<p>Recently, the costume drama &#34;The Legend of Jade&#34; has become a hot topic in the city. After being launched simultaneously on iQIYI and Netflix, the show quickly topped the viewership rankings, far exceeding the popularity of other domestic dramas during the same period. In addition to its impressive ratings, according to domestic media reports, &#34;The Legend of Jade&#34; has a total investment of approximately 400 million yuan (RMB, the same below), which is expected to generate over 800 million yuan in comprehensive revenue, making it a phenomenal work in the capital market. However, behind the traffic, one of the producers, the former &#34;film and television king&#34; Huayi Brothers, is facing a dire situation with eight consecutive years of losses and is on the brink of delisting, desperately hoping to turn the tide with this drama to extend the company's life.</p>
<h2>Huayi Faces Delisting Risk</h2>
<p>From 2018 to 2024, Huayi Brothers' net losses were 1.169 billion yuan, 3.978 billion yuan, 1.048 billion yuan, 246 million yuan, 981 million yuan, 539 million yuan, and 285 million yuan, with a cumulative loss of 8.246 billion yuan over seven years. Unfortunately, domestic media predicts that Huayi will record losses again in 2025, estimated between 289 million and 407 million yuan, meaning the company has recorded losses for eight consecutive years since 2018. More severe than the continuous losses is its net asset situation. According to announcements, the company's preliminary net asset estimate at the end of 2025 is between -94 million yuan and +63 million yuan, reaching the edge of negative value. According to the listing rules of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, if the audited annual report shows negative net assets, the company's stock will face delisting risk warnings. In other words, the former industry leader is hanging by a thread.</p>
<h2>Actor Salaries Only Account for 2% of Total Investment</h2>
<p>Against this backdrop, domestic media analysis indicates that the total investment of approximately 400 million yuan for &#34;The Legend of Jade&#34; is seen by Huayi Brothers as a key opportunity for a comeback. It is reported that the drama is produced by Zhejiang Dongyang Haohan Film and Television Entertainment Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as &#34;Haohan Film and Television&#34;), in which Huayi Brothers holds a 49.25% stake, making it the largest shareholder.</p>
<p>It is noteworthy that the drama strictly controls actor salaries, allocating most of the funds to production. According to domestic media disclosures, the total salary for the leading actors Zhang Linghe, Tian Xiwei, and others is only about 8 million yuan, accounting for just 2% of the total investment. In today's market where actor salaries often reach tens of millions, this move is considered a &#34;bargain.&#34;</p>
<h2>Huayi's Profit from &#34;The Legend of Jade&#34; is 150 Million</h2>
<p>The drama adopts a &#34;dual-platform simultaneous broadcast&#34; and &#34;global simultaneous launch&#34; distribution strategy, airing simultaneously on platforms such as Tencent Video, iQIYI, and Netflix in March this year. After its release, the show has repeatedly set new highs in popularity on mainstream domestic platforms, with Yunhe Data showing its daily market share once exceeding 41%. The overseas market has also responded enthusiastically, consistently ranking first on Hong Kong's Netflix.</p>
<p>According to industry model calculations, the comprehensive revenue from domestic broadcast shares, advertising placements, and overseas copyrights for &#34;The Legend of Jade&#34; is expected to exceed 800 million yuan, with an investment return rate close to 100%. Based on equity ratios, this revenue could bring Huayi Brothers approximately 80 million to 150 million yuan in net profit. Although this amount is just a drop in the bucket compared to the annual losses of several billion yuan, any income is crucial in the current situation where delisting alarms are high</p>
<h2>Celebrity Shareholders Hidden Behind the Scenes Enjoying Millions in Dividends</h2>
<p>The success of &#34;The Legend of Jade&#34; not only gives Huayi a glimmer of hope but also allows a group of celebrity shareholders to profit behind the scenes. Among the vast list of shareholders in the film and television industry, besides the controlling Huayi Brothers and the 21.9% stake held by the affiliated company iQIYI, there are also six celebrity shareholders: Li Chen, Angelababy (Yang Ying), Feng Shaofeng, Chen He, Zheng Kai, and Du Chun, each holding about 2.4% equity. This is due to Huayi's acquisition of 70% of the newly established Haohan Film and Television for 756 million yuan in 2015, deeply binding the interests of these popular artists with the company.</p>
<p>Now that &#34;The Legend of Jade&#34; has become a hit, it means that these six celebrities do not need to participate in the production personally; they can enjoy dividends simply by being shareholders. Based on revenue forecasts and shareholding ratios, the theoretical dividends for each celebrity shareholder could reach around 12 million yuan, even exceeding the remuneration some actors receive for taking on a single drama.</p>
<h2>Long-term Dilemma Unresolved, One Drama Cannot Save Huayi</h2>
<p>Although &#34;The Legend of Jade&#34; has brought considerable short-term profits, the market and industry insiders generally believe that relying solely on one blockbuster drama is unlikely to fundamentally change the predicament of Huayi Brothers. In recent years, Huayi has shown weakness in its core film business, lacking new box office hits, and its drama business has also been unstable. At the same time, facing the aggressive competition from well-funded internet platforms like Tencent and ByteDance, the survival space for traditional film and television companies has been severely squeezed.</p>
<p>The company has attempted to venture into new areas such as short dramas and AI-assisted production, but short-term results are hard to see. Domestic media cited market analysis indicating that for Huayi, seeking capital restructuring or being acquired by a large streaming platform may be a more realistic way out than struggling independently. The ultimate fate of Huayi Brothers remains to be seen in the 2025 report to be disclosed at the end of April</p>

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<p>Huayi Brothers is facing a delisting crisis due to consecutive losses for eight years. Its costume drama "The Legend of Jade" quickly became a hit after being launched on iQIYI and Netflix, expected to generate over 800 million yuan in revenue. Huayi hopes to turn the tide with this drama; however, the company's net assets are close to negative value, and if the annual report shows negative net assets, it will face delisting risk. The total investment in the drama is approximately 400 million yuan, with actor salaries accounting for only 2%</p>

- The recent costume drama "Zhu Yu" has become a major topic of discussion, rapidly topping viewership rankings on platforms like iQIYI and Netflix, with projections of over 800 million yuan in comprehensive revenue from a 400 million yuan investment.  
- Despite this success, Huayi Brothers, one of the production companies, is in serious financial trouble with eight consecutive years of losses totaling 8.246 billion yuan, raising delisting risks due to negative net asset projections.  
- Analysts believe that while "Zhu Yu" offers a short-term revenue boost, it is insufficient to resolve the underlying challenges Huayi Brothers faces in a competitive market dominated by tech giants.

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Huayi has lost over 8 billion in 8 years and is facing delisting crisis; "Zhu Yu" becomes a lifeline as it gains popularity, star shareholders enjoy dividends effortlessly