In 2012, the quota of imported films to China jumped from 20 to 34. The figures show that Chinese films struggled to compete with their imported counterparts. However, so far this year things have been different. The domestic film market here is positively booming.
China's domestic film industry has seen an extraordinary success in the first half of this year. That's in stark contrast to its failure just last year to compete with Hollywood blockbusters. While it might be too early to call it the golden age for Chinese cinema, the lengthening lines at theater are a clear sign that the market is healthy and growing fast. Rapidly expanding market
Up to June the 16th, box office revenue in the Chinese mainland totalled 10 billion yuan, already surpassing 2010's annual figure, with domestic films accounting for a more than 60% share of the total market.
The rapid expansion of cinemas might be one of the most crucial reasons things have changed. Some 2,000 new screens appeared in the first four months of this year and another 5,000 are estimated to open their doors by the end of the year.
Raymond Zhou, film critic, said, \"The expansion of cinema lines in the second and third tier cities. Because in the last decade, the boom is more or less in the big cities like Beijing and Shanghai. And now all these theater chains start rolling out in smaller cities. So we are getting more and more audience size. As a consequence the taste has also changed.\"
In smaller cities, audiences might be more interested in stars like Zhao Wei and Xu Zheng who earned their fame on TV rather than overseas super heros or fantasy franchises.
New generation of directors emegging
Zhao Wei's recent directorial debut \"So Young\over 700 million yuan at the box office. Xu Zheng’s directing debut \"Lost in Thailand\" raked in a staggering 1.24 billion yuan and remained on the throne of the Chinese box office. Stephen Chou's \"Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons\" was a close runner-up in second place, with James Cameron's \"Avatar\" in third. Raymond Zhou said, \"These young filmmakers have more solid techniques in film narrative. That is very new, because in the old times, film makers tend to look down upon those techniques and say that this is something that belongs to Hollywood. But
in the new and young directors they don't see it that way, they see a technique as a technique and you can use it for your own good.\" 3D: Double-edged sword
3D is another clear-cut issue when it comes to the Chinese movie market. China has the most 3D screens in the world. The usual practice in most countries is to screen both the 2D and 3D versions, but in China, only the 3D version is released. Disgruntled customers are left with no choice but to pay more to have a 3D experience. What's more, despite the 3D propaganda, very few are actually shot in 3D resulting in lower quality films.
Raymond Zhou said, \"I feel that 3D technology is a double-edged sword. To convert those films from 2D to 3D is actually a lazy and cheap way to make a quick buck.\" Dilemma of protection
In June, the release of Jurassic Park 3D and Fast and Furious 6 were postponed while domestic blockbuster \"Switch\" did hit screens. The popular Dreamworks animation \"Croods\" was also suddenly called off due to \"contractual reasons\" while domestic animations \"Kuiba\" and \"The Adventures of Sinbad\" WERE released. It's an open secret that the month for domestic film protection is here.
Raymond Zhou said, \"The government agency that is doing that is playing the role of God that can not actually give you the rationale or the reason why it’s feasible and necessary. So it's quite random. I think that a more healthy and sound system of protection should be ironed out and all domestic movies should in a way be benefited from that.\" Long way to go
A statistic that will frustrate those who sing the praises of Chinese domestic film is that in 2012, 75 films were sold overseas taking a disappointing 1 billion yuan at the box office. So although China makes more than 700 feature films each year, it doesn't currently have a lucrative overseas market. So while figures at home seem positive, it seems that Chinese film still has some renegotiations to make overseas to raise its profile at an international level.
http://english.cntv.cn/program/cultureexpress/20130619/105801.shtml
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