The film industry in 2023 will be full of changes.
On the one hand, the movie market is recovering well, and popular schedules have become a blockbuster. The Spring Festival slot has become the second-largest Spring Festival slot in Chinese film history with a box office of more than 6.7 billion yuan. After entering the summer vacation, the box office and the market temperature have increased together. "The Lost Her" and "All or Nothing" respectively supported the market popularity of the summer season at the beginning and end. "Part" and "Hot" and many other films with high reputation and popularity also continued to contribute new topics and popularity to the film industry during the season, allowing the summer season to achieve a reversal of box office declines for five consecutive weekends, creating a record in the history of Chinese film history. The longest consecutive record of breaking 100 million. The grand Spring Festival and summer seasons once made everyone expect the annual box office to return to the level of 2019. However, after the hottest summer season, the movie market gradually cooled down, and November became the lowest box office month in the past 10 years except 2022. The national movie box office in 2023 ended up at 54.915 billion yuan, an increase of more than 80% from the previous year. The movie market recovered but fell short of expectations.
On the other hand, there are many dark horse movies in 2023. "The Lost She" and "All or Nothing", which were not predicted to have high box office before the release, successively set box office records for crime-themed films in Chinese film history, and "30,000 Miles from Chang'an" became the animated film in Chinese film history. Ranked runner-up at the box office, "Hot" also became the box office champion of domestic sports films. Most of the dark horse films have experienced multiple declines. "The Vanishing Her" has been out of the industry many times due to its combination with feminism, marriage and love and other social issues, and the box office has declined five times in a single day; It has become the first choice for family viewing in the summer. The box office dropped 9 times in a single day, and the current Douban score is 8.3 points. "Fengshen Part 1" was released with bad reviews due to its years of backlog and box office performance of similar themes, but it relied on the picture , actors, and word-of-mouth have achieved multiple single-day box office declines, and the key has been extended five times, and the long-tail trend is strong. The underlying reason for the reverse decline of
is that the film box office has increased with the fermentation of word-of-mouth. This is enough to prove that film quality and the emotional value given to the audience are still the key to a film standing out. This is the constant among the variables, so we can get a glimpse of 2024. Interface Entertainment compiled the 10 most anticipated domestic films based on the film's creators, story themes, and film award-winning records.
"Mr. Red Carpet"
Stills from the movie "Mr. Red Carpet"
"Mr. Red Carpet" is currently scheduled for the 2024 Spring Festival and will be released on February 10. The film is directed by Ning Hao and stars Andy Lau. It tells the story of Hong Kong superstar Liu Weichi, who has been filming for 40 years. In order to win the Best Actor Award, he collaborated with director Lin Hao to make a rural-themed film, which triggered a series of absurd farces. "Mr. Red Carpet" was screened as a surprise film at the 7th Pingyao International Film Festival. The film deconstructs and mocks the various aspects of the "entertainment industry" in the form of comedy, and has gained a good reputation among the audience at the film festival.
Satirical comedy has always been director Ning Hao's comfort zone. Ning Hao has directed comedy films such as "Crazy Stone", "Crazy Racing" and "Crazy Alien". Among them, the movie "Crazy Stone" won the Best Original Screenplay Award at the 43rd Taiwan Film Golden Horse Awards, and was nominated for the Best Feature Film and Best Director Awards. The movie "Crazy Racing" was released in 2009 and grossed 110 million yuan at the box office. Ning Hao became the fourth mainland director after Zhang Yimou, Chen Kaige, and Feng Xiaogang to direct a film with a box office of over 100 million yuan. "Crazy Alien" was released in 2019, with a cumulative box office of 2.213 billion yuan.
"Feng Shen Part 2"
Concept image of the movie "Feng Shen Part 2"
"Feng Shen Part 2" schedule has not been determined, but the film revealed on August 22 this year that it plans to be released in the summer of 2024 . "Fengshen Part 2" will continue the plot of the previous work, mainly telling the story of the Yin and Shang armies including Wen Taishi, Deng Chanyu, and the four generals of the Mo family who conquered Xiqi.
"Fengshen Part 1" was released during the summer season because topics such as "Proton Group" and "Business Yin Yu" were hotly discussed on social platforms. Subsequent live broadcasts, road shows, and the selection of "Proton Group", The spin-off variety show "Fengshen Training Camp" of the training process has helped the movie "Fengshen Part 1" to reap the long-tail box office."Feng Shen Part 1" will be released on July 20, 2023, but on December 1, the film "Feng Shen Part 1" announced for the fifth time that the secret key has been extended, and the validity period of the secret key has been extended to January 19, 2024. "Fengshen Part 1" currently has a cumulative box office of 2.634 billion yuan, with a Douban score of 7.8. The continuous shooting of three films in the "Fengshen" series ensures the continuity of the film's plot and characters to a certain extent.
