Chinese movie premiere season is overloaded

(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-11-24 10:11

The 2010 Chinese New Year's premiere season has kicked off with the release of three blockbusters: Panda Heroes, The Robbers and Mars Baby. Because the Chinese New Year holiday starts in February next year, this will be the longest Chinese New Year's premiere season since 1997, lasting a total of 93 days.

According to estimates by people familiar with the situation, there will be about 50 new blockbusters premiered in China during the season, far more than before. The popularity of American blockbuster 2012, now playing in movie theaters across the city, may be viewed as warm-up for the upcoming Chinese New Year's gala premiere season.

Now that the movie industry is booming with box-office blockbusters, all producers are fixing their eyes on the upcoming premiere season. Investors are also eager to make money from the movie theater crowds during the holiday season.

However, at this point, viewers have only heard about a dozen of the new blockbusters to be premiered.

They include District 9, Avatar, Bodyguards and Assassins, A Simple Noodle Story,14 Blades, Storm Warriors II, The Treasure Hunter, All's Well Ends Well 2010, No Man's Land and Confucius.

So what will happen to the remainders? As movie theaters are expecting to be flooded with new releases, only those with big budgets, strong publicity and star-studded casts will be hits.

The rapidly growing number of Chinese movie theaters will still be strained during the season, as even producers of commercial blockbusters have found it difficult to exhibit their works. No wonder art movie producers are complaining of having few takers.

The New Year's blockbuster season may be a good time for some, but the competition will be fierce with almost two new blockbusters being released every day.

For the majority of movie producers, they might be better off choosing other times than the Chinese New Year holiday to display their work.

Zeng Jiaxin