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author | xia xia

disclaimer | the title image comes from the internet. this is an original article from the jingzhe research institute. if you wish to reprint, please leave a message to apply for whitelisting.

in the movie "ready player one", the protagonists can enter a virtual world that is in sharp contrast to reality by simply putting on vr equipment. they can also go on adventures, search for treasures, and reach the peak of their lives in this different dimension.

although current vr technology has not yet developed to the level of science fiction movies, opening the door to another dimension is not as difficult as imagined.

whether it is traveling back to the middle ages, exploring a mysterious castle, investigating a witch's curse, or traveling through the interstellar universe, fighting wits and courage with aliens while searching for the truth about the lost earth, the various immersive theaters that are popular nowadays can create a highly immersive and full-experience "time travel" journey for users from aspects such as art scenery to story lines.

as immersive theaters with rich themes and various styles capture the hearts of consumers and gradually become a new hot spot in the fields of investment and entrepreneurship. under the blessing of the experience economy, is the constantly involutionary immersive theater an entrepreneurial bubble or a new track for making money?

how many volumes does immersive theatre have?

jingzhe research instituteyoung people are addicted to immersive theatre: spending money and getting into the theatrean article mentioned that the core of immersive drama is to immerse the audience in the scene where the drama story takes place. the audience who step out of the traditional viewing position can not only watch the actors' performances up close and interact with the actors, but can even advance the development of the plot and influence the ending of the story.

compared to online entertainment methods that have begun to cause aesthetic fatigue among young consumers, immersive theaters can not only bring the freshness of escaping from the real world and the experience of face-to-face instant interaction, but the interaction based on offline scenarios can also meet certain social needs.participating in an immersive theater performance on a weekday evening or weekend has become a form of entertainment for many young people.

the so-called sense of immersion actually originates from the theory of "flow experience" in positive psychology, which refers to a state in which people focus on the present and forget themselves. in order to let the audience "immerse" in the world constructed by the theater, building a scene that conforms to the worldview of the script is usually the first step. for this reason, many immersive dramas move the stage from traditional theaters to small theaters or independent theaters.

*interior of the immersive theater (photo provided by bifang)

today, immersive theaters have blossomed all over the country, from first-tier cities such as shanghai and beijing to popular online cities such as chengdu and chongqing, with dozens to hundreds of immersive theaters. take chengdu as an example. if you search for immersive theaters on dianping.com, you will find that there are more than 50 immersive suspense theaters, chamber theaters, and real-life movie theaters. in shanghai, which has a strong theatrical atmosphere, there are countless immersive theaters of all kinds.

amid fierce market competition, immersive theaters have also come up with various innovative ideas and reached new heights.

in terms of venue size, while some small theaters of several hundred square meters are still boasting of their "super-large activity space" in their slogans, many immersive theaters have already expanded to 3,000-5,000 square meters, or even more than 10,000 square meters.

there are also many immersive theaters that move the entire play into large warehouses, luxury cruise ships, or film and television parks, cultural and tourism scenic spots. the shanghai giant immersive theater "new world: feast in the broken cage" even "packed" the 6-hour immersive performance into the shanghai film and television park of more than 10,000 square meters, using a luxurious real-life manor as the stage to restore the style of shanghai in the 1940s.

* "new world: cage-breaking feast" (photo source: "new world manor" official wechat account)

some large-scale projects not only require venues, but also put a lot of effort into many aspects such as personnel lineup, plot setting, and scene art.

it is understood that the shanghai immersive theater project "deep light city of light", created by the french large theme park brand "pudefu", has a total area of ​​more than 46,000 square meters and cost 650 million yuan. with an indoor performance area of ​​12,000 square meters, it was certified by the guinness world records as the "largest immersive theater with a performance area". this large-scale immersive theater, which was built with a lot of money, can accommodate more than 150 resident actors, 50 large-scale movie scenes, and involves more than 1,300 types and more than 26,000 retro props.

why are immersive theaters moving towards large venues and large scales? as the project leader of the 3,400-square-meter immersive drama "the three-body problem: beyond gravity," yang tianming introduced to the jingzhe research institute, "an important factor affecting the immersive experience is the space specifications. the space must be large enough and high enough.in order to reproduce the magnificent scenes in the book "the three-body problem" and bring sufficient excitement and shock to the audience, "the three-body problem: beyond gravity" has been rolled up not only in terms of area but also in height, with the highest point in the venue reaching 17 meters.

