Hot Ticket: Book Seats with NiHao and See Why China’s Film Industry Is on Fire
There’s nothing like going to the movies and stuffing yourself silly with popcorn on a cold Sunday afternoon. Unfortunately there is also nothing quite like that sinking feeling when you get to the theater only to find that all tickets have been sold out.
So don’t get left in the cold, next time you plan on going to the movies, use NiHao to book, pay and secure the best seats – NiHao’s got your back! Buying cinema tickets is simple, fast and secure. And best of all, you can do it all in English.
This great feature of NiHao’s multi-functional app is definitely handy considering that the number of cinema screens has increased by almost 900 percent since 2004. There’s no doubt that in China, cinemas are still the hot ticket.
Here are seven additional facts about China’s booming movie market:
1. This chart from statista.com shows the number of cinema screens in China from 2007 to 2014. In 2008, there were approximately 4,100 cinema screens in China. By 2014, this figure had grown to 23,592 screens.
2. After the United States, China is the second largest movie market in the world and it has been greatly influenced by Hollywood productions. Blockbusters like Titanic and Transformers: Dark of the Moon have been largely responsible for the country’s booming box office sales – the latter of which having generated RMB 1.1 billion as of April 2014, making it one of the most successful Hollywood releases in the history of China’s film industry.
3. Most successful blockbusters in China tend to be family films, romances and action movies, and the number of foreign movies allowed in China on a revenue-share basis is restricted to 34 films a year, with others coming in on a flat-fee basis.
4. 14 of these 34 foreign films must be IMAX or 3D.
5. Chinese companies are also investing in overseas movies, which has encouraged the market to open up even further. For example, the China Film Group put money into Fast & Furious 7 (a likely reason why it enjoyed such a long run in China) and Alibaba Pictures has invested in the Mission: Impossible series and a slew of other films in the coming year.
6. Between 2009 and 2013, Chinese movie ticket prices grew over 230 percent.
7. In 2014, revenue sharing foreign films grossed USD 1.81 billion in China.
All these developments have spurred a growing demand for theaters and content – no wonder Hollywood has its sights set so firmly on China.
So now that you’ve got the “bigger picture,” here’s how you can buy movie tickets on NiHao in five simple and easy steps:
1. On the NiHao main page go to “Profile” and select the "Movie Tickets" icon.
2. Find the movie and the cinema you want.
3. Click “Book.”
4. Choose your seats, enter your e-mail adress and phone number and click on “Submit.”
5. Select the most convenient payment method (PayPal, Wechat, Credit/debit card …)
NiHao’s movie ticket platform is powered by “247,” China's first English-language ticket booking service that’s easy to use, safe and reliable, with a host of online payment options.
NiHao is a free app that connects expatriates and travellers in China to services and information in their city – it aims to make life easier for expats and travelers in China.
On NiHao, users can find information on everything from restaurants, bars and nightlife to events, culture and shopping. Users are also be able to directly connect with local services such as cleaners, language schools and medical centers, all with the ability to pay seamlessly from within the app.
In addition, NiHao acts as a central portal for news and social communication, while offering a number of other features such as instant translation, mobile phone top-up, forums, guides and more. Through the English-only app, the Hangzhou-based company aims to provide a platform where every user can meet, interact with and help others in the community. A platform for expats, by expats.
This post is sponsored by the Nihao App - A place to meet, find, share and follow.
free download at appnihao.com, or scan the QR code below. Email fr@appnihao.com for more information.
Images: NiHao App