The New Force of Film in 2013 (Part II): In 2013, the film marketing industry entered a period of expansion, and the publicity expenses continued to decline year after year.
Film network feature In 2013, the total box office in the mainland reached 21.769 billion, and 32 newly released domestic films exceeded 100 million. The top ten films in the box office of Chinese films are still produced or distributed by those big companies, and Huayi’s family has taken over these three films. Last year, the total box office of the films produced and distributed by the company reached 3 billion yuan, far ahead of other private enterprises. With a completely turned-over light, last year it ranked second by releasing films. Bona Film, a veteran powerhouse, suffered a "small year", and although its reputation was good, the market response was average. This year, Wanda, LeTV, Pony Pentium and other companies have made great moves. Although Hong Kong companies such as Anle, Yindu and Huanya have not produced much in the Mainland, they have made a lot of blockbusters, which are highly anticipated.
Looking back on 2013, it has become their goal for large companies to continuously acquire, open up markets and realize the whole industrial chain model. Huayi, whose main business includes movies, artists’ brokerage, advertising, etc., acquired more than half of the shares of two TV drama companies last year, aiming to vigorously develop the TV drama business and no longer rely on movies as a revenue to support the company. Light, which started as a TV program, also took a stake in Xinli Media, hoping to get a share in the field of TV dramas. Compared with the big moves of these two companies in capital, Bona Film has kept a low profile. In 2013, it was tepid, several blockbusters have not yet started, and the finished masterpieces have been delayed to be released this year. Such a slow action will probably be surpassed by the second legion such as Wanda and LeTV.
It’s not just these private companies in the mainland that are racing around in the film market. Huace Film, which started as a TV series, has also begun to enter the film circle. With strong financial support, Hong Kong film companies are eyeing this big cake in the mainland to form teams and shoot blockbusters. In 2014, the film market will be a year of competition and division.
Some filmmakers’ achievements in 2013
First, mainland private companies compete for the first place, develop new directors and seize the market.
1. Huayi: Maintain the leading edge. The new and old directors are in full bloom.
In 2012, the box office of Huayi’s films reached 2.1 billion, and films such as,, and all performed well. In 2013, "Demon on the Journey to the West" won the annual box office championship with a success of 1.246 billion, and "The Dragon King, the God of Di Renjie" and "Private Custom" also achieved good box office. In this year, the total box office of Huayi’s films exceeded 3 billion, with a box office growth rate of 45%. Huayi tried overseas expansion, co-produced films with South Korea, and released approved films. In 2014, Huayi produced at least seven new films. The company’s leading edge has always been obvious, and it is expected to continue in the new year.
As the earliest private film and television company listed on the A-share market in the Mainland, Huayi has always been regarded as the leader of the film circle. Although the release of "Private Customization" for the Lunar New Year has caused its share price to fall, more people think that this is just a normal operation and will not have an essential impact on the future trend of Huayi’s stock.
In September 2013, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Huayi Brothers acquired 70% equity of Zhejiang Changsheng Film and Television Production Co., Ltd., and the legal person of Zhejiang Changsheng is Zhang Guoli who has a good personal relationship with Wang Zhonglei, Xiaogang Feng and others. On December 24th, Huayi Brothers acquired 51% equity of Zhejiang Yongle Film and Television Co., Ltd. for 397 million yuan, becoming the largest shareholder of this company. Zhejiang Yongle is good at shooting TV series, and the new version of Sui and Tang Dynasties Romance, Water Margin and other popular TV series are all invested and filmed by the company. Previously, Huayi has not performed as well as movies in TV series. These two acquisitions are intended to turn the company’s short-board business into a strength and gradually realize the whole industry chain model.
In 2014, Huayi made frequent moves in movies. Peng Haoxiang’s new work has been finished, and it should be recognized by the market with the lineup of Huang Xiaoming and Zhou Xun. After Chen Guofu left, Gu Changwei joined Huayi, and his first work, titled, was closely integrated with real life. After Xiaogang Feng finished "Private Custom", the next play has not been put on the agenda. In order to stop relying too much on Xiaogang Feng, Huayi has gradually cooperated with several directors. Among them, there are not only Hong Kong and Taiwan directors such as Doze Niu and Alex Law, but also mainland new directors such as Tian Yusheng and Cheng Er, all of which have blossomed and seized market share.
In 2011, Huayi once reached a cooperation with Legendary Entertainment of the United States, and the two sides jointly formed a new company, Oriental, and planned to launch one or two large-scale production films released globally every year. But the good times did not last long, and the cooperation between the two companies soon fell through. At the beginning of 2012, the New Deal for Chinese and American films was introduced, and more and more Hollywood blockbusters flooded into the mainland, and Sino-foreign cooperation also increased. When the blockbusters joined hands with overseas, Huayi made another move in 2013.
In 2013, Huayi co-produced the film "Da Ming Scarlet" with the Korean Film Company, and started a new mode of cooperation. The film was released on July 18th, and the box office closed at 110 million yuan. It was not a big sale, but it opened a new chapter in the cooperation between the company and overseas. Huayi not only invested in filming, but also entered the film approval market. The Tsunami Miracle, which was released at the end of August, made a box office of 55 million. The result was not gratifying, but it was a new attempt. In 2014, Huayi accelerated the pace of cooperation with overseas filmmakers, and invested in films starring Brad Pitt and Shia La Beouf. From co-production between China and South Korea to investment in American blockbusters, Huayi’s ambition in overseas expansion can be seen.
Next page: light: release the leading role and strengthen cooperation with the new director