China Exceeds Quota on Hollywood Films Amid Box Office Slowdown

This post comes courtesy of our content partners at China Film Insider.

China appears to have abandoned its strict foreign film import quota in the final months of 2016 in order to bolster sagging annual box office growth figures.

A number of last-minute releases for Hollywood films have been announced in recent days, exceeding the number normally allowed by China’s protected film industry.

On Saturday, 20th Century Fox’s Keeping Up with the Joneses (邻家大贱谍) and Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children (佩小姐的奇幻城堡) were given release dates for China for November 8 and December 2, respectively.

They joined releases announced for Paramount’s Allied (间谍同盟) (Nov 23), Disney’s Moana (Nov 25), and Warner Bros.’ Sully (萨利机长) (Nov 29).

The last-minute additions take November’s tally of Hollywood films screening in China to eight following, the announcement of releases for Disney’s Doctor Strange (奇异博士), Harry Potter spinoff Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (神奇动物在哪里), and Ang Lee’s Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk (比利·林恩的中场战事) earlier.

The total number of foreign films imported on a revenue-sharing basis now appears to be sitting at 38 – four more than is normally allowed. That figure could change as it’s still unclear whether Billy Lynn is being imported on a revenue-sharing or flat-fee basis.

China’s film importation system restricts foreign movie imports to either 34 titles per year on a revenue-sharing basis, allowing Hollywood studios to take home up to 25 percent of the box-office receipts.

Flat-fee releases are also available but are usually reserved for independent and smaller titles, normally between 20 and 30 each year. In a flat-fee arrangement, Chinese distributors pay a lump sum up front and all the box-office proceeds stay in China.

Despite the clear surfeit, a spokesperson for the film bureau denied the quota had been exceeded, telling local news portal Sina Entertainment that a portion of the films imported was considered “cultural exchange projects” and aren’t counted in the 34.

Total box office receipts for the year up to October 23 have reached RMB 38.26 billion (USD 5.6 billion), far short of the year’s goal of RMB 60 billion (USD 8.9 billion) and behind last year’s total amount of RMB 44 billion (USD 6.5 billion) according to online movie ticket seller Maoyan.

Last week, film bureau boss Zhang Hongsen warned the country’s film industry that the number of foreign films allowed into the country on a revenue-sharing basis is set to increase as early as next year.

The current quota system was put in place in when China signed an agreement with the World Trade Organization in 2012, valid for five years. The second round of negotiations is likely to be held in February 2017.

Of the Hollywood studios, the biggest winner in China this year is Disney, having secured releases for eight films including Star Wars: The Force Awakens (星球大战：原力觉醒), Captain America: Civil War (美国队长3) , Zootopia (疯狂动物城), The Jungle Book (奇幻森林), Finding Dory (海底总动员2), Alice Through the Looking Glass (爱丽梦游仙境2), and now Doctor Strange (奇异博士), and Moana (海洋奇缘).

Local entertainment media is rife with speculation about what other foreign titles might be able to enter the country. Among the titles in contention are Lionsgate’s Deepwater Horizon (深海浩劫), and their Mel Gibson-directed war epic Hacksaw Ridge (血战钢锯岭).

Chinese movie fans took to social media to welcome the new releases with many also complaining about a dearth of quality films at the cinemas lately.

“This means you shouldn’t bother to go and see crappy local films,” wrote one Weibo user “as long as the annual box office numbers look like they’re too low, you can always count on the Film Bureau to import better foreign movies.”

Upcoming Hollywood Films in China

Oct 28: Inferno (但丁密码)

Oct 28: Trolls (魔发精灵)

Nov 4: Doctor Strange (奇异博士)

Nov 8: Keeping Up with the Joneses (邻家大贱谍)

Nov 11: Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk (比利·林恩的中场战事)

Nov 18: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (神奇动物在哪里)

Nov 23: Allied (间谍同盟)

Nov 25: Moana (海洋奇缘)

Nov 29: Sully (萨利机长)

Dec 2: Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children (佩小姐的奇幻城堡)

Image: rogerebert.com (still from Keeping Up with the Joneses)