ChinaFocus:Top10earnersof2023alldomesticfilms,Hollywood'sappealweakening_GuangmingOnlinebyXinhuawriterZhangYunlongBEIJING,Dec.19(Xinhua)--Asacoldwavesweepsthrough,theperceivedtemperatureinBeijinghasdroppedtobelowminus10degreesCelsius,butithasn'tdampenedpeople'senthusiasmforyear-endmoviegoing.AttheCapitalCinemainthebustlingXidancommercialdistrict,prime-timeticketsforpopularyear-endholidayreleasesaresellinglikehotcakes.China's2023boxofficetotaltopped53billionyuan(around7.47billionU.S.dollars)asofTuesday,accordingtotheboxofficetrackerMaoyan.Theannualboxofficehassurgedfromsome30billionyuanlastyeartoover50billionyuanthisyear,andbrokentheyearlyrecordsince2020,indicatingtheacceleratedrecoveryoftheChinesefilmindustry.Currently,thetop10earnersoftheyeararealldomesticfilms.AccordingtoMaoyanwheretheannualboxofficefiguredatesbacktoasearlyas2011,domesticfilmshaveentirelydominatedthetop10annualboxofficerankingsonlyoncebefore,in2020.AnalystsbelievethattheincreasingfavorabilitytowarddomesticfilmsisaresultoftheoveralladvancementoftheChinesefilmindustry--domesticfilmsarebecomingmoreinsyncwithaudienceaestheticdemands.POSITIVETRENDOFRECOVERYThe2023boxofficerevenueexceeded50billionyuanonNov.13.Industryobserverspredictthattheannualearningswilleventuallyreacharound55billionyuan,lowerthantherecordhighsofover60billionyuanin2019and2018,butcomparabletothelevelin2017,makingitthefourthorthirdhighestannualboxofficeinChinesefilmhistory."Thisindicatesanoverallpositiverecoverytrendinthefilmmarket,withboththefilmsupplyandaudiencedemandgraduallyreturningtopre-pandemiclevels,"saidLiuPeng,directoroftheMaoyanResearchInstitute.Lookingbackontheyear,theSpringFestivalboxofficegenerated6.7billionyuan,makingitthesecond-highestboxofficefortheholidayever,secondonlyto2021.Thesummerboxofficewasparticularlynoteworthy,rakingin20.6billionyuan,markingthefirsttimeChina'ssummerboxofficehasbrokenthe20-billion-yuanmark.TheOctoberNationalDayboxofficereached2.7billionyuan,althoughsignificantlylowerthantheapproximately4billionyuanforthesameholidayinthethreeconsecutiveyearsfrom2019to2021,butstillhigherthanthe1.5billionyuanof2022.Thefilmsarediverseintypeandtheme.Movieslike"FullRiverRed"and"TheWanderingEarthII"resonatedwithpatrioticsentimentsamongthepeople,whilerealisticgenrefilms"NoMoreBets""LostinTheStars""NeverSayNever"and"UnderTheLight"garneredhighattentionfortheirrelatabilitytoeverydaylife."CreationoftheGodsI:KingdomofStorms"wasacclaimedasanepicmythologicalmasterpiece,and"ChangAn"tellsanewhistoricalstoryfromauniqueperspective."Overall,Chinesefilmshaveremainedtruetoarealistpath,inheritingthetraditionalnarrativepatterns,engaginginconstructivedialoguewithpresent-daymainstreamaudiences,andcontinuouslyenhancingfilmindustrializationlevels,leadingtotheoveralldevelopmentofChinesemovies,"saidRaoShuguang,presidentoftheChinaFilmCriticsAssociation,notingtherestorativegrowthtrendinChinesefilmconsumption.HOLLYWOODFILMS'APPEALWANINGTodate,around83percentofthe2023Chineseboxofficerevenueiscontributedbydomesticfilms,accordingtothefilmdataplatformBeacon.Thisyear'stop10boxofficeearnersarealldomesticfilms,andtheAmericanfilm"FastX"ranks12thwithaboxofficerevenueof980millionyuan,thehighest-rankingforeignfilm.Theincreasingattentiongiventodomesticfilms,asnotedbyindustryobservers,correspondstothediminishingattractivenessofHollywoodfilmstoChinesemoviegoers.Hollywood'sprimarymeansofattractingaudienceshingesonMarvelmoviesandestablishedfilmfranchises,accordingtoRao."Althoughtheypresentvisuallyimpactfulspectacles,overtime,Chineseaudienceshavealsogrownwearyofthem,"hesaid,addingthattheintrinsicdisconnectionofAmericanfilmsfromChineserealitiesnaturallyimpedestheevocationofempathy.LiusaidthatHollywoodfilmsusuallyexcelinindustrializationandvisualeffects,butinrecentyears,Chineseblockbusterswithimpressivevisualeffectshavebecomeincreasinglycommon,makingthedeclineintheattractivenessofHollywoodfilmsinevitable."IfaHollywoodfilmisnotaword-of-mouthhitandatthesametimedomesticfilmchoicesarediverse,itwillbenaturalforaudiencestooptforlocalfilms,"hesaid.■Editor:DisclaimerTheviewsandopinionsexpressedinthisarticlearethoseoftheauthor's,GMW.cnmakesnorepresentationsastoaccuracy,suitability,orvalidityofanyinformationonthissiteandwillnotbeliableforanyerrors,omissions,ordelaysinthisinformation.