LOS ANGELES â€" Hollywood studios will soon begin receiving overdue payments for the distribution of their films in China, the Motion Picture Association of America chief executive Christopher Dodd said in a statement on Tuesday. About $200 million in payments had been withheld by the China Film Group, which oversees the importation of foreign films into China, while the group disputed its responsibility for the payment of a new value-added tax on theater tickets.
Mr. Dodd’s statement did not say whether the China Film Group would be required to pay the 2 percent tax, which it had sought to avoid. But the statement said the studios would be “paid in full†under a process that has already begun. People briefed on the matter, who spoke on condition of anonymity, earlier said the film group had been withholding payments due for films released in China over the last year. Those included “Life of Pi,†“Man of Steel,†and other high-profile movies from virtually all of the major studios in the United States.
