text | Rhino Entertainment, author | Nan Rumin, editor | Pu Fang
The Dragon Boat Festival did not go well. The biggest reason was the lack of blessing from the head blockbuster. The upcoming summer season is undoubtedly the highlight of the year.
Although "Nezha 2", " Jiangyuan Nong " and "Feng Shen 2" regretted missing this year's summer release, judging from the current film list, they are still very competitive, including a number of blockbusters of blessing. As for whether it can replicate last year's box office miracle, there is still a lot of pressure. In short, after more than a month of downturn, the market has finally begun to truly rebound.
It’s hard to find last year’s miracle in this summer season
Thinking back to last year’s summer season, starting from " The Missing She ", there were successively " in the octagonal cage", " Chang'an Thirty Thousand Miles ", "Fengshen", " ", all-or-nothing, " and a series of hit hits, including projects worth nearly 1 billion like "Hot" and "The Meg 2". In the end, in the summer of 2023, the cumulative box office revenue in July and August was nearly 16.5 billion, which is an important part of supporting the annual box office.
From the perspective of correspondence, it is currently difficult to match last year’s magnitude. Although the current film list is abundant, the magnitude of a single film is slightly insufficient, so more dark horses and surprises are needed. Just show up enthusiastically. The current schedule is more for the end of June and July. The number of films in August is relatively insufficient. Next, "Decryption", "749 Bureau", "Enter and Out", etc. may be supplemented at any time.
(Part of this year’s summer films, data as of press time)
Judging from the current summer film list, at least on the surface, there is indeed a certain gap with last year, especially the lack of films like "Nezha 2" After launching a very large-scale project, it has basically been announced in advance. This summer's schedule is difficult to compare with last year. Let's take a look at the specific single-chip situation.
Let’s first look at the small and medium size level (level b). Judging from the timeline, "Jedi Men 4" is about to land in the mainland market. This IP is too old. The third part of the series only received more than 35 million yuan in the mainland market. The introduction of the film is basically just a fill-in, and it is difficult to have a big impact on the market. The subsequent "Lai Fu Hotel" was screened for several weeks, and then later withdrawn, the film was basically overdrawn, and it was difficult to take advantage of the summer season.
several animations basically belong to this level. Including "New Big Head Son and Little Head Dad 6", " Erlang Shen: Deep Sea Dragon ", "Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf: Guardian", etc. These animations all have their stable markets, and the "New Big Head" series has continued to be stable since its restart. It has the strength to exceed 100 million. The last "Pleasant Goat" even got a box office of 160 million, and this time's performance is worth looking forward to. "Erlang Shen: The Deep Sea Dragon" is currently very popular, but the next step depends on the quality.
Among them, the rebooted " legend " deserves attention. The film is the sequel to the 2005 "Myth". This time, director Tang Jili and Jackie Chan and other main creators all return, plus a number of current A-list stars, so both platforms maintain stable popularity.
Next is the upcoming "There is a Canteen by the Clouds". This is also the second work of writer Zhang Jiajia turned director. It is adapted from his own novel "There is a Canteen by the Clouds". The adaptation of the best-selling book has indeed brought huge popularity and traffic. Currently, the number of people who want to watch the film currently ranks first among the summer movies, with Maoyan and Taopiaopiao reaching a cumulative level of nearly 800,000.
The temporarily released " Customs Front " still focuses on the Hong Kong police and gangster action genre. Judging from the past summer releases, there has been a popular Hong Kong film at the beginning of the summer season, but the situation has been good and bad. Last year's "Anti-Drug 3" ushered in an overturn. I hope "Customs Front" can hold the "front". The following fantasy love movie "Welcome to Me" starring the popular young actor Yu Shi is also very popular.
"Wild Child" starring Wang Junkai was released on July 12. This is a project that returns to reality. Because of Wang Junkai's participation, the film is very popular. Maoyan and Taopiaopiao have accumulated nearly 500,000 people wanting to watch it. . The world's top animated IP "Despicable Me 4" has successfully landed in the summer season. This is undoubtedly a huge challenge for some domestic animations. You must know that the film's predecessor is worth 1 billion.
Marvel's annual blockbuster "Deadpool and Wolverine" has successfully landed in the summer season, which also proves that there is indeed a certain shortage of films in this year's summer season. Marvel has long lost its former dominance. "Avengers 4" is its final peak, and it can be said that it has plummeted since then. This "Deadpool and Wolverine" undoubtedly carries the hope of Marvel's recovery, and may be able to differentiate itself in a summer schedule full of domestic films.
Although Wu Ershan's "Feng Shen 2" regrettably failed to catch up with this year's summer release, he still has other works released. The giant Chinese comic "Under the Stranger" has been scheduled for July 26 this year, and " "Deadpool and Wolverine" form a fighting pattern. Today, Wu Ershan still has a trilogy of "Zheng He's Voyages to the West" to prepare, and he has undoubtedly become a symbol of quality.
Xu Zheng's new work " Retrograde Life " is scheduled for early August, which happens to be the schedule of last year's "Desperate", but there is still a lot of pressure on whether it can fill the vacancy last year. I recall that Xu Zheng's last film was "囧Mom" in 2020. Now that he has returned to realistic themes, I still hope that he can produce better quality. The film is expected to become a market leader in August.
The Chinese animation "White Snake: The Floating Life" has been selected to be released on the Chinese Valentine's Day this year. Previous works have achieved good results, and the market for the entire series is steadily rising. This time it’s the third part, and the overall popularity has increased again. The cumulative number of people who want to watch it is now close to 400,000. You must know that there are still nearly two months until it is released.
Finally, it is an S-level project for the summer season. It's a pity that there is only one film so far, and that is " Successor Plan " assembled by Wang Zha. The film is undoubtedly the only one in the summer season. It is directed by Yan Fei, Peng Damo, Shen Teng, Starring Ma Li, the last time this kind of god-level lineup appeared was in 2015's "Charlotte", and this time it is expected to create another classic.
At present, the film has just been finalized, and the accumulated popularity is relatively insufficient, but it will catch up in the future. It is rumored that the film has been jointly guaranteed by two giants in the industry with a high guarantee, which is enough to prove the absolute strength and quality of the film. Judging from market logic, the film will most likely win the box office championship this summer, and Shen Teng will make another success on his way to becoming a god.
