Interface News Reporter | Zhang Youfa
After experiencing a rebound in total box office in 2023, Chinese movies are on a more stable development track. In the first half of this year, Chinese movies have many masterpieces and hits, but they also face challenges such as changes in user habits and technological iterations. During the industry's adjustment period, practitioners also need to think about how to adapt to new laws and produce film products that meet the needs of users in the next stage.
html On June 16, at the opening forum of the 26th Shanghai International Film Festival "The Road to Light and Shadow Renewed", Alibaba Pictures President Li Jie, imax China CEO Meng Danqing, Enlight Media Chairman Wang Changtian, China Film Association Vice Chairman, Party Secretary and Chairman of Shanghai Film (Group) Co., Ltd., Wang Jianer, Party Secretary and Chairman of Shanghai Film Co., Ltd., Yu Dong, Founder, Chairman and General Manager of Bona Film Group Co., Ltd., Chinese Culture Guests such as Ying Xujun, Vice President of the Group, Vice President of Chinese Pictures, and President of Oriental DreamWorks, conducted in-depth discussions on the current and future of domestic films."In the next ten years, from a big film country to a powerful film country, what else can we do for Chinese films?" The question raised by Yu Dong at the forum also represents the core proposition of this discussion.
What the film market currently needs to think about is how to keep audiences returning to theaters and find new growth. According to the "2023 Chinese Film Market Annual Inventory" released by the Beacon Research Institute, the per capita movie viewing frequency in mainland China has increased to 2.58 times in 2023, but it is still lower than the per capita movie viewing frequency from 2017 to 2019, which were 3.38, 3.38 and 3.25 respectively. .
Li Jie noticed that in the past three years, genres and themes have undergone drastic changes. “The audience’s value proposition and aesthetic trends change in an orderly manner on a 6- to 12-month cycle, but the film production cycle is generally 2 to 3 years. . This inevitably raises a question, which is how film producers can adapt to and pay attention to the changes in user demand in the long cycle. "
Alibaba Pictures President Li Jie Source: Official
Faced with the supply contradiction between the long and short cycles, He believes that there are several types of movies that are anti-cyclical and can bring audiences back to the theater: works with a cinematic quality, especially audiovisual cinema; large-scale, industrialized movies; and individual destiny and family and country. Emotionally relevant, not a fictional movie.
In the process of attracting users, the update and iteration of genres are also very important. Although Chinese movies have shown a trend of diversification in recent years, Wang Changtian believes that animation movies and science fiction movies still account for the proportion of the entire movie box office. Too low. "Take animated movies as an example. Developed markets like the United States can account for 15% or even 20%. But in China, it may be 7% to 8%, and it can reach more than ten%."
From 8% to 15%, This means no small increments. Wang Changtian believes that the development of animated films should be the next step for Chinese filmmakers. Ray currently maintains a production capacity of two to three animated films per year, and in the future hopes to achieve an annual output of four to five steps. In the field of science fiction films, Wang Changtian announced that Enlight Media will jointly produce the new " three-body " movie with Trisolaris Universe, and will be directed by Zhang Yimou.
Guangguang Media Chairman Wang Changtian Source: Official
Meng Danqing believes that diversified content supply is a key point. imax once conducted theater screenings of sports events in Taiwan and Hong Kong, China, and eventually attracted 80% of the users. I haven't been to a movie theater in several years. "Users who may not have come to the cinema to watch movies for many years come to the cinema because they like concerts and sports games and have a good experience. They will want to go to the cinema to watch a movie next time."
imax China CEO Meng Danqing Source: official
In addition to the return and exploration of domestic audiences, another way to seek growth is the overseas expansion of Chinese-language films. Yu Dong said, "More international expressions in genre films may be something we need to work on in the future. We also hope that after Chinese films have achieved profitability in their own market, they can continue to expand their influence and radiation in overseas markets.""
After the Pride trilogy and the Victory trilogy, Yu Dong believes that Bona's next step may be a trilogy of overseas stories of Chinese films. "This part may still have a chance to refresh today's audiences. "According to him, Bona is developing stories about Chinese entrepreneurs on Wall Street, targeting " The Wolf of Wall Street " and national security-themed movies, targeting " The Bourne Supremacy ".
Bona Pictures Founder, Chairman and General Manager Yu Dong Source: official
In addition to experimenting with genres and themes, Ying Xujun, Vice President of Chinese Culture Group, President of Chinese Pictures, and President of Oriental DreamWorks, believes that going overseas also requires continued investment in the international film industry. Go and become one of them, "Chinese companies and Chinese filmmakers must participate in the cycle of the entire world film industry with a positive, comprehensive and open attitude. ”
Ying Xujun, Vice President of Chinese Culture Group, President of Chinese Pictures, and President of Oriental DreamWorks Source: Official
Facing the next decade, technology is also driving changes in the industry. As a technological change that has been in the limelight recently, AI has caused This has caused a lot of expectations and panic in the film industry. According to Yu Dong, Bona has established an AI studio this year, “from short films and images to the accumulation of digital assets. "
Although AI has become a prominent science in the film industry today, Wang Changtian believes that "excessive expectations for AI are unrealistic, and panic is also unrealistic. He believes that it is difficult for AI to subvert the film industry. "AI is a production tool, but it is difficult to make independent decisions and produce independently." "
He found that AI is already being used in mainstream film work, but in actual application, AI is still far from meeting the requirements of film-level works. "(AI) must be truly mature and be able to be applied to movies. It may take another two or three years. ”
Vice Chairman of the China Film Association, Secretary and Chairman of the Party Committee of Shanghai Film (Group) Co., Ltd., Secretary and Chairman of the Party Committee and Chairman of Shanghai Film Co., Ltd. Wang Jianer Source: Official
Wang Jianer believes that AI is more than just a tool. It’s a creative partner. Shanghai Film Group held a global AI movie marathon competition this year. During the communication with the creators, he truly felt the possibilities brought by the strong randomness of AIGC, “Creators use AIGC to generate images. Sometimes, the desired results are not obtained. But got a new image that he felt good about. We think AIGC is uncontrollable because we think our creativity is particularly important. This is a kind of creation brought about by (ai). It is not a tool to complete what I want, but to give me something I did not expect. "
Perhaps in two to three years, we will see this change happening.
