Chinese box office is going Chinese

Ms G
A few years go, a “film weekend” in China was usually spent watching Hollywood blockbusters, whose breathtaking high-tech visual was unmatched by domestic films. But for the cultural and language barriers, the Chinese film-goers were mainly the young. Older audiences found Hollywood stories unrelatable and the experience of closely following subtitles tiring.

In 2015, the arrival of Chinese film Wolf Warrior, a 3D action film about a Chinese special force soldier fighting foreign mercenaries, signalled a major shift in the Chinese film market. The film earned US$33,32 million in its 4-day opening weekend, topping the Chinese box office. In 2017, its sequel Wolf Warrior 2 became the all time highest grossing film in China, making over $800 million.

Following its success, more and more Chinese films are populating the domestic highest-grossing film list. In 2019, the percentage of imported films was down to around 35 percent. Nine of China’s top-grossing 10 films so far in 2021 are domestic productions, with only “Godzilla vs. Kong”—produced by Legendary Pictures and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures—edging into the front pack. That translates to domestic Chinese productions comprising roughly 90 percent of local receipts.

Chinese production companies are getting better at storytelling and visual presentation too. In 2019, China’s own high-tech 3D film The Wandering Earth, a futuristic science fiction story about human beings’ effort to move the Earth out of the solar system due to the growing solar instability, showcased industry-level visual effects, with over 2 000 visual effect shots, and 75 percent of which were produced by Chinese VFX companies. With its $700 million box office haul, The Wandering Earth is hailed as the beginning of an era of Chinese science fiction films.

Unlike Hollywood films that typically feature one or two larger-than-life heroes, The Wandering Earth was about the power of collectivism and international collaboration—the Earth was finally pushed out of the solar system with the concerted efforts of experts from dozens of countries.

This reflection of Chinese values is becoming increasingly popular in Chinese productions. It also explains why Chinese productions are overtaking foreign ones in enticing Chinese audiences.

The most typical of them is Wolf Warrior 2, in which the main character saved people’s lives and fought against a group of mercenaries amidst a civil war in a fictional African country. Similarly, Operation Red Sea told a real life story about the Chinese evacuation of its citizens and foreign nationals during the Yemen crisis in 2015. Their common theme, patriotism, heroism and the government’s commitment to protecting its citizens abroad, resonated well with the Chinese viewers who are growing prouder of the country.

In addition to these big themes, Chinese filmmakers are exploring deeper into the more subtle sentiments of the Chinese. In early March this year, “Hi Mom” made over $825 million in the first two months of its screening. It follows the story of a young woman, who feels she has not been a good enough daughter, traveling back in time to 1981, determined to meet her mother and help give her a better life, including by attempting to set her up with a different man. The film sparked a conversation in China about women, motherhood and parenting. Many viewers said the film helped them look at their mother from a different perspective? Before she becomes a mother, her first identity is herself.

Thanks to this attention to pertinent themes, Chinese films appeal to a wider demographic than Hollywood productions. Those in their 60s and 70s are walking into cinemas, by themselves or brought by their children, to relive their youths in nostalgic films and enjoy stories close to their heart.