"Nezha: The Devil Boy Makes a Havoc in the Sea"
The animated film "Nezha: The Devil Boy Makes a Havoc in the Sea" is written and directed by Jiaozi. It tells the story of how after the catastrophe, although the souls of Nezha and Ao Bing were saved, their physical bodies would soon be destroyed. , Taiyi Zhenren wanted to use the seven-color lotus to rebuild the physical bodies of the two people, but encountered many difficulties in the process of rebuilding the physical bodies.
The film's predecessor "Nezha: The Devil Boy Comes to the World" was released on July 26, 2019, with a cumulative box office of 5.035 billion yuan, making it the highest-grossing animated film in Chinese film history. The film won the 16th China Animation Golden Dragon Award for Best Animated Feature Film, the 32nd Tokyo International Film Festival Golden Crane Award for Best Work, the 33rd China Film Golden Rooster Award for Best Art Film, and other awards, and represented mainland China. Participated in the 92nd Academy Awards for Best International Film (formerly Best Foreign Language Film).
"Heavy Rain"
Stills from the movie "Heavy Rain"
"Heavy Rain" is an animated film written and directed by Bu Sifan. The film will be released on January 12, 2024. The film tells the story of a boy named Mantou who boarded a drum boat in search of his father. The story of a "rebirth drama" begins on a night of heavy rain. In the context of the rise of national trends, the presentation of traditional culture has become one of the elements that attracts audiences. Judging from the disclosed materials, "Heavy Rain" contains unique elements of traditional Chinese culture in terms of character and image design, such as opera drum boats, Nuo opera helmets for boy steamed buns, opera singers and Peking opera masks, etc.
director Bu Sifan has directed animated films such as "White Bird Valley" and "The Great Protector", as well as animated series such as "Mr. Miao: The Wild Goose Falls on the Road" and "Mr. Miao: The Legend of the Laughing Man in the Fire Lake". Among them, "The Valley of the White Birds" won the Children's Jury Short Film Award at the Annecy Animation Film Festival in France in 2017, and was shortlisted for the 2018 Oscar Best Animated Short Shortlist; "The Great Protector" was nominated for the 54th Taiwan Golden Horse Film Awards for Best Animation Feature Film Award, after being released in 2017, it received a box office of 87.613 million yuan; "Mr. Miao: The Wild Goose Falls on the Road" and "Mr. Miao: The Legend of the Smiling Man in the Fire" scored 7.7 and 8.3 points respectively on Douban.
"Heroes of Dunhuang"
Stills from the movie "Heroes of Dunhuang"
The film "Heroes of Dunhuang" is directed by Cao Dun, written by Ma Boyong, starring Zhang Yu and others. The film is based on the history of the soldiers and civilians of Shazhou (the ancient name of Dunhuang) returning to the Tang Dynasty. It tells the story of the Anshi Rebellion. Shazhou was once isolated in the west of Hexi, and was cut off from Chang'an for more than 60 years. After that, the army and people of Shazhou, led by Zhang Yichao, fought bravely with all their strength, and finally the Tang flag in Shazhou grew taller.
"Heroes of Dunhuang" is the second collaboration between Cao Dun and Ma Boyong. The drama "The Twelve Hours of Chang'an" directed by Cao Dun is adapted from Ma Boyong's novel of the same name. The drama has a Douban score of 8.1, making it the most popular costume drama in 2019. one. Ma Boyong has also previously served as a screenwriter in the drama "The Silk Case of the Ming Dynasty Under the Microscope". The drama currently has a Douban score of 7.8.
"Fire on the Plain"
Stills from the movie "Fire on the Plain"
The suspense crime film "Fire on the Plain" is produced by Diao Yinan, directed by Zhang Ji, and starring Zhou Dongyu and Liu Haoran. The film is adapted from Shuang Xuetao's novel "Moses on the Plain". It tells the story of detective Zhuang Shu who accidentally discovers that his former childhood sweetheart Li Fei is also involved when investigating a taxi murder case. The film was shortlisted for the Golden Shell Award in the main competition unit of the 69th San Sebastian International Film Festival.
