Beijing bites again at US tariffs by curbing Hollywood imports | USAEMALL.com

SMALL BOX OFFICE TAKE

Hollywood studios receive only 25 per cent of China’s box office whereas other markets give studios double that, he said.

“Such a high-profile punishment of Hollywood is an all-win motion of strength by Beijing that will surely be noticed by Washington,” Fenton added.

Earlier this week, two influential Chinese bloggers suggested that one response to Trump’s tariffs would be to ban or restrict American movies. Some exhibitors dismissed the possibility, noting China’s Film Bureau had given Marvel’s Thunderbolts an Apr 30 release date.

The restrictions arrive before the start of the summer box office, with such major releases as Mission Impossible – The Final Reckoning, which may mark Tom Cruise’s last appearance in the long-running franchise, a new Superman movie from Guardians of the Galaxy filmmaker James Gunn, and Marvel’s new take on The Fantastic Four.

Seth Shafer, principal analyst at S&P Global Market Intelligence Kagan, predicted the restrictions would have limited impact.

“Only roughly 25 per cent of domestic wide-release films are now released in China and that percentage has dropped steadily over time due to increasing competition from China’s local film production industry,” Shafer said. “For domestic films that do get a release in China, typically less than 10 per cent of the film’s global gross box office revenue comes from China.”

In 1994, China began importing 10 American films each year through the internationally recognised revenue-sharing distribution model. Imports including Titanic and Avatar became box office smashes in the Chinese market, making actors such as Leonardo DiCaprio and directors such as James Cameron household names among Chinese film lovers across generations.

China is the world’s second-largest film market. However, in recent years, as local entertainment culture has bloomed, the enthusiasm of Chinese audiences for Hollywood movies has waned.

Since 2020, domestic films have consistently accounted for around 80 per cent of annual box office revenue, up from around 60 per cent previously.

On China’s all-time box office list, only one imported film ranks in the top 20 – Avengers: Endgame, with revenue of 4.25 billion yuan (US$579.83 million). The remaining films in the top 20 are all domestic productions.