3 ms·

> Seriously, why can't we just have an occasional great story that has an ending? China. Foreign markets are now a significant chunk of the big studios' movie

by bsder 4y ago

> Seriously, why can't we just have an occasional great story that has an ending? China. Foreign markets are now a significant chunk of the big studios' movie profits. If the story isn't super direct and generic, it won't work in translation, and that will cost money.

chmod600 4y ago
I've never heard this theory before, but it makes sense. Can someone corroberate or expand on this point please? If it's true, the implications for art are pretty worrisome in a globalized marketplace.
- gexla 4y ago
  One metric you could use is lines of dialogue. Here's a Reddit thread which gets into this with Mad Max Fury Road. https://www.reddit.com/r/movies/comments/gbjt9t/mad_max_in_fury_road_only_had_63_lines_of/ https://www.reddit.com/r/movies/comments/gbjt9t/mad_max_in_f...
- voidfunc 4y ago
  As I understand it , China is a bigger market for Hollywood than the US at this point. A lot of Blockblusters are written around what will fly in China and what wont cause CCP censors to object. That said, I dont have a ready source for this but I definitely have read it before somewhere.
  - zambal 4y ago
    You might have read about it here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28483777 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28483777
  - Mindwipe 4y ago
    > As I understand it , China is a bigger market for Hollywood than the US at this point. Definitely not at this point. There was a point it looked likely five years ago, but US box office is holding up better than expected, and the Chinese government increasingly block release of the vast majority of US films.
- washadjeffmad 4y ago
  More generally, compare worldwide box with domestic. There are films that gross 10x oversees selling "American blockbusters" that all but flop in the US. It's why so many film franchises have felt so puzzling, disconnected, and out of place over the past twenty years. Hollywood doesn't make film for Americans any more than the baubles at tourist traps give insight into local life.
Youden 4y ago
Are you sure? China's quota system makes it pretty hard for Hollywood films to make it in China [0]. Only a few of the absolute biggest films will have a chance of releasing in China. [0]: https://variety.com/2022/film/news/foreign-titles-squeezed-in-china-film-market-1235151950/amp/ https://variety.com/2022/film/news/foreign-titles-squeezed-i...
- dageshi 4y ago
  Seems like it tightened up some a year or two ago. Before that more hollywood stuff was coming out in china more regularly it seemed.
  - Youden 4y ago
    It's been this way for a decade, earlier it was even more strict: https://www.ghjadvisors.com/blog/history-of-china-import-film-quota-and-revenue-sharing-remittance https://www.ghjadvisors.com/blog/history-of-china-import-fil...
- pclmulqdq 4y ago
  It's not that films actually get into Chinese theaters. They all try. Some of them get to run in Chinese theaters, and those that do tend to make bank. However, those are chosen by theater owners to fill a limited number of spots, so theater owners want to make sure that it is a hit before buying. Additionally, the Chinese censors will cut off all movies from a studio if that studio produces anything that goes against the party. Disney was blocked between 1996 and 1998 for producing a movie about Tibet. A movie that was never intended for the Chinese market at all, but one that went against the party narrative. So, studios have decided not to risk it.
xdennis 4y ago
> If the story isn't super direct and generic, it won't work in translation Foreign movies are generally much less formulaic than American ones. It doesn't make sense to say that good American movies are not translatable.

by bsder 4y ago

chmod600 4y ago

I've never heard this theory before, but it makes sense. Can someone corroberate or expand on this point please? If it's true, the implications for art are pretty worrisome in a globalized marketplace.

gexla 4y ago
One metric you could use is lines of dialogue. Here's a Reddit thread which gets into this with Mad Max Fury Road. https://www.reddit.com/r/movies/comments/gbjt9t/mad_max_in_fury_road_only_had_63_lines_of/ https://www.reddit.com/r/movies/comments/gbjt9t/mad_max_in_f...
voidfunc 4y ago
As I understand it , China is a bigger market for Hollywood than the US at this point. A lot of Blockblusters are written around what will fly in China and what wont cause CCP censors to object. That said, I dont have a ready source for this but I definitely have read it before somewhere.
- zambal 4y ago
  You might have read about it here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28483777 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28483777
- Mindwipe 4y ago
  > As I understand it , China is a bigger market for Hollywood than the US at this point. Definitely not at this point. There was a point it looked likely five years ago, but US box office is holding up better than expected, and the Chinese government increasingly block release of the vast majority of US films.
washadjeffmad 4y ago
More generally, compare worldwide box with domestic. There are films that gross 10x oversees selling "American blockbusters" that all but flop in the US. It's why so many film franchises have felt so puzzling, disconnected, and out of place over the past twenty years. Hollywood doesn't make film for Americans any more than the baubles at tourist traps give insight into local life.

Youden 4y ago

Are you sure? China's quota system makes it pretty hard for Hollywood films to make it in China [0]. Only a few of the absolute biggest films will have a chance of releasing in China. [0]: https://variety.com/2022/film/news/foreign-titles-squeezed-in-china-film-market-1235151950/amp/ https://variety.com/2022/film/news/foreign-titles-squeezed-i...

dageshi 4y ago
Seems like it tightened up some a year or two ago. Before that more hollywood stuff was coming out in china more regularly it seemed.
- Youden 4y ago
  It's been this way for a decade, earlier it was even more strict: https://www.ghjadvisors.com/blog/history-of-china-import-film-quota-and-revenue-sharing-remittance https://www.ghjadvisors.com/blog/history-of-china-import-fil...
pclmulqdq 4y ago
It's not that films actually get into Chinese theaters. They all try. Some of them get to run in Chinese theaters, and those that do tend to make bank. However, those are chosen by theater owners to fill a limited number of spots, so theater owners want to make sure that it is a hit before buying. Additionally, the Chinese censors will cut off all movies from a studio if that studio produces anything that goes against the party. Disney was blocked between 1996 and 1998 for producing a movie about Tibet. A movie that was never intended for the Chinese market at all, but one that went against the party narrative. So, studios have decided not to risk it.

xdennis 4y ago

> If the story isn't super direct and generic, it won't work in translation Foreign movies are generally much less formulaic than American ones. It doesn't make sense to say that good American movies are not translatable.