As the competition for summer box-office dominance heats up, Wang Kaihao looks at the innovative online marketing techniques being used by domestic filmmakers.
In recent months a catchy song, A Little Apple, has gone viral in Chinese cyberspace. It has become such a cult hit that it has even inspired square-dancing troupes to mimic its music video. But what its millions of fans did not realize as they bopped along to the catchy tune, is that they were actually taking part in an unusual campaign for a movie that they had probably never heard of.
When Old Boys: The Way of the Dragon, an adventure comedy featuring the song, was released on July 10, the unusual publicity strategy was applauded.
With the song having become an enormous hit, many people who did not plan to watch the film will probably now flock to cinemas out of curiosity.
This summer, many domestic films have fallen short of expectation, and filmmakers have turned to online marketing in an attempt to stay ahead of the competition posed by their more critically acclaimed foreign rivals.
According to statistics from the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television, the country's overall box-office income in the first half of this year was 13.74 billion yuan ($2.22 billion), including 6.63 billion yuan from domestic films.
In China, there is one month every summer when few Hollywood blockbusters are released so they do not compete with domestic films. This one-month grace period is the best season for Chinese movies to make their bid for box office dominance.
Ticket sales of Old Boys: The Way of the Dragon surpassed 150 million yuan within the first week of hitting the big screen.
This is a good result for a film that was developed from a popular micro movie on video streaming platform Youku.com. Videos related to A Little Apple have attracted more than 500 million clicks.
Some of that success can be attributed to the filmmakers' use of what is becoming a worldwide trend - producing movies and TV shows based on big data.
"We have analyzed big data, including the age, vocation, and geographic distribution collected from over 80 million fans of the micro movie four years ago," says Wei Ming, head of Youku.com. "Their comments or the time they took to drag the progress bar determined how the big screen adaption of Old Boys was made.
"Perhaps, this will create a new path for our industry when combining cyberspace with the production and marketing of a movie, because filmgoers and netizens will become one and the same in the future."
Interactive online campaigns involving fans have become a popular way to promote a movie. The first two episodes of Tiny Times, the directing debut of author Guo Jingming, raked in 800 million yuan at the box office last year in spite of criticism for its portrayal of lavish lifestyles.
The lead up to the premiere of its third episode last week saw more than 100,000 fans donate a small sum of money online as "investors" of the movie.
Some of the people who donated received film souvenirs, or the chance to visit the film set. There were also opportunities to watch the film before its official release.
Guo claimed this new episode would make 500 million yuan at the box office. That seemingly difficult task suddenly looks easy, with the film earning 300 million only four days after being formally released on July 17.
The fourth episode of the series is still in post-production, but the trilogy has become one of the most lucrative Chinese movie series in history, earning a total of 1.1 billion yuan from the box office.
Han Han, Guo's major competitor, has just released his directorial debut, road-trip comedy The Continent.
Han is confident the film will pull in 800 million at the box office. Aside from the star cast and support from big-shot Hong Kong director Johnnie To, his online marketing campaign has proved a success.
Han has over 38 million followers on Sina Weibo, China's major micro-blogging platform. He has broadcast the filming process of the movie to his followers since he begun shooting.
The films trailer was released online in May, only three days after shooting was completed. It has been viewed 4.7 million times, creating a new record among Chinese movies.
"I don't care too much about the stunning numbers online. What matters more is whether the movie is good or not," Han said at the premiere.
However, when he invited popular singer Pu Shu to write the closing song for the movie, he must have had another idea in mind.
Pu, who has been away from the public eye for some 11 years, also brings a new element for a movie claiming to be dedicated to young people. The song was reposted about 340,000 times within 24 hours after being released online last week.
No one knows what other trump cards will be thrown on the table during the tense online campaign this summer, but one thing is certain: Domestic distributors have to quickly come up with more creative ways before they face the return of overseas blockbusters in August.
近几个月以来，口水歌《小苹果》在国内网络上疯传，火到其歌曲MV中的“苹果舞”都成了广场舞效仿的对象。但是《小苹果》数百万的粉丝均未意识到，在伴着这支朗朗上口的曲调摇摆的同时，他们切实参与了一部自己可能闻所未闻的电影非比寻常的宣传活动。
以该曲为一大宣传亮点的冒险喜剧《老男孩之猛龙过江》7月10日上映，其与众不同的宣传策略获得各方赞赏。
随着《小苹果》的爆红，许多本无观影打算的民众可能会出于好奇而涌入电影院一探究竟。
今年夏季，许多国产影片均未能取得预期票房，电影制片人纷纷转向网络营销，试图在与诸多广受追捧的国外电影竞争中保持领先地位。
根据广电总局的统计数据显示，今年上半年全国电影票房收入总额为137.4亿，其中国产电影票房收入为66.3亿。
2014年“国产片保护月”降临暑期档。此时的“宽限期”是国产影片抢占票房的绝佳时期。
《老男孩之猛龙过江》上映一周的票房收入就超过了1.5亿。
这对一部源起优酷网热门微电影《老男孩》的影片来说是个不错的成绩。《小苹果》的相关视频点击量已超过了5亿次。
这一成功部分得益于电影制片人根据大数据制作电影电视节目的做法，而这已成为一种全球趋势。
优酷总裁魏明表示，“我们已分析了四年前收集的有关该微电影8000万粉丝的大量数据，包括年龄、职业以及地区分布。观众的评论及拖拽点决定了《老男孩》大电影版的编剧制作方式。”
“或许，电影制作及营销与网络的结合会为我们的电影产业开辟一条新的道路，因为影迷与网民将来会合二为一。”
与粉丝密切相关的网络互动营销已成为宣传电影的时兴方式。作家郭敬明的导演处女作《小时代》系列电影前两部于去年上映，虽然片中对主人公奢华生活的渲染遭到诟病，但是影片席卷了高达8亿的票房收入。
在《小时代3》首映筹备阶段，有十几万粉丝通过电商平台投入小额资金，成为该片的“投资人”。
“投资”影片的粉丝有的收到了电影纪念品，有的得到了参观片场的机会。粉丝还有机会在公映前抢先观看影片。
郭敬明预期该片票房可达5亿。而影片在7月17日正式上映后，仅四天就创造了3亿票房，这使得5亿票房的艰巨任务瞬间变得轻而易举。
《小时代4》目前仍处于后期制作阶段，但是《小时代》前三部已成为中国有史以来最赚钱的系列电影之一，总票房高达11亿。
韩寒执导的电影处女作、公路喜剧《后会无期》也刚刚上映。
韩寒深信该片能收获8亿票房。除了强大的明星阵容及香港大咖导演杜琪峰的鼎力支持外，其网络营销活动也相当成功。
韩寒在新浪微博上有超过3800万的粉丝。他在影片拍摄伊始时就通过微博与粉丝分享影片拍摄历程。
该电影于5月杀青后的第三天，就在网上发布了预告片，其观看次数达470万次，创造了国产电影的新纪录。
韩寒在影片首映式上表示：“我不大在意网上那些惊人的数字。是不是好电影才是最重要的。”
但是，他邀请流行歌手朴树为该片创作片尾曲时，肯定另有打算。
朴树阔别公众视野近11年，他也为这部宣称献给年轻人的电影注入了新元素。上周该片尾曲在网上发布后仅24个小时，就被转发了34万次。
没人知道，在今夏紧张的网络宣称活动中，各方人士还会使出哪些杀手锏，但有一件事是肯定的：在八月国外大片来袭前，国产电影发片方必须尽快想出更多创意宣传手段。