The Different Fates of This Year’s Two British-Chinese Co-productions
Starring Orlando Bloom, British-Chinese action thriller ‘S.M.A.R.T. Chase‘ opened in China on September 30, and has only made 14 million yuan after 5 days in release. Meanwhile, ‘The Foreigner,’ another British-Chinese co-production starring Jackie Chan, is one of the top performers during the National Day holiday in China. While the author of this article didn’t elaborate on why ‘S.M.A.R.T. Chase’ is failing, he did mention the legal dispute between the film’s Chinese investor Bliss Media and its American producer from Das Films. He also attributes the success of ‘The Foreigner‘ to Jackie Chan’s participation and the efforts Wanda Pictures and Yaolai Cinema have been spending in promoting the film. Read more on yiqipaidianying
Casting Directors in China: What Role Do They Play?
While casting directors play an important role in Hollywood and have the authority to make important casting decisions, their counterparts in China experience a quite different situation. In China, lead actors of a film are decided by investors, producers, and directors. Some crews don’t have casting directors. And even if they do, the casting directors usually just assist with the selection process, but don’t really have a say over the final decisions. Fortunately, the Chinese entertainment industry is starting to realize the importance of casting. In this interview with yiyuguancha, Beijing-based casting director Wei Wei mentions that there are about 20 agencies in China that specialize in casting. Although most of them currently only cast for TV shows, some of them have been approached by film producers recently. Read more on yiyuguancha
Short Videos Bring Traffic But Where is the Revenue
This year, short video becomes lifesaver for many tech giants in their efforts in gaining users’ attention and driving web traffic. Under this circumstance, more and more internet and media companies increase their investments in making engaging short videos. Meanwhile, the market also sees a wave of short video startups emerging in China. However, there also seems to be a dangerous bubble starting to form. This article points out that the biggest disadvantage of shorts videos is that they are really short, which makes it hard to add commercials within a short video. How many people would want to watch one-minute commercial in order to watch a two-minute video? Read more on TMT Post
‘Wolf Warriors 2,’ ‘Apes,’ and ‘The Invisible Guest’ Making Big Bucks Again on China’s Mid-Autumn Festival
October 4 is this year’s Mid-Autumn Festival in China. The total box office revenue of this day doesn’t look exciting, as Chinese people tend to stay at home with families rather than go out to seek entertainment. However, October 4 was a good day for ‘Wolf Warriors 2,’ ‘War for the Planet of the Apes,’ and ‘The Invisible Guest.’ These three previously released films unexpectedly regained popularity on October 4, making millions of yuan again on a single day. It is likely that more screenings will be scheduled for these films in this coming week due to their improving box office performance. Read more on yiqipaidianying
The Controversial Chinese Ultraman Film Has Been Released in China
The controversial Chinese Ultraman film ‘Dragon Force: So Long Ultraman’ has been released in China on October 1. Although many audiences are still confused about its copyright dispute, the director of the film Wang Wei feels quite confident about the film as well his company as the legitimate rights holder of the iconic Japanese IP. While the original Ultraman stories center around the theme of saving the world, this Chinese remake focuses more on the relationship between Ultraman and Dragon Force, through which the filmmaker hopes to indicate the relationship between father and son in eastern culture. As other films released during the National Day holiday don’t specifically target families and children, ‘Dragon Force: So Long Ultraman’ aims to position itself as a family-friendly movie in order to stand out. Read more on Entertainment Capital
