The 2024 summer season ended with a box office of 11.64 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 44%. The number of moviegoers has shrunk significantly, and audiences have become more cautious in their consumption. Public opinion and fan circles have swept the film industry, and the e

024 summer season ended with a box office of 11.64 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 44%. The number of moviegoers has shrunk significantly, and audiences have become more cautious in their consumption. Public opinion and fan circles have swept the film industry, and the effectiveness of short video marketing has been reduced. Great directors such as Wu Ershan, Chen Sicheng, and Xu Zheng have encountered market difficulties in their explorations in comics adaptation, industrialization, and realism.

In this regard, Tencent Entertainment’s “Immediate Recognition” forum invited Fang Li, a film producer, director, and president of Beijing Laurel Pictures Co., Ltd., An Yugang, CEO of Beijing Film World Culture Communication Co., Ltd., Chinese Culture Cinema Line, ume Film Management and Operations Director Cai Xiaoxue and film critic Tan Fei, from different perspectives such as filmmakers, marketers, theaters, and film critics, tasted the ups and downs of this summer's film and discussed what this summer film has left for us. What are more important than box office? How can Chinese films break through in the future? At the forum, the guests frequently came up with wise words -

Tan Fei summarized the summer schedule from the "four flavors" of sour, sweet, bitter, spicy, and pointed out that there are too many competing products competing for the attention of movies, and young audiences tend to "pinduoduoduo" when choosing movies. , the "time-to-price ratio" of getting multiple emotional values ​​from watching a movie is higher.

An Yugang analyzed the characteristics of summer blockbusters and pointed out that audiences pursue more extreme excitement, extreme warmth, and extreme comedy. Although short video marketing has encountered backlash and the audience's trust in it has decreased, it is still the most valuable marketing method.

Fang Li believes that making movies requires innovation. Don’t just follow others’ trends to please the audience. He called on China’s cinemas to become more community-based so that going to the movies would no longer be an expensive “big decision.”

Cai Xiaoxue said that now audiences rarely buy tickets in advance and make decisions based on real word-of-mouth; cinemas have been actively trying to upgrade "cinema+" formats such as Olympic live broadcasts, game live broadcasts, and parent-child study tours.

part1 Review: The Four Flavors of Summer Movies: Sweet, Spicy, Bitter, and Sour

Overall interpretation of summer movies: There are too many competing products vying for eyeballs with movies, and the success of movies depends on "extremeization" and "pinduoduohua"

At the beginning of the forum, film critics Tan Fei first made an overall review of this summer's season from the four flavors of "sweet, sour, bitter and spicy". The "sweetness" of

lies in the fact that " catches the baby ", " silently kills ", "There is a Commissary on the Edge of the Cloud", and "Alien Death Ship" are relatively successful at the box office.

"Acid" is because there are currently too many competing products competing for movie attention, such as short videos, social media, etc. Recently, "Black Myth: Wukong" has emerged. He believes that movies will be more difficult in the future, as young audiences are becoming more and more sophisticated. It is becoming more formatted and fragmented. After being impacted by games, we want to obtain a greater amount of information per unit of time. This is a major change.

"Bitterness" means that the overall box office this summer is 9 billion lower than last year. The ridicule of "Chen Sicheng, Wu Ershan, Xu Zheng, and Jackie Chan combined to cut 1 billion yuan" makes practitioners feel uncomfortable.

"Spicy" lies in the impact of fans and public opinion on the film industry. He used milk tea as an analogy. If you say that the milk tea in a certain store is poisonous if you haven't drunk it, the owner can call the police, because this is called defamation and the crime of affecting goodwill, but movies You can easily invest hundreds of millions, but you can scold them as you like.

film producer Fang Li analyzed the factors that affect the summer box office from a global perspective. He believes that it has little to do with the output of the film, and the problem lies in the consumption model. First of all, the global economy is in a bleak state, and it is difficult for movies to survive alone. Secondly, the Olympic Games and the world situation are too eye-catching, and the audience's attention is distracted. There are too many other consumption options besides movies. Furthermore, he believes that there is a fundamental error in the business model of movie theaters. "Cinema theaters should not be located in shopping malls. Watching a movie becomes such a big decision. It costs tens of dollars to park a car and you have to eat a meal." He It calls on Chinese theaters to deliver goods to your door, go into the community, use 711, 24-hour retail, and even support unattended operation. From the perspective of consumption, Tan Fei also added that people's willingness and mentality to consume have indeed changed a lot, and they are becoming more and more cautious.

