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China, Denmark Sign Co-Production Treaty

May 4, 2017, 9:45 am
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(THR) Denmark has signed a co-production treaty with China, giving the Nordic nation access to the Middle Kingdom's booming box office and opening new opportunities for European-Chinese cooperation.

China already has co-production treaties in place with several European countries, including France, the U.K., Italy and Spain, as well as with the likes of India, Australia and South Korea.

Under the agreement, negotiated by China's state media body SAPPRFT and the Danish Film Institute, Chinese films can apply for funding from the Danish institute. Importantly, Danish-Chinese co-productions will qualify as Chinese and not be subject to China's strict quota on foreign film imports. Currently, China only allows 38 foreign films per year in the country to be released theatrically.

"The agreement will be important to both parties, both economically and culturally,” said Danish Film Institute CEO Henrik Bo Nielsen. “A co-production agreement will make it easier for Danish companies to get access to the enormous Chinese theatrical market, where even small Danish films can reach quite a large audience.”

The deal could prove a major boost for Denmark, which up until now has only ever had one film released theatrically in China under the quota: Kasper Barfoed's The Candidate in 2008. The second will be Kenneth Kainz's fantasy feature The Shamer's Daughter, which was just accepted under the quota and will bow in China later this year.

From their position in a small nation with a limited domestic audience, Danish producers are among the most adept in Europe at setting up international co-productions, and several Danish companies have already established links with the Chinese film industry.

TrustNordisk and Copenhagen Bombay have ongoing development projects, sales group LevelK has an office in Hong Kong, and Oscar-winning director Bille August (Pele The Conqueror) is currently in postproduction on the Chinese WWII film The Chinese Widow, starring Emile Hirsch and Yifei Liu.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter by Scott Roxborough
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New Smurfs cartoon film makes a splash in China

May 4, 2017, 9:46 am
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(China Daily) Nearly 60 years after the Smurfs first appeared in a European magazine, a new animated feature has brought the blue-skin humanoids back to the big screen.

Smurf: The Lost Village, a reboot of the Smurf franchise by Sony Pictures Animation, topped China's box-office charts for animated movies after it opened on April 21.
The movie was released in the United States on April 7.
Unlike the previous two movies, The Smurfs in 2011 and The Smurfs 2 in 2013, which were hybrids of live-action and animation, the latest Smurf feature is completely an animated work.
The movie centers on Smurfette and her three best friends - Brainy, Clumsy and Hefty - whose adventures lead to the discovery of a mysterious village full of female Smurfs.
In an introduction tailored for the Chinese market, its director Kelly Asbury says the movie is a homage to the original comic strips created by Belgian cartoonist Pierre Culliford, more popularly known as Peyo.
"People love (the) Smurfs. We don't want to give them something else," says Asbury, the American director known for Shrek 2 and Gnomeo & Juliet.
He says animators mimicked the style of Peyo and inserted a scarecrow and a glass jar, which appeared in the original comic strips, for diehard fans.
The eyes (of the movie characters) are joined and there is no gap between their eyes. So, when a character has an expression of surprise on its face, you will see the eyebrows move above onto the hat, says Asbury.
He also says that thanks to an international crew, most of whom grew up watching and reading the Smurf stories, staying faithful to the characters was one of their delights.
The Smurfs first appeared in supporting roles in the Belgian comic series Johan and Peewit in 1958, and soon gained huge popularity in Europe.
But its global fame is owed to the American TV series The Smurfs, which aired on NBC from 1981 to 1989, and expanded to films, video games, theme parks and relevant merchandise.
China introduced the dubbed version of the American series in 1985, and composed a Mandarin song for the production.
Zhao Feng, an animation researcher, says the song, which begins with "Beyond the mountains and rivers lives a group of Smurfs", fascinated a generation of Chinese born in the 1980s.
The song, written by Sichuan-born Qu Zong and set to music by Liaoning native Zheng Qiufeng, is part of music syllabus in many Chinese primary and junior high schools.
"Interestingly, even today many viewers think the song is a translated version of an American original, as the music matches the TV series," says Zhao.
Despite the emotional connection with their childhood, many adult Chinese viewers say they are not satisfied with the film.
The 90-minute feature got just 6.5 points out of 10 on the popular reviewing site Douban.
"The storyline is a bit mediocre and naive for adults. Most parents went to theaters with their children," says Xue Yan, a man in Beijing who saw the film with his 5-year-old son during the recent May Day holiday.
But for viewers who have not seen the 1980s TV series, the movie's scenes and roller-coaster adventures are attractive.
"I've never watched a Smurf movie before. The action and the creatures are quite interesting," says a netizen on Douban.
Source: China Daily
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Kris Wu and Wilber Pan launch 'The Rap of China'

