believes that most Chinese audiences have only recently appreciated the movie "Joker" in an unspeakable way.
"Joker" starring Jacques Phoenix has surpassed $1 billion in global box office, and it has not been released in China, the second largest film market in the world.
We can confidently say that in recent years, the Chinese market has had a great influence on the global box office of Hollywood blockbusters. Take the film history global box office champion "Avengers 4" as an example. The global box office of the film is 2.798 billion US dollars, the North American box office is 858 million US dollars, and the Chinese mainland contributed 597 million US dollars, accounting for 21.34% of its global box office.
Today, if you want to sell globally, the Chinese mainland market is a very important stop.
looks back on the history of film, and it has sold in the global market, but not many blockbusters have not been released in China. If we set the big-selling standard at 700 million U.S. dollars (most of the Hollywood A-type production costs are now controlled within 200 million U.S. dollars, and the global box office exceeds 700 million, which means that you will not lose money by box office alone). The number of "remaining beads" has just reached double digits.
As of now, there are a total of 119 movies with a global box office of more than 700 million US dollars, and only 11 have not been introduced to the country.
They are:
2019 "Joker" R, North America 323 million, global 1.019 billion
2017 "Recall" R, North America 327 million, global 700 million
2016 "Deadpool" R, North America 363 million, global 783 million
"Suicide Squad" PG-13, 325 million in North America, 747 million worldwide
2012 "Twilight 4: Breaking Dawn (Part 2)" PG-13, 292 million in North America, 830 million worldwide
2009 "Twilight 2: New Moon" PG- 13. North America 298 million, global 711 million
2008 "Batman: The Dark Knight" PG-13, North America 535 million, global 1.005 billion
"Indiana Jones 4" PG-13, North America 317 million, global 787 million
1996 "Independence Day PG-13, North America 306 million, global 817 million
1982 "Alien ET" PG, North America 435 million, global 793 million
1977 "Star Wars" PG, North America 461 million, global 776 million
Note: Box office unit is USD
"Jurassic Park" was not introduced to the country when it premiered in 1993, but the 3D remake of "Jurassic Park" was released in China in 2013, with a box office of 349 million, which can be regarded as making up for a year of regret for Chinese audiences. Before
"The Clown", the full version of the world's highest-grossing R-rated movie "Deadpool 2" was not introduced to China. The domestically released "Deadpool 2: I Love My Home" was re-edited (even new shots were taken) "Clean Edition". Whether these two versions can be considered the same movie is full of controversy.
It is worth mentioning that there are two domestically-produced films in the global box office of more than 700 million US dollars, that is, the box office champion and runner-up in the mainland film market "Wolf Warriors 2" (870 million US dollars) and "Nezha" (701 million US dollars) , The global box office of "Wandering Earth" is approximately equal to 700 million US dollars after rounding.
The history of the introduction of imported films in the Chinese film market can be roughly divided into several stages.
From the early days of liberation to the beginning of reform and opening up, the films imported to China were mainly from friendly countries, and some films entered China by buying out copyrights. After the reform and opening up, more and more overseas films entered China through copyright buyouts.
In 1994, the Film Bureau of the State Ministry of Radio, Film and Television issued "Document No. 348", which decided that China Film would import 10 films that "basically reflect the world's outstanding civilization achievements and contemporary film art and technological achievements" by way of split distribution every year. Harrison Ford's "Devil's End" was released in China on November 12, 1994 and became the first major blockbuster film.
In 2001, China joined the WTO (World Trade Organization). As part of the obligations of the member states, the Chinese film market was further liberalized. The number of large-scale movies introduced each year increased from 10 to 20.
In 2012, China and the United States reached an agreement on a memorandum of understanding to resolve WTO film-related issues. The content of the agreement includes: China will add 14 U.S. blockbusters every year, with IMAX and 3D movies are the main ones; the US box office share ratio has been increased from 13% to 25%; the chances of Chinese private enterprises to release imported films will be increased.
It is not difficult to find that most of the unintroduced "fish that slipped through the net" came from after 1994, of which 4 were released after 2012. One thing that cannot be ignored is that with the development of the global film market, more and more movies can earn more than 700 million U.S. dollars each year. In 2000, the global box office champion box office was only more than 500 million U.S. dollars; in 2019 It is not over yet, there are as many as 9 films with a global box office of over 700 million US dollars this year.
can't introduce most blockbuster films because of the large scale? It is not that
is in the process of importing imported films. Whether the film scale is too large is indeed an important factor affecting whether the film can pass the trial. However, in fact, among the 11 high-selling films that have not been introduced, R grade (restricted grade, 13-17 year old viewers are required to be accompanied by parents or adults to watch-this grade contains adult content and contains more sex. , Violence, drug abuse and other scenes and swear words) only 3 works.
