why are re-released films popular in the market?
2024-09-22
한어Русский языкEnglishFrançaisIndonesianSanskrit日本語DeutschPortuguêsΕλληνικάespañolItalianoSuomalainenLatina
poster of "journey to the west: the monkey king defeats the white bone demon".
"the wandering earth 2" 3d poster.
poster of "the god of cookery".
poster for "i want us to be together".
the pictures in this article are provided by tao piaopiao
in recent years, there has been a wave of movie re-screening in the chinese film market. the number of re-screened films has been increasing, and the interval between the first release and the first release has been shortened. however, the market performance of re-screened films is uneven, with the highest box office exceeding 100 million yuan and the lowest box office only a few hundred thousand yuan. why is there such a huge difference in the box office of re-screened films? what kind of films should be re-screened to attract audiences to the theater? these questions deserve the attention of people in the film industry.
technology helps classics be reborn
during the three-day mid-autumn festival holiday that just passed, in addition to the release of many new films, major theaters across the country also re-screened films such as "journey to the west: the monkey king 3: the white bone demon", "the wandering earth 2", and "i am nezha: the return of the hero". "the wandering earth 2" was well-received by the audience after its release during the 2023 spring festival. this time, the 3d version of the film was released, which can not only make up for the regret that some visual spectacular scenes customized for the 3d format were still in production when it was previously released, but also help promote the documentary "the wandering earth 2: another adventure" released at the same time. from the author's viewing experience, the various science fiction scenes in the 3d version of the film are more shocking to the audience than the 2d version. the film earned nearly 10 million yuan in box office during the mid-autumn festival, temporarily ranking first in the box office of domestic films re-screened this year.
according to incomplete statistics, so far this year, domestic films such as "life events", "white snake: origin", "deng xiaoping trail", "all or nothing", "the god of cookery", "journey to the west: the monkey king 3: the return of the white bone demon", "the wandering earth 2", "i am nezha: hero returns" and imported films such as "dune", "oppenheimer", "your name", and "slam dunk" have been re-screened. these re-screened films and new films together meet the audience's viewing needs and enrich the film market.
in fact, movie re-screening is nothing new. some of the re-screened versions are based on advanced film restoration technology. in the past decade or so, many films have been revitalized with the development of 3d, 4k, and ai.
in 2012, the american film titanic was restored and converted into a 3d version. after being re-screened in mainland china, it created a box office record of 946 million yuan, which also made the chinese film industry see the huge market space for re-screening classic films. among domestic films, the highest re-screening box office so far is the 2017 re-screening of a chinese odyssey part two: cinderella, which earned 175 million yuan.
before 2020, the vast majority of re-released films in the chinese film market were classic chinese and foreign films, and the number of such films each year was small and could be counted on one's fingers. the interval between the re-release and the first release could be as long as several decades or as short as three or four years. in addition to titanic 3d and a chinese odyssey part two: cinderella, other films with a box office of over 50 million yuan at the re-release include 2012 3d and the classic animated film journey to the west 3d, jurassic park 3d in 2013, and the grandmaster 3d in 2015.
most of the re-released films that achieved high box office during this period were re-made 3d versions. the use of 3d technology and 2k and 4k restoration technology played a crucial role in attracting audiences to go to the cinema to watch these films again.
satisfy audience's nostalgic needs
at present, the number of re-screened films in the chinese film market has increased significantly, with richer themes and types, and is no longer limited to classic films. as long as the film has a high box office in the first round, it may be re-screened if there is a good opportunity. for example, the domestic love film "i want us to be together" was released on may 20, 2021, and achieved a box office of 326 million yuan, winning the box office champion of the "5.20" period that year. the theme song "so many people in this world" sung by karen mok became popular all over the country. on may 20, 2022, "i want us to be together" was re-screened, earning 55.6 million yuan in box office, becoming one of the successful cases of re-screening of domestic films.
in recent years, the interval between re-released films and their first release has been greatly shortened. "accidental murder", released in december 2019, was one of the first films to be re-released after chinese theaters resumed work on july 20, 2020, with a re-release box office of 126 million yuan. "your wedding" was first released during the may day holiday in 2021, with a high box office of 789 million yuan; it was re-released on december 30, 2023, and it was the first domestic film to be re-released in a split-line distribution format in china, and it eventually earned more than 33.5 million yuan in re-release box office.
