$24billion yuan at box office in 2022，copyright empowers Chinese stellar sci-fi works

The shooting ceremony of the sci-fi theatrical film Leng Hu 37°, adapted from the 3rd Leng Hu Science Fiction Literature Award's award-winning work Closed Loop, took place during the recent "Qinghai Leng Hu Science Fiction Literature, Film and Television Development Conference (2023)". The film's shooting will kick off in September this year, with Hugo Award winner and well-known sci-fi writer Liu Cixin as its literary advisor.

In recent years, China's sci-fi industry has been thriving. The integration of sci-fi literature with film and television has accelerated, and sci-fi literature is becoming an important source of adapted film and television programs. According to the Report on China's Science Fiction Industry 2023 released this May, 21 such films released in theater in 2022 had grossed a combined 8.24 billion yuan at box office with their main source of contents based on IP adaptation. In this context, how to launch more quality Chinese sci-fi literature and  film & television works with profound thoughts and exquisite artistic value has become a hot topic in the industry.

Reaching consensus on industry development

In recent years, domestic sci-fi films have performed noticeably well, and many popular works with good box office have been produced. According to the Report, in terms of sci-fi film and television, the total box office of ten domestic sci-fi films released in 2022 accounted for 67% of the total box office of all sci-fi films released in the whole year, showing China's  stronger capacity to produce sci-fi films.

With the theme of "New Opportunities and New Missions for the  Development of Science Fiction Literature and Film & Television Works", this conference discussed the creation, adaptation and interdisciplinary integration of sci-fi literary works and film & television works. At the conference, over 100 participants, including well-known sci-fi writers, screenwriters and directors, reached "Leng Hu Consensus". According to the  Consensus, "science fiction" is a global topic, and sci-fi literature and  film & television creation has been future-oriented with unlimited possibilities. The literary, film & television, and scientific research & popular science industries should carry out more interdisciplinary exchanges, foster cooperation and sharing, and promote integration, in order to promote the creation and production of stellar sci-fi literature and film & television works.

Regarding the integrated development of sci-fi literature and film & television, Zhang Pimin, Chairman of the China Film Foundation, said that starting with the excellent aerospace-themed film The Space Dream, many new types of sci-fi literature and film & television works have emerged. With new opportunities in the new era, new progress made in the field of sci-fi literature and film & television, to better achieve high-quality development and establish China as a cultural force, has become the society's common expectation and consensus.

Supporting creation of sci-fi works

As the creation of sci-fi literatureand film & television works flourishes, how to improve the quality of works becomes the focus in the industry.

Such works shall be created in diverse ways. Rao Shuguang, President of the China Film Critics Association, suggested that creators can create "soft sci-fi" works like Journey to the West. He said that the industry standard set by The Wandering Earth and its sequel is not the norm for current domestic sci-fi film production. Such leading sci-fi films starring A-listers are often difficult to produce thanks to huge investments and long production periods. In contrast, "soft sci-fi" works can be produced at relatively low costs to meet large market demand.

As a matter of fact, in order to create more stellar sci-fi literature and film & television works, China has introduced a slew of measures in recent years to support creation of such works. In the film industry, for example, the Opinions on Promoting the Development of Science Fiction Films jointly issued by the China Film Administration and the China Association for Science and Technology in 2020 stated the need to make them an important growth point and new driver for the high-quality development of the film industry, focus on the creation of high-quality films and promote China's progress from a large country to a powerhouse in terms of films, and put forward ten measures to increase support and guidance for the creation, production, distribution and screening of sci-fi films, and special effects techniques.

The industry in recent years provides strong support for the creation of such works. Yang Feng, Co-founder of the Leng Hu Science Fiction Literature Award and CEO of Chengdu Eight Light Minutes Culture, said that the Leng Hu Science Fiction Literature Award, which was established in 2018, has provided a platform for domestic sci-fi authors. In the past six years, they have trained over 50 sci-fi literary writers, published five collections of Leng Hu sci-fi literature works, and received over 3,350 sci-fi works with more than 62 million Chinese words.

"Each generation of people have their mission and responsibility." As the "Leng Hu Consensus" states, the society should act and map out a better future for China's sci-fi literature and film & television industry.