Sluggish movie market expects full recovery

While China remains the world's largest box office market, the film industry is taking longer than expected to make a full recovery due to the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, experts said.

Under the strict measures implemented to curb the spread of the Delta variant, around 2,700 domestic cinemas have been shuttered and others have reduced their seating capacity to 75 percent, according to movie information tracer Beacon.

Summer is usually one of the most lucrative periods for film studios, with millions of Chinese students on vacation between July and August providing huge potential for domestic box office returns. In recent years, hits such as Wolf Warrior II in 2017, Ne Zha in 2019 and The Eight Hundred in 2020, gained traction in the summer.

However, this July ended on a disappointing note, with monthly box office receipts totaling 3.2 billion yuan ($494 million), around half the amount of the same period in 2019, according to Beacon. All Chinese cinemas were closed from January to July last year due to the pandemic.

The weak box office has led to the postponement of the theatrical releases of a number of big-budget films including the war epic The Battle at Lake Changjin, Little Canned Men, a movie adapted from renowned writer Zheng Yuanjie's children's novel, and Waterboys, a Chinese remake of the 2001 hit Japanese comedy about a men's synchronized swimming team at a Japanese high school.

"Most of the industry insiders were optimistic earlier this year with box office takings in the first six months reaching nearly 90 percent of that (same period) in 2019, but it now seems the full recovery will take much longer than we expected," said Yu Chao, deputy general manager of Beijing's Capital Cinema.

A major factor is the shortage of blockbusters, caused by the tightening of investment in new projects and a shrinking in the number of imported films in recent months, Yu added.

Statistics from the China Film Administration show that a total of 1,505 film projects were registered from January to June, a 13 percent fall from the 1,734 registered in the first six months of last year.

The lack of blockbusters to revive the market has dampened the interest of investors. In July, Chinese Doctors－a retelling of the country's efforts to battle a COVID-19 outbreak in Hubei province's Wuhan, the Chinese city hit hardest by the virus last year－topped the box office. But its takings of 1.23 billion yuan barely surpassed the threshold for an average successful film, observed some analysts.

Chinese people are also changing the way they consume media, with more people watching movies at home, observers said. The entertainment industry also has to compete with more people taking part in outdoor activities during the weekends.

"The Chinese film industry is undergoing a harsher time than last year," said Zhi Feina, a professor at the Film and Television Research Institute of the Chinese National Academy of Arts.

Although streaming sites will probably rise as the main platform for small budget films for quick release, cinemas still have an irreplaceable role in culture, Zhi said.

"Going to theaters is a way to socialize. Besides, the revenue generated on streaming sites usually can't carry a big film's cost. If audiences want to watch a visually arresting blockbuster, receipts from cinemas are needed to bolster investors' confidence," she said.

However, thanks to China's effective battle against the pandemic, some films recently announced release dates.

Disney's animated film Luca and Hollywood sci-fi Chaos Walking will open on Friday and Aug 27 respectively, followed by Cloudy Mountain in September and Wo He Wo De Fu Bei (Me and My Elder Generation) in October.

"In recent years, Chinese blockbusters have dominated the highest grossing movies, as domestic filmmakers better know the preferences of local audience," said Yu from Beijing's Capital Cinema.

"But imported films－with most featuring action-packed scenes－have helped maintain the diversity, propelling our market to become healthier and more mature," he added.