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中國人已經厭煩西方獸性文化

(2024-01-26 06:58:34) 下一個

為何好萊塢大片在中國不再吃香

《海王》續集上個月在中國上映前，華納兄弟曾竭盡全力想要延續前一部影片的成功。
這家好萊塢電影公司在抖音放出了大量電影片段、幕後花絮，以及一段哈爾濱冰雕節上“海王”冰雕的視頻。華納出動了該係列片的明星傑森·莫瑪和導演溫子仁到中國巡回宣傳，這種宣傳方式自新冠病毒暴發後就沒有了。莫瑪說，中國人對《海王》的喜愛是這部續集早於美國兩天在中國上映的原因。
“中國人喜歡這部電影讓我很自豪，所以我們要把它帶來，中國觀眾可以最早看到它，”他在接受中國官方電視台央視電影頻道采訪時說。
 
這些宣傳攻勢並未奏效。
 
《海王2：失落的王國》在中國大陸上映幾周後隻收獲了約6000萬美元的票房。這比《海王1》2018年在中國首映的那個周末收獲的9000萬美元的票房差遠了，《海王1》在中國的最終票房收入達2.93億美元，占該片大獲成功的全球12億美元票房的25%。
《海王》的製片商並非唯一一家在中國市場失意的電影公司。
盡管《碟中諜》、《速度與激情》、《蜘蛛俠》電影係列都在2023年推出了備受期待的續集，但沒有一部美國電影進了中國年度票房的前十名。
 
據自2011年以來一直跟蹤票房收入的中國娛樂數據提供商貓眼的統計，好萊塢去年最賣座的兩部影片《奧本海默》和《芭比》都沒有進入中國票房的前30名。這之前，好萊塢被排除在中國電影票房前十之外是在2020年，也就是新冠病毒大流行期間。
 
對好萊塢大片趨之若鶩的中國電影觀眾正在逐漸消失。到目前為止，中國是美國以外最大的電影市場，隨著電影業困難重重，中國市場也是美國電影公司實現增長和盈利的倚重之地。
 
“一部好萊塢大片在中國賺到數億美元的日子已經一去不複返，”南加州大學研究中國政治和電影業的教授駱思典(Stanley Rosen)說。
 
中國電影業正在產出更多引起國內觀眾共鳴的優質電影。中國去年的兩部熱門影片凸顯了國內影片的多樣性：一部是對白豐富的懸疑驚悚片《滿江紅》，另一部是帶有特效的科幻大片《流浪地球2》。
 
在與美國關係日益緊張的背景下，中國政府推進了傳播文化影響力的雄心，支持本土的製片商創作與執政的中共保持一致的電影。
 
近年來，中國一些票房收入最高的電影渲染的主題都是一個更強大、更自信的中國。有史以來最賣座的中國電影是 2021年上映的《長津湖》，該片講述的是中國誌願軍在朝鮮戰爭中克服重重困難擊敗美國的故事。還有2017年上映的民族主義動作片《戰狼2》，片中類似傑森·伯恩的中國主角與美國雇傭兵展開較量。
 
上海電影家協會副主席石川表示，許多美國電影公司曾將中國視為一個總能賺到錢的市場。但現在情況不複如此。謹慎的中國消費者在減少支出，中國的票房收入尚未恢複到疫情前的水平。
“現在我明確告訴美國片商，這種心態現在已經走不通了，”石川說。“你必須要對中國的市場、中國的觀眾、中國的流行文化有一個深入研究才行。”
無錫國家數字電影產業園。中國支持本土片商創作與執政的中共保持一致的電影。無錫國家數字電影產業園。中國支持本土片商創作與執政的中共保持一致的電影。
 
好萊塢對中國市場的熱情可以追溯到多年前。1994年上映的《亡命天涯》是第一部引進的美國大片。一年後，中國開始每年允許10部外國電影在國內上映。2012年，排在中國票房前十名的電影中有七部是美國製作的。那時，美國國內的影院上座率已開始了一個持續幾十年的緩慢下降趨勢。DVD銷量慘淡。流媒體還處於起步階段。
 
渴望增長的好萊塢電影公司把快速擴張的中國市場視為解決方案。拜登擔任副總統時曾幫助好萊塢贏得更多進入中國影院的機會，當時，中國正在以極快的速度建新影院。中國提高了允許進入中國的美國電影數量，從每年20部增加到34部。中國同意讓美方獲得獲準在華上映的電影票房的25%，該比例以前是13%左右。
 
由於盈利對大多數電影都是難事，因此來自中國的額外收入很重要。好萊塢的電影公司開始為吸引中國購票者改變電影內容：更多以視覺效果為主的壯觀場麵，更少以對話為主的戲劇和喜劇情節。
 
美國電影公司為安撫中國的審查機構而曲意逢迎，提前留意他們已知的中方紅線。一個曾被廣泛報道的例子是，在1986年的《壯誌淩雲》中，湯姆·克魯斯的飛行員夾克上有日本和中華民國國旗，在派拉蒙影業2019年所拍續集的預告片中，這些國旗被有相同顏色的模糊補丁取代了。在2022年發行的《壯誌淩雲：特立獨行》中，這些國旗再次出現。
北京的一家多廳影院。上海電影家協會的石川對美國電影製片廠說：“你必須要對中國的市場、中國的觀眾、中國的流行文化有一個深入研究才行。”
北京的一家多廳影院。上海電影家協會的石川對美國電影製片廠說：“你必須要對中國的市場、中國的觀眾、中國的流行文化有一個深入研究才行。” 
 
但在中美貿易和外交緊張關係進一步惡化後，好萊塢陷入兩難境地。電影公司向中國屈服的做法已受到越來越嚴格的審視，尤其是在2020年，一個監督組織發表的嚴厲批評好萊塢的報告引起了美國兩黨政客的注意。
 
電影公司高管們去年已作出決定，至少從目前來看，中國對美國電影的需求已發生如此之大的變化，以至於必須重新調整電影製作的預算。必須把更少的資金花在製作大片續集上，因為已不能再指望中國提供以前那種水平的收入，盡管中國電影院銀幕的數量在過去十年翻了兩番。
 
2014年，《變形金剛4：絕跡重生》曾以2.8億美元的收入位居中國票房榜首。去年，該係列的最新一部《變形金剛：超能勇士崛起》的收入約為2014年那部的三分之一，在中國的票房收入中排名第24。
 
部分問題是，而中國老百姓愛看抖音，而好萊塢在這個平台上宣傳電影的速度不夠快。
位於北京的海外電影銷售公司視幻文化負責人趙晉說，好萊塢電影公司不願意在電影上映前在社交媒體上透露情節和關鍵場景，但在中國這樣做對於吸引觀眾的興趣至關重要 。“好萊塢大片還沒有完全跟得上中國的營銷，”趙晉說。
“好萊塢大片還沒有完全跟得上中國的營銷，”國際電影銷售公司視幻文化北京辦事處負責人趙晉說。“好萊塢大片還沒有完全跟得上中國的營銷，”國際電影銷售公司視幻文化北京辦事處負責人趙晉說。
 
好萊塢去年發行的許多大片，包括《變形金剛》續集、最新的《碟中諜》、《奧本海默》和《芭比》，都沒有自己的官方抖音賬號。
 
現年27歲的漢娜·李（音）在北京一家科技公司工作。她說，她以前隻看外國電影，但最近變了。她說，她去年最喜歡的電影是《流浪地球2》，該片講述的是世界如何團結起來拯救地球免遭太陽吞噬的故事。李女士說，影片宣揚的一種集體主義是她在好萊塢電影中很少看到的，這應該給美國製片商們發出一個信號。
 
“你如果想要中國大陸這塊流量，又不是很想放下自己的身段去看大陸人到底喜歡什麽，那被大陸淘汰是很自然的事情，”李女士說。“好萊塢電影再也沒有辦法帶給大陸的觀眾新鮮感了。”
 
Why China Has Lost Interest in Hollywood Movies

No American films ranked among the 10 highest grossing in China last year as viewers who once flocked to foreign blockbusters continued to disappear.

By Claire Fu, Brooks Barnes and Daisuke Wakabayashi

Claire Fu and Daisuke Wakabayashi reported from Seoul, and Brooks Barnes from Los Angeles.

 
Before the sequel to “Aquaman” was released in China last month, Warner Bros. did everything it could to sustain the original movie’s success.

