To bid, or not to bid: the Oscar race in China

Posters of Operation Mekong (left) and Monster Hunt [Photo/Mtime]

Luckily, the vicious circle has been broken in the past five years. Many top-grossing movies, including Wolf Warrior 2, Monster Hunt, and Operation Mekong have shaken the world film market and achieved massive success, both commercial and in public response, proving the power of the Chinese film industry.

“Just imagine if Chinese filmmakers could produce 10 or more blockbusters similar to Wolf Warrior 2 every year. Then Chinese films can be a pretty competitive match to Hollywood. At this time, it is not a big deal whether Chinese films win Oscars, because we have a bigger voice in the film industry across the world,” said Nanjing Normal University professor Zhou Anhua.

Posters of Mulan (left) and Kung Fu Panda [Photo/Mtime]

“It took more than 100 years to form the American film industry, and some fundamental concepts and standards for excellent movies cannot be changed easily. Movies like Kung Fu Panda and Mulan are based on the taste of American audiences. Some so-called Chinese-style elements in the movies are apparently not the true reflection of Chinese feelings and traditions,” movie expert Zhu Yi said.

Chinese director Gu Yu echoes this opinion. “Oscar judges have their own standards when they select candidate films, while our domestic directors still have to follow our own standards when producing films. After all, the top priority for Chinese films should be to be beloved by the Chinese people.”