□ Wang Xiaoyu (Wuhan University)
Recently, the first batch of self-service refund machines in the country have been launched in Changsha. Some theaters have launched a movie refund mechanism. Audiences can enjoy refund benefits within 30 minutes of watching the movie. The refund machine supports refunds due to poor theater environment or movie quality. Apply for a refund if it does not meet expectations. As soon as this service came out, the initiators and audiences of the refund service, as well as people in the film industry, all stated its functions and risks. As an art category, movies need the audience's acceptance to realize their aesthetic value. The audience is directly responsible for appreciating and evaluating movies, so the "tickets can be refunded within 30 minutes of the movie opening" service is an explicit relationship between the audience and the movie. Feedback is a new look at the relationship between the audience and the film.
First of all, from the perspective of the receiving subject - the audience, this service empowers the audience to avoid low-quality movies, that is, the audience can decide whether the movie meets their own aesthetic needs and viewing expectations within the first 30 minutes of the movie. Choose whether to continue watching purchased videos, effectively avoiding "bad movies". In the past, when there was no such service, viewers often bought movie tickets out of concern for the price, so they persisted in watching a boring or uninteresting movie with the mentality of "I bought it all, then let's watch it." Movies are a waste of time and affect their mood. Some viewers will also express their hardships in the movie-watching process on Maoyan or Dianping. At the same time, the short video marketing of movies is very popular nowadays. The producers put a large number of impactful picture clips on video software to package the grand scenes in the movie and present them to the audience. "Purchased movie tickets to passively arouse interest in watching movies. As a result, the "actual discrepancy" caused the audience to have no way to refund the ticket. However, the "tickets can be refunded within 30 minutes of the movie opening" service protects the audience's rights to watch movies and avoid bad movies. .
Secondly, from the perspective of the movie itself, the refund rate generated by the service of "tickets can be refunded within 30 minutes of the movie opening" can become a new way to test the reputation and quality of the movie. In the past, the reputation of movies was often reflected through Maoyan, Douban ratings, or specialized box office data. The refund service can also directly reflect the audience's perception and satisfaction of a movie. According to data from the Beacon Professional Edition, the five participating films during the New Year's Day period attracted a total of 9,292 viewers, of which 135 people used the refund service. Among them, "Twinkle Twinkle Star" had the highest refund rate, with 3,100 viewers Among the audience, 102 people refunded their tickets, with a refund rate of 2.1%; and the highest-rated film on New Year's Day, "The Annual Meeting Can't Stop!" "There were 2,211 viewers, and no one refunded their tickets. There is an inevitable connection between the refund rate and the film's reputation. At the same time, such services will inversely promote the improvement of film quality by film producers. As the largest evaluation group of films, their actions directly reflect their satisfaction with the film. "Twinkle Twinkle Star" is a clear example For example, relying on gimmicks and the continued benefits of TV series, the film content production has no new ideas, and can only win the title of "bad film" in the eyes of the audience.
Finally, from the perspective of the relationship between the receiving subject and the movie, the "tickets can be refunded within 30 minutes of the movie opening" service allows people to re-examine the relationship between the movie and the audience. With the rapid development of new media, audiences can take advantage of the convenience of streaming media and video websites to watch movies, resulting in the loss of movie theater audiences. Even if the summer of 2023 has created "The Vanishing Her", "Desperate", "Chang'an 30,000 Miles", etc. There has been a series of movie-watching crazes, but the box office for the whole year still failed to surpass the 2019 box office peak of 64.266 billion. Therefore, the craze for watching movies in theaters has gradually faded, and we have to try to improve the audience's viewing mode and experience. This is also the original intention of the service. The impact of new media and concerns about film quality have become the deciding factor for some viewers whether to enter the theater. conditions of. On the one hand, the service of "tickets can be refunded within 30 minutes of the movie opening" gives the audience the courage to firmly go to the cinema to watch the movie. On the other hand, their choice of refunding can reflect the quality of the movie and urge the content production of the producer, thereby achieving Positive interaction between the movie and the audience.
Although "tickets can be refunded within 30 minutes of the movie opening" is still a small-scale pilot, just like branch distribution, it is a brave attempt by the film industry and market, and a "shock" to the film market or theaters. For the time being, It seems that this service has more advantages than disadvantages for both the audience and the movie. With the continuous practice and timely adjustment of the refund service, the relationship between the audience and the movie can become closer, and at the same time it provides people with a brand-new ways to explore and analyze the relationship between the two.
