The new era breeds new ideas, new ideas guide new practices, and point out the direction for the development of Chinese films in the new era. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, China's film industry has developed rapidly, the competitiveness of theme creation and "head" works has increased, the creation trend and genre are multi-dimensional, the share of domestic films is prominent, market management has been optimized, and the box office growth rate and scale are global. lead. Development is the core theme of the film industry. The overall evolution and evolution of China's film industry and its historic achievements demonstrate the strong trend and consensus of China's self-confidence, self-improvement, integrity and innovation in the new era.

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Since 2012, the national film market has maintained a high-speed growth posture. Since 2016, the growth rate has slowed down for a time, but it is still higher than the growth rate of other film markets in the world. In 2019, the total box office of national films reached 64.266 billion yuan, and the gap between the North American film market, the world's largest market in the same year, was only about 2 billion US dollars. Since then, due to the impact of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, the production of film content has slowed down, and some theaters have been shut down, resulting in a sharp drop in the box office. Later, during the normalization of epidemic prevention and control, the state and local governments at all levels continued to introduce support policies to relieve the difficulties of the film industry. In 2021, the box office will increase to 47.258 billion yuan, the number of moviegoers will reach 1.167 billion, and there will be 14,000 theaters. As of August 29, the 2022 summer box office has exceeded 9 billion yuan, far exceeding the 2021 summer box office of 7.381 billion yuan. Chinese films have gradually entered the market recovery period, and the market vitality and industrial momentum have been continuously stimulated.

Stills of "The Embarrassment of People in Thailand"

Even affected by the epidemic, my country's film box office has ranked first in the world for two consecutive years, which is closely related to the number of theaters and screens in the construction boom. In 2012, the number of national screens was 13,118, and in 2021, the number of national screens was 82,248. The ever-increasing number of screens (especially the construction of high-format theaters) not only stimulates the audience's enthusiasm for movie watching, but also implies that Chinese movie audiences have moved from Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, and developed capital cities (especially first-tier cities) to slower audiences. Slowly sinking, and gradually focusing on audiences in third-, fourth-, and fifth-tier cities, and even young people in small towns. Changes in the subject of movie viewing have also adversely affected the creation of movies to a certain extent. The market consciousness of Chinese filmmakers has been refreshed in the construction of industrial discourse.

The criteria for measuring a movie power should include whether the domestic movie has an absolute advantage in the local market, the export ability and radiation ability of the domestic movie itself, and the surging passion shown by the ups and downs and recognition of the domestic movie market, and so on. In the past ten years, in the face of the impact of foreign films (especially Hollywood films) on the domestic market, domestic films have been seeking countermeasures and exploring a development path with Chinese characteristics. In 2012, China and the United States reached an agreement on a memorandum of understanding to resolve WTO film-related issues. China added 14 blockbusters to the original quota of 20 U.S. films introduced each year. This year, the domestic box office accounted for less than 49% of the annual domestic box office. However, in the face of strong competitors, domestic films did not succumb to a slump, but bravely took the initiative to show their unique path with the creation of films full of Chinese characteristics and highlight the national spirit, and won the recognition of the audience. In recent years, the box office of domestic films has occupied more than 50% of the local market share all the year round. Even in 2020 and 2021, when the global content production is generally weak due to the impact of the epidemic, domestic films have performed outstandingly, with a market share of 84%. Domestic film singles frequently appear "explosive models", constantly breaking box office records. In 2012, the box-office champion was 1.27 billion yuan, "Thailand", a medium-cost comedy that beat "Titanic" (3D version), "Painted Skin 2" and "Mission Impossible" released in the same year. 4", "The Fantastic Drifting of Pi", "The Avengers" and other domestic and foreign blockbusters, became the first domestic film in China to break the 1 billion yuan box office. From "The Journey to Thailand" to "Shuimen Bridge of Changjin Lake" and "Walking to the Moon Alone" in 2022, domestic films have greatly boosted the confidence of filmmakers, and also inspired filmmakers to talk about single-film box office. imagination. The box-office records of single-film domestic films continue to be refreshed. From "Monster Hunt" (2015, box office 2.434 billion yuan) to "Changjin Lake" (2021, box office 5.775 billion yuan), the film types are rich and meet the needs of multi-level viewing. , The domestic film not only withstood the attack pressure of foreign films, but also won the audience's recognition by relying on wonderful stories and excellent production, vividly reflecting the internal dialectics of the unity and diversity of the Chinese film industry, and activating the entire Chinese film ecology. Summons the deep concern of the filmmaker's spiritual thinking and aesthetic creation.

