January is a big month for the movie industry. Not necessarily for new releases, but for awards: we’re less than three weeks away from the announcement of Oscar nominations. But in China, they’re looking back at a relatively disappointing 2016. HPR’s Bill Dorman has more in today’s Asia Minute.
2016 was NOT a blockbuster year for movies in China, and that was a bit of a surprise.
Box office receipts did grow, up about 4-percent from 2015 in local currency terms, about 6.6 billion dollars.
That’s quite a contrast to the previous year when ticket sales shot up by 48-percent.
By comparison, The Hollywood Reporter says North America’s box office topped 11-billion dollars in 2016…up a little more than 2-percent.
China does lead the world in a different show business metric, the number of movie screens, now more than 41,000…compared to just under 41,000 in the United States.
Analysts blame last year’s performance on a weaker crop of movies—including two big budget films that turned out to be busts.
China’s most expensive movie ever made, ”The Great Wall “ failed to excite audiences…and it was a similar story for “L.O.R.D. : Legend of Ravaging Dynasties.”
That project starred Fan Bingbing---China’s best-paid actress.
Analysts have hopes for later this year and the release of the latest installment of Hollywood franchise films with big Chinese fan bases—including Fast and Furious, Transformers and Pirates of the Caribbean.
