Cashing in at the box office, capitalizing on Christmas
- Source: Global Times
- [22:54 November 11 2009]
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A scene from 2012. Photo: CFP
By Mao Renjie
A record number of more than 40 films will be competing for a record four-month-long New Year Celebration Season in China, which coincides with the Christmas Season in the West. Starting mid November and running until February, the extended time period has raised the question of possible box office prosperity or just plain chaos.
Last year only 20 films were screened between New Year and Spring Festival, racking up a record 1.5 billion yuan ($219.75 million). In comparison, 18 new films will premiere in November alone, the first month of this year's New Year Celebration period, including Mulan (starring Zhao Wei and Chen Kun), Panda Express (starring Li Xiang) and The Robbers (starring and produced by Hu Jun).
November screenings are just a warm up, with most blockbusters saving themselves for December and January, including Amazing Tales: Three Guns (Zhang Yimou), Bodyguards and Assassins (Peter Chan), The Treasure Hunter (starring Jay Chou and Chiling Lin) and Wind Warriors (The Pong Brothers).
Hollywood blockbusters are also being shipped in to make the New Year celebration season all the more merry and the competition fiercer. District 9, 2012 and G-Force are already championing overseas box offices, let alone the highly-anticipated Avatar by James Cameron, which will premiere in China at the beginning of January.
According to Gao Jun, vice director of the Beijing New Film Association, total box office revenue from the New Year Celebration Season will hopefully exceed 2 billion yuan ($293 million). National box office revenue has totaled a record 4.65 billion (US$681.225 million) in the past 10 months.
