Chinese films haven’t had nearly as much success in overseas markets as Hollywood’s films have in China. In the past 10 years, the overseas box office revenues for homegrown movies grew from RMB 500 million in 2002 to a record high of RMB 3.517 billion in 2010.

But international box office receipts fell in 2011. That year, 55 Chinese features were sold to 22 countries and regions, with total revenues hitting RMB 2.046 billion – a fall of 40 percent from 2010.

Though revenues are still lackluster, the cultural influence of Chinese film is expanding. In 2011, Chinese films were shown at 75 Chinese film exhibitions and themed activities in 44 countries, and Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, for a total of 485 screenings. Chinese films were also screened 295 times at 82 film festivals in 28 countries, and Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan. They collectively won 82 awards at 18 film festivals.

Chinese films popular with overseas audiences are almost all martial arts flicks. As the highest-grossing Chinese film ever overseas, Hero, released in 2002, has earned over RMB 1.1 billion, with RMB 420 million from the U.S., RMB 300 million from Japan, RMB 120 million from South Korea, RMB 170 million from Europe and nearly RMB 100 million from Southeast Asian countries. Its overseas box-office is almost five times domestic revenue. House of Flying Daggers, released in 2004, was another big hit, grossing over RMB 500 million in the overseas market.

Jason Reed, executive vice president of Walt Disney Studios, said that greater film exchanges between countries means being able to tell each other’s stories and promote understanding of nations’ varying world views. Through the conduit of film, mass audiences gain insight into cultures they would otherwise not encounter. Reed also commented that Chinese film has never been more relevant; as the country rises economically, the globalization of its film industry is an important medium through which to express itself culturally.

Co-production Deals

Statistics show that domestically produced films have made concrete progress. But they still can’t rival their foreign counterparts – even in the domestic market – since China opened its screens to an influx of Hollywood features in the 1990s. One way to further foster domestic cinema has been to promote Chinese-foreign co-productions as well as collaborations between the mainland and Hong Kong and Taiwan.

From 2001 to June of 2012, the number of co-productions reached 417. So far, China has signed intergovernmental film cooperation agreements with seven countries, namely Italy, Australia, New Zealand, France, Canada, Belgium and Singapore. Talks with the U.K., India, Russia and South Korea are underway.

The co-production model was inaugurated in 1958, when China and France joined forces to produce Magic of the Kite. The collaboration was big news in the West. In 1982, The Shaolin Temple, co-produced by China and its now Special Administrative Region Kong Hong, became a classic of Chinese film. In 1987, the renowned Italian director Bernardo Bertolucci came to China to shoot The Last Emperor, which later won nine Oscars. Thereafter the co-production model has been accepted and adopted by an increasing number of Chinese directors. Later co-productions such as Zhang Yimou’s Judou and Raise the Red Lattern, and Chen Kaige’s Farewell My Concubine and Temptress Moon, won many international awards.

Moreover, Hong Kong directors have continued to enhance their cooperation with mainland filmmakers. In 2000, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, produced by Hong Kong with joint efforts from China’s mainland and Taiwan, was a big hit and won four Oscars.

Cooperation was initially confined to capital and human resources. But after years of playing second fiddle, mainland filmmakers have started to seek out mutually acceptable ways to tell stories and express emotional concepts. For example, A Beautiful Life, by Hong Kong director Andrew Lau Wai-keung, depicts the story of a Hong Kong woman who has moved to the mainland. And Don’t Go Breaking My Heart, by Johnnie To Kei-Fung, tells of the life of a woman who moves from the mainland to Hong Kong. Filmmakers from the mainland and Hong Kong, as well as from Taiwan, have worked together to create increasing numbers of excellent Chinese-language films. They have succeeded in tapping into the larger Asian market, where audiences share a similar cultural background.

As for the cooperation between film industries in China and the West, there are two major models. In the first model the Western side invests funds, while the movie is shot by Chinese directors in an authentic local style. Examples include Feng Xiaogang’s Big Shot’s Funeral and Cell Phone and Lu Chuan’s Kekexili: Mountain Patrol. In the second model Western filmmakers establish cooperative relationships with Chinese counterparts in human resources and capital in order to facilitate their entry to the Chinese market. The movies they make nonetheless fall into Western paradigms. Examples include The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, Looper and 33 Postcards.