| Cinema of China | |
|---|---|
 | |
| No. ofscreens | 86,300 (2024)[1] |
| • Per capita | 2.98 per 100,000 (2016) |
| Main distributors | China Film (32.8%) Huaxia (22.89%) Enlight (7.75%)[2] |
| Produced feature films (2016)[3] | |
| Fictional | 772 |
| Animated | 49 |
| Documentary | 32 |
| Number of admissions (2016)[4] | |
| Total | 1,370,000,000 |
| • Per capita | 1[4] |
| Gross box office (2024)[5] | |
| Total | CN¥42.5 billion (US$5.81 billion) |
| National films | 78.7% |
Thecinema of China is thefilmmaking andfilm industry ofmainland China, one of three distinct historical threads ofChinese-language cinema together with thecinema of Hong Kong and thecinema of Taiwan. China is the home of the largest movie and drama production complex and film studios in the world, theOriental Movie Metropolis[6][7] andHengdian World Studios. In 2012 the country became the second-largest market in the world by box office receipts behind only theUnited States. In 2016, the gross box office in China was CN¥45.71 billion (US$6.58 billion). China has also become a major hub of business for Hollywood studios.
Motion pictures were introduced to China in 1896. They were introduced through foreign film exhibitors intreaty ports like Shanghai and Hong Kong.[8]: 68
China was one of the earliest countries to be exposed to the medium of film, due toLouis Lumière sending his cameraman to Shanghai a year after inventingcinematography.[9] The first recorded screening of a motion picture in China took place inShanghai on 11 August 1896 as an "act" on a variety bill.[10] The first Chinese film, a recording of thePeking opera,Dingjun Mountain, was made in November 1905 inBeijing.[11] For the next decade the production companies were mainly foreign-owned, and the domestic film industry was centered on Shanghai, a thrivingentrepot and the largest city in theFar East.[12]
The first domestically-produced Chinese films to achieve financial success came out in 1921, most notablyYan Ruisheng, leading to increased investment in the film industry.[13] In the early 1920s, China saw the establishment of several new film studios, such asZhang Shichuan'sMingxing Film Company, with most popular films being at least partially based around established western genres.[14] Following theMay Thirtieth Movement, Chinese films began moving towards depictions of Chinese culture. This trend was manifested through the rise of "traditional costume films," includingRomance of the Western Chamber, which dramatized classical stories, especially romances, and of theWuxia genre.[15] This tendency towards a more "Chinese" Cinema, as opposed to the earlier focus on westernization, was described as the campaign to "revive national cinema" (复兴国片) by figures likeLo Ming-yau.[16]
From the start of the 1930s to the outbreak in earnest of theSecond Sino-Japanese War, Chinese cinema grew divided along political lines, primarily due to the ongoingChinese Civil War and internal debates surrounding theinvasion of Manchuria. After theChinese government declared a ban on films related to the war with Japan, which were deemed "provocative," the "Left-Wing Film Movement," which had been founded byCommunist-aligned literary circles, began to grow. Whileopposition to Japanese imperialism, as opposed tocommunist ideology, acted as the catalyst for the Left-Wing movement, most films of the movement emphasizedclass struggle over anti-imperialism. Supporters of leftist films included many established figures in the industry, such asZheng Zhengqiu.[17] Left-Wing film criticism promotedrealism anddidacticism, with the value of film seen as tied to its ability to reflect reality and spur political action. Consequentially, most Left-Wing movement films were heavilynarrative-focused, and edited in thecontinuity style.[18] Films associated with the Left-Wing movement includeThe Goddess,Song of the Fishermen,Crossroads, andSpring Silkworms.
