When the world gets closer.

We help you see farther.

Sign up to our expressly international daily newsletter.

China 2.0

Big Data Fuels China's Film Industry Gold Rush

Movie posters in Shanghai
Movie posters in Shanghai
Li Jing

BEIJING — China's Internet heavyweights all seem to be joining a kind of film industry gold rush. Sohu, one of China's largest Internet portal operators, has acquired a 6.4% stake in KeyEast, a South Korean entertainment company, and Sohu CEO Charles Zhang has announced that it will consider producing films once the company's downloading platform matures.

Alibaba, the e-commerce group whose sales rivals eBay and Amazon combined, long ago created its own film and television company, along with two online video portals: leTV and Iqiyi. Through Alibaba, which is set for one of the largest IPO's ever, Internet users can even make investments in films. Up to now, four film investment projects have been completed through this business model.

Meanwhile, Iqiyi plans to launch seven domestic films and one Hollywood movie through its Internet platform by cooperating with both Chinese and foreign film companies in the upcoming year.

The plans of these Internet companies are all more or less the same. That is, they want to use crowd funding, big-data analysis, online sales of movie tickets and derivative e-commerce products to create a maximum profit margin for their films.

Obviously, the aim of these Internet companies isn't just to make gains at the box office but also to generate greater commercial value through online video subscription, derivative e-commerce and games development.

House of Cards, the American drama series known to inform its production by using big data, is the cult example for China's Internet companies. They are convinced that big data will help them tap more diversified revenues from films.

Nonetheless, filmmaking is above all an art. What decides a film's success or failure is, first of all, the script and the script writer behind it. How much the natural gift counts for in this profession where working hard is not the only requirement is most felt by the spectators when watching a bad movie. So whether big data can really help script writers to develop more interesting plots is certainly a complex issue.

The focused film screenings of the Hollywood blockbuster How to Train Your Dragon are an inspiration. That is, big data can improve industrial screenplay production development. In the two special screenings — one for the professionals and the other for families — market researchers recorded in detail every minute of audience responses, such as laughter or indifference. The data was then fed back to the producer to alter the film. A few months later, a follow-up screening with the plot modified according to the previous viewers' responses was programmed to find out what effect it had.

But at the end of the day, will big data improve a film? After all, film is an art before being a science. Success or failure of China's Internet giants is in how to find a gold-plated script writer.


You've reached your limit of free articles.

To read the full story, start your free trial today.

Get unlimited access. Cancel anytime.

Exclusive coverage from the world's top sources, in English for the first time.

Insights from the widest range of perspectives, languages and countries.

Geopolitics

China's Military Intentions Are Clear — And Arming Taiwan Is The Only Deterrence

China is spending more money on weapons and defense than ever. The reason is evident: Xi Jinping wants to take Taiwan. Europe should follow the U.S. and support Taipei militarily as the only way to deter Beijing from war.

Photo of Military drills in Taiwan amid rising China-U.S. Tensions

Taiwanese soldiers stand guard at a base during a military drill simulating defense operations against a possible Chinese PLA intrusion

Gregor Schwung

-OpEd-

BERLIN — Fear is never the best advisor.

It is, however, an understandable emotion when China announces the biggest increase in its defense budget in memory. And when Beijing does so after siding with Russia in the Ukraine war with its supposed "peace plan" and justifying the increase with an alleged "escalating oppression" of China in the world.

The budget plan unveiled by outgoing Premier Li Keqiang calls for a 7.2% increase in defense spending. That's more than in previous years — and just the official figure.

Experts estimate the true spending is much higher, as Beijing finances its military through numerous shadow budgets.

Keep reading...Show less

You've reached your limit of free articles.

To read the full story, start your free trial today.

Get unlimited access. Cancel anytime.

Exclusive coverage from the world's top sources, in English for the first time.

Insights from the widest range of perspectives, languages and countries.

The latest