Chinese Box Office: 2013 Film Trends 

Growth in Local Fare Among Top Ten Pictures

The Hollywood Reporter has a list of the top ten movies of 2013, as gauged by success at the Chinese box office. It may be surprising to the casual observer that only four of the top ten grossing pictures come from Hollywood (Iron Man 3, which tried and failed for Chinese co-production status, Pacific Rim, Gravity and Fast & Furious 6). This is more than Korea (only two U.S. movies) but significant fewer than in France, which has traditionally prided itself on local productions but produced only one of its top ten highest grossers (Les Profs) in 2013.

Of course, the relative under performance of Hollywood in China shouldn’t really be surprising. It’s still a notoriously difficult market to operate in, and some studios have been surprised by the high bar required in order to earn co-production status:

The CFCC chief also said that for a film to be a true Sino co-production and not an assisted pic it had to have no less than 20% Chinese investment, significantly feature Chinese talent with a joint script and joint ownership. “So then when the product is released it can be released directly into the Chinese market,” she added. Addressing issues of perceived censorship, Xun told the audience that the reason scripts had to be submitted to her organization for vetting and possible changes was so they could “assist” foreign filmmakers. “We want to help you avoid hot spots and trouble and to make suggestions that will actually save you money.” Xun added that the CFCC would never try to change the gist of a script, though issues of violence and slights against “the feelings of a third country” and negative depictions of other religions could stop a film from being made in China.

It’ll be interesting to see how China develops in 2014. On the one hand, Hollywood may continue pushing for a relaxation of China’s strict foreign quota policy, spurred by recent announcements of plans to build 80 IMAX theaters by 2021 (China is also adding 8-10 regular movie screens per day. On the other hand, China’s domestic film industry is likely to be buoyed by its recent successes and may be more interested in finding a viable means for exporting its own product internationally than admitting more US-made productions:

A report on Chinese film exports in 2012 by the Academy for International Communication of Chinese Culture (AICCC) at Beijing Normal University, found that 75 of the country's total 893 domestically produced films over the past year were exported to more than 80 countries.

But while China's domestic box office in 2012 was a hefty $2.8 billion, overseas earnings were just 1.1 billion yuan ($180 million), down nearly 50 percent on the $330 million clocked up in 2011.

It’s a fascinating time and, personally, I’m looking forward to working on film productions and other matters in China in 2014 and beyond.