Rapid growth in cinema screens also causes business headaches

The forum also discussed the impact of e-commerce on the traditional theatre business. Pic by Qiu Yuecheng

The rapid increase in number of cinemas in China has not only brought more business opportunities, but also management issues and unhealthy competition, a Shanghai International Film Festival forum was told yesterday.

There were more than 20,000 movie screens in China up to March this year and the number will continue to grow in the next few years, industry experts said.

Ng See Yuen, CEO of UME International Cineplex, spoke about the problem of theatre chains and franchises not having standards and controls.

“People in China are only pursuing the number, ignoring the abnormal phenomena in daily operations," Ng said at the New Wave Forum on Cinemas and Film Circuits.

"We have excellent facilities but lack regulations and coordination among our peers,” he added.

Ng said a decade ago the ticket price in Shanghai and Beijing was around 60 yuan, but today the average is around 34 yuan.

He said the growing market for online group purchases had brought significant unhealthy competition because the deal providers ignored industry standards and blindly lowered ticket prices.

Wu Hehu, vice general manager of Time Antaeus, said the overall Chinese cinema business focused on numbers instead of quality. In the future cinemas will develop related businesses and facilities, in addition to their traditional role, to better accommodate customers.

The forum also discussed the impact of e-commerce on the traditional theatre business. Many people now use more convenient online and mobile platforms to purchase film tickets to get better deals.

Liu Yong, CEO of Gewara.com, said although the number of cinemas in Shanghai has increased in the past two and three years, a good cinema with special features will stand out from the competition.

“E-commerce has no fault as a platform, it’s just a tool, and the internet is the passageway that breaks the information barriers,” Liu said.

He emphasized that selling film tickets is not like selling clothes, and having a solid rating system also improves the user experience.

“Selling film tickets is about selling content that can connect with people sentimentally,” Liu said.