Economic and Cultural Implications of China's One Belt One Road Initiative for the Film Industry: Cultural Distance and Taste Preference

Hao Ye, Lu Binwei and Guy Starkey

Australian Economic Papers, 2018, vol. 57, issue 3, 250-264

Abstract: China's official One Belt One Road (OBOR) strategy has aroused considerable interest worldwide. This grand concept is potentially of great significance for China's film industry, among others, which has been included as an important part of the national drive to expand China's cultural influence overseas. OBOR represents a great opportunity for China's film industry to shift the emphasis of its market segmentation from reliance on Western influences to a more Eastern orientation. Its promise of closer economic and cultural ties brings great international marketing potential. China's film industry should embrace this significant opportunity by further addressing the cultural variables in its overseas distribution, creating detailed national taste profiles. The synergic development of the Asian film industries can unlock resources, technology and a very large market, presenting both opportunities and challenges. This study quantifies the cultural distances (CDs) and differences in genre preference between China and other countries involved in the OBOR initiative, based on 2016 box‐office data. The analysis reveals an absence of systematic and persistent correlation in CD and genre preference from country to country. In addition, the clustered distribution of genre preference within geographical boundaries makes cultural integration more directional.

Date: 2018
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