What makes them willing collaborators? The global context of Chinese motion picture co-productions

Abstract

Market access is becoming the single most significant factor affecting collaborations between Hollywood feature film producers and their Chinese partners. The current import quota system approves only 34 films each year, which are then distributed by the state-run China Film Group, which also controls the release date for each title. The best way for a foreign filmmaker to manage these uncertainties is to fashion a co-production deal with a mainland counterpart, such as Dalian Wanda Group, which is now nearing completion of a huge studio complex in Qingdao, a project that has been greeted sceptically by industry critics. This essay assesses the ambitious logic behind this project, situating it in the broader context of the globally networked production infrastructure that has emerged over the past 20 years, one that generally favours Hollywood producers at the expense of local partners. It illustrates why the Wanda studio may in fact succeed and why foreign producers are growing ever more willing to collaborate with Chinese partners.