The Hong Kong box office has faced significant challenges in 2023, with the broader cinema market struggling to reach pre-pandemic levels. Despite the success of “A Guilty Conscience” as the highest-grossing film of all time in the local box office, the industry as a whole has fallen short.
A Slow Recovery
According to data from Hong Kong Box Office Limited, the annual cinema revenue in 2023 was HK$1.43 billion ($184 million), marking a 25% improvement from the previous year’s figures of HK$1.14 billion ($146 million). However, the 2023 results remained 25% lower than the pre-pandemic numbers of 2019, when box office revenue reached HK$1.92 billion ($246 million).
Local Successes
“A Guilty Conscience” earned HK$115 million ($14.7 million) and emerged as the only local film to make it into the territory’s top ten chart in 2023. Other notable films included “Oppenheimer” with HK$72.8 million, “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part 1” with HK$60.5 million, “The Super Mario Brothers Movie” with HK$52.5 million, and “Barbie” with HK$44.2 million. Additionally, Japanese animation “The First Slam Dunk” ranked seventh with HK$39.4 million.
Changing Tastes
Interestingly, “Fast X,” the top imported film in mainland China, only ranked ninth in Hong Kong with HK$29.8 million. This discrepancy highlights the divergence in audience preferences between the two regions, with no mainland Chinese films making it into the Hong Kong top ten.
Challenging Conditions
The organizations behind the data described the 2023 box office results as “deeply unsatisfactory” and expressed concerns about the poor state of the film production and cinema sectors. They attribute the decline to factors such as audiences favoring overseas travel over visiting cinemas, changes in consumer behavior, and issues within the film industry itself. These issues include a limited selection of movies available to the public and production problems caused by the COVID-19 era.
Fewer Film Releases
In 2023, a total of 267 films were released in Hong Kong, an increase from 217 in 2022 but still lower than the 329 films in 2019. Both local productions (46) and imported titles (221) saw a decline compared to the pre-pandemic era.
Local Productions
Some notable Hong Kong productions in 2023 included “Time Still Turns the Pages” with HK$23.5 million, “Over My Dead Body” with HK$22.7 million, “In Broad Daylight” with HK$21.1 million, “Everything Under Control” with HK$16.2 million, “The White Storm 3 Heaven or Hell” with HK$14.0 million, “Don’t Call Me God of Gamblers” with HK$13.0 million, “Mad Fate” with HK$11.7 million, “Where the Wind Blows” with HK$11.3 million, and “It Remains” with HK$10.3 million.
The challenges faced by the Hong Kong box office in 2023 demonstrate the ongoing impact of the pandemic and changing audience preferences. The industry will need to adapt and innovate to navigate these difficult times and rebuild the cinematic experience for audiences.
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Source link: Variety