A Happy Ending？

By Wang Jun

Since the cinema in the popular One Mall in Nanjing， Jiangsu Province in east China， reopened on July 20， Wei Wei， a university student， has been binge-watching movies. In nine days， he had been there three times， watching the same fi lms over and over again.

“I just want to sit in the cinema and watch them again. I really miss the ritual very much，”he told Xinhua Daily. “Besides， like all industries that are reopening， the seriously hit fi lm industry also needs support from everyone.”

After remaining closed for around six months， cinemas began to reopen since July 20 after the China Film Administration issued a statement four days earlier， saying theaters in low-risk areas can resume operation with epidemic control measures. They include selling only 30 percent tickets to ensure social distancing inside and reducing the screening time to two hours. No food or beverages are allowed to be sold inside. Theaters in medium and highrisk areas still remain closed.

Despite the restrictions， in the fi rst week of the reopening， the box-offi ce revenue reached 108 million yuan （$15.43 million） nationwide， according to figures from the National Film Industry Development Special Fund Management Committee. As of July 26， more than 5，000 cinemas had reopened， accounting for 43 percent of the total.

The revenue is a promising sign given the restrictions on the tickets and the fact that no blockbusters were released.

Counting the blessings

On July 25， the 23rd Shanghai International Film Festival kicked off with eulogies by industry leaders at the speed of the fi lm industrys recovery.

At the inaugural forum of the festival held on July 24， Li Jie， President of Alibaba Pictures， said he was confi dent the box offi ce would recover to two thirds of the level in normal times within the next two weeks and there would be complete recovery during the National Day holiday in October.

At the Golden Goblet Film Forum held on July 26， Li Ning， Vice President of New Classics Media， a Chinese media and entertainment company， also said that recovery of the box offi ce was faster than expected.

“The epidemic has certainly had an impact， but we in the fi lm industry are still passionate. Our creations will not stop， our distribution and publicity will not stop， and our cinemas are quickly recovering. We will soon return to normal，” Li Ning said.

Rethinking the industry

However， many things are bound to change due to the epidemic. So the most important thing for the traditional film distribution industry to ponder is the risk of relying on the current profi t model alone， which has shown its fragility.

“Though cinemas are recovering fast， more importantly， we must never forget the diffi culties we faced when they were closed，” Jiang Wusheng， General Manager of Beijing United Entertainment Partners Culture and Media Co.， a major fi lm distributor， said. “I am insistent that we rethink the problem of fi lm distribution. It relies heavily on the box offi ce， so our distribution work completely focuses on the distribution of fi lms and publicity for them.”

Jiang is hoping to combine fi lm distribution with other profi table industries like e-commerce and the short video industry so that profi t points can be generated right from when a fi lm starts shooting.

Cheng Wu， CEO of Tencent Pictures， the motion picture business of Internet giant Tencent， thinks a combination of fi lms and new technologies will become normal in the future.“So if fi lmmakers are still trying to compete over low-level， homogeneous contents， cinemas will defi nitely be outdated by new technologies，” he told China Business News.

He also said that while the epidemic has made people aware that fi lms are not a necessity of life， a large number of people are still looking forward to visiting cinemas again， especially on special occasions. This proves that the sense of ceremony and watching experience in cinemas is irreplaceable.

“The unique value of films depends on filmmakers coming up with better content and quality and through greater exploration of combining modern technologies and fi lm art，”Cheng said.

Li Jie， who is engaged in both fi lm distribution and online films， said while streaming media has the natural advantages of filmwatching convenience and unlimited numbers of screens and audiences， cinemas have an incomparable business model.

“Due to the one ticket-per person model， films are saleable products only when the audience is willing to pay. This model forces fi lmmakers to constantly pursue innovation in technology and better content. Therefore cinemas will not be replaced； online platforms will supplement and integrate with cinemas in the future，” he said.

His company distributes films made both for distribution through online platforms and in cinemas. The filmmakers dont have any specifi c distribution channel in mind when they make their fi lms. The focus is creating a good fi lm fi rst， and then determining the channel of distribution， taking into consideration the cost， target audience and other factors. Li Jie expects online fi lms will help reduce the cost for making fi lms.