Domestic film industry slips to 5-year low
Source: Xinhua |
July 27, 2012, Friday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
CHINA'S film industry has hit a five-year low despite robust growth in box office sales across the country in the first half of this year, filmmakers said.
The industry is going through a rough patch as ticket sales of domestic films started to fall in the first six months, a time when total box office revenue gained more than 40 percent from a year ago.
The box office for domestic films dropped 4.3 percent year on year to 2.8 billion yuan (US$444 million), according to the latest data from the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television.
The slump came just months after China amended rules in February to import more Hollywood movies for national distribution.
In the meantime, ticket sales of foreign films jumped 90.4 percent year on year to 5.27 billion yuan.
China's rapidly expanding movie market collected 8.07 billion yuan in the first six months - up around 41.7 percent from a year ago.
In the January-June period, 14 blockbusters hit Chinese theaters among the 38 imported films screened in the country, and only two of them failed to bring in more than 100 million yuan.
In contrast, among the 141 China-made movies screened in the same period, only 5 percent managed to break even and the rest lost money, industry insiders said.
China had previously allowed only 20 American films - mostly big-budget Hollywood flicks - to be distributed nationally each year. In February, China agreed to allow an additional 14 US films to be distributed each year as long as they are made in the 3D or IMAX formats.
China represents one of the most attractive growth opportunities for the US film industry, which is facing declining theater revenues and slumping DVD sales in North America.
The deal has greatly affected the country's movie market, because movie tickets are relatively expensive in China and audiences are more likely to choose Hollywood blockbusters which are better made and have bigger budgets, said Wang Changtian, president of Enlight Media, the largest independent production firm in China.
Driven by profit, cinemas tend to grant the best time slots to imported films. Many Chinese filmmakers complain that less popular domestic movies are given fewer screenings.
The industry is going through a rough patch as ticket sales of domestic films started to fall in the first six months, a time when total box office revenue gained more than 40 percent from a year ago.
The box office for domestic films dropped 4.3 percent year on year to 2.8 billion yuan (US$444 million), according to the latest data from the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television.
The slump came just months after China amended rules in February to import more Hollywood movies for national distribution.
In the meantime, ticket sales of foreign films jumped 90.4 percent year on year to 5.27 billion yuan.
China's rapidly expanding movie market collected 8.07 billion yuan in the first six months - up around 41.7 percent from a year ago.
In the January-June period, 14 blockbusters hit Chinese theaters among the 38 imported films screened in the country, and only two of them failed to bring in more than 100 million yuan.
In contrast, among the 141 China-made movies screened in the same period, only 5 percent managed to break even and the rest lost money, industry insiders said.
China had previously allowed only 20 American films - mostly big-budget Hollywood flicks - to be distributed nationally each year. In February, China agreed to allow an additional 14 US films to be distributed each year as long as they are made in the 3D or IMAX formats.
China represents one of the most attractive growth opportunities for the US film industry, which is facing declining theater revenues and slumping DVD sales in North America.
The deal has greatly affected the country's movie market, because movie tickets are relatively expensive in China and audiences are more likely to choose Hollywood blockbusters which are better made and have bigger budgets, said Wang Changtian, president of Enlight Media, the largest independent production firm in China.
Driven by profit, cinemas tend to grant the best time slots to imported films. Many Chinese filmmakers complain that less popular domestic movies are given fewer screenings.
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