Hollywood Losing Ground to Chinese Movies in Biggest Market
- Box office share of foreign films in China halved last year
- Pandemic has also crippled U.S. productions, stalled releases
Walt Disney’s “Mulan” stirred up controversy for its portrayal of Chinese culture.
Photographer: Greg Baker/AFP/Getty ImagesBox office collections by foreign films in China more than halved in 2020, posing a tough challenge for Hollywood in one of the few major markets to be recovering from the pandemic.
In the year China took the crown from the U.S. as the world’s No. 1 movie market with a revenue of 20.4 billion yuan ($3.2 billion), overseas films accounted for only 16% of the ticket receipts. That compares with 36% in 2019, according to data from local ticketing platform Maoyan Entertainment.