Uploaded August 2013 | Updated September 2026, 1 day ago
Hollywood studios are waiting for tens of millions of dollars to be paid from their Chinese distributors, because of a tax dispute with Chinese regulators.
China is a massive market for film studios in the US, and Hollywood has basically been bending over backwards so that their blockbusters can feature there.
But they're starting to learn that doing things like self-censoring and making sure you don't paint the Chinese government in a bad light isn't enough to see the money rolling in.
You see, China's tax authorities want to collect this new 2% luxury tax on what Hollywood films make in China. That tax is included in movie tickets sold in China, and authorities want that 2% to come out of the percentage of the profits that go to Hollywood. But studios say this violates a World Trade Organization agreement.
That agreement was signed last year, and Hollywood was really happy about it. It meant they would get 25% of box-office revenue from China, up from between 13% to 17%. And at the time, the Chinese state-owned distributor, China Film Group had said no fees or taxes would be taken from that.
So, now that they're demanding this 2% tax, Hollywood is refusing to pay, saying it wasn't part of the agreement.
And, according to the Hollywood Reporter, while that dispute is going on, China Film Group is refusing to pay Hollywood any of the box-office revenue since the start of this year.
That means the tens of millions dollars from blockbusters like Iron Man 3, Man of Steel, and Skyfall have not gone to American film studios.
But despite not getting paid, Hollywood studios are still sending their films over there. The latest blockbuster Pacific Rim has been wildly successful, amassing $9 million on the opening weekend in China. The thing is, until this dispute is resolved, Warner Brothers won't be seeing a dime of it.
So now the Motion Picture Association of America is negotiating on behalf of Hollywood with Chinese authorities to see if they can work something out.
What is your thought on this? It's almost certain that Hollywood will continue to pursue the Chinese market, but at what cost? Do you think they should make all sorts of concessions just so they can get their films into China? Let us know in the comments section below, and don't forget to check out these other videos on Hollywood and the Chinese market right here.
Hollywood studios are waiting for tens of millions of dollars to be paid from their Chinese distributors, because of a tax dispute with Chinese regulators.
China is a massive market for film studios in the US, and Hollywood has basically been bending over backwards so that their blockbusters can feature there.
But they're starting to learn that doing things like self-censoring and making sure you don't paint the Chinese government in a bad light isn't enough to see the money rolling in.
You see, China's tax authorities want to collect this new 2% luxury tax on what Hollywood films make in China. That tax is included in movie tickets sold in China, and authorities want that 2% to come out of the percentage of the profits that go to Hollywood. But studios say this violates a World Trade Organization agreement.
That agreement was signed last year, and Hollywood was really happy about it. It meant they would get 25% of box-office revenue from China, up from between 13% to 17%. And at the time, the Chinese state-owned distributor, China Film Group had said no fees or taxes would be taken from that.
So, now that they're demanding this 2% tax, Hollywood is refusing to pay, saying it wasn't part of the agreement.
And, according to the Hollywood Reporter, while that dispute is going on, China Film Group is refusing to pay Hollywood any of the box-office revenue since the start of this year.
That means the tens of millions dollars from blockbusters like Iron Man 3, Man of Steel, and Skyfall have not gone to American film studios.
But despite not getting paid, Hollywood studios are still sending their films over there. The latest blockbuster Pacific Rim has been wildly successful, amassing $9 million on the opening weekend in China. The thing is, until this dispute is resolved, Warner Brothers won't be seeing a dime of it.
So now the Motion Picture Association of America is negotiating on behalf of Hollywood with Chinese authorities to see if they can work something out.
What is your thought on this? It's almost certain that Hollywood will continue to pursue the Chinese market, but at what cost? Do you think they should make all sorts of concessions just so they can get their films into China? Let us know in the comments section below, and don't forget to check out these other videos on Hollywood and the Chinese market right here.
