Audiences took photos in front of movie posters. Xinhua News Agency (Photo by Fan Hui) Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, August 21 (Reporter Zhang Yunlong) According to data from the ticketing platform Maoyan, as of 5:00 on August 18, China’s 2024 summer season (June 1 to August 31) )

Audiences take photos in front of movie posters. Xinhua News Agency (photo by Fan Hui)

As of March 31), the cumulative box office reached 10 billion yuan, and the total number of moviegoers was 243 million. In the same period last year, these two figures were approximately 18 billion yuan and 440 million people respectively. Nonetheless, the innovative drive and resilience behind it may shape the future of Chinese cinema.

As of noon on August 20, the summer frontrunner and comedy film " " ranked third on this year's box office list with a box office revenue of 3.15 billion yuan. The suspense film " Silently Kills " followed closely with nearly 1.35 billion yuan, temporarily ranking sixth in the annual box office list. Chen Jin, a data analyst at the

film data platform Lighthouse Professional Edition, pointed out that the number of films released or scheduled for the summer of 2024 is about 140, which is the same as the same period last year. "The supply is relatively sufficient in terms of quantity." This data shows that the problem is not the number of films released, but their audience response and box office performance.

Despite the overall box office decline, the types of films released this summer are very diverse, covering comedy, crime, suspense, science fiction, fantasy, animation, romance, drama, etc. Among them, comedies performed particularly well, with a total box office exceeding 4 billion yuan. This success continues the outstanding performance of comedy films such as " Hot and Spicy ", " Speeding Life 2" and " Article 20 " in popular schedules this year. Currently, domestic comedies dominate the top five in the annual box office list.

A woman walks past a movie poster in a theater in Beijing. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Shen Annie

Film industry observer and theater manager Dong Wenxin believes that the year-on-year decline in summer box office is due to multiple reasons, including the decline in the number of key films, the loss of mainstream audiences, the emergence of cultural and entertainment consumption alternatives, and the impact of short videos on movie viewing Preference effects, etc. At the same time, she noticed that "the box office seed players generally did not follow the old path or play safe, but instead made innovations and attempts."

The widely watched film " decrypted " was officially released on August 3, with a total box office of 322 million yuan so far, failing to meet market expectations. However, the film's director Chen Sicheng broke through his comfort zone of previous genre films, bravely innovated, and produced This "decryption" themed visual effects blockbuster with the author's expression has been praised by many film critics.

Rao Shuguang, president of the Chinese Film Critics Society, said that "Decryption" is an innovative expression of the traditional hidden front-themed film. "It is a breakthrough in the expansion of genres for Chinese films and an active attempt by the film market to cope with changes."

's recently released feature film " Retrograde Life " has also been well received by critics. The film shows the life of a delivery rider in a humorous yet touching way. Dong Wenxin believes that the film skillfully balances comedy and realism themes, presenting the audience with a portrait of workers close to life.

Rao Shuguang believes that the problems with the summer season also reflect the new challenges faced by Chinese films, such as changes in the composition of the audience, with an increasing proportion of audiences in small and medium-sized cities; whether the film can provide emotional value is increasingly a factor for the audience to watch the film Important reasons for choice.

"Longer the scale, the box office of a period or a film may only be the gain or loss of one city or one place. What is more important is the progress of the industry, the increase of the audience, and the improvement of the capabilities of practitioners.In Dong Wenxin’s view, “Creations have new expressions, audiences have new films to watch, theaters have new ways to play, and the market has new growth. Only when everyone comes up with ‘new stuff’ can Chinese films have a new future!” "

Source: Xinhua News Agency client