China's Screen Industry in Deep Winter, Hu Ge and Song Jia Left Without Roles

The contraction of China’s film and video industry has come to the surface through remarks by leading actors. Actor Hu Ge spoke about the reality of the market in an interview with fashion magazine ‘GQ.’ He said that if investments cannot be recouped, opportunities will decline, revealing that he has no room to choose. Coverage by Independent Fish Film on Huxiu described the remarks as symbolic of the industry’s harsh winter. That the words come from an actor with awards and nationwide recognition makes them weighty. The number of drama and film productions is falling, and mid-sized projects are disappearing. Funding is concentrating on blockbusters and short-form works, and structural change is advancing.

What Hu Ge Said in GQ About the Market Reality

Hu Ge spoke directly about the severity of the film market in the interview.

“The film market is very realistic. If you can’t recoup your costs, opportunities will only keep shrinking.”

Hu Ge was previously in a position to choose his scripts. He could decide based on his own tastes and the value of a role as a challenge. He could also judge the significance of pairing with a director. He says that premise has now collapsed. What deserves attention is the speaker’s career history. His representative works include ‘Nirvana in Fire,’ ‘The Disguiser,’ and ‘Blossoms Shanghai.’ He has won Best Actor at the Magnolia Awards. He has also won Best Actor at the Golden Goblet Awards. Both his national recognition and his acting ability are proven. Even so, he acknowledged a decline in acting opportunities. It cannot be explained by a decline in personal popularity. It is testimony to the contraction of the market as a whole.

Harsh Results:

Just Over 200 Million Yuan for Four Films Combined

Hu Ge’s recent film box office has remained sluggish. ‘All Ears’ in 2023 earned about 27.4 million yuan. ‘Gone with the Boat’ in 2024 earned about 100 million yuan. ‘Three Drops of Blood’ in 2025 earned about 22 million yuan. ‘Catch the Spy’ in 2026 earned about 119 million yuan. The latter co-starred Lei Jiayin. The cast was in no way lacking. Even so, the scale of returns was limited. The four films combined totaled just over 200 million yuan. By the numbers alone, it is a brutal result. The cause is not a lack of acting ability. He won Best Actor at the Golden Goblet Awards for ‘All Ears.’ ‘Gone with the Boat’ also left a record of critical acclaim and awards. The reality is that awards do not guarantee recoupment of investment. It is a structure in which one failure wipes out the next project. The cycle of earning acclaim in literary films and recouping in commercial films has collapsed. The standard of ability has shifted to drawing power and investment value. It is not a problem of art, but a problem of money.

The Acting Gap Spreads to Song Jia and

Zhao Youting

The same situation extends to other leading actors. Song Jia revealed on a program that she has had a gap with no shoots. Her previous work ‘Fang Ming San Jiu’ wrapped filming on December 19 last year. As of the recording in August this year, she had a gap of about eight months. Song Jia holds the Golden Rooster Award for Best Actress. She has also won Best Actress at the Magnolia Awards. She is a figure whose achievements and fame need no explanation. Even so, she has been left with no roles. Remarks by Yang Tianzhen on the program also drew attention. She suggested that the number of drama shoots started this year is about 30% of last year’s level. There are also many cases where projects disappear after contracts are signed. The reason is withdrawal of investors. Changes in streaming platforms’ policies also have an impact. When budgets are canceled, the works themselves vanish. Zhao Youting also said he is getting no offers for commercial blockbusters. What the three have in common is that none has suffered a fall or scandal. Nor do they lack acting ability or representative works. The total volume of actors the market requires has itself shrunk.

40% Drop in First-Half Box Office Shows

Market Contraction

Market statistics confirm the scale of the contraction. Total box office in mainland China in the first half of 2026 was about 17.35 billion yuan. That was down about 40.6% year on year. Audience attendance was about 422 million. That was down 34.2% year on year. Annual box office in 2025 was 51.832 billion yuan. It recorded a 21.95% increase year on year. For a time, views spread that the market was recovering. Half a year later, it turned to a sharp decline again. Demand recovery has failed to take hold. Competition for audiences’ disposable time has intensified. The rival for film is not just another film. Short dramas and games are among the options. TikTok and podcasts also take time away. Generative video such as AI comic dramas has also increased. Film is chosen as a way to spend three hours. More films are losing that competition.

