Cast a glance at the local multiplexes this festive season and it's hard to avoid the conclusion that the local film industry, long in the doldrums thanks to falling revenues and waning public interest, is back in business. Sold-out screenings were common during the holidays, with as many people flocking to Hong Kong blockbusters (Peter Chan Ho-sun's The Warlords made HK$12.2 million in its first week) as to Hollywood offerings such as The Golden Compass and I Am Legend.
So it's understandable that commentators are much more upbeat about Hong Kong's celluloid fortunes than they were at this time last year, when year-end flashbacks focused on the lack of a genuine Chinese-language blockbuster (Fearless, starring Jet Li Lianjie, hardly set the world on fire with its HK$30 million takings) and the unrelenting closures of cinemas across town, including arthouse bulwark Cine-art and mid-sized fixtures such as New York and Silvercord.
What a difference a year makes. The success of Ang Lee's Lust, Caution, which has brought in more than HK$48 million - astounding returns for a film that under-18s are not allowed to see - has generated a media frenzy so intense that it has drawn even the most reluctant movie-goers into cinemas. And Derek Yee Tung-shing's Protege got a similar welcome when it opened during the Lunar New Year holidays in February, ending up with takings of HK$26.5 million and breaking convention by exploring dark themes at one of the most festive times of the year.
Hong Kong's reviving economy has contributed much to the film industry's recent good fortune, says Woody Tsung Wan-chi, chief executive of the Hong Kong, Kowloon and New Territories Motion Picture Industry Association. And the willingness of people to spend money on going to the cinema is illustrated by the public's acceptance of a move to raise ticket prices during the Christmas and New Year holidays.
The launch of several multiplexes has helped to whip up public interest in film-going as a recreational activity. It began last December with the opening of AMC Pacific Place, which replaced the old UA-operated cinema. This year the city's first Imax cinema was launched in Kowloon Bay, then its biggest cinema complex, the 12-screen Grand Cinema, opened at the Elements arcade above Kowloon MTR station.
Although both the Imax and the Grand have facilities to show 3D movies, a new cinema at the airport ups the ante with the promise of a 'four-dimensional' experience - the extra dimension being supplied by water sprinklers, smoke machines and other gadgets to make viewers feel what's being shown on screen.
