Marvel's 'Thunderbolts*' to test Chinese appetite for Hollywood as trade war rages
New Disney movie Thunderbolts* is poised to test Chinese appetite for Hollywood blockbusters as it opens in cinemas around China on Wednesday, making it the first American film to hit movie theatres in the country since a new trade war began.
The film, a part of the sprawling Marvel franchise, was approved for release in China before Washington and Beijing slapped tit-for-tat tariffs on each other.
That meant the movie, which sees an unconventional band of antiheroes brought together to combat a supervillain, escaped a decision by China to curb Hollywood imports earlier this month as part of its retaliation against the United States.
In 2024, a total of 42 American films were released in China, but Chinese audiences have been gravitating away from Hollywood for some time.
Releases so far in 2025 have included Snow White, which made 9 million yuan ($1.24 million) at the Chinese box office and Captain America: Brave New World which pulled in 104 million yuan.
In comparison, 2025 box office leader Ne Zha 2 has grossed more than 7 billion yuan in its home market.
"It's hard to remember the last American film I watched..." said Beijing resident Pan Lei, a frequent cinema-goer. "I think it should be Dune, which was four years ago."
Pan, 49, said that American films like the Marvel movie franchise have been standard fare for nearly 20 years, and any novelty of their production and visual effects has largely worn off.
Marvel's 'Thunderbolts*' to test Chinese appetite for Hollywood as trade war rages
"I miss the days when we could watch wonderful Hollywood films like Titanic, Speed, True Lies and Iron Man in cinemas," he said, adding: "I think the younger generation doesn't share the same idea of Hollywood as my generation."
While Chinese moviegoers around Pan's age were once accustomed to Hollywood films dominating China's box office, the rapid development of a homegrown industry has seen domestic films with local stars and specifically Chinese stories rise to supplant them over the past decade.
Since 2015, Chinese films have ranked number one at the local box office each year, while the number of foreign films at the top of the box office takings have become rarer.
Even without a new trade war and a rise in geopolitical tensions between the United States and China, it's doubtful Hollywood films will ever be able to regain their once-dominant position in the Chinese market, analysts say.
"China will continue to dominate its home market," said Stanley Rosen, professor of political science at the University of Southern California. "China has learned a lot from Hollywood - for example, from their earlier collaboration with DreamWorks in Shanghai - and simply does not need the Hollywood blockbusters anymore."
"Only two Hollywood films made over $100 million in China last year, and I don't expect any will do so this year," he added. —Reuters
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