Text / Qigong

In the summer of 2024, a “monkey” from the East captured the attention of gamers worldwide across seven continents.

“The opening was top-notch! The combat feels great, and the characters and style are fantastic!”

“Amazing, how good it is! The graphics are super beautiful, and the designs of monsters and buildings are great. It deserves the title of Game of the Year!”

“Just finished playing for 2 hours, the optimization and stability are unbeatable, and I'm very satisfied with the experience!”

“Do it deeply, do it well, do it with high quality.”

...

On Steam, the world's largest gaming platform, “Black Myth: Wukong” sold an astonishing $765 million on its launch day, with a peak online player count exceeding 2.4 million, and a positive review rate of over 90% across 18 language regions.

It's clear that this was a successful IP operation that transcended time and space, breaking barriers and enabling foreign netizens to experience the profoundness of Chinese culture. It also deepened their understanding of the historical, philosophical, artistic, and literary essences contained within Chinese culture.

In fact, in recent years, riding on the dividends of economic development and technological innovation, Chinese IPs have surged to the forefront, engaging in dialogues with the world through diverse forms and rich themes, competing for a voice.

01 Chinese IPs Sailing Overseas

In July of this year, the topic of “Thai Minister Personally Greets Doll Circle Celebrity” was widely reported by domestic and foreign media.

The “Doll Circle Celebrity” in question was LABUBU, a doll brand under POP MART. In the photos, Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport was buzzing with excitement as Thai fans, wearing white LABUBU T-shirts, chanted “Labu~ Labu~ Labulabu…” in unison.

Locally, this little monster with its gaping mouth, bared teeth, and rabbit ears has captured the hearts of the people to the point of fanaticism.

Image source: Xiaohongshu

LABUBU's new products were snapped up immediately upon release, with enthusiasts crowding the event venue from all directions, leaving even the police helpless. Royalty and celebrities have also become unpaid brand ambassadors, sharing intimate photos with LABUBU on social forums.

In Singapore, many consumers queued up for hours to snap up LABUBU blind boxes, with some even lining up in the wee hours of the morning. In Vietnam, e-commerce platforms stocking LABUBU experienced a surge in popularity and orders. In Indonesia, LABUBU's popularity remained high, with a large number of users gather and watch , liking, and purchasing.

MINISO has also maintained a similar momentum.

In June, MINISO opened its largest flagship store in Europe at Paris's Champs-Élysées, next to Louis Vuitton and close to the Arc de Triomphe.

The pink facade stands out prominently, and the store spans over 800 square meters. Upon entering, a wide range of licensed IPs from Sanrio, Disney, Barbie, and Snoopy greet you, delighting young French people who queue up in long lines, contributing nearly 580,000 yuan in sales on opening day.

According to financial reports, in the first half of 2024, POP MART's overseas revenue reached 1.35 billion yuan, a staggering 259.6% year-on-year increase; MINISO's overseas revenue was 2.732 billion yuan, up 42.6% year-on-year, significantly outpacing domestic growth.

As of the end of June, the two companies had 92 and 2,753 overseas stores respectively, both showing significant net growth.

And just last September, “Yongchun,” a stage play produced by the Shenzhen Municipal Propaganda Department and performed by the Shenzhen Opera and Dance Theater, marked its 200th tour performance in London.

Image source: Shenzhen Release

The play showcases five kung fu styles: Wing Chun, Mantis Style, Bagua Palm, Bajiquan, and Tai Chi, all taking turns to showcase their skills. Modern dance is fused with Chinese martial arts, and the use of Xiangyunsha garments enhances the heroic aura, earning thumbs-up from the usually reserved and introverted British audience.

It is reported that “Yongchun” has completed all 12 performances in the UK, with an average attendance rate exceeding 80%.

Looking back, Haier can be considered a pioneer in exporting IPs. In 1985, it created the IP image of the Haier Brothers and produced 212 episodes of a series animation, which was broadcast in dozens of countries.

Product hasn't arrived, but the IP has. These two cartoon boys in underpants successfully captured the hearts of audiences worldwide, laying the brand foundation for Haier's future internationalization.

Various signs indicate that the wave of Chinese IPs going overseas is gaining momentum, with sails hoisted high.

The film, game, online literature, pop toy, anime, and fashion circles have continued to advance, gradually gaining a voice and leaving a mark for Chinese IPs in the Western context:

“The Untamed” and “Love and Redemption” were hits in Southeast Asia, “The Longest Day in Chang'an” was popular on Amazon and YouTube, Netflix adapted “The Three-Body Problem” and acquired the rights to “Day and Night,” “Genshin Impact” swept the globe, Li Ziqi showcased rural life, and the horse-face skirt graced the Milan runway…

02 The Era of Competition Between Chinese and Western IPs

In recent years, many may have noticed that Hollywood movies are not as good as they used to be, with fewer and fewer recommendations.

Specifically, IPs are repeatedly milked, either through remakes or sequels, with anime turned into live-action, foreign films adapted into American versions, prequels leading to sequels, and sequels spawning spin-offs.

For example, the “Fast and Furious” franchise has had ten installments, “Transformers” six, and “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” four. Most follow the pattern of each subsequent installment being worse than the last, with no end in sight to the decline in quality. Their Douban ratings hover around the passing mark.

Image source: Douban

The heavily anticipated “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom,” released at the end of last year, was expected to be a triumphant return but instead flopped miserably. Its awkward plot and dull special effects earned it the unflattering label of “terrible” from audiences.

“Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom” is not an isolated case. Since the resumption of foreign blockbusters in China, whether it's Marvel's “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” and “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania,” DC's “Shazam! Fury of the Gods,” or Paramount's “Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves,” they have all made little impact.