May 4, 2017, 9:50 am
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(Toggle) Kris Wu and Wilber Pan appeared together as producers to launch The Rap of China, the first hip-hop music talent show in China.

Kris, who has always been interested in hip-hop, said, "I hope to promote this genre of music so that more people can understand hip-hop culture through this show and make Chinese hip-hop a part of the world."

Wearing a pair of sunglasses, Wilber encouraged the competitors to be true to themselves, saying, "There are different types of music and various ways to interpret a song. I hope they can break the stereotype and present their own style."

Source: Toggle
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Joe Chen poses for photo shoot

May 4, 2017, 9:51 am
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Yang Mi at charity event

May 4, 2017, 9:54 am
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Actress Yang Mi at the New York Metropolitan Museum Charity Dinner (MET GALA) held in the New York Metropolitan Museum on May 1, 2017.


Source: Xinhua
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On Screen China: ‘Guardians Vol. 2’ Primed to Kick Off Another Month of Hollywood Dominance

May 5, 2017, 9:19 am
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(CFI)  Following two months of box office dominance in which imported films captured 82 percent of all ticket sales, the good times will continue to roll for Hollywood in May starting with this weekend’s day-and-date release of Disney/Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (银河护卫队2)

China Distribution – China Film Group Corporation (中国电影集团公司)

US Distribution – Walt Disney Studios

Box office expectations in China for 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy were somewhat muted when the unknown team of superhero misfits graced Chinese screens in a typically slow post-National Day slot three months after their North American premiere. However, the freewheeling “galaxy protection squad” as they’re known in Mandarin, quickly charmed Chinese moviegoers with its offbeat humor and grossed an impressive RMB 596 million (US$96.5 million). The film also catapulted leading man Chris Pratt — now widely known simply as 星爵 (Star-Lord), his character’s namesake in the film — into the ranks of China’s most-recognizable Hollywood stars.

The sequel is set to piggy-back off its predecessor’s runaway success, and thanks to the addition of Baby Groot this time, will likely attract a younger female demographic separate from the usual Marvel fanboys.

As should be expected, presales have been somewhat lackluster compared to other heavyweight Marvel titles like Captain America and Avengers, but we anticipate word of mouth to catch fire early in the weekend, pushing Volume 2’s three-day opening to RMB 400 – 450 million ($60 – $65 million).

By the end of its Chinese run, this latest mixtape in the Marvel Cinematic Universe will easily outplay Volume 1, falling just shy of RMB 1 billion ($145 million).

Dangal (摔跤吧！爸爸)

China Distribution – Huaxia Film Distribution (华夏电影发行有限责任公司)

US Distribution – UTV Motion Pictures

Ask any Chinese moviegoer to name a single Bollywood star and you’d probably get a blank stare back. But for those in the know, Aamir Khan would likely be the standout.

Khan’s Three Idiots screened all the way back in 2011, and while it grossed just RMB 14 million ($2.2 million), the film’s portrayal of India’s high-pressure education system struck a chord with Chinese filmgoers across the country leading to a #12 ranking on Douban’s Top 250 list where it sits amongst such Chinese favorites as Wall-E, Hachi: A Dog’s Tale and Inception.

