Text | Ling Hu Boguang
The 2023 Spring Festival stall has opened pre-sale, and the results are several joys and several sorrows. But this year's Spring Festival stall, which was not optimistic, has been predicted to be the strongest Spring Festival stall.
"The Wandering Earth 2", "Bear Haunted", "Manjiang Red", "Nameless", "Deep Sea", "Exchange Life", "Chinese Table Tennis" (with changes). Every year, the Spring Festival file is rumored to be the strongest Spring Festival file, and as a result, the situation is like that after the movie is released. So, can this 2023 be regarded as the strongest Spring Festival file?
The answer is that the strongest Spring Festival file is not, but the Spring Festival file in 2023 is indeed the year with the highest comprehensive quality and richest style of early materials in the Spring Festival movies in recent years. I can even make it clear that the first four films are almost the ideal state that Chinese audiences demand for domestic films.
The main theme is flooded, all mythological topics? We all blame domestic films in recent years
Among the domestic movies currently scheduled for the file, the flowing Spring Festival file and the iron-hit "Bear Haunted" are not mentioned. If we divide it by geography and chronology, the answer will be as follows.
"Manjiang Hong" and "Nameless" are stylized genre films pursued by the fifth and sixth generation directors.
"The Wandering Earth 2", "Deep Sea", "Exchange Life" and "Chinese Table Tennis" are the same file, they are all the rise of new forces in the mainland, of course, there are certain differences in the division.
Among them, "The Wandering Earth 2" and "Deep Sea" are China's top commercial blockbusters, and there are only a few players at present. In recent years, there have been many box office explosions in domestic films, but some films may not be super blockbusters with comprehensive breakthroughs in investment, film and television industry, and theme aesthetics.
For example, Chen Sicheng's "Tang Detective" and "Manslaughter", Xu Zheng's "Misfortune" series, Han Han's films are decent at the industrial level. They are regular customers of the Spring Festival stall, but the first wave has come to an end.
"Your Wedding", "Want to See You" and so on, this kind of commercial romance film with Hong Kong and Taiwan capital, Hong Kong and Taiwan actors, catering to popular themes and fashion elements, quality reputation is very controversial. However, the schedule is generally chosen on Valentine's Day, May Day and Qixi to earn couple money, and rarely come to the Spring Festival stall.
"Young You", "Miracle", "My Sister", "Little Red Flower", "Life Events" and other realistic commercial dramas, the box office is also good. The quality and reputation are good or bad, and there are also those released in the Spring Festival file, but there are no such films this year.
What are the top investment, film and television industry, theme and other domestic super blockbusters that have made comprehensive breakthroughs in recent years?
First, Happy Twist can be counted, and the scale of their previous comedy investment can only be said to be medium. But when it comes to the sci-fi blockbuster of "Walking on the Moon Alone", the superpower theme of "Super Family". At the industrial level, breakthroughs in subject matter and other breakthroughs are already domestic top blockbusters.
Therefore, if the happy twist "Super Family" can come, this Spring Festival file is only one point away from the strongest.
The second is the only remaining police and bandit blockbuster in Hong Kong films, which can barely be regarded as a super blockbuster from the perspective of domestic commercial films
I think there are only three blockbusters with this potential in the future. The first is "When the Wind Rises Again", which will be released in advance in order to report the 2023 Oscars, which shows the importance attached to it. The second is "Wind Forest Volcano", which has been suppressed for many years, which may be a genre blockbuster with a comprehensive breakthrough in Hong Kong.
Finally, the new work of the director of "Matchless", Andy Lau and Tony Leung's "Goldfinger", from the perspective of Hong Kong film investment and lineup, the theme is also Hong Kong's top blockbuster.
The remaining Gu Tianle a bunch of police and bandit films, Andy Lau's a bunch of police and bandit films, Nicholas Tse's "Customs Front", Donnie Yen's "Dragon Babu", what "Sneak", "Broken Network", "Assassination Storm", "Kowloon Walled City" and so on are all police and bandit films that have changed their tricks but have not broken through.
At present, it is difficult for Hong Kong films to exceed 1.5 billion + at the mainland box office, and they have not come to the Spring Festival file.
The third is the main theme blockbuster, only two are super blockbusters from the theme point of view, one is the "Wolf Warrior Series" and "Red Sea Series" modern war action blockbusters, the other is "Eight Hundred" and "Changjin Lake" World War II and Anti-US Aid Korea blockbusters, and finally the main theme movies of various themes (not super blockbusters at the level of the film and television industry).
For example, "Climber", "Fire Fighting Hero", "Chinese Captain", "Chinese Doctor", "Ordinary Hero" and so on.
In addition, another important player in Chinese movie blockbusters is Ning Hao, 2019's "Crazy Alien" did not play "The Wandering Earth", and the 2021 Spring Festival "Assassination of a Novelist" failed to find a way out after the costume magic blockbuster that was not in the ocean.
