TOPIC

China’s film industry

China’s film industry
The latest news, analysis and opinion on China’s film industry. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.
John Lee and his wife Janet recently watched Ne Zha 2. Photo: Handout
Hong Kong society

Ne Zha 2 inspires John Lee to ‘overcome obstacles, forge path’ for Hong Kong

Hong Kong leader reveals on social media he and his wife have watched record-breaking animated film.

Asian cinema: Chinese films

China’s Ne Zha 2 still flying high as highest-grossing animated movie of all time

videocam
26
Shenzhen

Opinion | What Hong Kong can take away from Ne Zha 2’s creative success

videocam
Hong Kong society

Mainland China’s Ne Zha 2 earns HK$5.6 million on first day in Hong Kong

Animated feature draws more than 64,000 viewers as families and patriotic groups help sell out showings.

A poster for Ne Zha 2 at a cinema in Tsim Sha Tsui. Photo: Eugene Lee
Chinese culture

Opinion | At last, Chinese folklore adds new flavour to global pop culture

Drawing on ancient myths, China’s film and gaming industry is offering the world refreshing alternatives to the traditional Western canon.

videocam
4
Hong Kong society

Mainland China’s record-breaking Ne Zha 2 to hit cinemas in Hong Kong, Macau

Animated tale from Chinese mythology has broken box office records on mainland, earning 9.7 billion yuan.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
China's economic recovery

Quiet on set: China’s film industry fights for relevance as admissions flag

With lower ticket sales and fierce competition from online entertainment, China’s film industry faces demotion in cultural status.

videocam
China’s cinemas saw diminished attendance numbers in 2024 in an increasingly saturated entertainment market. Photo: Shutterstock
Golden week

China’s National Day box office breaches billion-yuan mark on day 3

The second entry in a historical war trilogy leads the way, with a sci-fi action film on its tail, but China’s film industry is still chasing pre-pandemic interest.

videocam
TV shows and streaming video

Plot twists, revenge, cheating. The rise of Chinese micro dramas

China’s US$5 billion micro drama industry is booming, but its sometimes ‘pornographic’ and ‘vulgar’ content has the government concerned.

China’s Communist Party

China regulator says short films must follow the script for overseas screenings

Producers of all movies made in China must now follow existing approval rules if filmmakers wish to show their works abroad.

videocam
On Thursday the China Film Administration announced that domestically produced short films can only appear at foreign film festivals or exhibitions if they obtain permits for public screenings.
US-China relations

Chinese state media say Netflix’s 3 Body Problem pushes US ‘cultural hegemony’

Official military site publishes blistering critique of sci-fi drama based on Hugo Award-winning novel by Chinese author Liu Cixin.

videocam
39
While some Chinese viewers praised the Netflix series’ detailed depiction of the Cultural Revolution, others said it painted China in a bad light and portrayed non-Chinese characters as saviours. Photo: Netflix
Human rights in China

Chinese hit film is ‘fairy tale’ about right to self-defence, legal experts say

Top filmmaker Zhang Yimou’s new drama about justifiable defence filled mainland cinemas over Lunar New Year but is it realistic?

videocam
Asian cinema: Chinese films

China’s big holiday films spark social media debate about body issues and justice

Actor, writer and director Jia Ling is drawing attention for dramatic 50kg weight loss as netizens discuss beauty standards in China.

videocam
Trending in China

Hong Kong director Wong Kar-wai’s TV hit, Blossoms Shanghai, sparks business boom

Businesses in China are cashing in on the huge popularity of Hong Kong movie director Wong Kar-wai’s new mainland TV series, Blossoms Shanghai.

Hong Kong film director Wong Kar-wai’s hugely popular new mainland TV series Blossoms Shanghai has sparked a spin-off business bonanza driven by fans eager to sample the lifestyle depicted in the show. Photo: SCMP composite/Shutterstock/Weibo
Tibet

Tibetan film world mourns loss of groundbreaking director Pema Tseden

The award-winning director, who died aged 53 last week, was regarded as a pioneer of the Tibetan new wave who offered a glimpse into local life and culture.

Pema Tseden with the trophy for best screenplay at the 2018 Venice Film Festival. Photo: Getty Images
Marvel

Marvel movies return to Chinese cinemas after nearly 4 years

China's economic recovery

Censorship, bankruptcies and Covid scars cloud China’s film industry rebound

China’s film industry had a strong start to the year, but it faces long-term challenges in the form of shrinking investment, rigid censorship and scars from the coronavirus pandemic.

videocam
4
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
China stock market

Avatar 2, zero-Covid pivot keep China brokerages upbeat on market outlook

China’s biggest filmmakers and cinema operators are getting a dose of optimism from Hollywood blockbuster Avatar 2 and Beijing’s zero-Covid pivot.

videocam
Director James Cameron and crew behind the scenes of Avatar: The Way of Water. Photo: 20th Century Studios
Cinema

Chinese film-goers return to the cinema

Asian cinema

Hong Kong actor Anthony Wong wins at Taiwan’s Golden Horse film awards

Wong won the best actor award for playing a Hong Kong taxi driver helping a Pakistani refugee boy in The Sunny Side of the Street.

Asian cinema: Chinese films

China’s theatres try to lure back film-goers with industry-wide discounts

Some cinephiles welcome the discount scheme, valued at 100 million yuan, but others lament what they see as a lack of quality movies to lure them back.

videocam
China’s cinemas have been forced to close from time to time as the nation’s zero-Covid policy keeps many of its people home. Photo: Xinhua
A-shares

Chinese movie studio Bona Film set for Shenzhen IPO after Nasdaq exit

The maker of last year’s top-grossing war movie The Battle of Lake Changjin and Chinese Doctors is due to price its stock offering later this week, ending a five-year wait.

videocam
A still image from The Battle at Lake Changjin. Photo: Handout
Chinese culture

China has 28-point plan to boost soft power overseas, increase cultural exports

Analysts say the ambitious initiative is a ‘top-level design’ to boost China’s cultural trade, and it comes at a time when geopolitical tensions are on the rise.

videocam
11
Tencent

Tencent Pictures to prioritise ‘social responsibility’ over making money

Tencent Pictures, which has invested in Hollywood blockbusters such as the Terminator trilogy and Venom, will pull back from commercial films to focus on patriotic content that promotes ‘core socialist values’.

Beijing Winter Olympics 2022

The ‘heavy burden’ of Zhang Yimou’s second Olympics opening ceremony

Acclaimed director is again overseeing the event and says it is important to show the ‘love, unity, and grand visions and values of the Chinese people’.

videocam
Director Zhang Yimou runs with the Olympic torch in Beijing on Wednesday, the first day of the relay. Photo: Xinhua
Books and literature

China’s leading foreign actor on his first book and being ‘erased’ from films

Jonathan Kos-Read – aka Cao Cao – would have had no trouble drawing on his experiences navigating China’s film industry to evoke the treacherous atmosphere of Jin dynasty hierarchy in The Eunuch.

Jonathan Kos-Read has worked alongside the likes of Donnie Yen, Aaron Kwok, Kelly Lin, Chen Kun, Angelababy and Mike Tyson.
Live streaming

Screenwriters hope selling scripts through live streaming will help the industry recover

With China’s film and TV industry struggling to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic, screenwriters are the latest people trying to cash in on live streaming ecommerce

Fan Bingbing

Inside China’s largest film studio

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Help preserve 120 years of quality journalism.
SUPPORT NOW
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement