Our reporter Li Haoyue
On December 3, the "Three-Body Problem" animation will be broadcast on station B, attracting the attention of fans all over the world.
As of November 28, the broadcast volume of the "Three-Body" animation promotional video reached 55.436 million.
Zhang Shengyan, vice president of Bilibili, told the "Securities Daily" reporter that the "Three-Body" animation took 5 years from the preliminary preparations to the production and finalization, and the capital investment is also the largest animation project at Bilibili.
According to industry insiders, with the launch of high-investment and high-profile works such as the "Three-Body Problem" animation, Chinese animation is changing from the 1.0 stage that used to be dominated by young and young content to the 2.0 stage that focuses on adults.
On this basis, more and more Chinese animation teams have begun to expand overseas markets.
It can be expected that Chinese animation will once again usher in a bright moment.
Bilibili Tencent is deeply involved
"The Three-Body Problem" is a long science fiction novel written by Liu Cixin. In 2015, it won the Best Novel Award at the 73rd Hugo Awards.
The popularity of this IP can be seen from the sales volume. As of now, the domestic sales volume of the "Three-Body Problem" novel has exceeded 21 million.
In overseas markets, the sales volume of "The Three-Body Problem" exceeded 3 million copies, setting a record for the highest overseas sales volume of contemporary literature.
In addition, "Three-Body" was also selected as one of the top ten annual national IPs in 2021.
Therefore, the "Three-Body Problem" animation, as the first derivative drama of "Three-Body Problem", naturally attracted much attention.
It is reported that the "Three-Body Problem" animation is mainly produced by Station B, jointly produced by Three-Body Universe, and co-produced by Yihua Kaitian. The animation will exclusively premiere on Station B.
It is worth noting that the Tianyancha App shows that the co-producer Sansody Universe was established in December 2018. Youzu Films holds 59.15% of the company’s shares through a subsidiary and is the largest shareholder. In addition, Bilibili also Holds a 5% stake in the company through an affiliated company.
Station B, as the main producer of the animation, is responsible for the planning of the entire project and the selection of the technical team.
Zhang Shengyan told reporters: "Since 2018, we have been talking about licensing with Three-Body Universe, and finally got this IP. Considering that "Three-Body" is a sci-fi theme, it requires very high production levels. Station B itself and 90% of domestic All the first-line animation companies have cooperated, referring to the sci-fi theme "Spiritual Cage", which has played well before, and finally finalized the production by Yihua Kaitian."
Yihua Kaitian was established in 2015 and has attracted much attention from capital.
The company’s seed round was participated by the listed company Sanqi Mutual Entertainment, and Tencent and Bilibili had invested twice.
In March 2022, after the company completed the B round of financing, the valuation was nearly 2.5 billion yuan.
It is worth mentioning that Tencent has a close relationship with the "Three-Body Problem" IP. Tencent is the major shareholder of Yihua Kaitian with 29.4% of the shares. At the same time, Tencent's Penguin Film and Television is also the producer of the "Three-Body Problem" TV series.
Global IP helps Chinese animation go overseas
Talking about the importance of the "Three-Body" animation, Zhang Shengyan believes that the international influence of the "Three-Body" IP is hard to ignore.
"After we announced that "The Three-Body Problem" would be adapted into an animation, many overseas creators approached us and wanted to participate in this project together, which also attracted the attention of many overseas fans."
In the development of overseas film and television works of "Three-Body Problem", international giants have also actively participated in it.
In September this year, Netflix (Netflix) disclosed the production information of the American TV series "Three-Body Problem", and invited the production team of the American TV series "Game of Thrones", which was once popular all over the world, to spend huge sums of money to create the American TV series "Three-Body Problem".
Zhang Yi, CEO and chief analyst of iiMedia Consulting, told the Securities Daily reporter that if the "Three-Body Problem" animation is successful, it will further help Chinese animation go overseas.
In fact, in recent years, with the growth of the Chinese animation (animation + comics) market, the trend of domestic animation going overseas is booming.
According to the "Research Report on the Communication Power of Chinese Film Overseas Networks (2018-2020)" released last year, the performance of Chinese animation films in overseas networks is outstanding.
"Nezha: The Devil Boy Comes into the World", "Snowman Romance", "Luo Xiaohei's War", "Jiang Ziya", "Flying to the Moon" and "Animal Secret Service" are all among the top five in the year.
Many excellent domestic animation works have been broadcast overseas, and have successfully attracted overseas animation producers and audiences to pay attention to Chinese animation works.
For example, in 2020, the Chinese animation film "Luo Xiaohei Zhan Ji" was jointly released by Sony's Aniplex and Team Joy. It was released in Japan for 87 days and the box office exceeded 500 million yen, setting a box office record for overseas distribution of Chinese animation.
It is understood that "Luo Xiaohei Ji Ji" ranks 45th in Japan's 2020 movie box office ranking, and the annual animation movie box office ranking is 9th. Recommended by producers in the Japanese industry on social platforms.
Li Haoling, the director of the animation "Time Agent", once said that animation is originally an international content, even more international than live-action dramas, and it is easier to go overseas.
More and more domestic platforms are also committed to promoting animation overseas.
Sun Min, general manager of Youku Animation Center, told the "Securities Daily" reporter that in 2022, YouTube alone and Youku Animation Channel will have nearly 500,000 subscribers, and the animation channel will have 100 million views a year, covering 193 countries and regions.
Tencent Video is also the main force in promoting domestic animation overseas.
The person in charge of Tencent Video told the "Securities Daily" reporter: "Tencent Video has been actively participating in international exhibitions to increase the international influence of its works. The animation "Gap of Sunset" jointly created by Penguin Films and Runwu Dingge won awards from Moscow, Tokyo, etc. International awards in many places, and even shortlisted for the Shot Film Corner screening unit of the Cannes Film Festival. Realizing the overseas release of works through international cooperation is also an important measure for Tencent Video to promote animation programs to go global."
The reporter learned that WeTV, an overseas communication platform created by Tencent Video, has also realized the scale and normalization of programs going overseas.
Domestic popular animation programs such as "The Master of the Devil", "Douluo Dalu" and "Take My Brother Away" are broadcast on WeTV.
The reporter noticed that many international fans have even established multiple communication topics on overseas social platforms for these domestic animations.
Talking about the importance of Chinese animation going overseas, the above-mentioned person in charge of Tencent Video introduced: "On the one hand, China's domestic animation going global can promote Chinese animation to the world and enhance cultural confidence; on the other hand, it can let the world audience further understand China and Chinese culture. .”
An animation director told the "Securities Daily" reporter that Chinese animation has experienced a century of development since its birth in 1922, and has matured through continuous exploration. Animation breaks the stereotype of "young children", and has also gone abroad to be recognized by overseas markets.
With the participation of more and more listed companies, Chinese animation will definitely rank among the top in the world with its rich cultural connotations and expressive techniques.
(Securities Daily)