"Changjin Lake" stills

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Compared with the "troika" that had box office appeal in the previous period, directors Zhang Yimou, Chen Kaige and Feng Xiaogang, the new filmmakers in the new era have grown rapidly and become new players in the film market. Young directors such as Ning Hao, Zhang Yibai, Teng Huatao, Zheng Baorui, Li Yu, Chen Sicheng, Han Han, Xu Zheng, Guo Fan, Xue Xiaolu, Xiao Yang, Lu Yang, Tian Yusheng, Han Yan, Wu Jing, Wen Muye, etc. The films expressed close to the contemporary audience's preferences have verified their potential in the market, and their main value pursuits and creative connotations have become increasingly prominent.

Although there are still doubts about the group of young directors from the initial test to the present, their personalized content narrative and expression techniques, diversified characteristics and aspects will undoubtedly change the traditional impression of the world on the film. They are full of self-confidence, and at the same time pay attention to the advantages of absorbing the stylized narrative techniques of foreign films, the tension-filled audio-visual language, and the creation of strong dramatic situations to improve themselves. At a time when movies are increasingly facing the public, they are closer to the needs of young movie audiences in terms of topics and expressions.

Stills of "The Wandering Earth"

In particular, it should be noted that the younger generation of filmmakers are deeply influenced by the business operation model of Hollywood films, respect business laws, have a keen awareness of film branding, and serial creation has become the norm, such as Chen Sicheng's "Detective Chinatown" series, Lu Yang's "Detective Chinatown" series. "Embroidered Spring Knife" series, Wu Jing's "Wolf Warrior" series, Guo Fan's "Wandering Earth" series, Tian Yusheng's "Predecessor" series, etc., except for the word-of-mouth controversy caused by some films, most of these series of works are in narrative mode , There have been innovations and breakthroughs in the form of performance, and they have achieved relatively eye-catching box office results, which have made great contributions to exploring the Chinese film market.

Focusing on business does not mean abandoning art. In the creations of these young filmmakers, we can clearly see their persistence and practice in art. Their works are serious or warm, humorous or lyrical, breaking the rules and regulations, insisting on using their own way to dialogue with the times and communicate with life, which reflects the sense of responsibility and mission of contemporary young filmmakers.

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The continuous growth of the movie box office and the continuous expansion of the movie market have made the movie and movie industry attract the attention of other industries, including the Internet industry. Today, Internet companies have entered the film industry in large numbers, covering the upstream and downstream of the film industry. Internet companies have completed the re-segmentation of the online ticketing market through investment, acquisition, etc., and cultivated the habit of audiences to buy tickets online. The audience conducts accurate advertisements and participates in film promotion; through its own video platform, it opens up a new export and playback platform for film screenings. "Film + Internet", first of all, has become an important coordinate of China's film industry.

At present, although in the field of film production, Internet film companies have not yet achieved more achievements, after all, huge capital investment and scientific data analysis cannot replace the talent advantages accumulated by traditional film companies for many years and more mature in a short period of time. However, it is undeniable that the Internet has become an important variable affecting the development of domestic films in the past decade.

The Internet's involvement in the film industry is largely due to the high degree of overlap between Internet users and movie audiences. In other words, Internet companies intervene in the film industry more to make film products and the Internet company's own products to form a linkage effect, so that movie audiences are more attached to the Internet company's products, thereby forming greater commercial benefits.

