Hello, welcome to Roundtable, where we serve up piping hot debates on the issues that sizzle in China and beyond.
I'm Nyo Hong -lin. From the dominance of comedy to the rise of genre fusion, China's film scene in 2024 is a society that's blending tradition with modernity.
But amidst this, evolution lies a market in flux.
One where triumph and turbulence walk hand in hand.
Join us as we explore this transformative moment in the Chinese film industry of the past year.
For today's show, I'm joined by Yu Xun and Steve Hatherly.
Now grab your virtual compass and follow us to the heart of the discussion.
2024 has been a rollercoaster year for China's film industry, where classic hits and bald innovations are colliding.
From comedies breaking box office records to the rise of social media and short video marketing that's kinda reshaping how films are sold, it is a time of both deep transition tradition and daring transformation.
But it's not all smooth sailing as well.
Film withdrawals have become surprisingly common for the year and not every marketing stunt has worked as planned.
So buckle up, everybody, as we start reviewing this exciting year of big wings, unexpected twists and the search for the next cinematic blockbuster.
So to start with, since we're doing a review of the Chinese film landscape in 2004, let's take a look at what are the most popular films of the year.
Yes, so an industry report conducted by China Film Association reveals some interesting shifts in the Chinese film market and audience preferences.
So the top 5 movies in terms of box office are number 1, oh let's go with number 5 first.
Jump roll. Build up the suspense.
Yeah. So, number 5 is Boonie Bears, Time Twist, or in Chinese, it is a cartoon.
So the box office was 279 million US dollars.
Not bad. So number 4 is article 20, DR, and the box office is 340 million US dollars.
Successor is number 3, the Chinese name is Drawa, $463 million.
See that one? Mm -hmm.
So the number 2 goes to Pegasus 2, or in Chinese, Fei -Chu and Shen -Tu.
Fei -Chu and Shen -R.
That and the box office was $472 million.
Hold on, hold on. Yeah, here goes to the number 1.
And You Only Live Once or Yolo, in Chinese, Shuo La Guintang.
And that's nearly 3 .5 billion yuan, and also 481 million US dollars.
So have you ever watched, all of those or any of those?
You should. I watched the, of course, the number 1.
Yeah, me too. What was it?
And also the number 4.
Okay. What's the number 1 film about?
You Only Live Once.
It's kind of a, this main character is going to do something that changed her life.
I wouldn't like spoil too much on this.
But it's about a girl learning to love herself in the way of making herself a better version of herself, improving herself, recognizing the reality, making changes, and putting in the effort, and seeing a good result.
Is this the film that we touched upon on a recent episode of Roundtable, talking about how kind of times are changing in terms of plots and things like that?
Well, I think we didn't mention the exact example, but that is definitely a trend for the entertainment world of China this year.
We are looking at these different popular shows, and popular movies, and the kind of value that's reflected by these different works.
But one definitely one, let's say, relatively prominent thing is that we get to see that in this year, the top three films at the box office are comedies.
We talked about You Only Live Once and also Successor, the one that I watched, not really super funny.
Well, it is funny in a way that you watch the film, and you laugh about it.
So that's what qualifies as a comedy?
Yes. Yes, but it's actually quite scary for me.
Ooh, like a horror comedy.
No, in the sense that because that movie was about a very rich family, believing that a rich life or a very rich way of raising a kid is not going to give the kid the kind of strength he needs to grow up.
So they basically faked a poor family, allowing the kid to learn how to live and grow up in such a family.
And that kind of mentality is scary for me.
Or maybe it's because all of these three movies, their main characters are well known for being comedians.
Yes, for sure. And that's why when audiences just look in their face, okay, I know this is a good, good one.
Good or funny movie.
So comedy films in China, are they kind of expanding their boundaries in terms of the plot lines compared to what they used to be?
As we can see, yeah, they are all like the top three are all comedies, but they have different storylines, of course, and also different themes.
For example, You Only Live Once combines boxing, feminism and comedy.
Pegasus 2 blends car racing and comedy and successor, which Nionyo's watched.
It mixes education and comedy.
So this kind of hybrid mode is not only delivering laughter, but also providing audiences with thought provoking content.
I mean, of course it makes sense because even though we it is they are all in the genre of comedy, but they need to have a solid storyline to attract audiences to actually get into the story and actually understand the line.
