The author | coconut tree
On New Year's Day this year, the "Anti-Corruption Storm" series, one of the highest-grossing classic IPs of Hong Kong films, ushered in the final chapter.
Since its first release in 2014, the "Anti-Corruption Storm" series has become the longest-lived series of IP movies in Hong Kong by relying on the frequency of 5 films in 7 years. Even if word-of-mouth is not as good as a year, the last "Anti-Corruption Storm 4" still earned 799 million yuan at the box office in the mainland. By the fifth part, the audience may have expected it before entering the theater, but now the performance of "Anti-Corruption Storm 5" has unexpectedly fallen out of the average line.
"I've never seen a five-part series protagonist end up in such a sloppy way, and there's a reason why one is not as good as the other." A netizen commented.
Seven years, five parts, although each is a new story, the main actor output is stable, but with the influence of many factors, this longevity and popular IP is still going downhill.
Coincidentally. In recent years, although the "New Hong Kong Film" IP is still in the gambling film, comedy, martial arts film, police film and other areas of expertise, but with the end of the martial arts film "Ip Man" series, the gambling film "Macau Storm" series, and the comedy classic represented by Stephen Chow, the final weight of the Hong Kong film IP is pressed on the police film. However, due to the disconnection of talents and similar routines, many Hong Kong-style police film IPs are going down.
The argument that "Hong Kong films are dead" is rife. Blowfish Film and Television Archives also wants to take this opportunity to talk about the development history of Hong Kong film IP films, also from that golden age, to the present, although the output is considerable, but the ability of Hong Kong films to create IP and the overall level of IP movies have not been as good as before.
The first golden age of Hong Kong IP movies
The practice of Hong Kong film IP creation should go back to the 1980s and 1990s--- the golden age of Hong Kong cinema in the popular sense.
In that "peak era", the annual output of Hong Kong films could exceed 200, and a large part of them came from IP series movies. At that time, the IP series of movies was an important perpetual motion machine in the development of Hong Kong films, and an IP would have an average of 2-3 series of films.
The "Hero's True Colors" series, "God of Gamblers", "Gamblers", "Gamblers" series, etc., which are still regarded as classics, were all born in the 1980s and 1990s.
In a Korean drama "Please Answer 1988", which is very popular in China, there are more than one episode involving the movie "The True Colors of Heroes". In fact, it is precisely because of that year that Hong Kong films were lifted in the Taiwan region and the Korean market, which further expanded the influence of Hong Kong films. The market feedback is high, and more investment is pouring into Hong Kong, and the demand and ability to create IP are moving forward at the same time in passive and active. Therefore, more different series of genre films have emerged, such as the "Huang Feihong" series, the "Truant Veyron" series, the "Heavenly Love" series, etc.
This also basically laid the foundation for several major genre films worthy of IP in Hong Kong films: gambling films, martial arts films, police films, comedies, and romance films.
In this batch of films, the IP movies that can continue to make a series have certain commonalities. Stable capital and creators are the first priority, and the constant taste of the work is guaranteed to the greatest extent.
For example, relying on director Wang Jing, actors Zhou Runfa and Zhou Xingchi, the "God of Gamblers" and "Gambler" series that have been continuously and stably output by the producer Yongsheng Film, and the "Truant Weilong" series directed by Chen Jiashang, starring Zhou Xingchi and shot by Yongsheng Films, etc., are basically released at the frequency of one work in 1-2 years, stable at the end of 3 films.
At that time, Bruce Lee, Chow Yun Fat, Chow Sing Chi, Huang Baiming and other familiar names were not only celebrities, but also a part of the substantial promotion of the development of film creation. Therefore, behind the explosion of major IP, the concentration of talents and resources is the most important reason. The high degree of industrialization is the secondary reason. Often before filming, the main creator and the investor are ready to prepare for the sequel with the market response.