*theatrical scene of "the three-body problem: beyond gravity"

in addition, from the perspective of technology application, immersive theater is also one of the offline physical projects that currently uses virtual reality (vr), augmented reality (ar) or mixed reality (mr) technology the most. zhong yulin, executive producer of "the three-body problem: beyond gravity", told jingzhe research institute that "the three-body problem: beyond gravity" currently integrates artificial intelligence technology, ar, vr, immersive performances and interactive digital art to bring innovative immersive science fiction experience to the audience.

it’s not that easy to get the audience to pay

although immersive theaters of all sizes across the country are using various tricks, including venues, production, cost and operation, some theater audiences and theater players are not satisfied with the beautiful "flowers" that are only in name.

in june this year, the shanghai "saga city of light" immersive performing arts theater, which was built by french cultural tourism giant pudefu at a huge cost, officially opened to the public. in addition to the large "moving movie viewing" theater, the project also has supporting cultural and creative retail, restaurants, cafes and other facilities. it is expected to receive up to 1.2 million tourists each year in the future. among them, the immersive real-life performance "saga city of light", which is based on the old shanghai in 1930, has a single ordinary ticket price of 368 yuan and the experience lasts for 90 minutes.

*saga: city of light

"fanfan", a drama fan who calls himself a "shanghai drama leek", said after experiencing the performance of "saga: city of light", "i did not feel the value of the huge investment. the interactivity was stronger than i thought but it was just barely passing. the performances of most of the actors were okay, but it was obvious that a small number of supporting actors were unable to keep up with the audience's interaction and could not memorize their lines."

in fanfan's opinion, the whole performance can only score 50 or 60 points, because there is still a lot of room for improvement, especially in terms of storytelling. "the storyline should be the most important thing. a beautiful empty shell alone cannot attract the audience."

even though generation z is recognized as "a generation more prone to impulsive consumption", under the influence of the overall environment, the concept of rational consumption has become more deeply rooted in people's minds.the "contemporary youth consumption report" jointly released by dt research institute and meituan waimai shows that while paying for their interests, more than 60% of the respondents said they would pay attention to making strategy guides. on social platforms such as xiaohongshu, there are many posts saying that they were disappointed and discouraged after watching "saga: city of light".

kk, an immersive theater enthusiast who has watched saga city of light, told the jingzhe research institute, "you can really feel how expensive it is, because everything from the set to the lighting, including the actors, is top-notch, and you can tell at a glance that a lot of money was spent on it.""we spent more than 300 yuan to enter, but we only visited the scene and didn't really get the experience. from the design of the project, we can feel that it is a foreigner's design idea, so it feels that this project may be popular abroad, but it is not easy to be accepted by everyone in china.moreover, it is so luxurious, but in the eyes of the audience, it is very thankless, and it costs a lot of money, but in the end, the praise it received may not be as good as those small theaters and small back rooms. "

*photo provided by kk

another large-scale immersive drama in shanghai, new world manor, is also known for its large venue and large investment. the single-person ticket price is as high as 799 yuan, and the immersive experience lasts for 6 hours. in the real-life manor theater of tens of thousands of square meters, more than 100 players need to be divided into different camps, complete camp tasks, advance the plot, and immerse themselves in the story that happened in modern old shanghai under the guidance of more than 40 professional drama actors.

regarding the experience of "new world manor", kk believes that "new world's storytelling is quite good, and the gameplay is also good. after entering the game, everyone will be divided into different camps, and then each camp will have a leader. only in the final performance will you see all the people. for projects like this with different identity designs and different plot experiences, i would be more willing to repurchase."

however, for "the other side", a veteran player who has experienced many immersive theaters, the way that an actor takes a group of players on quests to advance the plot in "new world" is still "not immersive enough.""bi fang" told jingzhe research institute, "this process in shanghai new world is actually the most basic rpg mode in the escape room. the gameplay is very simple. this mode is usually called 'delivery'. this gameplay is not very innovative. it mainly relies on actors to issue tasks and then let the audience do it, just like 'delivery'. however, the experience of 'delivery' in new world is not good because the venue is too large. you have to walk at least 15,000 steps in one game."

