During the just-concluded Spring Festival, the film market once again made history. According to the latest release of "Dragon and Tiger Leaping, Unstoppable - 2024 Spring Festival Movie Market Insight Report" released by Beacon Research Institute, during the 2024 Spring Festival (February 10-February 17), the national movie box office was 8.016 billion yuan, and the number of moviegoers There were 163 million visitors, an increase of 18.47% and 26.36% respectively compared to the 2023 Spring Festival period, both setting new records for the same period.
Among them, "Hot and Spicy" won the Spring Festival box office championship with a box office of 2.72 billion yuan. "Flying Life 2" followed closely with a box office of 2.4 billion yuan, and the cumulative box office significantly exceeded the previous film, creating a new box office record for a movie directed by Han Han; "Bear Infested: Reverse Time and Space" ranked third with a box office of 1.39 billion yuan; "The 20th" "Tiao" relied on its high reputation and laugh rate, and its box office continued to decline, making it a strong latecomer.
The results for the 2024 Spring Festival are outstanding. However, many people may not remember that 10 years ago, this most important movie period of the year was one of the slowest periods of the year for movie theaters. Some theaters even experienced a drop in the number of moviegoers during the Spring Festival. Choose a vacation. Even if there was a "hit" such as "Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons" in 2013, the total box office during the Spring Festival that year was only 780 million yuan.
With the rapid development from 700 million yuan to 8 billion yuan, what changes and changes have been experienced during the Spring Festival?
Text: Huang An, all-media reporter of Guangzhou Daily
1
Changing and unchanged consumption habits
From small schedules to important schedules, watching movies during the Spring Festival has become a New Year custom
In 1981, "Modern Bodyguard" starring the three brothers, Xu Guanwen, was regarded as the first Lunar New Year film since the opening of Hong Kong, and the Lunar New Year movie format was launched since then. At the end of each year, various Lunar New Year comedies appear here, forming a "Lunar New Year stall" that extends from mid-to-late December to early January of the following year.
Inspired by Hong Kong films, in the 1990s, the mainland's Lunar New Year movies gradually opened, and they were favored by many famous directors. In 1997, Feng Xiaogang's "Party A and Party B" became the first self-produced Lunar New Year movie in the Mainland and aroused heated discussions upon its release. Subsequently, Feng Xiaogang directed New Year's films such as "See You or Separate", "Cell Phone" and "A World Without Thieves", all of which became popular in the market. In 2002, the movie "Hero" directed by Zhang Yimou was released, officially opening the era of Chinese New Year blockbusters.
Today's Spring Festival stalls are in full swing. However, at that time, as a branch of the Lunar New Year stalls, the Spring Festival stalls were very deserted. "At that time, people wouldn't choose movies in this schedule, because audiences didn't have the habit of going to the movies during the Spring Festival." A theater insider told reporters.
Time comes to the Spring Festival of 2010. At that time, "Avatar", which had been released for more than a month, was becoming popular across the country. With its strong ability to attract money, the popularity of "Avatar" continued directly into the Spring Festival, with a box office of 100 million yuan during the seven-day holiday. The success of "Avatar" has changed the habit of Chinese movie theaters closing on New Year's Day.
But it was 2013 that really changed the Spring Festival season. Stephen Chow brings his debut work after five years - "Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons". Returning to the Journey to the West theme after many years, with the dual IP of "Journey to the West" and Stephen Chow, "Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons" won the Spring Festival box office with a box office of 530 million yuan, and raised the total box office for the entire period to 780 million yuan. Among them, on the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, the film's single-day box office exceeded 122 million yuan, becoming the first Chinese-language film in history to achieve a single-day box office of over 100 million yuan.
The hot market has changed the positioning of the Spring Festival stalls and also influenced the entertainment habits of mainland audiences during the Spring Festival. Data shows that during the Spring Festival in 2024, the proportion of family audiences continues to increase, reaching a record high. "Watching movies with the whole family" has increasingly become a "New Year's custom" during the Spring Festival. The top three box office movies are "Hot" and "Flying Life" 2" "Bear Infested: Reverse Time and Space", the proportion of three or more people watching the movie together accounted for more than 24%, and the family audience has grown significantly.
From a box office of 780 million yuan in 2013 to a box office of over 8 billion yuan in 2024, the Spring Festival period has changed from a small period to one of the most important and lucrative periods of the year. As for the direction of the Chinese film market throughout the year, It also has an indicator role. However, the core behind it has always remained the same - that is, after a year of being busy outside, reunited with the people you love, no matter what you do, you are happy.
2
Audience tastes change and remain unchanged
Word of mouth determines the market: Lunar New Year comedies no longer dominate
Over the past ten years or so, the landscape of Spring Festival movies has undergone tremendous changes. Hong Kong films once dominated. From 2013 to 2016, the box office champions during the Spring Festival were all Hong Kong films. Including 2013's "Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons", 2014's "Journey to the West: Havoc in Heaven", 2015's "Macau 2", and 2016's "The Mermaid".
Hollywood major productions were also the main force in the "Spring Festival". The popularity of "Avatar" in 2010 attracted more major Hollywood productions to join this schedule. In 2012, "Sherlock Holmes 2" and "Mission: Impossible 4" were released during the Spring Festival. The combined box office of the two films accounted for 30% of the Spring Festival sales that year.
The 2014 Disney animated film "Frozen" also hit the mainland movie market at the end of the Spring Festival. However, this is the last major Hollywood production to be released during the Spring Festival period so far. Since 2015, the Spring Festival period has completely become the world of Chinese-language movies. On the other hand, in 2019, the reputation of "The New King of Comedy" directed by Stephen Chow suffered a setback. As a result, Hong Kong films also gradually declined during the Spring Festival.
Instead, mainland film production took its place. Chen Sicheng's "Tang Detective", Xu Zheng's "囧" series and "Han Tengliang" are happy twist comedies that are guaranteed to be box office, giving comedy movie lovers more choices in the past few years. The "Wandering Earth" series opens a new chapter in domestic science fiction movies.
Nowadays, word-of-mouth increasingly determines the market trend of the Spring Festival, and the types of movies that win the championship are becoming more and more diverse. For example, in 2018, the action-themed film "Operation Red Sea", which was "incompatible" with the Spring Festival atmosphere, relied on its excellent reputation. When it was originally "obscure" and even ranked at the bottom of the film schedule, as the reputation continued to ferment, it was finally realized Counterattack, surpassing "Monster Hunt 2", "Detective Chinatown 2", "Journey to the West: China" and other more popular Spring Festival films to become the Spring Festival box office champion, with a total box office of 3.65 billion yuan.
In 2019, the miracle of counterattack was also realized in the science fiction movie "The Wandering Earth". The quality of "The Wandering Earth" not only achieves a genre breakthrough for domestic science fiction films, but is also based on Liu Cixin's science fiction novels, which also gives "The Wandering Earth" a more localized narrative logic.
Topicity is also one of the important and effective ways for Chinese films to obtain good feedback. This year's Spring Festival "Hot" became a hit before it was released, not only because Jia Ling lost 50 kilograms, but also because a person's spirit of daring to break through herself moved countless people. This reminds me of the 2021 "Hello, Li Huanying". Jia Ling, who was the director for the first time, was still very green in her directing techniques, but her true feelings for her mother hit the softest part of the Chinese people's hearts and also triggered widespread controversy. Emotional resonance.
3
The subject matter changes and remains unchanged
The market for animated films with more diverse genres is gradually expanding
Although with the continuous optimization and maturity of the schedule, the Spring Festival schedule is gradually developing towards diversification, comedy is still the background of the work. In the 2024 Spring Festival, 6 of the 9 new films play the "comedy card": "Hot" combines comedy with sports themes; "Article 20" uses comedy to express family themes, and there is no lack of realism in the laughter; "Mr. Red Carpet" takes a different approach this time, focusing on an "elegant comedy", but it is still full of absurd humor and irony.
Although it is a comedy, the audience no longer insists on whether the story of the Spring Festival movie must be funny, but more on whether the story can truly move people. For example, the title of the Spring Festival realistic comedy film "Article 20" directed by Zhang Yimou is taken from Article 20 of the Criminal Law. It focuses on the hotly discussed legal article of "justifiable defense" and learns from the life and work of Han Ming, a temporary prosecutor. The case encountered unfolds, opening up realism in a comedic way. This movie is also a "legal education journey" for many ordinary viewers.
