Recently, the topic "No One Stood Up for Nezha's Award, Everyone Stood for Jingzhe's Award" trended on Weibo, sparking heated discussion among netizens. It is reported that a poignant scene unfolded at the 38th Hundred Flowers Awards ceremony.
"Ne Zha: The Devil Boy Churns the Sea" won Best Picture with a commanding lead of 54 votes, becoming the first animated film to receive this honor in the 62-year history of the Hundred Flowers Awards.However, when Wang Changtian, Chairman of Enlight Media, the film's producer, took the stage to accept the award, the audience's reaction was lukewarm, with almost no one rising to their feet.
Subsequently, when Zhang Yimou took the stage with "Jingzhe Wusheng" (Silent Awakening) to accept the Outstanding Film award, the entire audience rose to their feet in unison, erupting in thunderous applause.
In the Best Picture voting round, "Ne Zha: The Devil Boy Churns the Sea" secured 54 votes, while the runner-up, "Jingzhe Wusheng" (Silent Awakening), received only 28 votes, a gap of nearly double. The remaining four nominated films all received single-digit votes: "The Little Me" with 9 votes, "Chasing the Wind and Shadow" with 5 votes, "Biao Ren" with 3 votes, and "Pegasus 3" with 2 votes.
As the first animated film in the 62-year history of the Hundred Flowers Awards to win the highest honor, "Ne Zha: The Devil Boy Churns the Sea" set a new record for Chinese animated films with a box office of 15.93 billion yuan.
In contrast, Zhang Yimou's "Jingzhe Wusheng" (Silent Awakening) ultimately grossed only 1.37 billion yuan and received a Douban rating of just 5.8, failing to meet the general public's passing standard. Its narrative pacing and plot logic were heavily criticized by ordinary viewers.Despite leading the field with 7 nominations, "Jingzhe Wusheng" (Silent Awakening) ultimately only won the award for Outstanding Film.
The stark contrast between the cold and warm receptions on site is not just a matter of award ceremony etiquette, but also reflects the long-standing discrimination within the Chinese film and television industry. Netizen opinions have split into two camps, each supported by coherent logic.
Some netizens believe that a film loved by hundreds of millions of viewers and highly recognized by awards, yet receiving a cold shoulder at an industry gathering, only indicates that the standards of some industry insiders are no longer aligned with the feelings of the general public. Cinema is an art form for the masses; if the industry only applauds within its own small circle and ignores works that truly resonate with hundreds of millions, this self-indulgence is precisely the most dangerous thing. Many other netizens pointed out that people are being too sensitive. Director Jiaozi, who won the award for "Ne Zha," did not attend the ceremony; only representatives from Enlight Media were present, so why should they be applauded? Applauding them would just be sycophancy.