According to the latest online data, as of 16:24 pm on April 18th, the total box office (including pre sales) of the Chinese film market in 2021 exceeded 20 billion yuan, with a total audience of 475 million. Domestic box office revenue has reached the level of the entire year of 2020 (20.314 billion yuan), with the box office revenue of "Hello, Li Huanying" released during the Spring Festival season exceeding 5.4 billion yuan. At this exciting moment, the author can't help but think of "Lost Mom", which is also a maternal love theme, a comedy film, and a New Year's Eve film.

Since 2020, due to the COVID-19, almost all cinemas have stopped showing films since January 24, 2020, and all films cannot be released as scheduled. The producer of "Lost Mom", originally scheduled for release during the 2020 Spring Festival, Joy Media, has urgently terminated its guaranteed release agreement with Hengdian Pictures and announced that the entire film will premiere online for free on the first day of the Chinese New Year. This move by Joy Media "provoked a thousand waves with one stone." On the one hand, it has received the support and recognition of the broad audience and some industry commentators, and on the other hand, it has also caused joint criticism and resistance from many film and television industry personnel and multiple theaters. Nowadays, it seems that the transition from "movie theater" to "online movie" of "Lost Mom" is a difficult self-help under the epidemic, and to some extent, it has also stimulated the long-standing accounting conflict in the film industry. Many people wonder, what is an online movie? What is the difference between traditional cinema movies? Who else's "cheese" has been moved by the "cinema movie to online movie"?

"Online film" is a concept with unclear meaning, and has two meanings: one is narrow in meaning, specifically referring to film works dedicated to online dissemination; The second is a broad term used to refer to various types of film works accepted by audiences through the Internet after "digital to the home". "Online movies" in the industry are commonly referred to as "big online movies", referring to movies that use the Internet as their initial platform. In 2014, iQIYI first proposed the concept and standards of large online movies, which refers to the establishment of small teams for filming. The costs of directors, actors, and other expenses are lower than those of traditional cinema films, with a duration of more than 60 minutes, a relatively short shooting time (from a few months to about a year), a small scale investment (from several million yuan to tens of millions of yuan), excellent film production standards, complete film structure and capacity, and in line with relevant national policies and regulations, Movies with the Internet as the initial platform.

"Big online movies (hereinafter referred to as" online movies ") have many similarities with traditional cinema movies (hereinafter referred to as" cinema movies "). They also have film production standards, and have the structure and capacity of a complete movie.". Although online movies are launched on the Internet, they can also be released in cinemas if their production is guaranteed, they comply with national policies, and approval procedures are completed. At this time, online movies can theoretically be converted to cinema movies. On the other hand, many films found it difficult to arrange and compete for cinemas after obtaining the "Film Release License". Especially since the epidemic, cinemas have faced great difficulties, and online movies can break this deadlock. Cinema movies can instead log on to online platforms, at which point they can be converted to online movies. However, it is undeniable that it is easy to switch from online cinema to online cinema, while it is difficult to switch from online cinema to online cinema. There are also significant differences between online cinema and cinema cinema. The author mainly analyzes them from the following aspects:

1. Differences in theme and content

Cinema films have strict censorship standards, and Article 25 of the "Film Management Regulations" clearly stipulates prohibited content in films. Industry regulatory authorities also have specific restrictions on certain topics, including requirements such as "no crossing" in films, "no animals becoming refined after the founding of the People's Republic of China," ghost films can only be made by the people ", and" no violent scenes ". Online movies are much more relaxed in terms of subject matter and content, and some themes such as fantasy, traversal, gods, demons, and ghosts can be tried. However, due to limited themes, the quality of online movies is also uneven.

2. Difference between production and cost

The preparation and shooting cycle of cinema films is relatively long, with most cinema films taking about 2 to 4 years to prepare for shooting, and there are many films that have taken more than 10 years to prepare for release; Online movies are much faster, and can be shot and launched in a few months.

In terms of actor selection, cinema films pay more attention to the popularity of directors and leading actors, resulting in higher film remuneration costs; Online movies have given new people more opportunities in this regard. These "new faces" sometimes bring fresh feelings and surprises to the audience. In recent years, online movies have also attracted many actors.

In terms of investment costs, online movies undoubtedly have a much smaller scale, and typically can be contracted for the entire shooting and dissemination of a few million yuan; Cinema films are not capped, and the investment of tens of millions of dollars is normal.

In terms of returns, the layout and online time of cinema films are affected by many factors, and the return cycle is relatively long. After online films are made, the online time can be determined with video websites more quickly, so the return cycle is also short.

