China has formally announced it will “moderately reduce” the number of American movies it imports amid Donald Trump’s escalating trade war.
The president on Wednesday declared he was raising his massive 104 percent tax on Chinese imports to 125 percent after the Asian country showed what he deemed a “lack of respect” to the World Markets.
However, even before Trump’s latest attack on Chinese imports, China’s National Film Administration had reportedly been considering a complete ban on all Hollywood films in retaliation to his extreme tariffs.
Now, it appears China has made an official decision on the matter.
In a statement released Thursday by the CFA, a spokesperson responded to a recent reporter’s question about whether the additional tariffs imposed by the United States on China will affect the import of American films.
“The wrong move by the US government to abuse tariffs on China will inevitably further reduce the domestic audience’s favorability towards American films,” they said. “We will follow market rules, respect the audience’s choice, and moderately reduce the number of American films imported.”
They added: “China is the world’s second largest film market. We have always adhered to a high level of opening up to the outside world and will introduce more excellent films from the world to meet market demand.”
While American films have significantly dropped in popularity among Chinese audiences in recent years, according to The Hollywood Reporter, there are still a number of titles that have made it big.
In 2022, James Cameron’s long-awaited Avatar sequel, The Way of Water, raked in a significant $246 million at the Chinese box office, while the new Minecraft Movie debuted with $14.7 million in its first weekend.
Last year, U.S. films grossed around $585 million in China. This represents around 3.5 percent of China’s total $17.71 billion box office revenue. A significant proportion of that haul was attributable to the success of Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, which made $132 million in China.
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The total U.S. and Canada domestic box office for the same period was around $8.56 billion.
Even though American films have lost their shine within China, the film sector remains one sector where the U.S. holds a major trade surplus with China, as Chinese films do not tend to be as popular overseas.
However, last month, a group of American-based Chinese campaigned for the animated hit Ne Zha 2 to get an IMAX release in the U.S.
The animated blockbuster has already landed a release date for 37 territories across Europe, including the U.K. and Ireland.
Ne Zha 2, made on an $80 million budget, has already become the highest-grossing animated film in history after making $2.06 billion in China, overtaking last year’s U.S.-made Inside Out 2, which made $1.7 billion worldwide.
