Although the industry once shouted the slogan that Chinese movies have entered the streaming media era, in fact, the film industry is still dominated by theaters, and it is difficult for small screens to replace big screens.

Picture source @Visual China

Text | Mouyu, author | Muying

What kind of movie can make Zhao Liying and Yang Mi, two popular "85 flowers", become a hot search for a role?

# Jiangyuan Nong female second Yang Mi#, #杨Mi Zhao Liying Jiangyuan Nong#, #杨幂 docking rumors Jiangyuan Nong#...Recently related to the role of the second female lead "Su Qing" in the movie "Jiang Yuan Nong" The topic has frequently been on the trending searches, making onlookers wonder, is it Duoxiang's "cake" that can make a popular female star grab it like this?

"Jiangyuan Lane" is indeed one of the most watched projects in the recent film market. The famous director Chen Kexin has been sharpening his skills for seven years, and the best actress Zhang Ziyi is taking the leading role. This is simply to win awards. No wonder the stars want to squeeze in. Go brush your face.

To be honest, the Chinese film market seems to have not been so lively for a long time. Even Peter Chan lamented that this is the busiest time for him in the past ten years, and he is not the only one who has been busy in the film industry recently.

Feng Xiaogang squeezed into the 2023 Lunar New Year schedule with Feng's Lunar New Year film "If You Are the One 3", and held a press conference with Ge You, Shu Qi, Fan Wei and other actors;

"Old Weird" Tsui Hark returned to Jin Yong's martial arts after 30 years, bringing with him Xiao Zhan, a top entertainment star, was filming "The Legend of the Condor Heroes: The Greatest Hero" and stayed in Inner Mongolia for several months;

Yuan Heping also chose to return to martial arts. The new movie "The Guardian: The Wind Rises in the Desert" has been successfully developed and is being developed around the world. Recruiting actresses.

...

I still remember that before 2023, streaming media developed rapidly. Coupled with the epidemic, theatrical movies were severely impacted, and the box office was not optimistic. A large number of well-known directors such as Wong Kar-wai, Ann Hui, and Jia Zhangke started to play cross-border movies. The film industry was either filming commercials or online dramas, and the film market was silent for a time.

When streaming media and theaters are engaged in a "protracted war", the industry begins to worry about the future of the film industry. However, judging from the current blossoming of the film market, streaming media may not be able to kill , which is the theater chain.

01 The battle between streaming media and theaters

With the rise of streaming media, it is inevitable that theater movies will be impacted. The war between the two really started with "囧Mom".

During the 2020 Spring Festival, when almost all theater movies were forced to withdraw, the comedy movie "囧Mom" directed and starred by Xu Zheng directly skipped the theaters and was broadcast on streaming media. Changes in the media format caused a major earthquake in the film industry.

"囧Mom" was first released on streaming media, which undoubtedly caused huge damage to the interests of theaters. At that time, tens of thousands of employees claimed that theaters across the country had suffered as a result, and even stated that they would boycott Xu Zheng and the producer Huanxi Media in the future. Movies, it can be seen that people related to the film industry deeply hate streaming media.

From the perspective of the film side, Huanxi Media sold "囧Mom" for 630 million yuan, which was undoubtedly a sure profit. The industry situation at that time was not good, and even if it was successfully released in theaters, it might not be able to get it. Higher box office, not to mention that the movie’s release is far away due to the impact of the epidemic.

As for streaming media, although Byte has spent 630 million to buy "囧 Mom", Xigua Video really needs a movie to attract new users, not to mention that watching "囧 Mom" ​​for free has made Byte popular among ordinary audiences. Received unanimous praise and won word of mouth and reputation. This business is not a loss. Among the three parties of

, the only one whose interests were harmed was the theater chain. They invested a lot of money in publicity and film arrangement in the early stage, but in the end they got nothing.

More importantly, "囧Mom" opened a new outlet for movies. Once the movie enters the streaming media era, theaters are bound to suffer a heavy blow , and this trend was already vaguely emerging in the film industry at that time.

In fact, the dispute between streaming media and theaters is not limited to China. also has such problems in Europe and the United States, where the film industry is more developed. .

