Last year was the year of recovery. After a catastrophic 2020, box office takings of CNY 47.258 billion in 2021 prompted an all-round sigh of relief. Also, 2021 was a year of numerous political celebrations, the most eagerly awaited being the centenary of the founding of the Chinese Communist Party in July, accompanied by a flurry of patriotic-nationalist films. The hit of the year, released in October for the People’s Republic of China Foundation celebrations, was the war film The Battle at Lake Changjin directed by the trio of veteran directors Chen Kaige, Tsui Hark and Dante Lam, which grossed CNY 5.77 billion, dethroning Wu Jing’s still undisputed Wolf Warrior 2 after four years as the all-time box office champion in the history of Chinese cinema. The year will also be remembered for Hi, Mom the comedy debut written and directed by Jia Ling. The film grossed CNY 5.41 billion, making it the second highest-grossing film of 2021, and the third highest-grossing non-English-language film of all time, not to mention the most successful film ever made by a female director. In 2022, the Year of the Tiger, Chinese Cinema is preparing for a comeback amidst a myriad of uncertainties.
The Market
According to data provided by Chinese Film Market, a magazine specialising in the analysis of China’s movie industry, 2021’s box office takings topped CNY 47.258 billion (US$7.442 billion) with 1.167 billion tickets sold, 74% of its pre-pandemic level compared to the record-breaking box office of CNY 64.17 billion (approximately US$9.08 billion) in 2019. There were 565 films released on the big screen in China in 2021, of which 495 were Chinese-produced and 68 were imported. CNY 39.937 billion of the box office total was generated by the 495 films produced in China, 84.49% of the total. There were 123 million screenings, an increase of 118% on 2020 figures, and the average price of a ticket was CNY 40.3, 9.5% higher than in 2020. Champion of the 2021 box office list is The Battle at Lake Changjin, directed by veteran directing trio Chen Kaige, Tsui Hark and Dante Lam which grossed CNY 5.77 billion (US$ 908.66 million). Fast & Furious 9 is the box-office leader for imported films in 2021, taking CNY 1.392 billion.
The return of audiences to theatres during the Chinese New Year of 2021, which ushered in the Year of the Ox generated a staggering CNY 12.27 billion at the box office. Over the course of the year, however, takings fluctuated. Festivals and celebrations continued to be the busiest periods for box office, February with the Lunar New Year celebrations, May with the Workers’ Day week, July with the Chinese Communist Party Centenary celebrations, and October with the Republic of China Foundation celebrations. It should be noted that there is an increasing polarisation between the top and bottom earners at the box office: the top films of the year accounted for almost 60% of the box office overall, leading investors and producers to be more cautious, and thus making it increasingly difficult for new talent to develop projects. In 2021, imported films accounted for only 15.51% of ticket sales, a remarkable decline when compared to 38% of the box office in 2018, 35.9% in 2019, and 16.3% in 2020.
The trade war between the two superpowers continues in parallel, limiting the release of many Hollywood films. Despite the comforting results of 2021, the box office is suffering from the challenge of filling the void created by the shortage of Hollywood films, while non-Hollywood titles are failing to perform well. The box office must rely mainly on Chinese-produced films with the risk of leaving cinemas short of blockbusters capable of drawing crowds. During the last two years, estimates concerning the feasibility of constructing new cinema complexes, in a territory that has almost reached saturation point, have indicated that the process is destined to slow down. Box office results would increasingly depend on the quality of the films, no longer driven by the construction of new theatres and on the growth of the number of tickets sold, both of which have been the basis of the extraordinary box office results in recent years.
Moreover, the crisis triggered by the pandemic, is still affecting cinemas, leading to fears that a massive number of theatres will close. Yet the authorities report that the number of cinemas and screens in the country is increasing, bringing the total number of cinemas in 2021 to 14,201, an increase of 8.2%, equivalent to 1075 more cinemas than in 2020, and the total number of screens from 75,581 in 2020 to 82,248 in 2021, an increase of 8.8%, equivalent to 6667 more screens than in 2020.
On the strength of the previous year’s box office results, 2022 is once again focusing on the festive season to release the most eagerly awaited films. In March, warnings of new Covid-19 cases forced some restrictions in major cities, and the closure of some cinemas in Shanghai and Shenzhen. Despite the “zero-Covid” policy, there is every indication that the aim is to avoid the massive closure of cinemas nationwide, as was the case for the five-and-a-half months at the start of the pandemic. Although the streaming distribution boom during the pandemic in 2020 resulted in 746 films being released online, by 2021, 540 films were available online. For production companies, the distribution of films in cinemas remains crucial, because the potential success of a film at the box office is associated with the quality of the big screen projections. The thriller Legend of Hunters, which tops the list of most streamed films online on the Tencent Video platform in 2021, barely earned US$ 7 million.
