Interview with Pang Hong, head of Kirin Pictures: How can China films keep their "cake"

This year's National Day holiday is coming to an end, but the box office of National Day movies, which are usually considered to be the "golden period", has unexpectedly fallen short. According to the latest box office statistics of domestic movies in China, the cumulative box office in the first three days of the National Day holiday was 774 million yuan, down 10% from 860 million yuan in the same period last year. This is the first time in the past five years that the domestic film market has experienced reverse growth during the National Day holiday.

This year's National Day holiday is coming to an end, but the box office of National Day movies, which are usually considered to be the "golden period", has unexpectedly fallen short. According to the latest box office statistics of domestic movies in China, the cumulative box office in the first three days of the National Day holiday was 774 million yuan, down 10% from 860 million yuan in the same period last year. This is the first time in the past five years that the domestic film market has experienced reverse growth during the National Day holiday.

U.S. media is concerned about the sharp decline in the box office during the National Day period

. Many mainstream U.S. media, which have always paid close attention to the China film market, have recently published articles,"pointing fingers" at the recent performance of China's movie box office. U.S. media quoted data from Deutsche Bank as saying that box office revenue in China from June to August this year decreased by 4% compared with the same period last year, which means that the current box office popularity is no longer what it used to be at the beginning of this year. The article believes that one of the main reasons for the unexpected decline in box office this year is the reduction in online ticket sales discounts. Currently, about 60% of people in China buy movie tickets online. In addition, those industry insiders who were optimistic about China's film industry have also begun to be a little pessimistic. For example, Nomura Securities has recently lowered its overall growth forecast for China's film market this year from 25% to 8%.

The U.S. website also published an article on October 2 saying that the recent box office popularity can be seen from the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday last month. This year, the box office of movies during the three-day Mid-Autumn Festival holiday was 510 million yuan, while last year's Mid-Autumn Festival easily won 610 million yuan. The article pointed out that the reasons for the decline in box office include the failure of films released this year, especially domestic films, to gain popularity among audiences, and the increasing number of young people choosing to watch movies on mobile devices or small screens. Similarly, it also mentioned that online ticket sales subsidies have been reduced, which has greatly affected the enthusiasm for ticket purchases.

Recently, Pang Hong, a famous China filmmaker and CEO of Kirin Films, admitted in an exclusive interview with reporters in Los Angeles that by around 2025, China's film market will also face a "ceiling effect." From 2018 to 2025, the box office of China movies will continue to rise, but it will peak in 2025. He said,"Last year, the growth rate of China films was as high as 48.7%. A single dimension cannot represent the increase in the entire market. There is a bubble caused by capital intervention. At present, it seems that the growth rate of 30% to 35% will continue before 2025. But after that, the growth rate will surely go down."

China filmmakers are responsible for defending their territory.

Pang Hong once served as vice president of Ningxia Film Group. Before 2008, as a producer of Ningxia Film Group, he successfully operated many mainstream films. In 2008, Painted Skin became the biggest box office black horse in China film market with a box office of 250 million yuan.

As one of the first China filmmakers to propose the "producer centered system," Pang Hong knows that investors are equally important as audiences and the market. Regarding movies, Pang Hong believes that movies are not treats for dinner. Only the heart-touching storyline is the real movie viewing needs of the audience.

He told reporters that in 2012, when there were only 8500 large screens in the country,"Painted Skin II" set many achievements for China films, including a domestic box office record exceeding US$100 million. That year, China's domestic films faced great pressure, with the total box office accounting for only 29% of the total box office for the year, which was quite different from the proportion of imported films. Therefore, people in the industry have said,"The wolf has been brought in." Therefore,"It was not easy for 'Painted Skin II' to achieve such good results at the beginning. At the same time, I also have the idea of going out and entering Hollywood. In the second half of 2012, we came to Hollywood to seek cooperation."

Over the past few years, Pang Hong has been studying industrial standards and international production management in Hollywood. He believes that after the full opening of China market in 2018, there will be a new round of reshuffle and a concentrated outbreak, because a large number of international projects will flood into the China market, making the products in the China film market richer and more diverse. "Our goal is actually to prepare for 2018. I hope that by the time China's film market is fully opened in 2018, we will be responsible for defending our territory and how to learn Hollywood's production management process system well. When China's film market will become the largest in the world, we will be able to keep our cake."

Why should we take the path of internationalization to build a "torpedo speedboat" to build core competitiveness

? Pang Hong said,"After all, Hollywood's film industry has been in existence for more than a hundred years and it is a very mature system. Film itself is a comprehensive art. Good films cannot be made just by having funds and a market. In the Hollywood system, every film production process reflects its refinement. It can even be said that every creative person is a scientist. However, in China, there is still a certain gap." He also said that there are two things in Hollywood that we need to learn well. One is how to establish global sales channels, and the other is how to choose the subject matter of the story and how to be clever.

During the recently concluded Toronto Film Festival, a Bruce Lee-themed film "The Birth of the Dragon" produced by Kirin Pictures and created by the Hollywood team was screened and won high praise from many Western audiences. Pang Hong said that "The Birth of the Dragon" is positioned in the international market and tells the story of Bruce Lee's overseas legend in the 1960s. There is a clear user portrait and the positioning is a Western film. Basically all the actors speak English and have a lot of Western humor.

He said that there is a long way to go to achieve co-operation between China and the United States. In particular, it is not easy for China Stories to go overseas. Due to differences in cultural identity and values, don't rush for success. "On the one hand, we want to use the types of films that Western audiences like to watch and tell the stories they like to watch. On the other hand, we use Hollywood's front-line producers and directors, and we retire to behind-the-scenes investors. Although our team participates throughout the process, but that's it. At this stage, it's just for learning."

It is reported that Kirin Pictures also plans to release and shoot projects including "Sun and Moon Mermaid: The King's Daughter","Mena"(also known as "Made in America"),"Blood Battle of Hacksaw Ridge", and "The Sojourner", respectively cooperating with Hollywood big names such as Pierce Brosnan, Tom Cruise, and Mel Gibson. Pang Hong believes that he is a foolish bird to fly first. He hopes that during the reshuffle after China's film market is fully opened in 2018, Kirin Films, which has always had an international vision, will participate in the grand event. His positioning for Kirin is to be a creator of high-quality content. "We will not be a big trust in the entire industry chain, but will strive to be a 'torpedo speedboat' and build our core competitiveness."

Editor: yvette