6 is PG-13 level (special tutoring level, children under 13 years old must be accompanied by their parents to watch, some content is not suitable for children-movies of this level do not have harsh and persistent violence scenes, generally no nude scenes, sometimes There are drug shots and swear words)
2 is PG level (counseling level, some content may not be suitable for children to watch-movies at this level basically do not have sex, drug abuse or nudity scenes, even if there is a short time, in addition, horror and violence scenes are not Will exceed the appropriate range). What is the concept of
R level? Director Zhou Xingchi, starring Deng Chao, Lin Yun, etc. "Mermaid" was rated R when it was released in the United States. Many Chinese films released in the United States are unrated, and most theaters in the United States will not show such unrated films. Therefore, unrated films cannot be released on a large scale in the United States.
In addition, there are not many R-rated movies introduced in China, such as the Oscar best film "The Shape of Water" is R-rated. After making a few cuts, zooming in on the screen, and putting a little black dress on the nude girl P, the film can still meet the Chinese audience.
For another example, "Lust and Caution" directed by Ang Lee was rated as NC-17 in the United States (viewers under the age of 17 are not allowed to watch-movies of this level are classified as adult films, and minors are prohibited from watching. There are Clear sex scenes, a large number of drug or violent scenes and swear words, etc.), after being deleted, were also screened in China.
's recent three big-selling films ("Joker", "Return of the Clown" and "Deadpool") that have not been introduced are all R-rated, which to a certain extent reflects the inclusiveness of today's global market.
Relatively speaking, R-rated movies want to sell, and the difficulty is much greater than that of PG-13 and PG. After all, "Joker" has just become the first R-rated movie with a global box office of over $1 billion.
failed to introduce
in the four films with clowns as the protagonist. I don't know whether it is a coincidence or that "the clown" is too unsuitable for China. Of the 11 unintroduced big-selling films, 4 of them feature "Joker" as the protagonist: "Joker", "Return of the Clown", "Suicide Squad", and "Batman: The Dark Knight". The more interesting thing about
is that three of the clowns in these four movies are called Joker (the other is called Pennywise), but the actors who play the roles are different. In these four movies, the clowns appear as villains. Although both "Suicide Squad" and "Batman: The Dark Knight" are both PG-13-level works, the Joker is also the embodiment of violence and evil, which may be one of the reasons why these four films have not been introduced into the country.
Clowns are supposed to bring people joy, but in recent years, almost all clowns on the screen are not "good". Even in domestic films such as "Animal World", the clown played by Li Yifeng is constantly killing. Maybe only when the movie "Golden Arch" is cast, we can see a slightly normal clown.
This should be the only "clown"
to appear on the mainland's big screen in recent years. Another point is that these 11 "Legacy Beads" movies are all fantasy works. It's not that China's film censorship is aimed at fantasy movies, but fantasy movies are the easiest to win high box offices in the global market. The three blockbusters of
DC have not been introduced. Marvel’s
is now the most popular commercial film in the global market. It is certainly not a superhero movie. "ManAll the works of "Wai Movie Universe" have been released in China, but DC superhero movies and non-Marvel Movie Universe Marvel movies do not have this treatment.
"Joker", "Suicide Squad", "Batman: Darkness" "Knight" and "Deadpool" were not able to be introduced. The first three of them are DC works (only "Suicide Squad" belongs to the DC movie universe). "Deadpool" does not belong to the Marvel movie universe, it is Fox based on Marvel. Works adapted from comics (of course, after Disney acquired Fox, the "Deadpool" series also has the hope of entering the Marvel Cinematic Universe).
Warnerforth has passed the most, and Disney and Sony all have
in the global film market. To sell more than $700 million at the box office requires strong production and distribution capabilities. Therefore, most of these "big hits" come from Hollywood, and more specifically, from Hollywood's top six (now has become the "top five") Studio.
Among the 11 blockbuster films that we are discussing here that have not been introduced to China, except for "Twilight 2" and "Twilight 4 (Part 2)", all of them are from the six major Hollywood producers. Factory.
"Star Wars", "Independence Day", "Deadpool" (and "Deadpool 2") are all works of Foss. "Batman: The Dark Knight", "Suicide Squad", "Joker" and "Joker Back "Soul" belongs to Warner (new line is a Warner company).
"Alien ET" (and "Jurassic Park") is from Universal. "Indiana Jones 4" is from Paramount.
is in the "Big Six", Only Disney and Sony all the big-selling films have been introduced to China. Some of the
films were disassembled and introduced
Sometimes the import strategy of imported films is unpredictable. Even a series of works may be partly imported and partly not. .
"Marvel Cinematic Universe", "Harry Potter" series, "Transformers" series, "Lord of the Rings" series, etc. are all "lucky". "Star Wars" series, Nolan "Batman" three Songs, "DC Movie Universe", etc. were interrupted.
Of course, the worst was the "Twilight" series. There were five movies in the series. The first, third, and fourth films were introduced, and the second and fifth Chinese audiences who like this series must be very confused.
2016 "Suicide Squad" PG-13, North America 325 million, global 747 million
2008 "Indiana Jones 4" PG-13, North America 317 million, global 787 million