In addition, Hong Kong film IP also has a certain sustainability at the story level. Generally speaking, because of the stability of the main creator, the series of film IP also pays attention to the continuity of the film characters, either directly shooting the sequel or prequel of the character, or retaining the character setting to tell a new story.
But there are also IP movies like "Heavenly Love", which use different characters but similar routines to shoot love stories, but there are relatively few successful works of love films. Hong Kong films have hardly appeared in more classic love IP movies later.
Of course, different genre films generally still follow different routines. And because the creative freedom of Hong Kong films was very high at that time, many IP films were still more willing to explore the settings of mature genre films, and what to do would be more interesting.
For example, in the comedy film "Truant Weilong", the core routine is Zhou Xingxing's case in the middle of laughter, but it adds a lot of more attractive laughs and some bold designs at that time. Seeing beautiful women with nosebleeds, the setting of strong women and weak love relationships, lesbians, etc., on the one hand, followed the trend of "entertainment to death" in Hong Kong films that year, on the other hand, it actually increased the richness of the story.
Another example is the police film "The True Colors of Heroes", director Wu Yusen not only made a continuation of the story in the three parts, but also one of the few police films that did not simply create black and white, but explored the complexity of human nature on the basis of existing routines. It can be seen that the continuation of many movie IP in those years was not only for the sake of shooting.
Relatively speaking, IP comedies, police films and martial arts films have gradually formed their own style, and romance films are in a weak position in share, especially the establishment of wu Yusen, Xu Ke, Zhou Xingchi and many other film and television personality styles and the gradual growth of their reputation, making the series of film IP more concentrated on these three categories, and gradually formed a more perfect IP-making process.
After the new millennium, the "Infernal Affairs" series turned out to be a new one, invested by the young Huanya Films, invited Andy Lau, Leung Chao-wai, Huang Qiusheng, Tsang Chi-wai and other big stars to star, a coherent story, a stable creator, three in two years, the "Infernal Affairs" series became the last classic IP series of Hong Kong movies in that period.
After the new century, IP movies are also "going north"
With the closure of established film companies such as Shaw Films and New Art City, and the retirement or departure of veteran filmmakers, Hong Kong films have gradually declined since the late 1990s.
And many of the filmmakers who left chose to "go north". In 2003, the Mainland and Hong Kong signed the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement, which led to a wave of "going north".
It was also in 2003 that the third part of the "Infernal Affairs" series was planned, and it can be clearly seen that the capital behind it has newly joined the Tianjin Film Studio in addition to Huanya Film. Although the series was born at the beginning of the series more consideration of the Local Market in Hong Kong, it is enough to show that more IP movies will inevitably pay more attention to how to adapt to the mainland market due to capital and other reasons when they are released.
But the initial "northbound" road was not smooth. At that time, coinciding with the reform of the theatrical system in the mainland film market, the mainstream audience expanded from first- and second-tier cities to more third- and fourth-tier cities, and the creative experience of Hong Kong films once needed more time to find a balance in the broader life experience of mainland counties and cities. Therefore, when the mainland film market preferences are not clear, Hong Kong films have not easily begun to create IP.
Until Jackie Chan's "Myth", "Baby Project", Chow Sing Chi's "Kung Fu" and "Yangtze River No. 7" and other films began to be very successful in the mainland, Hong Kong films and filmmakers began to gradually gain a foothold in the mainland market. The first classic IP movie "Ip Man" after the new century also began to appear.
In 2008, "Ip Man" was released in the mainland and received more than 80 million at the box office. The story takes place in Ip Man's hometown of Foshan, and the elements of family feuds are combined, plus it is also an action theme that Hong Kong films have always been good at, and the response in the market is very good. So two years later, "Ip Man 2" was launched, which received a box office of 230 million yuan, becoming the fifth place in the box office of domestic films that year.
