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Global Entertainment & Media Outlook, 2019–2023, PwC, June 2019: Five-year projection of consumer and advertising spending data across
14 industry segments and 53 territories.
Noah Cowan, “A Century of Chinese Cinema: An Introduction,” BFI, June 3, 2014: A compelling historical counterpoint to the infopresented in this article. rmation
Anand Rao, Raman Chitkara, and Sandeep Ladda, “How Smarter Phones Will Transform Tech, Media, and Telecom,” s+b, June 11, 2018: Media’s
future could be one shaped by its channels.
China Film Insider: Trade publication that reports on the relationship between China’s film industry and Hollywood.
More thought leadership on this topic: strategy-business.com/tech-and-innovation
As I said earlier, therein lies the lesson, and the caution, not just for Hol-
lywood, but for anyone doing business internationally: Local culture plus glob-
ally available technology is the great international business equalizer. It’s what
enabled China to grow its own e-commerce giants, instant messaging apps, and
ride-sharing services. It doesn’t matter what story you’re selling — cheaper air-
line tickets or fireballs and car chases — the popular preference will always be
found in localization.
In the long history of civilization, people have always gathered together at
night, lit by the glow of campfires, sharing universal tales of love, loss, war, and
redemption. On some level, we are hardwired to prefer them told through the
lens of our own culture. The only difference now is that we’re lit by the glow
of LED screens. No matter whether you dominate the globe today in artificial
intelligence, robotics, cell phones, wide-screen entertainment, or social network-
ing, only one thing is certain: No one is guaranteed a Hollywood ending. +
Hollywood no longer has the
monopoly on the kinds of movies
that have been the lifeblood of
the American film business.
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