"the other side" said, "at present, most of the so-called immersive dramas on the market are not really immersive. they are just watching movies, and they do not achieve true role involvement and interaction. they just let you follow the actors and watch them act."

meituan platform data shows that those born in the 1990s, especially those born in the 1995s, are more inclined to consume entertainment that is stimulating, immersive, and fun-oriented; about 75% of "immersive"-related consumption comes from generation z young people aged 20 to 35. data shows that the important elements that attract their consumption mainly include experience, storytelling, and artistry.

however, how to do a good job of "performance" and "immersion" in immersive theater, and how to measure "storytelling" and "experience" are difficult problems for many practitioners.

zhang yushu, chief screenwriter of "the three-body problem: beyond gravity", told jingzhe research institute, "when the 'degree of freedom' in immersive drama is too high, it will lose its narrative nature and gradually develop in the direction of 'game'; but when the 'degree of freedom' is too low, the audience will feel that they are not as involved and are still 'watching' the drama. how to adjust it, i think there may not be a perfect answer so far. i believe that most creators on the market are also thinking about this issue, but no matter which side is emphasized, good content products are likely to be born."

from investment hotspot to entrepreneurial bubble?

although immersive entertainment is considered a niche hobby for young people, from the perspective of capital, the immersive industry is already a "hundred-billion-yuan cake" that is growing bigger and bigger. the "2024 china immersive industry development white paper" points out that the total output value of the immersive industry will reach 193.34 billion yuan in 2023, and is expected to exceed 240 billion yuan in 2024.

with the release of relevant policy documents such as the "14th five-year plan for cultural and tourism development" and the "three-year action plan for innovation and development of the metaverse industry", the immersive industry has also ushered in a wave of investment.data shows that by 2023, the consumer market size of the broad immersive industry will reach 92.7 billion yuan, and the investment scale will rise to 100.63 billion yuan.

in february this year, the group standard "immersive performance operation service requirements" was officially promulgated. this version of the industry standard not only explicitly defines immersive performance as "a performance form that is based on a specific venue, uses sound, light, and other technologies, and creates a participatory, experiential, and realistic performance for the audience through visual, auditory, tactile, and other simulated sensory experiences, in conjunction with the professional performances of immersive actors"; it also lowers the entry threshold for immersive performances to some extent.

because according to this group standard, the qualifications of an immersive performing arts entity include a business license, commercial performance license and other certificates, and the staff requirement is only a minimum of 6 people (including performers and staff). this requirement can basically be met not only for ordinary small theaters, but even for general escape rooms and script-killing theaters with performing arts content.

a user on xiaohongshu once posted a comment complaining, "have all the escape rooms in shanghai that have gone out of business been converted into theaters?" this also reflects that the immersive theaters on the market are no longer just small theaters with drama as the core. from the concept of "immersive performance", immersive interactive theaters and rpg theaters with similar operating models to escape rooms and live-action script-killing games are also included.

"the other side" told the jingzhe research institute,“for example, i have watched immersive interactive dramas such as apollonia, king’s chess, and the three-body problem, but i was essentially just watching the dramas and not really getting into them. at present, the immersive entertainment theaters that are similar to the escape room business model are doing a better job in terms of immersion.compared to the escape room, they do not have decryption, but add elements such as sound and light, stage design, and theatrical interaction; compared to script-killing games, they do not have a script, only role settings, and are real-life interactive spaces with first-person perspective.

"these interactive immersive theaters will be more experiential than ordinary immersive shows because there are fewer people. the audience number can be as low as 4-6 people per show, and everyone will have a better experience of the metaverse and other dimensions. there are many offline real-life immersive theaters with different themes on the market, such as cyberpunk, post-apocalyptic wasteland, etc. many investments are even at the level of 2 million yuan or more, but they may be classified as secret rooms by everyone, so they are currently in a relatively niche state," "the other side" further introduced.

