Asian Movie Industry

Hundreds of movies are released every years but only a few become successful. The recipe for a successful film is quite simple, a small budget plus massive ticket sales which leads to huge profits. According to data, the following movies are most successful in Asia.

Monster hunt

Moster Hunt is a Chinese fantasy action comedy directed by Raman Hui and starred by Jing Boran and Bai Baihe.

It was released on 16th July, 2015 in in 3D. Upon its release, it broke numerous box office records including the most successful movie in Asia and has grossed a massive $382 million.

The Ghouls

This yet another successful Asian based movie. It is based on a fantasy novel whose story follows two tomb raiders as they try to revert a curse with the help of an American archeologist. The Ghouls has collected over $255,747,040.

Lost in Hong Kong

This is a comedy film packed with action. Its story is based on a middle aged man who takes his wife on vacation to Hon Kong but his brother tags along and they all fall into a series of mishaps. It was released on 25th Sep, 2015 and on 19th November in Hong Kong. Lost in Hong Kong has broken several box office records and grossed over $253,590,000.

Veteran

Veteran is a South Korean crime comedy movie directed and written by Ryoo Seung wan. It won the Casa Asia Awards at the Sitges Film Festival, has drawn over 13.4 admissions and grossed over $92,838,964.

The assassin

The assassin is a Hong Kong and China co-production. It was screened at the Cannes Film Festival on 27th August, 2015.

Its story follows a girl who is kidnapped and transformed into a lethal assassin. During her mission, she is taken by Liu Chang Yi whom she provides with loyalty. as

The assassin was selected as the Taiwanese entry as the Best Foreign language Film during the 88th Academy Awards and has grossed a total of $88.5 million.

Our times

This is a Taiwanese romance film directed by Frankie Chen. It was released in Macau and Hong Kong box office on 15th Oct, 2015 and later released in China on 19th November 2015.

Our times is about a school girl who is in love with a popular boy but ends up being an errand girl for the school gangster. This movie has grossed over $81.5 million.

Assassination

This is a South Korean espionage action movie directed and co written by Choi Dong Hoon. This film is among the top grossing movies in Asia with over 12.7 million admissions and an income of over $86,915,500

Himalayas

Himalayas is a South Korean drama film about a touching story of a team that goes to the Himalays to find their lost friend. It was directed by Lee Seok hoon and released on 16th December, 2015. This movies has been a huge success grossing over $49,772,226.

Hero

Lastly is hero, an Indian romantic action film that was directed by Nikhil and co written by Umesh Bist. It was a remake of Subbash Ghai’s which was directed in 1983 under the same name.

Hero was released on 11th September 2015 worldwide and it has collected over $37,473,829

 

Previously, the sustenance of America film Industry came from domestic ticket sales within US but today, overseas markets especially Asia have become profoundly important.

This is due to the increasing growth of Asia’s middle class which has created a huge new entertainment market industry. For example, China was involved in building about 27 cinema screens daily surpassing the US which has a total of 40,475 screens. Also, the revenue from China’s box office is likely to surpass that of the United States making it the largest movie market in the world.

Obviously, the film industry in US will want to reach the Asian customers but some Asian countries limit the number of foreign films that get in every year. Regardless, America film industry is busy adapting to the needs of Asian moviegoers.

Culture clash

The entry of American film industry into Asian countries calls for a lot of vigilance as it can no longer afford to reinforce the old stereotypes if it wants to benefit financially from the international film market. Movie makers have to start considering other cultures, the things they value as well as how they view the world and include them into the storytelling.

This may force the US film industry to go to extraordinary lengths. For example, when Red Dawn thriller was released, it featured Chinese villains which led to a lot of criticism in the Chinese media. This resulted to the removal of all villain scenes and they were replaced with North Koreans.

Another consequence of conveying US values to the rest of the world is that certain American narratives may have to be omitted from the entertainment industry. This includes stories of African Americans as finding their audience in the international market has always been a struggle and other countries do not relate with their stories.

Also, it will pose as a challenge to certain genres especially comedy. This is because most comedians do not translate the humour and it is likely not to play well in most parts of Asia.

Positive impacts of Asian influence in America film industry

A major bonus of the growing Asian market is that it provides a big safety net for the American based movies that fail domestically. There are many examples of stumbling US box office but doing great in the Asian market such as the sci-fi war film Battleship, starring Rihanna and Liam Neeson which generated $65 million only in ticket sales in US but brought a whopping $187 million from Asia.

The growing Asia market brings profitability to films that could have otherwise sunk if they relied on domestic box office only.

Commercially, United States reliance on Asian market has been nothing but successful. Catering for the increased number of audiences may have its challenges but the international market is keeping the American film industry pulsating with life. Even with predictions that Asia may dominate the film industry in the coming years, American film industry still retains its dominance as the most robust exports in the world.