The Spring Festival is the most anticipated and willing moment of the year for people to immerse themselves in the world of movies. However, before this year's Spring Festival, a disgraceful incident occurred in the film industry that attracted attention.
This matter involves some Spring Festival filmmakers, who require cinemas to provide more than 20% of the film schedule for them through the reform of split line distribution, otherwise the film will not be allowed to be released in the theater. Eight new films are scheduled to be released on the first day of the Lunar New Year, however, if each film requires such a schedule, each cinema can only arrange a maximum of five films, which severely limits the flexibility of film scheduling. This kind of domineering and arrogant behavior not only disrupts the market order, but also shakes people's confidence in the future of the entire industry.
Behind this behavior, it actually exposes the filmmaker's lack of confidence in his own film, and can only force the increase in the number of films through this kind of tough means. However, this kind of practice, which is good for some movies at the box office in the short term, will do more harm than good to cinemas, audiences and the market in the long run. It destroys the normal market order, so that the films released in the cinema are no longer determined by the audience's preferences, but by the filmmaker's confidence, backstage and courage.
Where does this market pattern go from here? As Jia Zhangke said: "The film market can't be done like this. On January 30, the China Film Producers Association, the China Film Distribution and Projection Association, and representatives of eight investors and producers held a "symposium" and unanimously agreed to "put an end to unfair competition". The scandal was finally stopped after a day of fermentation, and the choice of watching the film returned to the audience.
After talking about this scandal, let's take a look at the eight movies in this year's Spring Festival. On the whole, there are no blockbusters in this Spring Festival file, mainly to tell small people and stories. Six of them have a "comedy" label and focus on "family fun" elements. Judging from the current pre-sale box office, Zhang Yimou's "Article 20", Jia Ling's "Hot and Hot" and Han Han's "Flying Life 2" are among the top three.
Next, we will introduce the contents of these eight movies one by one.
1. "Hot and Hot" Director: Jia Ling.
One of the most eye-catching movies in this year's Spring Festival. Jia Ling's first directorial work "Hello, Li Huanying" achieved a box office of 5.4 billion during the Spring Festival last year, becoming the box office champion of the Spring Festival file. And this "Hot and Hot" also has Jia Ling as the core, and she even announced that she would lose 100 pounds when the movie was finalized, making a huge change for the role. This practice has attracted widespread attention, and Jia Ling herself said that the movie tells the story of how kind people find themselves and learn to love themselves.
2. "Article 20" Director: Zhang Yimou.
Director Zhang Yimou's last year's work "Man Jianghong" won the 2023 box office championship with a box office of 4.5 billion, and this year's Spring Festival stalls will compete for the box office championship again. The film is named after Article 20 of the Criminal Law on "legitimate defense", starring Lei Jiayin, Ma Li, Zhao Liying, and Gao Ye. The film looks realistic, but it incorporates comedy elements, and Zhang Yimou said that this may be the most laughing in any movie he has ever made.
3. "Flying Life 2" Director: Han Han.
Han Han competed in the Spring Festival file for the fourth time, and this time chose the sequel to his old IP "Flying Life". The last one became the third runner-up of the Spring Festival stalls with a box office of 1.7 billion, and it will return again this year. The film is written and directed by Han Han, and the original team of Shen Teng, Yin Zheng, Zhang Benyu, and Wei Xiang returns, continuing to tell the story of the racing champion becoming a driving school coach and finally returning to the race. The film continues Han Han's usual hot-blooded humorous style, which is worth looking forward to.
4. "Mr. Red Carpet" Director: Ning Hao.
It's a comedy like no other, and "Mr. Red Carpet" bills itself as an "elegant comedy." Director Ning Hao said that the definition of "elegance" in his heart is to make "films that do not force the audience, and try to leave the right to choose and think to the audience". The leading actors Andy Lau and Ning Hao have a long history, and Andy Lau once invested in Ning Hao's first directorial work "Crazy Stone", which made Ning Hao famous in one fell swoop. The film tells the story of the cooperation between Hong Kong superstar Lau Weichi played by Andy Lau and director Lin Hao played by Ning Hao, and satirizes the strange status quo of the entertainment industry through a series of absurd realistic plots.
5. "Let's Shake the Sun Together" Director: Han Yan.
Among the non-animated films released during this year's Spring Festival, the only one with a non-comedy theme. As the third part of director Han Yan's "Life Trilogy", the film tells the story of two young people who are seriously ill and have different personalities. Although the theme of death is presented, presenting a variety of themes in the Spring Festival file is an attempt to meet the needs of different audiences.
6. "Bear Infested: Reversing Time and Space" Director: Lin Huida.
The only animated film with a science fiction theme in this year's Spring Festival. As an IP that has been deeply involved in the Spring Festival stalls for 10 years, bear infestation has always been a guarantee of the box office. Last year, it received a box office of 1.5 billion, becoming a benchmark for the industry to measure the Spring Festival stalls. Due to its box office success, it is unknown whether other films in this year's Spring Festival will surpass bear infested.
7. "Eight Rings: The Nether of the Canopy" Director: He Ranhao.
Among the three cartoons, it is relatively rare to have Zhu Bajie as the protagonist. The film tells the story of Zhu Bajie, which may be a fresh experience for audiences who like this role.
8. "Huang Pi: The God of Wealth Cat from the Sky" Director: Bai Ding Guan Yang.
The third anime, with a cat as the main character. This Spring Festival stall seems to be full of animal elements, as if it is a feast for zoo team building.
Overall, this year's Spring Festival stalls are a little weak and deserted compared with previous years. Most of the films are dominated by some old faces and old IPs, such as Zhang Yimou, Han Han, Jia Ling, Ning Hao, etc. The story of the film is more relaxed, revolving around the prosecutor who is in the bag, an unknown boxer, a down-and-out racing driver, etc. Perhaps, this is the moment when Chinese films are currently in short supply, the blockbusters of previous years have been released, and new blockbusters have not yet emerged, so they can only rely on family comedies to support this year's Spring Festival.
Against this backdrop, there are concerns about the future of Chinese cinema. The results of this Spring Festival stall will determine who has the last laugh, let's wait and see. At this challenging moment, it may also inspire more innovation and breakthroughs in the Chinese film industry.
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