The proportion of domestic films at the box office has increased, and the future of China films is unlimited

China films should compete with Hollywood with strong industrial strength, sophisticated production level and rich ideological connotations, become ambassadors of Chinese civilization in the global cultural picture, and let the world feel the unique charm of China culture.

. Good news came during the Spring Festival in 2017. The box office in seven days exceeded 3.3 billion yuan, setting a new historical record. Immediately afterwards, the national box office results were released in January and February 2017. The national box office reached 10.9 billion yuan, of which the domestic box office was about 7 billion yuan, defeating imported films with an absolute advantage. Faced with such a complex industrial environment, especially in the context of global communication, how should filmmakers view China films? What position is it in now? What should be the future development direction? We must have clear thinking to take firm action.

The share of Hollywood produced films in the global film market has remained at around 80% all year round. Faced with such strong opponents, currently only four countries in the world, China, Japan, India, and South Korea, can maintain that their films account for more than 50% of the local box office. These four countries all have unique national cultures, especially a strong domestic film industry system. However, the performance of the European film market was not ideal. Among the films released in the UK, France, Germany, Russia and Italy in 2016, the top 25 domestic films at the box office were 3, 5, 5, 2 and 4 respectively.

In the foreseeable future, China films will become the only force in the world that can balance Hollywood's strong position. Because we have rich history and culture and long-standing Chinese civilization, China films can be said to have a treasure mountain. We also have a huge China film market. In 2016, China's movie box office ranked second in the world with RMB 45.712 billion, accounting for approximately 58.5% of the North American box office. China has a huge single domestic market, which is a comprehensive reflection of its land area, population size and economic strength. It is almost equivalent to the sum of Britain, Japan, India and South Korea, which rank third to sixth in the world's box office. The movie "Mermaid" set a record for a single film in China with a box office of nearly 3.4 billion yuan. This means that China's film industry can produce films costing US$100 million based solely on domestic income, which is an amount that Europe and other countries dare not easily attempt when jointly investing. We have the flesh-and-blood connection between China audiences and China films. China audiences once loved China films without reservation, and many middle-aged and elderly audiences still remember the bustling scenes of movie theater ticket offices in the 1970s and 1980s. After the 1990s, China films gradually entered a trough. Since the 21st century, the love between China audiences and China films has rekindled. Although there are many criticisms and some people still believe that Hollywood films are better than domestic films, more and more audiences are voting attentively to express their favor for those China films that use "our language" to tell "our feelings and stories." Judging from the proportion of domestic films in the total box office, in the 12 years from 2005 to 2016, except for 2012, which was 48.46%, the remaining 11 years were above 50%. Even in 2016, when the growth rate slowed down, this figure still reached 58.33%. Among the top 25 films at the box office in China in 2016, there were 14 domestic films. China filmmakers and film institutions should have a high degree of consciousness: China film audiences are our greatest and last reliance.

Of course, China films also have problems and shortcomings, and there are still many factors to promote the development of China films. The most important ones are: better films, a more standardized market, and a broader mind. The core element of the film industry is films. If there are not a sufficient number of excellent domestic films, no matter how many screens rise, they will be nothing more than Hollywood's money-printing machine. China films must have morality, warmth, and muscles. They must tell the story of China well. They must also be simultaneously upgraded on the hardware of film technology and the software of talent creativity in order to create high-standard industrial large-scale productions, rather than just being satisfied with IP craze, youth films and new idols. At the same time, relevant departments must crack down more severely on acts such as cheating and concealing box office, piracy, and using movies for financial hype. All sectors of society should also support and encourage the experimentation and development of films in terms of themes, genres, genres, styles, etc. For example,"Operation Mekong", which triggered the patriotic enthusiasm of thousands of viewers and the box office market in 2016, was a joint effort by the public security department and the film management department to provide a relaxed creative environment for producers and creators, and achieved a four-year experience.

In the past decade or so, China films have created many seemingly "impossible" achievements. We have reason to believe that under the protection of the Film Industry Promotion Law, more "impossibilities" will become reality in the days to come. China culture has the inclusiveness and openness of "each person has its own beauty" and "the beauty of beauty." Over the years, China has been opening its doors to the world's excellent culture. At the same time, China is also a participant and defender of world cultural diversity. "Movies are ambassadors in iron boxes." China films should compete with Hollywood with strong industrial strength, sophisticated production level and rich ideological connotations, become ambassadors of Chinese civilization in the global cultural picture, and let the world feel the unique charm of China culture.

Editor: Nancy