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With the advent of the digital age, traditional movie concepts have been enriched and expanded. Movies and TV series, web series, animation, TV movies, TV specials, mobile phone series, micro-movies, documentaries, MTV, commercials, games, imports There are different degrees of interaction and integration between different media forms such as film and television dramas, trailers, and promotional films. We call this new development trend "big movies". The advent of the digital age has impacted the concept of movies, and the inevitability and complexity of fully intelligent movies have become clear. Digitization has in fact formed a direction of development, making it possible for contemporary cinema to turn towards "big cinema". It can be said that in recent years, films are no longer independent and developed in isolation, but have a more complex intercommunication relationship with other forms of media.

The industrial chain of traditional films includes three links: production-distribution-screening, and they are all circulated between production companies-distribution companies-cinema companies, which makes the development of films limited to the traditional film industry chain. The rise of online platforms has had a huge impact on this traditional model. The production activities of Internet film companies no longer rely on theatrical screening as the only channel. , consuming film companies have also changed the creative concept and production mode of traditional films to some extent, and are constantly exploring film expression methods that are closer to the Internet media.

Similarly, the interconnection between film and other media forms has become more closely driven by the market. If a movie is successful, it can be adapted into an online movie or online drama, and TV dramas and online dramas can also be adapted into movies after they "explode". From another point of view, the emergence of the "big movie" pattern has changed the traditional concept of film text as the main body, and more highlighted the subjectivity of the audience.

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In the past ten years, the Chinese film industry has been greatly promoted, the space of the film industry has been continuously expanded, and the fields of industrial radiation have become wider and wider, forming a unique film generation mechanism. Small and medium-sized films cover different groups of audiences with their unique creations, and medium-scale productions such as comedy films, youth films, and romance films have gradually become the main force in the market. The box-office revenue of medium-sized films such as "You at the Same Table" and so on, and then to the Happy Twist series, is quite eye-catching. The continuous appearance of films such as "Monster Hunting", "Looking for the Dragon", "Journey to the West: The Return of the Great Sage" and "Wolf Warrior" shows a diversified creative trend. Movies of various themes and genres such as military, fantasy, youth, comedy, and love have appeared on stage one after another, and each genre has a dazzling performance in each year.

Stills of "Monster Hunt"

As the scale of the industry continues to expand, the "big movie" pattern becomes prominent, the domestic film market system is gradually established, new filmmakers continue to emerge and grow rapidly, and the development of Chinese films resonates at the same frequency as the spirit of the times. Among them, "blockbusters", especially new mainstream blockbusters, continue to innovate and make breakthroughs, exploring the integration of mainstream values, market demands and paradigmatic meanings. The genre of the main theme film is more diversified, and it has become an important driving force for the integration of film creation, market development, and film industrialization system construction. In the past ten years, the rapid development of China's film industry has shown colorful and multi-dimensional characteristics: first, the support and encouragement of relevant policies, constantly raising, answering and solving meaningful problems, have enabled a large number of Chinese filmmakers to concentrate on the construction of the film market and put their hearts into it. It is related to the development of the film industry, and constitutes the basic logic for the film industry to step into the rapid development track in this era. Secondly, Chinese filmmakers live up to their mission to make the field of film market practice wider, the genre creation more diverse, and the industrial structure more scientific, use their strength on the right things, touch the most dynamic pulse of Chinese film, and Advance to rich and diverse fields and open up a broader path. The understanding of the development of film industrialization cannot stop at the analysis of the market and the box office, but must rise to the height of epistemology and historical semantics, and discover more new qualities in the relationship between the part and the whole. Looking back at the achievements and experience of the development of the film industry in the past ten years, we will find that the film works of the new era are more abundant and diverse, and the creation mechanism is more multi-dimensional and multi-level. Passionate, close to the times and the voice of the people, it tells Chinese stories, promotes contemporary Chinese films to better "go out", and contributes to the development of world films. Isn't that the purpose of the movie?

(The author is a researcher at the China National Academy of Arts and the president of the China University Film and Television Society. This article was originally published in the third edition of China Art News on August 31, 2022. Change - A Review of Ten Years of Development of China's Film Industry)