A combination of posters for seven upcoming Chinese blockbusters set for release in time for Spring Festival 2021, including "Detective Chinatown 3," "A Writer's Odyssey," "The Yinyang Master," "Hi, Mom," "New Gods: Nezha Reborn," "Endgame," and "Boonie Bears: The Wild Life." [Pictures courtesy of IMAX China, Huace Pictures, Huayi Brothers Media, Beijing Culture, Alibaba Pictures, Emperor Motion Pictures, and Fantawild]
Editor's Note:
The Spring Festival holiday is the best season for China's domestic productions to make huge profits and set box office records. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, last year's holiday releases were canceled and cinemas were shut down nationwide for months. This year, theater seating capacity is limited to 50% to 75%, but there is still room for huge box office potential.
Presales for seven blockbusters released in time for China's week-long Spring Festival holiday had accrued total takings of more than 1.46 billion yuan ($227 million) by the New Year's Eve, according to the box office tracker and big data platform Beacon, indicating Chinese audiences' hunger for holiday entertainment.
Topping the bookings chart was "Detective Chinatown 3," the latest installment in the hugely popular Detective Chinatown franchise. It has already made around 968 million yuan in total, including 690 million yuan for its opening day alone. The movie has set an all-time high for ticket presales.
Thus, if the initial indications are accurate, the Chinese film market, already the world's largest, will set numerous box office records during the holiday and beyond. At the same time, online films will also enrich people's life, as many of whom stay put during the festival to help contain the epidemic.
China.org.cn previews blockbusters and online entertainment set for release during the Spring Festival holiday, which will be available in the Chinese market and around the world.
9. Online film and TV season
A promotional image for Smart Cinema Spring Festival screenings. [Image courtesy of Smart Cinema]
Smart Cinema USA will work with various distributors to screen a slew of high-quality Asian films in the North American market for the Chinese Lunar New Year. Those to be screened mainly are contenders for the Oscar International Feature Film award, including the Chinese films "Leap" and "Better Days." Chinese domestic blockbusters and critically acclaimed art-house films, from "My People, My Homeland," "Warm Hug," "Legend of Deification," "The Reunions," and "Coffee or Tea?" will also be released via Smart Cinema USA during the Spring Festival.
The mobile app, developed by veteran film executive Jack Gao, can turn users' mobile phones into virtual cinemas to screen theatrical releases and catalog films. The films can be viewed one time on the app with users paying the ticket price, just as people do with brick-and-mortar cinemas. In North America, it is collaborating with American TV brand VIZIO, so audiences can watch films on their TV screens. In China, its Chinese app will present 10 classic and rare catalog films such as Huang Jianxin's "Samsara" (1988), He Ping's "Kawashima Yoshiko" (1989), Ge Xiaoying's "The Street Knight" (1990) and Zhang Yang's "Shower" (1998).
Other video streaming sites and TV networks also have big plans for the Spring Festival. Arranged by the National Radio and Television Administration, a program titled "Staying put to celebrate Spring Festival" was launched. Partnering with more than 40 major organizations, from IPTV platforms to websites, the program is scheduled to release nearly 10,000 productions. The program is providing a profound array of titles and shows between Feb. 11 and 17. Among the sizable lineup, around 4,000 of the shows will be new content, including the online series "To Be with You" and "Ping-Pong." In addition, a string of recently-released blockbuster films such as "The Rescue" and "Shock Wave 2," as well as the Spring Festival galas hosted by local television stations in different cities and provinces, will be shown as part of the program.
