The "Curse of the Golden Flower," is a Chinese epic film directed by Zhang Yimou, and cost a reported US$45 million. Jan.6 - Film industry profits last year reached 5.73 billion yuan, with box office takings accounting for 2.62 billion, as 366 silver screens were added to Chinese cinemas across the country.
Director-General of the China Film Bureau, Tong Gang, released the numbers at a press conference on Friday in Beijing. He also revealed that the draft of the Cinema Law aiming to boost the country's film industry has been finished.
Tong said domestic blockbusters are quite characteristic in both artistic innovation and market potential, as they maintain a prevailing position on the Chinese film market. At the same time, these blockbusters possess problems like similar themes, simple content and lack of wide recognition.
Deputy Director-General of the China Film Bureau, Zhang Hongsen, further explained that domestic big-budget movies have been in a trial period in recent years, as investors have preferred a more conservative approach to ensure returns. Martial arts movies are considered to be much safer for them.
Zhang said medium-budget movies will be critical for the progress of the domestic film industry this year. And the China Film Bureau will explore more opportunities and methods of filmmaking with producers of these smaller-budget films.
Last year's "The Knot" and "Tokyo Trial" got 30 thousand and 28 thousand yuan in box office takings respectively, making them the two highest-grossing medium-budget films in China.