Blockbuster films such as "Catch a Baby" and "Silent Kill" reflect the audience's demand for extreme emotional value.

Cai Xiaoxue reviewed the surprises and regrets of this summer's movie from a theater perspective.The surprise lies in the exploration of diversified film types by film practitioners, such as the observation of hot social issues in "Catch a Baby", the warmth given to the audience by "Cloudside Commissary", and the uniqueness of the style of " Safely Evacuates from the 21st Century" , "Silence" has a tight rhythm and makes breakthroughs in the theme of good and evil. "Alien" can suddenly emerge as a new force even though domestic films dominate the charts... She believes that Chinese audiences are now more willing to think and to watch topical movies. The type of subject matter that is closely related to you. But the regret is that box office is a necessity for theaters to survive. This summer’s box office did not reach the expected level. “No matter what, whether it is 11 billion or 20 billion, it is the result of the efforts of countless film practitioners. We hope that in the future Getting better and better."

The guests also analyzed for us the common characteristics of several blockbuster movies this summer. An Yugang believes that these movies reflect the audience's more extreme demands: extreme excitement, extreme excitement. Warmth and ultimate comedy. Among the top three at the box office, except for comedies, which are in hard demand, the other two are all heavy films. Cai Xiaoxue pointed out that whether it is last year's "The Disappearance of Her ", " All-Despite " or this year's "Silent Kill" and " Reborn ", "To put it bluntly, it has some blood, and the audience should release their hearts." Tan Fei added that the best-selling movies now tend to be "pinduoduoduo". For example, "Silent Kill" has 6 kinds of emotional value in one movie. "From a textual point of view, "Silent Kill" and "Rebirth" are really It is very ordinary, but it is extraordinary for the audience, because what I buy is the emotional value."

Xu Zheng's " Retrograde Life " has continued to be controversial.

Public opinion has swept the film industry: the movie has become an object to vent one's anger, and it is impossible not to watch the movie. Is it slanderous to call a bad movie?

This year’s summer movies have been frequently “judged” by online public opinion and fandom groups. Before Xu Zheng’s “Retrograde Life” was released, it was criticized by Internet comments such as “poor people pay to watch rich people play poor people” and “consumer suffering”. Under the spotlight, fans of Zhu Yilong "faced the truth" and accused the film studio at the roadshow of "A Negative Is a Positive". The person in charge of a film industry issued an article saying that the biggest risk in film investment in the past two years is public opinion from various angles. This terrible power has caused many films to suffer.

In this regard, Tan Fei believes that the reason behind this is that many people in today's society are full of hostility, and movies have become the easiest target to vent their anger. There is no legal responsibility for criticizing movies. The fandom culture has been around for a long time and is getting stronger and stronger. When it affected the sports circle, it was suppressed in time, but the film and television industry was at the end of the chain of contempt and was unable to resist. Tan Fei also said that public opinion is particularly easy to personify a movie and connect the movie with the creator's personality and the news that happened to him. "The negative public opinion of "Retrograde Life" is completely inexplicable. I think it will hit The confidence of creators."

Tan Fei believes that public opinion is unfriendly to the film and television industry, which is a reflection of human nature. "First, they think you are easy to bully. Second, they think you have a high income and I have to scold you if you make a lot of money. , because I didn’t earn this money.” Tan Fei took Fang Li’s entire fortune to make a movie as an example, and hoped that everyone would realize that “the film and television industry is very difficult. The people who really make money are the small group at the top of the pyramid, and most people even Migrant workers in film and television earn one to two thousand a month, and many people only earn a sum of money in a few months." Tan Fei called on the media to do more to provide symmetrical information to let the public understand the truth and eliminate prejudice against the film and television industry. , Cai Xiaoxue said that the cinema also felt the same way, "When we communicated with the property owners and told them that our operations were under great pressure, no one understood us."

