With its own unique charm, Star Wars has evolved into a symbol, an eternal logo, and this culture has penetrated all aspects of the American people, understanding Star Wars knowledge has become a basic quality of life, and even it is not an exaggeration to say that Star Wars is a god-like existence in the hearts of Americans, just like the people on the other side of the Pacific Ocean feel about "Journey to the West". Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 ｉｎｆｏ

There is no doubt that Star Wars is the national myth of the Americans, not the national myth of the Chinese.

"The box office of Chinese films exploded in 2013, and this growth is reflected not only in the rapid growth of the box office of the whole film, but also in the change in the proportion of domestic films and Hollywood films in China."

In the Star Wars studio of Warner Studios, Duke looked at the professionals in charge of publicity and promotion at Lucasfilm and Warner Bros., who participated in the meeting, and said very seriously, "The box office growth of Chinese films has exceeded our expectations, and by the end of this year, the entire Chinese box office market may break through." ”

The importance of the Chinese market to Hollywood is undeniable, and if Star Wars: The Force Awakens wants to explode and maximize profits, the Chinese market must not be ignored.

"Here, I just want to say one thing." Duke said solemnly, "The publicity and promotion work we have done in the Chinese market is far from enough. ”

It has to be said that the huge success of the Star Wars series has also brought a false hint to many people at Lucasfilm and Warner Bros., making these people think that Star Wars can break out in Japan and South Korea, and it will also explode in the Chinese market as a matter of course.

But Duke knows that this is definitely not the case, and that if Chinese audiences want to buy the Star Wars account, they need to pay more.

"I want to develop a sound publicity plan and double the resources invested in China." Duke deliberately emphasized, "In the final stage before the release, I asked the name of Star Wars to appear in front of every Chinese audience. ”

Of course, this is an exaggeration, but the potential of the Chinese market cannot be overstated, and Duke has seen the changes in the Chinese film market from the data and reports transmitted by Warner Greater China.

in the past year. For the first time in more than a decade, Hollywood films accounted for less than 60% of the box office in China, and this major change is actually the result of the rapid growth of the Chinese film market in recent years.

Chinese movie audiences have grown rapidly in recent years. This is the inevitability of the "nationalization" process of Chinese films in recent years.

In recent years, the megalopolies formed since the 90s of the 20th century have made a fundamental change in the structure of China's film box office, which comes from two new increments: first, the expansion trend of China's middle class has rapidly formed a rapid expansion centered on third- and fourth-tier cities; Second, the young audience groups of "post-80s" and "post-90s" have become the main force of current cultural consumption.

The superposition of these two elements is precisely the "new audience" of the film formed by the group of "small-town youth" who have attracted great public attention, and the rise of these "new audiences" has fundamentally formed a new increment of Chinese film audiences. Their emergence has fundamentally changed the culture and taste of films, which is actually the internal driving force for the continuous growth of the Chinese film market, and this internal driving force will dominate the rapid growth of the Chinese film box office for at least five to ten years.

This growth is the result of China's deepening "urbanization", China's new middle-class audience will make China the undisputed new center of Chinese-language films and even global films, these two forces are China's most important consumption increments, but also the new growth point of economic and social development, under their role China's film box office will have such growth.

This is the result of the growth of infrastructure allocation, the rapid popularization of cinemas in large shopping malls to third- and fourth-tier cities and the growth of the entire number of screens, are all necessary conditions for third- and fourth-tier cities to join the film market, and the rapid expansion of middle-income earners in recent years and the rapid income growth of ordinary workers have provided a sufficient basis for film consumption.

Young people have always been the main consumer of films. However, the increment of today's young people is no longer the youth of the metropolis, but the youth of the third and fourth tier cities, and their interests have also had a huge impact on the film market.

The first choice of young people in small towns is often not the genre of Star Wars, but the more popular Hollywood films and down-to-earth domestic films.

This will further deepen the "locality" of Chinese films.

Today, the North American film market has stagnated in recent years, and most Hollywood blockbusters have appeared in the form of sequels, and the lack of innovation has become increasingly serious.

Although Hollywood still has strong strength, the continued activity of the Chinese film market and film production has begun to change the overall pattern of the Chinese film market.

