2019 Year in Review: Top 10 Blockbusters in Chinese Cinema

Original Zeus Zou theBeijinger

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Getting to the end of a year in Beijing tends to leave you with more questions than answers, and when you're not searching in vain for that long-gone jianbing seller, you're dealing with quiet closures, noisy neighbors, and if you're really lucky, surprise laduzi. One thing's for sure: there's never a dull day in China's capital, and we hope for nothing less from 2020. For now, however, let's take a look back at the year that was 2019.

Holiday season is here, which for film buffs also means that awards season fast approaches. In the face of an economic downturn and fierce competition from online streaming platforms, 2019 hasn't been the best year for the Chinese movie industry, especially at the cinema. Luckily, the second half of 2019 performed much better than the first, and while box office takings for last year maxed out at the RMB 60.9 billion point, as of Dec 12 this year we've already reached RMB 60.6 billion, with a full 19 days of the year still to go.

Let’s take a look at the top 10 box office hits of 2019, and how they were received both critically and commercially.

10. Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw

Box Office: RMB 1.418 billion
Reception: Douban 6.3/10; IMDb 6.5/10; Metacritic 60/100 (Critics), 6.6/10 (Users); Rotten Tomatoes 67% (Critics), 88% (Audience)

Over the years, the Fast & Furious franchise has continued to reach new milestones in terms of commercial success while at the same time increasingly resembling a stale, bland, superhero-less excuse for filmmaking. That's never been truer than in this spin-off, in which they delve into the world of sci-fi via a cybernetically-enhanced terrorist bad guy, Brixton Lore (played by Idris Elba). Despite the touch of David Leitch, who has worked on such blockbusters as V for Vendetta, Deadpool 2, John Wick, and Atomic Blonde, the film failed to revive the franchise to the extent that fans had hoped. However, still managed to beat Spider-Man: Far From Home by a cool RMB 17 million in the box office, therefore securing its spot at the bottom of this top-ten list. Sadly, that probably means that there are more spin-offs to come.

9. Better Days

Box Office: RMB 1.532 billion
Reception: Douban 8.4/10; IMDb 7.5/10; Metacritic TBD; Rotten Tomatoes 100% (Critics), 97% (Audience)

Better Days, directed by Hong Kong's Kwok Cheung-tsang (Lover's Discourse, Soul Mate) was a dark horse in this year's Chinese movie market. The film centers around Chen Nian, a high school student under investigation for her suspected role in murdering a classmate. The plot, which largely revolves around school bullying – admittedly not the sexiest of topics, so we can't blame Chinese cinema being slow to tackle – resonated far and wide with audiences, indicating the serious and widespread nature of abuse in Chinese schools. The movie was also lauded for its realistic portrayal of adolescence, a time in which students are usually thought to be docile and undistracted from their studies, when in fact they're anything but. The weight of the subject matter meant that the story needed a wholesome, satisfactory ending to pass muster with movie regulators, but thanks to clever screenwriting and skillful portrayals by its young cast (including TFBoys' Jackson Yee), Better Days still manages to convey the cruelty and rawness inherent in bullying, and this delicate stage in people's lives.

8. The Bravest

Box Office: RMB 1.676 billion
Reception: Douban 6.6/10; IMDb 5.4/10; Metacritic N/A; Rotten Tomatoes N/A

Based on the true story of a pipeline explosion and oil spill that occurred in Dalian on Jul 16, 2010, and claimed the life of one firefighter, The Bravest follows the first responders as they try to minimize damage from the catastrophe. Unfortunately, the touching story and great CGI are tainted by melodramatic heroism and a shallow portrayal of those people whose lives are at risk, leaving anyone actually interested in what happened that day better off reading newspaper reports about the incident than going to the cinema. Despite these flaws, audiences do love a hero (especially during the 70th anniversary of the CCP), as backed by the impressive RMB 1.676 billion shelled out at the box office.

7. Pegasus

Box Office: RMB 1.703 billion
Reception: Douban 6.9/10; IMDb 6.3/10; Metacritic N/A; Rotten Tomatoes N/A

Pegasus is the third movie directed by blogger-turned-director Han Han, who has completed transformed himself from a bestselling millennial author to a successful director, putting his other love – cars – front and center of his films. As a part-time racer himself, Han Han sure knows his way around the track, and audiences seem to enjoy seeing him turn his passion into movies. In Pegasus, we follow washed-up racecar driver Zhang Chi as he strives to return to the circuit, and simple tale that became the seventh most successful film at the box office this year, even though fans considered it largely lacking when compared to Han Han's debut, The Continent.

6. Crazy Alien

Box Office: RMB 2.183 billion
Reception: Douban 6.4/10; IMDb 5.8/10; Metacritic N/A; Rotten Tomatoes 50% (Audience)

Judging by the poster, you'd be forgiven for thinking that sci-fi comedy Crazy Alien was just another E.T. rip-off. In fact, the tale about a bumbling monkey-training duo who mistake a powerful alien for one of their captives is actually more of a play on political satire. Little do they know, because of their relation to this ET, they're also being hunted by the fictional superpower "Amanica," all of which results in an extremely politically incorrect film. Reviews of Crazy Alien are highly polarized, with fans lauding it for its exquisite fusion of the absurd and real-life struggles (a hallmark of director Ning Hao's style), while naysayers were quick to point out that the only monkey tricked in this film was whoever went to see it. In any case, Crazy Alien still came home with RMB 2.183 billion at the box office. Finally, a quick tip should you decide to see it: don't view it as a sci-fi movie but actually an exercise in deconstructing Western sci-fi movie principles with Eastern pragmatism.

