Chinese film market has suffered a slowdown in recent years.
Bona Film Group (Chinese: 博纳影业, SZ: 001330) lost CNY 150 million in Q3 2022.
In 2021, Bona Film's "The Battle at Lake Changjin" took the top spot at the Chinese box office, and its sequel "Battle At Lake Changjin II / Watergate Bridge" became the top box office film in the 2022 Spring Festival season. However, several Bona Film's films have since been a flop.
From 2019 to 2021, Bona Film's revenue from the cinema business was 37.14%, 25.17% and 27.49% of the main business revenue, respectively. However, the purchase amount of the cinema business as a percentage of operating costs is around 45%.
Under the depressing film market, Bona Film significantly reduced its investment in the first three quarters of 2022. The cash outflow from operating activities in the first three quarters was CNY 1.67 billion, a decrease of 39.16% compared with the previous year. The reason is mainly due to the lower payment for film investment and production in the current period, resulting in a lower cash outflow from operating activities in the current period compared to the same period of the previous year. However, this may lead to a subsequent decrease in the number of films released by Bona Film in 2023, which will lead to a decline in revenue and further pressure on the capital chain in 2023, forming a vicious cycle.
The domestic film market performed poorly in 2022 due to factors such as Covid-19. According to the data, the domestic film market box office in 2020 and 2021 is CNY 20.417 billion and CNY 47.258 billion, respectively. As of 29 December 2022, the domestic box office in 2022 is about CNY 29.6 billion, far less than in 2021. The revenue of Bona Film's cinema business in 2022 may be less than that of the previous year or even a loss again.