Why Hollywood now wants to make movies in Mandarin
For the last few years, Hollywood has sharpened its focus on releasing English-language movies in China, one of the world’s fastest growing film markets. But that may not be enough.
In the next few years, they may want to make the movies in Mandarin as well.
A pair of recent releases co-produced by Village Roadshow Pictures Asia, a subsidiary of Village Roadshow Limited focused on Chinese-language movies, show why language may matter more than ever.
Its first effort, fantasy-action comedy “Journey to the West: Conquering Demons,” from "Kung Fu Hustle" actor-director Stephen Chow, earned more on one day -- ironically, Valentine’s Day -- than any other movie on any day in Chinese history, grossing 122 million reminbi ($19.6 million). It also has also become the fastest film to reach $100 million in its homeland.
And VRPA’s second film, ”Say Yes!,” a Chinese-language remake of a TV drama, set a new record for a romance film opening on Valentine’s Day, which this year coincided with Chinese New Year, earning $7.5 million.
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Together, the two films accounted for 85 percent of the box-office grosses on the Hallmark holiday.
“This will be the largest indigenous market outside of English language movies in the U.S,” Greg Basser, CEO of Village Roadshow Entertainment Group, told TheWrap. “It’s still very immature, but we have a big familiarity with the region and a good brand in the region.”
They aren't the only ones tapping into the market.
DreamWorks Animation has partnered with three Chinese companies to launch DreamWorks Oriental (logo to the right), which will be headquartered in Xuhui. It will make original Chinese-language films based on local stories, and the first original movie should arrive in 2017.
Fox International Productions, a subsidiary of News Corp., has already released local-language movies in a number of markets, including China. Last October, it partnered with the Bona Film Group to co-produce more such films.
“With China growing as a market, you're only going to see more of this," Phil Contrino, vice president and chief analyst for BoxOffice.com, told TheWrap. "A Hollywood movie won't appeal to a Chinese moviegoer just because it flies to Beijing or Shanghai for a sequence. In the same way, an American might not watch a movie in Chinese with an all-Chinese cast just because 10 minutes of it are in America."
While the success of Chinese-language movies is not new, a recent surge in broken records reflects the irrepressible growth of the marketplace. A series of Chinese companies, led by Beijing Enlight Pictures, account for the biggest hit yet in China, “Lost in Thailand,” which this year broke the record set by "Avatar" in 2009.
Fox International Productions, which distributed the record-setting "Journey to the West" in Taiwan, Vietnam and Malaysia but not China, has charted smaller hits with “Love in Space,” a Hong Kong-set romantic comedy, and "Hot Summer Days."
No wonder the Australian-based Village Roadshow, whose Village Roadshow Pictures is a major co-financier and co-producer for Warner Bros.,