(China Daily) In 2012, the Chinese comedy film, Lost in Thailand, grossed more than 1.27 billion yuan ($191 million) at the Chinese box-office, representing the first movie in China to earn over a billion yuan, and overtaking Titanic, which earned around 975 million yuan in a decade.
In 2017, the film phenomenon, Wolf Warrior 2, achieved huge success both at the box office and in public praise.
It broke numerous box office records both at home and aboard, scoring 5.68 billion yuan by the end of Oct 22, the single highest-grossing film in the history of Chinese cinema and the first Chinese film to squeeze into the all-time box office worldwide (ranked 55th).
The performance of the Chinese box offices from 2012 to 2017 has been amazing, but that's just part of the booming film industry in China.
Now, in chronological order, let's take a look at what we have seen in movie theaters for the past five years.
The year 2012 is a significant time for the domestic movie market. If we have to describe the year in key words, it should be "fast development".
Soaring box office and screens
According to official statistics from China's State Administration of Press Publication, Radio, Film and Television, China gained a total box office of 17.07 billion yuan in 2012, a 30 percent increase over the same period the previous year.
In that figure, 8.27 billion yuan in box office receipts was from domestic films, accounting for 48.46 percent of the total.
Twenty-one Chinese films boasted box office revenues of over 100 million yuan. Residents of Guangdong province, Beijing and Jiangsu province are among the top three for the burgeoning purchasing power of movie tickets.
In 2010, following the United States and India, China had the third largest film industry by the number of feature films produced annually.
In 2012, the country had become the second-largest market in the world by box office receipts and is expected to become the largest theatrical market in 2019, according to the movie news portal mtime.com.
Cinema was introduced in China in 1896. By the end of 2012, over 10,000 (13,118) screens have been utilized in Chinese cinemas, a 39 percent increase year-on-year. In 2016, the number reached 41,179, accounting for around one fourth of the total in the world.
Among all the screens in the Chinese mainland, 85 percent of them are 3-D screens, providing better viewing experiences for most Chinese movie-goers.
Lower budget brings higher yields
Undoubtedly, Lost in Thailand was one of the most profitable domestic films in 2012.
As a successful case for getting a higher ROI (Return on Investment) index, a performance measure used to evaluate the efficiency of an investment, the film took just 60 million yuan for pre-production, investment and marketing, with over 1.2 billion yuan at the box office, according to the film director Xu Zheng.
The same kind also goes to Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf: Adventures on The Dragon's Trail, I Love Big Big Wolf and Blood Stained Shoes.
"The huge success of Lost in Thailand is not occasional. The qualified script, proper movie theater schedule, word of mouth and efficient marketing all contributed to its position as the 'film of the year'," said He Lei, a professor of literature at Anhui Normal University.
Huge investment faces more risks
On the contrary, the Chinese highly expected blockbusters, Untitled Remembering 1942 Project, An Inaccurate Memoir and Design of Death, disappointed the film makers with gloomy box office receipts.
"Big names, grand production or fantastic visual effects are not the must-have factors for a successful film. Chinese movie-goers pay more attention to the quality, theme, and story line of a certain film," movie critic Zhang Xiaobei said.
"Also, under the attack of Hollywood blockbusters, it is not an easy task to win the fierce competition for box office receipts. Given the scale of the Chinese movie market, most producers would be better off focusing on elements that appeal to the home audience," Zhang added.
Source: By Zhang Xingjian | chinadaily.com.cn