Alongside globalization and China’s opening-up policy, the number of jointly produced movies has continued to rise, with the names of more and more foreign companies appearing on the big screen.

With the increase of foreign investment in China, some observers have begun to worry that domestic movies will face great challenges and threats from other countries, especially Hollywood blockbusters. But many think otherwise, believing that joint productions offer advantages to both sides and are conducive to the development of the Chinese movie industry. As a matter of fact, in recent years, the majority of well-received Chinese movies are ones jointly produced by Chinese and foreign companies, or by Chinese mainland and Hong Kong or Taiwan companies. Films by famous directors Zhang Yimou and Feng Xiaogang have also received foreign backing.

Most of the money for Big Shot’s Funeral, directed by Feng Xiaogang and released in 2001, came from Columbia Pictures. It was reported that investment in this movie was $3 million--no big deal for Hollywood, but more than 10 times the average domestic investment in a Chinese film.

A transnational production mode determined the creation of Big Shot’s Funeral: different from most domestic movies, this one was completely market-oriented, from cost assessment to production, from actors to marketing. Accordingly, box office surpassed 100 million yuan ($12.33 million), an unbelievable figure for most Chinese filmmakers.

Wang Zhongjun said he views the new openness in China’s movie industry as the right conditions for future breakthroughs. “A truly open movie industry is destined to be good,” he noted.