Since the cinema in the popular One Mall in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province in east China, reopened on July 20, Wei Wei, a university student, has been binge-watching movies. In nine days, he had been there three times, watching the same films over and over again.

"I just want to sit in the cinema and watch them again. I really miss the ritual very much," he told Xinhua Daily. "Besides, like all industries that are reopening, the seriously hit film industry also needs support from everyone."

After remaining closed for around six months, cinemas began to reopen since July 20 after the China Film Administration issued a statement four days earlier, saying theaters in low-risk areas can resume operation with epidemic control measures. They include selling only 30 percent tickets to ensure social distancing inside and reducing the screening time to two hours. No food or beverages are allowed to be sold inside. Theaters in medium and high-risk areas still remain closed.

Despite the restrictions, in the first week of the reopening, the box-office revenue reached 108 million yuan ($15.43 million) nationwide, according to figures from the National Film Industry Development Special Fund Management Committee. As of July 26, more than 5,000 cinemas had reopened, accounting for 43 percent of the total.

The revenue is a promising sign given the restrictions on the tickets and the fact that no blockbusters were released.

Counting the blessings

On July 25, the 23rd Shanghai International Film Festival kicked off with eulogies by industry leaders at the speed of the film industry's recovery.

At the inaugural forum of the festival held on July 24, Li Jie, President of Alibaba Pictures, said he was confident that there would be complete recovery during the National Day holiday in October.

At the Golden Goblet Film Forum held on July 26, Li Ning, Vice President of New Classics Media, a Chinese media and entertainment company, also said that recovery of the box office was faster than expected.

"The epidemic has certainly had an impact, but we in the film industry are still passionate. Our creations will not stop, our distribution and publicity will not stop, and our cinemas are quickly recovering. We will soon return to normal," Li said.

Rethinking the industry

However, many things are bound to change due to the epidemic. So the most important thing for the traditional film distribution industry to ponder is the risk of relying on the current profit model alone, which has shown its fragility.

"Though cinemas are recovering fast, more importantly, we must never forget the difficulties we faced when they were closed," Jiang Wusheng, General Manager of Beijing United Entertainment Partners Culture and Media Co., a major film distributor, said. "I am insistent that we rethink the problem of film distribution. It relies heavily on the box office, so our distribution work completely focuses on the distribution of films and publicity for them."

Jiang is hoping to combine film distribution with other profitable industries like e-commerce and the short video industry so that profit points can be generated right from when a film starts shooting.

Cheng Wu, CEO of Tencent Pictures, the motion picture business of Internet giant Tencent, thinks a combination of films and new technologies will become normal in the future. "So if filmmakers are still trying to compete over low-level, homogeneous contents, cinemas will definitely be outdated by new technologies," he told China Business News.

He also said that while the epidemic has made people aware that films are not a necessity of life, a large number of people are still looking forward to visiting cinemas again, especially on special occasions. This proves that the sense of ceremony and watching experience in cinemas is irreplaceable.

"The unique value of films depends on filmmakers coming up with better content and quality and through greater exploration of combining modern technologies and film art," Cheng said.

Li Jie, who is engaged in both film distribution and online films, said while streaming media has the natural advantages of film-watching convenience and unlimited numbers of screens and audiences, cinemas have an incomparable business model.

"Due to the one-ticket-per-person model, films are saleable products only when the audience is willing to pay. This model forces filmmakers to constantly pursue innovation in technology and better content. Therefore cinemas will not be replaced; online platforms will supplement and integrate with cinemas in the future," he said.

His company distributes films made both for distribution through online platforms and in cinemas. The filmmakers don't have any specific distribution channel in mind when they make their films. The focus is creating a good film first, and then determining the channel of distribution, taking into consideration the cost, target audience and other factors. Li Jie expects online films will help reduce the cost for making films.

Will cinemas eventually disappear? Wang Jianer, President of Shanghai Film Co., said at the Shanghai film festival that cinemas will remain for a long time to come.

"My view is that for at least five years or even longer, major films will continue to be shown in cinemas, determined by the interests of investors," he said. However, he also thinks that new models should be explored besides cinemas and the Internet, so that investors get better returns.

Yuan Shan, a financial commentator, wrote in The Beijing News that bigger changes in the film industry will take place "behind the scenes," which means the aggressive expansion of the industry witnessed in the previous years will be transformed into a more precise operation model.

The Chinese film industry experienced high-speed growth a few years ago, and many domestic film companies adopted a capital-based rapid expansion model. However, many film producers were too impetuous or even speculative, leading to drawbacks such as poor-quality films. As a result, the growth of China's film industry has been slowing down in the past two years.

"With the epidemic hitting the film industry, the amount of capital flowing into the domestic film industry is bound to reduce," Yuan said. "To make up for the losses in the first half of the year, film companies need to have more precise management to minimize excessive costs and improve the quality of films. This includes improving their shooting schedules, budget and process management, and quality control."

(Printed Edition Title: Back to the Cinemas)

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