Khan’s religious satire PK similarly played to Chinese sensibilities to become the highest-grossing Indian film of all-time in the territory with RMB 119 million ($19.4 million) back in 2015.

This time around, Khan made a well-publicized appearance (at least in the Indian press, where every Bollywood foray into China is trumpeted with exaggerated fanfare) to promote Dangal as part of last month’s Beijing International Film Festival. As a result, Chinese exhibitors appear to have confidence in the wrestling drama’s box office potential, and Dangal will open on Friday with 13% of the day’s total showtimes, the widest release ever for an Indian production in the territory.

We believe Dangal will continue Aamir Khan’s hot streak in China. Look for an RMB 70 million ($10 million) debut this weekend and a final haul of RMB 200 million (~$30 million).

Source: China Film Insider by Jonathan Papish
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With Shock Wave and Love Off the Cuff, Hong Kong filmmakers are fighting for another day at the China box office

May 5, 2017, 9:24 am
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(SCMP) On paper, Shock Wave bears all the hallmarks of classic Hong Kong cops-and-robbers blockbusters from the past. There’s the heroic police officer, played by Andy Lau Tak-wah, who’s ready to sacrifice himself to save the day, with naive sidekicks and a weepy girlfriend in tow. And then there’s the invariably over-the-top action sequences, the set piece being a literally explosive showdown inside the Cross Harbour Tunnel.

And then there’s the villain. Up against the courageous, righteous Hong Kong police officers is a brutal criminal from China who goes to incredible extremes in wreaking havoc in the city. Jiang Wu’s antagonist looks like a pale, simplistic and inhuman archetype light years away from the more nuanced felons who gatecrashed Hong Kong’s capitalist party in Johnny Mak Tong-hung’s seminal 1984 crime thriller Long Arm of the Law.

Given the festering antipathy between people from China and Hong Kong in recent years, director Herman Yau Lai-to’s choice of antagonist would seem bound to raise hackles up north. Surprisingly, audiences in China have chosen to swallow the whole thing with glee and perhaps indifference.

Released in China on April 28, Shock Wave was the breakout hit there during the May Day holidays.

Having outperformed Leste Chen Zhengdao’s psychological thriller Battle of Memories– which boasts a stellar cast of Huang Bo, Xu Jinglei and Du Yihong – Yau’s film became the top-grossing Chinese-language title of the week, having already taken 265.8 million yuan (HK$300 million, US$38.5 million) by Wednesday.

Of the commenters on Chinese film news and ticketing portal Mtime.com, hardly any questioned the origin of Shock Wave’s villain. While the odd detractor frowns at the film’s illogical narrative and paper-thin characterisations, most commenters praise Yau and his producer-star Lau for having delivered a more than serviceable slice of Hong Kong genre cinema. After all the bad blood and boycotts of recent years, all seems forgiven.

Indeed, Hong Kong filmmakers have had a triumphant week in China. As well as Shock Wave, Pang Ho-cheung’s Love Off the Cuff also did well, with takings of more than 130 million yuan; its sole actor from China, Jiang Mengjie, plays a libertine whose presence threatens the marital bond of the film’s leading Hong Kong couple.

Meanwhile, there’s the romantic comedy This Is Not What I Expected , which has already taken more than 160 million yuan. Admittedly it is set in China and stars the award-winning Chinese actress Zhou Dongyu, seen recently in Soul Mate.

Just as importantly, the film was produced by Peter Chan Ho-sun, directed by Hong Kong editor Derek Hui Wang-yu, and features production and costume designs by veteran Hong Kong professionals Ben Luk Man-wah and Dora Ng Lei-lo. Hong Kong filmmakers, it seems, will live to fight another day – with or without villains from China threatening to blow up city landmarks.





Source: South China Morning Post 
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'Battle of Memories' tops box-office charts in China

May 5, 2017, 9:26 am
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(Xinhua) Leste Chen has left his comfort zone with his latest movie, Battle of Memories. Xu Fan reports.

