Why are modern Chinese film audiences shying away from dubbed films?

At the December premiere of the Chinese-dubbed 1957 Billy Wilder classic Witness for the Prosecution in a Shanghai cinema, dubbing artist Qiao Zhen voiced a more immediate mystery: “Do you still enjoy Chinese-dubbed films?”

When audience members, mainly nostalgia-seeking fans, responded with applause and shouts of “Yes!”, the 83-year-old veteran became emotional, offering a moving defence of his art form.

“Several years ago we felt this profession had fallen into a low point,” he told the audience. “So many people ignored dubbed films, unwilling to watch the translated or dubbed versions, and preferred the original.

“But I believe that to truly appreciate the creative art of a foreign film, one should watch a genuine dubbed version. Dubbing is the reshaping of a soul.”

The re-released Witness for the Prosecution, a courtroom drama adapted from Agatha Christie’s celebrated stage play, is the latest release from the Shanghai Dubbing Studio. It features several veteran Chinese voices, including Qiao as the presiding judge.

By late January, the dubbed version had grossed about 6.31 million yuan (US$925,000) at the mainland box office – a figure driven largely by nostalgia-seeking fans, according to Xinhua. In China’s booming film market, where many mid-tier new releases easily clear tens of millions in their opening weeks, the total is modest.