Wanda Group’s AMC deal triggered various speculations in the industry. One that it was to “channel more Chinese films into the North American market” was immediately refuted that Chinese films could hardly jump over the “dragon gate” of distribution unless Wanda also takes Paramount under its wing.
Ten years ago, Warner’s attempt to complete its whole industry mapping in China by starting to build cinemas was regarded blunt and bizarre. In 2003, shortly after China’s accession to WTO, the annual income of the whole radio, film and television industry was merely ￥60 billion ($ 9.86 billion) in China. However, Warner sensed the business opportunity in it, together with the state-operated China Film Group Corporation (CFGC) and private Hengdian Group (HG), founded Warner China film HG Corporation.
In 2006, the corporation’s first co-production The Painted Veil (John Karen, 2006) was released to the public, and the first local movie Crazy Stone (Ning Hao, 2006) was also distributed. The former suffered a dismal box office, but was nominated in a number of international film festivals; the latter obtained a box office of ￥17 million ($ 2.79 million) within a month and was quite an inspiring miracle in that year’s summer vacation, marking as the start of local films’ uprising and putting its director Ning Hao under the national spotlight.
Warner is not only the first foreign enterprise to engage in China’s cinema circuit, but also a company to launch movies supporting China Blue High Definition (CBHD) in the mainland in 2009. It has also taken a full advantage in terms of movie distribution. Due to its special relations with CFGC, some Warner productions lacking an import appeal (e.g. Cloud Atlas) was able to enter Chinese market after a few adjustments in editing.
For the Chinese side, through co-producing literary films and re-shooting excellent commercial films in Warner’s catalogs (Connected) can indeed help to learn advanced experience, stimulate the development of local films, and promote the growth of local film makers. The above are also basic purposes for China’s opening up of co-production projects.
Compared with Warner’s advantage in its strong should of CFGC, other Hollywood corporations are less lucky. Currently, besides Warner, The Walt Disney Company, Paramount Pictures, Inc., Sony-Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation and Universal Pictures have opened offices or branches in China.
Columbia Pictures entered China’s market in the 20th century. At that time, they mainly searched for cooperation partners. But due to the social context, numerous films co-produced with China gained little profit. Such a situation ended when Warner’s Big Shot’s Funeral (Feng Xiaogang, 2000) emerged. Later, the two sides co-invested in The Missing Gun, Lu Chuan’s debut film in 2002, Warriors of Heaven and Earth (He Ping, 2003), Cell Phone (Feng Xiaogang, 2003), Kekexili (Lu Chuan, 2004) and Kung Fu ( Stephen Chow, 2004).
The cooperation during this period leads to Warner’s expansion. Wang Zhongjun admitted that he had learned from Columbia Pictures how to control the market and promote a blockbuster. But the two sides have different concepts towards capital management. Columbia Pictures’ big investment in overseas distribution leaves thin profit for Huayi, which pushed it to cooperate with Hong Kong film companies instead.
In 2011, Legendary Pictures announced to build Legendary East Ltd., a joint venture film production company based in Hong Kong to co-produce films with Chinese companies to bypass Chinese annual quotas on imported foreign films. It joined hands with CFGC in 2013 to make co-productions in the coming three years.
Despite the successful distribution of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon in America, Columbia Pictures still hasn’t clear its way to distribute well in China. The Karate Kid, Men in Black III and Django Unchained were all faced with various problems in entering the Chinese market.
Paramount, after suffering a series of setbacks in China, like the delete of Shanghai element designed to apple-polish Chinese audience in Transformers III and being teased by the local audience about the “special Chinese version” in Iron Man III, finally learned a lesson. It deleted all politically related elements in Zombie Wars before sending it to the film bureau for examination, and Transformers IV obtained a its co-production license. Paramount also got in contact with M1905 and Jiaflix to gain assistance from local companies in location scout, casting, post-production and marketing.
Fox embarked on a comprehensive strategic cooperation with China’s largest brand authorization management operator – Skynet Brand Management Corp, Ltd. in 2011.
