Asian Film Industry 2008

I wrote about China's film industry in 2008 earlier this month and, according to this article, the rise in box office revenues occured throughout Asia in general. Its problematic to speak of an Asian film market since the Asian region of the world is made of many countries with largely different cultures and languages, but in general it seems that general economic growth of recent years has spurred growth in the film business.

The South Korean market has tapered off after a decade of growth although its film market still generates substantial revenue, especially compared to larger Asian countries. Malyasia experienced the biggest increase (24%) in 2008. China certainly seems to have the greatest potential for future growth. Although its market has grown exponentially over the past 5 years, its still smaller than that of India, Korea and Japan.

There are signs that Chinese movies are becoming increasingly popular in other countries and there is clearly still much room for continued domestic growth in a nation of 1.3 billion.

Cooperation among Asian film companies may also lead to greater crossover in Asian markets.

The recent big-budget blockbuster, Red Cliff ($80 million budget), was the result of financing from investors in Taiwan, Hong Kong, China, Korea, and Japan, with the greatest share of funding coming from Japanese company Avex.

The combined financial resources as well as marketing power from these types of deals certainly have the potential to reach much wider audiences across Asia as well as beyond.

Chinese Movie Market Growth

According to an article I came across recently, Chinese B.O. to Make A Great Leap Forward, the movie industry in China is growing rapidly. By the way, the "B.O." in the article title stands for Box Office (revenue from movie theater ticket sales) rather than any other type of B.O. you might be thinking of. Its predicted that Chinese movie theaters will see a 15% increase in revenue this year, taking in about $400 million (compared to $340 million in 2006). A sizeable portion of this revenue comes from foreign movies shown in China such as blockbusters “Spiderman 3”, “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End”, and the recent Harry Potter, each earning around $13 million. However, domestic Chinese film also account for a substantial share. Chinese filmmaking also seems to be becoming more diverse. In addition to the martial arts-based epics, Chinese filmmakers are increasingly exploring other themes.

One recent example is Ang Lee's erotic, spy thriller “Lust, Caution” which recently won the top-prize at the Venice film festival. The film involves a student acting group in Hong Kong during WWII. The group's patriotism inspires them to assassinate a Chinese official who is collaborating with the occupying Japanese forces. The female star (played by newcomer Tang Wei) seduces evil official (played by veteran Hong Kong actor tony Leung). Moving from Hong Kong to Shanghai , the heroine becomes increasingly embroiled in her real-life role. The film also stars Joan Chen and pop star Lee-Hom Wang.

In addition to involving a serious plot, "Lust, Caution” also includes explicit sexual content and relaistically portrayed violence. Lust, Caution" is planned for U.S. release in late Septemeber and has received the most restrictive NC-17 label in the United States, banning viewers under 17. In mainland China, portions of the explicit content had to be cut for exhibition in theaters.