The 50 billion RMB investment in China Mobile and China Unicom came from funds he cashed out by selling off some of his Marvel Comics stock. Since acquiring Marvel Comics last year, Mavie had bought shares at $3.50 and sold a portion now at $33.60. In just over a year, he had directly earned nearly 10 times his initial investment!
This was inextricably linked to his correct strategies and market operations.
After a while longer, Google and Mavi Video were also expected to file for IPOs. The funds that could be raised then would be even more substantial. It would definitely allow Mavie to "live like there's no tomorrow."
After investing in the two major telecom companies in China, the funds in Mavie's bank account were down to a rather meager $83 million. Seeing his bank balance drop from nine figures to eight, Mavie truly felt that money just wasn't enough.
He had originally wanted to invest in the aerospace industry, to build a Russian aerospace company that could compete head-to-head with Boeing and Airbus. After all, he currently owned two major Russian fighter jet design bureaus.
Later, he could go to Ukraine and buy the Antonov Design Bureau, which produced the An-225. Uniting these three design bureaus, designing a giant aircraft that surpassed the A380 and the Boeing 787 should not be a problem. Unfortunately, the funding requirements are too high, and cost recovery is slow; he couldn't afford to play in that arena for now...
Aside from cashing out from the stock market, Spider-Man 2, which Mavie had started preparing for filming some time ago, was also scheduled for a global release the day after tomorrow. Based on the pre-booking situation for the premiere, it seemed even more popular than the first movie. Large cinemas both domestically and internationally were fully booked.
Even online comments were mostly expectant and eager to see it. After all, back in 2001, people's forms of entertainment were still relatively limited. Even TV programs often repeatedly aired tired old dramas with nothing new.
Speaking of movies, competing in the same timeframe as Mavie's Spider-Man 2 was Shaolin Soccer, self-directed and self-starred by Stephen Chow (Zhou Xingxing). This was the first movie in the domestic film industry to utilize special effects technology in its production. Its box office was around $42 million.
Two days later, Spider-Man 2, invested in and filmed by Mavie, premiered simultaneously worldwide. Its first-day box office result was an astonishing $29 million! And due to the high quality of the film and its excellent plot, the box office results for the 2nd and 3rd days remained around $35 million!
At this rate, by the time its run ends, achieving a global box office record of 900 million US dollars should not be a problem. Including the cinema chains Mavie had set up and built in the United States, Russia, and other countries, he should be able to receive at least around 560 million from that 900 million dollar box office...
Two days after that, the president of Marvel Studios called Mavie with good news. "Hello, Chairman Mavie, I have great news for you! In the three days since we premiered Spider-Man 2, the global box office has already accumulated to 160 million US dollars! At this rate, it's expected to exceed 1 billion US dollars before its run ends!"
By this time, Mavie had already returned to Russia. Earnings of 100 million or 200 million US dollars were commonplace for him now. Making money was as easy as drinking water. If his subordinate ever called to tell him he had lost 160 million, that might actually shock Mavie...
"Good job," Mavie said, sipping the red wine in his glass, his sockless feet resting on Winnie the polar bear's soft white belly.
Simba the lion, standing nearby, ran over curiously and sniffed Mavie's foot. Then, apparently taken aback by the smell, his eyes widened. It was as if he was saying, "Wow, that's intense... smells like dried salted fish..."
It wasn't that Mavie's feet smelled particularly strong, but rather that felines have a much keener sense of smell than humans, so it was overwhelming for Simba's nose.
"Chairman Mavie, regarding the actors, Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, and others who filmed the Avengers trailer back then... they've been asking us when we plan to start preparing for the next movie...? Which series will it be? This question is being asked by many viewers and Marvel fans as well. They really want to see those Avengers heroes appear on screen."
Since Spider-Man 1 became a global sensation, the president of Marvel Studios frequently received calls and text messages from Robert Downey Jr., etc., asking when Marvel Studios would prepare for the next Marvel hero film. Simply put, they wanted to know when Iron Man, Black Widow, Thor, and others would get their turn on screen.
If given a heads-up, they would definitely clear their schedules in advance. After all, compared to making low-budget productions or movies with little box office potential, it's obviously much more exhilarating to follow Mavie and enjoy success and good living.
Robert Downey Jr. was really quite envious of that little black and red suited 'bug man' swinging around and shooting webs everywhere.
Hearing his subordinate on the other end of the phone ask what to film next, Mavie thought for a moment and then said calmly, "Let them wait a bit longer; there's no rush. After all, Iron Man, Thor, the Avengers... they require too many special effects. With current filming technology, using such great hero material would definitely be a waste."
"So, let's film the X-Men series next! Aim to release one or even two films a year. At most, we can arrange a few minor, non-essential cameo appearances for the Avengers heroes later on to give the fans and moviegoers a little taste."
Because in this timeline's Marvel Comics, characters like Spider-Man and the X-Men weren't sold off cheaply, Mavie had complete freedom to use his imagination and combine characters and plots as he wished. He believed this would be very interesting.
"Okay, Chairman Mavie, I understand! Oh, right, we also received a collaboration request from a film company in Hong Kong a couple of days ago, named Xing Hui Film Company. They want to learn and exchange ideas about special effects filmmaking. I wonder, Chairman Mavie, do you happen to know this company?"
Regarding collaboration and contact requests from domestic film companies, Mavie had specifically instructed the president of Marvel Studios not to reject them outright. On one hand, he wanted to use his current position to help the domestic film industry if possible.
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After all, due to technological monopolies abroad, they wouldn't give advanced filming technology to Chinese film companies. Even if Chinese people threw money at it, they could usually only find second-tier production teams at best. This is one of the reasons for "50-cent special effects" (cheap, low-quality VFX).
As for the second reason, in his previous life, Mavie grew up watching movies and TV shows starring Hong Kong and mainland Chinese celebrities since he was a child. If he had a chance to interact with them, would it bring a different experience to his life...?
"Xing Hui Film Company? I know that company. Go ahead and arrange it," Mavie said into the phone after thinking for a moment.
(End of this chapter)