In 2023, Chinese films will reload and make a strong recovery. According to statistics from the National Film Administration, the national movie box office in 2023 was 54.915 billion yuan, an increase of more than 80% from the previous year, and the market is recovering well. The

In 2023, Chinese films will reload and make a strong recovery. According to statistics from the National Film Administration, the national movie box office in 2023 was 54.915 billion yuan, an increase of more than 80% from the previous year, and the market is recovering well. The box office of domestic movies was 46.005 billion yuan, accounting for 83.77%. The number of moviegoers in urban theaters was 1.299 billion, and a total of 11 movies had a box office of more than 1 billion.

① The total box office in 2023 will be 54.915 billion, a year-on-year increase of 83.4%, and the movie market is rapidly recovering; ② The total number of moviegoers in 2023 will be 1.299 billion, a year-on-year increase of 82.7%, and ticket prices will rise moderately

From the Spring Festival movie-viewing return to the summer heat wave , from the calmness of the National Day period to the steady progress of the Lunar New Year period, in 2023, movies will return to the center of the cultural industry, soothing psychological trauma, providing cultural enjoyment, and gathering spiritual strength for the public. Looking at market performance alone, the Chinese market's annual movie box office was approximately 55 billion yuan, an increase of more than 80% from nearly 30 billion yuan the previous year. The year-on-year box office performance of 2019, the highest box office performance of 64 billion yuan, has recovered to approximately 85%. The Chinese film market accounts for about 28% of the global box office of US$28.5 billion. Among the top 30 global box office movies, there are a total of 7 Chinese films from "Man Jiang Hong" (8th) to "30,000 Miles from Chang'an" (28th). Movies are among them. These data prove that the quality and dissemination of domestic films have been recognized by the audience, and the Chinese audience's demand for films and the need to enter theaters have not changed, and their enthusiasm remains unchanged. Chinese films have shown tenacious vitality in the global film landscape.

Domestic films will contribute 83.8% of the annual box office in 2023, and imported films will rise slightly to 16.2%

01

Market: From "top-heavy" to "chest and head held high"

After the film industrialization reform, a "winner takes all" trend has been formed for top commercial blockbusters ”, a phenomenon of creation and production in which many movies blindly follow the trend. Three or five so-called "blockbusters" every year, with the help of big stars, big scenes, big spectacles, and big marketing, can sometimes occupy more than a quarter of the domestic movie box office. However, the artistic quality and commercial quality of the vast majority of domestic movies lack market share. Competitiveness and influence, the market’s “top-heavy” phenomenon is very prominent. In 2023, the Chinese film market has changed this pattern to a certain extent. During the special period of the Spring Festival, two films, "Man Jiang Hong" and "The Wandering Earth 2", have a box office of more than 4 billion. Throughout the year, 11 domestic movies have a box office of more than 1 billion, and more than 60 domestic movies have a box office of more than 100 million. The annual target of 50 films with a box office of over 100 million in the National Film Administration's "14th Five-Year Plan" was exceeded ahead of schedule.

The significance of this achievement lies not only in the box office size, but more importantly, it reflects the improvement of the overall quality of Chinese films, with more films of artistic quality, production quality, and commercial quality emerging. It is precisely because a batch of films, not just a few, have artistic appeal and market competitiveness that domestic films can not only support "high-concept" schedules such as the Spring Festival, but also set off a wave of excitement in the three-month summer schedule. Only with another round of movie-watching craze can we provide more than 70 new films with different themes during the cold Lunar New Year period, so that films of different types and styles can continuously appear in theaters at different times and dates, so that audiences can not only During holidays and being able to choose your favorite movies on regular weekends. Chinese films are beginning to move from the state of "one branch alone" to "let a hundred flowers bloom".

It should be said that the straight-backed situation in 2023 is exactly what we have expected from film creation, production and the film market for many years. Relying on only three or five leading films cannot support the 365-day movie market throughout the year, cannot meet the diverse movie-watching needs of audiences, and cannot cultivate the audience's daily consumption habits of going to the cinema. The National Film Administration has been encouraging the formation of so-called "weekend slots" outside of long holiday periods to allow audiences to form a regular movie-watching habit. This year, it can be said that initial results have been achieved. Only when more films can enter the market cycle can the large-scale film industry truly achieve industrialization, and can the film industry attract more funds, talents and resources. The "top-heavy" development model in the past could not withstand disturbances, but today's "head high and chest high" can lead Chinese films to a more stable and healthy development path.

