为何好莱坞大片在中国不再吃香
《海王》续集上个月在中国上映前，华纳兄弟曾竭尽全力想要延续前一部影片的成功。
这家好莱坞电影公司在抖音放出了大量电影片段、幕后花絮，以及一段哈尔滨冰雕节上“海王”冰雕的视频。华纳出动了该系列片的明星杰森·莫玛和导演温子仁到中国巡回宣传，这种宣传方式自新冠病毒暴发后就没有了。莫玛说，中国人对《海王》的喜爱是这部续集早于美国两天在中国上映的原因。
“中国人喜欢这部电影让我很自豪，所以我们要把它带来，中国观众可以最早看到它，”他在接受中国官方电视台央视电影频道采访时说。
这些宣传攻势并未奏效。
《海王2：失落的王国》在中国大陆上映几周后只收获了约6000万美元的票房。这比《海王1》2018年在中国首映的那个周末收获的9000万美元的票房差远了，《海王1》在中国的最终票房收入达2.93亿美元，占该片大获成功的全球12亿美元票房的25%。
《海王》的制片商并非唯一一家在中国市场失意的电影公司。
尽管《碟中谍》、《速度与激情》、《蜘蛛侠》电影系列都在2023年推出了备受期待的续集，但没有一部美国电影进了中国年度票房的前十名。
据自2011年以来一直跟踪票房收入的中国娱乐数据提供商猫眼的统计，好莱坞去年最卖座的两部影片《奥本海默》和《芭比》都没有进入中国票房的前30名。这之前，好莱坞被排除在中国电影票房前十之外是在2020年，也就是新冠病毒大流行期间。
对好莱坞大片趋之若鹜的中国电影观众正在逐渐消失。到目前为止，中国是美国以外最大的电影市场，随着电影业困难重重，中国市场也是美国电影公司实现增长和盈利的倚重之地。
“一部好莱坞大片在中国赚到数亿美元的日子已经一去不复返，”南加州大学研究中国政治和电影业的教授骆思典(Stanley Rosen)说。
中国电影业正在产出更多引起国内观众共鸣的优质电影。中国去年的两部热门影片凸显了国内影片的多样性：一部是对白丰富的悬疑惊悚片《满江红》，另一部是带有特效的科幻大片《流浪地球2》。
在与美国关系日益紧张的背景下，中国政府推进了传播文化影响力的雄心，支持本土的制片商创作与执政的中共保持一致的电影。
近年来，中国一些票房收入最高的电影渲染的主题都是一个更强大、更自信的中国。有史以来最卖座的中国电影是 2021年上映的《长津湖》，该片讲述的是中国志愿军在朝鲜战争中克服重重困难击败美国的故事。还有2017年上映的民族主义动作片《战狼2》，片中类似杰森·伯恩的中国主角与美国雇佣兵展开较量。
上海电影家协会副主席石川表示，许多美国电影公司曾将中国视为一个总能赚到钱的市场。但现在情况不复如此。谨慎的中国消费者在减少支出，中国的票房收入尚未恢复到疫情前的水平。
“现在我明确告诉美国片商，这种心态现在已经走不通了，”石川说。“你必须要对中国的市场、中国的观众、中国的流行文化有一个深入研究才行。”
无锡国家数字电影产业园。中国支持本土片商创作与执政的中共保持一致的电影。好莱坞对中国市场的热情可以追溯到多年前。1994年上映的《亡命天涯》是第一部引进的美国大片。一年后，中国开始每年允许10部外国电影在国内上映。2012年，排在中国票房前十名的电影中有七部是美国制作的。那时，美国国内的影院上座率已开始了一个持续几十年的缓慢下降趋势。DVD销量惨淡。流媒体还处于起步阶段。
渴望增长的好莱坞电影公司把快速扩张的中国市场视为解决方案。拜登担任副总统时曾帮助好莱坞赢得更多进入中国影院的机会，当时，中国正在以极快的速度建新影院。中国提高了允许进入中国的美国电影数量，从每年20部增加到34部。中国同意让美方获得获准在华上映的电影票房的25%，该比例以前是13%左右。
由于盈利对大多数电影都是难事，因此来自中国的额外收入很重要。好莱坞的电影公司开始为吸引中国购票者改变电影内容：更多以视觉效果为主的壮观场面，更少以对话为主的戏剧和喜剧情节。
美国电影公司为安抚中国的审查机构而曲意逢迎，提前留意他们已知的中方红线。一个曾被广泛报道的例子是，在1986年的《壮志凌云》中，汤姆·克鲁斯的飞行员夹克上有日本和中华民国国旗，在派拉蒙影业2019年所拍续集的预告片中，这些国旗被有相同颜色的模糊补丁取代了。在2022年发行的《壮志凌云：特立独行》中，这些国旗再次出现。
北京的一家多厅影院。上海电影家协会的石川对美国电影制片厂说：“你必须要对中国的市场、中国的观众、中国的流行文化有一个深入研究才行。”
但在中美贸易和外交紧张关系进一步恶化后，好莱坞陷入两难境地。电影公司向中国屈服的做法已受到越来越严格的审视，尤其是在2020年，一个监督组织发表的严厉批评好莱坞的报告引起了美国两党政客的注意。
电影公司高管们去年已作出决定，至少从目前来看，中国对美国电影的需求已发生如此之大的变化，以至于必须重新调整电影制作的预算。必须把更少的资金花在制作大片续集上，因为已不能再指望中国提供以前那种水平的收入，尽管中国电影院银幕的数量在过去十年翻了两番。
2014年，《变形金刚4：绝迹重生》曾以2.8亿美元的收入位居中国票房榜首。去年，该系列的最新一部《变形金刚：超能勇士崛起》的收入约为2014年那部的三分之一，在中国的票房收入中排名第24。
部分问题是，而中国老百姓爱看抖音，而好莱坞在这个平台上宣传电影的速度不够快。
位于北京的海外电影销售公司视幻文化负责人赵晋说，好莱坞电影公司不愿意在电影上映前在社交媒体上透露情节和关键场景，但在中国这样做对于吸引观众的兴趣至关重要 。“好莱坞大片还没有完全跟得上中国的营销，”赵晋说。
“好莱坞大片还没有完全跟得上中国的营销，”国际电影销售公司视幻文化北京办事处负责人赵晋说。好莱坞去年发行的许多大片，包括《变形金刚》续集、最新的《碟中谍》、《奥本海默》和《芭比》，都没有自己的官方抖音账号。
现年27岁的汉娜·李（音）在北京一家科技公司工作。她说，她以前只看外国电影，但最近变了。她说，她去年最喜欢的电影是《流浪地球2》，该片讲述的是世界如何团结起来拯救地球免遭太阳吞噬的故事。李女士说，影片宣扬的一种集体主义是她在好莱坞电影中很少看到的，这应该给美国制片商们发出一个信号。
