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BEIJING - Before a film begins at the movie theater in China, it's not uncommon for audiences to wade through about 20 minutes of ads before the film actually begins. Well, moviegoers have had enough.
Commercials began to widely appear in Chinese cinemas in the late 1990s when Hollywood films like Titanic and True Lies were brought to China's silver screen. The duration of these packaged advertisements grew from less than five minutes to over 20 minutes over the years.
A lawyer in Hangzhou and a moviegoer in Tianjin attempted to sue the film companies and cinemas under the accusation of a "forced consumption" in 2002 and 2003, respectively. But the lawsuits were dismissed by local courts.
The primary means of profit for China's movie industry comes from box office revenue. However, in the Unites States, box office revenue only makes up about 20-30 percent of total income, according to earlier media reports. Film companies gain most of their profits in the US from DVD distributions and other related products.
Compared with the US' $10.6 billion box office revenue in 2009, the number in China was only 6.2 billion yuan ($914 million) last year, according to the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television. Many cinemas allegedly conceal actual box office revenue figures and report a smaller figure to film production companies, secretly withholding the unreported amount.
"It is stealing," said Yang Min, director of domestic film releases in Huayi Bros Media Group, one of the largest private film production companies. "At least 80 percent of the cinemas in China are doing this dirty business. It is the biggest headache for film producers and releasers."
The State Administration of Radio, Film and Television has released regulations respectively in 2004 and 2009 requiring cinemas not to increase the length of advertisement in film copies.
But due to poor enforcement, the advertising market in Chinese theaters remains chaotic.
The poor enforcement has also apparently allowed the proliferation of ads to boost income. Film production companies insert commercial advertisements at the beginning of its movies. Cinemas then add more advertisements before they start playing.
For China Daily
