2020wasanextraordinaryyearforbothChinaandChinesecinema.TheCOVID-19pandemiccausedtheaterstoshutdownforhalfayear,whichbroughtanxietyandpressuretothefilmindustry.Aftertheepidemicsituationwasgenerallybroughtundercontrol,theatersgraduallyreopened.Inthesecondhalfof2020,Chinesefilmsgraspedtheopportunity,substantialworkscontinuouslystimulatedthemoviegoingfervor,andnewhistoricalrecordswerecreatedduringthisspecialtime.Forthefirsttime,China'sboxofficeexceedsNorthAmerica’s,ourindustryhasimmensepotentialDuetotheimpactofthepandemic,thefilmindustrycametoapause.InJuly,theatersorderlyreopenednationwide.Aftertherescreeningofclassicfilms,someblockbusterstestedthewatersandachievedgreatboxofficeresults.DuringtheNationalDayholidayperiod,"MyPeople,MyHomeland","Leap","LegendofDeification",andotherblockbusterscausedaboominboxofficerecords.BymidnightOctober15,with12.95billionyuan,China'sboxofficeexceededNorthAmerica’s.Forthefirsttime,Chinaheldthelargestboxofficeintheworld.DuringtheEndoftheYearperiod,screeningsof"TheRescue","ShockWave2",and"ALittleRedFlower"continuetoraiseboxofficerecords.ByDecember31,2020,China'sboxofficeexceeded20billionyuan.Althoughthisisabigdropfrompreviousyears,inthird-andfourth-tiercities,themoviegoingdemandhassignificantlyincreased,withdomesticfilmscovering83.72%oftheentireboxofficerevenues,aconspicuousachievementduringthechallengingtime.Accompanyingthedevelopmentofoursociety,filmhasbecomemoreimportantinthespiritualandculturalaspectofpeople’slives.Facingnewinternationalanddomesticenvironments,thegovernmentispayingmoreattentiontoculturaldevelopment,thefilmindustrywillgainbroaderroomfordevelopment.NewmainstreamfilmsaremoresophisticatedandeffectiveatconveyingChinesevalsuesInrecentyears,Chinesefilmshasdevelopedamodelofcombiningmainstreamvaluesandartisticexpressionsgradually.Thisresultedinthecreationofnewmainstreamfilmswhichachievedgreatresults.In2020,manynewmainstreamfilmsachievedover1billionyuaninboxoffice,becomingthegenuinemarketmainstream.FilmsrevealedChina’sgreatachievementsofovercomingpovertyandbuildingamoderatelyprosperoussociety."MyPeople,MyHomeland"focusedonmedicalcare,povertyrelief,education,environmentalprotection,andtourism.Usingcomedyandhumor,itcomprehensivelydepictedthemassivetransformationofpeople'smaterialandspirituallives,andthedominantroleofordinarypeopleduringthehistoricalcourse.Bymakingtheaudiencesfeeljoyfulandmoved,italsogivesthemanopportunitytoreflect.Filmsportrayedthegreatnationalspirit."Leap"focusedonrealpeopleandillustratedthestoryofthreegenerationsoftheChinesewomen'snationalvolleyballteam.Itportrayedthe"Spiritofwomen'svolleyball"throughthedevelopmentofdifferentperiods,whichcreatedstrongresonanceamongaudiences,andresultedinatheatricalphenomenonofaudiencescheeringforthevolleyballteaminthetheater.FilmshighlightedthefurtherinstitutionalizationoftheChinesefilmindustryanditsproductioncapacity.Animatedfilm"LegendofDeification"notonlyadaptedthestoryofahistoricalfigure,butalsocombinedindustrialproductioncapacitywithnationalaestheticpursuit,whichconstructedananimatedimagewithrichChineseaestheticcharacteristics.Filmsdemonstratedthetendencyofdevelopingmorethemesandgenres.Documentary"LiketheDyer'sHand"portrayedtheroughyettenaciouslifeofscholarandpoetYeJiaying.Crimefilm"CaughtinTime",fantasyfilm"SoulSnatcher",andliteraryfilm"OneSecond"wereanexpansionintheirowngenresandthemes.Chinesefilmsin2020thoroughlyfocusedonhistoryandreality.Theartisticdisplayofthenationalspiritprovidedaspiritualdriveforaudiences,andraisedthemoraleandconfidenceforfilmmakersandthefilmmarket.Newreleasemodestirredupmarketecology,low-budgetfilmsmightreachspringtimeOnJanuary25,2020,"LostinRussia"premieredonanonlineplatform.Followingit,othertheatricalfilmsalsobeganpremieringonvideowebsites.Thismethodnotonlysatisfiedpeople'sculturaldemandduringthepandemicperiodtoacertaindegree,butalsoreceivedstrongresponsesfromthecinemachains,thefilmindustry,andsocietyingeneralAlthoughmostcompanieswillnotchooseonlinerelease,itprovidedmoredevelopmentpossibilitiesforthefilmindustry.Weseethatsomelow-budgetfilmsbyyoungdirectorsareexploringtheonlinereleasemethod."SpringTide","DwellingintheFuchunMountains",andotherfilmspremieredononlineplatformsandreceivedsatisfyingresults.Anonlinereputationwillgivecertainfilmstheopportunitytoberescreenedintheaters,whichformsbenigninteractionbetweenthetwoplatforms.Consideringthelackofasophisticatednationalart-filmcinemachain,thelimitedbudgetforproductionandpromotionandthedisadvantageinscreeningschedules,onlineplatformscreatedanewprospectforlow-budgetfilmswithdesignatedaudiences.Inthefuture,ifabenigncyclecanbeformed,thiswillalleviatethelong-termconflictbetweentheoverstockoflargenumbersoffilmsandthelimitedopportunitiesfortheatricalrelease.Thiswillfacilitatethegrowthofyoungfilmmakers,andoptimizethestructuralandartisticdiversityoftheChinesefilmmarket.In2020,ChinesefilmsfaceddifficultiesandpresentedexcellentworkswhichconveyedtheChinesespirit,highlightedthestrengthofChina,andinspiredandwarmedtheheartsofpeople.WithacceleratinginstitutionalizationoftheChinesefilmindustry,Chinesefilmsareboundtocreatehigh-qualityworksinthefuture,satisfypeople'sdemandforspiritualandculturallives,andcontributetotheconstructionofanationwithastrongculture.ContributedbyZhangBin,professorattheShanghaiFilmAcademy,ShanghaiUniversityTranslatedbyZhangJunye