Market in focus: Hong Kong film industry celebrates post-pandemic comeback

In previous editions of Filmart, Hong Kong’s major film companies, including Edko Films, Emperor Motion Pictures (EMP), One Cool Group, Universe Films and Media Asia, have always anchored the exhibition space with large, sprawling booths showcasing the latest Hong Kong films. , Animations and TV series.

Despite a difficult few years with Covid-related cinema closures, strict travel restrictions and the political unrest in Hong Kong, all these companies and more are rebuilding their plots at the first physical edition of Filmart in three years and even managed to good news to share.

Just last week, Edko Films legal drama A bad conscience, starring Dayo Wong as a single mother’s sharp-tongued defender of ruthless tycoons, was the first ever Hong Kong film to earn more than HK$100 million (US$12.7 million) at the domestic box office. The film is also currently topping the box office in mainland China, having opened there last weekend and grossed over RMB80 million (US$11.6 million).

The film, screenwriter Jack Ng’s directorial debut, broke the record for the highest-grossing Hong Kong film of all time last year by One Cool Group’s sci-fi epic. warrior of the futurewhich in turn beat a record set by Edko Films Ensemble Comedy last summer table for six.

Bill Kong, executive director of Edko Films, says he did not expect such big results for a medium-sized legal drama. “I spoke to some viewers who said the story was appealing because they hadn’t seen such a story in a long time,” says Kong, who is internationally known as a major film producer. as Fearless And lust, caution. “Word of mouth also helps, as people have already told their friends and family to see the film.”

As another legal drama, Cheuk-Tins Ho The sparring partnerAlso a hit last year, which earned HK$39.4 million (US$5 million), some industry watchers have speculated that it is a genre that appeals to the people of Hong Kong as their own legal systems undergo massive changes.

But Fred Tsui, founder of festivals and sales consultancy Moebius Entertainment, says it goes beyond a global desire for social justice stories and for the ultra-rich to get their due: “Movies and series like parasite, triangle of sadness And The White Lotus all deal with similar topics. They’re not necessarily anti-government, they’re just anti-inequality or encouraging the rich to abuse their privileges.”

Meanwhile, a number of other Hong Kong films in other genres have fared better in the past year, including family dramas Mother’s affair And Hong Kong familycomedies table for six And History of the Chilean smileand award-winning social issue dramas, The sunny side of the street And The narrow street.

They continue the trend of recent years to diversify Hong Kong’s production from the police thrillers and action comedies for which it is internationally known to stories about ordinary people and families going through difficult times in life.

Many of these films are also made by budding filmmakers, showing the industry’s willingness to support new talent. In some cases, this has been made possible by funding from the Hong Kong Film Development Council, which announced before the pandemic that it would increase film industry support to HK$1 billion (US$128 million). Local companies such as Edko Films, EMP and One Cool Group also contributed.

Felix Tsang of Golden Scene, which oversees the international distribution of many Hong Kong new wave films, says they are also responding to Hongkongers’ desire to see their own lives on screen: seen for years, they direct specifically aimed at Hong Kong audiences Dialogue and humor are very focused on the Cantonese language and the audience really appreciated it.

He adds that before the pandemic, Hong Kong cinemas were mostly dominated by American studio films and local producers who were often aimed at the much larger Chinese market, rather than specifically targeting Hong Kong audiences. Meanwhile, none of the global streaming giants have invested in Cantonese-language series or any other kind of content, meaning Cantonese movies are filling the gap.

But while it’s encouraging to see Hong Kong films doing well in their home market, it will always be a relatively small market. So what are the prospects for these films outside of Hong Kong? A bad conscience It is rare for a smaller Hong Kong film to be distributed in China, where usually only the larger Hong Kong-Chinese co-productions are released. Hong Kong’s traditional export markets – Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia – are also gravitating towards the bigger action films (although A bad conscience this trend again by leading the box office in Malaysia).

New Markets

However, there is a new audience for these films among people from Hong Kong who have moved to the UK, US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand since the introduction of the National Security Act in June 2020. Magnum Films recently released A bad conscience to 34 cinemas in the UK, where an estimated 150,000 Hong Kongers have moved in the past year, while Trinity CineAsia had a hit in the UK last year Mother’s affair$170,000 earned.

“Last year showed there was a market for Cantonese language films in the UK,” says Cedric Behrel of Trinity CineAsia, who was also involved in the production. The sparring partner And History of the Chilean smile. “We have built confidence that with the right film we can give theaters a good opening weekend.”

Trinity CineAsia also finds success with films in China – Lunar New Year Blockbuster The Wandering Earth 2 recently grossed nearly $1 million in the UK, making it the biggest Chinese-language film released there since. lust, caution. But mainland films are more likely to attract Chinese students, while Hong Kong films, unsurprisingly, appeal to Hong Kong audiences.

While current results are encouraging both in Hong Kong and abroad, Hong Kong filmmakers are a pragmatic bunch and recognize that there are no guarantees for the future. Hong Kong films may lose ground at the domestic box office if the supply of Hollywood films begins to increase, and Hong Kong producers may turn their attention back to producing films for Chinese audiences when the market begins to reopen.

And while Hong Kong has been slow to embrace the streaming revolution, more local talent may be moving to series as ambitious newcomers like PCCW’s Makerville and Peter Ho-sun Chan’s Changin’ Pictures take off. But no matter how the market develops, there is a new generation of Hong Kong filmmakers – some working in their hometowns, others who have moved with the diaspora to the UK or North America – that should be interesting to follow.