02

works: from strong genre dominance to diversified and innovative

genres, especially "strong genre" works focusing on military action, martial arts action, fantasy action, Hong Kong police action and comedy, as well as historical themes and realistic themes The "pan-genre" works composed of films have been an important way for domestic films to enter the market and cater to the audience for some time in the past. These action-oriented "strong genre" and "pan-genre" efforts have objectively promoted the market-oriented transformation of Chinese films and improved the commercial quality and market competitiveness of domestic films. However, their "rush for quick success" and "homogeneity" The shortcomings of "sameness", "suspension" and "pretentiousness" have also been criticized, which not only affects the sublimation of the aesthetic value of Chinese films, but also gradually causes aesthetic "fatigue" among audiences with increasingly improving movie-watching tastes, so that in recent years It often happens that so-called "action blockbusters" and "comedy blockbusters" fail to make it to the "Mai City".

It is against this background that there have been gratifying changes in the creation of Chinese films in 2023. The top ten films at the box office are more diversified in subject matter, style, and format. Many of the works have bold innovations in content and form. Whether they are adapted from real people or true events, or localized transplants of texts from other countries, they strive to get rid of simple " "Commercial Recipe" strives to use "appropriate" narrative methods, actor composition, drama types, and audio-visual styles to present unique theme values. Even if it is still a genre creation, it also pursues genre hybridity, innovation, and breakthroughs. "Man Jiang Hong" uses a closed space, a well-known classical poem, and a core of true and false Qin Hui to use "passing" and "reversal" to the extreme, forming a new suspense type; "The Wandering Earth 2" uses the original Some disaster films + science fiction films + family emotional films have added biological science, artificial intelligence and global governance to continue to complete the upgrade of the world view; "Fengshen Part 1: Chaoge Fengyun" uses an old IP to narrate the relationship between freedom and power. and "Thirty Thousand Miles from Chang'an" uses a high-end perspective to make the poet Li Bai become a young man growing up in white clothes, creating a "poetry animation film" that is different from the Western "musicals", using those classics that have been passed down through the ages. The poem expresses Chinese romance and heroism, and displays the "Chinese spirit" through the theme of "Poetry in Chang'an". "She Vanished", "All or Nothing", "In the Octagon", "The Mistake on the River", "The Third Brigade", "Wading in the Angry Sea", "Worth It", "Nameless", "Deep Sea", "I Love You!" ”, “The Eighth Suspect”, “Solid as a Rock”, “King of the Sky”, “Hot”, “Keep You Safe”, etc. These films no longer stick to the rules, but try their best to respect the audience and the market. Explore unique artistic perspectives and audiovisual expressions. Even old cartoon IPs like "Bear Bears" dare to combine animals with "chip" technology. Animal cartoons have new elements of science fiction. Films aimed at "new mainstream movies" such as "The Volunteer Army Attacks" have a first-class production level, and their story structure of large, medium, small, small, medium and large is very complete. In the future, films with this type of theme will need to make enough innovative breakthroughs to continuously help the audience generate new aesthetic expectations.

It can be said that this year’s domestic films have produced outstanding representative works in different dimensions. From the perspective of diversity and innovation, if Chinese films in 2023 are not the most productive year in the past twenty years, at least they will be one of them. More and more film creators and producers realize that they must not only pursue the most "good-looking" movies but also pursue better "better" movies. Although "Yangchun Baixue" and "Lower Riba Man" cannot be simply stereotyped, there are countless facts It proves that classic movies are often not necessarily the highest-grossing movies at the time. A movie cannot do without a market, but a movie cannot do without a market. The pursuit of consistency in artistic innovation, aesthetic expression and communication effects is becoming a consensus in the film industry.

