Headlines from China: Bi Gan’s New Film Has Become a Marketing Miracle 

Bi Gan’s New Film Has Become a Marketing Miracle 

“Hope I can go watch Bi Gan’s Long Day’s Journey Into Night on New Year’s Eve with the person I like and kiss this person at the end of the movie to enter the new year.” This line has been posted by an increasing number of audiences on Chinese social media platforms since the pre-sale of Bi Gan’s second film Long Day’s Journey Into Night started two weeks ago. So far, the film’s pre-sale box office figure has reached 76 million yuan ($11 million) and most of its screenings on New Year’s Eve have been sold out. The film’s pre-sale performance is beyond the wildest dreams of its creators. After all, Long Day’s Journey Into Night is an arthouse film with an obscure storyline and Bi Gan’s first film only made about 6 million yuan. In Long Day’s Journey Into Night, a man went back to Guizhou, found the tracks of a mysterious woman, which made him recall the summer he spent with her twenty years ago. The film is set to open in China on December 31, 2018. Read more on yuledujiaoshou

2018 Moviegoing Trends in China

Today, Alibaba Pictures’ film distribution unit and WeChat media account dushetv (Sir电影) jointly released a report on 2018  moviegoing trends in China. The report shows that an increasing number of young audiences are forming a moviegoing habit. In 2018, audiences under 25 account for almost 40% of China’s total moviegoers. The report also predicts that this year’s total box office will reach 61 billion yuan ($8.83) and domestic films will generate over 60% of the total box office. The theatrical market is increasingly competitive and “Matthew Effect” is becoming obvious. Box office data shows that 3% of this year’s releases generated 55% of the total box office. The report also predicts that the 2019 Chinese new year might become the strongest cinematic season ever with 13 new releases, including Ning Hao’s Crazy Aliens, Han Han’s Fei Chi Ren Shen, Alibaba Pictures Peppa Celebrates Chinese New Year and Stephen Chow’s The New King of Comedy. Read more on xinmin.cn

China’s IMDB Announced Top Films in China in 2018

On December 21st, Douban, China’s most influential film review site, released “2018 Douban Annual Film List” (link in Chinese). The highest-rated foreign film on the list is Ready Player One, receiving a score of 8.7/10 on Douban. Box office hit Dying to Survive scored 9/10, ranking No.1 among local films. The film is also the most talked-about film that has been theatrically released in China. American film Lady Bird topped the most talked-about list of films without a China release. Hirokazu Kore-eda, director of Japanese movie Shoplifter, is selected as the most talked-about director. Read more on Sina