immersive entertainment enthusiast yuwa also told the jingzhe research institute,"at present, it is difficult for most outsiders to tell the difference between escape rooms, immersive theaters, and real-life games. now, as long as merchants want, they can name their stores immersive movie theaters, performing arts theaters, etc.in fact, immersive real-life entertainment theaters cannot be equated with escape rooms in a narrow sense. although it does follow the route of escape room operations. in terms of immersive experience, many themed theaters will hire people with a major in drama or relevant work experience to perform. "

however, whether it is an immersive interactive theater that focuses on drama and allows the audience to immerse themselves in watching the drama, or an immersive real-life entertainment theater that also uses actors' performances to bring players a high sense of experience, in terms of long-term operation, they face problems such as a single revenue model and low floor efficiency.

generally speaking, ticket revenue is the main revenue source for immersive theaters. the "2024 china immersive industry development white paper" shows that the average per-customer price of china's immersive experience consumer market reached 219.9 yuan in 2023. currently, the ticket prices of immersive theaters on the market are mostly around 200 to 300 yuan. if they are bundled with catering packages, the per-customer price will continue to rise.

for example, the regular weekend ticket prices for the immersive food theater "the solitary gourmet: the key of love", where you can "eat and watch the show", are 220 yuan and 320 yuan respectively, but the ticket price for the front-row dining area, which includes a full meal and drinks, is as high as 620 yuan.

in addition to providing value-added products and raising the average customer spending, immersive theaters will also set up multiple main and branch plots to increase ticket revenue, carefully design and arrange multiple scenes and different story endings, and provide repeat consumers with different experiences, thereby solving the problem of repeat purchase rate. in addition, some theaters will also sell themed cultural and creative products and cooperate with nearby shopping malls and restaurants.

*photo provided by kk

in april this year, the highly acclaimed rpg performance theater "providence" announced that it would temporarily close. this american-style small town immersive performance theater, which is said to have been polished by the screenwriter of "detective chinatown" for two years, opened in december 2022. as of august 2023, the well-received and popular "providence" has been performed more than 200 times, but the founder wang qianlan revealed a surprising fact in a media interview: "we haven't started to make back our investment yet."

previously, industry insiders revealed that the total cost of an immersive theater of more than 1,000 square meters, including the initial investment, set design, props, scriptwriting, costumes, etc., is about 5 million yuan, or even higher. "providen" covers an area of ​​more than 3,000 square meters, and the single ticket price is between 398 and 528 yuan, with a maximum of 50 people per show.

if the average per capita consumption is 400 yuan and the attendance rate of each show is 100%, the total business of 300 shows will barely reach 6 million yuan. although the specific reason for the closure of the providence theater is unclear, it is obvious that the theater that cannot get rid of the "ticket addiction" will always be "unable to support itself".

*notice of closure released on the official weibo account of providence

zhang jingren, screenwriter of the immersive theater "cheng huai yan ling", also mentioned in his answer on zhihu that the investment and monetization channels of the entire assembly line of immersive theaters are relatively unclear. "the reason why people invest in movies is because theater chains have been rolled out in major cities. after the film is produced, it can be quickly put online to recover costs. the reason why immersive theaters are called immersive theaters is because the theaters need to be decorated or renovated to suit the plot. for theater operators, the cost investment will increase. at the same time, based on the characteristics of immersive theaters, there is no possibility of rolling out a unified sales monetization channel in all first-, second- and third-tier cities."

in recent years, the players who have participated in the investment and construction of immersive theaters include traditional cultural film and television groups such as shanghai media group and shanghai film group, as well as drama production companies such as miao shike and happy twist. in the field of building offline real-life entertainment theaters with popular ip + immersive real-life entertainment as the core, there are also long video platforms such as mango tv and iqiyi, as well as local cultural and tourism departments and institutions.

the "2024 china immersive industry development white paper" mentioned that the total investment in immersive cultural tourism and immersive performing arts accounts for more than 70% of the output value, far higher than the healthy line of 40% and the overheating warning line of 50%. this also means that these fields may face the risk of overcapacity and consumption bubble in the future.

for the audience and players of immersive theater, although today's technology cannot achieve the full set of virtual reality and sensor equipment in the movie "ready player one", it is not a bad idea to regard the real-life entertainment immersive theater as an alternative "metaverse" and a short "different-dimensional" journey. it's just that immersive theater does not have a sufficient market foundation to support the development of the industry like other real-life entertainment activities. therefore, for many investors and practitioners, immersive theater may still be a road of exploration full of unknowns.

*fanfan, kk, bifang, and yuwa in the article are all pseudonyms.