When will the world-class film and television IP be born in China?

　　China News Service, Beijing, September 1st, question: When will China be born with world-class film and television IP?

　　Author Cui Bailu Xu Xueying

　　From "Fengshen Trilogy" and "Detective Chinatown" to "Wandering Earth" and "Changjin Lake", "IP creation" has become a popular concept on the cultural industry track in recent years.

　　Why is it called "IP"?

　　At present, the wave of "pan-entertainment" is surging.

Film production and derivative operations around IP can not only reduce investment risks and form scale effects, but also help build brand symbols and an influential international cultural image.

　　Thanks to a century of exploration and accumulation, companies in developed countries such as the United States and Europe have realized the collaborative development model of the entire industry chain of "content + channels + derivatives" in terms of IP development and utilization, and many of them have become major copyright owners and have a number of popular IPs.

　　In a mature movie market, box office often only accounts for a small portion of revenue, and more revenue comes from IP licensing.

Through the linkage of film and television production and peripheral sales, and the combination of theme parks and media networks, Disney's global authorized retail sales have long ranked first in the world, reaching US$56.2 billion in 2021.

　　When will China have its own "Disney"?

　　According to public data, in 2021, the box office of Chinese films will reach 47.258 billion yuan (RMB, the same below), accounting for about 35% of the global box office, but the development and authorization of derivatives has only begun to take shape.

　　At present, affected by Internet streaming media and the epidemic, the film industry is on a downward trend, and offline theater revenue has shrunk significantly. Too much reliance on the box office is somewhat lacking in stamina.

　　Therefore, the Chinese film industry has begun to seek innovation and change, and regard IP as an opportunity for the development of the film industry and the future of the industry.

The top ten annual national IP selection, Beijing International Film and Television IP Licensing Exhibition and other activities have been launched one after another, and the overall licensing market has grown year by year.

In 2021, China's annual authorized retail sales and annual authorized fees will reach 137.4 billion yuan and 5.32 billion yuan respectively, a year-on-year increase of 24.2% and 28.2%.

　　Ni Yuehong, the former vice president of Beijing Film Academy, pointed out that China has basically formed an industrial chain from IP originality to IP licensing transformation, product development, marketing, and licensing market promotion.

However, as the world's second largest consumer market, China's licensed market is less than 4% of the world's, and the market potential remains to be tapped.

Compared with overseas IP development groups such as Disney and Pokémon that have been working for decades or even a century, the market value gap of domestic film and television IP is still obvious, and there is a long way to go to go global.

　　"You can't just consider the film content itself, but have an industrial mindset." Director Chen Sicheng conceived of the idea of ​​mining "content+" and shaping the original high-quality film IP in the country.

　　Taking this year's summer domestic movie "Mozart in Outer Space" as an example, the producer Yitong has drawn on the operation mode of foreign film and television IP, through pre-authorization and node marketing, etc., with Changyi, 52TOYS, Gravity Planet, OMAS, Deya, Colosse, Jetta and other brands have cooperated to design cultural and creative products with different gradients for different consumer audiences.

　　According to Li Ziting, Vice President of Yitong Production, there are more than 20 categories of "Mozart in Outer Space" movie derivative products authorized to launch, including plush, trendy figures, blind boxes and other toys that cooperate with Disney's designated cooperative licensors. There are also daily necessities such as masks, hats, T-shirts, and stereos, as well as mid-to-high-end art products co-branded by Ren Zhe's sculptures, Lang Lang's figures, and Ueno Yosuke's prints.

The sales of "Mozart" plush toys alone exceeded 50 million yuan before the movie was officially released.

　　At the same time, the team is preparing to launch offline entertainment experience services such as "Detective Chinatown" theme park, escape room, theme bar, etc., and also explore new possibilities for the development of domestic film and television IP.

　　Looking up and down, the road to Chinese film IP development is hopeless.

　　The ancient and rich Chinese cultural heritage has nurtured the creative inspiration of literary and art workers. Myths and legends such as "Journey to the West" and "Fengshen Romance" have once become popular themes of domestic film and television and animation.

In addition, an efficient industrial chain collaborative transformation process is also of great benefit to China's establishment of a complete IP system.

　　Fundamentally, the core of IP creation lies in content quality.

High-quality content that resonates with audiences is the first gear that drives the rumble of a huge machine.

The Chinese film market is huge, with abundant IP resources, and practitioners can explore in multiple ways, which can form a healthy competition situation, and then realize the extension and amplification of content value.

　　The future of mature Chinese IP can be expected. At that time, Chinese symbols will go international, and Chinese voices will be heard by the world.

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