Film experts examining the results of Chinese film market during this year's Spring Festival have called for more excellent content to support the market, including foreign blockbusters.

China's box office revenues exceeded 6.04 billion yuan ($948 million) during the week-long Spring Festival holiday, usually the most heated and lucrative film season, and which this year raked in the second-highest gross takings for the period. However, there were only 114 million admissions during the week – a 28.75% decline compared with 2021's 160 million admissions – meaning that 46 million people chose to spend their time elsewhere over the holiday. Higher ticket prices, especially those that were raised higher than ever before in first-tier cities, likely contributed to this decrease.

According to a survey by Sina Movies on the Weibo microblogging platform about why people chose not to go to the movies, and in which more than 110,000 users cast their votes, 55% said that "ticket prices are too expensive," while others added the films were not good enough. At a forum organized by Sina Entertainment on Feb. 25 in Beijing, experts examined and reviewed what had happened during the festival and whether ticket prices were the sole factor to affect the box office performance. 

Tian Jia, a film investor, believed it was because demand exceeded the supply for the first day of the holiday, causing ticket prices to rise. "And the buzz of this year's Spring Festival season was one of the biggest ever, fueled by everyone's expectations. But the results fell short of expectations, and many now think the quality of these films wasn't worth the prices they paid," Tian said.

Zhang Wenbo, CEO of movie promotion and marketing firm Bravo Entertainment, believed that the future of Chinese film market wouldn't rely on blockbusters. "I think it will rely on franchises, and more mature brands. Take the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies, for example – they established a bond highly connected to fanbase and movie consumers. No matter how high their ticket prices are, people will go to them. The logic behind it is that they represent a priority choice, and are relatively trustworthy (in terms of quality), and therefore audiences accept the pricing."

Guo Yi, a box office expert and social media influencer, pointed out that China is still hungry for content. "China's domestic-made films were great, but we still need the joint force and reasonable coordination of Chinese and foreign content."

Guo hoped foreign films could fill the gaps and seasons this year where Chinese blockbusters choose not to release so that the market can reach a balance and keep inspiring the enthusiasm of moviegoers. 

Foreign films, especially Hollywood blockbusters, were either absent or failed in the Chinese market recently due to many factors, such as streaming services, negative reviews, and their production and release delays.

The good news is that soon a wave of foreign films will hit theatres around China, including Ruben Fleischer's video game adaption film "Uncharted" on March 14 and Matt Reeves' much-anticipated superhero crime film "The Batman" on March 18. 

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