Chinese cinema tries new plots, innovation to sharpen its image

In a year filled with challenges for the film industry, China once again underscored its crucial role by contributing over 20 percent of global box office in 2024, enhancing its status as the second-largest international movie market.

The year had an upbeat start, with the Spring Festival holiday reaping 8 billion yuan ($1.1 billion) in takings, topping previous periods and accounting for nearly one-fifth of ticket revenue for 2024, according to statistics from the China Film Administration, the country's top sector regulator, and major data tracers Beacon and Maoyan Pro.

However, the May Day, summer vacation and National Day holiday periods, only slightly surpassed, or even fell below, earnings for 2023.This resulted in total box office takings of 42.5 billion yuan for 2024, a 22.7 percent drop from the previous year.

The number of moviegoers in cities also fell from over 1.29 billion to 1.01 billion.

Despite the decline, construction of cinema facilities surged ahead. A total of 4,658 new screens were installed in 2024, catapulting the country's total to 90,968, the highest amount in the world. Domestic films maintained their market dominance, earning 33.4 billion yuan and accounting for 78.68 percent of total box office revenue for the year.

"China has remained one of the most active film markets in the world, but the domestic film industry is at a turning point," said Yin Hong, deputy chairman of the China Film Association, while emphasizing the need for local filmmakers to step up their efforts, be persistent in innovation, and pursue breakthroughs when facing challenges.

The primary factors influencing the film industry include the limited output of captivating films and young people's growing preference for short videos, industry insiders said.

Last year, the market size of micro dramas, short low-budget productions, surged to 50.44 billion yuan, marking a 34.9 percent year-on-year increase and surpassing the annual box office revenue of the film industry for the first time, according to the China Netcasting Services Association.

Yin said regaining audiences, especially the younger generation, and reigniting their enthusiasm for big screen films, is an urgent goal for cinema operators and filmmakers.