Text | Cultural Industry News, author | Polaris
The 2022 Spring Festival (Chinese New Year's Eve to the sixth day of the first lunar month, January 31 to February 6) has come to an end, and the total box office exceeds the same period in 2019, ranking second in the history of Chinese films.
"The Water Gate Bridge of Chosin Lake" won the first place in the Spring Festival box office list with a box office performance of 2.528 billion yuan; "This Killer Is Not Calm" ranked second, winning a total of 1.387 billion yuan; "Miracle Stupid Child" ranked third, with a total box office of 667 million yuan; "Bear Haunting, Return to the Earth", "Four Seas", "Sniper", "Pleasant Sheep and gray wolf basket out of the future", "Little Tiger Dun Big Hero" followed.
According to media reports, "The Water Gate Bridge of Changjin Lake" has broken 1.347 billion yuan at the box office in the three days since its release, and has become the most popular movie during the Spring Festival.
The evaluation and expectation of domestic films in people's hearts seem to be getting higher and higher. Careful netizens will find that we seem to have not mentioned Hollywood for a long time, and going to the cinema to see Hollywood seems to be no longer our habit and first choice.
According to statistics, the total box office of domestic films in 2021 was 39.927 billion yuan, accounting for 84.49% of the whole year. And in 2021, the total box office of imported films will be 7.33 billion, of which Hollywood movies have the largest proportion: 5.56 billion.
The total box office of 5.56 billion yuan is not even better than a "Chosin Lake".
2021 domestic film immortal fight, Hollywood "exhausted"
47.258 billion yuan! In 2021, China's film market once again topped the global first place, recovering to 74% (64.15 billion yuan) in pre-epidemic 2019. Among the world's top 10 regional box offices, China's box office accounted for 50.32% from 42.49% in 2020, continuing to maintain its global leading position.
Data source: M big data
697 films were released throughout the year, an increase of 332 over 2020, exceeding the pre-epidemic level of 2019 (611 films). Among them, a total of 529 domestic films were released in 2021, accounting for 92.48%; the total box office of domestic films was 39.927 billion yuan, accounting for 84.49%, becoming the absolute main body of the film market.
The number of films released in the Chinese film market from 2016 to 2021, the number of moviegoers and the total annual box office Image source: Lighthouse Professional Edition
Proportion of the number of domestic films released in 2017-2021 Image source: National Film Funding Office
2017-2021 domestic film box office share Image source: National Film Monopoly Office
Among the top 10 single-film box office in the mainland film market, the number of domestic films has reached as many as 8. Among the top 100 global single-film box office in 2021, there are as many as 27 domestic movies.
Source: Maoyan Pro
Image source: M Big Data
Among them, the annual box office TOP3 "Chosin Lake", "Hello, Li Huanying", "Detective Chinatown 3" are also the top 1, TOP3 and TOP6 of the domestic film history box office list, respectively, and the total box office of the three exceeded the 15 billion mark, which is the second consecutive year that three works of Chinese films have ranked among the top ten in the global box office.
However, with the rise of domestic films, Hollywood's presence in China seems to be getting lower and lower, and people's enthusiasm for Hollywood is not as good as before.
According to the above data, in the top 10 of the 2021 annual film box office rankings, there are only 2 Hollywood movies, expanding the scope to the top 30, and there are only 6. However, in 2012, there were 7 Hollywood movies in the top 10 chinese film box office. Today's Hollywood can be described as "exhausted".
Of the total box office of 47.258 billion yuan, the total box office of Hollywood movies is only 5.56 billion yuan, which is no more than a "Chosin Lake".
The best performer is "Fast and Furious 9", which was released on May 21, and ranked fourth in the annual list with 1.392 billion box office. Godzilla vs King Kong came in second at the box office with a box office of 12.32.
In 2021, there will be more than 100 million films in domestic theaters and American movies Data source: Maoyan Professional Edition
Looks pretty good, right?
But as a series of films with a multi-year audience base, whether it is the Monster of the Century war or the 2.671 billion box office of "Super 8", these two typical Hollywood blockbusters have not been able to deliver what should have been more eye-catching results. You should know that in 2019 before the epidemic, "Avengers 4" alone achieved a high box office of 4.2 billion in China.
In addition, "Dune" and "007: No Time to Die" (hereinafter referred to as "007") were also given high expectations at the beginning of the release.
Dune is an epic science fiction film, produced by Hollywood giants Legendary Pictures, which is a product of the standard Hollywood film industrialization. It took two years from start-up shooting to release, which triggered a heated discussion among science fiction fans around the world, but its first weekend in China box office was only 139 million yuan, which was not as good as "Chosin Lake", which had been released for a long time at that time.
"007" is also "famous", the film is produced by Hollywood giant MGM, is the 25th film in the world-renowned "007" series. But 007 ended up at 414 million, less than half as expected at 1 billion.
Hollywood – once the box office boss
Once upon a time, in China, Hollywood movies were synonymous with blockbusters, and people's first choice for entering movie theaters was Hollywood.
The earliest Hollywood blockbusters can be traced back to Warner Bros. 's Outlaws' in 1994. In China, where the average ticket price of Chinese movies was 6 yuan that year, "Outlaw" sold for 15 yuan.
1996 was the worst year in the history of Chinese cinema. In addition to the Hong Kong film "Police Story 4" and the mainland "Kong Fansen", in the top 10 of the year, a total of 8 movies were Hollywood blockbusters.
On April 30, 1998, "Titanic" was released in China, with a box office of 360 million, dominating the Chinese film box office for 11 years. In 2012, on the occasion of the centenary of the sinking of the Titanic, "Titanic" was re-released and sold another 946 million yuan, second only to the 1.002 billion yuan of the first box office "People in the Journey" of that year, and once again became a box office miracle in China.
After entering the 21st century, Hollywood films swept most of the Chinese film market with the power of destruction and decay.
In 2002, four of the top 5 in China's box office were from Hollywood; in 2003, there were three.
With the exception of Heroes, the other four are from Hollywood.
After that, the "Transformers" series was even more overwhelming:
In 2007, "Transformers 1", with a box office of 260 million, ranked No. 1 in the mainland annual box office list;
In 2009, "Transformers 2", with a box office of 420 million, ranked second in the mainland annual box office list;
In 2011, "Transformers 3", 1.09 billion box office, the first place in the mainland annual box office list;
In 2014, "Transformers 4" grossed 1.97 billion yuan, ranking first in the mainland annual box office rankings.
In addition to the "Transformers" series, the "Fast and Furious" series, the "Mission Impossible" series, the "007" series, Marvel and Disney Animation are also eager to get a piece of the Chinese market.
During this period, Hollywood can be described as a boom! The National Film Administration was forced to issue an executive order prohibiting the introduction of overseas blockbusters from June 10 to July 10 (or July to August) every year. This period of time is called "Domestic Film Protection Month" by the media and the industry.
Even so, however, 7 of the top 10 movies on the 2012 chart still came from Hollywood.
Prosperity is bound to decline, and this is a truth that has existed since ancient times.
In 2017, "Fast and Furious 8" was released.
From the super-7 of 2.427 billion yuan to the super-8 of 2.670 billion yuan, the "Fast and Furious" series seems to have reached its peak, after which both "Special Operations" in 2019 and Super 9 in 2021 have begun to go downhill.
Fast & Furious series domestic release information Data source: Network
That same year, Transformers 5 was released, and although it still grossed $1.551 billion, it dropped to No. 6 on the annual chart that year. Maoyan word of mouth also dropped to 7.5. And the evaluation of "boring plot, too long preparation, many advertisements, naïve dialogue, and chaotic cameras" has gradually become prominent.
People found that Hollywood blockbusters gradually became "Hollywood bad movies".
Also in this year, Wolf Warrior 2 was released.
With excellent action scenes and the fermentation of patriotic feelings, it quickly won 5.684 billion box office, beat many Hollywood blockbusters, and won the throne of the first box office of Chinese films (later broken by the 5.772 billion box office of "Chosin Lake").
That is, since the beginning of these years, many people have gradually broken the concept of "domestic films are not OK" and re-established their confidence in domestic films.
Looking at the current history of China's box office, except for one "Reunion 4" ranking 6th, the other 9 films have all been contracted by domestic films released in the past 5 years. The myth of Hollywood's invincibility is clearly a thing of the past.
Image source: Maoyan Pro
What is the reason for the fall of the altar?
The British Reuters agency published an article on August 23 saying that Hollywood movies are "accelerating their withering" in China. The hollywood reporter, a well-known industry media, questioned whether Hollywood in 2021 can fight a turnaround battle in China, and CNN even lamented: What if China no longer needs Hollywood?
Screenshot of the British Reuters article: Hollywood's Chinese romance has accelerated its withering
Screenshot of the Quartz Finance Network report: China no longer needs Hollywood movies
From making domestic films feel frightened to falling on the altar now, Hollywood has only used it in China for less than 30 years, what is the reason behind this?
Hollywood's revenue in the Chinese film market is decreasing year by year Data source: the Internet
- The impact of the epidemic
Under the epidemic, the blow to Hollywood is huge.
The Hollywood Reporter estimates that Hollywood could lose as much as $20 billion during the pandemic. What is the concept of this number? It is about equivalent to the total box office of films in mainland China for two years.
Variety magazine's statistical list shows that more than 100 works have stopped producing due to the epidemic. Movies such as "Rocky", "Batman", "Avatar", "Jurassic World: Domination" and so on have entered a halt, and the high-profile films such as "Mulan", "Fast and Furious 9", "A Quiet Place 2" and other films have escaped from the original schedule.
Disney's share price shrank by a third in three weeks. Nearly 100 American dramas were suspended, and dozens of movies were suspended. Blockbusters are withdrawn, theaters are closed, superstars are infected, film festivals are canceled, etc.
Due to covid-19, all shows and movies will be closed
Statistics from the Entertainment Industry Union of America show that in just a few days, in Hollywood alone, more than 120,000 film workers have entered a state of unemployment.
Hollywood's studios are paralyzed, fewer films can be exported, and there are naturally fewer incomes in China.
- Aesthetic fatigue, tired feeling does not love
The low income can also be attributed to the small number of movies released, but the low rating can only be the reason for the quality.
If you look closely, you will find that Hollywood blockbusters are largely series of movies developed by large IP, and the plot is easy to become rigid, fall into routines, and make the audience aesthetically tired.
From the 007 closing work "007: No Time to Die", to the "Super 9" that has been filmed to the Nth part, and then to "Godzilla vs King Kong" are all series of movies.
Among them, the "quick shock" series is the most typical, in fact, from "Super 7" and beyond, there is already a bit of a "forced sequel" flavor, and the audience's feelings are consumed over and over again, until this "Super 9" is gradually overdrawn.
Through the minefield, the villain fighters and armored vehicles exploded wildly, killing and injuring themselves, but they could not be unscathed.
360 degrees of rotation over the cliff, the people in the car are not only safe and sound, but also calm and calm.
Homemade spacesuits, using vehicle-mounted rocket thrusters, went into space, and even worked together to crash a satellite.
From action movies to science fiction films, "the next one can be directly co-branded with Star Wars" and "Newton's coffin board can't be pressed", in the movie Douban comment area, full of such complaints.
"Dune" has a polarized reputation, and many viewers said that the threshold for watching the film is high; "007: No Time to Die" as the final chapter of Daniel Craig's version of 007, the plot is slightly blunt; "Jungle Flight" is ridiculed as a "large-scale amusement project promotional film".
Men never look back at explosions, they always throw up the table in anger, retired agents always reappear, and those who say "wash your hands after this ticket" will always have accidents... These audience-ridden routines appear again and again in Hollywood movies.
In this regard, we just want to say: thank you, tired of not loving...
Film critic Ye Dong said: "Because of the mature script routine, similar IP can ensure the maximization of hollywood film revenue, in order to maximize the box office and revenue, they continue to do some routine things... The general structure and logic of the story are similar, and we can't see the novelty or sincerity in it, so naturally everyone will not pay for such an increasingly repetitive routine. ”
According to data, about 1984, about 60% of Hollywood films were original films, but this proportion has decreased year by year, and by 2021, only 4 of the TOP20 are original content, and the rest are all IP series or sequel movies.
2016-2021 U.S. domestic film releases box office TOP20 original story proportion Image source: Lighthouse Professional Edition
James Li, president of Fanink, a Chinese film market research firm, said in June 2021: "If there is a really direct, recognizable IP, and the story is done well, Hollywood is still a good business in China." But overall, the Hollywood brand has been hit hard last year. For Chinese audiences, U.S. films with less distinctive selling points will make much less box office revenue than in the past. Audiences have matured, and they no longer pay for a Hollywood assembly line blockbuster that only sells special effects technology. ”
Director Wang Jing mentioned in his remarks about "Hong Kong films are dead": No film is not going downhill
epilogue
Film, known as the Seventh Art. There are many reasons that affect the quality of a movie's reputation and the level of the box office.
However, looking back at history, we will find that Hollywood's golden development period in the mainland is the period of lack of China's film market, with the rise of domestic film production standards, the maturity of plot narrative, the improvement of special effects picture quality, Hollywood's attraction to us is getting smaller and smaller.
It is undeniable that Hollywood's decline in China does have political reasons, but it is an indisputable fact that Hollywood's quality has declined and Chinese audiences have not loved Hollywood as much as before.
If Hollywood films want to return to the mainstream Market in China, they need to come up with more sincere works than before in order to impress Chinese audiences.
- References: Positive Solution, Observer Network, Bluestone Movie.