Thanks to hits such as The Great Hypnotist and Miss Granny, Leste Chen is one of the most commercially successful Taiwan directors in the Chinese mainland market.

But with his latest movie, Battle of Memories, also the seventh directorial feature of the 35-year-old filmmaker, Chen has left his comfort zone.

Unlike his previous movies, most of which are romances, Battle of Memories is a crime story set in an Asia of 2025.

A best-selling author, played by A-list actor Huang Bo, tries to erase memories of his estranged wife, played by Xu Jinglei, but accidentally obtains a serial killer's memory. The film was released on the mainland on April 28.

"I had never done such a movie before. And the most difficult part was that I had no precedent to follow," says Chen at a promotional event in Beijing Film Academy.

"It (the filming) was like walking on a tightrope. I needed to be very cautious," he adds.

"The props and sets were unique. The script was revised around 80 times. I hope it (the film) is something brand-new," says Chen.

China saw around 700 feature-length movies made last year, and the main genres were fantasy, action and comedy.

Meanwhile, China saw a rise in plans for sci-fi films in 2015, mainly due to the landmark win of that year's Hugo award by Chinese novelist Liu Cixin, the first Asian to win the prestigious prize.

But only a few of those movies have hit theaters, and almost none of those released have succeeded in the box office or received critical acclaim.

As for Battle of Memories, the film avoids dwelling too much on scientific accuracy - a matter Chinese filmmakers do not handle too well - and instead focuses on suspense and plot twists.

Star power is also working for the film with a celebrity cast comprising Huang, Xu, Duan Yihong and Yang Zishan.

The movie overtook Andy Lau's action thriller Shock Wave to top the domestic titles' box-office charts on Tuesday.

Since the film opened across the Chinese mainland, it has grossed around 200 million yuan ($29 million), according to live tracker Cbooo.cn.

The movie got 7.3 out of 10 on the country's most popular reviewing site Douban.

But for Chen, figures are not the most significant thing.

"My expectation from the box office is just about meeting ends. If the movie can earn a little more than the budget, I will be very happy. This will encourage more filmmakers to work on this genre (soft sci-fi)," he says.

Chen, who was born in a middle-class family in Taiwan in 1982, took up direction at the age of 23.

But despite some of his early movies gaining recognition at international film festivals such as Venice and Busan, he did not make an impression in the mainland market until 2011, when Love on Credit scored big.

Chen then decided to press on and his psychological thriller, The Great Hypnotist, earned nearly 300 million yuan in 2014.

Chen says he adds indie elements to his movies to pay homage to the classics or masters he adores.

Chen, who watches more than 100 movies every year, calls Taiwan master Hou Hsiao-hsien and Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodovar his heroes.

"The movie that influenced me the most is Almodovar's All about My Mother (a 1999 winner in the Oscar's best foreign language category)."

Looking to the future, Chen says he will split his time between directing movies for the big screen and the internet, as he believes that web productions will change the way movies are watched in the future.

Source: Xinhua
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Star-studded TV series gears up for the small screen

May 5, 2017, 9:27 am
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(China Daily) Reputed as the sequel of Empress in the Palace, a star-studded costume drama titled Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace has gained major attention from the public since shooting began.

On May 2, the 90-episode drama was a wrap after nine months of shooting.
Starring Chinese renowned actress Zhou Xun and Taiwan actor Wallace Huo, the drama tells the romantic love story of Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) and his empress Ruyi.
At the same time, the costume drama will explore complicated human relationships and ancient intrigue.
The long-anticipated TV series is expected to air at the end of 2017.
Source: China Daily
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Actress Tao Hong releases fashion photos

May 5, 2017, 9:28 am
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Actress Tao Hong


Source: China Daily
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Double Liu, double the fun at Chanel Cruise show

May 5, 2017, 9:29 am
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Chinese actress Liu Shishi and supermodel Liu Wen attend the Chanel Cruise 2017/2018 Collection Show at the Grand Palais on May 3, 2017, in Paris, France.


Source: China Daily
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Critically panned idol dramas see support from targeted demographic

May 6, 2017, 9:57 am
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(Global Times) It seems that China's generation gap is growing wider, at least when it comes to period dramas aimed at younger audiences.

Two new dramas that have debuted recently, Song of Phoenix (Simeiren) and Fighter of the Destiny (Zetianji), have both been harshly panned by critics, yet still have a large following among young TV viewers in the Chinese mainland.

The shows' secret? They star some of China's most popular young idols.

Fighter of the Destiny has Chinese superstar Lu Han as its lead and Uyghur model/actress Gülnezer Bextiyar as his main love interest, while Song of Phoenix stars 27-year-old heartthrob Ma Ke.

Harsh criticism

Song of Phoenix, a period drama based on the life of ancient Chinese poet and politician Qu Yuan (circa 343BC-278BC), brought in 2.18 percent of audiences when it debuted on Hunan TV on April 28, making it the king of its prime time slot. Phoenix most likely has another show to thank for this extremely high rating: the incredibly popular anti-graft drama In the Name of People. Phoenix's premiere came immediately before the series finale of People; as such many of the viewers tuning in to the period drama were likely those who were waiting to watch People.

Yet this warm welcome was short-lived. The following day, when the second and third episodes of the 81-episode series aired, audience ratings dropped to 1.27 percent.

However, online, where a large percentage of young audiences consume media, the show is still performing strong. On streaming platform iQiyi, the show's first 10 episodes have received a total of 180 million views, for an average of around 18 million views per episode. 

Meanwhile, the first 22 episodes of Fighter of the Destiny have received a total of 2 billion views on iQiyi, for an average of 90.9 million views per episode. According to iQiyi data, 51 percent of the show's viewers are under 30 years old.

Critically, however, both shows have extremely poor reviews.

"Song of Phoenix looks beautiful… but many netizens have been left wondering why a decent historical figure such as Qu Yuan has been distorted so much," wrote one review from news site mini.eastday.com. "The show has an absurd plot and characters that just fall apart. Basically, except for some pretty faces, there is nothing worth admiring."

On Chinese media review site Douban, Phoenix has a 4.2/10 average from approximately 3,000 reviews, while Fighter holds a slightly higher 4.6/10 from more than 46,000 reviews.

"A serious historical drama has been made into an idol drama. The dialogue is embarrassing, the CGI effects are embarrassing," netizen Yizhushen Zhiming wrote on Douban in his review of Phoenix. A professional tutor of young students, he added that his students are obsessed with the show, which has led him to worry that dramas such as these may mislead younger generations into thinking that what the show presents is real history.

"Most of today's Chinese film and TV production companies rely on pop stars instead of producing quality works," he noted.

Fighter hasn't escaped unscathed either. In addition to poor review, famous figures in China are also reportedly taking a swipe at the show.

According to the entertainment site yule.sohu.com, Wang Sicong - the celebrity billionaire son of China's richest man, Dalian Wanda Group Chairman Wang Jianlin - posted on his WeChat social media page that Fighter is the only TV drama he has seen in which "even the lead actor does not know how act."

Youthful tastes

Despite this criticism, both Phoenix and Fighter have managed to find fans among a section of the audience mainly composed of teenagers and young viewers in their early 20s.

This of course has much to do with the ability of the shows' stars to attract eyeballs.

"At first I watched Fighter of the Destiny because of Lu Han, but later I started to find the plot interesting, especially when the show focused on the lead character's fight against destiny. Because we post-1990 viewers are not a generation that believes in destiny, the show appeals to us," Duoduo, a 21-year-old college student in Beijing, told the Global Times.

Duoduo said she lives with five other young women. Among the six of them, half are Fighter fans.

Thirty-something Feng Nan in Tianjin is a reporter who has been covering TV drama news for years.

According to her, most of the fans who watch the two dramas are loyal fans of Lu, Gülnezer, and Ma. 

