TV channels offer outlet for China's small-budget films

Nearly 2,000 low-budget films tailored for China’s television channels have been produced since the first batch came out in the late 1990s, according to an expert who spoke during a recent Beijing seminar.

Zhang Baiqing, honorary president of the China Film Critics Association, said such a movie usually has a budget ranging between 1 million yuan ($144,900) and 3 million yuan, and are mostly broadcast on China Movie Channel, or CCTV-6.

As the world’s second-largest movie market, China already has an annual output of up to around 1,000 films, but less than 50 percent are screened theatrically. The 10 highest-grossing films earned a big portion of the total box-office haul, making it difficult for small and middle-sized films to earn a profit.

Zhang said television channels could be a good substitute for theaters to help more low-budget films get seen by a wider audience.

He added domestic filmmakers have, over the past few decades, attempted to figure out a successful formula to convey a larger theme via the stories of ordinary people.