Tan Fei emphasized the need for judicial intervention, "We said it without watching the movie. "It's a bad movie, it's also called destroying goodwill, or it's defamation." However, when it comes to recourse to law, the film and television industry is not as tough as the automobile industry because "creators are also afraid of offending the audience." He believes that dealing with these public opinions is a systemic issue that requires everyone to work together, and the industry also needs to find a protected side.

An Yugang believes that this kind of public opinion is the most terrifying thing for people who do marketing communications."You were originally selling products, but they no longer pay attention to the product itself. All they focus on are the extra things about the product. He bases his pleasure on venting." Tan Fei also pointed out that in the past, it was still possible for marketers to Turning negative hype into box office is no longer possible. Netizens only argue but don't pay the bill. Cai Xiaoxue has also noticed this change in the audience, "There are very few people who buy tickets in advance. They may wait for the movie to be released to read the word-of-mouth first. Now there are really many obstacles in choosing a movie, whether it is good copywriting in the Moments we post, or more Most of it is for self-interest, and it really cannot reach the audience all at once." An Yugang said that the audience will delay consumption and will not even click "want to see". It is not planned and is a temporary act.

When talking about the impact of online public opinion on the film industry, Fang Li had different feelings, "You can't change everyone, speech is free, and movies are made to be criticized and criticized." "I always believe that people are curious. , all behaviors and habits will change, the film industry will never die, you will always have food stalls, you will always have private dishes, it will always be there." When talking about kneeling for " Hundred Birds Phoenix ". When asked about the experience of arranging films to help this literary film win 87 million box office, he concluded: "I can't say that the audience doesn't like to watch movies anymore. I don't believe that we can come up with many tricks in terms of movie content to attract people. I think we should do Movies should not follow trends or feed others.

"Under the Strangers" held many "stranger parties"

The movie promotion style was involuntarily: short video marketing suffered backlash, and the audience did not believe what you spread

In recent years Lai Movie is very popular in short video marketing. Now that the summer box office is deserted, the role of short video marketing has also been re-examined. Can it really be effectively converted into box office? An Yugang analyzed, “In absolute terms, the conversion or effectiveness of short video marketing may be decreasing, but in a relative sense, it is still the most meaningful or valuable marketing in the current communication environment. "Method." Data records will be left behind all the user's actions from watching short videos to clicking on "Want to Watch" movies to purchasing tickets. Short video communication is the best way for viewers to jump to these "Want to Watch" actions. At the same time, he also pointed out that the emotional points of movie marketing have not changed from before, but now you can see the data.

Tan Fei believes that short videos are too homogeneous now. The short video marketing of each movie has the same routine, and the audience will be completely confused about which movie is which. He feels that it is still necessary to innovate and formulate real cooking methods based on the characteristics of human nature and the characteristics of today's young and main audiences, and stop relying on paths.

An Yugang also agreed with the problems of short videos, "The performance effect of short video marketing in the past few years has now had a backlash. Since last year, people have not believed in all the things you spread. This is very scary. "This also leads to a delay in the audience's consumption behavior. He wants to see the most authentic feedback before finding a reason to consume. In addition to short videos,

has also come up with various tricks in marketing this summer. Music parties, get-togethers, theme parties, etc. are emerging one after another. The film crew is constantly busy at the premiere. In this regard, Tan Fei was most impressed by the party of "Under the Stranger" and the beach music festival of "The Negative", but the box office performance of these two films was very different from expectations, "It shows that the film mainly relies on The work itself, marketing can only be an auxiliary." He pointed out that women's consumption of male sex is indeed a common trend now. The proton regiment model of "Fengshen" is very successful, but it cannot be simply transplanted to "Under the Stranger". The movie itself is not out of the circle to play "Hi" "It has no effect. Tan Fei also suggested that the film crew abandon the traditional premiere ceremony, "Nowadays, celebrity-booked theaters have no radiating power and are too homogeneous.In terms of movie reviews, is it possible to create a truly effective nutrient delivery at a premiere? "

