Bridging geographical gaps: an exploring study on China’s film co-production networks under the framework of world city network
摘要
This study employs social network analysis to explore the inter-firm and inter-city networks constituting China’s film co-production industry since 2012, revealing a distinct binary structure. This structure, prominent throughout the past decade, centers on a Beijing–Hong Kong partnership, with additional support from two secondary structural patterns: Shanghai–Beijing and Shanghai–Hong Kong. In terms of the industry’s composition, a core-periphery configuration has emerged, interlinking state-owned film companies with private enterprises. Three pathways of collaboration have been discerned within this framework. Through the synergistic endeavors of Beijing, Hong Kong, and Shanghai, the industry has attained higher earnings and superior box office performance, fueled by a broader, culturally-anchored industrial integration that encompasses the entire film production process.