In "Flying Life 2", a former racing champion is full of helplessness and has fallen from the "altar". His heart is full of shadows and grievances. However, no matter what difficulties he encounters, he faces them head on. The "burning" of competitive competition and never giving up The spirit of the show made many viewers "laugh and cry".
The audience's aesthetic appreciation of movies is being affected by the times. An obvious phenomenon is that in the early "Lunar New Year" period, Feng's comedies were very successful at the box office, and most of them were based on romantic comedies. “Spring Festival” romance films also account for a large number of genres. But today’s young people don’t seem to be “cold” about romance movies. Pure romance films even "disappeared" during the Spring Festival. It’s not that young people don’t believe in love anymore, but it needs to be seen whether this story can really impress the audience: old love stories are difficult to empathize with among the post-95s and post-00s in their twenties. However, during this year's Spring Festival, the love-themed film "Let's Shake the Sun Together" scored as high as 7.9 on Douban. The story of two people working hand in hand to support each other in love moved countless young viewers. Data shows that during this year’s Spring Festival, the film was the most popular among “teenagers” and “20-24 year olds”.
In sharp contrast is the gradual expansion of the animated film market. In 2024, "Bear Bears: Reverse Time and Space" broke the Spring Festival cartoon box office record held by "Bear Bears: Come with Me" in 2023 in just 4 days. As the 10th anniversary work of the series, "Bear Infested: Reverse Time and Space"'s box office share during the Spring Festival period increased to 17.3%, setting a new record again. This also proves that animated movies also have a strong ability to compete with live-action movies. Rao Shuguang, president of the China Film Critics Society, said in an interview with the media that in the minds of many viewers, "Reliability Trust" and even "Honesty Trust" have been formed between the "Bear Bears" series of movies and the audience, which can give the target audience group Provide "guaranteed viewing experience".
Another change is that now, domestic animated films have changed their label as "young children", and many animated films that adults can watch have also joined the fray. Data shows that this year's "Bear Bears Reversal of Time and Space" has the most prominent audience of 35 and above, accounting for more than 55%. The animated film "Deep Sea" to be released in 2023 pioneered the "particle ink" technology and applied it to the entire film. It was the first time to achieve an excellent combination of Chinese ink and mainstream three-dimensional technology, creating an immersive and dreamlike experience that makes people nostalgic. world.
4
Audience types change and remain the same
Young people are still the mainstream, but the market has "sinked"
Young people are still the mainstream consumer during the Spring Festival. What has changed is that going to the cinema now is not just for watching movies. Many times it is a "social approach". The development of the Internet has also changed audiences’ movie-watching habits—before watching a movie, they may watch clips on a short video platform and then decide whether to go to the theater. After watching a movie, I immediately go to Douban to rate it, post movie reviews in Moments, and post topics on Weibo. The annual "Spring Festival Film Review Contest" is in full swing. In fact, it is all about finding the "stratosphere" of my own feelings about a movie. ".
The development of the Internet is also changing the way movies are promoted and distributed. In the past, most film promotions took place through traditional city road shows, but now more and more film crews are choosing to promote their films through "new media" methods such as e-commerce live broadcast rooms or short videos.
Not long ago, Zhang Yimou and Andy Lau went to the live broadcast room of "top star" Dong Yuhui to build momentum for "Article 20" and "Mr. Red Carpet". During the conversation, Dong Yuhui's interaction with Zhang Yimou, Andy Lau and other guests paid more attention to the cultural and artistic value contained in the film. Frequent good lines made the film "break the circle".
Another change is that with the development of the economy and the continuous decline of the film market, the impact and significance of the rise of "small town youth" as a consumer group in the cultural industry is being paid attention to by the entire market. When the Spring Festival comes, in addition to the daily "small town youth" in third- and fourth-tier cities, young people in first-tier cities return to their hometowns for the New Year, which also contributes a lot to the Spring Festival box office.
