Last week I wrote about what digital businesses entering China can learn from Jon Stewart— along the same lines, Hollywood has recently made headlines with its success in the country.

Movie studios are taking the time and making the effort to crack the movie industry in China, as can be seen in the recent success of Iron Man III. Not only are the studios figuring out which cultural references will resonate and seem natural, they also work closely with government officials to understand what might be culturally insensitive to avoid a last minute pull from the screen – all important elements to being successful in China in any industry.

Is your business placing the same importance on China as part of your global online strategy by offering tailored products and content? The numbers make the case that you should be:

  • Box-office sales in China grew 30% between 2011 and 2012 – Forrester’s data shows that eCommerce sales grew by 43% between2011 and 2012
  • Chinese box office ticket sales were $2.7 billion in 2012 – Forrester’s data puts eCommerce sales in China at $169.4 billion in 2012
  • The Motion Picture Association of America has predicted China will overtake the United States as the biggest movie market by 2020 –By 2015 China’s online B2B and C2C sales will overtake the US online B2C sales, according to Forrester’s data.  (In China, C2C player Taobao.com has such a large percent of the market share that Forrester includes it in the forecast data.)

For more information on how to navigate eCommerce in China see my report: Understanding the Dynamics of China’s eCommerce Market.