China Film Co., Ltd. has been included for the 16th time on a list of the top 30 cultural enterprises within China, which was recently selected and co-released by Guangming Daily and Economic Daily.
Fu Ruoqing, chairman of China Film Co., Ltd., poses for a photo with the award plaque at a ceremony to recognize China's top 30 cultural enterprises for 2024, in Beijing, May 23, 2024. [Photo courtesy of China Film Co., Ltd.]
The film company produced and released a total of 37 films in 2023, bringing in 26.89 billion yuan at the box office, which is 59.45% of the total national box office revenue. Of the top 10 highest grossing films for 2023, six were from China Film Co., Ltd. Additionally, the company's releases collected 129 awards from various domestic and international film festivals and award events.
Notably, "The Wandering Earth II" became the best-rated Chinese sci-fi production and collected more than $600 million globally. "Full River Red," "No More Bets" and "The Volunteers: To the War" all had exceptional box office performances and received critical acclaim last year.
The company has revealed it now has nearly 90 projects in preparation, including 50 original projects. This includes the highly anticipated upcoming wuxia film "The Legend of the Condor Heroes: The Great Hero" by Tsui Hark, which is currently in post-production. Wuxia, a genre of Chinese fiction, is known for its epic tales of martial arts heroes and their adventures in ancient China.
Besides movies, the company has actively promoted high-level self-reliance in film technology and pushed forward core technological advancements in recent years. For example, it independently developed and launched the China Film Cinity LED cinema screen, the world's first product that supports a resolution of 4K and 120 frames-per-second format. Alongside the production of an LED screen, the company's Cinity cinematic screening technology has been included in upgrades made to Asia's largest popular science giant screen cinema, located in the China Science and Technology Museum. The number of cinemas equipped with Cinity projection systems in China has grown to more than 160, with an additional 10 theaters contracted and launched in Europe.
In 2023, the company also initiated a project to support young filmmakers, selecting 15 projects from more than 300 submitted scripts and exploring innovative film distribution methods. Additionally, through collaboration with other esteemed institutions like the National Theatre of China, National Centre for the Performing Arts and China Media Group, China Film Co., Ltd. has broadened its repertoire to include stage dramas, operas and livestreaming onto cinema screens, enriching cinematic experiences for audiences. In terms of cultural tourism, the enterprise has already made significant progress on the construction of a Chinese sci-fi themed amusement park.
The list of top 30 Chinese cultural enterprises also includes several other notable companies in the film business, such as Huaxia Film Distribution Co., Ltd, Shanghai Film Group, Zhejiang Huace Film & TV Co., Ltd, Poly Culture Group, iQiyi, G!Film Studio (Beijing) Co., Ltd., Perfect World and Fantawild.