The box office in the first half of 2023 will be 26.3 billion yuan, and the annual box office may exceed 50 billion yuan
In the first half of 2023, China's film market showed strong growth. According to statistics from the National Film Funding Office, as of June 30, the total box office of films in 2023 was 26.271 billion yuan. Compared with the box office result of 17.181 billion yuan in the first half of 2022, an increase of 52.91%. Among them, the box office of domestic films was 19.944 billion yuan, with a market share of 75.92%. The annual box office exceeded 100 million yuan 31 films, 19 domestic films and 12 imported films.
From sci-fi blockbusters, hilarious comedies to the main theme theme, in the first half of this year, the number and variety of films were released, which greatly met the audience's viewing needs. In particular, the competitiveness of domestic films has been continuously improved, injecting new vitality and impetus into the film industry. Industry insiders predict that the film market will continue to maintain stable growth, and the box office is expected to exceed 50 billion yuan in 2023. According to PwC's Global Entertainment and Media Outlook 2023-2027 report, China is expected to once again become the world's largest film market in 2027.
Domestic films occupy the top five at the box office
Halfway through 2023, the global film market has ushered in a full recovery after the epidemic. As the world's two most important film markets, as of June 30, the total box office of films in China in the first half of the year has exceeded 26.2 billion yuan, and North America has also exceeded 4.3 billion US dollars (about 31.2 billion yuan), and the box office performance of Chinese and American films is comparable.
The latest statistics show that the top five Chinese film box office lists in the first half of the year were "Manjiang Hong" (4.544 billion yuan), "The Wandering Earth 2" (4.029 billion yuan), "Disappearing Her" (the current box office of 2.58 billion yuan), "Bear Haunted, Accompany Me "Bear Core" (1.495 billion yuan), and "Life is Unfamiliar" (1.184 billion yuan). Of the top 10 of the annual box office list, 8 are domestic films, and only 2 imported films - "Fast and Furious 10" and "Journey to the Bell Bud" are ranked 6th and 10th respectively.
In addition to the excellent performance of domestic films, imported films also play an important role in the film market. Nippon Animation has achieved remarkable results in the Chinese market this year. "Journey to the Ringbuds" broke the box office record of Japanese films in China with a box office of 808 million yuan, and "Slam Dunk", which carries the enthusiasm of the "post-80s" and "post-90s", won a box office result of 653 million yuan. In addition, "Sky City", "Doraemon: Nobita and the Ideal Town of the Sky" and "Detective Conan: The Undead of Baker Street" all performed well, showing the appeal of Japanese anime in the Chinese market.
Rao Dawn
The performance of Hollywood blockbusters in the first half of this year was relatively weak, although the number of films introduced simultaneously was quite large, but "Guardians of the Galaxy 3", "Transformers: The Rise of the Power Warriors", "Spider-Man: Across the Universe", "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantum Frenzy", "The Flash" and other performances did not meet market expectations. "At present, the box office of the Chinese film market relies more on the output of domestic films. The appeal of Hollywood blockbusters to Chinese moviegoers is waning, and the market space is gradually being replaced by domestic films. Rao Shuguang, president of the China Film Critics Society, told Variety.
The "holiday effect" is becoming more and more pronounced
Almost all of the films that sold well at the box office in the first half of the year came from the prime time, which once again confirmed the rigid viewing demand of domestic audiences during the holiday.
In January this year, the total box office of theatrical films across the country achieved a good start. The Spring Festival file (January 21-27) earned 6.766 billion yuan at the box office, becoming the second highest-grossing Spring Festival file in film history (second only to the 7.843 billion yuan of the 2021 Spring Festival file). Films such as the Spring Festival movies "Manjiang Hong", "The Wandering Earth 2", "Bear Haunted, Bear Core", "Nameless", "Deep Sea" and "Exchange Life" contributed a total of 12.3 billion yuan to the box office, accounting for 47% of the total box office in the first half of the year. Based on the influence of the "explosive hits" of the Spring Festival file, the box office of mainland films exceeded 10 billion yuan in January, setting a new record for the fastest annual box office in the Chinese film market to exceed 10 billion yuan.
