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Stars like Nicole Kidman and John Travolta were on hand as the company's chairman, Wang Jianlin, boldly announced that the new studio in the east coast city of Qingdao would help make China a "global cultural powerhouse". Five years later, the Oriental Movie Metropolis is set to open its doors but the mutual courtship between China and Hollywood is looking less rosy. Walking the red carpet at the Qingdao studio launch Saturday will be Chinese comic actor Huang Bo — a big name locally — while Hollywood A-listers are expected to stay away.
Wang's own ambitions are also looking more modest. Wanda last year sold its interest in the studio to a Chinese rival, maintaining just a management role in the venture, whose fortunes look increasingly unclear as the American film industry sours on China. A handful of U. A trade war between Beijing and Washington is also looming.
Negotiations over improved market access for U. Reports earlier this year had suggested China was ready to open up the market. Wang controls the U. Industry sources said Huahua had encountered liquidity problems amid a Chinese crackdown on "irrational" overseas deals and its domestic partners had also pulled out of the deal.
Waisbren said Hollywood had looked to Chinese investors to offload some financing risk, but many realized making a return in film wasn't so easy. Wanda sold off the Qingdao studio to a rival property developer, Sunac China Holdings Ltd, amid a sweeping sell-down of assets to raise funds. Wanda retains management control of the complex. China is also tightening its grip on its film market. A recent regulatory reshuffle handed control over censorship and approvals to the Communist Party's powerful publicity department last month.
China's quota system allows 34 imported movies, while overseas producers get a 25 percent share of box office takings - less than in other international markets. Since a handful more have been allowed in via a "cultural exchange" channel.
Foreign producers and distributors would also sometimes get approvals shortly before release dates, limiting the time for marketing. Hollywood blockbusters once ruled in China, but are losing steam. North American movies have taken around a quarter of the box office in China so far this year, down from over 45 percent in , according to data from the box office tracker EntGroup. This shift could hit Wanda's Qingdao studio, which had hoped to benefit from soaring demand from overseas producers looking to add China elements to their films to help boost box office takings in China.
Last year, a movie about a Chinese hero beating western mercenaries in Africa broke China's box-office record, while Hollywood offerings like "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" failed to ignite when released in China earlier this year.
Hollywood films that focus on action figures or superheroes no longer provide a magic formula in China, said Kevin Niu, a U. With the aid of Hollywood know-how and bigger budgets, local movies, once ridiculed for weak special effects and storylines, are gaining momentum as they find ways to play on these domestic themes and improve production quality.
Bremble said Chinese cinemagoers were willing to splash out on tickets for domestic films now because they look increasingly like big international movies. Submit Search Magnifiying glass search icon.
Search Submit Search Magnifiying glass search icon. News Entertainment China's Hollywood romance sours amid trade war, debt fears China's Hollywood romance sours amid trade war, debt fears Friday, April 27, 2: