The gates of Hogwarts School have reopened once again.
On October 11th, "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" returned to the big screen as the first of the eight films in the Harry Potter series, meeting with a group of "Harry Potter fans". It is reported that the remaining seven films will also be re screened in mainland China, marking the first time that the Harry Potter series has launched such a large-scale continuous screening event worldwide.
As a top global IP, on the first day of its re release, "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" accounted for 22.4% of the box office, surpassing 10 million yuan, despite only 6.1% of the release schedule. This achievement not only highlights the strong appeal of the "Harry Potter" IP, but also demonstrates its ability to support new films in the post National Day holiday market.
However, compared to the high enthusiasm of Harry Potter fans, the number of screenings for the film appears relatively low, with # Harry Potter screenings # trending, once again bringing the issue of distribution to the forefront.
The current market in county towns is weaker, and there is a greater need for such films. "A cinema manager in a second tier city expressed confusion about this distribution method. He had tried to communicate with the distributor, but did not receive a clear explanation." This distribution strategy is definitely problematic. Cinemas with poor box office performance cannot even afford soup now
Less than one-third of cinemas are available for screening, with 70% located in first and second tier cities
On the first day of the release of "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone," there was a heated discussion about the scheduling issue, with many "Harry Potter fans" stating that there were very few screenings of "Harry Potter" in their own cities.
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Unlike previous scheduling controversies, this time it was not a spontaneous action by cinemas, but rather due to too few cinemas being able to obtain screening qualifications.
The reporter from the Daily Economic News noticed that Harry Potter is being distributed in separate lines this time.
Split distribution refers to the film distribution model in which different cinemas screen different films. A film can no longer be uniformly screened by cinemas across the country, and the film owner can choose to trade with cinemas or cinema investment management companies that provide better conditions. For example, there are more golden screenings provided, higher screening ratios, longer screening periods, and higher box office settlement and distribution ratios for films.
A cinema manager from a second tier city told the Daily Economic News reporter that previously, the sub distribution was registered by cinemas and only needed to meet the screening requirements of the film company. However, they did not receive any registration notice this time, and "we were not directly included in the list of screening cinemas".
According to official information provided by Warner Bros., this re release will land in 295 cities across the country, with over 3400 cinemas. From a data perspective, as of the end of 2023, there are 14395 cinemas nationwide. This means that the film can only be released in 23% of cinemas nationwide.
In terms of urban distribution, according to the Cat's Eye Professional Edition, on the first day of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, first tier cities had the highest proportion of screenings (11.1%), followed by second tier cities (8.4%), with third - and fourth tier cities accounting for 5.3% and 3.3% respectively. Meanwhile, the screening of films such as "The Road to Bathing Fire" and "The Volunteers: Battle for Survival" during the same period was evenly distributed among cities.
Film market analyst "Liancheng Yi Cui" calculated the first day screening of "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" based on lighthouse data. Data shows that 70% of cinemas are located in first - and second tier cities, while only 30% are located in third - and fourth tier cities. This data indicates that sub distribution may exacerbate the uneven regional development of the film market, while also making sub distribution a privilege for cinemas and audiences in first - and second tier cities.
From the cinema line perspective, the Wanda Cinema Line in Hengqin, Zhuhai had the highest number of screenings on the first day, with 5793 screenings, followed by the Shanghai United Cinema Line and the China Film Cinema Line, both with over 2000 screenings. The movie "Harry Potter" not only has fewer cinemas, but the 3400 cinemas are concentrated in upstream cinemas and cities
Split distribution is a distribution strategy implemented at the end of last year, aimed at achieving a normalized supply of diversified high-quality films and meeting the diverse entertainment and aesthetic needs of audiences. Previously, films such as "If You Are the One 3" and "Silent Record" have already experimented with the method of distributing them separately. For the filmmakers, this is a way to save distribution costs and gain more screening and exposure.
A distribution notice obtained by the reporter for cinemas shows that cinemas within the distribution scope of Harry Potter have promised to schedule no less than 2 screenings per day during the screening period.
The small county town needs such a film even more
In the off-season of movies, the re release of top IP is undoubtedly an important supply and support for cinemas. Previously, the 3D version of Titanic was re released and grossed 946 million yuan at the box office.
The "opening success" of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone also highlights the strong appeal of the Harry Potter IP and demonstrates its ability to support new films in the post National Day holiday market.
However, the insufficient number of distributed films and uneven geographical distribution in this sub distribution have once again sparked discussions on the implementation methods of sub distribution. Some viewers expressed that they are very much looking forward to watching the re release of the Harry Potter series in local cinemas, but in many county towns, there is not even a cinema that can screen the film. Some industry insiders have also expressed that although the distribution strategy of dividing lines can help save distribution costs, it may also lead to the film's box office potential not being fully realized.
The current market in the county town is weaker, and there is a greater need for such films. "The cinema manager mentioned above expressed confusion about this distribution method. He had tried to communicate with the distributor, but did not receive a clear explanation." Split line distribution should not be this kind of hierarchical distribution. This distribution strategy is definitely problematic. Cinemas with poor box office performance cannot even afford soup now
At present, our distribution channels are simply and crudely selecting only big cities and cinemas. Although these cinemas do have more box office revenue, we cannot let small county towns directly go to zero, even if the proportion is a little smaller. At least we need to give the audience space to watch movies. "" Liancheng is fragile "said." There are only 295 cities now, and if there are more than 2000 county-level cities, each city will have at least one screening, which means there will be only 2000 screenings nationwide. At least we need to let them have one to two cinemas, so that the audience at least does not have to cross cities to watch movies
From the perspective of box office focus areas, the main markets for Hollywood films are indeed concentrated in first tier cities. This is a re released film that has already been re released before, so the film's expectations for box office are not too high, "said Liancheng Yichuan. It is understandable to choose key market distribution lines in order to save promotion and screening costs. But currently causing controversy, it indicates that there are problems with supply and demand. The method of issuing separately is also worth exploring
Isn't dividing distribution just to solve the problem of one size fits all? Nowadays, using a one size fits all approach to dividing distribution is a paradox. "In the view of" Liancheng Yicui, "" Dividing distribution should be precise distribution. To make this movie visible to audiences who want to see it, more detailed market analysis is needed, rather than rough thresholds based on box office and screening
According to the Cat's Eye Professional Edition, the film is produced by Warner Bros. and distributed by China Film and Huaxia Film. Regarding whether there will be an increase in screening in the future, on October 12th, a reporter from the Daily Economic News asked Warner's public relations department, who stated that they have not received any notification about any changes in screening.
