The producers of Quiba: Soaring to the Sky are confused

Three movies were released in three schedules because they could not find the audience

“We want to find out where the schedules are suitable for non-young children”

"Quiba" " series has gone through a brutal three-year box office journey since the first part was released in 2011. The first part had a box office of 3.5 million. In 2013, "Kuiba 2" was distributed by the private film company Bona and released in 3D format on June 1st. The box office increased to 24.82 million. However, this animated film with a good reputation in the industry has never been able to attract more ordinary audiences to pay attention to it and pay for it.

Even in the promotion of "Quiba 3", there were recommendations from celebrities such as Guo Jingming and Cui Yongyuan, the "national father-in-law" Han Han brought his daughter to support, and the creator of the popular online drama "Unexpectedly" called the beast , Baike, Kong Lianshun and others... "Quiba 3", which was in full swing in the National Day season in 2014, also has its own "shortcomings" in the animation genre. For domestic cartoons, it is "for children." "Prejudice also causes theaters to schedule animated movies in the morning when they are suitable for parents to watch with their children. In fact, the main audience of "Quiba 3" has always been "old children", and the time period for them to go to and from the theater is usually in the morning. In the afternoon and evening, this time period is the territory of powerful films of various genres such as "Beautiful Heart", "Dear", and "Ruffian Hero". Since "Quiba 3" was released on October 1, 2014, the cumulative box office as of October 11 has only reached 22.6 million. The difficulty at the box office also allowed it to finally usher in the "end of the series" ahead of schedule in such an embarrassing situation. ".

However, according to Song Lei, deputy director of the Research Department of the China Animation Society, it is not just a simple issue of schedule. The three films in the "Quiba" series were released in three completely different schedules: summer, Children's Day and now the National Day, "which shows that no matter how the film production level has improved, in terms of marketing, "Quiba" Still not out of the water-testing situation. This is also a dilemma that young people have struggled to get rid of in the domestic market."

Wu Hanqing also partially agreed with this view. In her original opinion. In the setting, the schedule can be regarded as an experiment to find an audience. She wants to see how big the market space is for each schedule. Therefore, from "Quiba 1" being released as a summer release for teenagers, to "Quiba 2" moving to Children's Day, and then to the recent National Day release for all ages, "Quiba 3" also has Wanda as a co-producer, "It's I value Wanda’s advantages in cinema distribution, especially film scheduling.” As for the final failure at the box office, Wu Hanqing attributed it more to the common mindset among Chinese people that "cartoons are for children."

Is it the Chinese people’s prejudice against animated films or their own unclear positioning

“To say that Kuiba imitates Japanese comics is a misunderstanding of industry standards”

In Time It can be seen from the ratings on the Internet that the three major movies in the "Quiba" series maintain a rating of above 7 points. They are above the standard and their reputation is relatively impressive. However, some viewers said that the world view of the "Kuiba" series of movies is too complicated for young audiences, and the entire story structure is similar to a combination of "Naruto", "Journey to the West" and "Dragon Ball". In Wu Hanqing's view, the "Kuiba" series follows the usual international "action-adventure animated films", and it is the four words "domestic animation" that turn adult audiences away.

In an interview with reporters, Wu Hanqing also expressed concerns about the prejudice of Chinese audiences, "The Chinese market is not ready to accept animated films for young audiences like 'Quiba', and most theaters will still It is natural to think that animated movies are for young people, and they will not devote prime time to cartoons such as afternoons and evenings. "It goes with many "adult animations" of the same type such as "Qin Shi Mingyue" and "Dragon Nest". They all face the difficulty of breaking the ice. However, the box office of "Qin Shi Mingyue" and "Dragon Nest" each exceeded 50 million, although the expectations of the film studio were much higher than this figure.

Contrary to Wu Hanqing, many netizens believe that the box office failure of "Kuiba" is due to its style and positioning issues. For example, the most controversial "imitating Japanese comics" is not the first time Wu Hanqing has faced this. In response to this kind of criticism, she asked the reporter, "Why has everyone's concept not changed after so many years?" Faced with these criticisms, she also said unceremoniously, "To say that I imitate Japanese comics is to take the inherent laws of the animation industry too much for granted. .

Apart from the various styles of art short films produced by Meiying, the development of our commercial animation has just begun. Now everyone is more accustomed to the cute American style, and the so-called Japanese comic style is actually realistic beauty. We stylists work hard every day to avoid Japanese style, but as long as you require that the characters for commercial cartoons should be beautiful and beautiful, when you draw them, they will look like Japanese style - because Japan has developed in decades of development All the beauties have been drawn thoroughly. There is no point in trying to hide. This is a normal process of evolution. "

