China's movie box office has increased 50 times in 15 years, but the derivatives industry is still exploring

The rampant piracy, lack of innovation in derivative design, and the need to cultivate audience consumption habits have made the derivatives known as the blue ocean a "difficult sea" that is unlikely to dare to enter.

The movie "Three Lives of Ten Miles Peach Blossom" suffered an avalanche at the box office due to poor reviews, but it did not prevent its derivatives from selling well. Alibaba Pictures, the film's producer, recently announced that the estimated sales of the film's derivatives have exceeded 300 million yuan. However, from 900 million yuan in 2002 to 45.7 billion yuan in 2016, the box office of movies in China has increased 50 times in 15 years, but the film derivatives market is still in the exploratory stage. The rampant piracy, lack of innovation in derivative design, and the need to cultivate audience consumption habits have made the derivatives known as the blue ocean a "difficult sea" that is unlikely to dare to enter.

There are too few sales stores

because they are "thankless"

. In Beijing, apart from buying movie derivatives online, where can there be a physical derivatives store?

The reporter visited 14 cinemas in Beijing last week. As venues for screening movies, it is the most reasonable plan to lay out derivatives stores in or around the cinemas. However, it is disappointing that among the 14 cinemas, only UME International Studios Shuangjing Store and Wanda International Studios CBD Store have derivatives sales areas. There was originally a derivatives store in the Sanlitun store of Meijia Happy Studios, but theater staff revealed that it had been closed long ago because it "could not continue".

A derivatives seller revealed that there are three main types of derivatives stores in Beijing: the first type is small commodity wholesale markets, but basically all are pirated; the second type is small shops opened by some derivatives enthusiasts, which are mostly distributed in areas with active cultural atmosphere such as Gulou and Xisi. The products are quite miscellaneous, with authentic and pirated products; the third type is derivative stores inside and around theaters, but the number is "very few."

UME International Studios Shuangjing Store has a total of three derivative display cabinets, one in front of the entrance channel and two in the audience rest area. Handmade models and plush toys account for 80% of derivatives, and the rest are mostly small commodities such as power packs, key chains, and T-shirts. There are far more imported movie derivatives than domestic movies. Marvel and DC's superhero series,"Transformers" series,"Star Wars" series,"Little Yellow Man" series, Disney's "Frozen" and "Racing Story" series... These popular IP derivatives are the best sellers. In contrast, domestic film derivatives are pitifully few.

"Everyone says that derivatives are blue seas, but I didn't realize it was difficult until I came in." The relevant person in charge of UME International Studios Shuangjing Store revealed that in the past one or two years, they have been greatly affected by e-commerce."The labor costs and space costs of e-commerce are much lower than ours, and they often do preferential activities, which is more attractive to consumers."

The rampant piracy makes derivatives stores suffer beyond words. The person in charge pointed to the little yellow figure doll in the store and said: "This one has been hit hardest by piracy. The store sells it for more than 100 yuan. You can buy one for 30 yuan at a small stall across the street outside the mall." He revealed that derivatives revenue only accounts for a small proportion in the revenue structure of theaters, and it is declining every year."Other theaters don't pay attention to derivatives and just need to buy box office. We insist on doing it with the mentality of promoting film culture. We work hard, but it is thankless."

Consumers

can watch movies, but there is no need to buy derivatives.

"What are derivatives? It's good to see the movie. There's no need to buy related things." Ms. Zhou, who was waiting to enter the Sanlitun store in Meijia Happy Studios, widened her eyes and her expression was full of incomprehension. In fact, most domestic audiences agree with her attitude towards film derivatives. The consumption habits of not understanding derivatives and then rejecting them thousands of miles away show that the soil of the derivatives market is far from mature.

"Most customers just look around, see more and buy less. I bought them from old customers." said Mr. Jia, a clerk at the Sutang Toy Store in the CBD store of Wanda International Studios. This is one of the highest-grossing theaters in Beijing, but at noon on Saturday, there were no customers in the store. Compared with the hustle and bustle of the theaters outside the store, the store's loneliness reflects the current status of the derivatives market.

Ms. Yuan, who is over fifty years old, is a movie derivatives enthusiast. She has dozens of movie character models at home, including Teenage Ninja Turtles, Superman, Spider-Man, Robot Cat... prices range from tens of yuan to thousands of yuan. "These things are expensive, but I just like them." She also said that she never buys derivatives online, but buys them all in physical theater stores and enjoys "face-to-face interaction." Another movie viewer, Ms. Wang, who is in her 20s, has only purchased a phone case from Zootopia."I watched this movie at the time and thought it was quite fun, so I bought it."

One is "diehard fans" who only want to like them regardless of the price, and the other is "passers-by fans" who buy on impulse. The different consumption views of the two women roughly outline the two major domestic movie derivative consumers. groups. The former is the core sales target of the derivatives market, although the number is small but stable; the latter is the potential customer that the market needs to win over in the next step.

The manufacturer

market is still too small to develop

Yuji Xinghai Media Co., Ltd. has been engaged in the design and manufacturing of film derivatives for 14 years. The more famous ones include "Transformers","Wonder Woman","1942","Ip Man 2","The Quest for the Dragon" and other movie peripheries. But what is embarrassing is that the main sales targets of these derivatives are not ordinary consumers, but the producers and promoters of the corresponding films."They usually come to us to make derivatives and give them to theaters, media and other companions as gifts., or used for other related activities." The relevant person in charge of the company revealed that most domestic derivative designers and manufacturers make money from film makers and publicity companies."We have also developed derivatives specially designed for general audiences, but none of them have made profits. So we still focus on customization by the film company."

The derivatives market has not yet been opened. Tracing the source, it can be attributed to the overall incompleteness of the domestic film industry chain. Foreign derivatives do not sell well all of a sudden. The Star Wars series and Harry Potter series have been accumulated over the years and supported by a large number of fans before they can sell well for many years. There is a lack of classic films with lasting influence in the country, so naturally few viewers love their homes and their dogs and are willing to pay for derivatives.

The single type and lack of appeal of derivatives are also a major reason why they cannot sell. The person in charge of UME International Studios Shuangjing store has a headache."I can guess what will be there every time before the goods are shipped: power charging treasure, schoolbag, cup, phone case... all cured, making it difficult to attract consumers." He recalled that when the first movie in the "Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf" series was released, derivative dolls sold particularly well. Children who had seen the movie came out of the theater, and everyone was holding a Pleasant Goat in their hands. But when the second part of the movie was released the following year, sales plunged sharply, because children basically had the corresponding plush toys."You ask him to pick one, and he said I have Pleasant Goat, and I have Lazy Goat."

There is nothing derivatives makers can do about this issue. "The copyright fee is so high, and the mold production cost is also high. If we put all our efforts to design a derivative and only sell a small amount in the end, we will lose money." The person in charge of Yuji Xinghai Media Co., Ltd. said,"These are all decided by the market. The derivatives market is still too small, and we have no intention to develop it."

Editor: Xiongwei