Breaking into China’s market alone is a golden badge for many filmmakers, and it comes with monetary returns as well.BEIJING: Singapore director Jack Neo’s I Not Stupid series is well-known at home, but the latest in the installment, I Not Stupid 3, has reached a far wider audience.in cities nationwide in China on Friday , a historic feat for filmmakers in Singapore who have been eyeing the lucrative Chinese market for decades.
To ensure they could get approval, one of the firms that co-produced the Singaporean movie, mm2 Entertainment, said discussions about the storyline took years, with consultations with their Chinese offices on what would likely be greenlit and screened unedited. For some foreign movies, ticket sales have fared better in China than in their home countries. For instance, this year, Japanese anime film The Boy and the Heron did better in China than at home and in the Northern American market.
The efforts come as Chinese consumers increasingly choose to watch films online, with popular Chinese digital streaming platforms ramping up competition in the entertainment industry.But many obstacles still stand in the way for foreign filmmakers trying to break into the market. This includes not having enough lead time to drum up interest in their films, especially in comparison with Chinese movies.