In the interview, Wu Hanqing repeatedly mentioned the director Ang Lee whom she admired. This great director who makes movies and tells stories in the world's language is the commercial creative direction that Wu Hanqing admires. She hopes to have more People should pay attention to the story and world view itself, rather than focusing on the so-called style of painting. At the same time, she also added, "The audience of the "Quiba" series is those born in the 80s and 90s. They grew up watching Japanese comics. I don't give it to them. Who should I show these to? Just like the fashion you are wearing, its style is definitely not a Tang suit, but you wear it if you think it looks good. Wouldn’t you worry that its design is not Chinese style? ”

The animated movie just let go

“I can be a pioneer, but I don’t want to be a martyr”

Although in the overall promotion of the "Quiba" series, The promoters have been using the banner of "domestic animation benchmark", but Wu Hanqing's eyes widened when he heard this label, "We cannot bear this national responsibility, and we have never thought of wavering this banner." Those The early traditional Chinese animation style that made China unique in the world is about art in Wu Hanqing's opinion, while what she and Qing Qingshu want to do is business. In other words, the first way to survive is to make money first.

The future of the animated film market for teenagers is unclear. Although "Qinshi Mingyue" and "Dragon Nest" have created a box office height for this type of animation in the 21st century, the box office figures are still far away from a healthy animated film market. As of October 12, 2014, Qingqingshu has stopped the company's animated film projects for young audiences, including the movie "Journey to the West" whose trailer was previously exposed, and only retained "Game Family Fun" for the parent-child market. A series that focuses on live-action movies and other channel products

Obviously, the Chinese animation film market is facing a chicken-and-egg dilemma. Song Lei, deputy director of the Research Department of the China Animation Society, believes that on the one hand, there is only one. Only by making more youth animations, adult animations, and animations for all ages can the market expand; on the other hand, only when the market expands will the filmmakers be willing to make this type of animation. "Quiba" fell into a chicken-and-egg situation. In some situations, when the current market is not capable of laying eggs, no one will always be the chicken paving the way. Therefore, the conservative route of "Quiba" taking retreat is also for the future. Consider new aspects.

Wu Hanqing revealed that the "Quiba" trilogy has invested more than 100 million. Although the box office is not ideal, there are many recycling channels for the Kuiba IP to be extended to other industry chains. Qing Qingshu is waiting for "domestic animation" to improve in the general consciousness of the Chinese people and "break the ice" before making animated films for adult audiences. She said with a smile, "I can be a pioneer, but I don't want to be a martyr." It is expected that this ice-breaking will not take long, and the words also revealed the market feedback on the domestic animated film "One Hundred Thousand Jokes" that will be released for the Lunar New Year in 2015.

《 "Quiba 4" has been postponed indefinitely, and brand building has been put on hold

In addition to the "frustration" at the box office, Wu Hanqing also said, "In fact, "Quiba 4" has been postponed indefinitely. "Quiba" is under great pressure to produce one movie a year. The delay of "Quiba 4" is actually to make its subsequent works better meet the needs of fans from script to technology. "In Wu Hanqing's view, "Qin Shi Mingyue" spent 7 years cultivating the brand, while "Kuiba" only lasted 3 years in 2014. "Next, we will use a more cost-effective way to cultivate this brand. Take action when the market is right. "

For this newly established brand, Wu Hanqing said that suspending "Kuiba 4" is not only not giving up, but more facing the market and changing ideas. "Kuiba" is a brand that Qing Qingshu has worked hard to create. As a commercial animation brand, she must do her best to maximize the commercial value of this brand.

Qingqingshu has reached a cooperation with Hollywood to make "Kuiba" into a live-action movie. The huge potential of the adult movie market, as well as the visual stimulation that the current audience needs when entering the cinema, made Wu Hanqing, who once worked on live-action movies at China Film Group, decide I want to return to my old profession and make "live-action blockbusters".

In interviews with other media, Wu Hanqing mentioned that he wanted to make the live-action movie "Kuiba" into a fantasy movie similar to "The Lord of the Rings". It is reported that the live-action movie "Quiba" will be jointly invested by both China and the United States, with Hollywood screenwriters writing the script, and technology companies that have cooperated with Marvel will also be involved. In terms of actors, according to the story setting of "Quiba", there will be many foreign actors playing the roles of monsters of different races in the story. Although the release date of the film has not been determined, it will be released simultaneously in China and the United States. The script writing and filming will be mainly in English. As for the art style, "It should refer to the existing design of the "Kuiba" animated film, but the vision is more international. It is the style of the world, just like Ang Lee."

Even if we wait for the animation industry" "Breaking the Ice." Even though the "Kuiba" series failed at the box office, Wu Hanqing is still optimistic about the future of Chinese animated films. "Now all animation companies are making films. This market is unlimited, and it is not subject to objective conditions such as actors and locations." Limitations, the profit model of animation brands is richer and safer, including dramas, games, toys, derivatives, stage plays, parks, etc., which are far higher than box office revenue. "Of course, she also has greater ambitions, Wu Hanqing said. , she hopes to create a series of superhero images belonging to the Chinese people through a series of animation brand products launched by Qingqingshu, and cooperate with partners in all aspects of the industry chain to make Qingqingshu become China’s Marvel.