Taiwan’s annual Chinese box office is exposed, and Chow Sing-chi Wong Kar-wai is no match for Taiwanese customers
Towards the end of the year, various rankings have been released one after another. As of December 8, the cumulative box office of the mainland this year has broken through 20 billion, and the New Year’s War has also started. Taiwan has taken stock of the annual box office rankings in advance, and the figures show that among the top ten Chinese-language films, more than half of Taiwan’s local films account for. Jiao Xiongping, a well-known filmmaker, wrote an analysis saying that "Taiwanese films seem to be completely different from the Greater Chinese-speaking circle in terms of taste and taste". In connection with the 50th Taiwan Film Golden Horse Awards, which ended last month, and other films have been recognized by important awards, while mainland films and co-productions have gained little, Jiao Xiongping believes that Taiwanese films are getting farther and farther away from the Greater Chinese-speaking
Key Analysis: Taiwan Taste VS Chinese Film Trends
Reviewer: Jiao Xiongping
After taking stock of the performance of Taiwan’s film market at the end of the year, it will be found that local films have fully covered Taiwan’s Chinese film market. Mainland films have no influence, while Hong Kong and mainland co-productions, although biased towards mainland tastes, rely heavily on the popularity of directors. In addition to Zhou Xingchi, Wong Kar-wai and Tsui Hark have been at the bottom of the top ten best-selling films, and they are far from the championship and runner-up results.
Which local Taiwanese films are popular?
,,, "Mayday Noah’s Ark",, all show how Taiwanese audiences only watch movies with a Taiwanese flavor with a high standard of "Taiwan consciousness".
"The Big-Tailed Bass Eel" evokes memories of the 1980s and 1990s for Taiwanese audiences of the cabaret pig show, the underworld oolong, yellow accent + local Taiwanese guests, the absurd situation, allowing the audience to enjoy the vent-style joy and laughter in the theater; "The Chief Shop Master" is a long and nostalgic recollection of Taiwan’s local "table culture" (outdoor banquets, not paying attention to tables and chairs, and the food is also high-quality and cheap). The story barely has a bridge of competition and search experts, playing with advertising-style gimmicks and Taiwanese songs and dances, which are very popular with young audiences; "Seeing Taiwan" is definitely a real "love Taiwan" movie that is populist to the end. The director rents a plane to shoot Taiwan from above, not only seeing the beautiful scenery of Taiwan’s strange mountains, but also lamenting the damage to this land (industrial pollution; over-exploitation of nature by sightseeing), so that audiences who cherish Taiwan’s heaven and earth flock to it.
"Mayday Noah’s Ark" emphasizes 3D and has loyal fans of the band; "Ambition" records the inspirational process of a group of marginalized girls in Taiwan’s beautiful women practicing tug-of-war and struggling to win the world championship; "Transformation" (the title of the mainland film) discusses the downfall and life of a TV show’s outdated idol. These are all fake Taiwanese-style movies. Even if the aesthetics are biased towards TV/variety shows and the performances are exaggerated and stereotypical, their affinity should not be underestimated.
The rise of audiences in southern Taiwan
Similar to the rise of audience tastes in second- and third-tier cities in mainland China, these films are also the re-emergence of southern audiences and influence the market. In the past, the box office of Taiwanese films was 1:1 outside Taipei and Taipei (the film festival is collectively called "South"). Now it is 1:1.5 or 1:2. The taste influence of southern audiences overshadows the northern metropolitan culture, and Taiwanese is blooming everywhere.
Lord Xing can’t beat "those five years"
Although the fourth highest box office was invested by a mainland company and starred by Bai Baihe, about 90% of the film was filmed in Taiwan, and the other actors were all arranged by Taiwanese people. In addition, the time and place are unknown, making it look like a Taiwanese film on the surface.
As for Wong Kar-wai and Tsui Hark, two Hong Kong directors, who spent a lot of money to shoot and sell in the mainland, they only sold for 30 to 40 million Taiwan dollars (about 6 million-8 million yuan), which is very different from the success of hundreds of millions of yuan in the mainland. In addition, the expensive Zhou Xingchi can’t even sell "The Five Years Stolen".
The meaning of the Golden Horse Awards
These Taiwanese-style films have few opportunities to enter the mainland market (except for films such as "Mayday Noah’s Ark"), which also makes Taiwanese films farther and farther away from the greater Chinese-speaking circle. In particular, Ang Lee took the lead in giving all the Golden Horse Awards to Taiwanese films and Singaporean films. Faced with the prosperity of mainland local films, Taiwanese films seem to be diametrically divided from the greater Chinese-speaking circle in terms of taste.
One concern: Which movies are Taiwanese netizens most satisfied with this year?
The annual Yahoo Satisfaction List recently announced the latest list. In this "User Satisfaction List T O P10", Taiwanese local films "Seeing Taiwan" and "Ambition" won the first, second and sixth places respectively.
No. 1: "Seeing Taiwan"
No. 2: "A Rock to the Moon"
No. 3: "The Silver Soul Finale: The Eternal House of Everything"
Fourth place:
Fifth place:
Number 6: "Ambition"
And number seven:
8th place:
Number 9:
Number 10:
(Statistical time: as of November 11, 2013)
Yahoo Review
No. 1: The director of "Seeing Taiwan", Zeppelin, is a "hot-blooded fool" who uses aerial photography to capture the beauty and sadness of the entire Taiwan’s mountainous coast. If it weren’t for this angle, the audience would never have believed that Alishan’s sun viewing place was next to a large hollowed-out cliff, which was shocking and visible.
No. 2: "A Rock to the Moon" This documentary discusses the group portraits of fathers in a rare and seriously ill family. They form the band’s motley army "Sleepy Bear Tyrant". Others form a group competition to get a name, and they form a group to prove themselves, which moves the index.
No. 6: "Ambition" This inspirational work tells the rise of the tug-of-war team among the beautiful women. Guo Shuyao’s dedicated performance helped her win the Golden Horse Award for Best Newcomer! The first step of a generation of "otaku goddess" to become an actor, she did it.
A Follow-up: Discussion on "Lost in Thailand" in Taiwan "
Last week’s report (hereinafter referred to as "Lost in Thailand") officially **** theaters on November 29. In the first three days of the first weekend, the Taipei box office only made 100,000 New Taiwan dollars (about 20,000 yuan). The gap between the results of the two places is so large that it is dumbfounded. Why? After the report was reprinted by Sina, Time Network and Art En Information, it caused a lot of discussion, and some netizens from Taiwan gave their answers.
@Taiwan Movie FunClip: In Taiwan, the box office quality of mainland films has little to do with the release time or publicity. The key is to "take money out of your pocket" and enter the cinema. Taiwanese movie fans are used to choosing "foreign films" to be worth the ticket price; and the popular Taiwanese films must also be recommended by netizens word of mouth. Diehard fans of mainland films, after all, are niche. Unless there are well-known Hong Kong and Taiwan artists participating in the performance in the "co-production", the box office cannot be guaranteed…
@Stiven937: Movies released in Taiwan are usually released simultaneously around the world. The movie "Lost in Thailand" has a lot of laughs, but it has been broadcast dozens of times on tour buses in Taiwan. Students may have seen it on buses for various outdoor activities. How can they go to the cinema to watch it again?