Financial capital "gold rush" film industry: many problems to be solved

As the general manager of an investment management company in Beijing, old Tong told the new financial reporter that they had discussed investment matters with an American film company. Although he also felt that there was a lot of room for the development of the domestic film market, he still invested his money abroad when making a decision. An important reason is that “ The operation of the film industry in the United States is relatively standardized, and it can make a relatively accurate prediction of the future input and output& rdquo; However, the Chinese film market, which needs to be improved, does not seem to affect the strong interest of other investors in the domestic film industry

capital inflow

Not long ago, the first domestic film and television culture collection trust product was launched

Trust is not the first financial capital involved in the film and television industry. Zhuyuqing, a senior filmmaker and film editor of variety daily, told reporters that there are nearly 20 private equity funds focusing on film and television in China. Many private equity film and television funds claim to raise at least hundreds of millions of yuan, of which 18 funds claim to raise more than 20billion yuan in total. Earlier, there were banks that provided financial support for the film in the form of copyright pledge

To the slight surprise of the outside world, some real estate enterprises such as Jindian and Evergrande have also entered the film industry. As a senior filmmaker, Zhu Yuqing also noticed that some large state-owned enterprises that had rarely been involved in the film industry in the past were also interested in the film industry, such as HNA

All kinds of financial capital and industrial capital “ Electric shock ”, Zhu Yuqing believes that this is closely related to the strategic adjustment of China's industrial structure. In July, 2009, the State Council considered and approved the "revitalization plan for the cultural industry", which places the film and television industry in a crucial position. In January, 2010, the "guiding opinions on promoting the prosperity and development of the film industry" was issued, specifically in the areas of industrial support, enterprise cultivation, investment and financing support and encouragement “ Go out ” For the great development of the film industry “ Escort ”. In October, 2011, the decision on several major issues concerning deepening the reform of the cultural system and promoting the great development and prosperity of socialist culture was issued, which clearly stated that one of the goals of China's cultural reform and development by 2020 is that the cultural industry will become a pillar industry of the national economy, the overall strength and international competitiveness will be significantly enhanced, and the cultural industry pattern with public ownership as the main body and the common development of various forms of ownership will be fully formed. In May this year, the "cultural reform and development plan of the Ministry of culture during the" 12th Five Year Plan "was released, which once again emphasized the pillar position of the cultural industry and put forward more specific goals& lsquo; The 12th Five Year Plan ’ During this period, the annual average current price growth rate of the added value of the cultural industry managed by the cultural department was higher than 20%& rdquo;

In Zhu Yuqing's view, it is the help of the above policies that has set the main tone for the great development of the domestic film industry in recent years, which is also the premise for all kinds of capital to flow into the film industry. However, the most direct reason may still come from the huge appeal of the sustained and rapid development of the film industry itself

According to reports, since 2005, the domestic film industry has entered the fast track of development, and then increased at an average rate of about 30% for six or seven consecutive years, far exceeding the growth level of other domestic industries, which undoubtedly increased the confidence of other capital to enter the film industry. In Zhu Yuqing's view, the emergence of a number of domestic films with ultra-high box office, such as "painted skin", "the great cause of the founding of the people's Republic of China", "Tangshan earthquake", "33 days of lovelorn", "Longmen flying armor" and "painted skin 2", has made all kinds of capital feel the great charm of the film industry, “ When film became a high profit industry, capital came one after another, and it was natural& rdquo;

market expansion

With the sustained and rapid growth of the overall domestic economy in recent years, people's demand for cultural and entertainment consumption has also begun to rise. As an important place to experience consumption, and with the increasing enrichment of domestic and imported films with outstanding audio-visual elements, watching movies has become an important entertainment and cultural consumption for many people

According to a set of data provided by Zhu Yuqing to reporters, in 2002, the number of movie viewers in urban cinemas was only tens of millions, but it had reached 360million in 2011, exceeded 330million in the first three quarters of this year, and is expected to reach 450million throughout the year

While the number of film viewers has soared, the domestic film terminal market has also expanded rapidly& ldquo; In 2002, China implemented the cinema line system, which brought about the great development of the terminal of the film industry. After that, private capital can invest in cinemas. In the past 10 years, domestic cinemas have grown from less than 900 at the beginning to more than 3300 now, and the number of screens has grown from less than 1600 at the beginning to more than 12000 now& rdquo; Zhuyuqing said

After the capital entered the film industry, domestic film technology has also achieved certain development. In addition to film shooting technology, domestic cinema projection equipment, audio-visual equipment, etc. have also been rapidly digitalized in just a few years, which has greatly improved the audio-visual effect of the film. According to Zhu Yuqing, at present, 8565 cinemas in China support 3D projection. In addition, the development speed of various giant screens is even more amazing &mdash& mdash; At present, there are 87 IMAX giant screen cinemas, 8 Chinese giant screen cinemas, 12 x-landand polymax2 in China