And when you, pardon me, when you combine genres, I think it's a really smart thing for filmmakers to do because you're appealing to a broader audience, right?
If you made a car movie that was strictly about cars, okay, cool, but you're kind of alienating a large percentage of your potential audience who is not really interested in cars.
But if you turn it into a car movie that has a lot of elements of humor or drama in there, then you're appealing to a lot more people.
And then you've got a different or more unique storyline as well.
And I think genre combinations is something that we see in films from many different countries around the world.
One that comes to mind, do you remember the movie Her with Joaquin Phoenix and Scarlett Johansson?
Oh, AI. Yeah, yeah, exactly.
So Joaquin Phoenix plays Theodore, a man who falls in love with his AI voice assistant named Samantha.
And that character was played by Scarlett Johansson.
That character, that voice, the computer voice, the AI voice was Scarlett Johansson.
And that is a perfect example.
That was a Spike Jonze film, if I remember correctly.
And that's a combination of humanity versus technology.
And I think that these types of combinations work very well because of the complexity of what it is to be a human.
Precisely the complexity, yeah, of what it is.
Because I think this kind of trend has been here in the Chinese movie industry for quite a long time.
It's not exactly a new thing for this year, but it's getting more and more prominent in this year.
That is to say, instead of picking a value that can be shared by almost everybody and then make it a comedy, we started to see more and more movies trying to discuss this relatively complicated and controversial issue and topic with the form of a movie, with a lot of funny lines and funny plots in it,
making it a comedy.
So that's definitely a good thing.
And another trend we're looking at for this year, a trend or it may be relatively something that I personally enjoy quite so much, is the rise of female characters, female directors, and female theme.
YOLO is definitely a very good and very successful example we talked about.
This is the discovery of oneself, basically, trying to figure out how to love yourself better from a female perspective.
And this is already her second work.
The first work is also quite impressive.
Actually, the previous film, Nihao, Li Huangying, Hello, Li Huangying, which grossed 5 .4 billion yuan.
And this one is like 3 .5 billion yuan.
So both are quite successful.
And definitely, we've already touched upon Hao Dong's, her stories in one of our previous shows just a little bit.
But I know Yuchen has watched that movie.
I actually watched it.
I quite like it actually.
And I think it is kind of a rare gem that we don't previously have that kind of thing in Chinese movie theater.
You know, after watching it, I just felt very happy and entertained by this movie.
The design is clever and the pacing is tight.
And it doesn't miss out on all of these interesting little Easter acts, I would say.
You can see a lot of memes that was trendy online or just some interesting facts about that.
That's always the sign of a good movie, right?
When people start quoting it afterwards, things like that.
Yeah. And also the jokes are abundant and fun.
Not that kind of that, you know, makes you burst out laughing.
But that kind of thing that makes you have the kind of oh, I get it.
And a kind of a knowing smile.
You can relate to it somehow.
So I feel like the way Internet culture is quite, you know, portrait is quite spot on and you can actually get it.
And when you are really seeing the movie and getting to some of the points that director are trying to convey, you feel that, OK, I this movie is worthwhile.
Yes. And the reason I'm brought about female director, female theme, female perspective is because, yes, I do acknowledge there are a lot of great artists, great actors and actors and great directors, male male ones.
They can portray a good female story as well, but not from an entire female perspective, because this is how we raise.
This is who we are.
Our perspective can be different in the way that only female can understand.
Sure. And it's really great to see that perspective from a larger scale.
So, yeah, kudos to all the great female artists out there.
Absolutely. And it's great, too, because we're seeing these stories being told, of course, which is fantastic.
But we're seeing the success, too, of female directors and female leads.
And like you said, you should stories that maybe typically wouldn't have been told in the past.
And this just opens the door for even more possibilities in the future.
Yes. And besides comedies and also the kind of fun, lighthearted films feature maybe a female perspective, what are some other, let's say, types of movies that are preferred by audience this year?
Do we see some other good examples that you feel like we have to mention?
Oh, yeah, it feels that animation is becoming kind of a major force in the Chinese film market.
Boonie Bears? You said it was called?
Boonie Bears! What's a Boonie Bear, by the way?
In Chinese it's called Xiong Chumuo, but I think Boonie Bear is making these...
I think the two bears, right?
Even cuter in a way when you're saying in English.
