releases and closing cinemas over Chinese New Year was the most dramatic possible expression of the emergency response to the novelthreat that spread from the city of Wuhan in January. The movie distribution and exhibition sectors had been counting on a billion dollars of box office revenue over the 10-day holiday period, a peak season that determines the growth trajectory for the whole year.
in China. Hundreds of smaller facilities have similarly gone dark, as they follow government instructions that come with no return to work date.One TV producer told Variety that the shut-down instructions came with little warning, and instantly threw his show into a fragile financial state. “We have 400 cast and crew holed up in a hotel in a closed-down resort near Chengdu. With food and accommodation costs, but no filming, we are losing money every day,” says Wang Haiyi of HiShow Entertainment.
Few producers in China make use of the full range of insurance and completion guarantees that are available in the West. That means that production companies, and ultimately investors, public and private, will have to bear the costs. “Producers don’t have a bond company to cover this, that’s why the stock prices for these companies is just going down every day,” says Li Chi-an, an independent producer and screenwriter.
Many film investors in China are not especially sophisticated, or long-term players. They move in and out of the sector, and even in good times, many Chinese films rush into production to make use of a window of opportunity when the funding is available.
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Source: CNBC - 🏆 12. / 72 Read more »