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What advantages and disadvantages are present in making films which combine local Asian
themes and Hollywood-style production values?
The Asian industry is increasingly becoming one of the strongest film industries in the
world outside the United States and India since 2001. Local movies are estimated to account for
almost fifty percent of the overall ticket sales and often dominate before the biggest Hollywood
blockbusters. This has led to the shifting of focus to the Asian industry by Hollywood. Although
Hollywood is criticized for overwhelming global audience with the American culture, there has
been evidence of expansion of its embrace to include actors from Hong Kong and scripts from
South Korea including product facilities in China and New Zealand. The American film industry
sees fifty percent of its revenue from abroad and Asia seems to be its next frontier. This is in
pursuit of the billion viewers present in India and China; however Hollywood is functioning in
approaches that integrate and reflect the diversity of the worlds audience. Hong Kong cinema
has been the most successful Asian film industry in terms of global influence. Apart from being
well received in its Asian regions it strides the miles of making a substantial impact on
Hollywood filmmaking. The Hong Kong industry is the only foreign industry that has rivaled the
success of Hollywood in China (Klein, 2013). Logically, as Hollywood gained influence in a
bigger portion of the markets around the world, it started earning relatively more money from
outside the United States. From the 1970s Hollywood rose from earning thirty percent to fifty

percent of its revenue abroad. The figure is expected to rise to eighty percent within the next
twenty years. This may translate Hollywood to more of an export industry that makes movies for
individuals living outside the United States. The studio executives are oriented towards Asia
which is Hollywoods fastest growing regional market. Their population translates them to
potentially greater markets in relation to Europe. Asia is therefore likely to be highly utilized due
to its population which is essential the industrys market (Klein, 2013).
There are multiple factors allowing for the growth of Asian film markets and the
domination of Hollywood in them. Liberalization of trade has influenced the appearance of
Hollywood movies into the Asian theaters while economic growth allowing for many individuals
to gain access. There has been an increased rate in the establishment of modern multiplexes
creating more venues for film exhibition. The privatization of television and the development of
technologies such as satellite, cable and video have created a diverse market for film beyond the
theaters. The exhibition and distribution sectors of Asian film industries have also facilitated for
the market expansion. Hollywoods strength is increasing as the competition from video piracy,
TV and related factors. The political, institutional and economic power of Hollywood gives it a
competitive advantage that few industries are capable of matching since they are capable of
spending as much as $200 million on a single film. In addition, Hollywood has the global
publicity and network machinery that assists its movies into theaters worldwide in addition to
being behind the US government which pushes it into foreign markets even further (Lee, 2008).
This expansion of markets has led to the globalization of labor where Hollywood
executives are known to fetch popular stars and directors especially from Asia. Several
characters from China have been utilized by Hollywood. For example a popular movie star
Jackie Chan, since the late 1970s and who has anchored the Hong Kong industry for many years

is a favorable example. He is said to have tried joining Hollywood twice in the early 1980s but
failed since the producers required him to be a mold of the American action hero. However, the
late 1990s has seen him join Hollywood which let him pursue in the activities that made him
popular in Asia. This has led to the integration of the Asian culture in Hollywood. The recent
productions of Jackie Chan from are characterized by a combination of martial arts comedy and
death defying acrobatics stunts that he developed in Hong Kong. This was a strategy by
Hollywood to draw millions of his Asian fans into the multiplexes to see Hollywood films
(Chung, 2007).
In an effort to draw its own domestic market from Hollywood, South Korea is in
possession of a booming film industry with incorporation of high quality commercial films with
high production values, compelling characters and strong narratives. Hollywood has discovered
this trend of which they are impressed while attempting to snap up the rights to remake them.
This has led to them purchasing the labor of South Korean screenwriters which happens to be
cheaper in relation to that of America. Apart from weakening the South Korean industry through
extraction of useful talents, the studios are strengthening it through a new source of revenue.
Hollywood interests may also be perceived to be reshaping the South Korean industry. Some
producers have already been noted to design their films in respect to the Hollywood resale
market. The cinematic style is also changing with market and labor. As high end laborers from
around the world are incorporated into the studios, they add on their unique contributions to the
Hollywoods style. For example although the Hollywood productions of Jackie Cha are
substantially different from the ones he performed in Hong Kong, it is in the process of coming
up with a branded product that used to be the exclusive property of another national film

