Small Subsidies Activate Big Market: Spring Festival Movie Viewing Discounts are Here
As of 22:00 on February 11, the total box office (including pre-sales) for the 2024 Spring Festival period has surpassed 2.7 billion yuan, marking a successful start to the Lunar New Year for the film industry. The second day of the Lunar New Year saw a single-day box office exceeding 1 billion, and this trend continued for two consecutive days during the Spring Festival period. “It’s Hot”, “Flying Life 2” and “Bear Infested: Reverse Time and Space” are currently the top three box office releases during this period. To further boost the booming movie market, various locations across China have introduced movie-watching discounts and subsidized ticket purchases by issuing movie coupons.
Hunan Province has implemented the “Dynamic Hunan·Light and Shadow Future” film consumption promotion activity, which is expected to distribute a total of 256,600 movie coupons from January 15 to April 15, 2024. Audience members can utilize these coupons to purchase tickets at participating cinemas by presenting the payment code of the relevant application or by buying tickets through relevant online platforms. This promotion was jointly launched by the Hunan Provincial Film Bureau, the Hunan Provincial Film Industry Association, and related companies, involving over 500 cinemas across 14 cities and prefectures in Hunan Province.
Audience members have expressed their enthusiasm for the event, with one individual stating, “I collected the coupons in advance on the app and then came to the site to verify them. Basically, there are ’30 off when you spend over 50′ and ’15 off when you spend over 30′, which are quite convenient and very affordable.” Another audience member also mentioned placing an order on their mobile phone and immediately receiving a corresponding discount, remarking that “it feels very affordable and really brings us a real discount.”
The impact of these subsidies and discounts on movie theaters is evident. Zhang Zhenhua, the person in charge of a cinema in Changsha City, stated, “This form of issuing movie coupons has greatly stimulated citizens’ enthusiasm for watching movies. Judging from the on-site conditions during the Spring Festival period, the number of moviegoers has increased significantly, and the overall turnover of our theaters has also increased.”
In addition to Hunan Province, Beijing, Shanghai, Sichuan, and other regions have also provided real discounts to audiences by issuing movie viewing subsidies, gift packages, and digital red envelopes, further fostering a vibrant movie-watching environment during the Spring Festival. The success of these small subsidies in activating the big market is evident, as moviegoers and industry professionals alike recognize the positive impact of these promotions on the film industry during this festive period.