Hollywood Seeks New Business Terms With China
U.S. studios' priority is increasing their share of Chinese box-office receipts
Erich Schwartzel
BiographyErich Schwartzel
@erichschwartzel
erich.schwartzel@wsj.com
Updated Feb. 8, 2017 1:28 pm ET
LOS ANGELES—Hollywood will soon have its first chance in five years to change the terms of doing business in China, a politically fraught opportunity for studios to reap billions more from their most important foreign market.
The current U.S. agreement on releasing films in China—a sweeping set of terms dictating the number of releases, marketing restrictions and the percentage of ticket sales that flows back to the studios—was announced on Feb. 17, 2012, with authorities agreeing to renegotiate the terms in five years.
U.S. studios have for the first time in five years a chance to rework their terms of business with China. Among the things they would like to change are increase their share of box office receipts in the country and gaining more control over when their films are released.