Hollywood knocks on China's door(2)

Recent data by China Film News showed that as of May 9, the total box office on the Chinese mainland had reached 7.85 billion yuan, a sharp increase compared with the 5.68 billion yuan recorded around the same period last year.

DreamWorks CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg said at the Fortune forum held in June in southwest China's city of Chengdu that China will overtake the U.S. as the largest movie market in the world in five years.

As China's movie market gains importance globally, Hollywood film companies are rushing to find ways to get their share, Zhang said.

"Hollywood moviemakers are not only adding Chinese elements to their films, but also trying to internalize Chinese elements in their narratives and tell Chinese stories to global viewers," Zhang added.

DreamWorks set up a joint venture with China Media Capital and other companies in April to expand its fast-growing ties to China. The company plans to co-produce "Kung Fu Panda 3" in 2016 and release the first animated film created independently by local team DreamWorks East in 2017.

Jeffrey Katzenberg described the film as "a love letter to China."

However, Hollywood's tactics to woo Chinese moviegoers remain in doubt.

"Chinese audience are now preferring domestic films featuring daily lives, but Hollywood is only focusing on limited topics such as traditional Kung-fu. Thus the Hollywood tactics may not be enough to stir them up," Zhang said.