Films & popularity
The Top 10 films of 2021 were dominated by Chinese productions, with drama and comedy dominating the genres. Among the films that enjoyed considerable popularity in 2021 were Han Yan’s romantic drama, A Little Red Flower, which was the biggest January box office success, with a gross of CNY 1.110 billion. In A Little Red Flower, Han Yan, director of the much-loved Go Away Mr. Tumor, shows the suffering of families facing the same drama, as “a spiritual guide and therapeutic support for the audience.” February’s CNY 4.825 billion blockbuster comedy Hi, Mom, written and directed by Jia Ling and released on the same day as the hugely popular comedy Detective Chinatown 3, grossed CNY 5.41 billion (US$ 851.96 million), making it the second most successful film of 2021. Excellent reviews and word of mouth contributed to its popularity.
The love of family and traditional filial piety are the two strong themes that moved audiences the most. Released in cinemas during the Lunar New Year, when many families could not get together to celebrate it in 2021, the film’s success was partly due to its emotional appeal at such a time. The coming-of-age drama Sister, a CNY 854 million box-office hit in April, written by You Xiaoying and directed by Yin Ruoxi, examines themes of traditionalism in Chinese society, the preference for sons and the compassion of sons and daughters, in a story that sees an older sister faced with the dilemma of pursuing her independence or caring for her younger half-brother when their parents die. The film was well received by critics and audiences alike. The themes fuelled debate about the traditional values and role of women in China. Sociologist Li Yinhe, who studies gender roles, called the film “a profound work based on a solid social reality” and highlighted the conflict between individualism and traditional family values.
The disaster movie Chinese Doctors, directed by Andrew Lau, was a CNY 1.239 billion blockbuster released in July 2021 as a tribute to medical workers for their contribution to the fight against the pandemic. It was among the films produced to commemorate the centenary of the Chinese Communist Party, following the story of those frontline doctors who fought the Covid-19 outbreak in Wuhan. A good cop/bad cop action film starring Donnie Yen and Nicolas Tse, co-produced by Hong Kong and China, Raging Fire was the last film written, produced and directed by Benny Chan before his passing in August 2020. It proved to be the August box office champion with takings of CNY 926 million.
Another disaster movie, Cloudy Mountain, the September 2021 box office hit with CNY 415 million, directed by Li Jun, tells the story of a father and son struggling to save a town after a series of natural catastrophes. It has a subliminal message that collective action can prevent disaster if each side is ready at all times to make personal sacrifices for the good of all. The patriotic-nationalist omnibus My Country, My Parents, directed by Wu Jing (Wolf Warrior 2), Zhang Ziyi (the actress, in her first directorial effort), Xu Zheng (Lost in Hong Kong), and Shen Teng (the actor from Break up Buddies, Never Say Die, Crazy Aliens) ranked fourth on the Top 10 Most Viewed Films of 2021 list.
The crime comedy Be Somebody, the box office champion in November 2021 with CNY 636 million, directed by Liuxun Zimo and produced by Han Han, follows the story of a group of frustrated filmmakers who plan a new film about a famous criminal case. The film’s success was undoubtedly due to word of mouth from the public, which resulted in the film staying on the big screen for three months. The film invites the audience to reflect on the dynamics of filmmaking, to question its qualities and the filmmakers’ intentions, with references to gender equality and the abuse of women in the entertainment industry.
The thriller Fireflies in the Sun, which was the December 2021 box office champion with CNY 838 million, directed by Dai Mo and produced by Chen Sicheng, is a vague remake of the 2002 American thriller John Q. directed by Nick Cassavetes. The film tells the story of a father desperate to raise money for an operation for his son who has been diagnosed with cardiomegaly. In its review of the original, Variety wrote that the film was “a rare case of blatant political propaganda in a major Hollywood film, seething with melodrama and extreme situations” that served as “shamelessly manipulative advertising on behalf of national health insurance.” Perhaps John Q.’s underlying premise made it attractive for adaptation to the Chinese market, where high medical costs are a major source of social discontent.
The animated film I Am What I Am (a.k.a. Lion Dance Boy) by Sun Haipeng (Kung Food, 2018) was the most popular film of the year-end with a score of 85.6 out of 100 according to data from the China Film Art Research Centre, 8.3 and 9.4 out of 10 according to ratings that appeared on the Douban and Maoyan platforms respectively. The film is about three teenagers who dream of learning the traditional Lion Dance. Initial criticism of the characters’ small-eyed design, suggesting a form of colonial-era internalised racism, sparked a fan campaign to defend the film, while producer Zhang Miao explained the eye design as an idea to differentiate it from Japanese and American animation with large eyes, aiming for a more realistic style. Set in modern-day China, the film draws inspiration from ordinary people struggling with everyday difficulties but determined to follow their dreams. Shanghai-based romantic comedy B for Busy, by director Shao Yihui, intrigued audiences with its willingness to challenge stereotypes. Zhang Yimou’s historical espionage thriller Cliff Walkers (FEFF 2021), and Lu Yang’s action-adventure fantasy A Writer’s Odyssey, took seventh and eighth place in the Top 10.
