Popularity doesn’t always mean money and oftentimes I hear of popular K-idols who lament being penny poor because they haven’t been paid due to contract or income complications. The same goes in the television world where ratings matters less than what the product sold for and how much ad revenue it brought in. The greater the delta the better for the production company so it’s interesting to see a frame of comparison this week when one of China’s biggest production companies Huace Media reported its earnings and listed the top 5 most profitable projects of the past year. Coming in 1st in earnings is period romance General and I with Wallace Chung and Angelababy, 2nd place is the Zheng Shuang‘s modern drama Rush to the Dead of Summer followed by the latest remake of Legend of the Condor Heroes in 3rd place. The biggest buzz drama of the year so far Three Lives Three Worlds, Ten Miles Peach Blossoms came in 4th and rounding out the top 5 is popular variety show Hidden Singer. Continue reading
