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China Strikes Back: Imposes Restrictions on Hollywood Film Imports in Response to U.S. Tariffs

China said on Thursday it would immediately restrict imports of Hollywood films in retaliation for President Donald Trump's escalation of US tariffs on imported Chinese goods, targeting one of the most high-profile American exports.Industry analysts said the financial impact was likely to be minimal, however, because Hollywood's box office returns in China have declined significantly in recent years.After three decades during which China imported 10 Hollywood movies per year, Beijing's National Film Administration said Trump's tariff actions would further sour domestic demand for US cinema in China."We will follow market rules, respect the audience's choices, and moderately reduce the number of American films imported," the NFA said on its website.Hollywood studios once looked to China, the world's second-largest film market, to help boost box office performance of movies. But domestic movies increasingly have outperformed Hollywood’s fare in China, with "Ne Zha 2" this year eclipsing Pixar's "Inside Out 2" to become the highest-grossing animated film of all time.Chris Fenton, author of "Feeding the Dragon: Inside the Trillion Dollar Dilemma Facing Hollywood, the NBA, and American Business," said limiting US-made films was a "super high-profile way to make a statement of retaliation with almost zero downside for China."Hollywood films account for only 5 percent of overall box office receipts in China's market. And Hollywood studios receive only 25 percent of ticket sales in China, compared with double that in other markets, Fenton said."Such a high-profile punishment of Hollywood is an all-win motion of strength by Beijing that will surely be noticed by Washington," Fenton added.Trump did not jump to Hollywood's defense. "I think I've heard of worse things," the president said when asked about China's restrictions.Many Hollywood celebrities supported Trump's Democratic opponent in last year's election.One entertainment industry source predicted that big Hollywood blockbusters, which continue to attract moviegoers in China, may still reach the big screen. Walt Disney's Marvel superhero movie "Thunderbolts," which kicks off the summer blockbuster season, recently received permission to debut in China on April 30.It was not clear if China would approve the entry of other major releases this summer, such as Paramount's "Mission Impossible — The Final Reckoning," which may mark Tom Cruise's last appearance in the long-running franchise, Warner Bros' new "Superman" movie from "Guardians of the Galaxy" filmmaker James Gunn, and Marvel’s new take on "The Fantastic Four."Limited pactIMAX said it expects the slate for its large-format screens, which includes Hollywood, Chinese and international films, would not be materially impacted by the restrictions."We continue to expect a strong year for IMAX in China, coming off our highest-grossing first quarter ever in the country," an IMAX spokesperson said in a statement to Reuters.Seth Shafer, principal analyst at S&P Global Market Intelligence Kagan, predicted the restrictions would have limited impact."Only roughly 25 percent of domestic wide-release films are now released in China and that percentage has dropped steadily over time due to increasing competition from China’s local film production industry," Shafer said. "For domestic films that do get a release in China, typically less than 10 percent of the film’s global gross box office revenue comes from China.""Captain America: Brave New World", a Marvel film released in February, took in $14.4 million (Sh1.9 billion) in China out of its $413 million (Sh53.5 billion) in global receipts.In the past, imports including "Titanic" and "Avatar" became box office smashes in the Chinese market, making actors such as Leonardo DiCaprio and directors such as James Cameron household names among Chinese film lovers across generations.Since 2020, Chinese-made films have consistently accounted for around 80 percent of annual box office revenue, up from around 60 percent previously.On China's all-time box office list, only one imported film ranks in the top 20 - "Avengers: Endgame," with revenue of 4.25 billion yuan (Sh75.1 billion). The remaining films in the top 20 are all domestic productions. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (
Syndigate.info
).

China Strikes Back: Imposes Restrictions on Hollywood Film Imports in Response to U.S. Tariffs

China said on Thursday it would immediately restrict imports of Hollywood films in retaliation for President Donald Trump's escalation o...

Samuel L. Jackson Reveals Bruce Willis's Raw Movie Wisdom

<div class="content-list-component text">
 <p>
  Samuel L. Jackson
  is reminiscing about some lucrative movie advice
  Bruce Willis
  gave him that ended up paying off ― big time.
 </p>
 <p>
  The two first collaborated on the third “Die Hard” movie, 1995’s “Die Hard With a Vengeance.”
 </p>
 <p>
  “He told me, ‘Hopefully you’ll be able to find a character that, when you make bad movies and they don’t make any money, you can always go back to this character everybody loves,” Jackson revealed in a
  Vanity Fair piece
  on Wednesday, published to mark Willis’ 70th birthday.
 </p>
 <p>
  “He said, ‘Arnold’s got Terminator. Sylvester’s got Rocky and Rambo. I’ve got John McClane.’ I’m like, ‘Oh, okay,’” Jackson shared.
 </p>
 <p>
  “And it didn’t occur to me until I got that Nick Fury role — and I had a nine-picture deal to be Nick Fury — that, ‘Oh, I’m doing what Bruce said,” Jackson said of his lucrative Marvel movie role. “I’ve got this character now.’”
 </p>
</div>
<img data-document-id="cms/api/amp/image/AA1Bkc99" data-reference="image" src="https://img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net/tenant/amp/entityid/AA1Bkc99.jpg"/>
<div class="content-list-component text">
 <p>
  Jackson has spoken about how much he’s enjoyed his Marvel role, as he “was never going to let the Oscars be a measure of my success or failure as an actor.”
 </p>
 <p>
  “My yardstick of success is my happiness: Am I satisfied with what I’m doing? I’m not doing statue-chasing movies,” the Oscar-winner
  told the Los Angeles Times
  in 2022.
 </p>
 <p>
  “You know [whispers]: ‘If you do this movie, you’ll win an Oscar.’ No, thanks,” he said. “I’d rather be Nick Fury. Or having fun being Mace Windu with a lightsaber in my hand.”
 </p>
 <p>
  The advice is essentially the opposite of what Leonardo DiCaprio once told then-rising actor Timothée Chalamet.
 </p>
 <p>
  “Well, Leonardo DiCaprio said to me, ‘No superhero movies, no hard drugs.’ Which I thought was very good,” Chalamet told The New York Times last year, adding “I follow them both!”
 </p>
</div>
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Samuel L. Jackson Reveals Bruce Willis's Raw Movie Wisdom

Samuel L. Jackson is reminiscing about some lucrative movie advice Bruce Willis gave him that ended up paying off ― big time. ...