“你如果想要中国大陆这块流量，又不是很想放下自己的身段去看大陆人到底喜欢什么，那被大陆淘汰是很自然的事情，”李女士说。“好莱坞电影再也没有办法带给大陆的观众新鲜感了。”
Why China Has Lost Interest in Hollywood Movies
No American films ranked among the 10 highest grossing in China last year as viewers who once flocked to foreign blockbusters continued to disappear.
By Claire Fu, Brooks Barnes and Daisuke Wakabayashi
Claire Fu and Daisuke Wakabayashi reported from Seoul, and Brooks Barnes from Los Angeles.
Before the sequel to “Aquaman” was released in China last month, Warner Bros. did everything it could to sustain the original movie’s success.
The Hollywood studio blanketed Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, with movie clips, behind-the-scenes footage and a video of an Aquaman ice sculpture at a winter festival in Harbin, a city in China’s northeast. It sent the franchise’s star, Jason Momoa, and director, James Wan, on a publicity tour in China — the type of barnstorming that had disappeared since the Covid pandemic. Mr. Momoa said China’s fondness for the first “Aquaman” was why the sequel was debuting in China two days before the U.S. release.
“I’m very proud that China loved it, so that’s why we brought it to you, and you guys are going to see it before the whole world,” he said in an interview with CCTV 6, China’s state-run film channel.
The big push didn’t work.
“Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom” has collected only about $60 million in China after a few weeks of release. That was nowhere near the 2018 original’s $90 million opening weekend in China on its way to a $293 million haul, accounting for a quarter of that movie’s $1.2 billion box office success.
The official Douyin account for the “Aquaman” sequel posted videos of its star, Jason Momoa, and director, James Wan, promoting the film, as well as of an ice sculpture of the superhero at an ice festival in China.CreditCredit...Aquaman 2 Film via Douyin
The producers of the “Aquaman” movies are not the only ones finding that China has become a lost kingdom.
Very interesting development. And a big reason why box office receipts are lower overall. China was a huge market.
What's changed? A few things.
The pandemic did affect Chinese spending habits, much like everyone else. The Chinese government started funding more movies in line with their cultural drivers and also toeing the CCP values and more Chinese resonant marketing. And Hollywood was caught in the middle of altering films to be more CCP friendly, catching the ire of both parties in Congress.
