The new focus on women in film

Surge in female-oriented movies not only reflects China's changing social mores, but also ties into wider world trends, Xu Fan reports.

Despite the evening chill, 34-year-old Yang Feifei recently left one downtown Beijing cinema in a warm, happy glow. Confessing that she had been feeling a little depressed in the wake of a failed relationship and workplace stress, she said she found respite in watching Her Story, the country's box-office champion this month.

A bit of a Chinese version of Barbie, the world's highest-grossing film last year, Her Story has emerged as an unexpected blockbuster. It employs a gentle, humorous tone to examine a series of pointed, controversial issues, such as the difficulties faced by single mothers and gender equality in sexual relationships.

Since its debut in late November, the film has earned more than 640 million yuan ($87.9 million), surpassing British director Ridley Scott's historical epic Gladiator II to dominate the single-day box-office charts for 24 days, according to Beacon, a real-time movie information tracker.

Thanks to this film, the previously subdued market has experienced something of a boost, propelling yearly box office earnings to more than 40 billion yuan by the end of last month, setting a positive tone for the upcoming New Year holiday season.

"When I watched the film with a female friend, I noticed that half the theater was filled with mostly young cinemagoers who laughed frequently. I believe this is because many of the movie's plots and lines are very relatable," says Yang.

Currently, Her Story has a rating of 9.1 points out of 10 on Douban, making it the popular review site's highest-rated Chinese movie of the year. It further earned a rating of 86.8 points to top a survey conducted by the China Film Art Research Center to gauge the satisfaction of cinemagoers with new releases.

For most industry insiders, the popularity of Her Story has been a local echo of a global film trend that has been gaining momentum in recent years, as evidenced by the popularity of films like Barbie in the United States, Anatomy of a Fall in France and There's Still Tomorrow in Italy, all hits about feminism.