Why are "Deep Sea" and "The Wandering Earth 2" so much expected? They are leading domestic superblockbusters
China can be called a super blockbuster only five and a half (Xu Zheng, Chen Sicheng, Han Han and other industrial poor), two main themes, these two years of happy twist comedy, Chinese science fiction blockbusters and Chinese commercial animation (Hong Kong movies are also half because of the box office)
In 2023, the Spring Festival file came two at once, "Ball 2" and "Deep Sea" are all Chinese super blockbusters that only meet once in a few years. You can understand that "Avatar 2" is a Hollywood blockbuster, although it has not been 13 years, but "Deep Sea" 7 years, "The Wandering Earth 2" 4 years, are domestic top investment, the production cycle is very long, the industrial scale is full, and the theme aesthetic breakthrough is a commercial blockbuster.
"The Wandering Earth 2" is the first to have an impact on Chinese science fiction blockbusters, China's film and television industry, and the Chinese film market. And there is a cruel thing, in 2019, Guo Fan opened a Chinese hard sci-fi blockbuster with "The Wandering Earth", 4 years have passed, and only they are playing sci-fi blockbusters, and no other team has entered the sci-fi track.
Happy Twist's "Walking on the Moon Alone" is the film and television industry done by this team, the only exception is the breakthrough of the Hong Kong sci-fi film behind "Tomorrow's War", and then it is gone-
"Deep Sea" may be a watershed moment in the next phase of Chinese commercial animation, and it has this significance.
In 2015, Tian Xiaopeng's "The Return of the Great Sage", together with Chasing Light, opened the first stage of Chinese commercial animation that can make money, and it was also the stage of the flood of Chinese mythological theme animation, which was pushed to the peak with the explosion of "Nezha: The Devil Child Descends".
I have been waiting for the second stage of Chinese commercial animation to start, and I began to think that "Jiang Ziya", "Nezha Rebirth", "White Snake 2" and "Yang Jian" opened the mythical universe, if it is opened, everyone knows the result. The theme is repeated, the industry has steadily improved (and has not been upgraded by generation), and the breakthrough of domestic commercial animation is insufficient.
"Lion Boy" had the opportunity to start the trend of commercial animation with realistic themes in China, but it was not because of aesthetic controversy.
"Deep Sea" has obviously made comprehensive breakthroughs in subject matter, technology, aesthetics, etc. Although the aesthetics of modeling, at the same time may be cut and other controversial. But only if the story plot is stable, it has a great chance to become a watershed moment in Chinese animation.
Many people may not know that after the release of "The Wandering Earth 2" and "The Deep Sea" in the Spring Festival, there are few domestic super blockbusters that can compete with them in the next one to two years.
Hong Kong police and bandit blockbusters are listed above, happy twist left "Super Family" is pressed, whether it can be released is unknown, other similar comedy blockbusters are temporarily not.
There are many Chinese sci-fi blockbusters with various projects and rumors, but those that have been filmed and waiting for release, there is really no one after "The Wandering Earth 2".
Chinese commercial animation in 2023, there is no accident that the director of "The Great Protector" new work "Heavy Rain", and the new work "Chang'an 30,000 Li" chasing light, although it is a new theme, I am really not optimistic that this company can make a comprehensive breakthrough.
"Nezha 2" and "Yang Jian" in the color stripe house, chasing the new mythological animation. As well as "Lion Boy", Beijing's wonderful new work "Sword Casting Boy" and "Day by Day Boy", etc., I guess that 2023 will definitely not come out, and it will be 2024 soon. In addition, some animations of Oriental DreamWorks should be available, but like other animations, they are not mainstream in the domestic market.
There are only two main theme super blockbusters, one is Chen Kaige's "Great Victory", and the other is Lin Chaoxian's "Operation Red Sea 2". "Great Victory" has just finished filming in the post-production stage, and it is rumored that at the 2023 National Day file, the other one has not yet been officially filmed.
The main theme films made by Hong Kong directors include "Crisis Route", "Operation Moscow", "Jedi Pursuit", "Peacekeeping Explosion Squad" and so on, including the mainland's "King of the Long Sky", Liu Heping's "Reinforcements Arrive Tomorrow" and so on can be regarded as medium themes, or police and bandit films.
Ning Hao's "Crazy Alien 2", "The Two Heroes of the Great Han", "Supporting God", etc., including Wen Muye, Xu Zheng's new work "Welcome to the Dragon Restaurant" and other eight characters are not asided, Ning Hao really filmed and waited for release only Andy Lau's "Mr. Red Carpet", this is not a super blockbuster, right.
In the end, the only one with this appearance is Wuershan's "Feng Shen", but the company's thunderstorm does not know how long it will be pressed.
The audience is looking forward to it, but they all predict that the box office is not high? "Nameless" "Manjiang Red" why
"Manjiang Hong" and "Nameless" are genre films that explore the boundaries of domestic film styles, Zhang Yimou's film is okay, and Cheng Er's kind of film can only be released in a few years.
"The Great Wall" is a dividing line for Zhang Yimou in the new era, and later except for the literary film "One Second", other films are using his good photography and aesthetics, and then playing a certain style of extreme genre films, all without any artistic pursuit.
"Shadow" plays ink Chinese traditional aesthetics + shadow warrior stand-in + strange and clever martial arts fighting, "Above the Cliff" is a fast-paced spy film with cold aesthetics + constant reversal, and "Sniper" is a small encounter sniper film with ice and snow in the wild + sharp editing.
This "Manjiang Hong" is a costume suspense film with traditional Chinese aesthetics + limited time and space + comedy elements. The future "Rock Solid" is Chongqing's neon aesthetics + anti-corruption film. The overall level of these films is not far apart, and there are some stylization attempts in aesthetics and genre, but they are not genre films with artistic pursuits.
Don't look at Zhang Yimou's movies with many stars, but the investment is medium, and the box office is best "Above the Cliff" 1 billion +.
Finally, Cheng Er of "Nameless" is a big director like Guan Hu, but he is more similar to genre film directors such as Diao Yinan, Cao Baoping, and Xu Haofeng, all of which are stylized and extreme genre films.
In addition to Wuershan, the only one who has gone the farthest in this generation of business is Guan Hu, or the influence brought by the box office of "Eight Hundred". This generation of directors is the same as the fifth generation Chen Kaige, and then the sixth generation Jia Zhangke, Lou Ye and so on. The film and television industry and artistic pursuit are all top domestic films.
But because of the relationship between the growing environment, the content and expression are very twisted, and the controversy has always been very large.
Cheng Er is still the most similar to Diao Yinan, a stylized and extreme genre film, which was only filmed in about five years, and the output was extremely low. Too typed and niche, so the box office is not high. But compared with Xu Haofeng's 3 martial arts films, Cao Baoping's 2 crime films were pressed, Cheng Er and Diao Yinan are luckier, and the movie can be released.
Is 2023 the strongest Spring Festival file? Not necessarily, but it is the ideal state of Chinese cinema
The first four films are currently scarce domestic films, "Ball 2" and "Deep Sea" are the head super blockbusters, and "Nameless" and "Manjiang Hong" are stylized and extreme genre films. If you add realistic dramas such as "Medicine God" and "Life Events", and then a comedy blockbuster, it will really be the strongest Spring Festival file.
At that time, the only thing that makes Chinese films worse is to let go of censorship, and there are many themes that cannot be filmed, but this cannot be forced.
Now we are also lacking in super blockbusters like "Ball 2", but even more in genre films like "Nameless". Because genre films are the mainstay of the film market, they should be the middle part of the oval, literary films never make money, and exploring the boundaries of film itself is played by very few directors in the world.
"Ball 2" and "Deep Sea" are the top blockbusters that are pursued by industry and aesthetics, and now the world is rare. Now in Hollywood, the mainstream of Korean films are copying successful IP in the market, which is no different from the assembly line products of China's traffic economy. This kind of commercial assembly line blockbuster seriously squeezes the living space of intermediate genre films, that is, the author's films. Hollywood and Korean films, including Hong Kong films, have been strong in this regard.
Before this "epidemic", there were originally a new generation of literary film directors such as "Roadside Picnic", "Spring River Plumbing", "Over Spring" and "Yong'an Town Story Collection"; Guo Fan, Chen Sicheng, Rao Xiaozhi and other commercial blockbuster directors, and then relying on the FIRST Youth Film Festival, as well as supporting a large number of young directors of genre films, literary and art films are rising rapidly.
In the past three years, because of the "epidemic", the main theme of integrating resources is the easiest to pass the review, plus some companies speculate to produce many similar bad films. At the same time, a large number of literary films and genre films have been inexplicably suppressed, which has seriously affected the benign development of the film market (not to mention the violent death of theaters).
2023 may not be the strongest Spring Festival file, but two super blockbusters lead, and two stylized extreme genre films are supported in the middle. Now in addition to Zhang Yimou, who has a high output, the other three films have a production cycle of about five years, and this kind of author super blockbuster and genre blockbuster are very rare.
I can even say that the first four films in the film and television industry, the aesthetics of the subject matter will not be a problem. In the end, what I watch is the performance of individual actors and the plot of the story, which is not available in the previous Spring Festival movies.
In contrast, the romantic comedy "Exchange of Life" is slightly weaker; "Chinese Table Tennis" is probably not as good as Chen Kexin's incomplete "Winning the Championship", but their slightly weaker parts are also successful.
Finally, I predict that the Spring Festival file in 2023 will get off to a good start, and this year Chinese films only need to release the three-year backlog of literary and art films and genre films. The rise of domestic films does not rise and does not mention, I think it is no problem to surpass Korean movies in 2023, really!