1.5 billion! The biggest winner is Han Han.

[Dahe Finance Cube reporter Xu Wei] 1.519 billion yuan in 5 days! "The most crowded in history" came to an end.

On May 4th, the National Film Bureau released data: In 2023, the box office of the May 1st movie was 1.519 billion yuan, and the number of people watching movies was 37.63 million. The top three films at the box office were Unfamiliar with Life (510 million yuan), King of the Sky (470 million yuan) and So Many Years (170 million yuan).

Although it failed to set a new box office record in film history, this year’s May 1st file continued the recovery momentum of the Spring Festival file and became the third highest box office in China film history after 2019 and 2021.

It is worth mentioning that in 2023, the first producers of the first two works of the May 1st box office were Tingdong Film. As the major shareholder of the company, Han Han is undoubtedly the biggest winner in May 1st this year.

The audience delayed admission and the box office failed to meet expectations.

This May Day holiday, the tourism market did not disappoint. According to the data center of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, there were 274 million domestic tourist trips, up 70.83% year-on-year. Domestic tourism revenue reached 148.056 billion yuan, up 128.90% year-on-year.

The booming tourism market has also led to the recovery of hotels, restaurants, aviation and other related industries. Perhaps it is precisely because there are more people who choose to travel abroad, and the film market is slightly deserted compared with crowded scenic spots during this May Day period.

On May 4th, according to the data released by the National Film Bureau, the box office of May 1st (April 29th to May 3rd) in 2023 was 1.519 billion yuan, with 37.63 million people watching movies, and the domestic movie box office accounted for 86.52%. The films Unfamiliar in Life, King of the Sky and So Many Years ranked in the top three at the box office, with box offices of 510 million yuan, 470 million yuan and 170 million yuan respectively.

This "most crowded" May 1st file failed to kill a billion-level head film, and the total box office failed to create a new box office record in film history.

Jin Chao, manager of Shanghai Studios in Henan Oscar Cinema, said frankly in an interview with Dahe Finance Cube: "The early performance of May 1st this year did not meet expectations. The King of the Sky, which was supposed to lead the pre-sale, should be full in prime time, but the attendance rate is average, which is not as good as that of Unfamiliar Life and So Many Years."

It is worth mentioning that "Unfamiliar Road to Life" has become the only dark horse in this year’s May 1st new film. In the pre-sale stage, the film greatly lagged behind "The King of the Sky" and achieved the daily box office overtaking, and won the daily box office crown for three consecutive days in the second half of the schedule with a steady attitude, successfully surpassing "The King of the Sky" to become the May 1st box office champion film.

The situation of "King of the Sky" and "Unfamiliar Road in Life" led by the May 1st file is already like this, and the situation of other films is even less optimistic. "We also want to arrange more films, but we really can’t sell a few tickets, especially Out of Fire and Countdown Love You, which is a bit lame." The staff of a cinema in Zhengzhou spoke to reporters.

In fact, this year’s May 1st gear was "a bluff" and then "a surprise".

Heat before it is reflected. In the pre-screening stage, the number of cat’s eyes wanting to see six new films in May 1st this year has exceeded 100,000, and the popularity before the high screening has driven the total pre-sale box office of more than 200 million yuan.

The audience delayed admission. Excellent pre-sale results did not activate the audience’s enthusiasm for watching movies as scheduled. On the first day of the holiday, the box office was 310 million, which was lower than that in 2018~2021. However, the box office continued to fall in the next two days, and the box office was over 300 million for four consecutive days during the schedule, setting a new record of 300 million days for the May 1st single-day box office.

Chen Jin, a data analyst of Lighthouse Professional Edition, said in an interview with Dahe Finance Cube that although this year’s May 1st file did not surpass the performance of the same period in 2021, it can also be seen that the market warming effect is obvious. "I look forward to the next summer file to continue the good performance of this year’s Spring Festival file and May Day file, and continue to lay a solid foundation for the annual market recovery."

The head film and television company was absent collectively, and Han Hancheng was the biggest winner.

18 new films are clustered in May 1st this year, which is the year with the largest number of new films in the same period over the years, which is enough to show the confidence of film and television companies in refreshing the upper limit of the market this year. Although behind the fierce competition, many head companies in the industry, such as Light, Wanda, China Film and Bona, have entered the market one after another, it is worth noting that the first producer who won the first place in the May 1st box office this year did not have a head film company, and "Unfamiliar Road in Life" and "King of the Sky" were both mainly cast by Shanghai Tingdong Film Co., Ltd.

The major shareholder of Tingdong Film is Han Han, who is also the chairman and general manager of the company, holding 51.56%. Dongyang Alibaba Pictures and Bona Pictures are the second and third largest shareholders.

Holding two popular films, King of the Sky and Unfamiliar Road in Life, Han Han is undoubtedly the biggest winner in May 1st this year.

According to public information, Tingdong Film was established in 2015, and had previously invested in the production of films such as Unexpectedly, Riding the Wind and Waves, Flying Life and Four Seas. In the past two years, Tingdong Film has not only laid out the works directed by Han Han himself, but also frequently cooperated with new directors. In 2021, the company participated in the production of "Make a Famous Man" and became a dark horse at the box office. The film director Liu Xunzi Mo was a newcomer, and this year’s "King of the Sky" was also directed by a newcomer (Liu Xiaoshi).

As a behind-the-scenes boss of Tingdong Film, Han Han has also begun to be re-recognized by fans. "He is no longer the angry Wen Qing."

In the wave of star writers turning to film in those years, Han Han became one of the few directors recognized by the audience and the industry.

In fact, except for King of the Sky and Unfamiliar Road of Life, which are being shown, Tingdong Film has sufficient reserves.

Adapted from the novel "There is only one you between me and the world", "Missing You" is tentatively scheduled to be released in the summer after experiencing copyright disputes and withdrawing files. In addition, Pegasus 2, which has just been put on record, appeared in the pre-screening patch of the cinema.

This year, Tingdong Film also set up "Skin of Life" and "Driving a Meteor". According to the filing information, the former continues to explore the stories of young people in small towns, while the latter is a long-lost science fiction theme.

The May 1 ST file has come to an end. The achievements of King of the Sky and Unfamiliar Road in Life have made Tingdong Film, which is steered by Han Han, take a wonderful and important step. How to grasp new opportunities and deal with new challenges is the problem that Tingdong Film will face.

Editor: Wang Shidan | Review: Zhang Yipeng | Review: Li Zhen | Producer: Wan Junwei