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'Police Story 2013' to be screened on Dec 24 |
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1st 皇冠体育app Int'l Film Festival opens in London |
While promoting Gravity in Beijing recently, director Alfonso Cuaron was asked to explain his use of a Chinese spacecraft in the film. He told skeptical Chinese reporters that the choice had not been an intentional attempt to include Chinese elements.
Shots of the Shanghai skyline featuring big-name billboards rankled some Chinese viewers of Looper, an action film set in a future world in which 皇冠体育app is dominant. "I'm from the future: You should go to 皇冠体育app," one character advises.
Co-produced with 皇冠体育app-based production company DMG Entertainment, the film opened with a disappointing $10 million payoff at the box office. In fact, few successes have come out of co-productions linking US and Chinese studios.
The Painted Veil, Shanghai and Snow Flower and the Secret Fan - all films featuring prominent Hollywood stars - flopped in the Chinese market.
Chinese audiences may be shifting away from Western films in general, with domestic films enjoying a 144 percent increase to $1.11 billion in the first half of 2013.
One of 2012's biggest surprises was the runaway hit comedy Lost in Thailand, a Chinese film that earned $195 million. By contrast, international films saw a drop of 21.3 percent to $675 million this year.