Big business & big movies: Chinese New Year period
- By Tom Cunliffe
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E-mail China.org.cn, January 29, 2015
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A poster of Jiang Wen's "Gone with the Bullets" |
Jiang Wen's previous film "Let the Bullets Fly (2010)" made 670 million yuan (US$107.2 million) whilst Hark's "Young Detective Dee: Rise of the Sea Dragon (2013)" made 600 million yuan (US$96 million). Although John Woo's biggest hit "Red Cliff (2008)" only made 320 million yuan (US$51.2 million), currency inflation and the massive changes that have taken place in the Chinese film market within the past six years must be taken into account.
"Gone with the Bullets" has met with mixed reviews and censorship problems, but still opened at number one at the box office with a very respectable 333 million yuan (US$53.3 million) over its first four days.
Released a week later, "The Taking of Tiger Mountain" also opened big and won the top spot at the box-office with 199 million yuan (US$31.9 million) over its first three days. "The Crossing" also opened at number one at the box office in early December but made a lot less than Jiang and Hark's movies.
The final installment of "The Hobbit" meanwhile opened huge too, taking in 298 million yuan (US$47.7 million) in its first three days, perhaps taking advantage of its sleepy January time-slot without much other competition, and the growing local taste for spectacular visual effects.
Finally, the Jackie Chan vehicle "Dragon Blade," directed by Daniel Lee, and "Snow Girl and the Dark Crystal," directed by Zhao Tianyu, are almost guaranteed to be sure-fire champions at the box office simply because Jackie Chan and magic/fantasy films are both hugely popular with audiences in Chinese mainland during Chinese New Year.
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