Our reporter Xie Ruolin

  The traditional popular schedule May 1st is approaching, but the movie market is particularly deserted.

In terms of supply, 8 films including "Keep You Safe" have been withdrawn successively. At present, only three new films, "I Really Hate Long-distance Relationships", "Bad Guys" and "Let's Punch, Mom", stick to it.

  Downstream uncertainty is also increasing.

On the morning of April 28, ticket purchasing platforms such as Tao Piao Piao and Maoyan showed that due to the need for epidemic prevention and control, theaters in Beijing's Xicheng District and Dongcheng District had been suspended.

On that day, the total number of operating theaters nationwide was 6,573, with an operating rate of 54.6%.

  "The uncertainty of the epidemic and the uncertain prospects of the industry have made the entire film industry less optimistic." Zhu Yuqing, founder of Juyinghui, said that rescue is the key word for the development of the industry this year, and restoring industry confidence is the top priority.

  8 movies announced to be withdrawn

  Following the announcement of the withdrawal of "Pig Man Movie: Ocean Diary" on April 18, "Hello, Brother", "Prosecutors", "Hello, Beijing", "Keep You Safe", "Meet You", and "I Am Overlord". Films such as Dragon" and "Awakening of the Mini World" have also announced the adjustment of their schedules, with a total of 8 films withdrawn from the May 1st file.

  Among them, "Keep You Safe" produced by Ruyi Film and Television and "Brother, Hello" produced by Happy Twist had 75,700 and 42,300 "want to watch" on Tao Piao Piao respectively, which were once regarded as A "rescue" work that boosted the popularity of the film market.

  At present, the data of the lighthouse professional version shows that a total of 8 films were released from April 29 to April 30, which hit the May 1st, but most of them were re-screening films, including "Home at One Point" and "As Long as You Live Better Than Me" good" and so on.

Only 3 new films premiered, including 2 domestic films "I Really Hate Long-distance Relationships", "Fight, Mom" ​​and 1 imported film "Bad Guys".

  The reporter noticed that most of the films that "stick to" the May 1st file are "not withdrawn" as the highlight of their announcement.

Among them, the "I Really Hate Long-distance Relationship" film party shouted the slogan "You stick to love, we stick to the movie", while "Bad Guys" called "absolutely not pigeons".

  However, judging from the pre-sale situation, the situation of the May 1st gear is not optimistic.

According to the data of the Lighthouse Professional Edition, as of 19:00 on April 28, the pre-sale box office of the May 1st gear was only 2 million yuan, and a total of 54,700 movie tickets were sold.

Among them, the pre-sale of 3 new premiere films totaled 1.246 million yuan.

  The total box office forecast for the above three new films according to Top Data is 100 million yuan for "I Really Hate Long-distance Relationships", 28 million yuan for "Bad Guys", and 20 million yuan for "Fight, Mom".

  "At present, the industry has already prepared the expectation of 'insufficient supply and sluggish market'." A data analyst said in an interview with a reporter from "Securities Daily" that the current epidemic situation in the country is repeated, and the box office forecast given by the market is not accurate. The key The indicator also depends on the operating data of theaters. One signal is that since April 23, the operating rate of theaters nationwide has rebounded to more than 50%.

  The theater does a "sideline" fancy self-help

  For the upstream, in the face of the sluggish environment, you can choose to withdraw and wait for the market to pick up, but for the theater, the loss is difficult to escape.

The manager of a theater in Beijing told reporters, "The theater is still in operation, but less than 100 people watch the movie every day, and it is operating at a loss for one day."

  Data from the Lighthouse Professional Edition shows that as of April 28, there were 6,573 theaters operating across the country, with an operating rate of 54.6%. In the past few days, the daily box office has remained within 8 million yuan, the number of moviegoers is extremely low, and the theater attendance rate is generally lower 2%.

Taking April 27 as an example, the No. 1 cinema in the country was Shenzhen Broadway Cinema Center (IMAX Wanxiang Tiandi Store), which had a box office of 50,000 yuan on that day and only 828 moviegoers.

  In this context, the theater has opened a fancy self-rescue mode.

On the one hand, the leading theater chains have begun to deploy TV drama business to share the pressure of performance; on the other hand, all theaters have fully tapped their own potential and increased entertainment businesses such as script killing, cross talk, and drama.

  Wanda Films said in an investor survey in February that the company will develop more innovative businesses in addition to the traditional film business. In the past two years, it has mainly conducted pilot projects in some theaters, and will gradually expand its scale this year.

In terms of script killing, in 2022, the company will carry out the entire industry chain of content creation, distribution, and channels. Wanda Film will cooperate with IP-authorized script killing, and theaters will operate through self-operated, joint venture and other modes, and will continue to promote the expansion of multi-functional theaters. In the future, the company hopes to upgrade Wanda Cinema into a small integrated entertainment complex to innovate and increase revenue.

  Hengdian Film and Television stated in its 2021 annual report that the company will increase the business of water bars and supermarkets according to the actual theater, innovate the business of advertising and entertainment sectors such as doll machines and massage chairs, and generate revenue from the company's non-ticket business.

  It is worth mentioning that some theaters have already jumped out of the boundaries of entertainment and tried to combine food, fitness and other businesses.

Taking Zhonghuan Cinema as an example, since the second half of 2021, Zhonghuan Cinema will move the music restaurant and bar into the cinema, and use the method of "team shareholding + cinema employee shareholding" to conduct a pilot project in a newly opened cinema in Mianyang City, Sichuan Province. , which not only sells craft beer and crayfish, but also holds activities such as "Central Slightly Drunken Lobster Season".

  "When choosing a 'side business', first consider the hematopoietic function. When the movie market is in a downturn, the 'side business' should have the ability to support independently." Wang Zheng, president of Central Film Investment, told the "Securities Daily" reporter that the current daily income of the theater is less than 1,000 yuan. , but the daily income of the music restaurant is more than 5,000 yuan, and it is as high as 10,000 yuan during the holidays.

  In this regard, the aforementioned analysts said that theaters are usually located in prosperous shopping malls and have good geographical advantages. They can do "side business" according to local conditions. According to the current successful experience, script killing, photo studios, and cafes are all good choices. Surviving in special times is the most important." (Securities Daily)