This year's May 1st file (April 29 to May 3) box office 1.521 billion yuan, is the third grossing May 1st file in film history (second only to the 2019 May 1st file 1.527 billion yuan and 2021 May 1st file 1.674 billion yuan). The comedy "Life is Unfamiliar" and the main theme film "King of the Long Sky" achieved box office results of 1.184 billion yuan and 843 million yuan respectively, successfully entering the top ten of the year. Among them, "The Road of Life is Unfamiliar" is the first film to break 1 billion yuan at the box office since the Spring Festival.
At the end of June, the Dragon Boat stall (June 22-24) set the second best performance in the same period in history with 909 million yuan, and the Dragon Boat stall champion "Disappearing Her" has now exceeded 2.8 billion yuan at the box office, temporarily ranking the summer box office champion.
At present, the 2023 movie summer file has kicked off. As of June 30, 59 films have been released in the summer of 2023, covering comedy, costume, youth, suspense, crime, action, science fiction, animation and other themes, with a total box office of 4.132 billion yuan in June, becoming the second highest-grossing June in history. "Disappearing Her", "Transformers: The Rise of Super Warriors" and "In the Octagon Cage" are temporarily listed in the top three at the summer box office.
"Throughout the film market in the first half of the year, in addition to the long-tail effect of the Spring Festival file, "Disappearing Her" released in the Dragon Boat Festival brought surprises to the market. The summer film genre is balanced and rich in content, which can meet the needs of audiences of different levels, regions and ages, and has great potential for future growth. Rao Shuguang concluded.
In the second half of the year, the film market continued to pick up
Next, "Mission Impossible 7: Fatal Reckoning (Part I)", "Fengshen Part 1", "Super Family", "Warm", "Megalodon 2: The Abyss", "All or Nothing", "Boyhood", "Assassination Storm" and other summer films were relayed, and the total box office of China's summer file this year is expected to hit the historical record of 17.77 billion yuan in 2019, laying a good foundation for the film market in 2023.
Among the films to be screened in the second half of the year, the war epic "Volunteers: Heroic Attack" directed by Chen Kaige has been scheduled to be released on National Day 2023, in addition, films such as "Predecessor 4: Marriage Young", "Peacekeeping Riot Squad", "Flames on the Plain" and "Operation Moscow" have not been screened, and the audience wants to see the index is high.
Looking forward to the film market in the second half of the year, listed film and television companies have a positive and optimistic attitude. Light Media said at the results briefing held on June 30 that the popularity of the summer file and the National Day file is expected to further increase, and the annual box office is expected to reach more than eighty or nine percent of the box office in 2019. Wanda Film believes that the recovery of the film industry is gradual, and the box office of the Chinese film market will gradually recover to a historical peak in the next 2-3 years. Rao Shuguang also believes that "according to the current box office trend of movies, the annual box office can achieve 50 billion yuan, or even higher." ”
PricewaterhouseCoopers recently released the Global Entertainment and Media Outlook 2023-2027 Report, which predicts that China will once again overtake North America as the world's largest cinema market in 2027. The outlook is optimistic, but Rao Shuguang reminded that there are still structural contradictions in the development of China's film market, and the problem of insufficient development is more prominent, which is specifically reflected in the market's dependence on the Spring Festival, summer, National Day and other schedules.
Recently, the National Film Administration proposed the concept of weekend slots, which has been widely recognized by the industry. In Rao Shuguang's view, creating a good weekend file can provide more market opportunities and space for multi-genre and diversified films, and can also effectively meet the diversified viewing needs of the audience. He said that creating a weekend file requires filmmakers to further emancipate their minds, use their brains, and find innovative ways; At the same time, it is necessary to further cultivate the habit of audiences entering the cinema and provide a more solid audience foundation for the development of Chinese films. "We must fully gather the strength and wisdom of the entire industry, achieve optimal allocation of resources, create more types and higher quality films, promote the sustainable prosperity and development of Chinese films, and move from a film country to a film power."