But the release of "Ip Man 3" came 6 years later. At that time, the great success of the "Ip Man" series led to the emergence of many works of the same theme on the market, and it is reported that because of this, after "Ip Man 2", producer Huang Baiming once said that he hoped to wait and discuss "Ip Man 3" after watching these "Ip Man" on the market.
So 6 years later, "Ip Man 3" returned to the public eye with a new story and earned 769 million at the box office. However, when "Ip Man 3" was released that year, it was suspected of "box office injection", and it is difficult to say how much of the box office really belonged to "Ip Man 3" in the end.
In this process, on the one hand, we can see the precipitation and maintenance of IP by the filmmakers, and on the other hand, it also shows the difficulty of the continuation of IP movies. Especially like the "Ip Man" series, the story continuity before and after several films is very strong, the innovation has limitations, and the filmmakers still do not have enough confidence in the works that have returned after 6 years of polishing, and the phenomenon of "box office injection" will occur on the first day of release.
Of course, the experience of Hong Kong films in making IP can still be used. The four "Ip Man", the main creator and the capital have not changed much, and at the same time, the commercial action elements are consistent in each one.
During the launch of the "Ip Man" series, a number of Hong Kong police IP movies also appeared at the same time.
In 2009, directed by Mak Zhaohui and Zhuang Wenqiang, and starring Wu Yanzu, Gu Tianle and Liu Qingyun, "Eavesdropping" was released and received more than 80 million at the box office. Subsequently, two series of films were launched at an average frequency of 2-3 years, and the feedback at the box office and word of mouth was good. Perhaps it is that Hong Kong films have re-found the position of police film IP in the mainland market, and in the following years, the older directors and the same group of Hong Kong filmmakers have successively created series of movies such as "Cold War", "Sweeping Drugs", "Chasing Dragons" and so on.
"New Hong Kong Cinema" seems to be familiar.
In general, most of these films are composed of veteran Hong Kong directors and actors, and their talents are very dependent on the original group of Hong Kong filmmakers. The investment will involve mainland film and television companies, but the content basically maintains the narrative rhythm, story style and form of expression of Hong Kong films. The launch frequency is either a few years of silence to return, or a stable one in 2-3 years, behind which is supported by a more mature industry than the original, the main creator who is still stable, and the market's enthusiasm for Hong Kong films has not yet diminished.
Just slowly to the present, the major genre films that the golden age focused on have not all been well inherited. Gambling films, only the "Macau Storm" series, is still Wang Jing,Chow Yun-fat, Andy Lau and other people starring, commercial success, but the reputation basically only relies on feelings to support, I am afraid that there will be similar works.
Action martial arts films, except for the two "Tai Chi" series directed by Feng Delun in 2012 and Xu Ke's three "Di Renjie" series, there is nothing worth saying. Comedy, almost still rely on Stephen Chow, the only IP at present is "The Mermaid", it is reported that the second part is expected to be released in 2022. And the rest of the weight, almost all pressed on the police film.
But the "new bottle of old wine" of police films in recent years is gradually draining the enthusiasm of the audience.
Status: Talent is broken, and it is difficult to adjust
At present, with the rise of new genre films in the mainland film market, the impact of foreign films, and the lack of talents in Hong Kong films themselves, it is difficult for classic IP series films to re-emerge.
In fact, although the Hong Kong-style police film is almost "the only hope of the whole village". However, after 2010, the emergence of a large number of Hong Kong-style police film IP has reflected that the overall level of Hong Kong film IP has begun to decline.
The "Sweeping Drugs", "Cold War", and "Anti-Corruption Storm" series were actually well received at the beginning, but the subsequent creation of IP in the form of light content and heavy form has slowly made IT difficult to continue.
For example, the "Cold War" series, which was silent for 4 years before launching the second part, because the story involved the political ecology of Hong Kong at that time, there will be certain limitations in innovation and even censorship. So far, 5 years later, the third part has not yet had much news.
