Although the post-coronavirus recovery was dramatic, the performance of imported films remained unchanged from 2022.
As theatrical revenues recovered significantly in 2023, Chinese-made films accounted for all of China’s top 10 box office revenue rankings. Total revenue totaled 54.9 billion yuan ($7.73 billion) for the year.
That was an 83% improvement over the previous year, but still 14.5% short of 2019, the last pre-coronavirus year, when box office revenue reached RMB64.3 billion, according to data from the China Film Administration. The government agency also announced that 2023 box office revenue was the fourth highest in history.
Comparisons with 2022 are less meaningful than with many other countries. China was the worst hit by the pandemic that year, with movie theaters subject to eight months of gradual closures and capacity restrictions. In 2020 and 2021, when much of the world was struggling under coronavirus restrictions and China was operating mostly as usual, the Middle Kingdom was the largest film market on the planet. .
Local ticket sales company Maoyan reported that the number of visitors in 2023 will be 1.3 billion, the highest in the past four years. This is slightly less than the number of movie theater visits per person in this vast country.
Consulting firm Artisan Gateway said Chinese films accounted for 84% of the total box office market, although the market has reopened to mainly imported titles. Imports accounted for 16%. The ratio is largely unchanged from the more restricted 2022.
“Fast X” earned RMB 985 million ($139 million), the highest-grossing imported film. The category was followed by two Japanese anime titles, “Suzume” ($114 million) and “The First Slam Dunk” ($93 million).
Two locally produced films released during Chinese New Year, Full River Red and Wandering Earth 2, topped the yearly charts with RMB 4 billion ($560 million). I broke through the mark.
Maoyan said the economic recovery in 2023 will be driven by the expansion of movie theater operations into smaller towns, cities and rural areas, the increasing trend of parent-child moviegoing, and demographic changes, especially the increase in female audiences aged 25 and over. said that it was done.
Questions remain about the health of the film screening sector. According to a report by the China Film Administration, there were 86,300 movie theaters operating in the country at the end of 2023. This compares to 69,800 screens in 2019, when the box office was high. Average revenue per screen decreased from an average of RMB 921,000 ($129,000) to RMB 63,600 ($89,000) per year.
” [Chinese] The film market has experienced changes in terms of content, audience, and promotion. Hits were created in genres such as history, science fiction, and fantasy, and the market welcomed a diversification of films. Young viewers wanted new content and new topics. Imported animated films were mainly viewed by men, while female viewers tended to choose parent-child animations and works with women’s issues as their themes. “Younger audiences were more likely to pay for films with creative settings and novel themes,” Maoyan said.
The agency also highlighted the market’s increasing seasonality and event-driven performance. “Demand for families [films] It exploded during holidays and festivals, far above average. In 2023, the summer season box office was the strongest in history, accounting for nearly 40% of the annual box office, while the Chinese New Year holiday season box office took second place with a 12.3% contribution.