“Mulan” Walt Disney Co. controversy for showing Chinese culture.
Photographer: Greg Baker / AFP / Getty Images
Photographer: Greg Baker / AFP / Getty Images
Box office gatherings with foreign films in China fell more than dramatically in 2020, giving Hollywood a major challenge in one of the few major markets to recover from the pandemic.
In the year China took the crown from the US as the world’s No. 1 film market with revenues of 20.4 billion Yuan ($ 3.2 billion), foreign films accounted for only 16% of the receipts tickets. That compares with 36% in 2019, according to data from a local ticketing platform Maoyan Entertainment.
After China introduced the virus within months, movie theaters opened on the mainland as early as mid-July, offering a bevy of local fare including the world last year’s horror film, “The Eight Hundred, ”historical war drama. On the other hand, the USA and Europe still struggling to keep the pandemic at bay. Lockdowns are back in many countries as diseases and deaths go up, keeping cinema halls closed and delaying Hollywood productions and broadcasts.
“China is the fastest walk-out of the pandemic and the Chinese people are very keen to go out and watch films in cinemas,” said Wilson Chow, global industry director, media and telecommunications at PwC China. “Hollywood released fewer blockchains last year, so the appeal to Chinese audiences has dropped.”
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The pandemic also called “Hollywood studios semi-paralyzed,” Chow said. Fewer large emissions in China meant a smaller share of their box office revenue. Movies like “Minions: The Rise of Gru” and “Black Widow,” for example, have been pushed to this year.
Local films accounted for 84% of China’s box office revenue in 2020, up from 64% in 2019. A Chinese studio produced four of the top 10 titles, including “The Eight Hundred, ”according to business data controller Box Office Mojo. On the other hand, several of Hollywood’s much-anticipated budget films shifted in China or spent time fighting the fire of some public relations fiasco.
Walt Disney Co. fantasy drama lifted. “Mulan” controversy for showing Chinese culture and it came under fire for filming in China’s Xinjiang province, where Beijing is accused of defeating Muslim-minority Uighurs.
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“Monster Hunter,” directed by and supported by Paul WS Anderson Sony Corp., was pulled from some cinemas in China after some viewers criticized a scene for being racist. His co-producer apologized and cleared out the controversial line which, according to some observers, was like a pile of pitch against people of Asian descent for being, apparently, dirty.
The revival of the industry in China has also given impetus to some of the local films. Tha Wanda Film Holding Co. has carried forward 26% since July Beijing Enlight Media Co. and Huayi Brothers Media Corp. acquired. 9% and 13%. All three of these companies saw their shares fall in the first six months of 2020.