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5. The Captain

Box Office: RMB 2.848 billion
Reception: Douban 6.9/10; IMDb 5.9/10; Metacritic N/A; Rotten Tomatoes 71% (Critics), 96% (Audience)

The second real-life action movie on this list, The Captain fell into the same pitfalls as The Bravest, but even worse. The filme is based on the May 2018 incident in which Sichuan Airlines Flight 8633 was forced to make an emergency landing after a heavy storm partially detached the plane's cockpit windshield. Amazingly, there was no loss of life of serious injury, which may be why the writer and director decided to ruin an otherwise incredible story by flooding it with unnecessary subplots and common sensical nonsense. The film was officially supported by the Civil Aviation Administration of China, and hundreds of aviation professionals were apparently involved in the film's creation and filming, which might explain the terrible acting that blights this film – the final nail in the non-extistent coffin as it were. Many trundled to the cinema hoping for a Chinese Sully, only to receive this flying turd instead. It still took in RMB 2.848 billion at the box office, proving what we've known all along: there's really no accounting for taste.

4. My People, My Country

Box Office: RMB 2.963 billion
Reception: Douban 7.9/10; IMDb 6.5/10; Metacritic TBD; Rottentomatoes 64% (Audience)

While this film's subtitle: “A birthday gift for the 70th birthday of the People Republic of China,” is enough to turn anyone off, My People, My Country was not as awful as you might first predict. While it's undoubtedly propaganda, it's not propaganda told in a condescending fashion from up on high, but rather from the point of view of the 'common people,' who help map out the incredible journey that China has undertaken over the past few decades. The movie is comprised of seven disparate stories; one for each decade between 1949 to 2019. The stories include everything from the preparations for the historic first-ever raising of Chinese flag on the day the country was born to rekindling the thrill of excitement when Samaranch announced Beijing would host the 2008 Olympic Games. While it's unlikely to be as goose-bump inducing for foreigners, the film provides a window into how many Chinese people see their country, which in turn explains why this type of movie always finds a keen audience.

3. Avengers: Endgame

Box Office: RMB 4.205 billion
Reception: Douban 8.5/10; IMDb 8.5/10; Metacritic 78/100 (Critics), 7.8/10 (Users); Rotten Tomatoes 94% (Critics), 90%(Audience)

The grand finale for the Avengers or a prologue for the new Marvel universe? Avengers: Endgame left superhero fans with more questions than answers, and they were happy to pontificate on the meaning behind the many hidden details within the film for hours. Thanks to the loyal fanbase in China and the extra expensive IMAX tickets, the movie also achieved the highest box office takings in China in a single day with RMB 0.5 billion rolling in on Apr 27. It then became the fastest movie to reach RMB 1 billion box office in Chinese movie history. As for the strength of the plot, we'll leave that to be discussed by the longer-than-a-PhD-dissertation reviews found online.

2. The Wandering Earth

Box Office: RMB 4.618 billion
Reception: Douban 7.9/10; IMDb 6.0/10; Metacritic 57/100 (Critics), 5.6/10 (Users); Rottentomatoes 76% (Critics), 52% (Audience)

Adapted from the eponymous sci-fi novel by Liu Cixin (who also wrote the highly acclaimed Three-Body Problem), The Wandering Earth was a milestone not only for Chinese sci-fi but also in terms of China's moviemaking ambitions. While it does a decent impression of a Hollywood blockbuster, a closer look starts to unveil the Chinese values at the core of this movie: family bonds, teamwork, and so on. The downsides also become quickly apparent with the movie undermining any potency its extraordinary story had with a series of overly emotional plotlines. We won't even get into various lapses in logic and blasphemous handling of science that made many leave the cinema questioning the intelligence of the film crew.

1. Nezha

Box Office: RMB 4.934 billion
Reception: Douban 8.5/10; IMDb 7.7/10; Metacritic 54/100 (Critics); 9.2/10 (Users); Rotten Tomatoes 87% (Critics), 98% (Audience)

So that leaves us with our number film, which is deserving of its place here for many reason. For starters, Nezha, the story of a mischevious youth attempting to determine his own fate, was the first time in Chinese movie history that an animated film – a Chinese produced animated film to be precise – was crowned #1 at the box office. And then it went on to take home RMB 4 billion. So why was it so popular? Much of Nezha's stregths lie in its universality, winning the hearts of both kids and adults, as well as its eschewing of usual Chinese animation tropes: family-friendly action, vibrant colors, simple, juvenile stories, and one-dimensional characters. The unique aesthetics and outstanding animation also seduced overseas audiences, where Nezha became a moderate success. While many people poke fun at China's efforts in animation, asking "when the dawn of the Chinese animation industry will finally arrive," Nezha proved that there are people working hard in the darkness, intent to bring their playful visions to life.