For the past decades, Hollywood has dominated the global animated movie business, with the likes of Walt Disney, Pixar, DreamWorks Animation and Universal sharing the spotlight. However, analysts claim that the recent developments in China suggest that this trend is about to change.
The Chinese government has long been investing in the production of animations for years, and although it comes at a gradual pace, the fruits of China's labor are now ready to be reaped.
In the local scene, the film industry's technical and artistic capabilities are rising. Even though domestic firms that can produce a worldwide animation hit do not exist yet, more and more titles are now grabbing larger shares in the movie market.
Additionally, forecasts show that the fast-growing Chinese film market could soon take over North America as the world's largest market, citing China's big and increasing middle class.
With the expansion of the local market's reach--broadening demographically to families with children and geographically to third and four-tier cities--along with the progress of the marketing aspect, opportunities for Chinese animation producers have indeed multiplied.
The surge of Chinese animated films at the domestic level, particularly their capacity to generate hundreds of millions, is considered as a platform by which these titles could gain the resources to compete on a global scale.
As top directors, writers and artists tend to go where revenues are, China could expect a welcoming of such, as it is now on its way to becoming a worldwide capital center for the movie industry, if not yet the creative center.
A proof of the surge of the Chinese animation business is the recent feat achieved by the 3D animated film, "The Monkey King: Hero Is Back." Surpassing the records set by Hollywood animations released in China, the title has grossed around $139 million to date, which is 50 percent higher than the last American record holder, "Kung Fu Panda 2."
This achievement sparked the idea that even local titles can earn as much as and more than what Hollywood films can, domestically speaking.
The local market for animations is expected to boom continuously, as the government is also doing its part in promoting China-made movies.
Mentioning the coming of top artists and film producers and the amount of capital and investments received by this particular sector, Hollywood is now threatened by the upcoming entry of Chinese animations in the international movie scene.