“THE WOLF AT THE DOOR”：HOLLYWOOD AND THE FILM MARKET IN C

　　The fate of Popular Cinema is a good indication of the fate of Chinese cinemamore generally.Only about 30，000ballots were reportedly collected for the "22ndOne Hundred Flowers Film Awards"in 1999，including both the printed and Web-basedvoting outlets.（29）Indeed ，one Chinese source reported that only 20，000ballots were cast in 1996.（30）Circulation for an average issue as of 1998was308，333，still making it one of China's leading periodicals ，but this is afar cry from its previous prominence.（31）Indeed ，according to interviewees，its relatively low cost ，large institutional subscription base，and name recognitionhave kept it afloat ，albeit under increasing pressure to adjust to new marketconditions.

　　Undoubtedly Hollywood's greatest success in China ，as it was virtually everywhere，was the performance of "Titanic"at the box office.As Table 1makes clear，thesuccess of "Titanic"has dwarfed all other films in China ，imported or domestic.Its box office of 359.5million yuan is more than triple the second most successfulfilm，"True Lies ，"which brought in 102million yuan.This success has been reflectedin surveys on audience preferences.One survey，for example，asked 1，500residents18years old and above in Beijing ，Shanghai and Guangzhou to list their favoriteimported film."Titanic"was chosen by 35percent."True Lies"came in second ，albeit with only 1.6percent.No other imported film scored higher than 0.7percent.Indeed，when respondents were asked in the survey to choose their favorite domesticfilm，none reached the level of 6percent.（32）The success of "Titanic"andits potential lessons for Chinese films was also a frequent topic for discussionin Chinese film journals.（33）

“THE WOLF AT THE DOOR”:HOLLYWOOD AND THE FILM MARKET IN CHINA FROM 1994-2000(Ⅱ)

　　——Chapter Prepared for Eric J.Heikkila and Rafael Pizarro ，eds.，SouthernCalifornia in the World and the World in Southern California（Greenwood PublishingGroup ，forthcoming）

　　Stanley Rosen

　　Hollywood's Continuing Frustrations

　　The roots of Hollywood's current disappointment with the film market in Chinacan be found in the （recent）past ，the present and the（imagined）future.Thereis frustration with the gap between what executives feel could be and what is ；with the continuing uncertainties of doing business in an environment in which therule of law is still in its early stages and law（including the "law"of the market）is often superseded by political and cultural considerations；and by unhappy experiencesin which American films have been banned or in other heavy-handed ways preventedfrom succeeding in the marketplace.Some of the constraints have been based on generaladministrative regulations or bureaucratic infighting ，as was noted above in discussingthe fate of "The Fugitive"；others have stemmed from specific political decisionsrelated to the larger issue of Sino-American relations.While Hollywood has understandablydevoted its efforts to persuading China to alter its restrictive regulations -oftenindirectly by lobbying the U.S.government to include its demands in trade packages-the Chinese government has demonstrated forcefully，on several occasions ，thatChairman Mao's familiar dictum that "politics takes command"（zhengzhi guashuai ）still remains relevant on selective occasions.We will begin with the formal andinformal administrative constraints that mark China's policy toward the film industryand Hollywood's efforts to ease such constraints.Following that we will turn tospecific examples of governmental intervention in the film market for imported films.The most important cases have been the ban on three leading American studios in1997after each released an "anti-China"film ，and the ban on the showing of anyAmerican films following the bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade in May 1999.But perhaps the most revealing case concerns Disney's "Mulan，"which the studiofelt was ideal for the Chinese market.The reception of "Mulan"in China is worthyof more detailed discussion since its lack of success at the box office and latervilification in the press is closely related to the themes addressed in this chapter.Among other problems，"Mulan"offers an example of the importance of timing；thefilm fell victim to both the 1997ban and the outrage that accompanied the 1999bombing.However，a full discussion of the "Mulan"case requires a separate article.

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