China scuppers hopes for more Hollywood films in 2014
China has quashed hopes that it’d up access for US films this year, as state news agency Xinhua reports the country will maintain its exacting quota for the number of Hollywood films it imports.
Last week, the Hollywood Reporter cited a source claiming China’s film bureau was chewing over increasing its yearly quota from 34 to 44.
Studios in the US have been moving to try and appeal to the rapidly-expanding and lucrative Chinese box office. Last year, it hit 21.8bn yuan (£2.2bn).
Both Dreamworks Animation and Viacom’s Paramount Pictures have hired Chinese actors and embarked on co-productions with Chinese companies.
Joint productions can make it through loopholes, but China’s authoritarian film regulation means little inroad into the market.
Hollywood was dethroned as box office dominator last year, with Chinese films taking more than 58 per cent of it, according to Xinhua.