But this is kind of a cartoon anime that mainly focusing on children.
So previously, previously?
Yeah, now it's really actually the story plot is quite good.
I mean, I've seen this happening for a while.
That is starting the starting point of the design of, for example, a cartoon series was entirely for children.
The plot is simple.
The idea or the kind of value they try to convey is universal and relatively not that complicated.
Yeah, with the development of the with the development of the entire series, it started to get more and more complex, sophisticated.
And after a while, even parents bringing their kids to the movie theater would be able to enjoy the film.
Again, I don't know if you call that combining genres or not.
A little bit. A little bit.
But also really, really smart from the film studios point of view or from the director's point of view, because if you make a film like that, that parents can enjoy along with their kids, you know, maybe there's a little bit of humor in there that children wouldn't pick up on, but but the adults do.
Because oftentimes kids want to see a movie again and again and again.
Right. They'll go to the theater four or five or six times to see a film.
That makes it easier if the parents can enjoy it, too.
What comes to mind for me is I don't know if you've seen the Lego movies, any of the Lego movies or not.
But there's a lot of humor in there that's intended for the parents, for adults.
And I watched the Lego movies and I really enjoyed them.
So I think that's a good example of that, too.
And also, you know, I think this are also related to the release timing of these movies because when they're getting so popular in terms of box office, especially during the spring festival and summer vacation seasons, which are peak times for a lot of movie box office sauce.
And this also means that these movies are more likely to be family friendly films where children and maybe grandparents can enjoy them together.
And the whole family can go to the theater together.
In this case, these kind of anime, cartoon or comedy films are likely to be the genre with higher acceptance.
And one other genre or type or even I don't know if I'll call it a movie, but it's definitely a movie in a theater.
And it has got great success this year would be the concert films.
Oh, yes. Yeah. Right, right, right.
Something different, right.
We're talking about, for example, Taylor Swift's Taylor Swift, the era's tour.
It grossed over 100 million yuan in Chinese market with a Douban rating.
Douban is kind of like the Chinese version of IMDB.
Yes. And the rating was nine point three, showing that people are really loving it.
And also, actually, this has happened not again, not just from this year.
Previously, a few artists we see such as May Day, GEM, many of them have released these concert films and this year it's gaining popularity.
Yeah. Do you remember when the Olympics were on and we were talking about, you know, having the Olympics watch the games in the movie theater?
Yeah. Did you end up going to the theater to watch any Olympics?
I didn't because it was too late and we didn't decide to actually go out and watch a episode, but we actually enjoyed it at home.
Yeah, we were talking about it on Roundtable at the time, you know, debating its merits or disadvantages.
But if you think of the theater as a place to go and have an audio and visual experience, then it totally makes sense that concert films would be a hit in movie theaters.
Except that maybe there are the kind of movie, well, there are the kind of, let's say, distribution that you can sing along and there are other ones that you shouldn't be singing along.
Right. That one, you just mentioned Taylor Swift, the era's tour.
I go with my girlfriend and wow.
Everybody was singing?
Everybody was standing up and shouting out loud.
Really? Taylor Swift.
Wow. Yeah. Oh, my gosh.
You know, there was so much attention.
This is off topic a little bit.
But that tour, that Taylor Swift era's tour.
Have you ever we talk about different types of economy.
Have you ever heard of the Taylor economy?
Yeah, yeah. How people whenever she goes, this kind of city will like the economy will be brought up.
Yeah. And there's positives and negatives with that.
It's impossible to get a cheap hotel room or a hotel room at all.
But anyway, putting that in the theaters was just an extra way to get exposure for the concert because tickets, you know, hard to get.
And even if you're in the area, you're not guaranteed to be able to go.
So again, that's why these types of shows are really popular.
Yes. And one other phenomenon happened in this year's Chinese film industry is split line distribution.
Have you heard of it?
It's a kind of model that tailored at the end of the year is a strategy in film distribution where film distributors allocate films to different cinema chains based on factors like the chain's characteristics, the type of the films, the market positioning, the type of audience, even audience demographic, all
of these reasons. And one example would be the re -release of Harry Potter series.
Yes. So since October 11th, the the whole actually the whole series was was released in Chinese film theaters, one episode or one movie at a time at a time.
And actually, it has grossed forty six million yuan for just the first week.
It has attract the, let's say, reignite the passion of a lot of Harry Potter fans.
