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Each of the highest-grossing blockbusters from 2016 to this year has been a homegrown work, including Jiao Zi's Ne Zha (2019). |
Cinema construction spree
The country had installed 41,179 screens by the end of 2016, exceeding the United States as the highest number globally.
The China Film Administration released a guideline in 2018, encouraging enterprises to accelerate cinema construction in urban areas, as well as financially encouraging theaters to update facilities with state-of-the-art technologies, ranging from installing giant screens to using laser projectors.
Before Chinese theaters were closed due to the COVID-19 outbreak on Jan 24 and reopened on July 20, nearly 70,000 screens had been installed in more than 10,000 cinemas, with most capable of screening 3D formats.
Entertainment-technology innovator IMAX has seen its giant-screen network expand from 381 in 2016 to about 670 screens at present on the Chinese mainland.
Most analysts believe China's annual theater admissions, which reached 1.7 billion in 2019, indicate the country has huge potential to draw more moviegoers if more cinemas can be constructed in central and western China.
Insiders have noticed an interesting trend among the cinema construction spree.
A single phenomenal hit can stimulate theaters to upgrade to the latest cinematic technology, with James Cameron's sci-fi epic Avatar being the most representative example. With its groundbreaking 3D and motion-capture technology, the film－released in China in January 2010－enticed people to stand in long lines to buy the limited 3D-screen tickets. This inspired the number of China's 3D screens to rise eightfold in a few months, China Business News reports.
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The 15th Chinese Film Festival in Bangkok and the 2020 China-Thailand Film Exchange Week opens at the China Cultural Center in Bangkok on Oct 25, 2020. [Photo provided to Chinaculture.org] |
On Oct 25, the opening ceremony of the 15th Chinese Film Festival in Bangkok and the 2020 China-Thailand Film Exchange Week was held at the China Cultural Center in Bangkok. The event was hosted by the China Cultural Center in Bangkok and received strong support from the Chinese Embassy in Thailand and the Thai Ministry of Culture.
The COVID-19 pandemic doesn't impede the enthusiasm for cultural exchange between China and Thailand. This film festival uses live broadcast to present the opening ceremony and host the "China-Thailand Film Exchange and Cooperation Online Seminar". During the film festival, audiences can use the online platform of the China Cultural Center in Bangkok to watch films online, which greatly increases the global reach of the festival.
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Gu Hongxing, director of the China Cultural Center in Bangkok and China Tourism Office in Bangkok, speaks at the opening ceremony. [Photo provided to Chinaculture.org] |
Gu Hongxing, director of Bangkok's China Cultural Center and China Tourism Office, said film can not only introduce one's national culture, but also reflect unique social landscapes. Film has become an important part of cultural exchange between countries and enhance mutual understanding among people around the world.
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Yang Xin, Chargé d'affaires of the Chinese Embassy in Thailand, speaks at the opening ceremony. [Photo provided to Chinaculture.org] |
Yang Xin, Chargé d'affaires of the Chinese Embassy in Thailand, said since the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Thailand 45 years ago, the mutual trust between the two countries has continued to deepen, economic and trade cooperation has expanded, cultural exchanges have become closer, and all-around cooperation has achieved fruitful results. Both China and Thailand have a vast film market. As a traditional project of cultural exchanges between China and Thailand, the Bangkok Chinese Film Festival has laid a solid foundation for film cooperation between the two countries for 15 years and will add new drive to the promotion of cultural exchanges and cooperation between China and Thailand.
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Itthiphol Kunplome, Thailand's minister of culture, speaks at the opening ceremony. [Photo provided to Chinaculture.org] |
Thailand's Minister of Culture Itthiphol Kunplome said in his speech the governments and people of Thailand and China have been in constant exchange. Cooperation in various fields has developed steadily, and the film festival is another important event to further promote cultural exchanges between the two countries. The people of the two countries can promote their understanding of the cultures of both sides through films, and promote friendly relations and cooperation in other perspectives.
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