A boxing match is about to start at the Xiangjiang Boxing Club. The reigning champion clenches her fists as the adrenalin courses through her veins. The crowd of spectators goes wild in eager anticipation. The challenger's coach is heard off-camera saying that he could stop the match if the going gets tough.

The dramatic opening scene of YOLO, an acronym for "You Only Live Once", sets the tone for the rest of the film that tells the heartfelt story of an obese, reclusive woman in her 30s who transforms her life after meeting a boxing coach.

Little surprise that YOLO, directed by and starring Jia Ling, topped the box office with 2.7 billion yuan ($375.8 million) during the Spring Festival holiday period from Feb 10 to 17.

Despite being a cross-cultural adaptation of the Japanese film 100 Yen Love, the domestic production infused with humor stands out as an audience magnet and goes a long way in bolstering confidence in China's film market.

YOLO is Jia's second directorial venture. She made her directorial debut in 2021 with Hi, Mom, the tale of a woman who travels back in time to befriend her mother, which raked in more than 5.4 billion yuan, making it the highest-grossing film directed by a female director before Barbie took the mantle.

Sony Pictures Entertainment has purchased the rights to remake Hi, Mom in English, and has also bought the global distribution rights for YOLO, which has touched millions of moviegoers, especially women, with its uplifting and honest narrative.

Mao Jian, a film critic and professor of Chinese language and literature at East China Normal University, said in a video post on the livestreaming platform Bilibili that YOLO surpasses 100 Yen Love in the final five minutes of the film as the protagonist finds the courage to live life to the fullest, regardless of risks, and embraces her newfound freedom.

According to writer Dan Bao, who posted a comment on the microblogging site Sina Weibo, YOLO is China's answer to Barbie, rather than a remake of the sports drama 100 Yen Love.

The heart and soul of YOLO is Jia's emotionally versatile and physically demanding performance — she gained and lost 50 kilograms to play the lead role of Du Leying — that kept audiences riveted to their seats from start to finish.

Roaring success

Ji Shaoting, head of Future Affairs Administration, a company that deals with sci-fi publications, consulting and filmmaking, said in a podcast program that only movies that offer a novel plot and stunning spectacles can top the box office during Spring Festival, such as The Wandering Earth (2019) by Guo Fan and Mermaid (2016) by Stephen Chow.

That's why YOLO has been a roaring success, Ji said. "We have never seen such a strong Chinese woman, who is muscular, throws punches for real and says 'no' to a man so directly. We have never seen a woman who makes sharp remarks and feels so free and delighted after reconditioning herself."

Deng Yun, who also works at Future Affairs Administration, echoed Dan and said that YOLO is very different from its Japanese predecessor. "It does a great job in localization, adding a lot of vivid scenes and conversations that can only happen in China, especially those involving men's attitudes toward women," she said.

"The movie is amazing also because it has created and will continue to create intertextuality and interpretations. You can't excise Jia Ling's real life, her roles as a female director and the leading actress, and the diverse voices from male audiences from the movie's 'overflowing text'. That's why it is so interesting and is China's Barbie," Deng added.

According to box-office tracker Dengta Data, women accounted for 63 percent of the total moviegoers during Spring Festival.

YOLO is just one of the movies that scored success during the eight-day holiday, when the total box-office revenue in China surpassed 8 billion yuan, and more than 163 million people walked into cinemas, setting a new record for the Spring Festival season, according to the China Film Administration, the country's top industry regulator.

Making proposals

Buoyed by the film's huge success, members of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference expressed great confidence in the prospect of Chinese films while making proposals during the two sessions on how to better develop the industry with the help of big data and artificial intelligence.

Wang Pingjiu, a member of the 14th CPPCC National Committee and deputy editor-in-chief of State broadcaster China Central Television's movie channel, said that at first, he was worried about the Spring Festival box-office results because many people choose to spend the eight-day holiday traveling.

Also, there were no large-scale productions such as Creation of the Gods I or The Wandering Earth, but only comedies similar to YOLO, Wang said. Nevertheless, the box-office results were great. "Now we have very strong confidence in domestic films," he said.

Wang pointed out that many foreign films fail to impress at the box office today because they tend to tell cliched stories, but domestic productions can always deliver a pleasant surprise.

"They are getting closer to our life, so people become more interested," he said. "That's why I'm confident in China's film market. Sooner or later, the annual box-office revenue in China will surpass 100 billion yuan."

Wang also talked about a few problems the film industry in China has faced in recent years, such as an investment crunch and a lack of good scripts and acting talent.

"The challenge now is that if a film wants to succeed in China, everything needs to be right — its story, theme, value, investment, publicity, and actors and actresses. You cannot fool the audiences," he said.

Huangfu Yichuan, a member of the 14th CPPCC National Committee and editor-in-chief of the monthly magazine Contemporary Cinema, said he was able to predict the Spring Festival box-office success because the films released were different from each other despite all of them being comedies.

"The great success of Chinese films during this season has indeed given us great confidence in the film market in 2024," he said.

The confidence stems from the presence of a mature film market with more than 80,000 screens, a developing film industry with many well-trained young professionals who have mastered the most advanced technologies and keep upgrading their skills, the great support from China's fast-developing industry, and the flair of a group of creators who not only love making films but also care about audience sentiments, Huangfu said.

