Mexico, 1968. The political climate was turbulent and unpredictable, the atmosphere charged with repression. The authoritarian government, with its history of using suppressive tactics, chose to adopt a more secretive means to kill off the student movement in its nascency – foregoing the army and police, it instead resorted to triad gangs to take out the students who had taken in such large numbers to the streets. The sound of ceaseless gunshots rung through the busy streets, forever turning the tide of history in the country and altering the fates of countless men, women and children. One among them was the nanny of Alfonso Cuarón, otherwise known as 'Libo' Rodríguez.

That year, Alfonso Cuarón was just seven years old. A few decades later, he re-enacted his own inerasable human experience on the big screen with 'Roma', depicting the story of his childhood growing up in a Mexican middle class family in the 1970s, the disintegration of his family, the bloodshed experienced by ordinary people and how, in the absence of male figures in his family, two women carried the burden of taking care of the family and their home.

The story could easily have been told in a sensationalist or tear-jerking manner, yet out of all the possible storytelling methods at his disposal, the director opted for something far more restrained: rejecting color to shoot in black-and-white, dismissing the overuse of technique to achieve a much more objective and neutral feel, and employing non-professional actors to make up the cast. As a result, 'Roma' emerges as a symbol, one that showcases Netflix's both progressive and avant-garde content policy that is now elevating the phenomenon of online streamed movies to a new level.

On 10th May, 'Roma' was released in cinemas across China, which, as a result, became the only country in the world to showcase the film to the general public on a mass scale.

The Chinese poster for 'Roma'

The China Netflix story

In the first quarter of 2019, gross total earnings at the Chinese box office fell to 18.6 billion RMB, representing a year-on-year drop of 1.6 billion RMB, or 8%. In the same quarter, the North American box office took in US$2.396 billion (16.07 billion RMB), representing a year-on-year drop of 16%, and a third consecutive year of decreasing earnings.

With dividends at North American box offices topping out, films manufactured in Hollywood are now entering a yet-to-be fully industrialized Chinese movie market in search of incremental profits. At the same time, the presence of Chinese capital in Hollywood and Chinese elements in its films are clearly on the ascent. The plot of 'Arrival', for instance, incorporates a conclusion to the film in which the world is saved by Chinese, all of the major protagonists in 'Crazy Rich Asians' are played by ethnic Chinese, while 'Green Book' was backed by investment from Alibaba Pictures.

Netflix, having recently joined MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America) in 2019, now ranks among the big players in this global industry. Though its globalization strategy has achieved excellent results so far, it is yet to claim a share of the market in China. Netflix, as with the others, is hungry for a piece of the giant pie. However, due to strict government regulations on foreign players entering the domestic market, Netflix has been as yet unable to enter China directly. It has therefore chosen to enter through a back door. In April 2018, Reed Hastings, founder and CEO of Netflix, during an interview with Bloomberg's Chinese version of 'Business Weekly', stated that for the time being, the movie streaming giant prefers selling the copyrights to Chinese companies rather than entering the local market directly. Previously he said, "This is a ten-year plan."

Buying content and selling content are the primary methods by which Netflix seeks to expand its market to China, methods that are in line with its core business model and philosophy. In 2015, the English version of 'Empresses in the Palace' launched on Netflix as a paid and condensed six-episode drama series, representing a first for any Chinese drama. Though it received a lowly rating of 2.6 (out of a possible 5), it nevertheless represented a major landmark in the export of Chinese national drama abroad. In 2017, Netflix announced that it had signed a cooperation agreement with Chinese video streaming platform iQIYI; the two drama series 'Black Mirror' and 'Stranger Things' will hopefully be streamed on both platforms.

'Day and Night', the first Chinese internet drama series to be streamed globally on Netflix

In November of the same year, the rights to Alibaba-owned Youku's independently produced detective drama 'Day and Night' was purchased by Netflix, who also bought the rights to Youku's online drama 'OCTB', iQIYI's online drama 'Chosen' and others. Then in 2018, Netflix bought the overseas rights to the cinema-released film 'Us and Them'. Though the movie became embroiled in a tickets-return scandal, it nonetheless brought in considerable monies at the box office. Now this year, Pearl Studio, in cooperation with China Media Capital as its largest backer, has announced it will join forces with Netflix to produce the animated musical 'Over the Moon'.

