Is cinema big in China

[pprendeville]

Was asking my wife, who is Chinese, if many Chinese people go to watch movies in the cinema or do they just watch hem on tv or on DVD (currently at the cinema so my mobile should be off). She never went to the cinema in China do isn't sure. I don't recall seeing a cinema in her hometown which wouldn't be that big (maybe 100000 people). I recall watching Terminator 2 one summers evening outdoors at a cafe but i wouldnt call that cinema although really enjoyed the settings.

Are there many cinemas in Beijing for instance and what are admission costs? Are all movies released in cinema first or do some go straight to DVD? Silly questions but just curious.

[imron]

There are plenty of cinemas in Beijing, and most cities will have at least one, but admission costs can be quite high (compared to say a DVD). Several years back, low-end cinemas were charging maybe 35 RMB a ticket, and high-end cinemas (i.e. nice seats & screen, relatively clean) maybe 60-70 RMB a ticket. This was before 3D came in, so I'm not sure what it's like now, but probably not less than this.

[Takeshi]

In mainland China it seems to be not very popular, but I have this impression that it is very popular in HK.

[mikevwilliams]

I live in Xiamen and there are a lot of Cinemas here, 18 apparently, 1 of them IMAX, though I've only ever been to 4 of them (not the IMAX). Tickets at the cinema are between 70-150 yuan, though I think the IMAX is more expensive than that. I've never paid full price for tickets though, usually I get some tickets from various group-buy sites for about 20-30 yuan per ticket. There's usually a lot of people at the cinemas I've been to. I went to see the Avengers last week and the cinema was pretty full.

[liuzhou]

Most people download movies for free.

In fact, many people think that is the only thing their computer can be used for.

[xiaocai]

Per capita it is rather small compared to many other countries, because movie tickets are quite expensive to a Chinese person of an average income. But because we have such a big population so the over all volume is also very big, at least in the top 5 of the world I think.

[icebear]

As xiaocai said, my impression in Beijing is that per capita it's relatively low, but still there are many cinemas which have large facilities, impressive quality and are always full. Also, quite pricey (tickets generally from 70 RMB up) for your average Chinese, so I think its much more of a dating venue rather than a bunch of friends going together as is common in the West.

[mayuuuc]

As I heard from a friend from nanjing there are a lot of cinemas and it's actually quite popluar there. Maybe it's not as pricey there?

[abcdefg]

Lots of cinemas in Kunming, but as has already been said, they are expensive and mainly a dating venue.

When you are not eating popcorn or holding hands with your date, you keep busy sending and receiving text messages on your mobile phone.

[Scandinavian]

Another factor in the popularity of cinemas would be the selection of movies. only a few "western" movies are allowed in cinemas per year (can't remember the number, I think its 45) and then some movies might undergo censorship. The price is also a potential problem for the cinemas, however as mentioned above, the "group-buy" significantly reduces the price. Last time I was at the cinema the group bought tickets where about 30% of normal price.

[XiaoXi]

Is cinema big in China? I'd say cinemas are LOUD in China. I went to a few different cinemas in Beijing and Tianjin and my eardrums almost burst. Don't know quite why they have it that loud unless everyone in China is deaf which I'm thinking is actually the case.

[pprendeville]

Most people download movies for free.
In fact, many people think that is the only thing their computer can be used for. 

Had to laugh at this.

[pprendeville]

thanks for all the great replies guys. some interesting cultural points to note i find. in my opinion the louder something is the better in China. for example, my father-in-law who is Chinese got our daughter a doll last time we were over and when you switch it on a song sounding something like the vengaboys (late 90's dance group from Holland) starts playing and it's extremely loud and irritating and keeps playing over and over and over until you switch it off. it would drive you mad and the lyrics are definitely not suitable for children.

how come only a maximum of 45 movies are allowed? will it affect Chinese made movies revenue?

[icebear]

how come only a maximum of 45 movies are allowed? will it affect Chinese made movies revenue?

I actually thought it was 20, although the last time I read about that law was a few years ago and it may have been adjusted.

The reasoning for this type of law is that they don't want their movie industry to be dominated by a large, experienced, well bankrolled Hollywood. In Canada they also have policies to encourage "Canadian Content" on both radio and TV, and similar types of policies can be found in Europe also (e.g. France).

A less official reason could be that limiting the number of foreign movies that come in each year allow for selectivity of which titles to permit without being so heavy handed with censorship (i.e. they just say the quota has been filled already when that Free Tibet documentary applies).

[skylee]

Could someone explain the group-buy (團購) mechanism? I understand bulk purchase -> lower price per item, but who do you buy from and how do you know they are trustworthy? And if one relies on group-buy does it mean that movie-going has to be well-planned?

[liuzhou]

I once went to a cinema in Hunan. It was a long time ago. The latest hit was The English Patient. I settled down without my popcorn and was treated to a washed out, out of focus version of what may have been a movie. It dubbed, very loudly into Chinese, but thankfully there were subtitles in English, Korean, Thai, Vietnamese, Japanese, Lao and Martian. All on top of each other so that none were readable. Still have no idea what the movie was about.

A couple of years later, I went, with a lady friend, to a cinema here in Guangxi to see another movie, which I recall we really wanted to see, but I forget which. It doesn't matter. We entered the pitch dark hall and found a couple of seats. It took us a while to realise that the movie was actually playing. They had turned down the brightness of the projector to minimum. The only indication that the movie was playing was the extremely loud soundtrack and the very occasional flicker of light from somewhere towards the front of the cinema, although that was probably someone's cigarette.

We decided to leave and demand our money back. It hadn't been cheap. The woman on the ticket booth seemed rather surprised when we complained that we couldn't see the movie.

"You came to see the movie? How strange! Everyone else comes to copulate * "

But she did refund us. I've never been to the cinema in China since.

* That is a very loose translation!

[skylee]

I went to the cinema in Mainland China once. It was a cinema in Shanghai Xintiandi. The film was "Curse of the Golden Flower'. The film and the cinema were fine, but my fellow audience were not. I don't think I will do it again on the Mainland. Relevant blog here.

上海的最貴(80塊人民幣)，戲院設施不錯，可是觀眾們真是不敢恭維：電話鈴聲、講電話聲、討論聲、看到要緊處竟然還有叫好聲，又可怕,又可惡。難怪有一次在香港看電影，散場時聽到有人用普通話說："裏面好靜,我都不敢說話。"說到底就是文化不同。無論如何，在大陸看電影看來可免則免。

[abcdefg]

Don't know quite why they have it that loud unless everyone in China is deaf...

They play the movies loud to try and drown out the noise of people talking on the mobile phones. (Not kidding.)

[jbradfor]

although that was probably someone's cigarette. ..... "You came to see the movie? How strange! Everyone else comes to copulate * "

Guess they were done.

They play the movies loud to try and drown out the noise of people talking on the mobile phones. (Not kidding.)

This makes me want to move to Austin just to support this theatre. The PSA is priceless. http://cf.drafthouse.com/she_texted_we_kicked_her_out2.html

[liuzhou]

They play the movies loud to try and drown out the noise of people talking on the mobile phones. (Not kidding.)

Partly that. Also a continuation of the general noisiness of China. My neighbours have their televisions pretty loud and who hasn't seen groups of Chinese get into their hotel rooms and turn the TV to full volume, then leave the room door open while they yell to their friends who have done the same in the next room? All on different channels, of course.