Chinese Film Industry Beset With Opening Or Protection
The Chinese film market has been gradually opening up, following a pace that is a bit too slow to the liking of some desperate international media organizations who have been eyeing for China during the past decade. The rationale behind such a gradual opening strategy seems to be two-fold: ideological control and protection of the domestic film industry. This article from Sina.com further explains the situation from the perspective of protection.
“Hollywood watchers even estimated that China may become the second largest film market in the world, topping Europe and Japan,where annual box-office taking stands at 4.4 billion US dollars and 1.6 billion US dollars respectively.”
“Chinawood” Beckons
China’s own Hollywood in a small mountain town, has grown into a successful base for the TV and film industry.
As permissions for TV and film shootings in real historic settings have become growingly difficult in China, a number of replicas have been built in recent years to meet the demands of TV and film production. Over time, these TV and film shooting “bases” have been utilized for a great number of television and film projects, with some also developing into local tourist attractions. This story from Beijing Review shows an example of a “Chinese Hollywood” taking its shape.
Foreign Movies Make First Appearance At China’s Film Festival
Relatively few exchange programs have taken place in the past between Chinese filmmakers and their counterparts worldwide. This film festival in a southern Chinese city provided such an opportunity for both professionals and movie fans to expose themselves to films set in different cultural backgrounds. According to this article from Sina.com, international participants of the festival were also excited about the possibility of exploring market potentials in China.
Many foreign film makers regard China’s movie market as a “diamond mine”. Some foreign film firms such as Warner Brothers Inc. have cooperated with Chinese companies to launch cinemas in Shanghai, Tianjin, Dalian, Wuhan and other Chinese cities as China loosens control on foreign funds flowing into film screening industry in the country.
Expert: China film box office revenue may exceed $250 million
Only less than 50 foreign movies are released in China due to a quota system enforced by the country’s media regulators. The revenues from a limited number of international movies, along with a couple of successful domestic movies, may seem insignificant from a Hollywood perspective. Nontheless, as shown in this report from Xinhuanet.com, the development of the Chinese movie market is promising.
An array of Hollywood blockbusters, including “Star Wars Episode III,” “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” and “ The Legend of Zorro,” have got favorable box office results in China, but two home-made hits,"The Promise” directed by Chen Kaige and “Qian Li Zou Dan Ji” by Zhang Yimou, will challenge their American counterparts at the yearend, Wang said.]
All Eyes On Online Gaming Results
It is widely known that the Chinese online gaming market has achieved tremendous growth in the past few years. Within this context, online game companies in China would also need to watch closely the changes of industry regulations and the subsequent effects on their business strategies. This article from Investors.com provides a most recent update of the major players in the online gaming industry in China.