Winning Recipes for U.S. Movies in China: Does Localized Content Matter?
Open Access
Author:
Wang, Zirui
Area of Honors:
Marketing
Degree:
Bachelor of Science
Document Type:
Thesis
Thesis Supervisors:
Hans Baumgartner, Thesis Supervisor Jennifer Chang Coupland, Thesis Honors Advisor
Keywords:
box office movies Hollywood China Chinese audiences localized content regression analysis quantitative R Chinese culture Localized content
Abstract:
The Chinese film market has grown exponentially in the past decade and now is the biggest film market in the world. Many U.S film companies have marched into the Chinese film market with the ambition to create a box office record, but they failed. Research related to box office performance has often focused on local films directed toward a local audience. As experience products, local films and imported films face a different mix of challenges to appeal to audiences. Our study empirically examines whether localized content in U.S. films shown in China is a determinant of audiences’ purchase decisions.
This study found that Chinese culture reflected in a movie, Chinese red-carpet events, and Chinese customized trailers/posters/ interviews have a positive impact on the box office of U.S. films in China, while an earlier U.S. release has a negative impact.
