National sci-fi films dominate the spring festival holiday period in China



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Promotional material for The wandering earth Photo: VCG

Promotional material for Crazy Alien Photo: VCG

Promotional material for Peppa celebrates the Chinese New Year Photo: VCG

After setting a new daily revenue record for the Chinese mainland with 1.44 billion yuan ($ 213 million) on Tuesday, the first day of the Chinese New Year, the seven-day Spring Festival holiday yielded a total of estimated at 5.86 billion yuan. , an increase of 1.6% year-on-year compared to the 2018 festival period.

Chinese science fiction films were the biggest champions of this festival. Their positive performances will certainly influence the future trends of the Chinese film industry.

Science fiction blockbusters

Taking 1.9 billion yuan and 1.4 billion yuan respectively Sunday afternoon, sci-fi movies The wandering earth and Crazy Alien accounted for more than half of total vacation income.

The wandering earth, an adaptation of the news of the same name of the award-winning author of Hugo Award, Liu Cixin, had only a 11.4% screen share on Tuesday of his day's # 39; opening. Still, his daily box office climbed to second place Wednesday and to first place Thursday. where he stayed despite polarized public criticism.

The science fiction blockbuster of mainland China, The wandering earth On Friday, director Frant Gwo told the Global Times that he considered the film "designed for a Chinese audience" and not for the international market. Until now, the film has a high score of 8/10 on IMDb.

"American producers, eager to get their $ 200 million movies on the lucrative Chinese market, are increasingly looking for Chinese production partners, filming in Chinese venues and adding characters and characters. from China-friendly intrigues to American films, including even extra Chinese-only scenes, while China and other countries are moving towards the blockbuster model, creating local films that do not require not the participation of American partners, "wrote The Verge in his film review Saturday.

While The wandering earth it's a frontal attack to the familiar genre of the end of the Hollywood world, Crazy Alien stood out for its ability to mix Chinese comedy with Hollywood sci-fi movies.

The film begins with a great Western power that contacts a stranger to establish diplomatic relations, when the foreign ambbadador is accidentally thrown on the Earth and is mistaken for a monkey by a local artist.

The simultaneous launch of two Chinese science fiction films is not a coincidence. According to Gwo, a group of local directors, including himself and Crazy Alien The director Ning Hao, who studied in Hollywood a few years ago, was deeply impressed by the industrialization of film production and aspired to adapt to the Chinese market.

following The wandering earth and Crazy Alien, another science fiction blockbuster Shanghai Fortress announced Friday that it would be on theaters of the continent this summer.

Fierce competition

This year, a total of eight new films were released on Tuesday, a significant increase from six in 2018 and five in 2017.

The writer became the car race comedy director Han Han Pegasus earned 1 billion yuan Sunday in third place behind the two sci-fi blockbuster movies. According to a report by the Hollywood Reporter, CMC Pictures, which currently distributes The wandering earth in the United States, Canada and Australia will also distribute Pegasus in the USA.

The comedy of renowned actor / director Stephen Chow was also theatrical for the Chinese New Year The new king of comedy, Jackie Chan directed the fantasy comedy The knight of the shadows: between Yin and Yangand the police thriller Alan Mak, the famous director of cops and gangsters Integrity.

Although Chow and Chan's films have been box office hits for years, none of the new films have met expectations.

Two family-oriented films also debuted during the holiday season: animated Bonnie Bears: Breath in the past and live action co-produced with China and the UK Peppa celebrates the Chinese New Year.

Compared to real action movies, animation films often have more ease in crossing national boundaries to be enjoyed by a wider audience. It is for this reason that several imported animations have emerged in recent years and that big Chinese stars have been copied in Chinese versions. Bonnie Bears movie, Bonnie Bears: The big shrink, based on one of her new characters, is American actress Beth Behrs, who also voiced the character of the English version.

Seeking to capitalize on the year of the pig, the Chinese studio Alibaba Pictures Group partners with eOne, the company that Peppa Pig cartoon, to bring the character to Chinese theaters for the very first time.

"The idea came two years ago … eOne produced a movie using live action scenes Peppa Pig animated episodes, which we found very interesting, "Zhang Wei, chairman of the Alibaba Pictures group, who distributes the film on the continent, told Global Times.

"By combining an international intellectual property with traditional Chinese culture, we hope that the Chinese public will be able to know the world better, while the world will have a better idea of ​​China."
Newspaper title: towards the future

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