Headlines from China: National Alliance of Arthouse Cinemas to Release ‘Richard Jewell’ on January 10

National Alliance of Arthouse Cinemas to Release ‘Richard Jewell’ on January 10

Produced by Warner Brothers and directed by Clint Eastwood, the 2019 American film Richard Jewell has been set to release in China on January 10 under the banner of China’s National Alliance of Arthouse Cinemas. Based on a true event, the film follows security guard Richard Jewell who found a bomb during the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia and decided to evacuate the crowd. But later, the hero was wrongly accused of having placed the bomb himself. The film stars Paul Walter Hauser as Jewell, along with Sam Rockwell and Kathy Bates. Another Eastwood film, The Mule, also got released in China through the National Alliance of Arthouse Cinemas in August 2019. Read more on Mtime

Five Film Marketing Trends to Win over Chinese Audiences in 2019

2019 sees a variety of innovative film promotion tactics implemented in the fast-changing Chinese film market. Wechat media account piaofangtoushijing sums up five new trends of promoting a theatrical release in China. First, creating customized promotional videos. Unlike conventional film trailers, a customized promo video can be irrelevant to the movie plot. The key is to create an original story with a powerful emotional core that can easily resonate with the local audiences. For example, What’s Peppa, the trailer for the animated film Peppa Celebrates Chinese New Year, went viral in China earlier this year. Second, making full use of short video platforms to increase awareness around the film and interact with potential audiences. Third, cooperating with film fan groups, which are often times organized by KOLs in the film sector or online film platforms. These audience groups may help create positive word-of-mouth that can further affect a film’s box office earnings. Fourth, having official endorsements from state media, especially for “main-melody” films. Fifth, live-streaming may become a new secret weapon for film promotion. Films like Dear Liar, Wild Goose Lake, and Only Cloud Knows partnered with top e-commerce live streamers not only to sell movie ticket vouchers, but to build direct communications between filmmakers and audiences. Read more on piaofangtoushijing

Kyoto Animation’s ‘Violet Evergarden Gaiden: Eternity and the Auto Memories Doll’ Scores China Release

Produced by Kyoto Animation, the animated feature film Violet Evergarden: Eternity and the Auto Memory Doll has been scheduled to release in China on January 10, 2020. It is a spin-off film of the anime series titled Violet Evergarden, also produced by Kyoto Animation, and directed by Haruka Fujita. Premiered in Japan on September 6, 2019. The film tells the story of a friendship between Violet Evergarden, the title character serving as a ghostwriter and a teacher, and her student Isabella, a lonely heiress of a noble house. Read more on Mtime