DISNEY China, convergence and franchising exemplified

UPDATE...

China had 4 of 2019's top 20 WORLDWIDE films. In September 2020 it was easily the world's biggest cinema market with the US covid-hit. Read an excellent analysis here.

As of the end of 2019, China now has 69,787 cinema screens, up 9,708 from 2018, according to the Communist party mouthpiece the People’s Daily, which added that more than 1.7 billion tickets were sold. The propagandistic publication went so far as to deem the current moment a “golden age” for the Chinese film industry’s development, as “the market bubble fades… and Chinese films continue to steadily improve.” (Variety: China’s Box Office Hit New Heights in 2019, as Hollywood’s Share Shrank. Good detail on how the Chinese market is shifting towards homegrown hits)

FURTHER UPDATES: Barr condemns Disney and Hollywood for 'kowtowing' to China.

Mulan shows how far Disney will go, self-censor, to maximise the Chinese market (Guardian).

Disney is so damned big it even owns one of its main TV subscription rivals, Hulu. The mighty mouse movie company now gets 50% of its revenues from its multiple theme parks, but is also as much a TV company as it is a film company - from its subsidiaries like ESPN (sports channel) to zeitgeisty series making baby Yoda a global phenomenon, there's more to Disney than movies.

It's buying spree was seen as crazy by some - but bear in mind that Marvel cost them $4bn ... and the last Avengers movie alone raked in $3bn from the box office, never mind its value in driving $5.99/month subscribers to Disney+.

It's even managed to get back into China, having been banned for years because of pro-Tibet movies it now has a Shanghai Disneyland (but it's 57% owned by the Chinese government!) and since 2016 it has been getting movies distributed there again. Their Mulan remake has changed a lot of aspects to avoid upsetting the Chinese government!

This article ends on an intriguing notion - because their stock market value has dropped by over $80bn since the coronavirus hit (a third of their value) ... could Apple sweep in to buy this giant???

Taking the Mickey: how Disney swallowed up all of culture.

Statista.com breakdown of China's surging global share