While Feng is also a fan of Lu, she admits his acting is far from great, noting that she was only able to sit through a few episodes of Fighter.

"The younger generation fall in love with these types of works more easily because they have not seen many quality shows," Feng said.

"There are also those who know they are bad, but want to keep up with current trends and have something to talk about with their friends."  

There are fans, however, who say they watch these shows because they actually like them.

Phoenix fan Peng Junjie, 22, told the Global Times that he is not obsessed with any of the idols in the show.

He rushed to defend Ma's portrayal of Qu.

"As long as he shows Qu's patriotism and grace in temperament, I can accept him in the role," he said.

"Due to commercial considerations and audiences' aesthetic demands, it's very normal for attractive stars to appear in shows," Peng said, explaining that while the actual historic figure of Qu probably was not all that attractive considering the time period in which he lived, TV dramas tend to need a pretty face to bring in viewers.

Source: Global Times by Wei Xi
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Stills from “Our Time Will Come”

May 6, 2017, 9:59 am
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Our Time Will Come is an upcoming Hong Kong war film directed by Ann Hui, starring Zhou Xun, Eddie Peng and Wallace Huo.

It is based on the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong in the 1940s.

Source: Xinhua
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Ma Tianyu poses for photo shoot

May 6, 2017, 10:00 am
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Liu Yan poses for fashion magazine

May 6, 2017, 10:02 am
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Actress Ruby Lin poses for fashion magazine

May 6, 2017, 10:03 am
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Wang Luodan poses for fashion magazine

May 6, 2017, 10:04 am
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Actress Wang Luodan


Source: Xinhua
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Photo show displays portraits of cultural celebrities

May 7, 2017, 8:14 am
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Chinese photographer Xiao Quan, 58, is known for his portrait series, Our Generation, a decade-long project completed in 1996.

It comprises portraits of leading figures from Chinese art and literary circles in the 1980s and 1990s, including Zhang Yimou, Chen Kaige, Tan Dun and Cui Jian.

Xiao's ongoing solo show, Today's Xiao Quan & Portraits, showcases 96 works from a career that has spanned more than three decades.

The exhibition at Beijing's Today Art Museum runs through June 13.

Meanwhile, visitors can submit selfies to the museum as long as the exhibition runs, and Xiao will select seven people each week to make portraits, by which he hopes to create a new series.


Author San Mao by Xiao Quan

Dancer Yang Liping by Xiao Quan

Xiao Quan (right), Gao Peng, director of Today Art Museum and Jiang Shan, curator and collector

A photo taken by Xiao Quan

A photo taken by Xiao Quan

A photo taken by Xiao Quan

A photo taken by Xiao Quan

A photo taken by Xiao Quan

A photo taken by Xiao Quan

A photo taken by Xiao Quan

A photo taken by Xiao Quan

A photo taken by Xiao Quan

A photo taken by Xiao Quan

A photo taken by Xiao Quan

A photo taken by Xiao Quan

A photo taken by Xiao Quan

A photo taken by Xiao Quan

A photo taken by Xiao Quan

Source: China Daily
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Hollywood action blockbusters dominating Chinese mainland theaters

May 7, 2017, 8:18 am
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(Global Times) Forty-two-year-old Tan Xiaofen went to see The Fate of the Furious together with her 50-year-old husband and teenage son when the film debuted in Chinese mainland on April 14. Although a huge fan of film, it had been so long since she last saw a movie, that she couldn't remember the last time she had seen one.

Tan's family lives in a third-tier city in East China's Jiangsu Province. She see less than 10 films a year, while her husband goes to the movies even less often than that. According to her, she only sees a film when she can be guaranteed that the visual and auditory experience will be worth her money, hence her choice to see action blockbuster The Fate of the Furious with her family.

Hollywood giants

Disney's Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 raked in 89.25 million yuan ($12.93 million) when it made its mainland debut on Friday. It performed even better on Saturday, bringing in a hefty 128.90 billion yuan. By comparison, second-place winner, Dangal, the award-winning Indian film starring Aamir Khan that premiered that same day, took in 13.94 million yuan on Friday and 29.25 million yuan on Saturday.

