The summer box office hit 20 billion. Why do new directors explode frequently?

Special feature of 1905 film network Under the blessing of new and old films, the cumulative box office of the summer file in 2023 exceeded 20 billion yuan, and there is no suspense. The new director has contributed a lot.
This summer, the newcomer directed a live-action movie, preceded by "She Disappeared", which set off the first wave of watching movies in the summer file; Later, there was "Put All Your Eggs on the Buckle" to help the box office hit a new high. Between the two films, the box office and word-of-mouth of "octagonal cage" Qi Fei. The new face of the animated film director brought two masterpieces, Three Wan Li in Chang ‘an and Tea No.2 Middle School.
"After a period of continuous exploration, a large number of young creators and practitioners who have a clear understanding of the film industry have emerged in the film market, and they will play an important role in promoting the sustainable development of China’s film industrialization." When interviewed by the media, Zhifina, a professor at the China Academy of Art, once said so. These "fresh blood" of China film market make people see more development possibilities of domestic films.
Summer file: a box office blessing for new directors
According to the mainstream cognition in the industry, a director who has made no more than three feature films can be called a newcomer director. They are a new force for the development of China films.
In recent years, the summer file has become a box office blessing for new directors. Jason Wu, Muye Wen, Wang Baoqiang, jiaozi and a number of other newcomers have made famous films, all of which were born here.
This is because the "price" of the summer ticket for the mainland film market is relatively reasonable. The industry rumor that "don’t enter the Spring Festival file without 100 million publicity fees" is enough to prove how expensive the tickets for the Spring Festival file are. However, the publicity expenses starting from 100 million yuan are often the upper limit of the production cost of many new directors’ works.
From the perspective of capital, most of the big productions that can get tickets for Spring Festival and National Day will not be given to new directors. Because there are too many uncertain factors in the market awareness and quality control ability of new directors, well-known and mature directors are the first choice for employers.
In the summer of 2023, the production cost of the new director’s explosive works "Disappeared She" and "Put All Your Eggs on One Egg" is at most medium in the industry. Wu Ershan’s "Feng Shen I" is well-dressed, and its production cost is far ahead of both.

In addition, the long span of the summer file also leaves enough time for the word-of-mouth fermentation of the new director’s works. Wang Baoqiang’s "The Octagonal Cage" was not favored by the capital at the beginning of its production, and its early screening was mediocre. However, with the large-scale and long-term continuous screening of the film, when it was officially released, the single-day box office of the film appeared many times with high-quality word of mouth.

For the new director of animated film, the box office bonus ability of summer file is beyond the reach of other golden files. During the summer vacation, students, one of the mainstream moviegoers, are on holiday, have enough time to watch movies, and there is a strong demand for watching movies from parent-child groups. This is also one of the important reasons for the frequent explosion of animated films in summer files.
In addition, the summer file is more inclusive. No matter what type and theme of big-screen works, you can find your own audience. This is also conducive to the box office performance of the new director’s works with strong author style.
For example, half of the TOP10 domestic documentary films were released in summer. Among them, Guo Ke’s novel Twenty-two is the most famous. In the summer of 2017, the national screening rate of the film was less than 2% on the premiere day. With the voluntary publicity and support of "tap water", the highest rate of film scheduling in a single day rose to 16.7%.

In addition to the summer file, the Lunar New Year file with the second longest time span has also produced many new directors’ explosive works. For example, manslaughter 1 directed by Sam Quah, Unexpectedly directed by Xiaoxing Yi, Bath Buddy, etc. It can be seen that the more time the schedule is, the more likely it is that the new director’s works will enjoy the box office bonus.
How do new directors fight for summer files?
According to statistics, in the summer of 2023, the number of new directors’ works reached more than ten, and the cumulative box office broke 10 billion yuan. The director’s feature-length debut films released in the middle and late August include I Through the Storm directed by Qin Haiyan, Learning Dad directed by Su Liang and The Last Truth directed by Li Taige.

Through combing, it can be found that in the works directed by newcomers in the summer of 2023, works based on real events are more likely to explode. This phenomenon was not uncommon before this.
In the summer of 2018, Muye Wen’s first big-screen work, Dying to Survive, was adapted from the real life experience of a leukemia patient in China. In the end, the cumulative box office of the film reached 3.1 billion yuan, which also promoted the creative upsurge of realistic works in the market since then. The event of life, which was released in the summer of 2021, won both box office and word of mouth. This film is also the first film directed by Liu Jiangjiang.

Why do the realistic works directed by newcomers in the summer file stand out easily?
For many new directors, it is easier to tell a good story because the first film is often related to real life experiences. For example, in The Event of Life, which discusses life and death, director Liu Jiangjiang has two relatives and friends engaged in the funeral industry related to the theme of the story.
Even if there is no relevant life experience, the relevant cases in reality can provide inspiration and material for the director’s creation, making the story more solid and credible. For example, during the script writing stage of "Put all your eggs in one basket", the Olympic bid and the team interviewed many victims of online fraud, victims who were abducted overseas to participate in online fraud, and a large number of anti-fraud police and relevant technical personnel of the public security department who fought in the front line.

In addition, the works with realistic themes can arouse the discussion of social topics related to this theme and make the film information spread across circles. Rui Cui admits that the social value of the film brings more attention, "including emotional relationships, including staying away from gambling, including life choices, etc., which we hope to make the audience feel. In addition to deep empathy, there are many viewers on the Internet who do second creation based on concepts, and then have a lot of their own thinking and discussion."
Of course, the "mentoring" of the predecessors in the industry is also the escort of the new director’s work achievements. Chen Sicheng, as the producer of The Disappeared She, provided many suggestions and ideas for the filming. The bid for the Olympic Games is the signing director of the "Bad Monkey 72 Change Movie Plan" initiated by Ning Hao Company.

In terms of film types, comedies directed by new directors are also easy to become summer explosions.
For example, The Richest Man in Xihong directed by Yan Fei and Peng Damo, and monster hunt directed by Xu Chengyi. Of course, there are cases in which new directors make their mark through comedies in all major prime files. This is because comedy has just been needed by the domestic film market and has a huge audience base.
Looking back at the summer file in 2023, surprises and accidents coexist. In the future, the market and audience expect to see more excellent works directed by newcomers.






















