~ 48 Stanlev Rosen <strong>Chinese</strong> Cinema :1· <strong>International</strong> <strong>Market</strong> 49 Rank Title Studio Lifetime Gross I Theaters Opening /Theaters Date Studio ' Lifetime Gross Opening ; I Theaters /Theaters Date 202 Shower 204 Together Sony UA $1,157,764 I 46 $40,125 I 6 $1,151,941 I 47 ~ $69,209 I 6 717/00 5130103 Zhou Yu 's Train SPC SPC $142,562 I 12 '$22,933 I 6 ~~-..:. ~ $13,721 I 4 211 The King of Masks Goldwyn $1,113,103 I 23 · $51,539 I 16 5114199 213 $1,100,788 I 46 237 Xiu Xiu: The $1,010,933 I 22 517199 305 515106 National (WIP) 306 Balzac and the Empire Little <strong>Chinese</strong> Seamstress 319 Chungking Express 321 Not One Less 333 The Eve Rolling Thunder Sony Palm 336 Shaolin Soccer Miramax 411 Riding Alone SPC .fiJr Thousands rif Miles 419 Happy Times SPC 433 436 CJ7 Mountains 442 What Time Is It Wellspring Therc 7 446 Eros WIP 453 Infernal Aftclirs Miramax 461 Three Times IFC 468 Days of Being Wild Kino 472 Kckexili: Mountain Patrol IDP (Goldwyn /Roadside) $666,327 I 22 , $16,694 I l 7129105 $600,200 I 20 $32,779 I 4 318196 $592,586 I 24 $50,256 I 6 2118100 $512,049 I 23 $62,062 I 13 616103 $489,600114 $252,325 I 13 $240,093 I 14 $39,167 I 6 $28,223 I 5 $31,084 I 6 412104 9/1106 7126102 $207,378 I 30 $49,770 I 19 317/08 $203,975 I 7 $2,334 I l 12125103 $195,760 I 4 $27,936 I 4 1/11102 $188,392 I 16 $53,666 I 12 418105 $169,659 I 5 $151,922 I 5 $146,310 I 4 $143,383 I II $25,680 I 5 $14,197 I 3 $18,090 I 1 $16,915 I 4 9/24104 4126106 II /19104 4114106 Tuya 's Marriage 669 I Don't Want to Alone 673 688 Kino First Run $25,491 I 3 $2,619 I l • $4,279 I I $784 I- Third Rail Releasing $5,151 I 10 $3,271 I 10 Emerging i $4,298 I 2 $3,248 I 2 Pictures 9/17104 414108 8/17107 512108 12/16105 . 3114108 Source: http://www.boxofficemojo.com/gcnres/chart/?pagenum=3&id=foreign.htm Notes: * Among all foreign films. ** In the original source, Curse of the Golden Flower had not been included, so it is added here, with the rankings appropriately adjusted.
_,.,..- 50 Stanlev Rosen <strong>Chinese</strong> Cinema:~ <strong>International</strong> <strong>Market</strong> 51 <strong>Chinese</strong>-language films from a larger list of the 801 foreign language films that have fared best at the box office. The most striking observation is the limited number of filmmakers who have the reputation, and arguably the skill, virtually to guarantee an audience for their films. Zhang Yimou is at the top of the list, having directed 12 of the 62 films. Zhang's most successful works have been his recent martial arts films. These films followed a rather fallow period - at least in terms of box-office success - in which the efforts from what A. 0. Scott called Zhang's second, "neo-realist phase" did not match the results of his previous efforts. 49 Of those released theatrically in the United States, his least successful film was Happy Times (Xingfu shiguang), which opened in the summer of 2002 and played in a mere fourteen theaters, taking in US$240,000. Nm One Less (Yige dou buneng shao), from the year 2000, fared only a bit better, bringing in US$592,000. Zhang's most successful period, before his recent successes with Hero and House of" Flying Daggers, occurred between 1991 and 1995. Five of his films from thi> period make the list (at nos. 102, 109, 125, 135, and 140), with remarkably consistent box-office returns ranging from The Story of Qiu Ju (Qiu Ju da guansi), which made US$1 ,890,000 to Raise the Red Lantern (Da hongdenglong gao gao gua), which brought in $2,603,000. Interestingly, the Zhang Yimou "brand" has changed from the lush. historical epics emphasizing tensions within the family and between family and societ) in twentieth-century China, to the martial arts historical epics depicting an earlier China during imperial times. While both variations have been successful, his films addressing contemporary urban and rural life - with the important exception of The Story of" Qiu Ju - have not performed well at the box office. If one adds his other contemporary films that did not even secure a North American release- i.e., Keep Cool (You hua, lwo hao shuo) and Codename Cougar (Daihao meiz.hou bcw), and the recent Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles (Qianli z.ou danji) -the discrepancy is even more striking. Two other brand name directors have more than four films on the list. Chen Kaigc is represented by Farewell My Concubine (Bawang hieji) (no. 52), The Emperor and the Assassin (Jinke ci qinwang) (no. 190), Together (He ni zai yiqi) (no. 204), Temptres1 Moon (Feng yue) (no. 