It's 2023, why "Hong Kong movies" are in decline, and the truth should be revealed

Text | Ling Hubo

During this period, he wrote a lot of articles about the decline of Hong Kong entertainment, and many people said that Bo Guangjun always criticized Hong Kong entertainment. The answer is quite the opposite, there is no criticism here. Mainly because of the historical environment, Hong Kong and Taiwan cultural creators still have not tried to integrate into the new era Chinese culture dominated by the mainland.

Mainland audiences, however, are still immersed in and pursue these cultures because of the emotional filters of Hong Kong and Taiwan pop culture in the past. This is understandable, after all, the art of traveling through time and space has its value. However, the audience still pursues the past production mode of Hong Kong and Taiwan's cultural entertainment, and even reflects on and deliberately belittles the mainland's cultural industry at every turn.

This not only has no understanding of the development of Chinese pop culture, but also has no benefit for future development.

For example, there is a rumor that has been circulating for many years, that is, the decline of Hong Kong films is because of the mainland. What official does not give Hong Kong film freedom? What mainland market does not work? And then to what agreements signed between the mainland and Hong Kong have led to Hong Kong films being unable to cultivate new talents, and so on.

I believe that there are many people who hold this view now, and it is brought up for discussion from time to time. By nostalgic for the original Hong Kong films, thinking that as long as you study Hong Kong films, you can make good movies or something, which is actually not understanding Hong Kong films, let alone mainland films.

After so many years, the truth about why Hong Kong films declined should have been revealed a long time ago.

Why are Hong Kong films in decline? Of these 3 reasons, one is more serious than the other

The decline of Hong Kong films is a well-worn issue, in fact, the industry has long been conclusive, and Bo Guangjun has written many manuscript analysis. Those actors, directors and creators are not talented, no matter what Hong Kong filmmakers have no pattern, and finally what Hong Kong films are getting lower and lower at the box office, and so on.

These are not unimportant, but they are only problems in the film industry, and the decline of Hong Kong films is still these 3 important reasons.

1. Hong Kong's film population is too small, the economic ceiling is limited, the external impact will affect the internal, after the 98 financial tsunami, in addition to financial trade, at that time affected more than one entertainment industry, all walks of life were affected.

Wang Jing once said in an interview that in 1993, Stephen Chow's "Jigong" began with Taiwanese capital unwilling to invest in Hong Kong films, and then collapsed. This incident can be regarded as an incentive caused by the general environment, in fact, at that time, the economic rise of the mainland, the poor economic development of Hong Kong and Taiwan, the economic behavior began to contract, and in 98 there was an Asian financial tsunami -

There is no need to talk about the fact that the economic base determines the superstructure, which determines the next question.

2. The local market for Hong Kong films is very limited, and it has no way to support the upgrading of Hong Kong films.

After all, Hong Kong has a population of just over 7 million, how big can this market cap be? When Hong Kong films were strong, the market was mainly based on the more than 30 million people in Hong Kong and Taiwan, plus the hidden market Southeast Asia, and the mainland market had not yet developed.

In 2023, South Korea, with a population of more than 50 million, will suffer from the impact of the "epidemic" in three years, not to mention the Hong Kong and Taiwan markets with a population of more than 30 million. At the end of the 90s, the general environment economy did not work, the Taiwan market collapsed again, and the local market in Hong Kong was small, and it did not support the next thing.

3. Hong Kong films have not had success in industrial upgrading, that is, industrial upgrading brought about by the technological revolution, and then re-entered the world to seize the market, and even lost the local market.

Believe me, the industrial upgrading brought about by science and technology in all walks of life in modern times is the only way to seize the market. This physical manufacturing industry has been staged too many times, you look at Chinese home appliances for Japanese home appliances, Apple's smartphones for Nokia's old-fashioned mobile phones, and now China's new energy vehicles for fuel vehicles and so on.

Don't think that the cultural industry is different from the physical manufacturing industry, in fact, this thing is the same.

