Michael Cieply, US Box Office Heroes Proving Mortal in China; American studios fear a rapid evolution in the tastes of Chinese audience. New York Times, Apr 22, 2013 (front page).
Quote:
(a) "The abrupt shift toward local favorites may have something to do with market manipulation. As American films gained traction in China last year, alarmed officials imposed an unusual two-month blackout that kept most foreign movies off screens during the summer season.
"They also forced “The Dark Knight Rises” and “The Amazing Spider-Man” into direct competition with each other, and promised to pay theater owners an annual bonus if their receipts from domestic films matched revenue from foreign films for the year.
(b) "Chinese officials delayed the release of 'Skyfall' and 'The Hobbit' until those films had played elsewhere, which allowed video pirates time to put a dent in the potential audience.
(b) The report states, "The weekend brought one sign of a rebound for Hollywood: 'GI Joe: Retaliation' from Paramount Pictures, took in a respectable $33 million at the Chinese box office, matching roughly 75 percent of its ticket sales when it opened in the North American market on March 28."
(i) GI Joe: Retaliation http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GI_Joe:_Retaliation
(ii) Well, I must say the film does not appeal to American audiences, either. Though I do not watch movie--at all--I have data to rpove it.
Ben Fritz, 'Oblivion' Proves Cruise Still Controls Box Office. Wall Street Journal, Apr 22, 2013. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB ... 36860193922882.html
(A) There is no need to read the text.
(B) The print--but NOT the online version--displays a chart, which shows teh film Oblivion (starring Mr Tom Cruise and costing $150 million to produce) grossed $38.2 million in the US and Canada last weekend (its first weekend). But the chart also demonstrates GI Joe: Retaliation has cooled in US in four weekends (since Mar 28, 2013).
(C) The WSJ chart cites as source Hollywood.com. Here is the web page --at the bottom of teh page--for box office last weekend (Friday to Sunday inclusive). http://www.hollywood.com/boxoffice/