industry. The recognizable styles of Jackie Chan that were once labeled as Hong Kong styles
have become transnational styles (Pham, 2004).
The recent production cost of an average Hollywood film is approximately $90 million
including the marketing. Similar to other US manufacturers, Hollywood has moved production
overseas to regions that have lower labor costs and looser union regulations. With this, China has
emerged as one of the preferable sites for the runaway productions. Encouraged by the
production cost which is an eighth of the USs cost, the latest films of Quentin Tarantino a
martial arts actioner called kill bill have been shot in Beijing. Another example is from Miramax
who recently shot a World War II picture on Shanghai Film Studios while other film makers are
in the process of negotiation to do the same. Other than shooting studio films in Asia, Hollywood
has engaged into the business of production and distribution of foreign movies. This draws the
perception that Hollywood might have attained their limit of the overseas appeal. This is proved
by their orientation of locally made films around the world especially in Asia. For instance, 2001
was marked with all top grossing films in Japan, Hong Kong and South Korea as domestic
productions (Park, 2009). As an approach for more profits, Hollywood turns to the desire of local
audiences to view local films other than going against the competition (Chung, 2007).
Looking at the influence of Hollywood on the movie industries in Asia, the best example
for the incorporation of the Hollywood style is in the Indias film industry. It is based
fundamentally in the western city of Bombay and nicknamed Bollywood. Indias movie
industry is the largest in the world with an estimated 800 feature films each year in comparison
with about 250 produced by Hollywood annually. However, its attendance in the movie theaters
has fallen significantly because their traditional and cultural song and dance hackneyed treatment
of love scene has dropped substantial popularity. Instead, the industrys film is incorporating

generous doses of skin or sex in an attempt to draw audiences. The new approach in filmmaking
has been noted to make significantly positive results. Social critics are concerned with the likely
implications of the new trend in Bollywood filmmaking for the Indian Society. Generally, the
Indian film is noted to have lacked a background in realism usually consisting of escapist
musicals with common storylines of boy meets girl and good vs. evil. The movies are generally
tailored for the family and are kept simple so that even the rural village easily relates. This new
Hollywood-inspired shift in film style is perceived as a threat to the culture and values of the
Indian people (Bordwell, 2006).
Most academic debates in the implication of the dominance of Hollywood in the nonwestern regions have warned of certain danger to indigenous culture. The ongoing analysis of the
shifting of the some Asian film industries tends to support this perception. Social critics in India
are concerned that when they make it to the mainstream adult movie market, there will be loss of
the uniqueness of Bollywood provision of family oriented musical dramas. Other than being a
threat to the traditional Indian values the industry is likely to face the wrath of outside
competition which may damage Bollywood beyond repair (Rampal, 2014).
Further research indicates presence of several implications of the trend adopted by the
Asian film producers. First, Hollywood is likely to benefit more from their increasing dominance
within local socio cultural frameworks of indigenous film industries in Asia. This has seen
Hollywood go into the heights of producing and distributing foreign movies. The studio
executives suspect that Hollywood might have reached its limits to their overseas appeal. The
growing popularity of locally made films around the world is among the evidence. For
Hollywood, they are in the verge of finding new approaches of making profit through the desire
of local audience to view local films. The last few years have seen Universal, Miramax, Disney/

Buena Vista, Warner Brothers and Columbia all creating special overseas partnerships for the
production and distribution of movies in other languages other than English. For example, a
Hong Kong based subsidiary, Sony-owned Columbia pictures has produced several films in
Chinese. In addition, Hollywood is currently essential financiers and distributors of Asian films.
However, such trends have facilitated the success of Asian filmmakers like the Indian director
Nair Mira whose hit, Monsoon wedding was distributed by Universal Studios in the United
States. In addition, the increasing dominance of Hollywood in the film industry has facilitated for
the growth of foreign movie stars in America (Klein, 2013).
The future of Hollywood is among the implications of the globalization perceived in the
film industry. Due to the increased globalization in film making, India and China are becoming
the next targets for larger movie markets in relation to Europe. This brings in the perception that
Hollywood may not be able to effectively penetrate the Asian influences with use of its own style
in filmmaking. However, this perception may be made clear through assessment of the previous
sales of Hollywood where only 30% of its revenue came from overseas in the 1950s. However,
the figure has currently grown dramatically and is expected to reach up to 80% within the next
twenty years. This may mean that Hollywood is translated to some sort of export industry where
moves are made primarily for individuals who live outside the United States. By then, Asia alone
is expected to have been responsible for as much as 60% of Hollywoods box-office revenue
(Lee, 2009).
It is possible to find several similarities and differences in the film industries of China
and India and the challenges experienced in their dealings with Hollywood. The population of
China and India is almost similar hence offering Hollywood with the potentially two largest
markets in the world. India is particularly favorable with the fastest population growth in the

