Everyone was worrying about the future of Hong Kong
cinema at the end of 2002. But Andrew Lau and Alan
Mak’s Infernal Affairs, with its top-notch script and excellent
acting, seemed to win back audience confidence. It
had taken over HK$55m by the end of the year to
become the highest-grossing film in Hong Kong in 2002.
Hong Kong’s economy continues to stagnate, and it’s
affecting the movie industry. The total box office for the
293 films (domestic and foreign) released in Hong Kong
last year dropped from HK$1,011m to HK$862.58m, a
sharp drop of 14.7%. The 92 local films grossed only
HK$347m. Compared with the HK$476m last year, that’s
a drop of over 27%. As a result, the market share for
Hong Kong films dropped from 47.1% in 2001 to 40.2%
in 2002. The figures are not optimistic.
The actual situation is even worse. Infernal Affairs, which
grossed HK$55m, accounted for about 16% of the
domestic box office. The second highest grossing film
Marry a Rich Man grossed only HK$21.68m. In fact, there
are only 12 films which grossed over HK$10m, the usual
indicator for successful box office.
Also, the figure of 92 local films includes both film productions
and digital productions. Over one-third of local
films last year were filmed on digital media. The actual
amount of bona fide local films released in Hong Kong
last year was only about 60. The DV films, mainly from
B&S Productions and Universe, were released in one cinema
for one week. They were seen by only a few hundred
people and grossed below HK$35,000 in total.
Psychedelic Cop, starring Danny Lee, grossed only
HK$330 in 7 days – the lowest grossing film of the year.
Film production in Hong Kong has been falling for years.
But now it’s reaching a critical level. While the major local
cinema circuit Newport-Empire managed to keep showing
Hong Kong films continuously, the Golden Harvest circuit
couldn’t, and filled in with foreign films. Exhibitors have
become more flexible, switching between Hong Kong
films, when the demand is there, and foreign films when it
is not. This explains why there are 3 to 4 local films
showing at the same time during prime seasons (like
Chinese New Year) and only 1 during off-peak seasons.
Production house China Star was the major winner last
year. Three of its films grossed around HK$20m, namely
My Left Eye Sees Ghosts (HK$20.4m), Fat Choi Spirit
(HK$19.2m) and Mighty Baby (HK$19.0m). Those three
productions are mid-budget films which were a hit with
their target audiences. Due to the lack of willing
investors, mid-budget productions have become fashionable.
This is not new. It was the model for the Hong Kong
film industry during its Golden Age of the Eighties, and is
a way forward to some kind of recovery.
There were few big-budget local blockbusters in 2002.
Besides Infernal Affairs, the genre performed unsatisfactorily
at the box office. Despite the huge promotion
behind Peter Pau’s The Touch, it grossed only HK$11.2m
– less than one-quarter of the production budget. Pan-
Asian production So Close grouped three popular Hong
Kong actresses with Korean actor Song Seung-heon, but
grossed less than HK$1m in the end. These loss-making
blockbusters made it tough to find investment for largescale
productions.
While the box office for Hollywood films in Hong Kong
remains the same, the Asian scene has changed. Last
year, Korean films beat Japanese films in terms of number
(21 versus 19) and came in third overall, following
Hollywood and Hong Kong films. After the success of My
Sassy Girl at the start of the year (HK$14.1m), distribution
companies continued their large-scale import of
Korean films. However, they soon learnt their lesson, as
most of them grossed less than HK$1m, no matter how
big their promotion. But distributors have a backlog of
Korean films, so there will still be numerous Korean films
released over the next few years.
As for mainland Chinese films, Hero was released at
Christmas, and grossed over HK$25m, which is the best a
Chinese film has ever done in Hong Kong. However, the
fact that it features Hong Kong stars Tony Leung Chiu-wai
and Maggie Cheung makes it a special case among mainland
films.
The start of 2003 was not good for Hong Kong films.
None of the Chinese New Year films grossed over
HK$30m. Producers are currently diversifying genres to
find a new niche in the market. Although the results may
not be apparent for some time, it’s the best move the
industry could make.
Ryan Law