Table of contents 3
Index of tables and charts 5
Executive summary 7
Cinema 7
Home entertainment 8
Consumer tastes 8
Methodology 11
Cinema 11
Video 12
Statistical methodology 12
Hardware methodology 12
Software methodology 12
Exchange rate methodology 13
NRG Background 13
Sample composition 13
Report Notes 13
Introduction 15
Territory overview 19
Population 19
Gender 19
Age 19
Urbanisation of China 19
Geography 20
23 provinces 20
5 Autonomous regions 20
4 Municipalities 20
1 Special Autonomous Region 20
Population centres 21
Incomes 21
China and World Trade Organisation entry 23
Sources of data 24
Th e cinema class 25
Urban population 25
Consumer class 25
Brands and affl uence 25
City populations 25
Geography 25
Mobile phone ownership 26
DVD/VCD ownership 26
Th e Cinema class in China 26
Cinema exhibition in China 27
From monolith to free market 27
Admissions and box offi ce 28
Cinema screens 30
Ticket prices 31
Screen density and growth rates 32
Copyright theft 32
Leading exhibitors and international
players 33
Large format screens 38
Th eatrical distribution in China 41
Distribution market structure 41
Leading distributors 42
Th eatrical Releases 42
Distributor market shares 42
Films released 42
Nationality 43
Market shares 43
Genre split 43
Film marketing 43
Digital cinema in China 45
D-cinema screens 47
D-cinema content 47
Projector manufacturers and resolution 48
Servers 49
Film production sector 51
Moving away from the State 51
Film Production in China 51
Film Studios 53
Leading Domestic Producers 54
China as a production centre 55
Th e US majors in China 55
Warner China Film 55
Disney 55
Sony 55
Viacom 56
Chinese fi lms abroad 56
DVD and other video formats in China 59
Th e move to disc 59
Royalties, rows and local formats 60
Hardware penetration analysis 60
Pricing 62
Hardware pricing 62
Software pricing 63
Market growth in volume sales 64
Analysis of rental sector 64
Video distribution in China 69
Distribution 69
Leading distributors 70
Copyright theft 71
Anti-piracy initiatives 71
Government Policy 73
WTO entry 73
Market Liberalisation 73
Understanding the behaviour of the Chinese
movie consumer 75
Executive summary 77
Attendance patterns 77
Decision making process 77
Motivations to attend 77
Chinese vs. western fi lms 78
Most important factors in watching in
cinema 78
Preferred genres 78
Future opportunities 78
Cinemagoing behaviour 81
Cinema attendance 81
Decision making/motivation to
attend cinema 82
Preference for Chinese or ‘western’ fi lms 82
Most important factors to see fi lm in
the cinema 86
Favourite genres 87
Sources of information 88
Viewership of ‘western’ fi lms 88
Overview: DVD-related behaviour 90
DVD Ownership 90
DVD Rental 93
VCD Ownership 94
Appendix - timelines 99
Cinema 99
Digital Cinema 103
VCD and DVD 106