Hong Kong’s film and TV industry after 40 years of China’s opening up and reform: once ‘Hollywood of the East’, does future now lie in being mainland’s supporting cast?
- Mainland China’s movie and television business now far outweighs Hong Kong’s in output, viewers and box office takings
- Hong Kong helped get the industry north of the border on its feet in the 1980s and 90s. Does the city’s future success lie in integration or staying distinct?
The past 40 years of reform and opening up in China have not only been about massive investments, infrastructure projects and turning the country into the world’s second largest economy. The years of the Cultural Revolution left mainlanders with little to watch on television and at the movies other than propaganda. As China opened up, Hong Kong television dramas and movies offered a glimpse of the outside world, city life and of what China’s big changes might bring.
When the mainland was ready to grow its own television and movie industry, Hong Kong producers and filmmakers played a crucial role, but the tables soon turned on the “Hollywood of the East”. Today, mainland Chinese television serials and movies are immensely popular in Hong Kong, and dominate in terms of output, viewership, and box office receipts.
Turning the tide in television
On a single Sunday in August this year, an episode of mainland Chinese television hit The Story of Yanxi Palace clocked up 530 million views online, setting a record.
Packed with drama, betrayal and intrigue, the 70-episode period drama won over audiences not only on the mainland, but also in Hong Kong, where it is 2018’s most popular drama aired by Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB), the city’s largest television broadcaster.
Costing 300 million yuan (HK$338 million) to produce, the series is about a maid who goes to work in the imperial palace to investigate her sister’s death and ends up a concubine of Emperor Qianlong.