CCTV reported on October 5 that as of 9:00 a.m., the cumulative box office of national films in 2023 had reached 47.1 billion yuan, exceeding the total box office of movies for the full year of 2021 (47 billion yuan).
“Man Jiang Hong,” “Wandering Earth 2,” “Desperate,” “Her Missing,” and “Fengshen Part 1” temporarily ranked in the top five box office in 2023. They are all domestically produced films. However, judging from multiple viewpoints, it is a consensus that “the box office continues to recover.”
At 47.1 billion yuan, it can rank in the top five in the annual total box office of Chinese films. The top ranking was 64.266 billion yuan in 2019, 60.976 billion yuan in 2018, and 55.9 billion yuan in 2017, respectively. This figure far exceeds the 2022 box office revenue (30.067 billion yuan).
How hot is the movie market this year? Previously, in 92 days from June 1 to August 31, a total of 505 million people entered the cinema. The total box office exceeded 20.6 billion yuan, setting a new record in Chinese film history. Furthermore, the box office for 80 days broke 100 million yuan in a single day, and the box office for 4 films exceeded 2 billion yuan, all of which were the highest in history. “The best summer program in history” lives up to its name.
A reporter from the Securities Times · e Company noticed that during the National Day this year, more than 10 movies were screened, including “Strong as a Rock” directed by Zhang Yimou, “Volunteer Army: A Soldier Attack”, and “Former 4: Early Marriage in the English Age” directed by Tian Hanyu. The topics covered plot, historical wars, criminal actions, etc., were screened, and achieved great results.
According to Lighthouse Pro, as of 13:43 on October 5, the total box office of new National Day movies in 2023 (including pre-sales) exceeded 2.5 billion yuan, far exceeding the 2022 National Day box office of 1,499 billion yuan. “Strong as a Rock”, “Former 4: Early Marriage in the British Age”, and “Volunteer Army: Attack of the Soldiers” temporarily ranked in the top three.
There are many listed companies behind the above video. According to the 2023 semi-annual report of Light Media (300251), “Strong as a Rock” was mainly funded and distributed by the company; Huayi Brothers (300027) previously stated that “Former 4: Early Marriage in the British Year” is a film and television project mainly invested and controlled by the company; Wanda Film (002739) and Huace Film and Television (300133) have stated that the company participated in “Former Year 4: Early Marriage in the British Year”; Chinese Film (600977) previously stated that the company created and developed the epic film “Soldiers of Soldiers” in a panoramic manner showing the great history of resisting the US and aiding the DPRK: “Soldiers of Soldiers” “Attack”.
It is worth mentioning that on October 2, “Venus reviews “Solid as a Rock” hit the headlines. At the time, Jin Xing posted a post on Weibo, saying, “In “Solid as a Rock,” Zhang Yimou had already achieved four modernizations: the subject matter was trafficked, the images were cyberized, the circle of money was regularized, and the old age was insensitive.” Zhang Yimou did not directly respond to this. The controversy instead brought more attention to the film. As of 10:40 on October 5, “Solid as a Rock” had grossed over 800 million.
There is controversy about individual film productions, but the recovery of the film market is already a consensus.
Wanlian Securities believes that in 2023, all cinemas will resume operations, and policies and measures to expand domestic demand and promote consumption will continue to gain strength. Movies, as an important scenario for offline consumption, showed a good recovery trend. The performance of the summer program far exceeded expectations, and the National Day program is expected to continue the recovery trend. Famous film directors are supported and superimposed on the lineup of luxury creators, diversified genres to achieve full audience coverage, and are optimistic about the overall performance of the festival period. It is recommended to pay attention to the core producers and producers of high-quality films and leading companies related to film and television theaters.
When surveyed by specific targets in late September, Wanda Film said that the film industry was greatly affected in previous years. Since this year, with the support of national policies, it has taken the lead in recovering. In particular, the box office performance of the summer program has exceeded expectations and set a new record in film history. The excellent quality and topicality of the films are all stimulating a gradual recovery in market demand. The film industry has definitely recovered and will continue to prosper for the better.
“As a full-chain company in the film industry, the company's performance on the projection side and content side is expected to continue to benefit from the recovery of the industry and continue to improve.” Wanda Movie thinks. Data show that from January to August this year, the company achieved box office revenue of 5.81 billion yuan (excluding service fees), an increase of 66.1% over the previous year, recovering to 105% of the same period in 2019; the number of movie viewers was 142 million, an increase of 67.7% over the same period in 2019, and recovered to 105% of the same period in 2019.
At the end of September, Chinese films publicly stated at the 2023 semi-annual performance briefing that the virtuous cycle of supply and demand (in this year's film market) has helped viewers regain their familiar movie-watching habits. From the Spring Festival, which ranked second in film history, to the “strongest summer program in history,” the Chinese film market has shown a beautiful recovery curve, and the confidence and status of the supply side, screening side, and demand side have all greatly recovered.
According to Chinese cinema, the batch screening of outstanding films will receive positive feedback from audiences, further stimulate market vitality, and promote a high level of recovery.
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