Last weekend, Minecraft During the opening weekend, I made $15 million in China. Thanks to President Donald Trump’s new tariffs on the country, this success story may be at least the last of its kind.
On Thursday, Trump announced 145% tariffs on Chinese goods, even as he paused 90 days on some of the huge tariffs he imposed on the rest of the world. As part of the country’s response to the escalating trade war, the China Film Administration announced it would reduce the number of films allowed to enter the country in the United States. “The U.S. government’s move towards “abuse of China’s tariffs” “will inevitably further reduce domestic audiences’ favor for American films.” ”
This is bad news in Hollywood. Rather than affecting the market that Trump pays so closely to watch, the decline in the number of movies played on Chinese screens will be on the American cultural debris in the country’s cultural dish, which will ultimately affect the industry toes of the world’s second largest film market.
Hollywood blockbusters have been a form of soft power in China for many years. Generally speaking, China imports a few movies from Hollywood every year, but since 2020, the cold relationship between China and the United States has been declining at that time. David Hancock, an analyst at Omdia Cinema, said that between 2017 and 2019, U.S. film revenue in China was about $3 billion a year, but last year, that figure fell to $1.2 billion.
During this period, Chinese audiences began to accept more domestic film production. NE ZHA 2animated fantasy movie Minecraft Backwards, it has brought in $2 billion, and attitudes about seeing changes in American blockbusters. “Now, American movies are not that popular in China now, but I think [the new restrictions] Hancock said: “It will make them less and less. [when it comes to] Hollywood movies. ”
Still, 42 American movies were released in China last year, accounting for one-fifth of the country’s box office. Chinese authorities have been working to improve films as a way to promote the economy, but it seems that viewers’ preferences are more inclined toward domestic films. As Stanley Rosen, a political science professor at USC, said this week to The Los Angeles Times, it’s a patriotic issue [for China] And an economic issue. ”
But Chinese audiences have also discovered loopholes surrounding Chinese government restrictions and Hollywood itself.
“All Hollywood movies can be easily streamed for high-quality copy and provide excellent Chinese subtitles on pirated Chinese websites, so anyone who wants to watch these movies can do it in the comfort of their own home without having to pay for the money to support American cultural products.”
Hancock noted in a recent post about the Chinese film market that the Communist Party’s propaganda department has been responsible for overseeing the country’s films since 2018. While American studios would change movies to, for example, Chinese products so they could screen in the country in the 2010s, it was after the censors were increasingly restricted. Between 2020 and 2022, there are no Marvel movies in the country, and it’s a blow to Disney Avengers: The Final Game Made more than $600 million there. Top Gun: Mavericks It is not allowed in the country in 2022.
There is no official reason to stop Marvel movies, but experts speculate that it could have been related to include LGBTQ+ characters, tensions between the United States and China or other issues at the time. calfIt seems that its focus is on the emergence of the US military force and the Taiwan flag. Whatever the reason, if China allows fewer American-made movies, American cultural cuisine may be reduced further.
The ripple effect is still gradually emerging as Trump’s tariffs cause chaos around the world. Automakers and gadget makers like Apple seem ready to survive the worst storm in the storm, but streaming services and Hollywood studios may feel the knock on the door in the coming years. More and more major films are being denied entry into China, making American films cooler again harder.
