The international box office which is dominated by American films (60% of profits), is the most profitable area for Hollywood which has implications for how films are made, marketed and released. “In 2004, international box office exploded by an incredible 44%, to $15.7bn, leaving the US standing. It has continued on its strong upwards trajectory since, climbing to $21.2bn in 2010”. Thus, although Hollywood is still the powerhouse of the global film industry, the rise of the global film market perhaps represents a threat to this hegemony. For example, “only nine subtitled films grossed more than £1m in the UK in the 90s; 49 made it over that line in the noughties, a huge increase even with inflation. There was a growing audience hungry for alternatives to the usual Hollywood product: a sharper reflection of the globalised world that was coming into being”. Growing ‘new waves’ in Latin America, Germany, India and China, for example, have started to enjoy some financial success.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/filmblog/2011/aug/11/hollywood-international-box-office?INTCMP=SRCH
Doha College Media Studies 