好莱坞进军中国电影市场

It's the weekend, time to check if there are any good movies playing. Go to the theatre, get comfortable in your seat with a big box of popcorn, and watch the latest blockbuster. While going to the movies is a common form of entertainment and it's gaining popularity in this part of the world. The Motion Picture Association of America, a group that represents the big Hollywood studios, says global ticket sales last year reached nearly 30 billion dollars with China one of the fastest growing markets.

China now has a middle-class audience larger than the entire population of the United States, and that middle-class is, is demonstrating that it loves movies. So that statistic alone tells you that the potential for film making in and movie success in China is enormous.

If anything proved the potential of China's box office, it was James Cameron's epic fantasy film 'Avatar'. The 3D flick brought in more than 100 million dollars there, making it the highest-grossing film in China's history. Hollywood studios are upbeat that movie-goers will continue to be fascinated by 3D technology in the theatres whether they are in China or elsewhere. That means higher sales since theatres can charge more for a 3D movie. Yet Hollywood faces major hurdles in the Chinese market. One long time gripe is government censorship and control. Beijing only lets in 20 international flicks a year. These are some of the movies that were in China's cinemas last year. Now one of the arguments for the quota is to protect the up-and-coming Chinese movie industry. But the MPAA believes that the government needs to loosen its controls on the market to ensure the long term health of the local film scene.

As the Chinese society develops, it's gonna compete globally more and more with

creativity, and ingenuity, and inventiveness. And so if that is to prosper in China, the government has to foster a culture of protecting creativity and ingenuity by enforcing copyright, by enforcing patents, and by dealing with people who traffic in these illegal goods.

Another big complaint, of course, piracy. Pirated films are still widely available in China despite the authority's pledge to crack down on the counterfeiters. The Obama administration along with Hollywood studios are pressing the Chinese government to get even tougher. US officials estimate piracy costs the American economy over 20 billion dollars a year.

Eunice Yoon, cnn, Hong Kong.