China and the International Box Office

As a film student, I was curious about the importance of the international box office to the economy of the movie industry, and how money is influencing art. For this post, I wanted to research and get the facts on how much the international box office actually earns for movies.
According to World 101, “Today, nearly 70 percent of Hollywood box office revenue comes from abroad, up from just over 30 percent in 1991.” Deadline reports that in 2018, Disney’s domestic gross was $3.092 billion, but international gross was $4.233 billion. The Hollywood reporter stated that China specifically is projected to pass the U.S. box office to become the globe's top movie-going audience this year. Generally, the international market is extremely important and earns a lot of money
But how much of that money actually goes to the studio? How Stuff Works stated that, “In the U.S., $100 million in box office revenue can ultimately generate around $175 million in total revenue. That same $100 million in box office revenue generates about $27 million in revenue in China, $65 million in Russia, $83 million in Japan and $130 million in the United Kingdom.” This demonstrates how, despite the fact that a lot of money is gained from overseas, the domestic box office remains the biggest bringer of money. This means that in order to get the most money possible, movies may pander to audiences overseas.
China, being such a huge market, is one that many filmmakers likely want to have under their belt. However, censorship laws in China can get those movies banned, so there is no advantage to the filmmakers. Movies that have been banned are Brokeback Mountain, Alice in Wonderland, The Dark Knight, and Mad Max: Fury Road. They are all banned for their own reasons, and none of these movies were financial failures by any means. But now that China is predicted to surpass domestic box office, some changes may be seen or have previously been seen in movies.
The Washington Post points out in a 2015 article a few movies they believe to have adapted plots meant to “woo” Chinese audiences. “Transformers IV,” “X-Men: Days of Future Past,” “Looper,” “Gravity,” and "Iron Man 3” are the ones they specifically brought up. At that time, only 34 movies per year were allowed in, so competition was tough. There is no reason that someone wouldn’t add in characters, subplots, or other narrative devices to edge themselves ahead of the competition in order to access the second biggest box office in the world.
Hollywood also changes their films for Chinese Censors. Recently, “Bohemian Rhapsody” was censored of drugs and gay content. This left many asking what movie was even left after so much would have been taken out. Other movies cut violent scenes or scenes involving the supernatural. Directors and producers are often willing to hack up their films to get money.
So, what does it all mean? Well, there are a lot of different opinions people have about censorship and pandering to international markets. Some people see no problem with it, saying if it isn’t censored in the US or in other countries, China doesn’t really matter. Others argue that no censorship should happen and that Hollywood shouldn’t be so accepting of it. LGBT issues also come up, as China is often an excuse as to why there aren’t gay characters in mainstream movies. Still, others retort that, saying it could just be cut for China and we could still have it here, that we shouldn’t be doing things just for China, or that it’s just an excuse to continue homophobic practices in movies.
Personally, I’m still coming to my own conclusion. It’s frustrating to know that art is edited for the sake of money, but that’s the world we live in, and so much great art is still able to stay the same and get the revenue needed to stay afloat. In the end, I think It’s most important to know how the economy affects all aspects of our lives, even things that seem more “pure” like art and culture.

Sources:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/10/10/stephen-colberts-pander-express-is-a-brilliant-takedown-of-how-hollywood-sucks-up-to-china/
https://world101.cfr.org/global-era-issues/globalization/big-china-global-market-hollywood-movies
https://deadline.com/2019/01/highest-grossing-movie-studios-2018-record-international-global-box-office-market-share-chart-analysis-2019-forecast-1202528459/
https://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/093015/how-exactly-do-movies-make-money.asp
https://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/movie-box-office2.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film_censorship_in_China#cite_note-:1-100