Ironically, most of film coverage now is as much propaganda for one political party as one might find in China. Deadline is doing its part to convey the message that Trump’s tariffs are hurting the American film business because now China will ban US films from playing in their lucrative market. The truth is that China has been pushing out American films, especially as they have become more “message-driven” (just like China!) but also because they’re building up their own profitable industry. Here is a story from the New York Times from last year:
In 2023, no American films ranked among the 10 highest grossing in China despite highly anticipated sequels in the “Mission: Impossible,” “Fast & the Furious” and “Spider-Man” franchises.
Neither “Oppenheimer” nor “Barbie,” two of Hollywood’s biggest hits last year, cracked the top 30 in China at the box office, according to Maoyan, a Chinese entertainment data provider that has tracked ticket sales since 2011. The only other recent year when Hollywood was shut out of China’s top 10 was 2020, during the pandemic.
You can see why they might want to make that choice:
It isn’t good news for China that Minecraft unseated their blockbuster.
After COVID, the Chinese box office collapsed, just as ours did here. It is coming back. Most outlets weren’t covering what was happening because 1) it is verboten to talk about the collapse of Hollywood’s box office and 2) it is verboten to say, “Hey, look at China!”. But here you go. The number one movie worldwide as of right now?
Only one here, Yolo at number 14.
The Wandering Earth II.
Here, the Battle at Lake Changjin, Detective Chinatown 3, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Correction: Not a Chinese movie. A pandering to China movie from Marvel.
And here, number one with Demon Slayer. Not to mention My People, My Homeland, and Jiang Ziya.
Here Ne Zha, The Wandering Earth.
Here are the films that topped China’s box office going back
Gone are the days when American movies made much of their profits from China. They are playing hardball, just like Trump is playing hardball. So, that just means Hollywood should do what China is doing. They should make movies that will make money here in America.
No way around it, the US has to make better movies. Minecraft might be a terrible movie — by all accounts it is. No one in Hollywood likes making movies like that (like the Kool-aid movie in The Studio). But so far, the business seems determined not to hire great writers and directors but instead to keep re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. This is a perfect time for China to pull ahead. Why wouldn’t they.
