How the global box office is changing Hollywood

Hollywood is like an octopus with tentacles extending across the globe. For decades most of its sustenance came from domestic ticket sales within the United States but in recent years, overseas markets, particularly China and Russia, have become increasingly important.
According to recent figures from the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) almost 70 per cent of the studios’ annual revenue from box office now comes from international markets.
Speak to anyone in the film industry in Los Angeles and they will tell you that the growth in global box office is bringing about fundamental change in Hollywood.
Most notably, potential overseas ticket sales nowadays determine whether or not a studio executive gives the go-ahead to a movie. David Hancock, Head of Film and Cinema at IHS Screen Digest, says: “If it’s a larger budget production that’s meant to go abroad then really the overseas revenues will be the dominant factor in that decision.”
In fact, the Hollywood studio staple has for a while been the big budget extravaganza that will sell overseas. Content has been shaped accordingly. As David Hancock notes: “They’re making films that have fairly universal ideas and themes, they’re not really culturally specific.” A good example might be the recently released action film Fast & Furious 6 which has already hauled in almost twice as much revenue overseas as it has in the US.
Dumbing down?
To the dismay of some moviegoers, little effort is being made to deliver sophisticated storytelling with these international blockbusters. That’s not totally surprising given that the subtleties of dialogue could easily get lost on non-English speaking audiences relying on subtitles. The movies are crafted mainly to provoke a visceral – as opposed to intellectual – response.
The increased importance of the international marketplace is also affecting casting. Actors are being chosen according to whether or not they will resonate with audiences in targeted markets. David Hancock says: “You have Chinese actors coming to American films, you have Korean, Australian actors being slotted into a role for a film. That’s largely because these markets are important.”
Although the global appetite for Hollywood movies is growing it’s stronger in some parts of the world than others. China and Russia are both big expanding markets. According to the MPAA, Chinese box office revenues grew by an astonishing 36% last year to make it the world’s second biggest movie market after the US. An Ernst & Young report predicts that the US domestic market will be eclipsed by China in 2020.
Although China imposes a quota on the number of US films that can be shown in its cinemas, Hollywood has been busy adapting to the needs of the Chinese moviegoer.
Culture clash
US film critic Matt Singer has noted: “With China, Iron Man 3 had extra scenes and extra characters who were barely in – or not in at all – the American version. If you saw the film at a movie theatre in China you had this extra subplot that involved Chinese characters.”
In fact American film companies are so eager not to lose access to Chinese markets they will go to extraordinary lengths not to offend. When word filtered through that the Hollywood invasion thriller Red Dawn – released last year – was going to feature Chinese villains there was strong criticism in the Chinese media. In an unprecedented move the villains were then digitally removed in post-production and replaced by North Koreans.
Clearly, Hollywood has to tread carefully. It can’t afford to reinforce old stereotypes if it wants to make money in the international marketplace. “Movies have to be made as sensitively as possible so as to not offend any particular country,” says Matt Singer.