Films likely to feature more original stories

The just concluded Fifth Plenum of 19th Communist Party of China Central Committee reiterated the importance of transforming China into a cultural power, by enhancing the country's soft power, promoting the cultural industry, and boosting people's confidence in Chinese culture.

During the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20) period, movie ticket sales in China crossed 60 billion yuan ($8.96 billion) in 2019. According to Lighthouse, a Chinese movie industry data tracker, China's box office receipts at $2.02 billion this year is expected to be more than the Box Office Mojo's North America's record of $1.94 billion, making it the biggest movie market in the world.

Also, industry insiders expect the ticket sales in China to greatly increase during the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) period, when the numbers of films and cinemas in the country are likely to see rapid growth.

With the numbers of moviegoers increasing in not only the first-and second-tier cities but also third-and fourth-tier cities, along with the rising number of movies released, including on video-streaming websites and livestreaming platforms, the domestic film market is looking at a much brighter and profitable future.

By heeding the lessons of the 2016-20 period, China's film industry can objectively analyze its achievements and problems, which will help it to plan a better future for not only the movie sector but the cultural industry as a whole.

As China's real estate experienced explosive growth with an annual increase of hundreds of millions of square meters of commercial floor space during the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-15) period, there has been rapid growth of large and small cinemas in third-and fourth-tier cities across the country.

Moreover, watching movies in cinemas has become a part of the celebrations during the Spring Festival holiday. In fact, the Spring Festival holiday's share of annual box office increased from 2.4 percent in 2012 during the 12th Five-Year Plan period to 9.5 percent in 2018 during the 13th Five-Year Plan period. This means the Spring Festival holiday is the peak season for cinemas.

Thanks to reforms aimed at the marketization of the movie industry, Chinese films now explore socioeconomic development with Chinese characteristics, which has been evident in recent productions, some of which have been screened at film festivals.

Many films with realistic themes such as The Piano in a Factory, Blind Massage and A Fool have been made, thanks to the creativity, vision and hard work of filmmakers. And, not surprisingly, these films have proved popular among audiences, earning good profits despite relatively small investment.

During the 13th Five-Year Plan period, youths in the third-and fourth-tier cities were the main force driving the movie industry's growth. A large number of such youths even in the big cities are drawn to patriotic movies and those featuring traditional culture, greatly shaping the Chinese film industry's ecology.

During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, if the mainstream movies feature traditional culture and patriotism, they will attract even more young viewers in small towns, which in turn will help filmmakers narrate more original stories creatively and artistically, and highlight themes that will appeal to both the domestic audience and foreign moviegoers. This will help boost not only the movie industry but the cultural industry as a whole.

The author is an associate researcher at the Chinese National Academy of Arts. The views don't necessarily represent those of China Daily.

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