Acting in opposition to the leftist movement was the "soft film" movement propagated byLiu Na-ou. Soft film was influenced bymodernism, promoting an emphasis on camerawork and editing over the more narrative-focused films of the left, with theKino-Eye technique ofDziga Vertov frequently referenced. Critics of soft film argued that prioritizing aesthetics over ideology was wrong in a moment of political crisis.[19]
During the late 20th century, a period when socialist dramas were beginning to lose viewership, the Chinese government began to involve itself deeper into the world of popular culture and cinema by creating the official genre of the "main melody" (主旋律zhǔxuánlǜ), inspired by Hollywood's strides in musical dramas.[20] In 1987, the Ministry of Radio, Film and Television issued a statement encouraging the making of movies which emphasizes the main melody to "invigorate national spirit and national pride".[21] The expressionmain melody refers to the musical termleitmotif, which translates to the 'theme of our times', which scholars suggest is representative of China's socio-political climate and cultural context of popular cinema.[22] These main melody films, still produced regularly in modern times, try to emulate the commercial mainstream by the use of Hollywood-style music and special effects. A significant feature of these films is the incorporation of a "red song", which is a song written as propaganda to support the People's Republic of China.[23] By revolving the film around the motif of a red song, the film is able to gain traction at the box office as songs are generally thought to be more accessible than a film. Theoretically, once the red song dominates the charts, it will stir interest in the film that which it accompanies.[24]
Main melody dramas are often subsidized by the state and have free access to government and military personnel.[25] The Chinese government spends between "one and two million RMBs" annually to support the production of films in the main melody genre.August First Film Studio, the film and TV production arm of thePeople's Liberation Army, is a studio that produces main melody cinema. Main melody films, which often depict past military engagements or are biopics of first-generation CCP leaders, have won several Best Picture prizes at the Golden Rooster Awards.[26] Some of the more famous main melody dramas include the ten-hour epicDecisive Engagement (大决战, 1991), directed by Cai Jiawei, Yang Guangyuan and Wei Lian;The Opium War (1997), directed byXie Jin; andThe Founding of a Republic (2009), directed byHan Sanping and Fifth Generation director Huang Jianxin.[27]The Founding of an Army (2017) was commissioned by the government to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the People's Liberation Army, and is the third instalment in The Founding of a Republic series.[28] The film featured many young Chinese pop singers that are already well-established in the industry, includingLi Yifeng,Liu Haoran, andLay Zhang, so as to further the film's reputation as a main melody drama.
When faced with the complexity of real society, their hands and feet quiver, and they deliriously shoot a bunch of childish fairy tales
The post-1990 era has been labeled the "return of the amateur filmmaker" as statecensorship policies after the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests produced an edgy underground film movement loosely referred to as the Sixth Generation. Owing to the lack of state funding and backing, these films were shot quickly and cheaply, using materials like16 mm film anddigital video and mostly non-professional actors and actresses, producing a documentary feel, often with long takes, hand-held cameras, and ambient sound; more akin toItalian neorealism andcinéma vérité than the often lush, far more considered productions of the Fifth Generation.[30] Unlike the Fifth Generation, the Sixth Generation brings a more individualistic, anti-romantic life-view and pays far closer attention to contemporary urban life, especially as affected by disorientation, rebellion[31] and dissatisfaction with China's contemporary social marketing economic tensions and comprehensive cultural background.[32] Many were made with an extremely low budget (an example isJia Zhangke, who shoots on digital video, and formerly on 16 mm;Wang Xiaoshuai'sThe Days (1993) was made for US$10,000[32]). The title and subjects of many of these films reflect the Sixth Generation's concerns. The Sixth Generation takes an interest in marginalized individuals and the less represented fringes of society. For example,Zhang Yuan's hand-heldBeijing Bastards (1993) focuses on youthpunksubculture, featuring artists likeCui Jian,Dou Wei andHe Yong frowned upon by many state authorities,[33] while Jia Zhangke's debut filmXiao Wu (1997) concerns a provincialpickpocket. While many Fifth Generation filmmakers have become darlings of mainstream Chinese culture, Sixth Generation filmmakers have often experienced harsh treatment by the state's censorship and regulatory system, despite their success at international film festivals and arthouse markets.[34]
As the Sixth Generation gained international exposure, many subsequent movies were joint ventures and projects with international backers, but remained quite resolutely low-key and low budget. Jia'sPlatform (2000) was funded in part byTakeshi Kitano's production house,[35] while hisStill Life was shot onHD video.Still Life was a surprise addition and Golden Lion winner of the 2006Venice International Film Festival.Still Life, which concerns provincial workers around theThree Gorges region, sharply contrasts with the works of Fifth Generation Chinese directors like Zhang Yimou and Chen Kaige who were at the time producingHouse of Flying Daggers (2004) andThe Promise (2005). It featured no star of international renown and was acted mostly by non-professionals.
