Chinese Theaters Continue to See Success with Loosened Restrictions
Towards the end of the third quarter of the year, the film industry began to see a semi-return to normalcy. In the US, COVID-19 restrictions began to loosen and a few regions in the country were able to open their doors again. Outside of the US, particularly in China, thousands of theaters were opening, and Chinese filmmakers were prepared. Ba Bai saw an unbelievable opening week, making $116 million over a 5-day period. With China continuing to open more and more theaters, an even bigger opening was on the horizon. On the weekend of October 9th, My People, My Homeland (original title Wo He Wo De Jia Xiang) opened to an astonishing $101 million in only three days. The film is an anthology representing China, about various people in different parts of rural China that explore what makes their communities unique. Each segment of the film has different directors and a multitude of writers. Currently, two weeks after its opening, My People, My Homeland has grossed over $450 million dollars. Unlike when Ba Bai was released, theater capacities have now increased from 50% to 75%. My People, My Homeland, and any other film that Chinese filmmakers have planned to release will continue to see the same success.
On Netflix, there is a new crop of films that are seeing global success. The Trial of the Chicago 7, Aaron Sorkin’s film about the story of 7 people on trial stemming from various charges surrounding the uprising at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Illinois, is a top 5 film across the globe. The film stars Eddie Redmayne (The Danish Girl), Sacha Baren Cohen (Borat) and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (Aquaman). Along with this, Rachel Talalay’s adaptation,A Babysitter’s Guide to Monster Hunting, is also a top 5 film across the world. The film, based on the book of the same title, is about a babysitter who embarks on a mission to save a child who's been abducted by monsters. The film is led by the talented, young Tamara Smart (Artemis Fowl).
Box Office Roundup and Looking Ahead: In Japan, which is now opening theaters, Demon Slayer the Movie: Mugen Train opened to a very nice opening of $31 million and has seen a gross of $44 million. The film, based off of the popular anime series of the same name, has only been released in Japan, but to see this sort of return in only a week’s time is a very promising sign for Japan’s film industry and theaters.
In the US, things seem to only be getting worse (again). Tenet has now run in theaters for over six weeks and its numbers have become stagnant. Other films that were released, never even saw the sort of semi-success that Tenet did and have been pulled from theaters much quicker. Along with this, every major film has been pushed to the summer of 2021 and beyond. There seems to be no sort of light at the end of the tunnel for theaters in the US.
However, streaming companies, as expected, are seeing major success. Netflix has continued to succeed with their films, and now that we are approaching the holiday season, other streaming companies are able to show off their extensive catalogs. Companies like Hulu and HBO Max are currently pushing their horror catalogs for Halloween and will continue this trend as we head towards Thanksgiving and the December holidays. As consumers, this is the best case we’ll probably see as we begin the fourth quarter. For the film industry, however, major studios will have to sit back and watch with the rest of us.