In July 2021, the "widow sister" Scarlett Johansson went to court against Disney. The reason was that Disney originally guaranteed that the new Marvel movie "Black Widow" starring her would be released exclusively in theaters, but the other party turned around and synchronized the movie with On the D+ streaming media platform, this will inevitably affect the box office of the theater chain, and a large part of the remuneration of "Widow Sister" comes from the share of the theater box office. The rise of

streaming media is an irreversible trend. If Disney wants to develop an online streaming media platform, it will definitely harm the interests of theaters and even actors, which has also caused a series of controversies.

The dispute between streaming media and theaters is a problem in the entire industry. With the rapid development of the Internet, audiences are gradually gathering online, and streaming media has a tendency to overwhelm theaters. Just like Warner Bros. will release all movies produced in 2021 It was played on a streaming media platform, causing the stock prices of many theaters in the United States to plummet.

The same is true in China. In 2019, the total box office of Chinese movies was as high as 64.2 billion yuan, but in 2020, there will only be 20 billion yuan left, and in 2022, the total box office will be just over 30 billion yuan. The decline of

theaters has led to a sharp decline in movie box office and revenue, which has hindered the development of the film industry to a certain extent. directors have filmed more profitable TV series. Feng Xiaogang has filmed the online drama "North and South" and Chen Kaige. He supervised the production of "The Biography of Strange People in the Early Republic of China", Wong Kar-wai filmed "Flowers"...

It is difficult for streaming media and theaters to make a truce. Well-known directors have devoted themselves to the drama market. In fact, the film industry has been hurt the most.

02 Streaming media is difficult to replace theaters

Although the industry once shouted the slogan that Chinese movies have entered the streaming media era, in fact, the film industry is still dominated by theaters, and it is difficult for small screens to replace large screens . The rapid development of

streaming media is partly due to changes in the general environment. However, as the impact of the epidemic subsides in 2023, the recovery of offline theaters has led to a rebound in box office, and theaters have once again become the main battlefield of the film industry. , the market share of streaming media in the movie industry is gradually decreasing .

On the one hand, the social and experiential attributes of offline traditional cinemas are difficult to replace. More and more ordinary audiences are entering cinemas to enjoy an immersive viewing experience, and cinemas are also one of the main places for social interaction. Meeting the social needs of ordinary people, this is what Guangming Daily once said, "The cultural field created by cinema viewing is irreplaceable by for Internet viewing."

At the same time, the film industry cannot leave offline distribution channels. Due to the long production cycle and high investment of movies, it is difficult to make a profit by relying solely on streaming media distribution. Theaters have always been the core of the film economy, and to a certain extent, they will also drive urban entities. Consumption is a need of urban culture, and the big screen is still the first choice in the film market.

On the other hand, streaming media is still in the development stage, and its main task is to "attract new customers." The retention effect of movies is not as good as that of dramas and variety shows, so streaming media's investment in movies will be reduced. .

Generally speaking, the purchase cost of movies is relatively high, and the viewing time is usually 2-3 hours, making it difficult to retain users continuously and for a long time. The update cycle of drama series and variety shows is relatively long and the volume is relatively large. , relatively speaking, it can retain users to the greatest extent, so the investment of streaming media platforms in the field of long videos is much greater than that of movies.

At the same time, the willingness to pay of domestic streaming media platform users is relatively low, and viewers are unwilling to spend money for content, which has also led to rampant online video piracy. Once a movie switches to streaming media, it will be difficult to make a profit , so in the movie market, streaming media It is difficult to replace the status of theater chains.

However, although it cannot completely replace theaters, streaming media has its own advantages, and its influence in the film market cannot be ignored.

With the vigorous development of the Internet, the influence of streaming media has gradually expanded, providing a better platform for the promotion, marketing and dissemination of movies. Movies can radiate to a wider audience through streaming media.

Not only that, streaming media viewing is not restricted by the environment. It actually makes up for the shortcomings of theaters and provides a more convenient way to watch movies for some viewers in need. to a certain extent, streaming media and theaters are actually Complementary relationship .

For Chinese movies, streaming media once occupied the living space of theater chains. However, as the industry recovers and theater chains pick up, streaming media cannot replace theater chains, and the same theater chains cannot eliminate streaming media. The two will Continue to coexist in the film market and provide a more diversified content platform for audiences and the market.