by Gong Haiying

The COVID-19 epidemic has created new opportunities for producers of online movies. According to statistics， nearly 200 movies were released through online platforms in China in the first quarter of 2020， including 22 with revenues exceeding 10 million yuan （US$1.4 million）. In the first half of 2019， only 15 online movies managed to earn that much.

Due to the epidemic， seven theatrical releases scheduled for the Spring Festival holiday were canceled. On January 25， 2020， Lost in Russia， a movie expected to perform exceptionally in cinemas， was released online for viewers to watch for free. It was viewed 180 million times in three days. Later， another two movies that had been scheduled for theatrical release also went online. More attractive choices in online viewing as millions were stuck at home have helped the online entertainment industry develop by leaps and bounds.

The concept of “grand online movies” was first introduced in 2014 in China in reference to films released online that meet a series of standards such as a length longer than 60 minutes. Over the past seven years， the number of movies annually released online in China has increased rapidly from barely 200 to a peak of more than 2，000， with the market size surging from less than 100 million yuan （US$ 14 million） to over three billion yuan （US$423 million） in 2019. Since March 1， 2017， when the Film Industry Promotion Law went into effect， movies released online and in theaters have been subject to the same laws to promote higherquality entertainment products. In November 2019， the term “grand online movie” was officially trimmed to “online movie.”

Tmeng Pictures under Tmeng Group is a major producer of online films， with an annual output of around 40. Its 2018 movie Snake still holds the record for online movie box office with over 50 million yuan （US$7 million）. Its sequel， Snake II， led the box office in the first quarter of 2020 with over 30 million yuan （US$4 million）. Yin Chao， founder and CEO of Tmeng Group， remarked that although monster and disaster films have long been popular choices of Hollywood， such films are rarely seen in Chinese movie theaters. “Snake was unlike anything else in the theaters during its run， which was a major factor in its high box office，” noted Yin.

Yin considers online movies a major part of Chinas entertainment industry. The medium is creating new opportunities for the development of Chinas film industry. “The development of online movies has dramatically expanded the potential subject matter for movie theaters and created careers for many excellent young directors and producers who will likely become major forces in Chinas film industry，” Yin remarked.

China Pictorial： What drew Tmeng Group to online movie production？ How does Tmeng stand out among online movie companies？

Yin Chao： Tmeng was founded in 2012 and first ventured into online film production on short film platforms. As it began pioneering development of online films， it gradually transformed to an online film company.

Over the past eight years， Tmeng has become an innovative platform focused on the production of digital content. However， producing movies is not all we do； we are also committed to building a standardized industrial system for film production including our own database to guide content creation. We organized a program to train promising talent. The development of Tmeng marks Chinese online movies evolving to a new phase.

China Pictorial： What needs to happen for Chinas online movie industry to rise to the next level？

Yin Chao： Chinas online movie production is just burgeoning. A lot needs to be improved including human resources， subject matter and types of movies. The key lies in attractive content， which relates to both telling stories better and exploring various forms and topics. Alongside monster movies， which have already proven their market potential， films about war， heroic figures and true stories are worth exploring.

At the end of the day， Im optimistic about Chinas online movie development. As more traditional production teams start working on online films， investment in a single production could reach as high as 100 million yuan（US$14 million） in next five years as a larger audience is guaranteed. This is the trend.

China Pictorial： Online series from Europe and the United States are very popular in China. How can Chinas online content explore overseas markets？

Yin Chao： The topics of Chinas online films are attractive to foreign viewers， but the stories are not satisfying. As more talented people join the industry， the quality of stories will improve dramatically.

Tmeng has made progress in exploring overseas markets. For instance， the Huang Feihong series released by Tmeng in 2018 has already been licensed to online platforms serving over 100 countries and performed well in both ratings and views， which has boosted our confidence. Currently， Tmeng is looking mainly at markets in Southeast Asian countries such as Malaysia and Singapore and cooperating with their local providers. Such moves will popularize Chinese characters while at the same time facilitating cooperation with foreign actors and actresses on telling stories about China.