2022 was ushered in by highly anticipated films, all of which were released during the Chinese New Year holiday. The sequel to the war film The Battle at Lake Changjin 2: Water Gate Bridge, also directed by Chen Kaige, Tsui Hark and Dante Lam, Wen Muye’s Nice View, the second film by the same director of the highly acclaimed Dying to Survive (Audience Award, FEFF 2019), Only Fools Rush In by Han Han (The Continent, Duckweed, Pegasus), Xing Wenxiong’s comedy Too Cool to Kill, the animated film Boonie Bears: Back to Earth by Lin Huida (the eighth film in the Boonie Bears series), Sniper, the latest effort from director Zhang Yimou directed with his daughter Zhang Mo, in his second directorial effort after Suddenly Seventeen (2016), and Wang Fanfang’s Winter Olympics film Breaking Through. According to an estimate by Variety, Lunar New Year 2022 receipts may total CNY 6.01 billion (US$ 946 million).
In recent years, popularity has been measured according to criteria with distinctly Chinese characteristics, covering a territory as vast as Europe and more than 30 times that of Italy.
The most common criterion used today in China to define the popularity of films is the box office result, but also the popularity index of platforms such as Douban and Maoyan, the posts on platforms such as Weibo and WeChat which generate invaluable word-of-mouth, and the surveys of the Maoyan platform, to anticipate the public’s desire to “want to see” a film. For example, director Wen Muye’s Nice View, which was released in cinemas on the first day of the Lunar New Year holidays in February, was at the top of the list of most anticipated films by audiences with 447,000 votes as early as January, partly and perhaps especially on the strength of the popularity garnered by his first film Dying to Survive (2018).
According to estimates, a film with more than 100 thousand votes in the Maoyan poll can expect major box-office revenues. And this was certainly the case. But box office results, i.e. audience turnout in the theatres, do not always reflect audience satisfaction, that collective popularity indicator. A case in point, Han Han's Only Fools Rush In, in second place on the list of the most awaited films by the public with 334,000 votes. In his fourth film as director, Han Han boasts millions of fans who have ensured the success of all his previous films, from The Continent (2014) to Pegasus (2019), via Duckweed (2017). But the two-wheeled adventure Only Fools Rush In, released in cinemas on the same day as Nice View, saw strong first-day takings of US$36 million, only to lose popularity by day three after a series of audience reviews so negative that it closed after just six days with total takings of US$ 79.3 million.
Reporting the story, the Xinmin Evening News explained that audiences found the film’s plot and themes very similar to previous films, giving the impression they had seen it before. But according to the audience rating reported by the platforms, the film received an average rating of 5.5 out of 10 on Douban and 8.7 out of 10 on Maoyan. This is because Douban.com is a site that allows users to post information about films, books, music and events and to find media ratings and reviews. Its users include authors and critics. While Maoyan.com is the largest online film ticketing platform with the sole interest in selling as many tickets as possible.
The credibility of the ratings on the platforms has often been debated by the public as the underlying manipulation of its system has been continuously exposed. Of course, there is no shortage of critics influencing the public’s opinions with their reviews and comments.
Therefore, the box office success of a film is often the result of a massive audience turnout at the release of a film, with viewers enticed by a massive marketing effort. Also, as has been the case in the last few years, success is down to protectionist policies that ensure the greater distribution of Chinese films, bringing exclusively Chinese films to the theatres during the periods of greatest audience turnout. Success is also a result of recent policies which invite cinemas to schedule a very high number of screens to fewer films. In essence, audiences find themselves able to choose from a remarkably limited number of films to see in the cinema, and this may have contributed to the extraordinary box office success of certain films.
Women directors
In recent years, there has been a boom in female-centred films. At the same time, more and more women are establishing themselves in the film industry as directors and producers. Chloe Zhao, the first Asian woman of Chinese descent to receive the Best Director Award at the Oscars 2021 for Nomadland, may have pioneered a new generation of women filmmakers ready to stake their claim in the film industry in Asia and China. Perhaps and not coincidentally, Chloe Zhao’s words “it’s really fabulous to be a woman in 2021” seem to have been premonitory for a series of successes by her female colleagues in 2021. Hi, Mom, a debut feature written and directed by Jia Ling, starring Jia Ling herself, famous to the general public for her comedy sketches, and produced by Tina Shi Xiaoye (Miss Granny) goes down in the history of cinema as the most successful film directed by a woman, even surpassing the box office receipts of Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman. Sister, by screenwriter You Xiaoying (screenwriter of Love Education by Sylvia Chang, Best Screenplay Award at the Hong Kong Film Awards) and directed by Yin Ruoxi (Farewell, My Lad, 2020), a duo that James Marsh of the South China Morning Post calls “bold young female voices,” addresses the persistent inequalities faced by young women in contemporary China.
