Wen Muye, director of “Dying to Survive”
Emerging Filmmakers Made Big Waves in 2018
2018 China box office numbers have been unveiled. Among the top 20 highest-grossing films, emerging filmmakers’ works generated 41.1% of the total box office. Detective Chinatown 2 (by Chen Sicheng) and Dying to Survive (by Wen Muye) each made over 3 billion yuan. Hello Mr. Billionaire (by Yan Fei and Peng Damo), Us and Them (by Liu Ruoying) and The Island (by Huang Bo) each made over 1 billion yuan. Some of the aforementioned films not only achieved commercial success, but also created social values. For example, Dying to Survive sparked debate about the cost of medical care among Chinese people and led Chinese Premier Li Keqiang to urge regulators to “speed up price cuts for cancer drugs” and “reduce the burden on families.” Various incubator programs, mentorships and film festival pitch sessions provide opportunities for emerging filmmakers to be discovered in China. Read more on entgroup.cn
Over 30 Internet Movies Made Over RMB 10 Million in 2018
2018 is no doubt a turbulent and tough year for most of the entertainment firms in China. However, producers of internet movies presented rather impressive results. So far, you likely have heard that China box office exceeded 60 billion yuan in 2018. And this doesn’t include the revenues generated by internet movies. According the 2018 Internet Movie Ranking, over 30 internet movies earned over RMB 10 million in 2018 from platforms on a revenue-sharing basis. Top streaming platforms play an important role in supporting and monetizing internet movies. In 2018, iQiyi released 1018 internet movies, Youku 337, and Tencent 127. Read more on entgroup.cn
‘Bumblebee’ Opens Across China with Dominant Screen Share
China box office totaled 61.56 million yuan on Thursday January 3 with local film Kill Mobile leading the race. No. 2 on the box office charts is Aquaman, which made 9.78 million yuan. Cumulatively, Aquaman has raked in 1.92 billion yuan in China after 28 days in release. Behind Aquaman is Bumblebee, which officially opens on Friday January 4, but has made 5.79 million yuan through Thursday’s midnight pre-screenings. Today, Bumblebee opens across China with a whooping 50.6% screen share. Another Hollywood movie to open today is Creed 2, which will open with a 13.1% screen share. Read more on Mtime
