Is It Right to Release Movies On New Media Platforms First?

The annual Spring Festival holiday is the busiest period for the Chinese box office. According to statistics, the box office during the holiday in 2019 totaled 5.9 billion yuan ($843 million). But this year, due to the novel coronavirus pneumonia outbreak, the films were collectively withdrawn and movie theaters across the nation were closed due to the spread of the epidemic. In this particular situation, everyone thought there would be no films to watch during the period. Unexpectedly, the news came that a film originally scheduled to be released in the theaters during the holiday had found a brand new way of release.

On January 24, Huanxi Media, one of China’s leading film studios, canceled the holiday release of the comedy movie Lost in Russia in the theaters and decided to release it online for free. People could watch it through Tik Tok, Buzzvideo or other apps owned by Bytedance Inc. This was the first time in China that a movie cancelled its release in cinemas and was made available online for free. However, not everyone is thrilled. As many as 23 theaters jointly wrote to the national film regulator, urging relevant departments to regulate the movie release window period, arguing that the producers of Lost in Russia broke the existing norm.

Was it right to release the film online for free? Proponents think, facing an unusual situation, people could watch such a good movie without leaving home, so why not? Opponents argue that while the film industry should support innovative models, the innovation should comply with basic market guidelines, and the development of the entire industry should be taken into consideration, and a more appropriate method for the release of movies should be explored.