Many Sixth Generation films have highlighted the negative attributes of China's entry into the moderncapitalistmarket.Li Yang'sBlind Shaft (2003) for example, is an account of two murderous con-men in the unregulated and notoriously dangerous mining industry of northern China.[36] (Li refused the tag of Sixth Generation, although admitted he was not Fifth Generation).[31] While Jia Zhangke'sThe World (2004) emphasizes the emptiness ofglobalization in the backdrop of an internationally themed amusement park.[37]
Some of the more prolific Sixth Generation directors to have emerged are Wang Xiaoshuai (The Days,Beijing Bicycle,So Long, My Son),Zhang Yuan (Beijing Bastards,East Palace West Palace), Jia Zhangke (Xiao Wu,Unknown Pleasures,Platform,The World,A Touch of Sin,Mountains May Depart,Ash Is Purest White),He Jianjun (Postman) andLou Ye (Suzhou River,Summer Palace). One director of their generation who does not share most of the concerns of the Sixth Generation isLu Chuan (Kekexili: Mountain Patrol, 2004;City of Life and Death, 2010).
In the 2018 Cannes Film Festival, two of China's Sixth generation filmmakers, Jia Zhangke and Zhang Ming – whose grim works transformed Chinese cinema in the 1990s – showed on the French Riviera. While both directors represent Chinese cinema, their profiles are quite different. The 49-year-old Jia set up thePingyao International Film Festival in 2017 and on the other hand is Zhang, a 56-year-old film school professor who spent years working on government commissions and domestic TV shows after struggling with his own projects. Despite their different profiles, they mark an important cornerstone in Chinese cinema and are both credited with bringing Chinese movies to the international big screen. Chinese director Jia Zhangke's latest filmAsh Is Purest White has been selected to compete in the official competition for the Palme d'Or of the 71st Cannes Film Festival, the highest prize awarded at the film festival. It is Jia's fifth movie, a gangster revenge drama that is his most expensive and mainstream film to date. Back in 2013, Jia won Best Screenplay Award forA Touch of Sin, following nominations forUnknown Pleasures in 2002 and24 City in 2008. In 2014, he was a member of the official jury and the following year his filmMountains May Depart was nominated. According to entertainment websiteVariety, a record number of Chinese films were submitted this year but only Jia's romantic drama was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or. Meanwhile, Zhang will make his debut at Cannes withThe Pluto Moment, a slow-moving relationship drama about a team of filmmakers scouting for locations and musical talent in China's rural hinterland. The film is Zhang's highest profile production so far, as it stars actor Wang Xuebing in the leading role. The film was partly financed by iQiyi, the company behind one of China's most popular online video browsing sharing sites.[38]Diao Yinan is also a notable member of the sixth generation whose works includeBlack Coal Thin Ice,Wild Goose Lake,Night Train andUniform which have premiered at festivals such as Cannes and received acclaim abroad.[39]
He Ping is a director of mostlyWestern-like films set in Chinese locale. HisSwordsmen in Double Flag Town (1991) andSun Valley (1995) explore narratives set in the sparse terrain of West China near theGobi Desert. Hishistorical dramaRed Firecracker, Green Firecracker (1994) won a myriad of prizes home and abroad.