The second part of the "Sweeping Drugs" series was released after changing the director and actors 6 years later, and the shell of the IP is still there, but the story content, character relationships, etc. have not continued the previous work. Although it has obtained a box office of 1.2 billion yuan by relying on IP names and actor influence, it has nothing to do with the original "anti-drug" IP in essence.
This kind of police film is different from the "Ip Man" series and the "Di Renjie" series mentioned earlier, and often put on similar genre stories in different IP shells, and this contradiction also makes the uniqueness of each IP lose, there are too many films of the same type, the routine is similar, and the homogenization phenomenon is difficult to get rid of for a while.
And the directors, writers, and actors behind these films are rarely updated. The widely circulated "flowing Hong Kong films, iron-beaten Gu Tianle" reflects the serious disconnection of creative talents.
In the golden age of Hong Kong cinema, Aaron Kwok, Andy Lau and many other superstars today have been honed by training courses and countless works, and today, the Hong Kong film circle lacks a sound talent training mechanism at the level of social education and college education. Compared with the many professional colleges and universities in the mainland, Hong Kong films are at a disadvantage in this regard.
You can try to think about it, in addition to the veteran actors, the new generation of actors may have Zhang Zifeng, Zhang Jingyi and other people in the mainland, and in the Hong Kong showbiz circle, there are few big-screen actors who can benchmark. It is more difficult for mature directors and screenwriters to fill the position.
Among the remaining groups of active Hong Kong filmmakers mentioned above, in addition to some of them still continuing their film work, many of them have run to online movies or some drama roundups to "eat the old book" to take over the work, which has become another kind of consumption to some extent.
In addition, the difficulty of Hong Kong film IP to create glory is also related to the rise of mainland film market genre films and the impact of external films.
In the past decade, the creation of genre films in the mainland has become increasingly mature. Comedy genre films of the Happy Twist label, suspense genre films led by Chen Sicheng, action genre films led by Wu Jing, etc., can achieve a certain balance in word-of-mouth and box office. And it is also in the process of self-made IP, which makes the competitiveness of Hong Kong IP movies further weakened.
Going back to the current Storm of Corruption series. As the longest-lived IP film in Hong Kong, although the reputation of the series is not as good as a year, each one is basically maintained above a baseline, the audience is willing to accept, and the commercial gains of the first few films are higher than one year. But at present, the performance of the final chapter has fallen out of the average line, and the collapsed plot and messy editing have made this wave of emotional cards no longer so effective, and the commercial has been greatly reduced.
From the audience feedback, it can be seen that the performance of the main actors is still in the state, but today's hasty ending has disappointed many "anti-corruption fans". As the final chapter of the five-part process, the filmmakers overestimated the audience's willingness to pay for their feelings, which to a certain extent reflects the weakness of the heart in story innovation.
In fact, it is not difficult to understand that the average frequency of 2-3 years makes the story lack of polishing cycle. From the poverty alleviation fund case in the first part, the gambling case in the second part, the tens of billions of corruption case in the third part, the prison undercover case in the fourth part, and then to the human trafficking case in the final song, each one is actually in line with current events, and the market return rate of "hitting iron while it is hot" is also very high, but the old narrative structure and story direction still push the work to the direction of assembly line operation.
On the other hand, from the perspective of time, the overlap rate between the main force of film consumption around 2015 and the audiences who grew up watching Hong Kong films after 85 are very high, so the market return rate will be correspondingly higher, but after 2015, younger audiences appear and have higher requirements for Hong Kong films, which is one of the reasons why many Hong Kong film IPs are not as good as one in terms of reputation in recent years.
At present, the filter of the Hong Kong film is being consumed a little. It's not that there are no good works, but more IP works are being launched "without thinking". FMCG and high production are obviously not the path of the current high-quality IP creation, and slowing down the pace of creation for high-quality IP, paying attention to maintaining the reputation of the series, and reasonably thinking about the needs of mainland audiences are the more important things for the future Hong Kong film IP.