This is not the first time this year that a Hollywood blockbuster has dominated the Chinese mainland box office.

Although four Chinese films debuted during the recent May Day holiday (April 29-May 1), The Fate of the Furious remained the box-office champion with a three-day gross of 173.76 million yuan even though it was in its third week in cinemas.

Since the beginning of the year, Hollywood blockbusters have ruled the mainland box office with one exception - the Chinese Spring Festival period (January 27-February 2), during which time no imported films were shown in theaters.

According to a report from chinaxwcb.com, a website supervised by the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television (SAPPRFT), 79 films were released in the mainland during the first quarter of 2017, bringing in a total of 14.5 billion yuan (including sale fees). Only 22 of these films were imported, yet these films, a majority of which were Hollywood blockbusters, accounted for 7.86 billion yuan of box-office totals, while the other 57 Chinese films brought in 6.6 billion yuan.

"The average box office for imported films was 360 million yuan per film, while the average for domestic films was 120 million yuan. Foreign films are earning three times as much as Chinese films," the report wrote.

Data from Chinese box-office tracker China Box Office reveals a clear trend: The highest-grossing imported films belong to the action, adventure or sci-fi genres, or are a combination of these.

The reason why these films are so successful is clear - among the hundreds and thousands of films produced in China, there are few capable of competing with these Hollywood films when it comes to providing great visual experiences.

Local market share

While Hollywood blockbusters tend to do well in the mainland, the success of The Fate of the Furious is a special case. The last installment of the Fast and Furious franchise, Furious 7, was the highest-earning imported film in China for two years with 2.43 billion yuan, until the eighth film in the series broke that record with a 2.62 billion yuan box-office take that continues to rise.

According to Yuan Haibin, director of distribution at Poly cinemas, a lack of competition was one of the main reasons behind The Fate of the Furious' success.

The weekend of April 14, the only competition came from the rerelease of 1995 mainland film A Chinese Odyssey and Ghost in the Shell, which had debuted the weekend before. "Everyone thought that the two foreign blockbusters would compete with each other, but no one went to see Ghost, leaving Furious 8 more screen share."

Industry insiders point to another reason for the film's success: moviegoers in small cities and towns who seldom go to the cinema came out in large numbers to watch Furious 8.

Currently, the major box-office contributors in the mainland are filmgoers in first- and second-tier cities. However, when it comes to the Fast and Furious franchise, the series' influence in fourth-tier cities is almost as strong as its influence in major cities.


Statistics on film site Maoyan show that from April 24 to 27, The Fate of the Furious' screen share in first- and second-tier cities was higher than fourth-tier cities. However, starting from April 28 and running through the entire three-day holiday, the screen share in fourth-tier cities actually surpassed that of second- and third-tier cities to reach second place.

According to a survey from Maoyan, there is a clear preference for action films outside first- and second-tier cities in China. In third- and fourth-tier cities, 53.5 percent of surveyed audiences said they like to watch action films, while only 52.1 percent of audiences in first-tier cities and 51 percent of audiences in second-tier cities said they enjoy action films.

According to a report from Beijing Daily, Yin Hong, a professor at Tsinghua University, said that audiences in third- and fourth-tier cities used to have a preference for domestic films. However, after more imported films made their way to these cities, local audiences began to show higher demand for films with bright visuals and amazing special effects. This has allowed big budget Hollywood films to gain a greater foothold in these areas.

Source: Global Times By Wei Xi 
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Posters from ‘Fighter of the Destiny’

May 7, 2017, 8:20 am
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(Xinhua) Fighter of the Destiny is a Chinese television series adapted from the novel of the same name by Mao Ni. It stars Lu Han, Guli Nazha, Janice Wu and Joseph Zeng.

The series started airing on Hunan TV on April 17, 2017.


Source: Xinhua
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