After years of ups and downs, especially the three-year heavy blow from the Covid pandemic, China’s film industry saw a fruitful year in 2023, being an absolute bright spot amid the nation’s uneven consumption-led economic recovery.
China's film industry staged an impressive comeback in 2023, witnessing a substantial 83 percent year-on-year surge in annual box office sales, reaching a substantial 54.91 billion yuan ($7.7 billion) with nearly 1.3 billion tickets sold throughout the year.
Film data platform Beacon, in collaboration with the Xinhua News Agency, released a report of the 2023 China film market's annual review, indicating a 70 percent surge in box office revenue compared to the last three years, returning to 2017 levels, with a 60 percent increase in attendance.
Taking a look back on 2023, the Spring Festival's box office takings stood at 6.7 billion yuan, ranking second-highest from the holiday period, just behind 2021's record. Although the October National Day box office sales totaled 2.7 billion yuan, which was lower compared to the roughly 4 billion yuan recorded each year from 2019 to 2021, it still showed an increase from 2022's 1.5 billion yuan.
The summer season was particularly remarkable, amassing 20.6 billion yuan and surpassing the 20 billion yuan threshold for the first time in China's summer box office history. The month of December alone saw a record-breaking 68 new releases gracing the big screen worth over 3 billion yuan.
Domestic blockbusters prevail
China’s cinema-goers are showing heightened enthusiasm for domestic films last year, reflecting the achievements of the high-quality development of Chinese films, which helps to strengthen national cultural self-confidence.
Tracking a changing trend in recent years, Chinese audiences now prefer local stories, evidenced by the fact that all 10 of the highest-grossing blockbusters last year were produced by domestic companies. Statistics from the China Film Administration reveal that domestic productions dominated the market, making up approximately 84 percent of the national total.
Last year's box office champion, Zhang Yimou's historic suspense film “Full River Red”, and runner-up, director Guo Fan's sci-fi epic “The Wandering Earth II”, were released during the Spring Festival holiday, the nation's most competitive box office season.
The success of “Full River Red”, the fictional account of a group of grassroots daredevils seeking revenge for Yue Fei, a patriotic general framed and executed during the Song Dynasty. The movie with a particular historic background earned 4.54 billion yuan to top the charts last year in China, and was also the eighth highest-grossing film worldwide.
Widely regarded as a game-changing franchise in reviving homegrown sci-fi works, “The Wandering Earth” — the first installment of which was released in 2019 — returned to Chinese screens with a second edition, earning 4.03 billion yuan to take second position in last year's box office rankings.
Released in a total of 39 countries and regions, the movie was one of the most influential Chinese blockbusters screened abroad last year.
In addition to the main plot of the first installment, which tells of humans embarking on a 2,500-year-long expedition to escape the dying sun, “The Wandering Earth II” further contemplates digital life in exploring how human consciousness can be preserved on the internet to achieve "immortality" and the continuity of civilization.
These concepts are intertwined with cutting-edge Chinese scientific advances such as aerospace and artificial intelligence, which have sparked greater interest among sci-fi enthusiasts.
China's progress in scientific research and development provides fertile ground for inspiration in sci-fi works, which are also among the most promising genres to represent Chinese stories abroad and attract overseas audiences, film critics said.
Meanwhile, movies adapted from real-life cases or which focus on highly relevant social issues have also emerged as a prominent category, captivating a large audience, as theatergoers now prefer stories that are related to modern China, or which touch upon familiar subjects.
For example, the film “No More Bets” was inspired by numerous cyberfraud cases in several Southeast Asian countries. In addition, “Endless Journey”, a crime film adapted from a literary work inspired by a true story, stood out as the top box office grosser in China last month. The film portrays an unlikely hero, a former police officer who persists over 12 years in hunting down the person responsible for the murder and sexual assault of a 14-year-old girl.
Traditional culture, nurtured by China's long history, has also served to inspire filmmakers. Examples of this range from “Chang An”, a successful animated movie that retells the stories of respected poets during the Tang Dynasty, to “Creation of the Gods I: Kingdom of Storms”, a fantasy epic inspired by the Ming Dynasty novel Fengshen Yanyi (Investiture of the Gods).
Liu Peng, director of the Maoyan Research Institute, believes that behind the continuous improvement of the market is the joint effort of all parties in the industry, working together to promote the sustainable development of the film market. The implementation of policies such as public welfare screenings, and continuous subsidies from special funds for the development of the film industry have effectively cultivated moviegoing habits among audiences.
