China's film industry has been experiencing growth in recent years and this trend continued in 2011 with Chinese movie theater box office revenues exceeding U.S. $2 billion for the first time according to a Variety article. According to China's State Administration of Radio, Film & Television (SARFT), Chinese theaters took in $2.09 billion (RMB 13.1 billion) in 2011 with Chinese films generating $1.16 billion (RMB 7.03 billion) or 54% of the total. Box office revenue grew by 29% in 2011, with a strong finish at the end of the year due to release of several Chinese blockbuster films.
The biggest commercial success of the year was The Flowers of War (金陵十三钗) which grossed $79.2 million (RMB 500 million). Flowers is a historical war film that takes place in 1937 during the Second Sino-Japanese War in which Japan invaded China and committed horrific atrocities on Chinese civilians in the city of Nanjing. The film was produced by famed Chinese director Zhang Yimou and it's story centers on a group of unlikely heroes, including Chinese prostitutes and an often drunk, womanizing American mortician played by Christian Bale.
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| Christian Bale stars in Chinese blockbuster The Flowers of War |
Since it was only released in December of 2011, Flowers is still going strong in Chinese movie theaters and is likely to become the highest Chinese grossing film. It is also scheduled for a limited American release (13 cities) beginning in late January 2012. I recently saw Flowers and, although its worth watching, it wasn't as good as I thought it might be based on all the hype about it in China (maybe I'll do a review in a future post).
Interestingly, it isn't only major blockbusters that are having commercial success in China. According to a Film Business Asia article, China Box Office Up 29% for 2011, there has been significant growth in the production of lower budget films in China and a few have been able to generate decent profits which is an encouraging trend for Chinese filmmakers, actors and production personnel. The article cites Love is Not Blind as an example - the $1.4 million budget film ended up earning over $55 million.
The growth in Chinese box office over the past several years has made China one of the 5 biggest film markets in the world. I wouldn't be surprised if it reaches #2 before long since new movie theaters are being built at a rapid pace throughout large and mid-sized Chinese cities and increasing numbers of Chinese people want entertainment and are willing to pay to watch films in modern, state-of-the-art theaters.
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