Streaming platforms prove a plot twist for releasing films

"I saw the film with my parents at home. It makes me reflect on the relationship between my parents and me, and my son and me," says Zhao Kun, a 39-year-old insurance agent in Shanghai.

Although the move seems a win-win for viewers, 22 cinema chains threatened on Jan 24 in an open letter to boycott future cooperation with Huanxi, blaming the studio for harming the industry.

The letter addressed to the industry regulator, the China Film Administration, states that "this goes against the payment and revenue model that the movie industry has cultivated over many years; it is trampling and intentionally destroying the movie industry and premiere models".

Normally, theaters covet their exclusive windows to show first-run films before they hit home video platforms. Theater owners tend to split the ticket sales with distributors.

Lost in Russia "plays a lead role in causing destruction", the letter says.

Video streaming platforms have established a presence in the film business.

Gong Yu, the founder and chief executive officer of iQiyi, forecasted the trend during the Beijing International Film Festival in April, saying that an innovative and disruptive age for the Chinese movie industry will soon arrive.

In 2015, the US streaming service Netflix was boycotted by major film chains for its first original film Beasts of No Nation, breaking the traditional window between theatrical release and video-on-demand access.

It exposed a theatrical business fraught with growing worry for the multiplatform release model.

Besides the video platforms, data proves that the holiday is turning out to be a huge boon for the internet entertainment sector.

From Jan 21 to 27, games, videos and medicine were listed as the most popular genres among the 50 fastest-growing apps, according to online data service provider Qimai Technology.

Tencent Games confirms that King of Glory made about 2 billion yuan on Jan 24, a record high. Industry experts estimate that the game could make more than 9 billion yuan last month due to increasing active players and longer playing times during the ongoing novel coronavirus.

With limited contact with the real world, connections to cyberspace have surged.