Before 2000, Hong Kong films, Japanese films and European literary films could compete with Hollywood blockbusters. But Hollywood's success in revolutionizing digital special effects technology from "Terminator 2" to "Jurassic Park" series in the early 90s, and then to Cameron's "Titanic" hit the world in a dimensionality reduction blow.

At the end of the 90s, the "Matrix" series, the "Lord of the Rings" series, "Spider-Man" and so on, is it Hollywood blockbusters began to sweep the world, Europe, Southeast Asia, China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, including the Middle East, Russia, Chinese mainland, etc., the world market is sinking under Hollywood blockbusters.

This economy (consumption power) + population (market ceiling) + industrial upgrading (competitiveness) has always been the foundation of the industry.

Hong Kong occupies all three points, although Europe has a large population and a good economy, but the market is too fragmented. If you see that Japanese films have a population of more than 100 million, but because of economic decline, they have not succeeded in industrial upgrading. After 2000, live-action film and television dramas will not work, and after 2010, there are only two irreplaceable industries in the world: animation and games.

A savior on the one hand, but scolded on the other? Mainland market saves "Hong Kong movies"

To put it bluntly, Hong Kong films are eliminated by Hollywood with successful industrial upgrading, in the past, Hong Kong films can still make a fortune in Southeast Asia, after Hollywood blockbusters in the era of digital special effects, Southeast Asians have eaten Hollywood dinner who still eats your Hong Kong dessert?

Including the Taiwan market, Hong Kong films are not good in Taiwan because Taiwan opens up the number of Hollywood films, and Taiwan used to limit the number of Hollywood films, and after opening up, Hong Kong films will not work in the Taiwan market. Since then, there has only been one "Cape Seven" in the top 20 of Taiwan's local box office rankings, and there is another "Saidek Balai" in the top 30.

Hong Kong movies were not good after 94 years, but Hong Kong films were still brilliant at that time, so they lasted until 2002's "Infernal Affairs", and then to Stephen Chow's "Shaolin Football" 60.73 million, and "Kung Fu" 61.27 million.

Strictly speaking, Hong Kong films in this period were not entirely supported by the mainland market. Although the box office of "Kung Fu" in the mainland market is 173 million, the global box office of this film is more than 100 million US dollars; "Shaolin Football" has not been released in the mainland for various reasons, and "Infernal Affairs" is also average at the mainland box office.

Therefore, Hong Kong films in this period officially went international, and the ability to perform in the international market is still good.

At the same time, Hong Kong local films such as To Qifeng's "Underworld" series, and then Galaxy Image's films did not rely on the mainland market (these films did not have high investment), at that time, the Hong Kong market, the international market could still afford these local films, but only these two.

Another costume commercial blockbuster such as Jackie Chan's "Myth", Chen Kexin's "Cast Name", and then John Woo's "Red Cliff" can completely rely on the mainland market to survive.

We go back to the end of the 90s, the local market of Hong Kong and Taiwan is not good, John Woo, Jackie Chan and other Hong Kong filmmakers left Hollywood, 2002's "Infernal Affairs" is a watershed in the decline of Hong Kong films, so there is no bottom of the rise of the mainland market, what year did Jackie Chan and others mix in Hollywood?

The last glory was "King of Kung Fu" in 2008, and Hong Kong filmmakers have been developing overseas for more than a decade. Coincidentally, after 2008, are Du Qifengs and Galaxy images also not working? And on the Hong Kong film box office list, what are the other two movies on the box office list?

One is 2015's "Ip Man 3" 60.36 million, and the other is 2016's "Chill 2" 66.8 million.

The main owners of these two films are completely dependent on the mainland market, without the support of the mainland market. These two Hong Kong blockbusters cannot be born, including the contemporaries "Drug Sweep", "Chill", "Chasing the Dragon", etc., and the local can only make some small-cost literary and artistic films.

From "Kung Fu" in 2004 to "Ip Man 3" in 2015, it has been almost a decade in between, and Hong Kong films have been very poor at the local box office, and the Taiwan market is completely occupied by Hollywood blockbusters.

