturally Xinli's "Celebrating More Than Years 2". In addition, the second part of "Sauvignon Blanc", the "Fox Demon Little Red Lady" series and "The Legend of the Tibetan Sea" all have certain investment potential.
All in all, the era of counting on platforms to make quick money at high prices and make steady money is over. Unless the drama company has a good advertising business on its own, such as Ning Meng's copyright drama "Love Only", it will be difficult to achieve high profits. At present, various drama companies are actively exploring short dramas, overseas, and AI businesses, perhaps our long-form drama ecology is undergoing subtle changes, and who can cooperate with Netflix.