CHINA SAYS IT WON’T RAISE QUOTA ON FOREIGN FILMS

China has dashed widespread speculation that it would relax its quoted on foreign films now that its own films are holding their own at the Chinese box office. Among the published reports was a Hollywood Reporter item specifying that the country was considering raising the quota to 44 films annually from the current 34. China’s state-run Xinhua news agency quoted an unnamed official of the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television as saying that the 2014 quota would remain in-line with the 2012 agreement that increased the quota from 20 films to the current level. The restriction is intended to support local film producers, but for the first time, Chinese movies roared ahead of Hollywood in 2013 and were responsible for 58 percent of the total box-office.