MPAA: Hollywood Poured $15.5B Into China's Economy

Hollywood is making the case that the growing popularity of U.S. films in China is a boon to both countries. The Motion Picture Association of America, the major studios' top lobbyist, announced that a new study it commissioned reveals that the film and television industry contributed $15.5 billion to China's economy in 2011 and supported 909,000 jobs. The industry generated tax revenues of $3.4 billion, the study found. Those gaudy numbers are particularly impressive given that they come before the country loosened restrictions on the number of foreign films it allows to screen in China. In April 2012, China announced that it was raising quotas on foreign releases from 20 to 34 a year.