When it comes to movie marketing in this difficult environment, An Yugang believes that it boils down to "what is the product itself? What can this product give you? Made you laugh? Got your adrenaline pumping? " He pointed out that the audience has only two demands. First, everyone likes heavy flavors and needs stronger stimulation to release the anger deep in their hearts every day and follow the emotions of the movie. Second, like the two-dimensional film, the audience desires An independent space, go in and heal for two hours, because life is very stressful and I feel uneasy. Film marketing should return to the relationship between products and users. "Form is really not particularly important." Promoting precision marketing, the crowd is very complex, and one movie cannot please everyone. Cai Xiaoxue revealed from the perspective of theaters, "Nowadays, many film producers use the two major platforms to compete with each other, and they have to arrange high-quality films, but the attendance rate and word-of-mouth are not good enough. The film schedule will still be gradually reduced, and the audience may not watch it if your attendance rate is not good. "

An Yugang believes that we should also study the audience, because the audience is always growing and changing, and there will always be younger audiences. In this regard, Fang Li pointed out from the perspective of film production that filmmakers cannot design and please like engineers. , "In fact, the audience cannot be pleased, and it only lasts for a short time, because the audience's needs are the same as human evolution, and are always changing. The audience is expecting surprises when they enter the cinema. Do I still want to eat what I have eaten? We must keep our eyes forward, and don’t see that if something is sold for money, everyone will rush to learn it.” He believes that movies should come from life above life, and creation must be completely attentive, constantly exploring and creating for the audience what they don’t have. Something new that I have seen but never imagined. "I always eat twice-cooked pork. How many meals can I eat?" "Tan Fei also pointed out that hit movies cannot be predicted by fortune telling, and audiences will not like them if they are too well designed and ingenious.

Audiences "abandoned" movie theaters: Movies are marginalized by social media, and movie theaters are upgrading to test sports and game live broadcasts

data It shows that the number of movie viewers this summer has dropped from 505 million last year to 285 million, and the per capita movie viewing frequency has dropped from 1.85 times last year to 1.6 times. In addition to the factors of the film itself, various forms of entertainment are also following suit. Movies compete for users, and audiences seem to be "abandoning" movie theaters.

Tan Fei took the game "Black Myth: Wukong" as an example, and believed that the biggest problem with movies at present is that they are marginalized by social media, and young audiences are fragmented and pursue "the latest trends." "price/performance", they can watch TV, computers and mobile phones at the same time. In this "attention war", it is more difficult than ever for movies to become a hot topic.

In this regard, Fang Li once again called for cinemas to be built at the doorsteps of communities. , bringing in a large number of customers who have family burdens and little time; more importantly, let the theater become a community platform for making friends, hosting family gatherings, children’s birthdays and other activities.

Cai Xiaoxue shared ume’s experience in "theatre". +" various attempts at business upgrades, including book bars, coffee shops, VR, dramas, games, sports events, parent-child study, etc. She revealed that in the years after the epidemic, they launched VR copyright cooperation such as "Sky" products, and also used the resources of the content company under Chinese Culture to carry out immersive drama cooperation. During the Olympics, ume also launched live broadcasts of the games, "feeling the enthusiasm of everyone after the Chinese team won." After the launch of "Wukong", ume also organized several live broadcasts of the game. The theater environment brought a unique experience to game fans. In addition, ume also carried out research activities on the documentaries "Pulse of the Earth" and "Secret Nature" to introduce women. film festival, Hong Kong Film Festival, etc., to deeply explore the needs of different audiences. Cai Xiaoxue emphasized that the cinema format will definitely always exist and will not disappear, and the audience's attention to movies has not diminished.

Cinemas organize parent-child categories through private channels. The event also aroused heated discussions among guests. Tan Fei said that the film industry used to pay too much attention to public domain traffic, but now it should pay more attention to private domain traffic.An Yugang believes that in the current consumption environment, "children are the most powerful diversion kings" and parents will spend money almost unscrupulously for their children. Cai Xiaoxue pointed out that there is a phenomenon of "two-dimensional salvation" this year. When every two-dimensional movie such as "Dali Temple Diary", "Spy's House", "Volleyball Boys" and "Blue Forbidden Zone" was released, there were many Children come to watch, but the pre-sale period for two-dimensional movies is relatively short, and the viewing craze ended in the first week of release. "Such a rapid process also prompts us to understand the audience in the two-dimensional system. How to choose a movie."

