Xinhua Insight: Chinese homegrown movies set high bar for Hollywood imports

Record-holders in China's movie market are on edge this summer as domestic movies threaten their box office glory.

The latest numbers show domestic live-action animation "Monster Hunt" was pushing 2.05 billion yuan (320 million U.S. dollars) in ticket sales, just short of the 2.4 billion yuan that earned U.S. action-racer "Furious 7" the top spot in April.

When "Furious 7" achieved the record it almost doubled the 1.3 billion of previous holder "Avatar", leaving China's movie industry in awe of Hollywood.

But seeing the earning power of homegrown films such as "Monster Hunt", which tells the story of Huba, a monster on a mission to stop all-out war, has bolstered China's movie industry.

It's not alone in obtaining ticket sales that, not too long ago, domestic movies could only dream of.

"Monkey King: Hero is Back", an animated feature film, recently dethroned "Kung Fu Panda 2" to become the highest grossing animated film in China. Another big earner, "Jian Bing Man", made more than one billion yuan, even though it is the first work of director Dong Chengpeng.

"What we have achieved now is in large part due to more new moviegoers, especially in small cities, and to the increase of investment in the movie industry," Rao Shuguang, secretary general of China Film Association, said.

A game-changing moment for domestic films is on the horizon, he said.

It is hard to measure how much domestic films have benefitted from the absence of Hollywood blockbusters during the July-August period where typically only Chinese films are shown. The two month protective period has become such a tradition that upcoming releases "Ant-Man" and "Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation" were delayed until September, doubtless boosting summer domestic film audiences.

According to Maoyan.com, a movie ticket sales platform, China now has more than 23,600 movie screens, most of which were added in the last two years. Back in 2010, there were only 5,000 screens.

The participation of Chinese Internet firms such Alibaba and Baidu has also helped cultivate moviegoing habits.

Regardless of the reason for bigger earnings, experts agree the quality of Chinese homegrown movies has improved.

Both "Monster Hunt" and "Hero is Back" have broken an embarrassing pattern for domestic movies, in which films earn well, but are criticised harshly for being poor.

And "Monster Hunt" faced pressure from more than just critics.

Kai Ko, who played a leading role in "Monster Hunt" was arrested on drug abuse charges during filming, forcing the producing company to replace him and re-shoots scenes due to a regulation banning scandal-involved celebrities from TV and film. It cost the company another 70 million yuan, according to media reports.

Such a move was hailed as "bona fide production".

Yin Hong, director of the center for film and television at Tsinghua University, said "Monster Hunt" deserved to be a new benchmark of Chinese movies. "We hope we can have a 'Monster' series movie that can compete with 'Minions'."

In "Hero is Back", the power of word-of-mouth is more evident. Fans are so enthusiastic they have begun calling themselves "zilaishuijun," or "tap water army" - a play on "water army", or people who are paid to post good comments on websites.

Members of the so-called army would even buy tickets for others or watch the movie several times, just to show their pride in the animated feature film.

"Chinese viewers have been used to flop movies, so took every opportunity to show love when a quality one appeared," said Rao, adding the emergence of "tap water army" not only elevates the popularity of the film, but also set high bar for other homegrown movies.

But still, some urge caution and a cool mind after box office frenzy.

"Hollywood movies are not paper tigers," Rao said, referring to a famous quote from Mao Zedong meaning something that seems threatening but is flimsy, or presents no challenges.

"We will see in September and October how homegrown films perform,"

He noted that Hollywood is very flexible when adapting to the Chinese film market.

Zhang Hongsen, head of the film bureau under the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television, shared a similar view when attending the 18th Shanghai International Film Festival in June. "After all, it is still the audience that needs to be thanked," said Zhang.

We must have a sober understanding that the numbers are not falling from the skies but are bestowed upon us. Behind every cold number, there is a warm movie-loving heart," said Zhang. Endit