While most executives in the American film business were busy handicapping the prospects of late Oscar entries like “Zero Dark Thirty” and “Les Misérables,” those who run China’s movie business — the officials in the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television — have been occupied with a different problem. Namely, how to sustain ticket sales for the country’s own films, like the historical epic “Back to 1942,” even as Hollywood films like “Life of Pi” fill China’s theaters.
Their solution is one that may not cheer Hollywood studios looking to export more films to China. In a recent circular to the Chinese film industry, state officials declared that they will give a financial incentive to any theater chain that gets at least 50 percent of its annual box-office revenue from Chinese films.