Take, for instance, SonysSpider-Manfilms.

The takings outside of the States?

The general trend has been more positive than that.

And inevitably, China has become something of a Holy Grail for those seeking yet more millions.

And if a non-Chinese company wants to operate in the country, it has to play by stringent rules.

In film, China has operated what is known as the great wall movie quota for some time.

And thenIron Man 3happened.

So why did Marvel do it?

Why was such a baffling, unnecessary scene included in the film in China alone?

Well, its a business decision.

By including said scene, it allowed Marvel to present the film as a co-production with China.

Heres the Marvelspress releasethat announced the news, if youre interested.

Now,Iron Man 3was backed by Marvel, which in turn is owned by Disney.

It did not need fresh investment, and could afford to pay the films budget itself.

Did this approach work?

Yes.Iron Man 3took $121m at the Chinese box office alone, before its home formats release.

It has been a raging success.

And thats with the US included.

No film has made that much at the American box office at all this year.

Not a single one.

By 2020, argues theFinancial Times, the Chinese movie market will be bigger than the American one.

The offshoot of this?

More big American films are going to target the Chinese market.

Not as an afterthought but, as withTransformers 4,seemingly as a top priority.

But should that bother us as moviegoers?

How many special edition DVDs of films wed bought already did we all snap up in the 2000s?

Well, theres a difference here.

This isnt just about films targeting a new market.

This is about films being shaped specifically so they can get a slice of the pie.

Furthermore, fewer antagonists in blockbusters will be of Chinese origin.

Again though, is this a problem?

Well, perhaps not at the moment.

Certainly, theres no shortage of companies willing to take a sizeable punt on the Chinese movie market.

DreamWorks Animation, meanwhile, now has a production facility in China.

But its $196.7m was a good deal shy of thoseTransformerstakings.

Every time, they follow the money.

Theres no evidence thats not going to happen here.