3. Differences in account splitting methods

The distribution of cinema line films is mainly linked to "box office", and the film box office will be included in the electronic ticketing system. The total box office data is subject to the statistical data of China Film Data Information Network. The sub account composition mainly includes the special fund for film development, taxes, investor and distributor sub accounts, and cinema line sub accounts. In detail, the total box office of cinema films requires deduction of 5% of the special fund for film development and 3.3% of the fixed value-added tax before they can be divided proportionally. According to the Guiding Opinions on Adjusting the Distribution Proportion of Domestic Films issued by the Film Bureau of the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television (formerly), the distribution proportion of domestic films is "in principle not less than 43% for producers, and generally not more than 50% for cinemas.". Based on this guidance, a set of accounting conventions has been formed within the industry:

100% total box office=5% special fund for film development+3.3% fixed value-added tax+34.9% producer sub ledger+4.5% distributor sub ledger+45.8% cinema sub ledger+6.5% cinema line sub ledger. Of course, under the premise of equal consultation between all parties, the specific distribution ratio for different films also varies slightly.

Therefore, this is the main reason for the joint criticism and boycott of multiple cinemas and theaters caused by the "movie line to online movie" mentioned in the beginning of this article. "After the transition from cinema films to online films for" Lost Mom, "the distribution of cinema lines and cinema box office receipts disappeared, and various previous screenings and promotions were lost.".

While online movies mainly obtain revenue through one-time buyouts, some will also split accounts with video websites. The distribution of online movies is closely related to "traffic", and various playback platforms also have certain freedom to set up the distribution. Taking iQiYi as an example, iQiYi will first rate the works submitted by the filmmaker, ranging from A to E, and then map out different sharing pricing and sharing periods based on whether they are exclusively played.

4. Differences in filing and review

The review of online cinema films is relatively strict. According to the provisions of the "Film Industry Promotion Law" implemented on March 1, 2017, cinema film review mainly involves two types of licenses. One type refers to the fact that at the beginning of film production, domestic films need to be filed with the film regulatory department for script outline review (special themes need to be submitted for script review), and co productions require the approval of the film regulatory department to obtain a "Sino foreign Cooperative Film Production License.". The second category is that after the completion of the film shooting, the completed film needs to be reviewed by the film authority. The film that passes the review can obtain the "Film Public Release License (Dragon Mark)" and "Film Public Release License", and smoothly reach the cinema line.

Relatively speaking, the application for online movie broadcasting is relatively simple. On July 6, 2012, the State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television (formerly) and the National Internet Information Office issued the "Notice on Further Strengthening the Management of Online Drama, Microfilm, and Other Online Audiovisual Programs", The notice requires: "Internet audio-visual program service units should follow the principle of 'whoever runs the network is responsible for it', and implement a management system of first reviewing and then broadcasting online audio-visual programs such as online dramas and micro movies." In practice, online movies only need to undergo two filings, respectively obtaining a planning filing number and an online filing number, without the need to review the finished product. Planning filing mainly registers planning information such as program name, theme type, content summary, production budget, etc. Online filing mainly registers relevant information such as the proposed broadcast platform, actual investment, and actor remuneration of the program. Since the construction of the filing system in 2012, both online film filings have been submitted to video websites for unified filing.

On December 27, 2018, the General Office of the State Administration of Radio and Television issued the "Notice on Upgrading the Information Filing System for Online Audiovisual Programs", stipulating that from February 15, 2019, key online movies (including online movies with a total investment of more than 1 million yuan) can be broadcast and promoted on the home page of various audiovisual program websites (clients), or used for investment promotion, member recommendation, online recommendation "Online movies with excellent programs are registered by production institutions in the" Key Online Film and Television Drama Information Filing System "for filing.". Other ordinary online movies are still submitted to video websites for unified filing.

It should be noted that movies that have obtained a "film release license" are not subject to the online film filing requirements and can be directly broadcast on video websites. Some people will think that they can first apply for approval with cinema films. If approved, they can either go to the cinema line or go to the website, with multiple options in place. "However, applying for a" film release license "is not a shortcut, as there are more materials submitted for applying for a" film release license "for cinematographic films than for filing online films, making obtaining approval difficult. Once a cinematographic film is applied for filing, but ultimately a" film release license "is not obtained, then it can no longer be applied for filing and broadcasting online in the form of online films.".

It is gratifying to note that with the spread of epidemic control and vaccines, the recovery of the film industry in China and even the world is within sight. We believe that whether it is cinema movies or online movies, tomorrow will be better!

(This article is translated by software translator for reference only.)