Also, maybe Lord of the Rings are also having the same campaign.
And a lot of people are participating in so -called marathon.
Yeah. Harry Potter, you know, stay in the movie theater for maybe a whole day to go through all of the seven or eight seasons of Harry Potter.
And that is quite an enjoyment for, I think, not only the fans, but also people who, you know, haven't got the chance to watch Harry Potter movies or these classic movies in movie theaters because they can actually get the chance again to see this not on just TV screens, but also these huge screens.
Yeah. Yeah, go ahead.
These are mainly I feel like relatively positive phenomenons and things that has already happened.
Yet we do see some problems and challenges facing the film market and film industry this year, one quite significant one with the withdrawal of many films.
We have actually discussed this on Roundtable, talked about the reason behind many of the withdrawals can be verified, can be varied.
And some of them are because they have released in, let's say, relatively bad timing because they're in fierce competition, some just because the theme or maybe just the surface of the film is not in line with the family or festival atmosphere.
But this is definitely something that has happened this year.
When you say film withdrawal, do you mean that they're intended to be in the theater for a long period of time, but the ticket sales aren't good so they take them out of the theater?
Sometimes that, sometimes it's the delay of the release.
Sometimes it's the they take them out of the theater so that they can put them back a bit later.
So a lot of different types of situations.
And we do see that there are more examples and facts and figures about that.
Yes. And the thing is that the, you know, the prevalence of film withdrawals in 2024 is more like a notable thing or a notable trend since the beginning of the year, affecting several highly anticipated releases during the spring festival period.
A significant of 50 percent of the film scheduled for release were withdrawn and yeah, including I think these, they spent a lot on advertising.
I even know some of the names.
Viva La Vida. Maybe this is actually a really good movie.
Yeah. In Chinese it's called Woma Yiqi Yaotai Yang or and another one called the movie Emperor Hong Tan Xian Xiong, God of Money, Tian Jiang, Cai Shenmao and Bajie, which is one of the characters of Journey to the West.
Bajie Zhong Tian Peng Xia Zhan is a Chinese name.
So you said these films were withdrawn during the spring festival, which is one of the main, if not the main holiday period here in China.
So would that just be bad timing?
I'm just wondering if if that's a time where it's a bad idea to release a big film because people are busy with their families or busy traveling or something like that?
Most of the time, I think they're just there are so many movies that are on the market right at that period of time.
And they cannot compete with the top ones.
And people are all going to see the top ones.
And they think the box office is not reached their expectation.
And then this may be another strategy that they can maybe put it on later.
Yeah. Besides, do we because this year actually not I think it's this couple of years, we see more and more advertising on social media platforms, especially short video platforms.
Sometimes it's the clip, the highlight clip of the movie.
Sometimes you see the main character going out and say something about the movie.
And do you think this these kind of new way of advertising these movies are affecting the film of film industry in general?
Positively and negatively, I would say, right?
Because if especially if someone has a lot of followers online or if they're a popular online personality and they have something negative to say about a film, then that can have an impact on box office numbers.
And the opposite is true if people online are raving about a movie, then of course that's going to help spread the word as well.
So I guess it depends on whether people liked it initially or not.
The thing is that, you know, I think most almost all of the movies has their trailers, right?
But with the help of short video platforms, they're not even putting trailers on these platforms.
They're just putting small clips of the movie, which is making more audiences to get into it.
And, you know, I think it is even like utilizing the fragmented time of our audiences by just putting by attracting you using these kind of clips, but not trailers because trailers more like at least they got to be like one minute or more and you need to clicking.
And when you would like to watch it.
And now we have the short video platforms, maybe you just scroll up and it pops up in your face.
Yeah. And the content that they put in those little clips is really important, too.
There are some examples of like trailers that were considered real failures when they revealed too much, like a major part of the plot line or something that should have been surprising in the film for the audience.
They'll put it in in the clip in the trailer and that can ruin the experience for for people who are going to see it.
Yes. And both filmmakers and audiences are now very much more and more very much aware of the importance of intellectual property.
This year, we've also seen quite a debate over screen pirates, meaning that if you're in the movie theater, you should not be taking pictures or shooting a short period of the movie, even if you think you're advertising for it.
So I think that is also progress.
Just hope in the future, these progress can help our movie industry to grow better and grow faster.
