China Gives Hollywood The Bum's Rush

 

For years, Hollywood studios have wooed China - and the CCP knew just how to play them. Like dangling a pork chop in front of a hungry dog China promised a huge box office. And, like many industries before and now, there wasn't a Chinese apple that wouldn't be shined or a boot that wasn't licked as the studios aided China in building new production facilities, readopting plots, rewriting scripts, edited films, and generally kowtowing to every Chinese censors' wish. Now, Chinese-produced films are breaking box office records while Hollywood films are shunned. 

You can blame it on a new wave of Chinese nationalism but this scenario has been played out many times before. In 2021, only 20 U.S. titles were released in China, representing only 12% of the total Chinese box office. In 2012, for example, Hollywood films garnered 48% of the box office and in 2016, 36%. It has been a steady downtrend which will continue.

There was much hype over the scale of the Chinese market by H'wood. The studios sadly and naively thinking they would dominate it. Now, the few Western films that are screened are highly censored and their releases as to when and where are dictated. 

There is no doubt that the Chinese movie market is the largest on the planet but in reality, the notion of  Hollywood grabbing a large share of it is but a dream! Perhaps the studios will finally learn that the CCP doesn't care for their social views, and wokeness even if they bow to or dismiss China's multitude of social, moral, political, and environmental sins there is still no room for them at the table.

China has given Hollywood the bum's rush and deservedly so. Fiascos, such as the 'slap' incident at the Oscars, or Amy Schumer suggesting that President Zelensky leave Ukraine to make a speech at the Academy Awards while waging a war with Russia demonstrate how out of touch with reality the Hollywood glitterati is.

"Sorry,  I can't make it I'm in the middle of a war"

One would have thought that Western companies have learned their lessons when it comes to conducting business in China - but I'm afraid that's not the case. Just yesterday, the CCP informed Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, that Apple would have to produce the chips that run iPhones in China, hmmm sounds familiar.