But while the West falters, the East shines. In 2023, China's box office revenue reached 54.915 billion yuan, with domestic films accounting for 46.005 billion yuan, or 83.77% of the total. This includes critically acclaimed and commercially successful films like “The Wandering Earth 2,” “Full River Red,” “Ballad of Buster Scruggs,” and “Animal World.”

Let's take another typical example. On March 22 of this year, DreamWorks Animation brought “Kung Fu Panda 4” to the Chinese market, grossing nearly 400 million yuan. Meanwhile, “Boonie Bears: The Big Shrink” premiered a month earlier and grossed over 2 billion yuan.

Both are ACG content and IP-based works, but the latter generated four times the revenue of the former.

Flashback to June 20, 2008, when “Kung Fu Panda” first arrived, it immediately swept the nation, grossing 100 million yuan in just three weeks and becoming the first animated film in mainland China to surpass the 100 million yuan mark.

“Kung Fu Panda 3” in 2011 and “Kung Fu Panda 2” in 2016 continued the franchise's success, grossing 611 million yuan and 1.002 billion yuan in mainland China, respectively.

At the time, industry insiders expressed both admiration and a sense of crisis: We have kung fu and pandas, so why can't we make something like this?

A decade has passed, and the situation has reversed.

It's hard to argue that “Boonie Bears: The Big Shrink” is of a higher production standard than “Kung Fu Panda 4,” but one thing is indisputable: The IP creation capabilities of local players have taken a leap forward in the past decade. As mentioned earlier, a host of excellent works have emerged in various fields, attracting a large number of international fans.

However, if we broaden our perspective, these achievements are merely the starting point of progress.

In the top 10 global box office rankings for 2023, only “Full River Red” and “The Wandering Earth 2” made the cut, ranking seventh and eighth, respectively. The rest are all from the UK and the US.

Closer to home, most young people are fans of Japanese anime. Even taking Shanghai Disneyland as an example, despite annual price hikes, it remains incredibly popular, attracting crowds on holidays and even on non-holiday days.

The reason is simple: The powerful IP strength of characters like Mickey Mouse, Snow White, Simba, Elsa, and Lina Belle gives Disney an otherworldly connotation and the confidence to expand globally, providing consumers with unique joy and fond memories.

In contrast, domestic amusement parks like Fantawild Adventure, Wanda Kids Kingdom, and Happy Valley are still largely confined to their respective territories, with a long way to go before truly “going global.”

03 The Importance of Doing Three Things Well

The era of competition between Chinese and Western IPs is a cross-national narrative game. For Chinese IPs to spread far and wide, make a big splash, and leave a lasting impression, it's crucial to do three things well.

Tell Chinese Stories Well

As one of the four ancient civilizations, China boasts millennia of cultural heritage, combined with modern industrialized creative systems and resources. From classics like “The Analects” and “The Art of War,” the Four Great Classical Novels, and Peking Opera, to newer works like “Ghost Blows Out the Light,” “Douluo Dalu,” “Celestial Pearl,” and “The Three-Body Problem,” the challenge lies in how to develop, refine, and leverage these IPs effectively.

Firstly, rooted in a profound historical and cultural foundation, Chinese IPs possess a unique ideological realm and aesthetic charm. For instance, Confucian benevolence and propriety, Daoist inaction, and Zhuangzi's nihilism are rich in depth. The challenge lies in bringing these “ancestors” to life, making them accessible, interesting, and informative without losing their essence.

Secondly, cross-national narrative means transcending one's own “small universe.” It's not about simply piling up symbols or blindly copying the original work. Rather, it's about finding common ground among different regions, ethnicities, beliefs, and aesthetics, leveraging super-enhanced penetration to reduce the loss of Chinese IPs during translation and elicit resonance.

Create and Repeat

In the view of Jiedian Caijing, cross-national narrative involves both creation and repetition.

On the one hand, we must keep up with consumer trends, activate originality, and foster “new species” and new forces through expressions that go beyond traditional Chinese aesthetics.

For example, “The Three-Body Problem,” “The Wandering Earth,” “Genshin Impact,” “Detective Chinatown 3,” “The Outcast,” as well as Ice Dunk, HIRONO, and Moolly, are all Chinese IPs that have emerged in the past decade. While connecting with humanity's shared, simple, and universal emotions, they have also achieved remarkable success.

Image source: Xiaohongshu (Genshin Impact)

On the other hand, as Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman, a renowned psychologist, believes, the way to make people believe in a concept or something is to repeat it continuously.

To expand an IP's influence, it's crucial to enhance its “repeat” function both spatially (across a wide range of regions and audiences) and temporally (over an extended period).

It's important to note that repeating an IP isn't about mechanical “copy and paste” but rather about revitalizing and evolving it.

For instance, “Romance of the Three Kingdoms” started as a novel, was adapted into storytelling, theater, TV series, animation, games, and cultural and creative products.

In summary, cross-national narrative for IPs starts with commerce but ultimately lands on value.

Operate IPs for the Long Term

IPs, like people, evolve from birth to growth to maturity, a gradual and subtle process that cannot be achieved overnight.

During this period, in addition to producing IPs, operating them is crucial. This involves selecting suitable carriers and distribution channels, such as TikTok, Facebook, YouTube, Xiaohongshu, physical stores, and exhibitions, bridging online and offline platforms, and leveraging digital AI marketing tools.

By learning from others, we can improve ourselves. Why have Disney's numerous IPs remained popular globally for decades, and why has the super IP Mickey Mouse remained vibrant for over a century? Their experiences are worth learning from and referencing.

In the era of competition between Chinese and Western IPs, the road ahead is long, and there is much for us to learn and do.

*The featured image is generated by AI