The Hollywood studio blanketed Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, with movie clips, behind-the-scenes footage and a video of an Aquaman ice sculpture at a winter festival in Harbin, a city in China’s northeast. It sent the franchise’s star, Jason Momoa, and director, James Wan, on a publicity tour in China — the type of barnstorming that had disappeared since the Covid pandemic. Mr. Momoa said China’s fondness for the first “Aquaman” was why the sequel was debuting in China two days before the U.S. release.

“I’m very proud that China loved it, so that’s why we brought it to you, and you guys are going to see it before the whole world,” he said in an interview with CCTV 6, China’s state-run film channel.

The big push didn’t work.

“Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom” has collected only about $60 million in China after a few weeks of release. That was nowhere near the 2018 original’s $90 million opening weekend in China on its way to a $293 million haul, accounting for a quarter of that movie’s $1.2 billion box office success.

The official Douyin account for the “Aquaman” sequel posted videos of its star, Jason Momoa, and director, James Wan, promoting the film, as well as of an ice sculpture of the superhero at an ice festival in China.CreditCredit...Aquaman 2 Film via Douyin

The producers of the “Aquaman” movies are not the only ones finding that China has become a lost kingdom.

Discussion

Very interesting development. And a big reason why box office receipts are lower overall. China was a huge market.

What's changed? A few things.

The pandemic did affect Chinese spending habits, much like everyone else. The Chinese government started funding more movies in line with their cultural drivers and also toeing the CCP values and more Chinese resonant marketing. And Hollywood was caught in the middle of altering films to be more CCP friendly, catching the ire of both parties in Congress.
  
Before the sequel to "Aquaman" was released in China last month, Warner Bros. did everything it could to sustain the original movie's success.

The Hollywood studio blanketed Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, with movie clips, behind-the-scenes footage and a video of an Aquaman ice sculpture at a winter festival in Harbin, a city in China's northeast. It sent the franchise's star, Jason Momoa, and director, James Wan, on a publicity tour in China — the type of barnstorming that had disappeared since the Covid pandemic. Mr. Momoa said China's fondness for the first "Aquaman" was why the sequel was debuting in China two days before the U.S. release.

"I'm very proud that China loved it, so that's why we brought it to you, and you guys are going to see it before the whole world," he said in an interview with CCTV 6, China's state-run film channel.
 
"The days when a Hollywood film would make hundreds of millions of U.S. dollars in China — that's gone," said Stanley Rosen, a professor at the University of Southern California who studies Chinese politics and the film industry.

China's film industry is producing more high-quality movies that resonate with domestic audiences. The country's top two films last year highlight the diversity of offerings: "Full River Red," a dialogue-rich suspense thriller, and "The Wandering Earth II," a science-fiction blockbuster heavy with special effects.
 
gdt Member
Good for China, and good for anyone not looking to kowtow to the CCP. Overall gross is down, but I'm sure the hits to margin aint all that....

But I'm sure shareholders just want the big big big bigger number.
Yeah this is why Cap Marvel 2, Fast X and Aquaman 2 had massive dropoffs. China was helping these movies for so long. And now we are in a drastically different time.
Superhero movies are in their flop era so, I don't see how using them as an example here is helpful.

"no one in China wanted to see Aquaman 2", yeah, no shit, no one in America wanted to see it either.

Sirhc Hasn't made a thread yet. Shame me. 

No one wanted to see Aquaman 2. It was an international event to not see it!
I was actually surprised to learn that it has apparently come out from this article, who knew?
 

entremet

You wouldn't toast a NES cartridge
 
Superhero movies are in their flop era so, I don't see how using them as an example here is helpful.

"no one in China wanted to see Aquaman 2", yeah, no shit, no one in America wanted to see it either.
Read the article. It's free ;)

It's not just Aquaman. Funny lede tho. Everyone is cooking Aquaman still lol.
 
In 2023, no American films ranked among the 10 highest grossing in China despite highly anticipated sequels in the "Mission: Impossible," "Fast & the Furious" and "Spider-Man" franchises.

