How to refine the phenomenon level "thousand person irrigation"?, Summer cinema "traffic password"

The hottest summer season in Chinese history is coming to an end, with over 140 new films competing this summer, and the charm of offline cinemas is rebounding. "The box office of Shanghai Cinema SHO in July and August this year was around 7.3 million yuan, which was achieved without the opening of some theaters. Compared to 4.7 million yuan in 2019, the box office growth reached 53%, which is exciting." Bao Yaopei, Executive Vice General Manager of Shanghai Cinema SHO, told Jiefang Daily Shangguan News reporters that in addition to a series of high-quality films, the cinema itself also has a "traffic password".

"Thousand person irrigation" on-site

Since June, Shanghai Cinema SHO's popular cinema "Thousand Person Hall" has held an average of one "Slam Dunk Master" viewing event per week, known as "Thousand Person Dunk", and the venues have been fully booked in the past three months. Thirteen "thousand person chats" brought over 900000 yuan in box office revenue to cinemas, with over 10000 viewers and nearly 10 million clicks on related social media platforms. This means that the charm of classic IPs and offline cinema activities are still irreplaceable.

The warm-up event unexpectedly exploded

This summer season is not lacking in popular products, but how to transform film and television IPs into unique attraction for cinemas is a very new way of playing. Entering August, "Slam Dunk Master" will be released for at least 4 months. According to data from the Cat's Eye Professional Edition, the film has almost no production schedule, but at Shanghai Cinema SHO, "Thousand Slam Dunks" will always be fully released. According to statistics, on the day of each "Thousand People Pour" event, the sales volume of Shanghai Cinema SHO merchants increased by at least 50% year-on-year, and these enthusiastic fans have strong consumer power.

"Thousand person irrigation" on-site

Ji Yin, a major customer marketing representative of Shanghai Cinema SHO, recalled that "Thousand People Guan" was originally a "once in a lifetime" movie viewing event planned during the preparation for the opening of Shanghai Cinema SHO in mid May, aimed at opening a "warm-up" event for the Thousand People Hall. Hall 1 of Shanghai Cinema has a total of 1008 seats and has always been known as the "most beautiful premiere hall". He "shook" the first wave of "influencers" within two days, and unexpectedly received an extremely enthusiastic response on the day of the screening, quickly becoming popular on Xiaohongshu and Weibo.

Ji Yin said that at that time, the cinema team felt that the audience participating in the "Thousand People Pour" was not only watching movies, but also experiencing a sense of participation, atmosphere, and ceremony. So they decided to plan a series of special events to fully utilize the unique spatial advantages of Shanghai Cinema SHO and create a viewing experience that combines emotional value and social interaction. This viewing atmosphere may become an unforgettable experience for many movie fans.

"Thousand person irrigation" on-site

In Hall 0, the iconic skyline of the cinema switches between the giant images of "Slam Dunk Master" at regular intervals; In Hall 1, fans are waving flags. After the end of the cinema viewing, the venue in Hall 0 transformed into a small "market", where enthusiasts exchanged non-profit fan creations brought by each other, including posters, cards, keychains, dolls, pendants, etc. Roughly speaking, there were over 40 different types at a single scene.

According to statistics, many viewers have come to Shanghai Cinema SHO to watch more than one "thousand person show", of which about 30% to 40% are repeat viewers, and there are even audiences who do not leave the venue. "Many movie fans come from all over the world, many of whom come early with suitcases," said Bao Yaopei. In order to better serve fans, the cinema team quickly developed and improved a set of standards and regulations. The "Thousand People Filling" activity reserves 2 to 3 hours of check-in time for the audience, allowing fans sufficient time to interact and clock in before watching the movie.

"Thousand person irrigation" on-site

"Although the content of the movie is the same, the theme and interactive form of each 'Thousand People's Dungeon' are different. The film has delayed the key three times, and some viewers have already 'dunked' it seven or eight times." Bao Yaopei still remembers the first time he walked into the 'Thousand People's Dungeon' scene, he was shocked by the enthusiastic atmosphere, "as if he was watching a real basketball game.".

Cinemas and Fans Collaborate to Create Cinema Culture

Transforming classic IPs into large-scale and sustainable "thousand person irrigation" activities is an unprecedented attempt for cinemas. Ji Yin believes that besides the film itself, the unique spatial design of the cinema is a key factor in creating this phenomenon. Shanghai Cinema SHO has a spacious and transparent Hall 0, measuring 29 meters in length and 6 meters in width. The naked eye 3D effect and immersive stereo effect of the skylight bring visual shock. These open space designs are an indispensable part of the entire "thousand person irrigation" activity.

"Thousand person irrigation" on-site

"Thousand person irrigation" on-site

It is worth mentioning that the Shanghai Dolby Theater in Hall 1 has top-notch technological facilities, and the viewing experience of the Dolby version of the film is significantly higher than the regular sessions of other cinemas. Ji Yin believes that the spatial design of Shanghai Cinema has originality on a global scale, which is one of the important reasons why hundreds of thousands of viewers are fascinated by "thousand person entertainment".

"Thousand person irrigation" on-site

Bao Yaopei introduced that the "Thousand People Pouring" event usually arranges scenes and tests the videos played after the screening one day in advance, and most of them are selected after the end of the evening movie screening. "As far as I know, most organizers are born in the 1980s and 1990s. They organize activities in pursuit of their youth dreams, and sometimes they put in effort and money. They will take out their treasures as gifts for lucky draws."

Shanghai Cinema SHO set a record of over 60 roadshows in two months during this summer season. Films such as "The Disappearing She," "The First Episode of the Goddess," "All in One Place," and "Learning Dad," all premiered in Shanghai here. "Through interactive roadshows, fans can get closer to the creators." Bao Yaopei noticed that the communication methods during roadshows are also changing. Before 2019, the main creators were mostly in the "running hall", greeting the audience, accepting flower offerings, and leaving in a few simple words. Nowadays, roadshows often last for more than half an hour, sometimes up to an hour. The movie creators can sit down and chat with the audience about the film and the behind the scenes story, and the process is like a small sharing session. "The premieres of recent movies usually have three or four consecutive screenings in theaters, with the creators staying from 18:00 to 23:00."

"Thousand person irrigation" on-site

"The record high box office this summer and the craze for 'Thousand Person Dunk' have made us feel the return of movie fans, as well as the irreplaceable nature of offline roadshows. In Bao Yaopei's view, 'Thousand Person Dunk' began with 'Slam Dunk Master', but it will not stop there. Its goal is to explore and incubate the IP based operation of cinemas.". As the "birthplace of artistic innovation", Shanghai Cinema SHO will launch more "thousand person brands" in the Thousand People Hall, turning it into an IP flagship store.

The reporter learned from Shanghai Film Group that in the future, with Shanghai Cinema as the center, the surrounding Shanghai Silver Star Crowne Plaza Hotel and the soon to be built Shanghai Film CHAO Hotel will jointly form the Shanghai Film Art Center, creating an immersive film culture space that integrates multiple formats and functions, and reshaping the Shanghai film culture coordinate system.