Judging from the above-mentioned copyright acquisitions, many film and television exports (regarded often as a means to gain prestige and recognition by domestic production companies and streaming websites) face the challenge of inability to acclimatize to foreign markets or overcome cultural barriers. The influence of Chinese film and television exports abroad has been limited, with most successful cases usually celebrated within the cultural circles of overseas ethnic Chinese alone. At the same time, Netflix remains in its initial trial-and-error stage of entering the Chinese market through the back door, still yet to establish a consistent set of selection criteria and as yet capturing only a limited share of the new market.

Recently, news broke that famous Chinese film actor, screenwriter and director Wen Jiang would be playing the lead in the Netflix production 'Midnight Peking'. On 8th May, a Netflix spokesperson denied the news. However, after its localized original content production strategy received enthusiastic responses on social media platforms, Netflix now plans to introduce three original Chinese drama series - 'Nowhere Man', 'Triad Princess' and 'The Ghost Bride' – a move that clearly illustrates the importance the company places on the Chinese market.

After spending tens of millions of US dollars in membership fees to join MPAA, Netflix has now taken on another identity in its efforts to expand into the Chinese market, that of a film production company. Brokered by Joy Pictures, China is now the only country where 'Roma' is going to be released to the general public on a mass scale, with the movie's distribution rights transferred to a local firm. Both Netflix's brand value as well as industry recognition of its original content creation capacity are set to enhance significantly.

Looking back: what is the commercial value of an Oscar-nominated film?

As an Oscar-nominated film, 'Roma' is now inevitably being compared with several other previous entries. While the Oscar-nominated film market performed poorly in 2018, this year Oscar-nominated movies have turned a corner. 'Green Book' and 'Capernaum' have fought their ways to success under fierce competition from 'Avengers: Endgame', holding their positions for extended periods as runners-up to the box office smash. 'Bohemian Rhapsody' has also performed well.

All this seems to be overturning past public opinion that Oscar-winning or nominated films, while critically acclaimed, tend to perform badly at the box office. On closer scrutiny, it becomes apparent that several of these 'dark horses' of the box office share a similar formula: a combination of critical acclaim, highly identifiable topics, emotive narratives and excellent publicity. Tear-jerking and funny movies are two genres that enjoy strong market demand in the film market. When release dates are smartly chosen, small- and medium-scale films that allow people to vent their emotions offer a welcome change to audiences inundated with super-hero blockbusters. The unexpected successes of 'Green Book' and 'Capernaum' that have come against strong competition from 'Alita: Battle Angel' and 'Avengers: Endgame' are the proof.

Furthermore, as the same player behind both 'Green Book' and 'Capernaum', Alibaba Pictures, as part of the huge internet conglomerate expanding its sphere of influence in the film world, enjoys natural advantages in terms of marketing and publicity. The key elements of success for the above-mentioned films have brought new insights to the buyout film market once the bubble burst and the unit price (a one-time fee paid for the rights to a foreign film) had risen.

Clearly, 'Roma', having voluntarily turned its back on the 'tear-jerker' approach, will find it difficult to navigate its way to mainstream box office success; though having already received the honors of both an Oscar and Golden Lion award, the film seems destined for recognition among the literary and artistic circle alone. On 10th May, 'Roma' was released exclusively in theaters that are members of the Nationwide Alliance of Arthouse Cinemas, clashing head-on with the blockbuster 'Detective Picachu' by Legendary Pictures. 'Roma's current screen market share sits at 1.6%, with the film bringing in 735,000 RMB in box office revenues on its day of release; final box office intakes for the film are estimated not to exceed 10 million RMB.

However, the value of a film should never be measured by its performance at the box office alone. 'Roma' was not made for any intended commercial value. The release of 'Roma' in China, the only country in which the film was released to the general public on a large scale, is yet another important step in the continuing expansion of Netflix into the Chinese market.

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This article was edited by the TMTPOST team. 

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