New technologies are shaping the world and the lives of many. The movie industry is no exception. Industry insiders tells Wu Kunling that movie theaters, as a medium for filmmaking, will continue to exist, though in a less-mainstream way. 

Resisting the habits of his generation, 25-year-old photographer William Wang keeps patronizing cinemas, having watched up to 30 films on the big screen last year, out of about 200 films in total.

Despite his passion for movies, Wang is not perturbed by the growing number of Hong Kong cinemas putting up the shutters as box office figures slump.

“The closures are inevitable, just like bookstores,” says Wang whose generation has borne the brunt of internet streaming services — that are reshaping the habits of people reading or going to movies.

READ MORE: Life for filmmakers

Nine cinemas in Hong Kong closed last year, with total box office revenue from cinema chains slumping to HK$1.34 billion ($172.3 million) — down almost HK$100 million, compared with the previous year, and a drop of more than 30 percent from HK$1.96 billion in 2018 and HK$1.92 billion in 2019.

A shifting Gen Z

“Imagine paying nearly the same price to enjoy a wider array of films, unconstrained by their production era or origin, and without being bound by the duration or place to watch them,” says Wang.

The movie enthusiast sees no problem with cinemas themselves. Having lived in the United States and Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan, he still finds watching movies in Hong Kong cinemas “excellent”. Audiences appreciate them, combined with a quiet, comfortable environment, state-of-the-art screens and sound effects that help create an immersive experience that fosters a deep engagement with the narrative.

Wang calls watching movies in theaters a “sincere tribute to the cinematic art”, and prefers the cinema for works by his favorite directors and actors, timeless classics in 4K reprints, or indie films from festivals.

However, for regular screenings or casual gatherings with friends, home viewing remains his first choice and has become a trend among his peers.

Wang observes the gradual erosion of attention spans due to short videos and social media, highlighting the abundance of online content claiming to condense the length of movies and books into minutes. This trend points to dwindling tolerance for longer forms of media among viewers, making it increasingly hard for them to maintain focus during a two-hour movie.

In this regard, streaming services offer flexibility in line with people’s evolving viewing habits. Wang admits that pausing for some snacks or a coffee break in between movies is a plus with the convenience of streaming services.

He believes that watching movies may soon extend beyond traditional theaters and even digital platforms, envisioning tools like virtual reality or extended reality to revolutionize the art form. “With society advancing rapidly, the movie-watching experience cannot linger in its current state indefinitely.”

Content matters

Timothy Yuen Yin-man, who chairs the Hong Kong Theatres Association, says the dip in the local cinema market cannot be attributed to just one factor.

In his view, COVID-19 has had a profound effect, revolutionizing people’s social habits and disrupting traditional routines that used to include shopping, dining out and trips to the movies. To cope with financial challenges, many cinemas have reduced their evening shows. At the same time, the advent of technology has offered audiences a wide array of entertainment choices — far beyond just short-video and streaming services. Furthermore, many Hong Kong residents now opt for the mainland for leisure and entertainment.

“In the past, movies only had to compete among themselves. Now, they must fight for a piece of the wide array of entertainment options on offer,” says Yuen.

However, delving deeper into the data reveals more nuanced perspectives, he points out. In recent years, homegrown film productions, such as The Last Dance, Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In, and A Guilty Conscience have broken the HK$100 million mark at the box office, outshining foreign movies, including those from Hollywood.

And all these successes unfolded after the pandemic, Yuen highlights.

Globally, while overall box office earnings, including those on the mainland, have been on the decline, the mainland has seen blockbusters like Ne Zha 2 make history as the country’s highest-grossing film.

Yuen — a movie industry veteran — said he has observed a growing trend in the past two to three years for moviegoers to watch films multiple times.

He believes these successes show an audience that appreciates the cinema experience and is ready to pay for quality films. “The number of people willing to pay never comes down as long as the movie is captivating,” says Yuen. However, he concedes that the number of people frequenting theaters solely for leisure and entertainment has declined.

Hong Kong cinemas have tried strategies to attract more patrons, including permanent ticket price cuts, bundling different movie tickets for sale, and launching Cinema Days, offering tickets for all movies for just HK$30. Despite these efforts, Yuen believes that, ultimately, it is the content that moves audiences.

