Worldwide Filmmaking (Opinion)

Filmmaking is a worldwide industry. Hollywood no longer just tells stories for Americans. Most major movie studios create movies with the international market in mind. This means that a movie that does not do particularly well in theaters within the United States can flourish in the world market.

A prominent example of this is the Transformers series. There have been five Transformers movies and there are two more sequels already planned, despite the fact the most recent movie in the series, Transformers: The Last Knight did not make up its budget in domestic ticket sales. These movies are going to continue to be made as long as they are profitable worldwide. Which they are, due to a large and profitable international market, with many ticket sales coming from China. The first Transformer movie had 45% of its ticket sales in the US and 55% overseas. The second film was at 48% domestic and 52% international. The third film Transformers: Dark of the Moon has been the most profitable worldwide and had nearly 70% of its tickets sold overseas. By the most recent fifth movie nearly 80% of tickets are from international markets.

The creators of the series are well aware of this fact and have tried to make their movies more attractive to the world market, specifically focusing on China. Starting in the fourth film Transformers: Age of Extinction, some of the action takes place in China. They movie uses Chinese actors, cities, and even Chinese products for advertising in the form of Product placement. Using other cultures and countries in a movie is not a bad thing. In fact, it is refreshing to see Asian representation in Hollywood movies. But in this case the filmmaker’s focus is more on making money than it is telling a compelling international story. The only reason to set these scenes in China is to have audiences in China more enticed to see the film.

This is not just the doing of Transformers series. Many other films do similar things to attract Chinese markets. Some tactics to do this include: using Chinese technology products, such as the Avengers having “Vivo” brand phones, movies using a lot of CGI, making it easier to dub over the actors, like in the entirely CGI Warcraft, or even just having your character talk less and devoting more of your movie to visuals, like in Mad Max: Fury Road in which the main character only says 52 lines.

Having movies focus on an international market is not necessarily a bad thing. It can lead to some great movies and compelling stories. The issue arises when studios care more about money making then filmmaking.

If you want to check out some movies not made in Hollywood, check out a local international theatre! I have a map below.

Also Vote in the Poll below to tell your thoughts on the Transformers movies, and if they are still relevant.

Check out an interview below about the Transformers series!