Chinese movie market aims to become No. 1

During the month of February, the box office revenue in China outgrossed that of North America for the first time. Will China become the biggest market for movies?

|
FilmRise/Edko Films Ltd./AP
A scene from 'Monster Hunt,' one of the top 10 highest-grossing films in China in 2015.

The power of the Chinese moviegoer continues to grow. During the month of February, the box office revenue in China outgrossed that of North America for the first time. 

The achievement comes as the international box office has become increasingly important to Hollywood over the past several years. Remember the 2012 remake of “Red Dawn”? In the new version, the invaders were digitally changed from Chinese to North Korean during post-production to appease Chinese audiences. In addition, more movie theaters are being built in China, and experts are predicting the Chinese movie market could completely outpace North America’s by 2017.

So what happened in February? Before you think Hollywood is about to lay down a walk of fame in Beijing, there are some cultural differences to consider. Aynne Kokas, an assistant professor at the University of Virginia who specializes in Chinese media, points out that the comparison is not a perfect one because February includes the Chinese Lunar New Year holiday when more people are going to the movies in China, not unlike December in North America.

In addition, one hit film played a big part in China’s record turnout. The Chinese film “The Mermaid,” released on Feb. 8, is now the highest-grossing movie ever in China.

An interesting movie to watch going forward, however, says Ms. Kokas, will be the upcoming film “The Great Wall,” from Chinese director Zhang Yimou and featuring big-name Hollywood actors (Matt Damon, Willem Dafoe) alongside successful Chinese actors (Andy Lau, Tian Jing). “The Great Wall” is scheduled for an early 2017 release by Legendary Entertainment, which was recently purchased by Chinese company Dalian Wanda Group. 

These new developments on the cinema landscape show that we can expect more Hollywood and China partnerships to come.

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
What is the Monitor difference? Tackling the tough headlines – with humanity. Listening to sources – with respect. Seeing the story that others are missing by reporting what so often gets overlooked: the values that connect us. That’s Monitor reporting – news that changes how you see the world.

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

QR Code to Chinese movie market aims to become No. 1
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/The-Culture/Movies/2016/0322/Chinese-movie-market-aims-to-become-No.-1
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe