FILE PHOTO: A poster of Tang Gong Ye Yan (Night Banquet in Tang Dynasty Palace)

Over its more than 120-year history, Chinese cinema has steadily advanced in its use of technology. Today, a new phase of scientific and technological advancement and industrial transformation is gathering pace, with digital-intelligence technologies such as generative AI and virtual reality (VR) emerging as key drivers in developing new quality productive forces in the film industry. From the intelligent transformation of production processes, to a rethinking of the boundary between virtuality and reality, and ultimately to the transformation of aesthetic experience at the point of consumption, digital-intelligence technologies are systematically reshaping the industrial logic and aesthetic paradigms of Chinese cinema, opening up new possibilities for the high-quality development of a modern film industry.

Supply-side transformation and iteration

Any discussion of new quality productive forces in cinema must begin on the production and supply side. As technology advances, digital-intelligence tools are reshaping the supply side by optimizing the allocation of production factors, tightening control over production costs, and pushing production efficiency to new levels.

In pre-production, traditional casting often involves trial and error and uncertainty. By contrast, the AI casting system developed by the AI Research Institute of China Film Group translates subjective assessments of performance into data-driven analysis. Capturing actors’ micro-expressions and body movements, the system simulates performances in a virtual environment and quantitatively assesses actor-role compatibility, reducing the risks of casting decisions.

During principal photography, mature virtual production technologies help filmmakers overcome the vagaries of location shooting, where production is often at the mercy of natural conditions. According to CCTV News, adoption of virtual film production workflows rose from 15% in 2023 to around 45% in 2025. Virtual production bases now operate in Chongqing, Qingdao, Deqing, Yangzhou, and elsewhere. Chongqing’s “Digital Intelligent Set-Building Workshop” features an industrial platform capable of switching sets within seconds, cutting costs and improving efficiency. At Qingdao’s Oriental Movie Metropolis, a micrometer-level dome light-field scanner efficiently creates high-precision digital actor models, providing essential data for digital characters in high-concept films. Deqing County hosts the world’s largest single-unit LED virtual studio, whose real-time rendering supports directors on set. Yangzhou has independently developed a world-leading wave-generation system capable of producing more than 200 wave patterns under algorithmic control. With these technologies, filmmakers no longer need to travel far afield or wait for nature to cooperate; they can produce what they need on demand in the studio, bringing industrial methods to filmmaking and achieving a “what you see is what you get” production process.

In post-production, the efficiency gains are even more apparent. As visual effects grow increasingly complex, filmmakers face the challenge of processing vast quantities of visual data, and AI has become a key tool for overcoming constraints on rendering capacity. In 2025, the animated blockbuster Ne Zha: Demon Child Conquers the Sea placed enormous demands on rendering capacity with its intricate particle effects and expansive scenes; AI-assisted rendering substantially reduced the time required for individual shots.

Expanding artistic boundaries

If supply-side transformation reshapes the body of cinema, digital intelligence reaches deeper, to fundamental questions about the nature of the art form itself. Cinema has long been understood as a “framed” art presented on a two-dimensional screen, but recent industry practices are beginning to challenge this conventional definition. Digital-intelligence technologies not only enhance image quality but also extend the physical boundaries and perceptual depth of cinematic images.

The institutionalization of VR film is perhaps the clearest marker of this transformation. For years, VR productions largely existed outside the mainstream film industry, often treated as science-museum exhibits or video-game offshoots, and lacked an independent cultural identity. On March 18, 2025, the National Film Administration formally defined VR film, bringing it into the film regulatory system, with clear rules for the entire production and distribution chain. Tang Gong Ye Yan (Night Banquet in Tang Dynasty Palace), produced by Henan Radio and Television Bureau, subsequently received the first VR film “Dragon Label,” marking VR cinema’s transition from technological experiment to a distinct film category. To date, 140 VR films have been filed, with subject matter expanding beyond visual spectacle into more developed narrative forms, including animation.

If VR breaks the “fourth wall” of the screen in physical terms, high-specification imaging transforms cinematic images at the perceptual level, creating an aesthetic experience beyond what the naked eye alone can perceive. Combining 8K resolution, high frame rate (HFR), and high dynamic range (HDR) produces a qualitative shift, heightening image clarity and immediacy. In the documentary Shen Zhou 13, the creative team used a custom 8K 50 FPS camera to faithfully capture the metallic texture of the China Space Station’s core module and the subdued glow of the deep cosmos. The result brings cinematic representation closer to physical presence, making the vast expanse of stars seem almost within reach. Audiences may increasingly want not merely to “watch” a film, but to “enter” it.

Whether through VR’s outward expansion of narrative space or high-specification imaging’s deeper exploration of visual texture, digital intelligence is extending the boundaries of cinematic art. Cinema is evolving from a one-way art form based on passive viewing into one increasingly defined by immersion, interaction, and a sense of presence. This offers audiences unprecedented aesthetic experiences while providing rich practical examples and broader scope for theoretical exploration as a Chinese school of film develops in the digital-intelligence era.

Transforming reception aesthetics and consumption experience

Digital-intelligence technologies have reshaped both the production and supply side of cinema and the nature of the art form itself, and these changes are now reaching the end of the industry chain—the audience. As audiences become more aesthetically discerning and technological offerings evolve, a new aesthetics of reception centered on embodied presence and interactive engagement is taking shape.

With streaming platforms and mobile screens now ubiquitous, the reasons audiences go to the cinema are beginning to shift. According to the Dengta Research Institute’s 2025 China Film Market Annual Review Report, although the national average ticket price declined slightly, premium-format ticket prices rose against the trend, while attendance reached a five-year high and premium-format screenings accounted for a record 9.4% of total box office revenue. This contrast suggests that audiences increasingly seek not simply content, but a distinctive viewing experience. Among those who had not tried premium-format screenings, 82% expressed an interest in doing so. Traditional projection technologies, however, are increasingly struggling to meet these expectations. LED theaters, whose self-emissive displays offer ultra-high contrast and a wide color gamut, together with China’s independently developed and continually evolving CINITY system, are well suited to high-specification blockbusters. Physical cinemas can maintain their distinctive place in the digital-intelligence era by offering an audiovisual experience and sense of realism that mobile devices cannot match.

As projection quality improves, cinema spaces are also becoming more diverse in function. Technology is changing not only what audiences watch, but also where and how. The cinema auditorium, once regarded as an almost sacred space devoted to a single purpose, is evolving through digital-intelligence technologies into a multipurpose entertainment venue incorporating esports, live broadcasts, and VR experiences. This moves cinemas beyond the traditional business model centered solely on film screenings. In 2025, non-film activities accounted for 4.71% of total revenue at the Beijing Huaxia Film Center. In 2024, IMAX China partnered with the Esports Film Alliance to broadcast key matches from that year’s League of Legends World Championship live in cinemas. The 158 participating theaters achieved an average occupancy rate of 90%, leading the two companies to continue their partnership in 2025. Cinemas are thus evolving from quiet viewing spaces into lively social venues. By bringing dispersed audiences together around shared interests, this model demonstrates the remarkable adaptability and potential of cinema spaces.

Rapid technological advances, however, also bring the risk of disorder and abuse. As “immersive” and “premium-format” become marketing buzzwords, ensuring that audiences receive genuine value for what they pay rather than technological gimmicks has become a key challenge for industry governance. National-level standardized governance thus has an important role to play in keeping the market on a sound footing. In the digital-intelligence era, technical standards set the baseline for quality. Strict standards can weed out substandard offerings and ensure that each technological advance translates into a compelling viewing experience, helping sustain public trust and confidence in the Chinese film industry.

From intelligence-driven gains in industrial efficiency on the production and supply side, to the expansion of artistic boundaries through virtual–real integration, and ultimately to the transformation of the consumption experience through embodied presence, these three mutually reinforcing dimensions together define the emerging landscape of new quality productive forces in Chinese cinema. This transformation shows that the high-quality development of Chinese cinema depends on bridging the divide between technological rationality and the humanistic spirit, and building a modern film ecosystem in which technological innovation and artistic expression are deeply integrated. With new quality productive forces as its foundation, and with stronger connections across the entire chain—from upstream intelligent production and midstream aesthetic innovation to downstream quality consumption—Chinese cinema can gain a stronger voice in the global screen landscape and make steady progress from being a major film-producing country to becoming a strong film power.

Qiu Ping is a research fellow from the Institute for Advanced Studies on New International Relations at Zhejiang International Studies University. Hu Tianchi is a special research fellow from the Center for Art Education at Beijing Normal University.