He highlighted that the demographics of film audiences have changed this year, and the number of moviegoers during the Spring Festival holiday was more compared with last year.

According to the China Film Administration, box-office earnings from third- and fourth-tier cities accounted for 54 percent of the total revenue, up from 50 percent in 2023.

Demographics have a big influence on China's film market. In recent years, the number of cinemas in counties and townships has increased, which effectively means the number of moviegoers in those places has also increased, Huangfu said.

The audiences in townships are different from those in first-tier cities. "You can tell what kind of films they like from the Spring Festival season. Since these audiences are people who return to their hometowns from first- or second-tier cities, it can be said that their preferences represent the collective preference of the Chinese people," he said.

The growing number of audiences in townships significantly influences the fate of new films thanks to discussions on social media, Huangfu said. "They love watching films and making amusing short videos. They often learn how to amuse their audiences with crosstalks and skits. And Jia is an outstanding actress of crosstalk and skit."

Empathize with people

According to Huangfu, Jia is an excellent artist and has an exceptional ability to observe, empathize and mimic aspects of everyday life. When she creates, she delves deeply into the lives of ordinary people.

"YOLO may not be a great movie by many standards, but people are willing to buy tickets to see it," he said. "That's why I had very high expectations even before the movie hit the screens."

Huangfu said the most impressive thing about Jia is how she effortlessly guides and portrays the character of Du Leying as the director and leading actress.

"I'm truly impressed by the surge of female filmmakers and women-centered narratives in Chinese cinema lately. I believe that China will see significant development in this regard in the future," he said.

The box-office triumph of YOLO also mirrors a paradigm shift in audience preference — from formulaic individual success stories to narratives focusing on personal growth and transformation. This change in aesthetic taste underscores China's societal development and evolving priorities, Huangfu said.

The way a few other movies performed during the Spring Festival season further highlights this shift in preference.

For example, Han Han's Pegasus 2, which has ranked second this season with 2.4 billion yuan in box-office earnings, is fairly conventional, neither cutting-edge nor overly cliched, but it has resonated with the audiences because it draws inspiration from the journey called life.

"For me what's most interesting is the beat-up car, which symbolizes a spirit. When it finally crosses the finishing line, all entrepreneurs …and ordinary people get a sense of the arduous journey of life," Huangfu said.

Zhang Yimou's Article 20, which grossed 1.3 billion yuan, mirrors a type of social psychology — that contemporary society can ultimately change through the collective efforts of many different people.

"This film displays a genuine cultural confidence, showing that our society is progressing," Huangfu said. "How legal articles are created is closely related to real life. As an art form, the film displays the creator's courage."

Apart from the social issues it focuses on, Article 20 also shows how an ordinary man, smart and hardworking, an opportunist sometimes, summons his courage to pursue justice. "A good portrait of the greatness of ordinary people," he said.

In addition to stories and themes, Huangfu emphasized the role innovation plays in making these films successful.

"Judging by the Spring Festival seasons in recent years, we can tell that what audiences dislike the most is 'following the trend' without innovation and creativity, which is the essence of art," he said, adding that directors Jia, Zhang and Han have been exploring new frontiers in their filmmaking, in order to reach more audiences.

Speaking of the challenges brought by the fast development of AI, Huangfu said "there's nothing to panic about" as it is "an inevitable progression of technological advancement in historical development".

"Technological advancement provides infinite possibilities that can inspire creators' imagination, so I see it as a tremendous opportunity, providing Chinese cinema a chance to overtake on the bend," he said. "We only need to make good use of an important tool."

Huangfu suggested that China could conduct more research on digital technology applications in the film industry and regulate the applications through legislation.

Wang, from CCTV, couldn't agree more. "You can't stop the advancement of AI. It's (happening) right before our eyes, but there's no need to worry. The application of AI is a must for the growth of the global film industry," he said.

During the two sessions, Wang submitted a proposal to "vigorously promote the role of artificial intelligence in building a powerhouse in the film industry".

Fostering a favorable atmosphere and promoting the construction of a powerhouse in the film industry require innovative application of new concepts, technologies and methods, he wrote in the proposal.

AI matters

The rapid advancement of AI, especially in generative models, will profoundly impact film production. Prioritizing research and broad application will leverage AI's positive role in Chinese cinema's high-quality development, he wrote.

Wang suggested further improving people's recognition of AI and promoting the development of AI as a new quality productive force for the film industry in China, in order to lower costs and improve efficiency, strengthen the localization of AI applications for the dissemination of excellent Chinese culture, and nurture more talent in this field.

He said that despite all the advantages of AI, people need not worry about being replaced because the art of filmmaking involves emotions.

To promote healthy development of China's film market, Wang also suggested building a comprehensive big-data film evaluation system.

"Currently, there are many different commercial rating systems, which are not objective, comprehensive or professional," he said. "To boost diverse marketing, refine development and strengthen market operations, we must establish a robust film evaluation system, leverage big data's positive impact, and create a national-level film data system free from commercial influence."

The big data evaluation system can scientifically reflect the dissemination influence of films in China and their influence on societal development, and provide references for the film evaluation system, Wang said in his proposal.

"We have been developing this project for the past year, and in April, the system is due for launch," he added.