chinese and foreign commercial blockbuster series often re-screen the previous film when the sequel is released, which has become a normalized re-screening mode for new films to leverage their power for promotion and distribution. for the film producers, this re-screening method can achieve the effect of "killing two birds with one stone" - it is conducive to the promotion and distribution of the upcoming sequel, and also reaps the box office of the previous film; for the audience, re-screening the film can meet their viewing needs of "reviewing the old and learning the new", which can be said to be a win-win situation.
before the release of dune 2 on march 8 this year, dune was re-screened on march 1. on august 10, the third film in the "new legend" series of light chaser animation, white snake: floating life, was released. a month earlier, the first film in the series, white snake: origin, was re-screened on june 29. this re-screening model is very common overseas, where sequels have become the main force in the film market. with the development of the chinese film market and the improvement of the level of industrialization in recent years, there are more and more series films, which have also become an important type of re-screened films in china.
how to attract audiences by re-screening films
there are more and more re-screened films. even if they are all movies that the audience once liked, the box office will inevitably vary due to different subject matter and release time. in this year's movie re-screening boom, what kind of films should be selected and when should they be re-screened to better attract audiences to the theater to watch? the author believes that there are three aspects to consider.
first of all, classic chinese and foreign special effects blockbusters that have enough time to settle are the first choice for re-screening. compared with streaming media, tv and games, the biggest advantage of movies is that they can give audiences audio-visual enjoyment and shock when watching on the big screen. this irreplaceable viewing experience can only be brought to the audience by top classic special effects blockbusters. therefore, choosing such films for re-screening, with the help of high-tech film formats such as 3d, 4k, imax, and cinity, can often achieve high box office. in addition to the successful re-screening of the 3d version of "titanic" in 2012, the re-screening of "avatar" in march 2021 and the box office of 375 million yuan are also outstanding cases in this regard.
secondly, classic chinese and foreign films that have profoundly influenced the audience and are in line with the aesthetic tastes of contemporary audiences can also be re-screened. such films are not necessarily audio-visual special effects blockbusters, but mainly rely on film quality, creative appeal and nostalgic feelings to attract audiences.
for example, the japanese animation "your name." was first released in mainland china in august 2016, earning 576 million yuan at the box office; it was re-released in july this year and still earned 137 million yuan at the box office. among domestic films, "a chinese odyssey part two: cinderella" is a successful re-release case. the film was a dismal box office when it was first released in hong kong, china in 1995, and the audience found it difficult to accept the film's nonsensical and funny style. however, the film was later sought after by hundreds of millions of young netizens on the internet, and its artistic value was rediscovered. more than 20 years later, it was re-released and earned high box office. the domestic classic animation "havoc in heaven" released in 1961 was restored and converted into 3d. it was re-released in 2012 and earned 50 million yuan at the box office. the audience's nostalgia played an important role.
it should be pointed out that re-released films should also pay attention to publicity and distribution, and try to highlight the differences between the re-released version and the previously released version during publicity and distribution, emphasizing that the re-released version has been upgraded in terms of audio-visual after being restored and processed with the latest film technology, so as to arouse the attention and curiosity of the audience. for example, the re-release of "a chinese odyssey part two: cinderella" achieved high box office when it was re-released in 2017. the important reason was that the film emphasized in its publicity and distribution that the re-released version was a "2k restored and extended commemorative version" and "added 11 minutes of footage that had never been released to the public."
re-screening films is an integral part of a mature film market. at present, china is already the world's second largest film market, which is large enough to accommodate the re-screening of excellent chinese and foreign films in terms of both market size and audience demand. it is hoped that re-screening films can complement and leverage the strengths of new films in the film market, better meet the audience's diversified viewing needs, and help the sustainable and high-quality development of the chinese film market.
(the author is the secretary-general of the chinese film critics society and the secretary-general of the new media committee of the chinese association of literary and art critics)
(source: people's daily overseas edition)
