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China Is Stifling Its Own Movie Business

  • Box-office drop follows Communist Party takeover as regulator
  • Seats go empty as local films like ‘The Eight Hundred’ blocked
Bloomberg business news
China’s Movie Business Is Taking a Hit
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As trade tariffs and tweets by President Donald Trump hammer some of China’s biggest companies, the country’s movie business is taking a hit -- from its own government.

Tougher government censorship has blocked potential hits and compelled filmmakers to stick with safe formulas that aren’t winning audiences, while a tax evasion crackdown has made some investors reluctant to back films, crimping output even further.