In the first half of the year, 20 new screens were added per day. Third-and fourth-tier cities are keen to invest in cinemas

In recent years, my country's urban residents 'spending on watching movies has increased significantly, especially with the rapid development of theater construction in second-, third-and fourth-tier cities. As the growth of theater box office in first-tier cities has slowed down, the box office of movies in second-, third-and fourth-tier cities has become the most powerful driving engine for the China film market. According to relevant statistics, the construction speed of theaters in the first half of this year has not decreased, with 20 new screens added per day.

Original title: Cinema construction has become a "red sea"

Ms. Liu recently returned to her hometown. She told reporters that two new cinemas have been built in Lingbi County, Anhui Province, where her family is located, and there are quite a few people watching movies there.

High-end cinemas are expanding

rapidly. Like high-end luxury goods, as the purchasing power of China people has greatly increased, high-quality Dolby Cinema has also begun to enter the China market.

On July 16, the opening ceremony of Beijing's first Dolby Cinema was held at Jackie Chan International Studios in Beijing. This was the first Dolby Cinema opened in a first-tier city. At the same time, Yaolai announced plans to open 10 more Dolby Cinemas in China in the next two years.

Beijing Yaolai Jackie Chan International Studios has 17 movie halls. The introduction of Dolby Cinema at this time indicates that the movie viewing experience will be further improved in the future.

Dolby Cinema is a high-end film projection technology. Its biggest characteristics are high picture brightness and contrast, and good panoramic sound. In terms of contrast, the contrast ratio of cinema films currently using xenon lamp digital projectors in domestic theaters is generally 2000:1, up to 8000:1, while Dolby Cinema can exceed 1000000:1.

Frank Bryant, senior vice president of Dolby Cinema Business at Dolby Labs, said in an interview that improving the contrast and brightness of the picture can greatly improve the audience's visual experience. In terms of brightness, Dolby Cinema's 2D movie projection brightness can reach 31fL (Ford Lambert), and 3D movie projection brightness reaches 14fL. Under the current conditions, the 2D cinema projection standard is 14fL, which is also the highest brightness that can be achieved by ordinary format 2D films. If converted to 3D format, the brightness of the movie will be reduced by half.

In China, in addition to the cooperation between Yolai Cinema and Dolby, Wanda and Dolby also plan to open 100 Dolby Cinema in the next five years. By the end of December 2016, Dolby Cinema will be put into operation in China. The number will expand to 10.

Also high-end cinemas, IMAX China, which is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, recently announced its first-half results announcement, saying that the company's net profit in the first half of this year reached US$17.74 million, 70% of which revenue came from the cinema business. Relevant data shows that as of June 30, 2016, the IMAX Theater Network had a total of 335 IMAX theaters in Greater China. In the first half of 2016, the company signed 79 new theaters, with the total number of contracts exceeding 18 theaters in the same period in 2015 and exceeding the number of 74 theaters signed in 2015. As of June 30, 2016, the number of IMAX theaters signed for construction was 264. However, it is worth noting that although IMAX China expanded rapidly in the first half of the year, the average box office revenue per screen fell by 24.2% year-on-year.

The entry of high-end theater Dolby Theater may be a strong competitor to IMAX China, but also adds some variables to the competition of future cinemas.

Third-and fourth-tier cities are keen to invest in cinemas.

The lifeblood of the film market is cinemas. In the entire film industry chain, cinemas are at the end of the industry chain, but they play an important role. The output of movie box office comes from every screen. Coupled with the introduction of subsidy policies for investment in cinemas, many places in China, especially county-level cities, have been keen to invest in cinemas in recent years.

According to relevant policies jointly issued by the Ministry of Finance and the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television, a financial subsidy of 800,000 yuan will be given to the "national-level poverty-stricken counties" and "concentrated contiguous areas with special difficulties" determined by the Poverty Alleviation Office of the State Council, as well as the central region that enjoys the western region's policies in accordance with the State Council's regulations, and the eastern region counties that enjoy the central region's policies in accordance with the central region's policies.

In addition to national financial subsidies for theater construction, some provinces have also introduced corresponding preferential policies. For example, the Sichuan Province Department of Finance and the Sichuan Province Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television Bureau issued the "Measures for the Budget Management of Special Funds for the Development of National Film Industry in Sichuan Province" in early June. For newly built cinemas in cities and counties (county-level cities, districts) outside Chengdu City, each theater will provide a one-time subsidy of no more than 1.5 million yuan; For newly built digital cinemas in 88 poverty-stricken counties, each theater will provide a one-time subsidy of 500,000 yuan.

With so many preferential policies, it has also led many third-and fourth-tier cities and county-level cities to build cinemas. According to information released by the Culture, Radio, Television, Press and Publication Bureau of Lu 'an City, Anhui Province, in the first half of this year, the city of Lu' an normally operated 17 cinemas, newly approved 2 new urban cinemas, and 9 new silver screens were added.

According to data released by the Film Bureau of the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television, more than 1200 new theaters and 8035 new screens were added throughout 2015, with an average daily increase of more than 22. There are 3241 county-level cinemas and 12777 county-level cinemas across the country. In the first half of 2016, 20 new screens were added per day. As of now, the total number of cinemas nationwide has exceeded 6000, and the total number of screens has exceeded 37,000.

"Today, while China's film industry is still booming, theater construction is still the hottest link." In the view of Zhao Jun, a veteran in the film market, it is undeniable that the construction of studios has become a "red sea" today.

Beware of speculative capital disrupting

the construction of theaters in the ascendant, but the number of box office output on a single screen is decreasing, and the average theater attendance rate is far from meeting the design standards. In this regard, Wu Siyuan, chairman of UME Cinema Management Group, believes that the film industry has its own development rules. Cinema should be arranged according to population and urban development to allow it to have a good business environment. Instead of the industry becoming popular and swarming to build cinemas. Some people even use movies as stocks to speculate. "This makes it impossible for the development of the film industry to truly benefit cinemas and film producers."

"Corresponding to the vigorous development of China's film industry is the crazy intervention of capital power." Famous director Che Jingxing said that the entry of a large amount of capital will inevitably lead to a bubble in the film industry, affecting film investment, theater construction, and even inflated box office.

It is undeniable that the more prosperous the China film market, the more cinemas will join. In addition to investing in county-level cinemas, new cinemas that adapt to new market needs have also emerged one after another.

As the first domestic investor in a new movie studio that "advocates future movie lifestyles", Beijing Star Times Cinema Investment Co., Ltd. said on July 22 that it will continue to invest 8 billion yuan in the next three years to build 300 to 500 movie studios across the country. At the same time, the company has successfully acquired Shimao Cinema Line, has a theater license, and renamed it Beijing Star Times Digital Cinema Line.

Editor: Nancy