What's changed? A few things.
The pandemic did affect Chinese spending habits, much like everyone else. The Chinese government started funding more movies in line with their cultural drivers and also toeing the CCP values and more Chinese resonant marketing. And Hollywood was caught in the middle of altering films to be more CCP friendly, catching the ire of both parties in Congress.
Before the sequel to "Aquaman" was released in China last month, Warner Bros. did everything it could to sustain the original movie's success.
The Hollywood studio blanketed Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, with movie clips, behind-the-scenes footage and a video of an Aquaman ice sculpture at a winter festival in Harbin, a city in China's northeast. It sent the franchise's star, Jason Momoa, and director, James Wan, on a publicity tour in China — the type of barnstorming that had disappeared since the Covid pandemic. Mr. Momoa said China's fondness for the first "Aquaman" was why the sequel was debuting in China two days before the U.S. release.
"I'm very proud that China loved it, so that's why we brought it to you, and you guys are going to see it before the whole world," he said in an interview with CCTV 6, China's state-run film channel."The days when a Hollywood film would make hundreds of millions of U.S. dollars in China — that's gone," said Stanley Rosen, a professor at the University of Southern California who studies Chinese politics and the film industry.
China's film industry is producing more high-quality movies that resonate with domestic audiences. The country's top two films last year highlight the diversity of offerings: "Full River Red," a dialogue-rich suspense thriller, and "The Wandering Earth II," a science-fiction blockbuster heavy with special effects.
gdt Member
ConfusingJazz
Not the Ron Paul Texas Fan.
Ultima_5 Member
hopefully this will cut down on the pandering to them
mreddie Member
Yeah this is why Cap Marvel 2, Fast X and Aquaman 2 had massive dropoffs. China was helping these movies for so long. And now we are in a drastically different time.
CupOfDoom Member
Superhero movies are in their flop era so, I don't see how using them as an example here is helpful.
"no one in China wanted to see Aquaman 2", yeah, no shit, no one in America wanted to see it either.
"no one in China wanted to see Aquaman 2", yeah, no shit, no one in America wanted to see it either.
Sirhc Hasn't made a thread yet. Shame me.
I was actually surprised to learn that it has apparently come out from this article, who knew?No one wanted to see Aquaman 2. It was an international event to not see it!
Read the article. It's free ;)Superhero movies are in their flop era so, I don't see how using them as an example here is helpful.
"no one in China wanted to see Aquaman 2", yeah, no shit, no one in America wanted to see it either.
It's not just Aquaman. Funny lede tho. Everyone is cooking Aquaman still lol.
In 2023, no American films ranked among the 10 highest grossing in China despite highly anticipated sequels in the "Mission: Impossible," "Fast & the Furious" and "Spider-Man" franchises.
Neither "Oppenheimer" nor "Barbie," two of Hollywood's biggest hits last year, cracked the top 30 in China at the box office, according to Maoyan, a Chinese entertainment data provider that has tracked ticket sales since 2011. The only other recent year when Hollywood was shut out of China's top 10 was 2020, during the pandemic.
Joshua Member
This is honestly just good for global security in general. So many companies were making stupid unethical decisions just because there were bundles of money to be made. It sucks that folks didn't do the right thing when it came to censorship in the end but hey this is the 2nd best solution I suppose.
Thank god - if only because it will reduce (but unfortunately not eliminate) the pandering to the CCP and the embarrassing self-censorship.
Plus, the shift allows more Chinese filmmakers to spread their creative wings and do their own thing for the domestic market.
Plus, the shift allows more Chinese filmmakers to spread their creative wings and do their own thing for the domestic market.
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OP
entremet You wouldn't toast a NES cartridge W
As a film fan, it's also just better to avoid a monoculture in film. I'm curious to see more Chinese films as they are getting more budget now.This is honestly just good for global security in general. So many companies were making stupid unethical decisions just because there were bundles of money to be made. It sucks that folks didn't do the right thing when it came to censorship in the end but hey this is the 2nd best solution I suppose.
Good for the Chinese film industry! It's always interesting to see creative work from other cultures, so I'm glad they're able to compete with Hollywood and make successful films.
Thissshopefully this will cut down on the pandering to them
OP left out the most important reasons.
Domestic films got better and are more suited to domestic tastes. Same reason sale of South Korean goods cratered. Same reason every foreign automaker's sales except Toyota's cratered.
Domestic films got better and are more suited to domestic tastes. Same reason sale of South Korean goods cratered. Same reason every foreign automaker's sales except Toyota's cratered.