Talking about the problem that many viewers complain that movie tickets are too expensive, An Yugang believes that this is still a cost-effective issue, "Young people don't think it is expensive, they think it is not worth the money. "This problem cannot be solved through marketing. Only when people have confidence and security in the future will they be willing to invest money."

part2 Thinking: What has this summer season left us? Things that are more important than box office

Genre exploration and youth power: Wu Ershan, Chen Sicheng, and Li Yang should be applauded for their innovations

Despite the poor box office and unsatisfactory audience reputation, this year's summer movie styles are still quite diverse. ization, Chen Sicheng's " Decrypted " maintains the baseline of China's film industrialization, Wu Ershan's "Under the Stranger" explores domestic comic adaptations, "Retrograde Life" focuses on realism, and new directors' works "Safe Evacuation from the 21st Century" and "Negative "The Negative Makes the Positive" and other unique styles, what exactly did this summer movie leave us? Besides the box office, what else deserves everyone’s attention? The guests discussed this topic.

Cai Xiaoxue affirmed the richness and content quality of this summer’s movies. Firstly, the number of films released is basically the same as last year’s summer. Secondly, documentaries, dramas, comedies, suspense and other types are all available. She also said that although box office is not the only criterion, cinemas definitely hope that every film will have a good box office and a hundred flowers bloom, so that the cinema can survive. "It has to be a positive closed loop. When the box office is good, more people will invest and more films will be produced. Only when the films are good can theaters and other aspects develop positively."

for Chen Sicheng and Wu Er Tan Fei believes that movies need innovation, even if the market performance is not ideal, and when it is time to applaud them, he must not be stingy with applause. But he also expressed his concerns, "From a human perspective, I think Chen Sicheng will definitely be hit hard. He may feel that innovation is too costly." However, the film industry needs someone to constantly Broaden the dimensions and let the people behind you enjoy the benefits. Otherwise, the market will always only have those few types, and the audience will abandon it faster.

What makes Tan Fei regretful is that "Safe Evacuation from the 21st Century" directed by Li Yang was not released in time enough. "The screening should be shorter. It is best to release it immediately when the attendance rate is 70 to 80%. It It kind of failed over and over again, and the attendance rate was not high when it was finally officially released. "He believes that good films cannot be hidden too much. There are too many entertainment activities that distract the audience, and the "hungry" lingers for a long time. It will no longer take effect. Cai Xiaoxue revealed that there are still many innovative films worthy of attention in the future. The screening effect of " Only Green " was very good and it was hard to get a ticket. "Many people asked me and I said I didn't have a ticket either."

Hollywood movie revelation: "Alien" meets the audience's "heavy taste" needs, and behind it is the call for classification

With domestic films dominating the charts in recent years, the Hollywood R-rated film "Alien" unexpectedly broke into this year's summer box office top3, An Yugang, who has been responsible for the marketing of many Hollywood films in China, believes that giant monster films such as "Godzilla vs. Kong" and thriller science fiction films such as "Alien" can just make up for the scarcity of content on the supply side of the Chinese film market. Sexual issues, and meet the needs of the audience's heavy taste.

"Alien" was accused of frightening an 8-year-old child, and parents complained to the movie theater

""Alien" frightened an 8-year-old child, and parents complained to the movie theater" once became a hot topic. Tan Fei believes that there is a film classification issue behind this incident. Calling, "If the classification problem is not solved, then the industrialization and marketization of Chinese films can only be partially completed. Only by classifying can there be precise marketing. If this industry wants to talk about a future direction, then classification can indeed be considered ”

Tan Fei believes that it is necessary to create a relaxed environment for the release of movies as much as possible, including a regulatory environment and a public opinion environment. "The film market is essentially the same as the stock market. Why is the trading volume shrinking? Because the leading stocks are not active and are not driven by whale-like blockbusters. It is difficult for small and medium-sized films to become popular. This summer, at least 1 to 2 leading stocks have not been listed. The audience’s attention is declining.”

part3 Outlook: How will Chinese films break through in the future?

