In-depth observation of Shanghai Film Festival: IP is boundless, the ultimate answer to film breaking

Jiuzhi Network News When the theater box office is no longer the only winner or winner, and the life cycle of a single content is getting shorter and shorter, the 2026 Shanghai International Film Festival has thrown out a proposition that points directly to the core of the industry-IP is unbounded and links new consumption across the region. Ecology. At a time when the traffic dividend is fading and the audience's aesthetics are becoming more diverse, the film industry's road to failure has long jumped out of the screen and moved towards cross-border integration and long-term value cultivation.

1. From "box office dependence" to "IP is king": Subversive reconstruction of industrial logic
   Once upon a time, the success of a movie was determined only by the box office. But now, the box office growth of top-notch films has slowed down, and it is difficult for small and medium-cost films to break through. The model of relying solely on theater revenue is unsustainable. At the Shanghai Film Festival forum, the industry consensus became increasingly clear: box office is only the "basic" of IP value, and global development is the "amplifier" of IP vitality.
   Real high-quality IP is never a fleeting light and shadow on the screen, but a core asset that can penetrate through circles, arouse emotional resonance, and have long-term liquidity capabilities. As Li Zao, deputy general manager of Shanghai Film Co., Ltd., said: "Film and television content is the origin from 0 to 1, and the development of the entire industry chain is countless zeroes behind 1." Judging from the practice of "Langlang Mountain Little Monster", the box office of 1.719 billion yuan is only the starting point. More than 60 brands have been linked and more than 800 cultural and creative products have been developed. Finally, the terminal consumption of GMV exceeds 2.5 billion yuan, which has also driven the tourism boom in the scenic spots., extending the value of IP from online to offline, and from content to life. This closed-loop model of "content + consumption + cultural tourism" has completely broken the single profit dilemma of the film industry.
2. Movie-game linkage: the "golden key" to break the circle of young circles
   Among all cross-border gameplay methods, the movie-game linkage is undoubtedly the most eye-catching example of this year's Shanghai Film Festival. The popular game IP "Love and Deep Space" and the dreamy collaboration of the Shanghai Film Festival can be called a landmark attempt to deeply bind game IP to mainstream film festivals.
   This linkage has jumped out of simple logo splicing and peripheral sales, but has achieved in-depth co-creation of content and two-way empowerment of scenes. The five male protagonists of "Love and Deep Space" incarnate as the "film recommendation officers" of the film festival, combining customized exclusive film lists with personal-designed, covering multi-dimensional themes such as humanities, love, and suspense, allowing the game characters to have a natural connection with film art. Offline implementation of a time-limited theme block, from June 15 to 21, Shanghai Xingfuli Street is wrapped in light, shadow and game elements. Fans and players check in and interact here to achieve an immersive experience of "entering the play"[__LINK_ICON]. It also launched joint limited ticket folders and other surrounding areas to transform the sense of movie-watching rituals into a collectible and disseminable physical carrier.
   The deep value of this linkage lies in breaking down the barrier between "fans" and "players". Many core players of "Love and Deep Space" entered the offline film festival for the first time due to this linkage, shifting from online viewing at home to immersive experience of film culture, injecting young and fresh blood into the film festival; and fans also discovered the diverse charm of the film through the game perspective. This two-way drainage and two-way empowerment model provides a model for the industry: movie-game linkage is not a simple traffic exchange, but a deep integration of young culture and traditional film and television, and is an efficient path for IP to reach Generation Z.

3. Global ecology: value extension from "movie +" to "life +"
   In addition to the linkage between movies and games, this Shanghai Film Festival fully demonstrated the infinite possibilities of IP cross-border. Multiple models such as "movie + cultural tourism","movie + trendy entertainment" and "movie + business" have blossomed in bloom, building a "IP Unbounded" global consumption ecosystem.
   In the field of cultural and tourism integration, Shanghai Film Group has launched its "Yuanwen Tourism" section to transform classic film and television IP into offline experience scenes. Projects such as the "Troubles in Heaven" XR Experience Exhibition and the "New World: Golden Age" AI immersive interactive game theater break the boundary between film and cultural tourism, allowing audiences to change from "watching movies" to "walking into movies." "Langlang Mountain Little Monster" deeply binds the film scene to local cultural tourism, and the location becomes a check-in spot for Internet celebrities, driving the development of local catering, accommodation and other industries, and realizing the cultural tourism effect of "one movie brings fire to one city".
   In the field of business and trendy entertainment, IP authorization has long penetrated into all aspects of life. From cosmetics and clothing to food and beverages, from stationery and toys to smart homes, high-quality film and television IP covers 20+ consumer fields through refined authorization. There were more than 150 cooperation projects throughout the year, and the total IP exposure exceeded 18.2 billion yuan. Many products of the "Yuanchaoli" cultural and creative series created by Shanghai Film Yuan have been certified as "Shanghai Gifts", transforming the IP of film and television from a "cultural symbol" to a "daily good thing" and integrating it into public life.
   The core logic of this kind of global development is to separate IP from a single content carrier and become a core link running through culture, business, and life. As planned by Shanghai Film Group, with IP as the core, it will link cultural, commercial, tourism, sports, and exhibition resources to realize the extension of film and television content to the global consumer format, and ultimately create a new experience of "film is life".
4. Pain points and reflection: The "false fire" and "hidden worries" behind the IP craze
   Under the craze of IP global development, the industry also needs to calmly face the real pain points. First, rapid IP corruption is rapid. Many platforms and capitals are eager for success and try to create hot IP in 3-6 months. They lack the patience and deep cultivation of long-term incubation, which ultimately leads to the short vitality of IP and difficulty in forming sustained influence. Second, cross-border homogenization is serious. Most IP linkages still stay in the shallow mode of "joint peripheral + offline check-in", lacking content innovation and deep integration, making it difficult to truly impress consumers. Third, copyright and texture risks. The popularity of AI technology has lowered the threshold for IP development, but it has also brought problems such as vague copyright ownership and rough content quality. Excessive reliance on technology may easily lead to IP losing its core emotional value.
   The deeper worry lies in: Will cross-border across the world dilute the artistic value of the film itself? When IP is over-commercialized and when creation prioritizes monetization, will movies become an "accessory" to IP development? The answer is obviously no. The industry consensus is that content will always be the foundation of IP. IP without high-quality content support, no matter how gorgeous the cross-border is, it is just a castle in the air. The success of "Langlang Mountain Little Monster" essentially stems from its solid content and sincere emotions; the linkage between "Love and Deep Space" and the Shanghai Film Festival has also been recognized for its content compatibility and tonality matching. Only by adhering to the original intention of content and deeply cultivating IP with long-term doctrine can we avoid the "traffic trap" and achieve a balance between commercial value and artistic value.
5. Conclusion: Long-term doctrine is the ultimate password for IP breaking
   From relying on box office to deeply cultivating IP, from single content to global ecology, the "IP Boundless" discussion at the 2026 Shanghai Film Festival is essentially a value awakening in China's film industry. In an era when traffic is ebbing and rationality is returning, rapid traffic is destined to decay quickly, and impetuous cross-border operations are difficult to last long. Only with content as the root, IP as the core, and long-term doctrine as the wing can we break through the barriers of circles and cross the cycle. fluctuations.
   China's film and television industry has never lacked good stories. What it lacks is the patience and ability to turn good stories into long-term IP and global ecology. In the future, when movies are no longer just two hours on the screen, but lifestyles that penetrate into games, cultural tourism, and business; when IP is no longer just a traffic symbol, but a cultural asset that carries emotions and conveys value, China movies can truly break through the circle and move towards a broader future.