IN what critics are hailing as a further sign of the gradual recovery of the world’s second-biggest box office market, following the downturn caused by the COVID-19 epidemic, an increasing number of major film productions are unveiling their theatrical release dates for China.

Christopher Nolan’s latest sci-fi action feature film “Tenet,” with a reported budget of more than US$200 million, is set to land in mainland theaters Sept. 4, according to a Weibo post from Warner Bros.

“Inception,” a 2010 film by the British director, is slated for an Aug. 28 re-release.

“Little Women,” a Sony film whose Chinese mainland release was postponed due to COVID-19, has secured a new release date, Aug. 25. It is a new feature film adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s classic novel of the same name and is directed by Greta Gerwig, an American actress, screenwriter and film director.

“The Eight Hundred,” a Chinese war epic film which depicts Chinese soldiers defending of a warehouse against the invading Japanese army during the Battle of Shanghai in 1937, is set to hit the big screen Friday. It will be the first major Chinese production to hit movie theaters since the COVID-19 outbreak.

“The development that major films, domestic and foreign, are landing in theaters, will give a boost to the restarting of the Chinese film industry and become a highlight of the global film market,” Yin Hong, vice chairman of the China Film Association and a professor at Tsinghua University, told Xinhua.

Encouraging signs

After months-long closures meant to contain the COVID-19 epidemic, movie theaters were greenlighted to reopen from July 20 in parts of China deemed to be low-risk areas, with strict coronavirus containment measures being implemented. The measures include a 50-percent limit on the number of people attending each show, with audience members who are strangers sitting at least one meter apart.

Most films screened to date have been re-releases or small-scale domestic and international titles, but the weekly box-office sales have posted robust growth. Chinese mainland box-office revenue for the seven days from July 27 to Aug. 2 totaled 197 million yuan (US$28 million), up 79 percent compared with the previous week, according to figures compiled by China Film News. Theaters saw 6.9 million moviegoers during the same period, up 65 percent week-on-week.

Among the re-releases was Christopher Nolan’s “Interstellar.” Since Aug. 2, the re-run of the 2014 film had generated box-office revenue of more than 50 million yuan as of Aug. 7, bringing its total Chinese mainland box office worth of 800 million yuan, according to Maoyan, a movie-ticketing platform.

The total sales figure for the two weeks starting July 20 was 330 million yuan, a low number compared with last year’s annual total of more than 64 billion yuan. However, given the attendance cap in place to contain COVID-19, the figures for the first two weeks are encouraging and suggest growing enthusiasm among Chinese moviegoers, according to Ming Zhenjiang, head of the China Film Producers’ Association.

Enthusiatic moviegoers

“The Eight Hundred,” a war epic film that won applause from moviegoers and critics alike after its preview screenings began Aug. 14, saw its total preview sales surpass 100 million yuan Tuesday. This comes less than three days before the film’s formal release in China on Friday.

Box office data compiled by Maoyan, a movie-ticketing and film data platform, showed that as of 9 p.m. Tuesday, “The Eight Hundred” had grossed a total of 114 million yuan from previews, with 14 million for Friday last week, and around 50 million each for Tuesday and Monday. It also shows that as of last Friday, more than 330,000 people had expressed interest in watching the movie “The Eight Hundred.”

Directed by Guan Hu, the critically acclaimed filmmaker behind the 2015 film “Mr. Six,” “The Eight Hundred” is the first Chinese film entirely shot with IMAX cameras.

The increased and continuous supply of new, high-quality films is one of the key measures necessary to encourage people to go to cinemas and revive the film market, said Ming in an article carried by China Film News.

“China’s movie market has already started its gradual recovery,” Yin said, adding that a recovering film industry will help lift consumer confidence and also promote the development of the catering, retail and tourism sectors.

(Xinhua)