Hong Kong cinemas have continued with innovative practices such as converting select screenings into intimate venues for live stand-up comedy shows and concerts, as well as broadcasting sporting events, esports competitions, and musical performances. However, Yuen says that these creative offerings remain supplementary. The revenue from such endeavors is limited and challenging to sustain, and can never replace the audience influx that quality movies attract.

In this aspect, cinemas are rather passive, Yuen said.

He says that theaters can only adjust film schedules based on box office performance to ensure that more viewers can access popular films. They cannot participate in film production, or forecast which movies will capture audiences’ heart. The emergence of a diverse entertainment era has reshaped audience preferences, presenting a challenge not only for Hong Kong’s film industry, but also for filmmakers globally.

Yuen points to box office numbers showing that the latest productions in the Marvel superhero series are struggling to replicate the successes of 2018 and 2019, hinting at potential audience fatigue for such intellectual property. As for local productions, audience tastes have also evolved.

Citing recent blockbusters, he notes that while films like Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In boast stunning action sequences and a stellar cast, adhering to a traditional formula that typically leads to success, the triumph of The Last Dance — a pure feature film — indicates that films capable of captivating audiences and prompting them to invest in cinema tickets don’t necessarily require flashy special effects or striking visuals.

What makes a movie captivating? In Yuen’s opinion, audiences don’t often vocalize their preferences in advance, preferring to convey their responses to the film industry through box office figures.

To some extent, he believes that future box office revenues will polarize, with top-tier films creating progressively higher revenues, solidifying their status as “phenomenal” movies, while average-quality films will have mounting problems drawing audiences to theaters. So the number of cinemas may continue to drop.

Navigating the new normal

Zhu Ying, director of the Centre for Film and Moving Image Research in the Academy of Film at Hong Kong Baptist University, agrees that the number of cinemas in the near term is likely to continue falling.

Pointing to a distinctive trait of Hong Kong cinemas, she notes they are predominantly situated inside or connected to shopping malls, essentially making them part of the real-estate sector. Affected by the slow recovery of the post-pandemic property market, the cinema sector is also expected to face a certain level of contraction.

Nonetheless, she believes that shrinking cinema numbers can also be seen as a form of consolidation after competition. “Do we really need that many cinemas, like one on every block? I don’t think so,” says Zhu.

She thinks the competition among streaming platforms and cinemas would not create a scenario in which one would predominate. Different audiences can still find the entertainment they seek through both mediums. Big blockbuster films like Barbie, Oppenheimer and Ne Zha 2 make theater-going an event. Smaller films continue to carve out their niches online or in small theaters, including at thriving film festivals worldwide.

Within this dynamic landscape, filmmakers are encouraged to find suitable paths and synergistically nurture a vibrant film market.

For Hong Kong filmmakers, Zhu praised the recent success of films delving into the stories of everyday people in Hong Kong. In the production process, they could also explore strategies to effectively tap into the mainland and overseas Chinese-speaking markets.

Furthermore, acknowledging the limitations posed by the relatively small market size, Zhu says not every film can attain the expansive scale of productions like Ne Zha 2. She suggests that filmmakers explore small-budget productions, a trend she expects to gather momentum in the coming years. New technology like artificial intelligence will help cut production costs. But she notes that AI will also eliminate jobs that could have gone to production crew.

ALSO READ: HK cinema is back

While underlining the fundamental role of storytelling in crafting exceptional films, Zhu calls for film school curricula to embrace cutting-edge technologies, encompassing AI and beyond. By keeping pace with emerging technologies, students — the future pioneers of the film industry — can proficiently navigate the industry’s new normal.

Amid such an evolving landscape, Yuen — an industry practitioner and a movie fan — remains hopeful.

As a father, he has instilled in his two daughters the habit of going to cinemas, saying that strangers coming together for a shared interest in a film, laughing and crying together for two hours, is an experience unmatched by other forms of movie-watching. He is adamant that cinemas are here to stay and will remain as one of the best mediums to showcase this form of art.

“Throughout history, despite the advent of television, the introduction of VCDs and DVDs, or the dawn of streaming platforms, those proclaiming the demise of cinemas have continually surfaced.

“But, history has proven that movies continue to rejuvenate themselves,” says Yuen.

“As long as films exist, cinemas will undoubtedly persevere.”

Contact the writer at amberwu@chinadailyhk.com