In 2015, "Monster Hunt" became the highest grossing film of all time in the Chinese box office. (Photo : Movie Poster)
The disparity in the visual effects quality of Chinese and Hollywood films is decreasing, according to both film industry analysts and Chinese box-office receipts.
In particular, three special-effects films released this year were deemed to be box-office hits, namely, "Monster Hunt," "Monkey King: Hero Is Back" and "Chronicles of the Ghostly Tribe." All three films have won over the Chinese market, generally outperforming their Hollywood counterparts.
"Monster Hunt" made history this year, becoming the all-time highest grossing film in the Chinese box office, taking home more than 2.429 billion yuan. It beat the record previously held by Hollywood film "Furious 7," which grossed 2.427 billion yuan.
"Monkey King: Hero Is Back," a 3D animated film, grossed around 900 million yuan, setting a record for a domestic animated film in the Chinese box office.
"Chronicles of the Ghostly Tribe," another 3D film, grossed more than 500 million yuan during the week-long National Day holiday after its Sept. 30 opening.
In contrast, 2014 Hollywood release "Godzilla" only grossed 486 million yuan, while another Hollywood release, "Interstellar," only grossed 751 million yuan, according to the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television (SAPPRFT).
During the National Day holiday, "Chronicles of the Ghostly Tribe" surpassed "Minions" and "Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation" in ticket sales.
According to film critic and professor at Peking University Zhang Yiwu, the box-office results were indicative of the narrowing gap in quality between the Chinese film industry and Hollywood.
Lu Chuan, director of "Chronicles of the Ghostly Tribe," agreed with Zhang but mentioned that China still lags behind when it comes to its investment in special effects.
Lu said that he had to invite the special-effects teams from "The Day After Tomorrow" and "Gravity" to work on the post-production of his film, a practice he considers "unsustainable."
"We cannot count on Hollywood professionals every time we need help, it will cost us a fortune," said Lu.
However, according to Zhang, once investors see that Chinese films are good investments, they will start investing in them more.
"Bigger investment in production guarantees better visual effects in products. That's why recent domestic films have become a success in cinemas," said Zhang.
