The Fall of Hong Kong Movies: A Post-mordern Investigative Report

Stephen W.K. CHIU, Kei-wah Victor SHIN

Research output: Scholarly Books | Reports | Literary WorksBook (Author)peer-review

Abstract

Hong Kong's film industry was slain in the mid-1990s. From that time onwards, the industry dwindled steadily, with Hollywood movies coming to dominate Hong Kong's domestic market. We review various explanations for the decline of the industry and note their shortcomings. We then provide an integrated account of the industry's downfall by interrogating each of the "culprits" alleged to have been responsible for the abrupt decline of the Hong Kong film industry from its zenith in the early 1990s. We identify the critical factors in the downturn by showing that the restructturing of the cinema sector and the expansion of multiplex-cinema circuits in Hong Kong brought about the collapse of the major local film companies and enabled Hollywood's distributors to align with movie exhibitors in Hong Kong. These changes altered the market order governing the Hong Kong film industry and led to the dominance of Hollywood movies.
Original languageEnglish
Place of PublicationHong Kong
PublisherHong Kong Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies, Chinese University of Hong Kong
Number of pages48
ISBN (Print)9789624412253
Publication statusPublished - Feb 2013
Externally publishedYes

Publication series

NameOccasional Paper Series
PublisherHong Kong Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies, CUHK
No.225

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