Battle for the big screen

A scene from the popular adventure comedy Old Boys: The Way of The Dragon. Provided to China Daily

4 Chinese films to be screened at TIFF

Writing their own tickets

Ticket sales of Old Boys: The Way of the Dragon surpassed 150 million yuan within the first week of hitting the big screen.

This is a good result for a film that was developed from a popular micro movie on video streaming platform Youku.com. Videos related to A Little Apple have attracted more than 500 million clicks.

Some of that success can be attributed to the filmmakers' use of what is becoming a worldwide trend - producing movies and TV shows based on big data.

"We have analyzed big data, including the age, vocation, and geographic distribution collected from over 80 million fans of the micro movie four years ago," says Wei Ming, head of Youku.com. "Their comments or the time they took to drag the progress bar determined how the big screen adaption of Old Boys was made.

"Perhaps, this will create a new path for our industry when combining cyberspace with the production and marketing of a movie, because filmgoers and netizens will become one and the same in the future."

Interactive online campaigns involving fans have become a popular way to promote a movie. The first two episodes of Tiny Times, the directing debut of author Guo Jingming, raked in 800 million yuan at the box office last year in spite of criticism for its portrayal of lavish lifestyles.

The lead up to the premiere of its third episode last week saw more than 100,000 fans donate a small sum of money online as "investors" of the movie.

Some of the people who donated received film souvenirs, or the chance to visit the film set. There were also opportunities to watch the film before its official release.

Guo claimed this new episode would make 500 million yuan at the box office. That seemingly difficult task suddenly looks easy, with the film earning 300 million only four days after being formally released on July 17.

The fourth episode of the series is still in post-production, but the trilogy has become one of the most lucrative Chinese movie series in history, earning a total of 1.1 billion yuan from the box office.