03

Creation: Pay attention to reality and empathize

Some viewers commented that 2023 is the "most down-to-earth" year for domestic movies."All or Nothing", "In the Octagon", "Solid as a Rock", "King of the Sky", "The Three Brigades", "The Eighth Suspect", "China Ping Pong: The Jedi Counterattack", "I am a mountain", "Never Stop"...many movies They are all adapted from real events or real people. Although these films still have varying degrees of typology, drama, and spectacle elements, and are also "objectively restricted" by the creative environment and conditions of real people and real events, on the whole, their themes are all from that time or period. Today's "hot events" and "hot people". Since they are real hot topics, these topics often bring their own topics, attention, and emotional investment. The national "anti-fraud" attention aroused by "All or Nothing", the "lonely warrior" complex inspired by "The Octagonal Cage" that "who said the hero is the one who stands in the light", the gender and class in "The Disappearance of Her" It explores the "trust" of life and death in "friendship" and "love" under the dual themes, the spiritual salvation of "If I don't go to hell, who will go to hell" in "The Three Brigades", the spiritual redemption of "I Am a Mountain" It can be said that the belief in the savior has triggered the enthusiasm for "re-interpretation" and "re-dissemination" of movies to break out of the circle and break out of the circle. Of course, real people and hot topics are not the only reasons why these movies have a "super" influence. Only when they can achieve the artistic effect of arousing resonance and empathy in creation can they become the "engine" of "topics". If the topic as a purpose loses the intensity of artistic appeal, the topic itself will become a public point for the film to be criticized.

Some of this year's small and medium-budget literary and artistic films have also emerged as outstanding films with distinctive features and outstanding personalities in terms of exploring real space and observing the world of fireworks. Kong Dashan's "Universe Exploration Editorial Department" vividly creates a unique image of a "science fiction" weirdo, presenting an alternative lifestyle and spiritual life; Wei Shujun's "Story Collection of Yong'an Town" uses a meta-movie story to express It reflects the flesh-and-blood relationship between art and life; Zhang Lu's "Light of the White Tower" narrates the emotional "wandering" and desire for a "destination" of a group of men and women in the city from the perspective of a middle-aged man; Bai Zhiqiang's "Rattle" "Dong Dong Xiang" uses a simple way to express the human communication and mutual comfort between strangers... The movie world in 2023 is diverse and diverse, and the movie has more fireworks and more humanistic care.

In fact, it is not just these realistic-themed works that focus on real hot topics and hot topics about characters that are trying to find more efficient ways to reach the audience. Even those excellent works with non-realistic themes are also trying to find dialogue channels across time and space, and walk through history. to convey the themes and modernity that contemporary audiences care about, expect, and resonate with. "All the Rivers Are Red" uses the sacrifice of a group of ordinary men and women to deconstruct the inherent narrative of "heroes" creating history. With the help of the song "All the Rivers Red", it expresses the patriotic pride of the whole people to "driving a long car and crossing the gap in the Helan Mountains". dripping; "Chang'an Thirty Thousand Miles" uses Li Bai's heroic and indulgent romance to release the free nature in the mediocre daily life. The children experience the flight of "the white emperor's colorful clouds, thousands of miles of rivers and tombs return in one day" Galloping, adults can feel the unrestrained life of "calling for children in exchange for fine wine, and sharing eternal sorrows with you"; "Fengshen Part 1: Chaoge Fengyun" expresses the spirit of power, freedom, violence and love in the struggle. It reflects modern people's modern imagination and judgment on the laws of history and the depth of human nature... It can be said that these works are all "borrowing the wine glasses of the ancients and pouring them into the strongholds of today's people". Whether they are crying while singing or laughing proudly, they are actually all It is a pursuit of freedom, equality, justice, family and country. It also reflects the many efforts of domestic films to achieve creative transformation and innovative development of China’s excellent traditional culture.

In fact, this year there are also many films based on historical and real-life events and characters, including some films that promote the main theme. Due to the lack of "contemporary" restoration of historical scenes and characters, they also lack their contemporary value and Regarding the "dialogic" imagination in the contemporary sense, although some films have acceptable artistic completion, they lack spiritual dialogue, human depth, historical texture, and realistic resonance, resulting in characters and themes becoming conceptual and symbolic. Therefore, it is often difficult to achieve the expected communication effect. This also enlightens film creators that only by starting from human nature and starting from the starting point of history can they truly complete the spiritual dialogue and communication between the film and contemporary audiences in their imagination.