Movie market preview: The National Day release of "Only Green" has the potential to be a small hit, leading stocks should enter the market as soon as possible to drive the market

After the summer release, what other films are worth looking forward to? The guests also gave their outlook and recommendations. An Yugang said, "I hope every family will be happy." He is personally looking forward to the National Day movie "Only Green". "Judging from the materials released so far, it really makes your eyes light up and washes your eyes." The effect." In addition, he also revealed that as a father, he might take his children to watch "New Big Head Son and Little Head Dad".

Cai Xiaoxue also hopes that all films will be good from the theater perspective. In addition to "Only Green", she also pays attention to "Danger Line", parent-child films, Mid-Autumn Festival thrillers, etc. "I hope that when a hundred flowers bloom, our cinemas will become more and more confident."

Guests were generally optimistic about the film "Only Green"

Tan Fei also believed that "Only Green" has the potential to become a hit. He also watched the movie "Safety in and Out" in advance, and "the quality was OK." The film tells the story of a death row prisoner against the backdrop of an earthquake. In addition, the screenwriter of "Volunteers 2" told him that the second part will be very different from the first, focusing on the war itself to win new audiences. Tan Fei said, "There should be movies that ordinary people are interested in. The more diversified, the more choices there are. The worst thing is to be single." He expressed his expectation that there will be blockbusters in the Mid-Autumn Festival and the National Day holiday. "The leading stocks must enter the market as soon as possible. The leading stocks are not there , We are all soldiers and generals, and the presence of leading stocks can drive everyone to swim into the deep sea."

In addition, Fang Li's first historical documentary film "The Sinking of the Lisbon Maru" as director was also released on September 6. The film tells the story of the Second World War. The story of Zhoushan fishermen rescuing British prisoners of war from the sunken ship Lisbon Maru in Japan. He revealed that the film was not made for the market, but to fill in the gaps in history. "This is something that the Japanese military has denied in black and white." He said that he wanted the righteous deeds of his ancestors to be known to the world. "I did what I wanted to do." If you do something, if you don’t do it, you will be a criminal in history." He also revealed that the lyrics "When a ship sinks to the bottom of the sea, when a (group of) people become a mystery" in Han Han's "See You Again" were inspired by this historical event.

Breaking the rules in the future: Don’t follow the trend when making movies, be sincere in marketing, and try to attract new movie theaters

After bidding farewell to the summer season, how will the future of Chinese movies break? The guests also shared their views from their own perspectives. From a creative perspective, Fang Li said: "I have been making movies for 20 years, and I will always make movies inspired by my feelings. I will not follow trends or plagiarize." He believes that movies should have a long life cycle and should be left to future generations. Look, create movies that touch the emotions of the audience.

Tan Fei said that movies still have a future, but they must innovate and attract new people. The stock is constantly decreasing, so where is the increase? Regardless of whether it is at the creative level, marketing level, market level, or theater level, the problem of attracting new players should be solved. He believes that in addition to artistic beauty, movies also have social attributes, so they can innovate in media attributes, and even try "interactive movies" to give young people a greater sense of participation and control. "I believe cinemas will never die."

Cai Xiaoxue agreed from the perspective of theaters. They hope to continue to try to "attract new people" and make customized strategies for different movies to attract different categories of audiences.

In the marketing and communication link, An Yugang hopes that the public opinion environment will be purer. . He believes that the power of sincerity is infinite, and there is no need to engage in so-called innovations, but to return to the real relationship between products and users, and use appropriate marketing methods to convey it to everyone.

In this forum, we can speak freely, collide with each other, and output a lot of insights, hoping to bring enlightenment to the development of the Chinese film industry. For more exciting information, please download the "Jimu News" client in the application market. Please do not reprint without authorization. News clues are welcome. Once accepted, the 24-hour reporting hotline is 027-86777777.