Big business & big movies: Chinese New Year period
- By Tom Cunliffe
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E-mail China.org.cn, January 29, 2015
The Chinese New Year period is when all the big movies hit screens in China. Over this festive period, families gather together and go to the cinema to enjoy some entertainment together, so these films are often family friendly and feature top stars.
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A poster of Tsui Hark's "Taking of Tiger Mountain" |
For China's film industry, this period is similar to the release of summer blockbusters in the West, or the way that films like "Home Alone" or "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" make it onto British TV screens every Christmas. The comedy-action films that become the biggest hits over Chinese New Year are similar to "Paddington" which was released in time for Christmas 2014 in the UK.
In Hong Kong, two popular genres dominate: all-star comedies and action, or action-comedy films. The all-star comedies are manic and joyful in tone and in which a happy-ending is a must, after which the cast and crew bow to the audience with a big "Kung Hei Fat Choy" ("May prosperity be with you" in Cantonese). Such all-star comedies (filmed in Cantonese) appeal to Hong Kong audiences but big budget action and fantasy films hold a greater appeal for mainland audiences.
Hong Kong's "festive" film tradition goes back to the 1950s, whilst the "Aces Go Places" film series which started in 1982, brought a modern, updated sensibility to the action-comedy, which were also wildly popular during Chinese New Year.
In Chinese mainland the phenomenon is more recent. Jackie Chan's 1995 film "Rumble in the Bronx" was the first such "Chinese New Year" hit film. His films remain a popular staple in the mainland market at Chinese New Year but they have declined in popularity in Hong Kong.
The traditional window for the New Year movie period in the mainland is opening wider and wider. In 2012, the period lasted 88 days according to some reports, the longest recorded in the film industry's history. That will be surpassed this year as the season of Chinese New Year movie revelry will be invading cinemas for a whole 3 months.
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