Hollywood shut out of China’s top films: For the first time since 2020, no American movies ranked among China’s 10 highest grossing films last year. Major sequels like “Aquaman 2” dramatically underperformed despite big marketing pushes.
The fading blockbuster formula: Hollywood studios once relied heavily on China for growth, changing content to appeal and yielding to censors. But with US-China tensions rising, that strategy has crumbled. Chinese moviegoers now prefer homegrown films with nationalist themes over individualist Western storytelling.
Parsing the numbers: In 2018, “Aquaman” earned $293 million in China, a quarter of its $1.2 billion global total. The sequel has made only $60 million in China so far. Other franchises like “Transformers” and “Mission Impossible” also saw steep declines. Neither of Hollywood’s biggest 2022 hits, “Oppenheimer” and “Barbie,” even cracked China’s top 30.
Behind the shift: First, China’s film industry has matured, producing high-quality movies like suspense thriller “Full River Red.” Second, Beijing actively promotes nationalist films like “The Battle at Lake Changjin,” with themes of a stronger China and Communist Party values.
Flawed China strategy: US studios tried to appease China, even preemptively removing things like Taiwanese flags from films. But this put them in an impossible position as US-China relations deteriorated. Now China’s box office totals are down, and Hollywood can’t rely on them.
What Hollywood must do: Deeply study Chinese pop culture and aggressively promote films on Douyin (Chinese TikTok) to rebuild appeal. But individualist Western storytelling increasingly clashes with China’s collectivist tastes. Hits like sci-fi film “The Wandering Earth II” promote national strength.
No going back: The days of Hollywood blockbusters earning hundreds of millions in China are likely gone. Beijing wants cinema to serve its interests, and consumers want more culturally tailored fare. The China cash cow has dried up for Hollywood.
The future: Look for more Hollywood changes to attract China viewers again, like adding Chinese elements to plots and collaborating with Chinese studios. But the political climate means the Hollywood-China romance has soured. Big-budget sequels will likely be made for less.
The bottom line: Once counted on for easy money, the Chinese box office is no longer a sure thing for Hollywood. With tensions high and their strategies flawed, studios face an uphill battle to regain pre-2020 success in China.