world and one of the highest percentages of youths between the ages of twelve and twenty four
which is a fundamental target demographic for Hollywood. Indian theaters are attracting almost
seven billion viewers each year which proves the attractiveness of the market in relation to
China. There were recent restrictions placed on movie imports by the National Film
Development Corporation (NFDC). China had opened their theatrical markets partially with the
Warner Bros in 1994. The China film import and export corporation maintained a monopoly on
such revenue sharing imports. The government of India fully ended the NFDCs monopoly on
film import in 1992 where the American movies started making rapid inroads. For example
Jurassic park (1994) which was translated into Hindi and Titanic (1998) which was released
in English indicated a level of success. However, local audiences in India have remained loyal to
the national product in relation to China. Even after the lifting of restrictions, American imports
never made it to more than ten per cent of the box office. Titanic which seemed somewhat
influential made it to only an eighth. An analysis of the annual box office figures of India over
the last few decades indicate the challenges foreign films go through while competing with local
products (Rosen, 2002).
A difference in the case of China and India which is perceived as equally crucial for India
is the role of the Non-resident Indians around the globe. This diaspora community represents one
of the fastest growing in the world. The non-residents Indians are estimated to be around eleven
million. The essence of the Indias diaspora community cannot be underestimated in respect the
role played in the survival of Bollywood which is despite the failures of various local films to
make profit at home. The films that make it in the box office records in India are likely to make
more abroad with respect to the purchasing power and ticket costs of overseas consumers. A film
producer once predicted the overseas territories accounting for almost ten to fifteen percent of

the films total earning. Currently, the non-residents Indians audience is responsible for sixty five
percent of Bollywoods films total earnings. The export market was noted to have grown by
eighty percent and expected to double in a few. An expatriate Indian population of around fifteen
million is noted to spend eight hundred million US dollars on Indian music, TV series and
movies. Despite the larger numbers of Chinese who are overseas, it is difficult to compare such
loyalty to the local film industry (Klein, 2004).
Other than the differences in India and China, there is also existence of crucial
similarities. For example, both countries have suffered video piracy as one of the elements
cutting through the success of the box office theatrical films. India is said to loose over forty
million dollars due to airing of illegal cassettes in theaters or in TV before the release of the film.
Some are capable of deterring the pirates through registering their rights early enough and
threatening to take legal action against known copyright violators. In China, the piracy is more
oriented against the Hollywood films. There are therefore few Chinese blockbusters and where
piracy is likely to take on the approach of street sales of DVDs and VCDs other than TV or
theater shows. However, successful Chinese films have gone into extra ordinary measures in
ensuring the stop of piracy prevalence and its economic effects. Other similarities present include
the low production cost in both countries in relation to productions in Hollywood. There has
been an increased use of private money to finance films and the gradually increasing cost of
major films meant to compete with models in Hollywood (Donovan, 2008). The biggest
Bollywood films in India are made for approximately $5 million. However, the average
investment of an Indian movie is about $500,000. One of the most expensive Indian films ever
made Devdas cost $10 million and was released in 2002.

One of the strongest film industries is present in Asia. This attracts Hollywood despite its
critics of overwhelming global audience with the American culture. The American film industry
has been excelling in movie production although fifty percent of its current revenue is from
overseas. This has led into Hollywoods pursuit of the billions of viewers present in India and
China. This has seen Hollywood take substantial steps including the incorporation of different
cultures in the production of movies so as to attract relative more audience into seeing their
films. Different cultures are effectively incorporated through including actors from Hong Kong
and scripts from South Korea. Apart from a focus on expanding the markets, there are several
other reasons as to why Hollywood is incorporating their culture in Asian films. The liberation of
trade which allows Hollywood films to be played in Asian theaters and other factors like low
production costs in relation to the US. The Hollywood production style has also been integrated
in India affecting their long tradition of cultural songs and dance and hackneyed treatment of
love scenes into sex scenes which have gained popularity and exhibiting positive results. One of
the obvious implications for this trend is the threat to the indigenous culture. However,
Hollywood is also expected receive positive feedback from the production and distribution of
foreign films. Indians have however been noted to incorporate the Hollywood style in their film
production. Bollywood is incorporated different themes and cultures in their films influenced by
the Hollywood dominance. This may lead to the loss of their indigenous culture and which will
invite competition from outside (Hollywood) which may have great implications for their film
industry. Therefore, the increased culture integration is attributed to globalization and other
elements that come along such as seeking larger markets. In future, the uniqueness of different
cultures may be lost while aiming to attract all groups of individuals.

References
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