On January 31, 8 Spring Festival films started pre-sale at the same time, and the box office "war" began.
Jiupai Finance has noticed that recently, many theater directors have posted that the Spring Festival schedule has been "forced to schedule films": the producers of five popular films require the theater to promise that the film scheduling ratio will not be less than 22% in order to obtain the key to screen the films; even Some film studios are suspected of "bundled sales". If a theater wants to show 10 shows of "Bear Bears" a day, it must show 12 shows of " Let's Shake the Sun Together " in proportion.
The film arrangement agreement issued by the film distributor to the theater chain. Picture provided by the interviewee
Subsequently, the relevant notice was canceled after causing widespread dissatisfaction among the theaters.
On January 30, a theater director told Jiupai Finance, "The film schedule should be flexibly adjusted according to the box office trend. This time the film studio was too strong, and theaters across the country strongly opposed it. It is no longer implemented."
[1] Spring Festival movies Questioned about "bundled sales"
According to a screenshot provided by the interviewee, the release notice of " 2" stated that "theaters that can meet the screening requirements sign up to participate, and theaters that do not participate will not provide the key to the film." Specific details The requirement is that the number of screenings scheduled on the first and second days of the Lunar New Year shall not account for 22% of the total number of screenings scheduled by the cinema. If the registered theater fails to meet the screening requirements or has any omissions or concealment of violations, the issuance of subsequent keys will be stopped. .
"Flying Life 2" release notice. Picture provided by the interviewee
The reporter learned that "Flying Life 2" produced and distributed by Maoyan Weiying, " Article 20 " produced and distributed by Enlight Pictures, Taopiao The release of " Hot and Spicy " such as tickets requires that the proportion of films scheduled in the first and second grades of the theater in the first and second grades of junior high school shall not be less than 22%.
The film arrangement agreement provided by a theater person in charge shows that the agreement includes "Based on our own business decisions, our company agrees and Commit to completing the following cooperation requirements. If you do not meet the above screening requirements, you will voluntarily accept your company's subsequent processing." In this regard, some people in the industry believe that requiring high-level screening before the film has been tested by the market will squeeze the screening space of other small and medium-sized films. And if there is Poor response to the film and low attendance will also cause losses to theaters.
It is worth noting that the other two Spring Festival films produced and distributed by Lian Rui Pictures require theaters to bundle and schedule films. Among them, "Let's Shake the Sun Together" requires The film arrangement should be no less than 12%, and "Bear Bears: Reversal of Time" should be no less than 10%. In this regard, some netizens commented, "It is the first time I see a movie and it has to be distributed. Is the distributor trying to learn from the luxury brand Hermès?" "
A staff member of the distributor told Jiupai Finance that in the past, distributors would ask theaters to screen more of their own films, and would also give theaters red envelopes ranging from a few hundred to a thousand yuan for film arrangement fees. So now they hope to use selective A cooperative approach to ensure the film scheduling rate.
[2] Theater manager: "Mandatory film scheduling" has been canceled amid controversy
Among the popular films, only the film "Mr. Red Carpet " starring Andy Lau released by Shanghai Lion Pictures 》 has not released relevant rigid film scheduling requirements, and released several new posters emphasizing "leaving the right to the audience to choose" and "refuse to be coerced".
"Mr. Red Carpet" poster. Source | The film's official Weibo
In addition, the Spring Festival release The three smaller films "Bajie: The Lower World of the Canopy", "Breaking War" and "Huang Pi: The God of Wealth Cat" have not released relevant film scheduling requirements.
In fact, if the above five film requirements are followed, it is left to The total screening rate of all other films is less than 12%. The person in charge of the above-mentioned theater told reporters that they originally thought that the split distribution model was to protect the screening rate of niche films, but they did not expect that it would now be used to release large-scale films to put pressure on theaters.
In response to the issue of distribution and screening of Spring Festival films, on the afternoon of January 30, the China Film Producers Association, China Film Distribution and Exhibition Association held a symposium with representatives of eight investors and producers of Spring Festival films.
According to the official website of the China Film Distribution and Exhibition Association According to the information, “Everyone at this symposium agreed that no unit or organization can use its market dominance to interfere in market operations, including movie scheduling, and make restrictive arrangements for the legitimate business activities of various market entities. Resolutely put an end to all types of unfair competition, respect the market, and respect the audience.
html On January 30, a theater manager told Jiupai Financial Reporter, "Because of the great pressure from public opinion and the unknown film market situation, the relevant film scheduling requirements have been cancelled." The Spring Festival schedule will be based on the film's online popularity, and the film schedule will be adjusted later based on the box office. ”Jiupai Financial Reporter Xia Wenqi
[Source: Jiupai News]
