Detective Chinatown 3, The New Hero Of Chinese Film

JAKARTA - Welcoming the new year 2021, it seems that the film industry in China is not fully successful again. Entering such a wave of the pandemic, China has begun to adapt to the industrial sector, one of which is film.

Even though they reaped the benefits of airing The Eight Hundred in the third half, they needed other local releases that could reap similar success. Detective Chinatown: The Tokyo Showdown is the answer.

Directed by Chen Sicheng, Detective Chinatown 3 tells of Tang Ren (Wang Baoqiang) and Qin Feng (Liu Haoran) who are invited to Tokyo, Japan to investigate a crime.

But not only the investigation process, but they are also faced with the strongest detective in Asia. Someone with the Q's identity knows Tang Ren and Qin Feng's identities. Both are determined to find out who is behind Q.

Initially, the film was scheduled to air on Chinese New Year 2020 but because they were facing the coronavirus crisis, WanDa Pictures postponed it until a year later, February 12, 2021.

Usually, the national holidays from January to February are the best time for Chinese cinemas. Launching Variety, they contribute 10 to 15 percent of gross income. In 2019, China's cinema box office total reached 5.8 billion renminbi, or the equivalent of 892 million US dollars - according to ticket agency Maoyan.

In 2020, they don't contribute anything because the cinema closes the business and automatically the revenue is zero. Mid-July, the government allowed Chinese cinemas to start opening, and from here, they began to be productive in showing films in theaters.

High Enthusiasm, Low Expectations

With a budget of 117 million US dollars, Detective Chinatown 3 received a profit of 160 million US dollars on its first day of release in China and set a new record.

This achievement passed the Avengers: Endgame film, which was 156 million US dollars on the first day of April 2019. Detective Chinatown 3 became a Chinese film that won the first box office in 2021.

In fact, this is not their way of fighting Hollywood releases, but for a long time, Chinese film activists have tried to offer local films that have received great attention. As a result, every year, there are films with massive success that come from China.

When the COVID-19 pandemic unfolds, production houses and film activists must lower expectations. The production house began working with a cinema ticket sales company to press for marketing that focused on local films.

At the same time, using streaming services is an option for people who avoid watching in theaters. In China, streaming applications such as Tencent and iQIYI are starting to attract viewers.

In early 2021, VOI said iQIYI had 104.9 million subscribers by 2020. Various Chinese films and dramas began to be broadcast exclusively through the service.

Although iQIYI has a large number of subscribers, this is not a threat to theaters. "The (film) industry believes that theatrical screening is still the key to the success of big-budget films," Artisan Gateway's Pow told Variety.

Detective Chinatown 3 by Wanda Pictures is leading the advance sales chart for the week-long Spring Festival holiday. The film has racked in 200 million yuan in advance sales in record time. It will join six other domestic titles to screen in China on Feb 12. pic.twitter.com/yW3mOOWzIm

- DalianWanda (@DalianWanda) February 3, 2021

Franchise Success

Plus, the Detective Chinatown franchise has its advantages. The first part was selling well, reaching 126 million US dollars. Then followed by a sequel which won 544.1 million US dollars.

The second part of Detective Chinatown features the main cast competition with detectives set in New York City. Even the second part earns more than the first part.

Detective Chinatown 3 has material that the audience can easily like. The story combines comedy with a criminal genre that tries to solve crime cases that do not require serious effort to process.

The film players are not new stars either. Wang Baoqiang and Liu Haoran are two names with great popularity in China. The figure of Wang Baoqiang is an actor who has starred in many films both national and international.

Co-starring, Liu Haoran is a young actor who has the same success as Wang Baoqiang. At the age of 23, Liu Haoran has been named the youngest actor to play a box office film with 10 billion renminbi.

Another name that cannot be missed is actor Tony Jaa, whose name is known in the international arena. Various films such as Furious 7, XXX: Return of Xander Cage, Triple Threat, and others.

Overall, the Detective Chinatown 3 film comes at a great time with a lot of potentials. Of course, this release can revive the Chinese cinema industry which is already open to the public.

The COVID-19 pandemic has not stopped filmmakers from working. With the success of Detective Chinatown 3 at the start of the year, the public can expect other local films to benefit the same in the next few months.

The Detective Chinatown 3 film will air in Indonesia starting February 24.