Quest for quick profits is self-destructive

DURING THE Spring Festival holiday from Feb 15 to 21, China's box office has created some noteworthy records. Monster Hunt 2 made 550 million yuan ($86.58 million) in box revenue on its opening day, breaking the record set by Fast & Furious 8, which raked in 478 million yuan on its opening day. And the combined box office revenue of three other Chinese movies hit 3.2 billion yuan in the first three days of the holiday, pushing the total box office revenue over that period up 65 percent year-on-year. Rednet.cn comments:

These figures show the huge potential of the Chinese market. But it does not necessarily mean the four movies are of high quality. At least two of the four Chinese movies have been greeted with more criticism than praise in spite of their impressive box office revenues.

During the Spring Festival holiday, most audiences go to the cinema for fun. It is thus not difficult for comedies - three of the four films are comedies - to yield a good return, even if some have nothing to brag about in their stories or performances.