The Mid-Tier Works That Vanished First

The change in industry structure is the disappearance of the middle tier. The industry once had three layers. At the top were super blockbusters and top-tier large dramas. Only a limited number are made each year. At the bottom were low-cost online films and short dramas. The number is very large. What supported the industry was the middle tier. It centered on productions costing tens of millions of yuan. Second- and third-tier actors played the leads. Crime, romance, comedy, and suspense titles lined up side by side. They functioned even without becoming the year’s top hit. Directors gained opportunities to hone their craft. Screenwriters gained places to build experience. Cinematography, art, and lighting crews also had work. They were the true middle class of the screen industry. Now this layer is vanishing first. Capital and production capacity are flowing to micro short dramas. They turn over quickly and offer clearer prospects for recoupment. Mid-tier projects are put on hold in investment decisions. It has become a market where only certainty is prioritized.

Record Box Office in North America,

Yet Chilly Sets

Comparison with the global market is also suggestive. Summer box office in North America in 2026 was about $4.76 billion. It exceeded the $4.755 billion in 2013. It set an all-time record. ‘The Odyssey,’ with a running time of three hours, reached about $1.68 billion worldwide. It broke the director’s own record. It became the highest-grossing film in Universal Pictures history. ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ exceeded $2.4 billion worldwide. It ranked third in global box office history. At first glance, North America is in high summer. But statistics from shooting locations tell a different story. Film shooting in Hollywood in the second quarter of this year was down about 20%. TV production fell by nearly 28%. Total shooting volume was about 36% below the five-year average. Movie theaters are at their hottest ever, yet studios are cold. A contradictory scene is emerging. Declines in project numbers and acting opportunities are common worldwide. Cautious investment is also advancing in each country. It is not a phenomenon unique to China.

The Structural Contradiction of Awards and

Box Office Not Aligning

The current industry holds a contradiction. Good works and good business do not go together. Hu Ge’s films earned acclaim. At the box office, they were crushing defeats. The market does not judge acting ability alone. It demands drawing power and the ability to generate buzz. Performers’ search trends and topicality are questioned. Contributions to publicity are also expected. If diverse projects decline, newcomers will not grow. If small and mid-sized projects disappear, the soil is lost. Blockbusters alone cannot create new blockbusters. A place for trial and error for talent is needed. In the past, one failure was forgiven. A new challenge was possible with the next film. Now the recoupment of the previous work decides the next one. Growth using actors’ time is not allowed. Bias toward certainty erodes diversity. It is a structure that damages long-term creativity.

A Return to Production That Makes Good

Work Cheaply

One way out is a renewed focus on low-cost production. Pouring in large sums again is not the solution. The skill to make good work cheaply is required. There is a misunderstanding in China’s screen world. It equates higher quality with higher cost. It relies on big-name performers and large-scale sets. It invests funds in large-scale visual effects. Failures also become large-scale failures. A healthy market needs small-scale successes. A 20-million-yuan film earning 10 million yuan. A small 8-million-yuan work earning 5 million yuan. Projects that can survive will preserve the industry. Not every work needs huge box office. The industry cannot continue with giant companies alone. Returning actors to being actors is also a challenge. Drawing power, outreach, and livestreaming are demanded. Burdens beyond acting are increasing. An environment where they can focus on their core profession is needed. Changes in streaming platforms cannot be ignored either. Decision-making on projects is concentrated. Transparency in funding allocation is also questioned.

Editorial Opinion

In the short term, we expect the decline in mid-tier projects to advance further. Streaming operators will channel funds to highly recoverable blockbusters and low-cost short dramas. Actors’ gaps between shoots will surface further over the next three to six months. Production crafts will also find it harder to secure work. We assess that the project launch rate will remain at a low level.

In the long term, we expect low-budget production skills and operations to become a competitive advantage. The key will be a system that can recoup on projects of 20 million yuan or less. It will be necessary to rebuild training paths for screenwriting and cinematography. Competition for time with generative video will also intensify. Works that cannot demonstrate the unique value of the theatrical experience will likely not be chosen.

The question from the editorial team is what is scarce. Performers were once scarce, but now projects and time are contested. Is it right to measure value by box office alone. How to preserve mechanisms that support award-winning works is the question. Can the industry show a reason to take three hours of audiences’ time.

References

• “ 内娱真的完了，连胡歌、宋佳都没戏拍了？ “, by 独立鱼电影 — 虎嗅网, 2026-09-13T13:09:26.000Z (ARR)
• Source URL: https://www.huxiu.com/article/4890823.html?f=rss