Movie industry roars back with robust recovery

Diverse offerings

Major Hollywood movies are also making a comeback. The first Marvel movie to be released on the Chinese mainland after a three-year hiatus is Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, followed by Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.

Meanwhile, A Guilty Conscience, a Hong Kong satirical comedy that examines societal problems, is one of the latest movies to make waves and recently topped the all-time box-office charts in the city.

Industry analysts said the range of movies is richer and more diverse this year, and filmmakers have done a good job of catering to the interests of different groups.

Huo Jianqi, an award-winning director and a member of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, said the recovery of the Chinese film industry is heartening.

"With China optimizing its pandemic prevention measures, many cinemas have reopened and some high-quality movies have been released, resulting in the return of large audiences. Additionally, the film industry's artistic creativity is thriving once again," he said.

He added that China has more than 80,000 movie screens, the largest number in any country, signaling that the domestic market still has enormous potential. That could encourage Chinese filmmakers — who once struggled during slow periods — to regain confidence and produce excellent work.

Huo said the genres of major films during the Spring Festival season have been more diverse — including suspense, historical, romance, sci-fi, comedy and animation — indicating that the domestic industry has matured and directors have paid more attention to respecting the market.

Huangfu Yichuan, also a member of the 14th CPPCC National Committee and editor-in-chief of the monthly magazine Contemporary Cinema, said the Spring Festival period is usually seen as a barometer of annual box-office takings, and predicted that total movie ticket revenues this year may reach 50 billion yuan, based on previous figures.

Zhi Feina, a professor at the Chinese National Academy of Arts, said the domestic market is undergoing a revitalization, which indicates that people who are passionate about the cinematic industry have chosen to stay in China and the sector has maintained its strength, despite the challenges that resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic.