Huayu: Starting from joining the mainstream entertainment industry in 96

Chapter 308, Section 306: Imported Films Meet a Cold Reception
In August, the heat of summer lingered in Beijing, and cicadas chirped incessantly.

As we enter mid-August, the summer movie season is gradually coming to an end.

While "My Sassy Girl" continues to be a hit, a box office statistics report as of August 6 has been sent to major media outlets and industry insiders.

The front page of the China Film News, August 11, 2000, reported:

[My Sassy Girl" grosses 8347 million yuan in 24 days, a standout performance for domestic films during the summer season]

(Reporter Zhang Wei) According to preliminary statistics from the National Film Special Fund Management Committee, the urban romantic comedy "My Sassy Girl," produced by Shengying Media, directed by Wang Sheng, and starring Fan Xiaopang and Deng Chao, has grossed approximately 8347 million yuan in box office revenue nationwide in the 24 days since its release on July 14, as of August 6.

This achievement ranks second only to the anti-corruption blockbuster "Life and Death Choice" (which grossed approximately 120 million yuan) released in June, firmly securing its position as the runner-up in the 2000 summer season for domestic films and becoming one of the highest-grossing domestic genre films of the year so far.

"My Sassy Girl," with its subversive "strong woman, weak man" character setup, dense and precise humor, and sincere and moving emotional core, successfully resonated with a large audience, primarily students and young white-collar workers, sparking widespread social discussion and a wave of imitations. Its success once again demonstrates the powerful market appeal of high-quality domestic genre films.

It is worth noting that, similar to "The Choice," the box office success of "My Sassy Girl" was achieved against the backdrop of a relatively lackluster performance for imported blockbusters.

It is reported that Hollywood blockbusters such as "The Perfect Storm" and "Gladiator," which were introduced during this summer's film season, have not met box office expectations.

(Continued on page 2)
The second edition of the report, however, subtly mentioned a more complex phenomenon:

[Behind the lukewarm reception of imported films: The shockwaves of pirated VCDs/DVDs]

In stark contrast to the box office performance of cinemas, pirated audio-visual products of many popular Hollywood films that failed to be imported on a large scale or whose import was delayed are circulating in the public market with unusually active activity.

A reporter recently visited electronics markets in Beijing's Hailong Building, Shanghai's Xujiahui Bai Nao Hui, and Guangzhou's Tianhe Computer City, and found that pirated VCDs and DVDs of movies such as "X-Men," "Mission: Impossible 2," and "The Matrix" (still showing in some countries and regions) were openly displayed and sold at low prices (about 5-8 yuan per VCD and 10-15 yuan per DVD), attracting a steady stream of buyers.

"I've seen Gladiator in the cinema. The effects were amazing, but a ticket costs sixty yuan and you can only see it once."

At a booth on the third floor of Hailong Building, Mr. Ma, a company employee who was selecting X-Men DVDs, told a reporter, "For movies like these that haven't been imported, who knows how long we'll have to wait for the official discs? And even the official VCDs would cost thirty or forty yuan, right? I'll buy a pirated copy to see first. If it's really good, I can collect it when a deluxe official edition comes out."

The stall owner skillfully promoted his wares: "We also have pirated copies of 'My Sassy Girl,' but the theater tickets are cheaper. These Hollywood blockbusters are all 'DVD versions,' some even 'high-definition versions' imported from overseas, with much better picture quality than 'cam versions'!"

From a grassroots perspective: Why is piracy so rampant?
In a crowded student dormitory in Beijing's HD district, where numerous universities are located, college student Xiao Wang and his roommates are gathered around a computer watching a pirated copy of "The Matrix".

“It’s not that I don’t support legitimate copies,” Xiao Wang said helplessly, spreading his hands. “First, I don’t have the money; movie tickets are too expensive. Second, many foreign films I want to see are either not imported to China or are imported very late. For example, Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace was released in the US last year, but we watched it through pirated copies before it was released in mainland China. We just can’t wait!”

In Shenzhen's Huaqiangbei district, the circulation of grey market goods and pirated CDs is an open secret.

An industry insider who declined to be named analyzed that the reason why imported film piracy can form a kind of "hedging" against the legitimate cinema market, and even spread more widely, is due to multiple reasons:
I. The "Time Lag" and "Quantity Lag" in Content Supply. Limited by strict import quotas and censorship systems, the number of imported blockbusters that can be shown on domestic big screens each year is limited, and their release dates are generally several months or even longer than those in overseas markets. This lag and insufficiency in content supply creates a huge demand for piracy.

Second, the lowering of technical barriers and the maturity of the industry chain. DVD players began to become popular in China after the millennium, but their original region code restrictions (region 6 in mainland China) made it impossible to play many original overseas discs.

Pirates use cracking and copying techniques to mass-produce pirated discs in "all-region" or "region 6" formats, forming a mature underground industry chain from source acquisition, compression, packaging to distribution.

Compared to secretly recording domestic films in theaters with unstable picture quality, obtaining overseas released discs and copying them in bulk seems to be less costly, more stable in picture quality, and less risky for pirates.

Third, the price difference and consumption habits. A genuine movie ticket costs between 20 and 60 yuan, while a pirated DVD costs only 5 to 15 yuan and can be watched repeatedly and passed around among multiple people.

For ordinary people, especially students, whose average income is not high, the price advantage is extremely obvious.

In addition, due to a weak awareness of intellectual property protection, buying pirated goods remains a "natural" consumption habit for a considerable portion of the population.

IV. The Emergence of Unofficial Subtitling Groups. With the initial popularization of the Internet, some film and television enthusiasts who were proficient in foreign languages ​​began to spontaneously form online groups to create Chinese subtitles for overseas films and television dramas, and to distribute them through FTP, forums and other channels.

These "subtitle" files, combined with pirated video resources, greatly improved the viewing experience of unofficially imported films and television shows, further fueling the circulation and influence of pirated content.

……

A reporter visited the television display area of ​​a large home appliance store in Shanghai, where an official VCD of "My Sassy Girl" was being played, attracting some customers to stop and watch.

But when asked if she would go to the cinema to support the film, a middle-aged woman shook her head: "Watching it on TV is just fine, why waste money? Unless it's something like 'Titanic' that requires seeing big scenes."

At a well-known "cut-out CD" market in Chengdu (which mainly sells unsold or slightly damaged original CDs and DVDs from abroad, and is actually a gray area), college student Xiao Liu skillfully searched through a pile of discs for "American Beauty" and "Boys Don't Cry".

“These are all Oscar winners; you definitely won’t see them in domestic cinemas,” he said. “Through these DVDs, I feel like I’m in sync with the world of cinema.”

This phenomenon undoubtedly poses a complex challenge to the growing domestic film market.

"My Sassy Girl" has withstood the direct impact of piracy to some extent thanks to its strong local cultural flavor, social topicality, and comedic atmosphere in theaters. However, its box office potential is also vaguely limited by the ubiquitous shadow of piracy.

After all, there are simply too many alternatives to entertainment options.

(End of this chapter)