04

Filmmakers: Carrying forward the past and passing on the torch

Another gratifying phenomenon in 2023 is the rapid rise of the younger generation of filmmakers. Zhang Yimou, who is in his seventies, has proved his strong creative vitality with the two films "Red River" and "Sturdy as a Rock". Chen Kaige has demonstrated his extraordinary ability to control grand themes with "The Volunteer Army Attacks". At the same time, Cao Baoping, Mesozoic directors such as Cheng Er, Guo Fan, and Wu Ershan also continued to contribute important works such as "Crossing the Angry Sea", "Unknown", "The Wandering Earth 2", "Fengshen Part 1: Chaoge Fengyun" and so on. In particular, a group of young film directors born in the late 1970s and 1980s have emerged suddenly, showing extraordinary creative ability and dedicated creative enthusiasm.

's "All or Nothing", Cui Rui and Liu Xiang's "The Disappearance of Her", Wang Baoqiang's "In the Octagon", Dai Mo's "The Three Brigades", Tian Xiaopeng's "Deep Sea", Yi Xiaoxing's "Unfamiliar Life" , Dapeng's "Warm" and "Keep You Safe", Liu Xiaoshi's "King of the Sky", Han Yan's "I Love You!" ", Su Liang's "School Dad", Wei Shujun's "The Mistake by the River" and "Story Collection of Yong'an Town", as well as Xie Junwei and Zou Jing's "Chang'an Thirty Thousand Miles", etc., both in terms of box office results and the completion of the film , whether it is the innovation of the story form or the completeness of the audio-visual form, it fully reflects the young generation of film directors, as the Internet generation, the ability to understand the current young movie audiences, and as the generation growing up under the background of globalization, the integration of world film aesthetics sink ability. Whether it is their understanding of stories and characters, or their grasp of image modeling and narrative rhythm, the younger generation of filmmakers are more contemporary, weakening the vacillating patchwork and superposition between business, art, and politics, and reducing the utilitarianism. With the external injection of doctrine and commercial loading, the "unity" of characters-story-rhythm-concepts has become more consistent with the laws of film art itself. Shaping characters in storytelling and conveying concepts in the fate of characters embody creative consciousness in the true sense.

Of course, it is particularly worth mentioning that the support of many mature filmmakers to young film creators has become an important "condition" for the growth of this generation of young people. Such as Chen Sicheng's "Missing Her" and "The Three Brigades", Ning Hao's "All or Nothing", Huang Bo's "Study Dad", Guo Fan's "Universe Exploration Editorial Department", etc., plus Huang Jianxin, Guan Hu, Xu Zheng, Wu Jing , Wang Hongwei, Yao Chen and others, they are all using their mature industry experience, network resources, coordination ability, and market influence to allocate resources and escort young filmmakers to focus on their creation; on the other hand, they also integrate different age groups Their artistic understanding and industrial judgment give young people’s works a more stable creative and production quality. "Passengers and mentors" in the film industry are becoming more and more common and diverse through various forms such as venture capital, supervision, training, and company cooperation, gradually forming a number of creative teams with their own characteristics, which is of great significance to the sustainable development of Chinese films in the future. The significance cannot be underestimated.

In 2023, from people's doubts at the beginning to full harvest at the end of the year, it fully reflects the tenacious vitality accumulated in the industrialization development of Chinese films for more than 20 years. This kind of tenacity keeps Chinese films still full of vigor and vitality despite all the hardships, laying the foundation for reaching a new level in the new year.Of course, the media diversion after the emergence of various long and short videos has diverted the audience's attention, the insufficient supply of large-scale commercial investment films, the impact of the three-year epidemic on the creative cycle, the uncertainty of the public opinion environment and policy environment, consumer demand Suppression from various subjective and objective reasons may affect the development of Chinese films in the new year. Portraying human nature, arousing resonance and empathy, and using historical and realistic stories to express the Chinese nation’s unremitting pursuit of modern civilization of freedom, equality, respect and love will be the core mission of the future development of Chinese films. Deeply delve into reality, respect the audience, empower with technology, inherit and innovate, and constantly explore new trends and breakthroughs in film art in the new cultural environment, communication environment, technological environment, and consumer environment, and will become a Chinese film institute that is always on the road of innovation. opportunities and challenges faced.

(The author is the vice chairman of the China Film Association and a professor at Tsinghua University)