Hollywood courts China again as US-China tensions ease

Hollywood A-listers are making a beeline for China. Tom Holland, the lead of "Spider-Man: Brand New Day," director Christopher Nolan of "Odyssey," and other major stars have visited the country in quick succession as the industry steps up its courtship of one of the world's largest film markets.

CNBC reported that visits by Hollywood stars to China have risen sharply this year amid easing US-China tensions. Imax screened 14 Hollywood films in China in the first half of this year, up sevenfold from two films during the same period last year.

Chalamet took part in a tofu-selling event in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, while Holland and Zendaya traveled to Shanghai. The moves signal Hollywood's push into aggressive on-the-ground marketing aimed squarely at Chinese audiences.

Nolan's unconventional promotional approach for "Odyssey" also drew attention. The director sat down in Beijing for a philosophy-themed interview with Zhu Ge Yiyang, a Boston College doctoral student and podcast host. The video surpassed 1 million views on Chinese video platform Bilibili and racked up millions more on X, formerly Twitter.

The aggressive local marketing push is already paying off for some titles. According to Chinese ticketing platform Maoyan, "Spider-Man: Brand New Day" has broken into the top 10 highest-grossing films in China this year. "Odyssey" earned more than $7 million from two preview screenings ahead of its official China opening on Sept. 14.

Imax CEO Richard Gelfond said at an earnings call late last month that "the China box office has recovered dramatically over the past few weeks." He projected that upcoming releases including "Dune: Part Three" and "Avengers: Doomsday" would drive further growth.

The broader Chinese film market, however, remains under pressure. Box office sales in China plunged 40 percent in the first half of this year compared with the same period last year, as shifting consumer habits squeeze the traditional theater industry.

Chinese content is also expanding its reach overseas, marking a shift from the old one-way dynamic in which Hollywood films flowed into China. A two-way exchange is now emerging, with Chinese films pushing into Asian and other international markets.

Two of the three top-grossing films in China this year have entered overseas markets with the backing of Alibaba's Damai Entertainment. Their international box office haul remains modest, but analysts say the potential of Chinese content has already been demonstrated.

New content formats are also growing rapidly in China beyond the movie theater. Short-form drama series, a format China has pioneered, are a prime example. According to research firm Omdia, short-form drama series that originated in China have surpassed Netflix in user engagement on the US mobile market.

A push to use AI to produce virtual reality content faster and at lower cost is also gaining momentum. Ethan Tang, CEO of Metavision International, said AI has enabled studios to produce VR content "more cheaply and quickly," calling it "next-generation cinema."

Shan Jaru, associate research director at the IMD Business School's Future Readiness Center, highlighted large-scale location-based VR facilities as a defining feature of the Chinese market. The combination of government policy support and the tourism industry, she said, positions China as a high-potential market for investment.

Hollywood has yet to make a serious move into VR. But Tang said it is "only a matter of time" before Hollywood studios begin licensing their characters to VR content producers.

CNBC noted that while American entertainment companies are knocking on China's door again, the Chinese content market itself is changing fast — and the China that Hollywood has returned to is no longer a market competing solely on movie theaters.