Bloomberg BusinessweekNEWYORK○ WhenCovid-19struck,Langley
releasedTrollsWorldTouronline,a movethatearned
Universaltheireoftheaterowners—and$100millionin
streamingrevenue.
LangleyhashelpedoverseesomeofHollywood’smostsuccessfulfranchises:
Bourne,Minions, andTheFastandtheFurious. Thisyearshecreateda new
categoryoffilm,“premiumvideoondemand,”whensheputtheTrollsmovie
andTheKingofStatenIsland, starringSaturdayNightLive’s PeteDavidson,
onlinefora $20streamingfeewhenalmostallU.S.theaterswereclosed.The
chainswantedUniversaltodelaythereleases;theydidn’tliketheprecedent
ofnewfilmswithpotentiallybigboxofficesgoingstraighttovideo.Industry
leaderAMCEntertainmentHoldingsInc.evensaidit wouldboycottfuture
releasesfromthestudio.Langleyeventuallystrucka dealwithAMCthat
reduceshowlongUniversalhastowaittomakefilmsavailabletoat-home
audiencesafterthey’reintheaters.(Otherstudiosareseekingsimilar
arrangements.)LangleyintendstomakepremiumvideoondemandUniversal’s
newreleasemodel.—KellyGilblomBEIJING ○ The delivery company,
which became a lifeline when lockdown
restrictions were imposed across China, has
seen its share price surge more than 180%
since the beginning of the year, swelling
Wang’s fortune to over $20 billion.China’s coronavirus-fighting measures
were among the strictest in the world, with
many residents forbidden from leaving their
apartment complexes. That left Meituan as
one of the only ways for millions of people
to get basic supplies—not to mention delivery
favorites such as dumplings and spicy
noodles. Led by Wang, an engineer who
dropped out of a U.S. doctoral program to
found a series of social media apps before
starting Meituan in 2010, the company
handled about 15 million food deliveries a day
during the lockdown. In many places its riders,
who wear distinctive yellow outfits bearing its
kangaroo logo, seemed to make up most of
the street traffic.
Although life in China is mostly back to
normal, consumers are still sticking with
delivery. Meituan delivered 24.5 million orders
a day in the second quarter, a 7% uptick from
a year ago. Wang is nonetheless hedging
his bets by expanding into services for
consumers who do go out, offering restaurant
reservations, hotel rooms, and movie tickets.
—Venus FengWANG
CHAIRMAN
AND CEO,
MEITUAN INC.
DONNA LANGLEY
CHAIRMAN, UNIVERSAL FILMED
ENTERTAINMENT GROUPMOHAMMED BIN ZAY
CROWN PRINCE, EMIRAT
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WANG: VCG/GETTY IMAGES. LANGLEY: ALBERTO E. RODRIGUEZ/GETTY IMAGES. BRAY: ALANA PETERSON/REDUX. ZEYED: SEAN GALLUP/GETTY IMAGES. WILLIAMS: KAREN E. SEGRAVE