Report: China to Surpass US as Top Movie Market by 2020
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(Image source: Marvel)
BY ZACH TOOMBS
Hollywood is turning its focus to the far east, as China’s movie market sees rapid growth.
A study from U.S. firm Ernst & Young released Wednesday predicts:
- 17% annual growth in China’s box office sales through 2015
- Estimated China will pass up U.S. as world’s top movie market by 2020
So, does that mean Hollywood will start tailoring its movies to a Chinese audience. Well, actually, that’s already happening.
The nation that invades the U.S. in the recently-released “Red Dawn” remake was changed in post-production — from China to North Korea. That means every uniform and flag was edited after shooting, a process that cost just under $ 1 million.
As The Telegraph notes, it was a decision made because “studio bosses at MGM realized the plot could potentially offend the Chinese, and therefore jeopardise the film's success in China...”
This spring, “Men in Black 3” producers had the same thought, editing 13 minutes out of the film to remove references to Chinese villains that were in the original cut.
But China’s new influence on Hollywood isn’t just consumer based.
In April, Marvel announced it would co-produce “Iron Man 3” with DMG — a Chinese studio based in Beijing. DMG itself will handle the film’s distribution in China.
But there are also plenty of variables that might hinder success for big-budget American films in China, especially considering the nation’s checkered history with copyright laws. The Los Angeles Times says:
“Even with Chinese authorities trying to rein in piracy, media and entertainment companies will struggle to get fair value for their products and services...”
The Chinese government has also been less-than-cooperative toward Hollywood, mandating that Chinese theaters pit American blockbusters against each other on the calendar, and favoring domestic films.
In the U.S., big films are given some breathing room, opening two or three weeks apart to maximize box office profits. But, as The Hollywood Reporter notes, in China this summer, authorities forced openings for “Spider-man 3” and “The Dark Knight Rises” on the same day to stifle profits.
Although the report released Wednesday highlighted those and other issues, it says tapping into that market holds big rewards for studios. Just in the past two years, China’s spending on entertainment has jumped from $ 350 billion to $ 547 billion.
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