Recent cinema has seen Chinese cinematographers direct some acclaimed films. Other than Zhang Yimou,Lü Yue madeMr. Zhao (1998), a black comedy film well received abroad.Gu Changwei'sminimalist epicPeacock (2005), about a quiet, ordinary Chinese family with three very different siblings in the post-Cultural Revolution era, took home the Silver Bear prize for 2005Berlin International Film Festival.Hou Yong is another cinematographer who made films (Jasmine Women, 2004) and TV series. There are actors who straddle the dual roles of acting and directing.Xu Jinglei, a popular Chinese actress, has made six movies to date. Her second filmLetter from an Unknown Woman (2004) landed her theSan Sebastián International Film Festival Best Director award. Another popular actress and director isZhao Wei, whose directorial debutSo Young (2013) was a huge box office and critical success.
The most highly regarded Chinese actor-director is undoubtedlyJiang Wen, who has directed several critically acclaimed movies while following on his acting career. His directorial debut,In the Heat of the Sun (1994) was the first PRC film to win Best Picture at theGolden Horse Film Awards held inTaiwan. His other films, likeDevils on the Doorstep (2000, Cannes Grand Prix) andLet the Bullets Fly (2010), were similarly well received. By the early 2011,Let the Bullets Fly had become the highest grossing domestic film in China's history.[40][41]
There is a growing number of independent seventh or post-Sixth Generation filmmakers making films with extremely low budgets and using digital equipment. They are the so-called dGeneration (for digital).[42] These films, like those from Sixth Generation filmmakers, are mostly made outside the Chinese film system and are shown mostly on the international film festival circuit.Ying Liang andJian Yi are two of these generation filmmakers. Ying'sTaking Father Home (2005) andThe Other Half (2006) are both representative of the generation trends of the feature film.Liu Jiayin made two dGeneration feature films,Oxhide (2004) andOxhide II (2010), blurring the line between documentary and narrative film.Oxhide, made by Liu when she was a film student, frames herself and her parents in their claustrophobic Beijing apartment in a narrative praised by critics.An Elephant Sitting Still, considered one of the greatest film debuts in Chinese cinema, is also the only film by the lateHu Bo.[43]
Two decades of reform and commercialization have brought dramatic social changes in mainland China, reflected not only in fiction film but in a growing documentary movement.Wu Wenguang's 70-minuteBumming in Beijing: The Last Dreamers (1990) is now seen as one of the first works of this "New Documentary Movement" (NDM) in China.[44][45]Bumming, made between 1988 and 1990, contains interviews with five young artists eking out a living inBeijing, subject to state authorized tasks. Shot using acamcorder, the documentary ends with four of the artists moving abroad after the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre.[46]Dance with the Farm Workers (2001) is another documentary by Wu.[47]
Another internationally acclaimed documentary isWang Bing's nine-hour tale of deindustrializationTie Xi Qu: West of the Tracks (2003). Wang's subsequent documentaries,He Fengming (2007),Crude Oil (2008),Man with no name (2009),Three Sisters (2012) andFeng ai (2013), cemented his reputation as a leading documentarist of the movement.[48]
Li Hong, the first woman in the NDM, inOut of Phoenix Bridge (1997) relates the story of four young women, who moving from rural areas to the big cities like millions of other men and women, have come to Beijing to make a living.
The New Documentary Movement in recent times has overlapped with the dGeneration filmmaking, with most documentaries being shot cheaply and independently in the digital format.Xu Xin'sKaramay (2010),Zhao Liang'sBehemoth,Huang Weikai'sDisorder (2009),Zhao Dayong'sGhost Town (2009),Du Haibing's1428 (2009),Xu Tong'sFortune Teller (2009) andLi Ning'sTape (2010) were all shot in digital format. All had made their impact in the international documentary scene and the use of digital format allows for works of vaster lengths.
Inspired by the success ofDisney animation, the self-taught pioneersWan brothers, Wan Laiming andWan Guchan, made the first Chineseanimated short in the 1920s, thus inaugurating the history of Chinese animation. (Chen Yuanyuan 175)[49] Many live-action films of the Republican era also included animated sequences.[50]
In 1937, the Wan brothers decided to produce 《铁扇公主》Princess Iron Fan, which was the first Chinese animated feature film and the fourth, after the American feature filmsSnow White,Gulliver's Travels, andThe Adventures of Pinocchio. It was at this time that Chinese animation as an art form had risen to prominence on the world stage. Completed in 1941, the film was released under China United Pictures and aroused a great response in Asia. Japanese animatorOsamu Tezuka once said that he gave up medicine after watching the cartoon and decided to pursue animation.[citation needed]
During this golden era, Chinese animation had developed a variety of styles, including ink animation, shadow play animation, puppet animation, and so on. Some of the most representative works are 《大闹天宫》Havoc in Heaven, 《哪吒闹海》Nezha's Rebellion in the Sea and《天书奇谈》Heavenly Book, which have also won lofty praise and numerous awards in the world.[citation needed]
After Deng Xiaoping's Reform Period and the "opening up" of China, the movies《葫芦兄弟》Calabash Brothers, 《黑猫警长》Black Cat Sheriff, 《阿凡提》Avanti Story and other impressive animated movies were released. However, at this time, China still favored the Japanese's more unique, American and European-influenced animated works over the less-advanced domestic ones.[citation needed]
In the 1990s, digital production methods replaced manual hand-drawing methods; however, even with the use of advanced technology, none of the animated works were considered to be a breakthrough film. Animated films that tried to cater to all age groups, such asLotus Lantern andStorm Resolution, did not attract much attention. The only animated works that seemed to achieve popularity were the ones for catered for children, such asPleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf《喜羊羊与灰太狼》.
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During this period, the technical level of Chinese domestic animation production has been established comprehensively, and 3D animation films have become the mainstream. However, as more and more foreign films (such as ones from Japan, Europe, and the United States) are being imported into China, Chinese animated works is left in the shadows of these animated foreign films.
It was only with the release of 《西游记之大圣归来》Monkey King: Hero Is Back in 2015, a computer-animated film, that Chinese animated works took back the rein. The film was a huge hit and broke the record for Chinese domestic animated movies with CN¥956 million at China's box office. After the success ofJourney to the West, several other high-quality animated films were released, such as《大鱼海棠》Big Fish and Begonia and 《白蛇缘起》White Snake. Though none of these movies made headway in regards to the box office, they did make filmmakers more and more interested in animated works.
This all changed with the breakthrough animated film, 《哪吒之魔童降世》Ne Zha. Released in 2019, it became the second highest-grossing film of all time in China, the highest-grossing animated non-English film, and the highest-grossing animated film in a single territory. It was with this film that Chinese animated films, as a medium, finally broke the notion in China that domestic animated films are only for children. WithNezha, and a spinoff,Jiang Ziya, Chinese animation has now come to be known as a veritable source of entertainment for all ages.
With China's liberalization in the late 1970s and its opening up to foreign markets, commercial considerations have made its impact in post-1980s filmmaking. Traditionally arthouse movies screened seldom make enough to break even. An example is Fifth Generation director Tian Zhuangzhuang'sThe Horse Thief (1986), a narrative film with minimal dialog on aTibetan horse thief. The film, showcasing exotic landscapes, was well received by Chinese and some Western arthouse audiences, but did poorly at the box office.[51] Tian's laterThe Warrior and the Wolf (2010) was a similar commercial failure.[52]
Prior to these, there were examples of successful commercial films in the post-liberalization period. One was the romance filmRomance on the Lu Mountain (1980), which was a success with older Chinese. The film broke theGuinness Book of Records as the longest-running film on afirst run.Jet Li's cinematic debutShaolin Temple (1982) was an instant hit at home and abroad (inJapan and theSoutheast Asia, for example).[53] Another successful commercial film wasMurder in 405 [zh] (405谋杀案, 1980), a murder thriller.[54]Feng Xiaogang'sThe Dream Factory (1997) was heralded as a turning point in Chinese movie industry, ahesui pian (Chinese New Year-screened film) which demonstrated the viability of the commercial model in China'ssocialist market economy. Feng has become one of the most successful commercial director in the post-1997 era. Almost all his films made high returns domestically[55] while he used ethnic Chinese co-stars likeRosamund Kwan,Jacqueline Wu,Rene Liu andShu Qi to boost his films' appeal. In the decade following 2010, owing to the influx of Hollywood films (though the number screened each year is curtailed), Chinese domestic cinema faces mounting challenges. The industry is growing and domestic films are starting to achieve the box office impact of major Hollywood blockbusters. However, not all domestic films are successful financially. In January 2010James Cameron'sAvatar was pulled out from non-3D theaters for Hu Mei's biopicConfucius, but this move led to a backlash on Hu's film.[56]Zhang Yang's 2005Sunflower also made little money, but his earlier, low-budgetSpicy Love Soup (1997) grossed ten times its budget of ¥3 million.[57] Likewise, the 2006Crazy Stone, asleeper hit, was made for just 3 million HKD/US$400,000. In 2009–11, Feng'sAftershock (2009) and Jiang Wen'sLet the Bullets Fly (2010) became China's highest grossing domestic films, withAftershock earning ¥670 million (US$105 million)[58] andLet the Bullets Fly ¥674 million (US$110 million).[59]Lost in Thailand (2012) became the first Chinese film to reach¥1 billion at the Chinese box office andMonster Hunt (2015) became the first to reach CN¥2 billion.
As of 2021, 9 of the top 10 highest-grossing films in China are domestic productions. On 8 February 2016, the Chinese box office set a new single-day gross record, with CN¥660 million, beating the previous record of CN¥425 million on 18 July 2015.[60] Also in February 2016,The Mermaid, directed byStephen Chow, became the highest-grossing film in China, overtakingMonster Hunt.[61] It is also the first film to reach CN¥3 billion.[62]
Under the influence of Hollywood science fiction movies likePrometheus, published on 8 June 2012, such genres especially the space science films have risen rapidly in the Chinese film market in recent years. On 5 February 2019, the filmThe Wandering Earth directed byFrant Gwo reached $699.8 million worldwide, which became the third highest-grossing film in the history of Chinese cinema.
Since the late 1980s and progressively in the 2000s, Chinese films have enjoyed considerable box office success abroad. Formerly viewed only by cineastes, its global appeal mounted after the international box office and critical success ofAng Lee's periodwuxia filmCrouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon which won Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 2000. This multi-national production increased its appeal by featuring stars from all parts of the Chinese-speaking world. It provided an introduction to Chinese cinema (and especially the wuxia genre) for many and increased the popularity of many earlier Chinese films. To dateCrouching Tiger remains the most commercially successful foreign-language film in U.S. history.
In 2002, Zhang Yimou'sHero was another international box office success.[63] Its cast featured famous actors from mainland China and Hong Kong who were also known to some extent in the West, including Jet Li,Zhang Ziyi,Maggie Cheung andTony Leung Chiu-Wai. Despite criticisms by some that these two films pander somewhat to Western tastes,Hero was a phenomenal success in most ofAsia and topped the U.S. box office for two weeks, making enough in the U.S. alone to cover the production costs.
Other films such asFarewell My Concubine,2046,Suzhou River,The Road Home andHouse of Flying Daggers were critically acclaimed around the world. TheHengdian World Studios can be seen as the "Chinese Hollywood", with a total area of up to 330 ha. and 13 shooting bases, including a 1:1 copy of theForbidden City.
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The successes ofCrouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon andHero make it difficult to demarcate the boundary between "Mainland Chinese" cinema and a more international-based "Chinese-language cinema".Crouching Tiger, for example, was directed by aTaiwan-born American director (Ang Lee) who works often in Hollywood. Its pan-Chinese leads include mainland Chinese (Zhang Ziyi), Hong Kong (Chow Yun-Fat), Taiwan (Chang Chen) andMalaysian (Michelle Yeoh) actors and actresses; the film was co-produced by an array of Chinese, American, Hong Kong, and Taiwan film companies. Likewise, Lee's Chinese-languageLust, Caution (2007) drew a crew and cast from mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, and includes an orchestral score by French composerAlexandre Desplat. This merging of people, resources and expertise from the three regions and the broaderEast Asia and the world, marks the movement of Chinese-language cinema into a domain of large scale international influence. Other examples of films in this mold includeThe Promise (2005),The Banquet (2006),Fearless (2006),The Warlords (2007),Bodyguards and Assassins (2009) andRed Cliff (2008–09). The ease with which ethnic Chinese actresses and actors straddle the mainland and Hong Kong has significantly increased the number of co-productions in Chinese-language cinema. Many of these films also feature South Korean or Japanese actors to appeal to their East Asian neighbours. Some artistes originating from the mainland, likeHu Jun,Zhang Ziyi,Tang Wei andZhou Xun, obtained Hong Kong residency under theQuality Migrant Admission Scheme and have acted in many Hong Kong productions.[64]
In 1983, there were 162,000 projection units in China, up from less than 600 at the 1949 founding of the PRC.[8]: 1
In 1998, theMinistry of Culture revived the practice of mobile rural cinema as part of its 2131 Project which aimed to screen one movie per month per village in rural China and upgrade analog equipment to digital projectors.[8]: 246 In 2003, the central government provided more than 400 film projection vans to Tibet and Xinjiang to show films in an effort to oppose what the government viewed as separatism and Westernization.[8]: 249
In 2010, Chinese cinema was the third largest film industry by number of feature films produced annually.[65] In 2013, China's gross box office was¥21.8 billion (US$3.6 billion), the second-largest film market in the world by box office receipts.[66] In January 2013,Lost in Thailand (2012) became the first Chinese film to reach ¥1 billion at the box office.[67] As of May 2013, 7 of the top 10highest-grossing films in China were domestic productions.[68] As of 2014, around half of all tickets are sold online, with the largest ticket selling sites beingMaoyan.com (82 million), Gewara.com (45 million) and Wepiao.com (28 million).[69] In 2014, Chinese films earned¥1.87 billion outside China.[70] By December 2013 there were 17,000 screens in the country.[71] By 6 January 2014, there were 18,195 screens in the country.[66]Greater China has around 251 IMAX theaters.[72] There were 299 cinema chains (252 rural, 47 urban), 5,813movie theaters and 24,317 screens in the country in 2014.[2]
The country added about 8,035 screens in 2015 (at an average of 22 new screens per day, increasing its total by about 40% to around 31,627 screens, which is about 7,373 shy of the number of screens in the United States.[73][74] Chinese films accounted for 61.48% of ticket sales in 2015 (up from 54% last year) with more than 60% of ticket sales being made online. Average ticket price was down about 2.5% to $5.36 in 2015.[73] In 2015, there was 48.7% increase in the box office, with the country's population of 1.35 billion going to the movies an average of 0.8 times that year.[74] Chinese films grossedUS$427 million overseas in 2015.[75] During the week of the 2016 Chinese New Year, the country set a new record for the highest box office gross during one week in one territory withUS$548 million, overtaking the previous record ofUS$529.6 million of 26 December 2015 to 1 January 2016 in the United States and Canada.[76] Chinese films grossed CN¥3.83 billion (US$550 million) in foreign markets in 2016.[3]
