US studios, China OK box-office settlement

China and Hollywood studios have reached an agreement that allows United States companies to recover more than $150 million of revenue-sharing box office receipts, ending an almost six-month dispute in the world's fastest growing movie market.

The Motion Picture Association of America Inc issued a statement on Aug 13 from its chairman and CEO Chris Dodd saying the Chinese government had intervened in the dispute between US movie companies and China Film Group Corp, the dominant distributor of foreign movies in the country.

The US businesses will get back the owed revenue in full and the payment process has started, Dodd said.

"The US and Chinese film industries enjoy a close and productive relationship and the MPAA is grateful to our counterpart, the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television, for their commitment in resolving this matter favorably," said Dodd.

Jiang Defu, spokesman for China Film Group Corp, said his company would implement the government's decision and declined further comment.

China sets a limit on the number of foreign movies that can be shown in the world's most populous country and second-largest economy. That quota was 20 movies a year. When Xi Jinping - then vice-president and now president of China - visited the US in February 2012, both countries agreed to increase the number to 34 and to increase foreign movie companies' share of box office revenue from 13 percent to 25 percent.

China Film Group is the only company entitled to import foreign films for theatrical release in China, while sharing distribution rights of these films with Huaxia Film Distribution Co Ltd.

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