Neither "Oppenheimer" nor "Barbie," two of Hollywood's biggest hits last year, cracked the top 30 in China at the box office, according to Maoyan, a Chinese entertainment data provider that has tracked ticket sales since 2011. The only other recent year when Hollywood was shut out of China's top 10 was 2020, during the pandemic.
This is honestly just good for global security in general. So many companies were making stupid unethical decisions just because there were bundles of money to be made. It sucks that folks didn't do the right thing when it came to censorship in the end but hey this is the 2nd best solution I suppose.
 
 
Thank god - if only because it will reduce (but unfortunately not eliminate) the pandering to the CCP and the embarrassing self-censorship.

Plus, the shift allows more Chinese filmmakers to spread their creative wings and do their own thing for the domestic market.
 
Last edited: 
 
OP
entremet

entremet You wouldn't toast a NES cartridge W 

This is honestly just good for global security in general. So many companies were making stupid unethical decisions just because there were bundles of money to be made. It sucks that folks didn't do the right thing when it came to censorship in the end but hey this is the 2nd best solution I suppose.
As a film fan, it's also just better to avoid a monoculture in film. I'm curious to see more Chinese films as they are getting more budget now.
Good for the Chinese film industry! It's always interesting to see creative work from other cultures, so I'm glad they're able to compete with Hollywood and make successful films.
OP left out the most important reasons.

Domestic films got better and are more suited to domestic tastes. Same reason sale of South Korean goods cratered. Same reason every foreign automaker's sales except Toyota's cratered.
I read a really fascinating/frightening book on how the CCP used Hollywood as a backdoor into "soft power". Essentially it was a two pronged approach where they let in many more American blockbusters than before over the last 20 years while simultaneously bringing in faded studio filmmakers (Renny Harlan's done a ton of work over there) in order to study western blockbusters and apply those same techniques to their home-grown industry.

A passage that stood out to me was Chinese audiences saying they were tired of being served "hamburgers & fries" and wanted a "warm bowl of noodles" instead. They were expressing how tired they were of these VERY broad and accessible movies we kept shoving down their throats, they want movies that come from a uniquely Chinese perspective, understandably. I think they're getting those movies now and they've been wildly successful, and I'd love to see Hollywood take note; less sludge from the IP factory, please!

ConfusingJazz Not the Ron Paul Texas Fan. 

 
Read the article. It's free ;)

It's not just Aquaman. Funny lede tho. Everyone is cooking Aquaman still lol.

The article is making weird cultural assumptions about mid to bad movies not setting the box office on fire. It barely touches on the reasons that Barbie and Oppenheimer didn't do well (Lack of cultural attachment to Barbie and waiting to pirate non censored releases).
 

entremet You wouldn't toast a NES cartridge 

OP left out the most important reasons.

Domestic films got better and are more suited to domestic tastes. Same reason sale of South Korean goods cratered. Same reason every foreign automaker's sales except Toyota's cratered.
I said that in the Op, tho. China is funding more of those projects.
 
The article is making weird cultural assumptions about mid to bad movies not setting the box office on fire. It barely touches on the reasons that Barbie and Oppenheimer didn't do well (Lack of cultural attachment to Barbie and waiting to pirate non censored releases).

Mission Impossible was pretty good and historically has done better there. Also we're talking about blockbusters here, not necessarily the best films usually.
 
Didn't know they made a Wandering Earth sequel, I dug the first one.

Seems like Chinese cinema got a lot better and enough Hollywood films fell off in quality for them to not really care about them.
 

onfusingJazz  Not the Ron Paul Texas Fan. 

Mission Impossible was pretty good and historically has done better there. Also we're talking about blockbusters here, not necessarily the best films usually.
Mission Impossible under performed in every market.
jph139 One Winged Slayer 
 
I feel like, at the same time Western companies stopped trying to sell to Chinese audiences, Chinese companies stopped trying to sell to international audiences, and I'm kinda bummed about that. Occasionally we get blockbusters dumped on Netflix but I feel like they rarely break through into the public consciousness or wider discussion.

Chinese language movies in general just end up with very little penetration into Western markets - like, you go back to the 70s and 80s and Hong Kong action movies have a ton of cultural penetration in the west, then in the 90s and 00s you see more arthouse stuff breaking through, winning Academy Awards, and so on. A ton of international stars birthed out of that crossover. It felt like a major part of the conversation.