In 2020, China's market for films surpassed the U.S. market to become the largest such market in the world.[77]: 16
Since the early 2020s, Chinese cinema has faced growing competition from duanju (short vertical dramas). In 2024, industry reports indicated that the duanju market surpassed the national film box office for the first time, generating over 50 billion yuan compared to 47 billion for traditional cinema. This shift reflects evolving viewing habits, especially among younger audiences.[78][79][80][81][82]
| Year | Gross (in billions of yuans) | Domestic share | Tickets sold (in millions) | Number of screens |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | less than 1[83] | |||
| 2004 | 1.5[84] | |||
| 2005 | 2[84] | 60%[85] | 157.2[86][87] | 4,425[88] |
| 2006 | 2.67[84] | 176.2[86][87] | 3,034[89] or 4,753[88] | |
| 2007 | 3.33[84] | 55%[85] | 195.8[86][87] | 3,527[89] or 5,630[88] |
| 2008 | 4.34[84] | 61%[85] | 209.8[86][87] | 4,097[89] or 5,722[88] |
| 2009 | 6.21[84] | 56%[2] | 263.8[86][87] | 4,723[89] or 6,323[88] |
| 2010 | 10.17[84] | 56%[2] | 290[86] | 6,256[89] or 7,831[88] |
| 2011 | 13.12[84] | 54%[2] | 370[86] | 9,286[89] |
| 2012 | 17.07[84] | 48.5%[90] | 462[91] | |
| 2013 | 21.77[84] | 59%[92] | 612[91] | 18,195[66] |
| 2014 | 29.6[93] | 55%[93] | 830[93] | 23,600[93] |
| 2015 | 44[94] | 61.6%[94] | 1,260[94] | 31,627[94] |
| 2016 | 45.71[3] | 58.33%[3] | 1,370[4] | 41,179[3] |
| 2017 | 55.9[95] | 53.8%[95] | 1,620[95] | 50,776 |
| 2018 | 60.98[96] | 62.2%[97] | 1720[98] | 60,000[99] |
| 2019 | 64.27[100] | 64.1%[100] | 69,787[100] | |
| 2020 | 20.42[101] | 83.7%[101] | 75,581[101] | |
| 2021 | 47.26[102] | 84.5%[102] | 82,248[102] | |
| 2022 | 30.07[103] | 84.9%[103] | ||
| 2023 | 54.92[104] | 83.8%[104] | 86,310[105] | |
| 2024 | 42.50[5] | 78.7%[5] | 90,968[106] |
As of April 2015, the largest Chinese film company by worth wasAlibaba Pictures (US$8.77 billion). Other large companies includeHuayi Brothers Media (US$7.9 billion),Enlight Media (US$5.98 billion) andBona Film Group (US$542 million).[107] The biggest distributors by market share in 2014 were:China Film Group (32.8%),Huaxia Film (22.89%),Enlight Pictures (7.75%),Bona Film Group (5.99%),Wanda Media (5.2%),Le Vision Pictures (4.1%),Huayi Brothers (2.26%), United Exhibitor Partners (2%), Heng Ye Film Distribution (1.77%) and Beijing Anshi Yingna Entertainment (1.52%).[2] The biggestcinema chains in 2014 by box office gross were:Wanda Cinema Line (US$676.96 million),China Film Stellar (393.35 million),Dadi Theater Circuit (378.17 million),Shanghai United Circuit (355.07 million),Guangzhou Jinyi Zhujiang (335.39 million),China Film South Cinema Circuit (318.71 million),Zhejiang Time Cinema (190.53 million),China Film Group Digital Cinema Line (177.42 million),Hengdian Cinema Line (170.15 million) andBeijing New Film Association (163.09 million).[2]
Huayi Brothers is China's most powerful independent (i.e., non state-owned) entertainment company, Beijing-based Huayi Brothers is a diversified company engaged in film and TV production, distribution, theatrical exhibition, as well as talent management. Notable films include 2004'sKung Fu Hustle; and 2010'sAftershock, which had a 91% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.[108]
Beijing Enlight Media focuses on the action and romance genres. Enlight usually places several films in China's top 20 grossers. Enlight is also a major player in China's TV series production and distribution businesses. Under the leadership of its CEO Wang Changtian, the publicly traded, Beijing-based company has achieved a market capitalization of nearly US$1 billion.[109]
In November 2016, China passeda film law banning content deemed harmful to the "dignity, honor and interests" of the People's Republic and encouraging the promotion ofcore socialist values, approved by the National People's Congress Standing Committee.[110] Since 2017, the industry is regulated by theFilm Industry Promotion Act.[111][112]
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