Before directing "Fire on the Plains", Zhang Ji was nominated for the Best Cinematography Award at the 51st Golden Horse Awards for "North by Northeast". Diao Yinan, who serves as the producer, has directed "Fireworks in the Day" and "The Party at Southern Station". He won the Golden Bear Award for Best Film at the 64th Berlin International Film Festival for "Fireworks in the Day" and was nominated for the 72nd Film Festival with "The Party at Southern Station". The main competition unit of the Cannes International Film Festival.Most of Diao Yinan's film works focus on the Northeast, and the original author Shuang Xuetao has always used a cold and realistic writing style to describe the Northeast industrial zone. Shuang Xuetao also serves as the film's art director. The cooperation between the two will help restore the time and space background of the story and ensure Cinematic texture.
"My Friend Andre"
Stills from the movie "My Friend Andre"
"My Friend Andre" is directed by Dong Zijian, starring Liu Haoran and Dong Zijian. The film is also adapted from Shuang Xuetao's novel of the same name. , mainly tells the story of Li Mo, who returns to the Northeast for funeral after his father passes away, and reunites with his old childhood friend Andre, and a series of stories triggered by Andre. The original author Shuang Xuetao has won literary awards such as the Wang Zengqi Chinese Novel Award Short Story Award and the Third Blancpain Utopia Literary Award. "Assassination Novelist", adapted from Shuang Xuetao's short story of the same name, was released in February 2021, with a cumulative box office of 1.035 billion yuan.
"My Friend Andre" is Dong Zijian's directorial debut. He was nominated for the Best Cinematography Award at the 53rd Taiwan Film Golden Horse Awards for "August" and the Best Cinematography Award at the 31st China Golden Rooster Awards for "Talow". Lu Songye, who won the photography award, served as the photography director. Wang Hongwei served as the literary consultant for the film. Wang Hongwei has appeared in films such as "Crazy Alien", "The Wandering Earth", "Maze of the Heart", "Four Springs", "Hello, Li Huanying", "Assassination of Novelists" and "Universe Exploration Editorial Department". Served as a producer and consultant.
"A Brief History of the Family"
"A Brief History of the Family" is written and directed by Lin Jianjie, starring Zu Feng, Guo Keyu and others. It tells the story of the seemingly peaceful life of the Tu Wei family being broken by a mysterious boy. The film was shortlisted for the World Feature Film Competition at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival and the Panorama Section at the 74th Berlin International Film Festival. It is also the first Chinese-language director's debut film to be nominated for both Sundance and Berlin. Berlin Film Festival selectors said that "A Brief History of the Family", with its distinctive and engaging style and unique and keen capture of the characters' psychology and social identity, has brought a welcome new voice to Chinese-language films on the world stage.
"Dog Formation"
"Dog Formation" is directed by Guan Hu and stars Huang Bo, Yan Ni, Peng Yuyan, Tong Liya, Jia Zhangke, etc. It tells the story of Erlang, who makes a business of transporting stray dogs in a small town in northwest China, and a dog named Hemp Rope. The stray dogs save each other, and Erlang's compassion for life is slowly awakened and he tries to save more stray dogs.
director Guan Hu has directed many TV series such as "Winter Solstice", "Seven Days", "Migrant Workers of Survival", "It's So Good to Be Alive" and "Yimeng", as well as film works such as "Bullfighting", "Old Paoer" and "The Cook, Actor and Ruffian". , and won the Best Adapted Screenplay Award at the 46th Taiwan Film Golden Horse Awards for "Bullfighting", the Best Director Award at the 11th Tokyo International Film Festival China Film Week, and the 31st China Golden Rooster Award for "Old Paoer" Best Screenplay.
"Nothing That Can't Be Solved by Hot Pot"
Stills from the movie "Nothing That Can't Be Solved by Hot Pot"
"Nothing That Can't Be Solved by Hot Pot" is directed by Ding Sheng and stars Yang Mi, Yu Qian, Tian Yu, etc. The suspense-themed movie tells the story of four strangers who share stolen goods in a theater backstage warehouse and are accidentally involved in a murder case. As greed and deception trigger a series of reversals, the special identities of the four people gradually come to light, and the mysterious truth is about to come out.
director Ding Sheng has directed films such as "Tough Guys", "Big Soldier", "Police Story 2013" and "Rescue Mr. My Life", and won the 31st China Golden Rooster Award for Best Editing for "Rescue Mr. My Life".
It is worth mentioning that suspense crime themes are the most popular movie types in 2023. There are a total of 15 films in the top ten at the annual box office in 2023 plus the monthly box office champion. According to the subject types classified by Beacon Professional Edition and Maoyan Professional Edition, a total of 7 of the 15 films contain "crime" or "suspense" elements. Suspense-themed movies still have market potential in 2024.