Lighthouse Professional Data Analyst Chen Jin analyzed that this year’s Spring Festival period’s box office share in third- and fourth-tier cities exceeded 53%, significantly higher than last year’s 50.1%, especially in the northern Shandong, Henan, Hebei and Liaoning provinces. The box office ranking has improved significantly compared with last year's Spring Festival. Among them, third- and fourth-tier cities such as Weihai, Tonghua, Dezhou, Huludao, Zhangjiakou, Xinyang and other third- and fourth-tier cities have particularly outstanding box office performance this year during the Spring Festival. The market as a whole continues the trend of continued decline during the Spring Festival.
The three live-action comedies "Hot and Furious", "Flying Life 2" and "Article 20" performed well in third- and fourth-tier cities, with box office shares exceeding 52%, while the animated film "Bear Infested: Reverse Time" had box office in third- and fourth-tier cities. The share is more than 60%.
5
The changes and changes of actors in the Spring Festival show
Lei Jiayin is the most popular this year, Zhang Yimou wants to make a movie with Dong Yuhui
When it comes to the Spring Festival cast, Shen Teng and Lei Jiayin are "frequent guests." Andy Lau, Zhang Xiaofei, and Ma Li have also ushered in a new level of career by starring in Spring Festival films. During this year's Spring Festival, in addition to these powerful veterans, young actors such as Fan Chengcheng, Peng Yuchang, and Li Gengxi are also bravely stepping onto the big screen.
However, the most popular actor during this year's Spring Festival is none other than Lei Jiayin. He starred in "Article 20" directed by Zhang Yimou and "Hot and Spicy" directed by Jia Ling. Lei Jiayin talked about this when participating in the event and said, "Everyone who can come to the Spring Festival movie has his or her own tricks. I hope everyone will come to watch Chinese movies." The latest data shows that as of 15:00 on February 18, 2024, Lei Jiayin The box office of starring movies exceeded 14 billion yuan.
In addition, the Spring Festival show also has the participation of many popular actors. For example, "Sister-in-law" Gao Ye, who became popular with "Kurst" in 2023, will star in "Article 20" this year. 14 years ago, Gao Ye collaborated with Zhang Yimou on "Hawthorn Tree Love". At that time, she was the assistant director and played an inconspicuous nurse in the film. It was not until 2023 that Gao Ye became popular with the TV series "Crazy". When Zhang Yimou discussed the topic of hiring new actors in Dong Yuhui's live broadcast room, he said frankly that the 2022 Spring Festival movie "Sniper" hired a large number of new actors to star, but the final box office performance was not very good, "it is a pity."
Speaking of this, Zhang Yimou strongly invited Dong Yuhui to film: "I'll look for you! If I look for you, it will be a big topic. If you act, it will definitely be a big topic, and many people who come to watch your live broadcast will come to buy tickets." Maybe. , Dong Yuhui will play a role in a movie scheduled for Spring Festival next year.
observe
The Spring Festival is wonderful, a good start for the Year of the Dragon
This year's Spring Festival stalls once again set a new box office record. In the final analysis, it is the overall improvement of quality. Many viewers commented that there are almost no "bad movies" in this year's Spring Festival, which can be said to be the year with the strongest overall reputation in the Spring Festival.
Looking downward and paying attention to the joys, sorrows and joys of ordinary people is even more prominent during this year’s Spring Festival. "Hot and Spicy" tells the story of how kind people find themselves, and when the frustrated people finally win, it moved countless viewers to tears; the realism under the warm undertone of "Article 20" moved many viewers extremely , the highlight moment of the movie's "last six minutes" brought tears to every audience's eyes; "Flying Life 2" made people laugh with tears, and its optimistic story gave the audience a lot of emotional value. These drove audiences into theaters and pushed the box office to continue to rise.
The performance of the Spring Festival stalls is crucial to the direction of the year's total box office. The performance of the Spring Festival stalls also serves as a model for the film market throughout the year. Good results will help the development of the entertainment sector this year. Chen Jin, a data analyst at Beacon Professional Edition, said that the record-breaking performance of this year’s Spring Festival stalls has made a good start for the Year of the Dragon movie market and laid a good foundation. “We hope that the good reputation of the Spring Festival stalls will encourage more viewers to join the cinema.” Repeat customers not only go to the cinema during popular times, but also go to the cinema to watch good movies on ordinary days, which promotes a virtuous cycle in the film market and continues to develop healthily."