New source of cheap thrills

Monk Comes Out of the Mountain is among China's biggest Internet-only features this year.

Horror as a genre is scrutinized closely by censors, who take a very strict approach－"no ghosts allowed" and "no supernatural phenomenon". But online features tend to get more leeway even though technically the same censorship rules apply to all platforms.

Zhang Tao, writer-director of Monk Comes Out of the Mountain, says: "Internet-only features are built on the base of traditional genre movies. But you have to add more current elements. In a relatively freer environment, we've got to do something that others can't."

iQiyi has amassed a collection of some 500 Internet-only features, the largest among China's video sites, which it offers its paid subscribers for a certain amount of time. Across cyberspace, a cumulative 900 such titles are available by the end of this year.

iQiyi takes a minimum cut of 30 percent, which, compared with movie exhibitors, is very favorable for the production side.

In 2014, it generated 50 million yuan in total revenue with such titles and it claimed that roughly 30 percent of the titles broke even from Internet distribution alone.

Revenues are expected to go up three to four times this year, with some 60 percent of titles crossing the break-even point, an iQiyi executive says earlier.

March 18, 2014, is considered by some in the business as the day Internet-only features were born. iQiyi held a forum that day to launch its Internet-only features initiative.

Some see this new type of film as an ideal platform to launch young talent.

Chen Qiuping, an officer of the Beijing Filmmakers Society, says: "The creation of movies requires practice and Internet-only features provide more opportunities for youngsters who dream of entering the profession. So, it is beneficial in the long term."

While Internet-only features have a humble origin and a humbler look, its sibling, Internet-only series, meanwhile, are attracting bigger stars and more money, creating verifiable hits and becoming an alternative to old-fashioned TV shows.

Contact the writer at raymondzhou@chinadaily.com.cn