That's all dried up now. Even with Michelle Yeoh winning Best Actress a couple years ago, I feel like that only happened because she was already a big name in American movies from her roles 10+ years ago. I have no idea who the current rising stars or big directors are. And that has to come down to marketing as much as anything else.
 
Read the article. It's free ;)

It's not just Aquaman. Funny lede tho. Everyone is cooking Aquaman still lol.
It was a strange year for blockbusters in America as well though, with most of the bigger releases being mediocre to bad, so trying to draw any larger cultural trends from this feels like a bit of a stretch.

Openhimer and Mission Impossible not doing well is a bit surprising, and to a lesser extent Barbie, but that movie had incredible marketing in the US and I don't know how well that managed to translate.
 

entremet

You wouldn't toast a NES cartridge  
It was a strange year for blockbusters in America as well though, with most of the bigger releases being mediocre to bad, so trying to draw any larger cultural trends from this feels like a bit of a stretch.

Openhimer and Mission Impossible not doing well is a bit surprising, and to a lesser extent Barbie, but that movie had incredible marketing in the US and I don't know how well that managed to translate.
Not a stretch at all. It's a pretty trackable trend. Only one of the Fast franchise movies hit the top 5 barely. That was in 2021.

Chinese cinema is now appealing more to its domestic audience and getting better funding.

It's such a clear trend that Hollywood itself is adjusting.
Didn't know they made a Wandering Earth sequel, I dug the first one.
Wandering Earth II is on Amazon Prime if you have it. I thought it was pretty good.
 
Funny that, the box office for Aquaman 2 in China exceeds that of The Marvels and Antman-3 combined. Guardian 3 was the best-performing post-endgame cape picture in China, and it is also the most praised superhero film of the recent bunch. Is this a coincidence???
 
OP left out the most important reasons.
Domestic films got better and are more suited to domestic tastes.
it's in the last quote of OP
China's film industry is producing more high-quality movies that resonate with domestic audiences.
Neither "Oppenheimer" nor "Barbie," two of Hollywood's biggest hits last year, cracked the top 30 in China at the box office, according to Maoyan, a Chinese entertainment data provider that has tracked ticket sales since 2011.

This is where the writer loses touch with reality about how the Chinese film market works.

Even if they were released before Pendamic, films such as Oppenheimer and Barbie would not have achieved such success in China. They are considered as "Drama" not blockbusters. They both had a limited release in China. Considering their limited theatrical release, these two have been highly successful and received very well by Chinese filmgoers.

Government policy is one of the most significant influences on the box office performance of international films in China. Chinese cinema isn't a totally free capitalist market, and even from a capitalist standpoint, it benefits films with Chinese investment. A patriotic film with government backing, such as Changjin Lake, can be shown in theaters for two years without being pulled off the air, whereas international films will be dropped if they don't perform well after a month or so.

Some Hollywood movies still get top-notch promotional resources, and it's the movies that get those resources and still fail miserably that are more indicative of the declining quality(in the eyes of Chinese audiences) of Hollywood movies.
 
The article is making weird cultural assumptions about mid to bad movies not setting the box office on fire. It barely touches on the reasons that Barbie and Oppenheimer didn't do well (Lack of cultural attachment to Barbie and waiting to pirate non censored releases).

Yeah. This article isn't really in-depth on some issues.
So that leaves releases in Russia and Islamic countries where Hollywood will cut token gay bit characters and scenes out of.
Were Barbie and the Mario movie the only ones that did extremely well last year domestically?

Looking at the list, yeesh. Barely any big budget movie lasted more than a week after opening.
 
They're too busy focusing on making the next big boys love hit.

TV shows are more popular than movies in China. It makes sense because you have actors churning out like a dozen a year. Easier to watch too and stays in the public's mind longer (because of the daily/weekly releases).
 
Saw a few short docs on YouTube about the quality of Chinese cinema in the last few years seeing a massive upward trend in quality in recent years so it's not all that surprising I guess. Looking at clips of the movies before those it totally makes sense
 
The last few times Hollywood bend over to pander to Chinese people, they backfired hilariously. The many out of place Chinese celeb cameos weirded people out. When Hollywood movies are set in ancient China, the settings are just off. That Mulan adaptation missed the mark so much on even the basic Wuxia tropes it kinda insulted fans of the genre
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