Mainland Chinese films may have achieved distribution in Europe and America in recent decades, but their market share in Hong Kong has historically been insignificant. The situation changed last year with an increase in both the number of mainland films distributed in the SAR [Special Administrative Region], and higher box office returns. This shows that Hongkongers have changed the way they perceive mainland cinema.
Hong Kong makes up a unique distribution area with Macau, another SAR, which is still distinct from mainland China. This arrangement remained unchanged by the handover. So mainland films need local distributors to release in Hong Kong and Macau.
In addition, due to the difference in the culture and history of Hong Kong and mainland China, local audiences have developed different tastes and interests in film. They typically prefer Hollywood blockbusters and Cantonese- language local productions to Mandarin- language films.
The distribution of mainland Chinese films in Hong Kong in the past had its own set of difficulties. In general, there were only two types of film that could snag a release. First, the commercial releases from famous directors like Zhang Yimou and Chen Kaige, filmmakers who possessed award-winning credentials.
This resulted in a handful of titles each year. The other type of film was thoroughly art-house product, mainly distributed by SIL-Metropole and its subsidiaries.
With the disappearance of the art-house cinema run by SIL-Metropole, the distribution of mainland Chinese films after the millennium became solely directoror awards-oriented. Commercial mainland Chinese cinema releases always faced difficulties in Hong Kong. But the situation improved with the release of films containing propaganda elements during the major Chinese holidays like the National Day.
Moreover, Hong Kong production companies are becoming more involved in mainland Chinese projects, and they are consequently looking for release spots in Hong Kong. But due to strong competition from Hong Kong films, such movies could only achieve a very small distribution window, usually a week’s showing, resulting in takings of less than HK$10,000 at the box office. Most of the bigger releases did not perform well, as Hong Kong audiences weren’t interested in Chinese cinema unless it had awards or a famous cast attached.
But the pandemic has changed the whole movie industry, not only in terms of distribution, but also in terms of interaction between the different markets.
Measures to contain Covid were not fully lifted in Hong Kong and mainland China until early 2023, so they were some of the last territories to see a relaxation.
The flow of visitors between mainland China and Hong Kong resumed since early 2023 and Hongkongers have started to explore mainland Chinese cinema during their visits to the mainland.
Due to an improvement in the quality of mainland Chinese cinema, distribution companies in Hong Kong have more incentive to arrange releases in Hong Kong. In addition, iQiYi also showed an interest in co-distributing mainland Chinese films in Hong Kong. Moreover, more Hong Kong artists appeared in mainland Chinese films, upping the likelihood of a release in Hong Kong.
In 2023, there were a total of 30 mainland Chinese films released in Hong Kong, which is double that of 2022. It is also interesting to note that two-thirds of the titles were released in the second half of the year, with about three to five films being released each month.
The Hong Kong audience went to see films which achieved strong word of mouth. Shen Ao’s No More Bets grossed over 3.849 billion yuan in mainland China, and was released locally in late September – a notoriously dry period for the market – by Mandarin Films, Intercontinental Films and SIL-Metropole. It surprised everyone by showing its strength at the box office and winning the hearts of the audience with good reviews. It ended up grossing almost HK$8m, a rare sum for a mainland Chinese film.
Mainland movies with Hong Kong artists should be easy to distribute in Hong Kong. But there are large variations in the box office takings. Lost in the Stars, Cui Rui and Liu Xiang’s mystery crime film featuring Janice Man grossed a satisfactory HK$4.27m, but Hong Kong director Jonathan Li’s mainland film Dust to Dust, featuring Hong Kong actor Gordon Lam and famous mainland actor Da Peng grossed less than HK$1m. This proved that Hong Kong artist involvement does not secure box office success.
With more business relationships developing between Hong Kong and the mainland, there will likely be more films from China on local screens. That may be welcome, as Hong Kong audiences have now shown an acceptance of Chinese cinema, noting its accomplished scripts and sense of humour.
It looks like more and more mainland Chinese films are going to be distributed in Hong Kong, and this is worrying local filmmakers.