China's Ability to Drive Big Hollywood Box Office Is Misleading

China's moviegoers have long figured into Hollywood accounting. More than a decade ago, the world's most populous country started opening new theaters at a prodigious rate and began permitting the release of more and more American films. Even though U.S. studios make less money on movies released in China than they do, collectively, elsewhere around the globe, the Chinese market is still vital and has room for major growth. On Monday, Variety reported that China's box office even overtook North America's in the first quarter of 2018 (though it will be difficult to maintain that boost throughout the rest of the year).