The same is true for the 6 years from "Chill 2" in 2016 to 2022, until last year's Gu Tianle's "Tomorrow's War" reached 81.9 million. But we all know that without the mainland market, this film could not be made at all. The only exception is the now record-breaking "Poisonous Tongue", which did not rely on the mainland market.

Let's think about it, the real 20-year-old one ah, and "Cape Seven" in the Taiwan market.

The local market in Hong Kong has long been the king of Lywood, which is the choice of Hong Kong audiences. The decline of Hong Kong films has nothing to do with the mainland, on the contrary, the mainland market is to save Hong Kong films, the overseas market of Hong Kong films has been lost, if there is no mainland market, a group of Hong Kong filmmakers who have long passed the peak of creation can still mix until 2020?

I think that if it were not for the support of the huge mainland market, Hong Kong filmmakers would have entered history after 2010.

Not joking, the three most famous Hong Kong films in 2021 "Angry Case", "Bomb Disposal Expert 2" and "Hand-rolled Cigarettes" have a box office of 2637, 1938 and 800.3 respectively, including Andy Lau, Donnie Yen, Nicholas Tse, Lin Jiadong and other first-line stars. Judging from the public information, the local box office can't even pay the salary of the starring actor.

This leads to either relying on other regions - in fact, only the mainland market, now the Hong Kong box office is in Southeast Asia, Taiwan can already be included in others, not to mention Japan, South Korea, Europe and the United States.

In 2021, Wu Junru's "Mom's Wonder Boy" grossed more than 28 million in Hong Kong, but only 17 million in the mainland, which is still superimposed on the influence of the Olympic year. The low local box office naturally does not have many opportunities for young actors.

Hong Kong's market, culture, and industrial level cannot support the high-investment film industry, and can only produce feature films that can be shot in 7 days, but Hong Kong in the cultural desert does not have much potential to tap. I can only make a blockbuster film, and I keep frying cold rice, coupled with the urgent success of Hong Kong people, the film is getting worse and worse.

It has been in decline for more than 20 years, and netizens are still blaming the mainland for harming "Hong Kong movies"

Hong Kong films can only have a future if they rely on the mainland market, adopt mainland technology and introduce mainland talents. At this time, some people must say that there is more freedom in competition, and how free is the treatment of Hong Kong films as domestic films? Finally, what are the mainland restrictions that are too severe?

Here is a little clear, it's 2023, most Hong Kong and Taiwan filmmakers have a clear concept, you mean that they make that kind of political film, our official has to give the green light, the media must vigorously publicize, and the audience must support unconditionally - you think this is ridiculous?

Finally, even if there are restrictions in the mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan filmmakers fully understand the social environment of the mainland and finally make films suitable for the mainland market. Have Hong Kong and Taiwan filmmakers ever understood the mainland market and environment? How many people still respect the mainland audience?

In 2023, only people with a serious emotional filter will still blow Hong Kong and Taiwan entertainment. We have censorship, and there are chaos such as traffic legacy, but I don't mention anti-Japanese dramas, skin-grinding cutout costume dramas, and then a bunch of main theme blockbusters made by Hong Kong directors.

By the way, there are also the messy things in the costume drama "Replacing China with Qi" to serve the Dao, most of which were brought up by Hong Kong and Taiwan entertainment entering the mainland market.

You still scold the mainland for how it has influenced Hong Kong and Taiwan entertainment, but you don't know that now the mainland's cultural creators are trying to remove the influence of Hong Kong and Taiwan entertainment on Chinese pop culture.

It is also in recent years that Chinese audiences have watched "The Wandering Earth 2" and "The Three-Body Problem", of course, they don't want to watch Hong Kong police and bandit films, and with "Daming under the Microscope", of course, they don't want to watch the costume drama "Replacing China with Wa" directed by Hong Kong and Taiwan. We all have a closer "Crazy", what aesthetically tired Hong Kong gangsters fight?

It's 2023, Hong Kong movies are in decline, and a group of mainland netizens are scolding the mainland.

Wake up