Chinese slap three month ban on Hollywood films

Blatant pirating of American-made films is rampant in China, but now even the highly restricted legal distribution and “quota system” of these products is being scaled back. As reported in Variety:

In its most drastic measure ever against Hollywood, Chinese authorities have banned the release of American pics for at least three months. Ban began Saturday and will continue until the end of February at least, but Chinese sources say it could continue until May.

Central-government order came from echelons higher up than the State Administration for Film Radio and Television or the Film Bureau, which normally handle movie industry policy and application. Ruling likely emanated within the Propaganda Ministry. The Asian and Chinese arms of the studios have not been given any release slots in the first two months of 2008.

U.S. studio distribution execs had no comment, but speculation is that the ban will last until after the Chinese New Year celebration in early February. Key factors in the decision are said to be disagreements with U.S. trade policy and the recent success of American pics at the expense of local films.

Distribs have noted privately that the Chinese government often changes the blackout periods on a whim. Normally, the majors would by now have had approval for films that qualify under the quota system, which permits 20 foreign films per year to be released on a revenue-sharing basis. They also report that the Film Bureau’s censorship committee is not even interested in screening their movies.

Four films that would normally have expected to be cleared for release in January or February have been locked out: Disney’s “Enchanted,” DreamWorks’ “Bee Movie,” Paramount’s “Stardust” and Warner’s “Beowulf.”