Hollywood looks to expand more into Chinese market

Global Business

A rule which restricted the number of film imports is coming to an end and many in Hollywood are eager to see a new one put in place, giving both the U.S. and China more financial opportunities.

CGTN’s Phil Lavelle reports.

Currently, there is a limit to how many films can be sent to China – around 34 foreign films in a year. The bulk of them tend to come from Hollywood. As the deal is about to expire, Hollywood can’t wait to renegotiate.

“Some of the movies are grossing more money there than they do here,” Alina Qiu, a Beijing-born, LA-based movie producer said.

Alina’s worked on Chinese movies, with Hollywood stars and has seen both sides of the story.

“Chinese production – the quality is still pretty low, they have to learn from here. They have to learn storytelling techniques, visual effects and many technologies and from filmmakers – they still need the content from here so it’s beneficial for each side to work together to benefit each other,” she said.

Another possible concern are box office returns. Profits tend to be split with the studios getting money back. In most markets, it’s about a 50/50 split but in China, they only send 25 percent back to the studios.