Another successful project is Wolf Warrior 2, which broke into the top-100 grossing movies of all time. This action blockbuster starred and directed by Wujing topped the domestic box office with an unprecedented gross of 3.4 billion yuan in just 13 days and became China's top-grossing film of all time, racking up over 5 billion yuan. Helping the phenomenal success of the movie was Park Road Post Production, a film post-production facility located in Wellington, New Zealand, which was responsible for the sound editing and mixing on the production.
Chinese production companies are increasingly tapping into expertise and talent in other countries to support the productions of Chinese films.
Support policies to develop the Chinese Film industry
New Zealand has a Screen Production Grant (NZSPG) program, and China-New Zealand co-productions are eligible for a cash grant of 40% of Qualifying New Zealand Production Expenditure (QNZPE) under this program. Shanghai also has supportive measures in place to serve its film industry. In 2014, Shanghai issued the Several Policies on Promoting Shanghai Film Development policy and established a screen production service provider to attract film and TV production teams to Shanghai, with a view to making Shanghai a filming destination. This screen production service provider will offer 135 free-of-charge production services, including government communication, filming coordination, information service, talent intermediary services, and promotion. In 2017, Shanghai introduced 50 promotional measures to further upgrade the city’s cultural industry and nurture specialized talents, aiming to attract more film and television makers to the city.
Talking about the prospects for co-production with Shanghai, Ms. Sheehan said, “Shanghai is a great media city with a fantastic opportunity to work with media. It’s a very stylish place. We also have a lot of programs between our sister cities for screen writers. So we will be doing screen writers swaps between China and New Zealand with sister cities, such as Auckland and Qingdao, and Dunedin and Shanghai. It’s great to be here to look forward to co-production with Shanghai through our co-production treaties.”
Photo: Annabelle Sheehan gave a speech at the New Zealand Central on June 19, 2018
