Trump endangers Hollywood on the Chinese market: a box office disaster?

Trump endangers Hollywood on the Chinese market: a box office disaster?



A commercial war that threatens Hollywood

The announcement was shared at the beginning of this week by two influential figures in the Chinese media sphere. Liu Hong, deputy director -in -chief of the official press agency of Xinhua, and Ren Yi, an intellectual very followed on the networks under the name of “Fleshman Rabbit”, both mentioned this trace of reprisals. In their respective publications (via Bloomberg), argue that the Chinese authorities are seriously taking into consideration a measure that would have a direct impact on Hollywood: limitation drastically, even suspend, the arrival of American films in the area.

This is not the first time that China uses its film market as a geopolitical lever. With a distribution entirely controlled by the state and a very restrictive system of quotas (34 maximum foreign films in “revenue share” mode), the room for the maneuver is already subtle for western studies. But a pure and simple ban, even temporary, would deprive Hollywood access to what remains the second world market in terms of box office.

A scheduled calendar for studies

The consequences could be immediate. In 2024, the Chinese box office reported “only” $ 5.8 billion, but the projections for 2025 are optimistic, with an increased increase of 30 %. This growth is partly based on the arrival of several American superproductions as expected as Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning OR Superman. Their absence of the Chinese calendar would weigh heavy, not only on global revenues, but also on the global marketing strategy of studies.

At present, the threat remains unofficial. No formal declaration was made by the Chinese authorities. But in such a tense diplomatic climate, in which each announcement can turn into a pressure stroke, the Hollywood industry monitors the situation very closely. Because if Beijing decided to temporarily close his screens to American films, he would sign an unprecedented turning point in the relationship between cultural and economic conflict of the Soft Power.

Source: Cine Serie

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