On the supply side, content creators have accurately grasped audience demands, resulting in a plethora of outstanding domestic films across various genres, which have significantly increased the average number of cinema visits per person compared to the previous year. In terms of promotion and distribution, several films have explored perse marketing strategies and selective release methods, further driving ticket demand.
In terms of content, Maoyan's research has seen a surge in female empowerment in society, indicating a growing audience interest in nuanced and perse portrayals of female characters. Globally, "women" and "gender" issues have emerged as significant trends in film and television content, with "Barbie" claiming the title of the global box office champion in 2023. Domestically, films centered on female characters have gained traction, with the highest percentage of women viewers — 67 percent — being recorded by “Lost in the Stars,” which had a feminist message and reflected real-life events.
Riding on a positive note
China's box office kicked off 2024 with a record-high revenue of approximately 1.53 billion yuan ($216 million) during the three-day New Year's Day holiday.
This amount breaks the previous record of 1.3 billion yuan set during the same holiday in 2021, signaling a restorative growth trend in Chinese film consumption.
“Shining for One Thing”, a movie remake of the popular eponymous 2022 television series, dominated the holiday box-office charts, enticing millions of young couples to spend a romantic and memorable New Year's Eve at the cinema.
The comedy “Johnny Keep Walking!”, which resonates among numerous white-collar workers with its sarcastic depiction of office problems, secured second place at the national box office during the New Year holiday with 608 million yuan.
It was followed in third position by Hong Kong crime film “The Goldfinger”, which draws inspiration from a notorious corruption case in the 1980s. It’s also worth noting that US singer Taylor Swift's concert film “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” grossed more than 49 million yuan at the box office during the three-day holiday.
While moviegoing has become a natural part of Chinese holiday cultural consumption, the record-breaking box office earnings during the New Year's Day holiday not only underscore the revitalizing growth trend in Chinese film consumption but also elevate anticipation among moviegoers for the upcoming Spring Festival holiday.
As the 2024 Chinese New Year draws closer, which will run from Feb 10 to 17 and is typically one of the most lucrative movie seasons, a slew of highly anticipated films are set to make their debut in China's film industry.
So far, a total of eight productions have announced release dates for the Chinese mainland during the period, most of which are comedies.
Five films, including “Yolo”, “The Movie Emperor” and “Article 20”, all belong to the comedy genre, which are the "most promising ones" of the 2024 Spring Festival season due to the different "stunts" they are using to attract audiences.
Following the history-making success of her 2021 movie “Hi, Mom”, female director and comedian Jia Ling returns with “Yolo. The movie continues the director's style in producing encouraging films that are full of human touches, which compliments the Spring Festival's warm and friendly ambiance.
Zhang Yimou's “Article 20” is also among the most anticipated films for the holiday. Compared to some of Zhang's artsy commercial productions like “The Flowers of War”, the new film focuses on ordinary peoples' stories. The film marks Zhang's third attempt to compete during the Spring Festival following his “Sniper” in 2022 and “Full River Red” in 2023.
The total box office of the seven-day Spring Festival 2023 was around 6.7 billion yuan. Industry insiders believe that the 2024 box office is "likely" to surpass that amount since there will be two more days in this year’s festival break.
However, some experts are uncertain as to whether the cinema recovery is sustainable in 2024.
China’s film industry is now going through a long transition period where small production companies become more reactive, actors are paid less, and screenwriters struggle to determine what audiences want to see.
A research by China Galaxy International Securities pointed out that the substantial increase in film quantity and ticket prices are major reasons for the boom in the box office in 2023.
Industry experts also noted that a backlog of movies which were supposed to be released during the three-year pandemic hiatus has basically emptied in 2023, leading to a potential low in inventory, both in terms of movie lineups and contents.
Another shift has been seen in the investment structure of a film, as production houses are more risk averse, so now a film usually has multiple investors. It creates room for blockbusters, but it’s difficult for small-budget movies to survive. Compared with 10 years ago, small production companies in China are less willing to make movies by themselves, which is discouraging for persified movie content in the market.
On the demand side, catching up with what the audience is paying attention to will only become more and more difficult, as their taste in movie are constantly changing and are becoming more perse among different demographic groups. Content is still king, and people are still willing to go to the cinema regardless of the genre or timing, industry insiders said.
Executive Editor: Sonia YU
Editor: LI Yanxia
Host: Stephanie LI
Writer: Stephanie LI
Sound Editor: Stephanie LI
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Produced by 21st Century Business Herald Dept. of Overseas News.
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