Chinese film breaks box office records with captive audience

(CHINA) 2018 

Chinese film breaks box office records with captive audience

A patriotic Chinese documentary is setting box office records with its stirring tales of the nation’s heroic military modernisation and awe-inspiring technological achievements. But the drawcard for Amazing China isn’t popular stars, clever plot twists or gripping cinematography. Instead, the film’s takings have been boosted by mandatory attendance at screenings, with schools, state enterprises and government departments among the agencies forcing their students and employees to watch. The obligatory viewings are the latest sign of how President Xi Jinping is ramping up propaganda as part of ideological campaigns such as the “China Dream”, which calls for restoring the country’s historical role as a global power.  Co-produced by official broadcaster China Central Television and state-owned China Film, the documentary has grossed $36m since its premiere on March 2, according to Box Office Mojo. That makes it the highest-grossing documentary film in Chinese history, according to CCTV’s official microblog account. Alibaba Pictures, the Hong Kong-listed film unit of the ecommerce giant Alibaba Group, is a distributor.  The film features sweeping visuals of Chinese engineering feats such as deepwater ports, dams, bridges, satellites, submarines, high-speed trains and the world’s largest radio telescope. But some Chinese film-goers said that screenings appeared to be populated almost entirely by organised groups. “The company bought tickets and organised successive groups to go watch it,” said Luna Xiao, a 25-year-old accountant at a state-owned construction company. “At my screening, there was only my company and another company, each filling two rows. There was basically no one who bought their own ticket,” she added. A photo on Twitter showed a notice posted in a residential compound inviting Communist party members to attend free screenings. Despite the official support, Amazing China ranked third at the box office on its opening weekend, behind Operation Red Sea, a nationalist action movie, and Detective Chinatown 2, a buddy-cop sequel.

Internet platforms appear to be censoring commentary on the film. Douban, a popular database for film information and reviews, has no page for Amazing China, despite the site’s normally encyclopedic coverage. On IMDb, the US-based film database and review site, 94 per cent of 2,295 reviewers gave the film one out of 10 stars.  But some candid commentary remained accessible on Sina Weibo, the popular Chinese microblogging platform. “Rigid rules, we must take group photos, must hold a banner, must make slogans. The group photo must be nicely composed and with good light, we have to wear matching work clothes, (and) we have to write post-viewing reflection,” one user wrote.  Other patriotic films and TV programmes have also performed well in recent years with help from state support.  Wolf Warrior 2, an action film with the tagline “whoever offends China will be hunted down”, set an overall Chinese box office record. A previous record was set by The Founding of a Republic, which was released on the 60th anniversary of Communist rule in 2009. 

 A TV drama series inspired by Mr Xi’s signature anti-corruption campaign, In the Name of the People, was also a hit. The latest film’s focus on technological achievement echoes key industrial policy initiatives such as Made in China 2025 that aim to promote Chinese leadership in strategic technologies such as artificial intelligence and electric vehicles.

MORE AT: https://www.ft.com/content/5c4bcb3e-28e1-11e8-b27e-cc62a39d57a0