Will Milk Tea Save the Film Exhibition Business in China?
2018 was a tough year for the film exhibition sector in China. As the number of movie theaters continue to grow and the country’s regulators continue to crack down on ticket subsidies, it became increasingly challenging for film exhibitors to increase revenues merely through ticket sales. Given this reality, diversifying revenue sources becomes the key to growth for Chinese film exhibitors. In North America, integrating dining into movie-watching is a popular strategy. It’s not very realistic to implement this strategy in China for various reasons. But adding milk tea to the concessions menu might be a better idea. Some film exhibitors, such as Dadi Cinema, even went further to develop its own milk tea brand. In China, milk tea is undoubtedly the most popular beverage, especially among young people. Currently, milk tea consumption is five times higher than the consumption of coffee. Read more on entgroup.cn
Platforms Partner Up to Attract New Members
Over the past few months, several online streaming platforms partnered up with other types of platforms, such as e-commerce sites, podcast apps and food delivery services, to offer joint memberships in order to gain new members. Examples include Tencent Video’s partnerships with e-commerce platforms Amazon and VIP.com, Bilibili’s partnership with food delivery app ele (饿了么) and iQiyi’s partnership with digital content platform migu (咪咕). While this strategy seems to be working, industry experts point out that this can’t be a long term solution, as gaining and retaining customers ultimately rely on providing products and services they truly need. Read more on entgroup.cn
‘Green Book’ May Release in China
American comedy-drama film Green Book, which just won Best Picture (Musical/Comedy) at this year’s Golden Globe Awards, will likely be imported into China for theatrical release, according to sources familiar with the matter. The film has been released in North America in November and China’s Alibaba Pictures is a co-producer. Set in the South of the U.S. in the 1960s, the film follows a tour between African-American pianist Don Shirley and Tony Vallelonga, an Italian-American bouncer who served as Shirley’s driver and bodyguard. Read more on MTime
