These Three Companies Benefit Most From the Success of ‘Dying to Survive’
Currently, the Chinese film industry is abuzz with discussions about dark comedy Dying to Survive, due to the film’s box office success as well as its social significance. The film is backed by over 20 entertainment firms, and three of them are major backers. They are the film’s producer Dirty Monkey Films, its distributor Beijing Culture, and its online promoter Tao Piaopiao. While all these three companies will receive huge commercial benefits, the film’s success is likely more rewarding for Dirty Monkey Films, as it further validates the company’s vision of cultivating the next generation of genre filmmakers. In 2016, Ning Hao’s Dirty Monkey Films launched its “72 Transformations Film Project,” which entails selecting and supporting young filmmakers to make 48 genre films over a long period of time. Dying to Survive is the second film came from this project. The first film was 2017 wuxia film Brotherhood of Blades II: The Infernal Battlefield. Read more on Zhipianrenneican
Ning Hao’s ‘Crazy Alien’ Receives Backing from Happy Pictures with RMB $2.8 B
Huanxi Media, producer of Ning Hao’s upcoming sci-fi comedy Crazy Alien, announced today that the company had received 2.8 billion yuan ($420 million) from Khorgas Happy Pictures. In exchange, Happy Pictures will acquire the exclusive distribution rights to the film in the greater China region. Huanxi Media remains to be the holder of the film’s digital and international distribution rights. Directed by China’s hitmaker Ning Hao and starring Huang Bo, Crazy Alien wrapped filming this May and is set to release during 2019 Chinese New Year. Read more on Mtime
Lowest-grossing Chinese Films in First Half of 2018
In the first half of 2018, 271 local films were theatrically released in China with total box office revenue of 32 billion yuan. Among them, 15 films made over 100 million yuan. WeChat media account yiqipaidianying released the top 100 lowest-grossing Chinese films in the first half of 2018. The first one on the list made 1,288 yuan and the last one made 1.1 million yuan. Most of the films on the list are suspense films, horrors and traditional operas. Read more on yiqipaidianying