Hollywood has 'decoupled' from Chinese market as domestic productions shine

Hollywood blockbusters have lost luster in recent years in China, the largest movie market outside the United States, CNBC reported recently.

According to a CNBC report on Tuesday, Walt Disney Co's latest film, "Deadpool & Wolverine," has taken the world by storm since its release on July 22. However, the film has yet to replicate that success among Chinese moviegoers.

In the article "Beijing and Hollywood are decoupling as Chinese audiences favor domestic productions," CNBC cited data from maoyan.com. While the superhero sequel made a respectable 57 million US dollars in its first 20 days in China, a locally produced comedy-drama, "Successor," made six times as much during the same period.

Film experts have said that though signs of Hollywood's waning influence on China's box office were evident even before 2020, the global pandemic helped solidify the trend, CNBC reported.

"China learned all they could from Hollywood. Now they make their own big-budget blockbuster films with good special effects, and even good animated films ... They don't need Hollywood anymore," said Stanley Rosen, a professor of political science at the University of Southern California.

Meanwhile, Chinese films like "Successor" have "a major home-field advantage," according to CNBC. "The Chinese audience, mostly young people, want stories they can resonate with ... films that relate to things happening in China in one way or another," said Rosen.

The report said that in addition to films that are culturally relevant and relatable to the Chinese market, nationalistic and patriotic movies have also become increasingly popular, referring to 2021's "The Battle at Lake Changjin" and 2017's "Wolf Warrior 2."

"This patriotic streak has gone hand in hand with increased Sino-US tensions and the 'decoupling' of the world's two largest economies," CNBC said.

According to Ying Zhu, a Chinese film and television expert, strained relations have been a considerable factor in Hollywood's increasingly lukewarm reception in China.

"The ongoing Sino-US tensions are an underlying factor that dampens the Chinese public's enthusiasm for US popular culture, including films," said Zhu.