China has surpassed the 20-billion-yuan mark for total gross of films earlier than last year. (Photo : Reuters)
Domestic competitiveness must be increased for the future of China’s film industry, encouraged by a senior Chinese film official. He cited the possibility of foreign titles overwhelming local films at the box office.
Zhou Baolin, head of the film industry department of the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television, also said that the country is likely to be the biggest film market in the global arena in terms of box-office revenue within the next three years.
In his talk at the three-day industry seminar, which opened on June 11 in central China's Changsha, he noted that one issue the country's film industry faces is how Chinese movies are becoming uncompetitive at the box office.
"One area to pay attention to is the tepid performance of domestic films amid the influx of Hollywood blockbusters, if China wants to unleash more market potential," Zhou remarked.
Official statistics show that the number of foreign films being screened in Chinese cinemas is larger than those of local titles for the period covering the first five months of the year.
"In order to shore up confidence in the future of the industry, we will need to support the development of domestic films," Zhou suggested.
Zhou also noted that cinema-goers are also relatively decreasing, stating that "Americans and South Koreans went to the cinema four times and 4.2 times last year on average, respectively, while the corresponding number in China was 0.6."
China's film industry rapidly boomed after the government made reforms in 1993 and 2002, which includes lifting of control in film distribution, allowing cinema firms to set price, and bundling film agencies into more efficient cooperatives.
In recent years, the industry has sustained a 35-percent growth in the average box-office revenue. In 2014, the figure reached 30 billion yuan, 32 times more than in 2002.