Of course, for ordinary audiences, what they are more interested in is the film itself. Zhuyuqing told the new finance reporter that at present, there are more than 1000 domestic enterprises engaged in film production and production, and the film production has also increased significantly &mdash& mdash; The annual output of story films has reached 558 by 2011 from about 100 in 2002, 580 in the first three quarters of this year, and is expected to reach 700 in the whole year

In Zhu Yuqing's view, capital is the foundation for the sustainable development of the film industry. He said that every link of film production cannot be separated from the intervention and support of capital, “ I always believe that no matter the director, producer, actor or the operation manager of the cinema, they should be responsible for the investor, and only let the capital ‘ Profitable ’, Capital can flow into the film industry continuously, and the film can also continue to develop& rdquo;

general loss

Unlike many other industries, the film industry is a capital intensive industry. Behind its high investment and high profits, there are also high risks and high losses. Many interviewees admitted that the box office success is only external brilliance. In fact, most film projects are in a state of loss

Zhu Yuqing told reporters that according to the analysis of 500 or 600 feature films produced every year, more than 100 of them are broadcast on the film channel “ TV movie ”, The cost can be basically recovered through TV and network copyright; Another part is for various purposes “ Customization ” The films of are not within the scope of the mainstream film market

　　“ Every year, there are about 200 films that are truly aimed at entering the mainstream market and above the medium-sized investment scale, and are truly screened on the big screen. These films compete with more than 60 imported films on the same stage, and only 23% of them can make profits at the box office& ldquo; Zhuyuqing said

Filmmaker hehouyi told reporters that Chinese filmmaking is different from Hollywood, which is made in a very commercial way. In China, filmmaking is more about the preferences of directors, and it is often not completed according to the scheduled time, “ For example, it is limited to be completed within 3 months, but generally it will exceed the time limit and overspend, which is relatively rare in foreign countries& rdquo;

Liang Huining, the managing partner of KPMG China's information technology, media and telecommunications industry, said in an interview with reporters that inadequate cost control is an important reason for the high proportion of losses in the film industry

As an investor, the old boy has quite experienced this. He said that in China, cinemas will deduct a large part from the box office revenue. What is more annoying is that the remuneration of artists has increased too fast in the past few years, such as the production cost of tens of millions of yuan. After deducting the remuneration of male number one and female number one, there is not much money

From the observation of he Houyi, if it is a commercial film, the proportion of actors' remuneration has accounted for about 50%. However, at present, this cost load shows signs of shifting to special effects production. He told reporters that generally speaking, there are many reasons for the loss, including not only the project itself is not good enough, but also the poor film distribution and other problems

However, in the face of the loss, another film producer who declined to be named told reporters that this also needs to be treated differently& ldquo; For different types of films, the specific profit model is not clear to the outside world. Although it seems unprofitable, there are actually many subsidies, and even some internal rebates and other dark income, which may not be lost on the whole& rdquo;

　　“ If you are not in the industry, you can't say it clearly& rdquo; However, the above film producers also admitted that generally speaking, the whole cost recovery cycle is indeed relatively long when making films in China. It is for these reasons that the old boy decided to cooperate with American film companies. In the interview, the nonstandard and opaque domestic film market was also the most frequently mentioned sentence by the old boy# P # subtitle # e#

　　“ Workshop ” Stage

Although the old boy also feels that the domestic film market has a broad prospect, he is a little helpless when it comes to the moment

　　“ When investing in film making in China, many investors change places with one shot ”, Old Tong told the new financial reporter that there are not many formal institutions that invest in making films in China, many of which are personal behaviors. In his opinion, many rich bosses invest in making movies not to make money, but to meet their personal interests, such as meeting actors and stars. This also explains that despite the pressure of high losses, many investors are still willing to intervene

As a senior filmmaker, zhuyuqing believes that the problem of the film industry also lies in the lack of operational film risk aversion model in China. In his view, domestic film investors and practitioners are still lacking “ Film industry ” Consciousness, which is obviously different from Hollywood in the United States. In his words, China still stays at “ Manual workshop ” Stage, the degree of development is not high

Domestic film investment lacks rigorous market evaluation and research and judgment, and most projects are rushed to launch based on the experience of individuals or some non market purpose. Zhu Yuqing believes that this also lays an irreparable hidden danger for the follow-up capital recovery of the film

From the perspective of consumers, domestic film investors and producers lack “ Audience ” Consciousness, there is no adjustment to the project for the audience. For example, there is no audience evaluation link after the rough cut of domestic films, resulting in many films being made behind closed doors and not accepted by the audience

Zhuyuqing stressed that film practitioners should have a high risk awareness and avoid risks through the improvement of all links of the film industry; Before the project is launched, a detailed market and audience survey should be carried out to eliminate some risks before the startup& rdquo; According to Zhu Yuqing, they once established “ Film venture capital