The debut feature, The Old Town Girls written and directed by Shen Yu, and produced by Li Yu (director of Buddha Mountain) about a young girl’s efforts to build a relationship with an absent mother is a compelling drama that highlights societal dysfunction through the dynamics of a broken family. Yet another debut feature, B for Busy, written and directed by director Shao Yihui, is notable for its unexpected success at the box office. Released at Christmas, B for Busy, with its original Chinese title, “Myth of Love”, is a romantic comedy 2.0 that finally projects a modern image of relationships, but above all a modern image of women, independent and free, and happy to be so, with Shanghai, the most modern city of all, as a backdrop.
April will see the release of the romantic comedy The Italian Recipe, the first work by director Hou Zuxin (singer and documentary director) and the second official Italy-China co-production, produced by Orisa Produzioni, Dauphine Film Company, Rai Cinema for Italy and by FunAge Pictures (Goodbye Mr. Loser, Never Say Die), WD Pictures for China. Soon we can expect the release of the thriller The Fallen Bridge by director Li Yu, which will not lack controversy. Not only are women increasingly the protagonists of many stories, but the presence of female filmmakers among directors and producers encourages them to change the narratives of their lives and the perspective from which to narrate the transformation of female consciousness.
The future
The future of the film industry in China has been mapped out, at least for the next five years. According to the government’s new five-year plan, the industry’s priorities have been identified, including expanding the number of screens to more than 100,000, producing 10 major films per year that are both “popular and critically acclaimed,” and releasing at least 50 films per year that can generate US$15 million at the box office, thus maintaining its position and title as the world’s largest film market.
Although the plan is a five-year one, the goals extend to 2035 with the aim of making China a cultural powerhouse, which can be achieved by “adhering to the Party’s total leadership in film work.” According to the new guidelines, China will be a film powerhouse once it is able to continuously distribute influential “masterpieces that showcase the Chinese spirit, Chinese values, Chinese power, and Chinese aesthetics” globally. In addition, generating 55% of the total annual box office by Chinese-produced films is one of the goals. The target of having 100,000 screens by 2025 suggests that new theatres will be built in less developed areas to boost the number of new cinemas in rural areas, preferably ones that are well integrated into cinema chains, as independent cinemas are considered to be harder to standardise, regulate and control.
China will have to create a “rectification plan” for struggling chains and recalcitrant franchisees by 2025. As China’s major blockbusters have become increasingly politicised, the plan seems to suggest that the drive to bring more audiences into cinemas aligns with the effort to ensure films with patriotic content are as widely distributed as possible. Every cinema in the country will have to dedicate a cinema room to the “People’s Cinema” circuit for the screening of propaganda films. Chinese films should strive to create a “trustworthy, lovable and respectable image of China.” The plan repeatedly notes the need for content diversification, but only offers special support to political, science-fiction, and animation films that spread positivity, patriotism and “show the Chinese national spirit and Oriental aesthetics” and “educate and guide young people to establish cultural self-confidence.”
Receiving mention and recognition are “special films” on rural, childhood and ethnic minority issues, documentaries and opera. More films that “praise the Party, motherland, people and heroes, so as to pass the ‘Red gene’ and continue the Party’s lineage and descent” are to be produced to “celebrate important political milestones.” The next five years will see a strengthening of Party control over all aspects of the film industry, from production to distribution to awards to review mechanisms and creativity itself. Talent and industry insiders must have “both skill and political integrity” and “put morality first.”
The politics and social positioning of a film should be as salient as its artistic merits and commercial appeal. After all, films “are important for the work of disseminating ideological thinking and an indicator of a country's cultural soft power,” and thus, inseparable from politics. The distribution of Chinese cinema on an international level will also be of major concern. Although big Chinese blockbusters have never been distributed abroad to any great extent, the new five-year plan hopes to expand the distribution of Chinese films to “open up new markets” and “improve international competitiveness.” Film companies will also be encouraged to “explore the international market through investment, mergers and acquisitions, and cooperation.” A China Pavilion will be a feature found at all major international festivals and markets to “promote the latest achievements and developments in Chinese cinema” and “actively promote foreign film trade.”
(Data provided by Artisan Gateway, ScreenDaily, The Hollywood Reporter, Variety Asia, Xinmin Evening News)
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