I read a really fascinating/frightening book on how the CCP used Hollywood as a backdoor into "soft power". Essentially it was a two pronged approach where they let in many more American blockbusters than before over the last 20 years while simultaneously bringing in faded studio filmmakers (Renny Harlan's done a ton of work over there) in order to study western blockbusters and apply those same techniques to their home-grown industry.
A passage that stood out to me was Chinese audiences saying they were tired of being served "hamburgers & fries" and wanted a "warm bowl of noodles" instead. They were expressing how tired they were of these VERY broad and accessible movies we kept shoving down their throats, they want movies that come from a uniquely Chinese perspective, understandably. I think they're getting those movies now and they've been wildly successful, and I'd love to see Hollywood take note; less sludge from the IP factory, please!
A passage that stood out to me was Chinese audiences saying they were tired of being served "hamburgers & fries" and wanted a "warm bowl of noodles" instead. They were expressing how tired they were of these VERY broad and accessible movies we kept shoving down their throats, they want movies that come from a uniquely Chinese perspective, understandably. I think they're getting those movies now and they've been wildly successful, and I'd love to see Hollywood take note; less sludge from the IP factory, please!
ConfusingJazz Not the Ron Paul Texas Fan.
Read the article. It's free ;)
It's not just Aquaman. Funny lede tho. Everyone is cooking Aquaman still lol.
The article is making weird cultural assumptions about mid to bad movies not setting the box office on fire. It barely touches on the reasons that Barbie and Oppenheimer didn't do well (Lack of cultural attachment to Barbie and waiting to pirate non censored releases).
entremet You wouldn't toast a NES cartridge
I said that in the Op, tho. China is funding more of those projects.OP left out the most important reasons.
Domestic films got better and are more suited to domestic tastes. Same reason sale of South Korean goods cratered. Same reason every foreign automaker's sales except Toyota's cratered.
The article is making weird cultural assumptions about mid to bad movies not setting the box office on fire. It barely touches on the reasons that Barbie and Oppenheimer didn't do well (Lack of cultural attachment to Barbie and waiting to pirate non censored releases).
Mission Impossible was pretty good and historically has done better there. Also we're talking about blockbusters here, not necessarily the best films usually.
Didn't know they made a Wandering Earth sequel, I dug the first one.
Seems like Chinese cinema got a lot better and enough Hollywood films fell off in quality for them to not really care about them.
Seems like Chinese cinema got a lot better and enough Hollywood films fell off in quality for them to not really care about them.
onfusingJazz Not the Ron Paul Texas Fan.
Mission Impossible under performed in every market.Mission Impossible was pretty good and historically has done better there. Also we're talking about blockbusters here, not necessarily the best films usually.
Well this overall is going to create more pandering, just not from Hollywoodhopefully this will cut down on the pandering to them
Amen to that. Minorities exist, no matter what Winnie the Pooh and his government would like to erase.hopefully this will cut down on the pandering to them
Marvo Pandoras The Fallen
I enjoyed wandering Earth II on Netflix.
Hollywood movies will just pander to other places now.hopefully this will cut down on the pandering to them
John Cena learned a whole new language and now they lost interest.
jph139 One Winged Slayer
I feel like, at the same time Western companies stopped trying to sell to Chinese audiences, Chinese companies stopped trying to sell to international audiences, and I'm kinda bummed about that. Occasionally we get blockbusters dumped on Netflix but I feel like they rarely break through into the public consciousness or wider discussion.
Chinese language movies in general just end up with very little penetration into Western markets - like, you go back to the 70s and 80s and Hong Kong action movies have a ton of cultural penetration in the west, then in the 90s and 00s you see more arthouse stuff breaking through, winning Academy Awards, and so on. A ton of international stars birthed out of that crossover. It felt like a major part of the conversation.
That's all dried up now. Even with Michelle Yeoh winning Best Actress a couple years ago, I feel like that only happened because she was already a big name in American movies from her roles 10+ years ago. I have no idea who the current rising stars or big directors are. And that has to come down to marketing as much as anything else.
Chinese language movies in general just end up with very little penetration into Western markets - like, you go back to the 70s and 80s and Hong Kong action movies have a ton of cultural penetration in the west, then in the 90s and 00s you see more arthouse stuff breaking through, winning Academy Awards, and so on. A ton of international stars birthed out of that crossover. It felt like a major part of the conversation.
