Chinese Films in 2020: Mainstream Stories Convey Chinese Spirit

2020 was an extraordinary year for both China and Chinese cinema. The COVID-19 pandemic caused theaters to shut down for half a year, which brought anxiety and pressure to the film industry. After the epidemic situation was generally brought under control, theaters gradually reopened. In the second half of 2020, Chinese films grasped the opportunity, substantial works continuously stimulated the moviegoing fervor, and new historical records were created during this special time.

For the first time, China's box office exceeds North America’s, our industry has immense potential

Due to the impact of the pandemic, the film industry came to a pause. In July, theaters orderly reopened nationwide. After the rescreening of classic films, some blockbusters tested the waters and achieved great box office results. During the National Day holiday period, "My People, My Homeland", "Leap", "Legend of Deification", and other blockbusters caused a boom in box office records. By midnight October 15, with 12.95 billion yuan, China's box office exceeded North America’s. For the first time, China held the largest box office in the world. During the End of the Year period, screenings of "The Rescue", "Shock Wave 2", and "A Little Red Flower" continue to raise box office records.

By December 31, 2020, China's box office exceeded 20 billion yuan. Although this is a big drop from previous years, in third- and fourth-tier cities, the moviegoing demand has significantly increased, with domestic films covering 83.72% of the entire box office revenues, a conspicuous achievement during the challenging time. Accompanying the development of our society, film has become more important in the spiritual and cultural aspect of people’s lives. Facing new international and domestic environments, the government is paying more attention to cultural development, the film industry will gain broader room for development.

New mainstream films are more sophisticated and effective at conveying Chinese values

In recent years, Chinese films has developed a model of combining mainstream values and artistic expressions gradually. This resulted in the creation of new mainstream films which achieved great results. In 2020, many new mainstream films achieved over 1 billion yuan in box office, becoming the genuine market mainstream.

Films revealed China’s great achievements of overcoming poverty and building a moderately prosperous society. "My People, My Homeland" focused on medical care, poverty relief, education, environmental protection, and tourism. Using comedy and humor, it comprehensively depicted the massive transformation of people's material and spiritual lives, and the dominant role of ordinary people during the historical course. By making the audiences feel joyful and moved, it also gives them an opportunity to reflect.

Films portrayed the great national spirit. "Leap" focused on real people and illustrated the story of three generations of the Chinese women's national volleyball team. It portrayed the "Spirit of women's volleyball" through the development of different periods, which created strong resonance among audiences, and resulted in a theatrical phenomenon of audiences cheering for the volleyball team in the theater.

Films highlighted the further institutionalization of the Chinese film industry and its production capacity. Animated film "Legend of Deification" not only adapted the story of a historical figure, but also combined industrial production capacity with national aesthetic pursuit, which constructed an animated image with rich Chinese aesthetic characteristics.

Films demonstrated the tendency of developing more themes and genres. Documentary "Like the Dyer's Hand" portrayed the rough yet tenacious life of scholar and poet Ye Jiaying. Crime film "Caught in Time", fantasy film "Soul Snatcher", and literary film "One Second" were an expansion in their own genres and themes.

Chinese films in 2020 thoroughly focused on history and reality. The artistic display of the national spirit provided a spiritual drive for audiences, and raised the morale and confidence for filmmakers and the film market.

New release mode stirred up market ecology, low-budget films might reach springtime

On January 25, 2020, "Lost in Russia" premiered on an online platform. Following it, other theatrical films also began premiering on video websites. This method not only satisfied people's cultural demand during the pandemic period to a certain degree, but also received strong responses from the cinema chains, the film industry, and society in general

Although most companies will not choose online release, it providedmore development possibilities for the film industry. We see that some low-budget films by young directors are exploring the online release method. "Spring Tide", "Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains", and other films premiered on online platforms and received satisfying results. An online reputation will give certain films the opportunity to be rescreened in theaters, which forms benign interaction between the two platforms. Considering the lack of a sophisticated national art-film cinema chain, the limited budget for production and promotion and the disadvantage in screening schedules, online platforms created a new prospect for low-budget films with designated audiences. In the future, if a benign cycle can be formed, this will alleviate the long-term conflict between the overstock of large numbers of films and the limited opportunities for theatrical release. This will facilitate the growth of young filmmakers, and optimize the structural and artistic diversity of the Chinese film market.

In 2020, Chinese films faced difficulties and presented excellent works which conveyed the Chinese spirit, highlighted the strength of China, and inspired and warmed the hearts of people. With accelerating institutionalization of the Chinese film industry, Chinese films are bound to create high-quality works in the future, satisfy people's demand for spiritual and cultural lives, and contribute to the construction of a nation with a strong culture.

Contributed by Zhang Bin, professor at the Shanghai Film Academy, Shanghai University

Translated by Zhang Junye