213), and The Promise (no. 305). Wong Kar-wai, a critical and art house favorite, has made the list with In the Mood for Love (Huayang nian/wa) (no. 99), 2046 (no. 172), Chungking Express (Chongqing sen/in) (no. 319), Days of Being Wild (Afei zhengzhuan) (no. 468), and As Tears Go By (Wangjiao kamen) (no. 725). However, Ang Lee- whose success with <strong>Chinese</strong>-language films has been limited primarily because of his crossover to more mainstream English-language films - is even more bankable than Zhang Yimou. Lee has scored with Crouching Tiger (no. I). Eat Drink Man Woman (Yin shi nan nu) (no. 28), The Wedding Banquet (Xi yan) (no. 33), and Lust, Caution (Se, lie) (no. 56). 5 " The few additional films that have done well all have "hooks" of some kind. Iron Monkey (Tie ma liu) (no. 12), a 1993 Hong Kong martial arts movie, was marketed in 2001 in the wake of Crouchint: Tiger's performance. In Miramax's effort to duplicate Sony's success, they marketed the film as the "real thing" to those who loved Crouching Tiger. The Ang Lee film, it was suggested, was merely an imitation. The director of Iron Monkey, Yuen Woo-ping, had done the now famous "flying" martial arts fight choreography for Tiger; in the United States, he was best known for similar work on The Matrix. Iron Monkey was "presented" - and certified for authenticity -by Miramax icon and <strong>Asian</strong> film fanboy Quentin Tarantino. 51 Critical acclaim and validation also helps. For example, Chen Kaige's Farewell My Concubine shared the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 1993 and was nominated for an Academy Award for best foreign film. Wong Kar-wai's In the Moodfor Love produced the best actor (Tony Leung) at Cannes in 2000, and won many international and American awards, including the designation "best foreign language film" by both the New York and National Society of Film Critics. Lessons for China: The Limits of Success This chapter has suggested that it is unrealistic for China, or any other country, to expect to match Hollywood's box-office success in North America or in the international market. Yet I have also suggested that China (including Hong Kong) has probably done at least as well as any other nation in terms of box-office success outside its home market. How successful, then, is China likely to be in the future; what advantages and disadvantages does China have in this competition; and what strategies have been and are likely to continue to be more or less successful? First, there needs to be a realistic assessment of what "success'' means. Michael Barker, a co-founder of Sony Pictures Classics, used an analogy from American baseball to describe his company's strategy, indirectly contrasting it to the strategy Miramax initially adopted when they tried to emulate Crouching Tiger's breakout success: "Too many companies are looking for the home run. We're very happy with a base hit or a double"; ironically, Sony's <strong>Chinese</strong>-language production unit in Hong Kong has produced only one film since 2003, Stephen Chow's CJ7 in 2007. 52 <strong>Asian</strong>-themed films do have a market internationally, but the most successful films are more likely to be Englishlanguage films that have an <strong>Asian</strong> component, including remakes of <strong>Asian</strong> movies, than the original work. When one looks at the 346 films that have made at least US$200.5 million worldwide (as of June 15, 2008), the top four <strong>Asian</strong>-themed films are Hollywood products, starting with The Last Samurai (no. 76 on the list), which made more than 75 percent of its gross outside the United States. 51 Perhaps not surprisingly, given the subject matter and a massive marketing campaign, The Last Samurai made more in Japan than in the United States. 54 Next on the list is the 1998 rendition of Godzilla (no. 106), which made 64 percent internationally, followed by Rush Hour 2 (no. 141) and Mulan (number no. 176). 55 The first "real" <strong>Asian</strong> film on the list is Spirited Away, the Japanese anime that comes in at no. 210. Significantly, over 96 percent of its box office of US$274.9 million came from outside the United States. The next <strong>Asian</strong> films on the list- Howl:~ Moving Castle (no. 272, with only 2 percent of its box office from the U.S. market) and Crouching Tiger (no. 315) - came in behind The Departed (no. 195), The Ring (no. 248), and Rush Hour (no. 258). These figures for individual films can be contrasted with China's
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