When both cinema circuit and filmmaking are led by Warner, other giants turned their attention to the new media à la mode. Last year, Sony not only signed an agreement on cooperation version with Youku.Tudou, it even placed grounded ads of The Smurfs II in reality show China’s Got Talents. Earlier in this year, Paramount also initiated a copyright cooperation with BesTV New Media Corporation, a part of Shanghai Cable TV.
Only buying no selling doesn’t make trade relations last. Wang Zhongjun, chairman of Huayi said that the total volume of the Chinese films’ exports in 2012 was merely ￥1 billion ($ 164.4 million). China’s film hasn’t tuned into the global game. Besides acquiring advanced experience and management mode, it is also necessary for Chinese film talents to learn and communicate with a wilder outside world.
Where there is demand, there is supply.
The world’s top one talent agency CAA consequently becomes as a prime stepping-stone for Chinese actors and directors to get the ticket to Hollywood. Its clients include directors like Zhang Yimou, John Woo and Lu Chuan and stars like Leehom Wong, Daniel Wu, Tang Wei, Karen Mok, Lin Chi-ling and Xia Yu. Also, best-selling films like Avatar, Inception, 2012, Harry Potter Series and Kung Fu Panda have CAA to thank.
As more and more films want to be credited as a co-production to get more profits, CAA also engaged itself further in Chinese projects and co-productions, through the cooperation with companies like Locus Global Entertainment Group and Le Vision Pictures.
ECI, a newly-built talent agency, also want a share in China and signed a number of actors and directors. This year, it goes so far as to work with Beijing International Film Festival in events and overseas explorations.
Disney, which expanded itself through theme parks in China and was regarded as the most adaptable one in China, encountered its toughest opponent last year.
DreamWorks, jointly invested with Chinese Cultural Industry Fund, Shanghai Oriental Media Group and Shanghai United Investment Corporation, and founded Shanghai Oriental DreamWorks Film and Television Corporation. The company not only does distribution in China, like The Croods, but also will co-produce Kung Fu Panda III with DreamWorks, and will co-produce action animation Tibet Code with CFGC and National Film Investment Corporation.
Oriental DreamWorks purchased former collaborator CG animation studio 37Entertainment as its core tech support. It also planned to finish the first original animation work by 2017, after which will keep making one to eight films each year.
China’s government strongly supports the development of local animation, leading to the excessive load of technical talents. But seldom is there any breakthrough in special effects due to a lack of aesthetic eye. Due to China’s relatively low cost of material resources and labor forces, it gradually nurtures its competitiveness in animation and special effects assembling Hollywood’s creativity, operation, local funds and talents together.
Base FX founded in 2006 place its special effects team and project management team in Beijing, attracting projects such as Hot Summer Days (Wing Shya,2010), Love in Space (Chen Guohui, 2011), Sacrifice (Chen Kaige, 2010) and Murai (Gordan Chan, 2011). Although its headquarters is in Los Angles, Chinese audience often regarded it as a local company. During the craze led by Pacific Rim in the summer vacation, Base FX one of its special effects makers, gained the most exposure in China (or the only one well publicized by Chinese media).
This year, Hollywood’s famous film visual intellectual property development company and one of the most successful comics publishers, Radical Studios, also follows the trend to establish a joint venture in China. Its partner is Le Vision Pictures, one of the top five mainland private film companies.
While special effects companies are landing China to look for joint capital, team building and bids for projects, international top-notched equipment and post-production companies also come to search customers in China.
In 2010, Creative Kingdom Entertainment, Ltd. became the first film company to settle down in Beijing Xingguang Media Park. Its advanced post-production equipment worth millions of dollars attracts a continuous flow of film-makers and directors.
Chinese films aspire to enter the North American cinema circuit, while Hollywood blockbusters long to occupy a bigger market share in China. The cooperation between China and America, at least in film, is an irresistible trend. And now, action!