The first is to bring the cake to make it bigger. Chinese films have been able to compete with Hollywood films at home, especially with the help of a series of policies such as Domestic Protection Month, and there is a gradual tendency to tie with Hollywood films, which is something that few countries other than India have been able to do.

Secondly, it also brings the great attraction of the Chinese film market to Hollywood and the core position of Chinese films in the world. Business giants like Duke have also made changes to this effect, such as his use of Daniel? Wu.

How to attract new audiences in the Chinese film market is an important part of the promotion of "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" in China.

The failure of the promotion plan of the previous "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" is not without profound lessons.

Of course, there are many objective reasons for this.

For example, the Chinese audience did not encounter Star Wars at the right time.

In 1977, the release of "Star Wars" left the United States empty. That year, China had just ended a special period of ten years, during which most Chinese people had watched the "eight model plays" a few times on the threshing floor, and the "Star Wars" trilogy had never had a chance to be released in China.

Some things will be missed if you miss them, and you won't call when you meet them at another time.

To this end, Duke asked Lucasfilm to also make a targeted strategy, licensing the "Star Wars" six-part series for free for a certain period of time on Chinese TV stations and video websites, in order to improve their chances of meeting Chinese audiences.

Movies are the basis of derivatives, and there are not many fans of "Star Wars" in China, so not too many people will care about the "Star Wars Universe". Eventually, it became a matter of chickens not laying eggs and eggs not hatching chickens.

The extreme lack of the Chinese film derivatives market is also an important reason.

When "Star Wars Prequel" was released in China, many theaters here did not have a derivatives sales business, and even did not have a purchase channel for genuine authorized derivatives.

Missing the best time to watch the movie, and without the cultivation of derivative products, "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" will actually face a near-passerby market in China, with no "memories" Chinese audiences, no shortage of "mythical" Chinese audiences, and "pop culture" in China at best, these elements that firmly tie up American audiences are simply impossible to talk about in China.

These are all objective reasons, but the most unsuccessful point of the promotion of "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" in China is that it did not attract the attention of 'small-town youth'.

The Chinese film market has developed to the present, and even Duke, who is far away on the other side of the Pacific, has to admit that if a film wants to have a box office of 1 billion or more in China, it must be recognized by "small-town youth".

It's a pity that in the absence of eye-catching targeted publicity strategies, "small-town youth" don't like Hollywood blockbusters at all, and down-to-earth domestic comedies are their favorites.

Even if they sometimes choose Hollywood blockbusters, they focus on their fast-food entertainment functions, and sensory stimulation is the primary pursuit. Therefore, "Iron Man", "The Avengers", "Transformers" and other movies that play visual effects cards and are full of various fights and explosion scenes are more popular with young people in small towns.

The former "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" also had elements in this regard, but it was obviously not enough, and if you say to the "small-town youth" "Conquer your fears, or you will fall into the dark side of the Force", they will most likely return the movie with a blank eye.

In Duke's view, "Star Wars" is like "Journey to the West" in the United States, and it is normal for Chinese audiences to be less enthusiastic, but he knows very well that in this world, almost all beautiful things, as long as you have enough understanding, you will know how to appreciate them.

Perhaps this "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" will not completely explode in the Chinese market as Duke expected, but he and Lucasfilm will not give up the layout of the Star Wars series in China.

Lucasfilm's "Star Wars Story: Rogue One", which has been confirmed to start filming, has invited Jiang Xiaojun and Wu Jing to star, which is an important signal.

With the maturity of the Chinese film market, Chinese audiences, including "small-town youth", will become more and more receptive to foreign culture. As the Chinese film derivatives market matures, the stickiness of Chinese movie fans will become higher and higher.

Since the day Duke acquired Lucasfilm, he has made every effort to promote the spread of Star Wars culture in China. Kennedy went to China several times to develop promotional plans with a number of partners.

Although far less influential than Star Wars in Japan and South Korea, Star Wars' influence in China is not at the level it once was.

And in Duke's view, with the role of proper publicity and marketing, it is not difficult for Chinese audiences to understand Star Wars culture. (To be continued.) )

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