That's all dried up now. Even with Michelle Yeoh winning Best Actress a couple years ago, I feel like that only happened because she was already a big name in American movies from her roles 10+ years ago. I have no idea who the current rising stars or big directors are. And that has to come down to marketing as much as anything else.
rimsonECHIDNA ▲ Legend ▲
Now what will he do with all of his bing gi ling?!John Cena learned a whole new language and now they lost interest.
Some of these big Hollywood movies not do good any where so China no differnt from rest of the world lol .
It was a strange year for blockbusters in America as well though, with most of the bigger releases being mediocre to bad, so trying to draw any larger cultural trends from this feels like a bit of a stretch.Read the article. It's free ;)
It's not just Aquaman. Funny lede tho. Everyone is cooking Aquaman still lol.
Openhimer and Mission Impossible not doing well is a bit surprising, and to a lesser extent Barbie, but that movie had incredible marketing in the US and I don't know how well that managed to translate.
entremet
You wouldn't toast a NES cartridge
Not a stretch at all. It's a pretty trackable trend. Only one of the Fast franchise movies hit the top 5 barely. That was in 2021.It was a strange year for blockbusters in America as well though, with most of the bigger releases being mediocre to bad, so trying to draw any larger cultural trends from this feels like a bit of a stretch.
Openhimer and Mission Impossible not doing well is a bit surprising, and to a lesser extent Barbie, but that movie had incredible marketing in the US and I don't know how well that managed to translate.
Chinese cinema is now appealing more to its domestic audience and getting better funding.
It's such a clear trend that Hollywood itself is adjusting.
Wandering Earth II is on Amazon Prime if you have it. I thought it was pretty good.Didn't know they made a Wandering Earth sequel, I dug the first one.
it's in the last quote of OPOP left out the most important reasons.
Domestic films got better and are more suited to domestic tastes.
China's film industry is producing more high-quality movies that resonate with domestic audiences.
Neither "Oppenheimer" nor "Barbie," two of Hollywood's biggest hits last year, cracked the top 30 in China at the box office, according to Maoyan, a Chinese entertainment data provider that has tracked ticket sales since 2011.
This is where the writer loses touch with reality about how the Chinese film market works.
Even if they were released before Pendamic, films such as Oppenheimer and Barbie would not have achieved such success in China. They are considered as "Drama" not blockbusters. They both had a limited release in China. Considering their limited theatrical release, these two have been highly successful and received very well by Chinese filmgoers.
Government policy is one of the most significant influences on the box office performance of international films in China. Chinese cinema isn't a totally free capitalist market, and even from a capitalist standpoint, it benefits films with Chinese investment. A patriotic film with government backing, such as Changjin Lake, can be shown in theaters for two years without being pulled off the air, whereas international films will be dropped if they don't perform well after a month or so.
Some Hollywood movies still get top-notch promotional resources, and it's the movies that get those resources and still fail miserably that are more indicative of the declining quality(in the eyes of Chinese audiences) of Hollywood movies.
The article is making weird cultural assumptions about mid to bad movies not setting the box office on fire. It barely touches on the reasons that Barbie and Oppenheimer didn't do well (Lack of cultural attachment to Barbie and waiting to pirate non censored releases).
Yeah. This article isn't really in-depth on some issues.
So that leaves releases in Russia and Islamic countries where Hollywood will cut token gay bit characters and scenes out of.
Meanwhile Slam Dunk movie broke record in China
Japanese animation film, ‘The First Slam Dunk’ enjoyed massive dominance of the China box office, scoring $55 million in a four-day opening period.
variety.com
Were Barbie and the Mario movie the only ones that did extremely well last year domestically?
Looking at the list, yeesh. Barely any big budget movie lasted more than a week after opening.
Looking at the list, yeesh. Barely any big budget movie lasted more than a week after opening.
They're too busy focusing on making the next big boys love hit.
TV shows are more popular than movies in China. It makes sense because you have actors churning out like a dozen a year. Easier to watch too and stays in the public's mind longer (because of the daily/weekly releases).
TV shows are more popular than movies in China. It makes sense because you have actors churning out like a dozen a year. Easier to watch too and stays in the public's mind longer (because of the daily/weekly releases).
Good.
Saw a few short docs on YouTube about the quality of Chinese cinema in the last few years seeing a massive upward trend in quality in recent years so it's not all that surprising I guess. Looking at clips of the movies before those it totally makes sense
The last few times Hollywood bend over to pander to Chinese people, they backfired hilariously. The many out of place Chinese celeb cameos weirded people out. When Hollywood movies are set in ancient China, the settings are just off. That Mulan adaptation missed the mark so much on even the basic Wuxia tropes it kinda insulted fans of the genre
