China's film watchdog indicated plans to cap movie-ticket prices in a move meant to create more access to cinemas.
Such a cap has the potential to stifle the industry at a time when it is booming, some industry executives said.
China's State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, known as Sarft, may impose a price cap on tickets and may require theaters to show more half-price screenings, according to a report Monday in the state-run Xinhua News Agency.
The report didn't say when regulators plan to implement pricing changes or offer additional details, adding that Sarft plans to issue pricing guidelines for theaters this year.
The move would be an attempt to make moviegoing more affordable to the general public, the report said. Complaints about high movie prices have grown over the past year. The cost of a movie ticket in China can range from 20 yuan to 100 yuan—or about $3.17 to nearly $16—depending on location. The average price in 2010 was around 40.40 yuan, or $6.40, according to the most recent data from media research firm EntGroup.
Xinhua reported that the average movie-ticket price in 2010 was $5.30, in comparison to an $8 ticket price in the U.S. Prices in China represent a heavier burden on consumers, who earn less in monthly household income, the report said.
It is unclear how the rules, if implemented, would affect the film industry. Theater companies such as Imax Corp.—which specializes in large format screens— have been rapidly expanding across China to boost their revenue.
An Imax spokesman couldn't be reached for comment.
Industry insiders say the move could potentially threaten the industry at a time when it is rapidly growing.
Sarft estimates that China's box-office revenue from 2011 rose 18% to about 12 billion yuan, or nearly $1.9 billion, from 10.17 billion yuan in 2010.
Limiting film prices would seemingly contradict China's push to bolster its domestic film industry.
China has been championing efforts to build film production companies that can rival Hollywood and expose Chinese culture overseas as Beijing seeks increase its soft power to match its growing economic and military might.
The government set a goal to build 20,000 screens nationwide by 2015 from around 9,000 today, according to EntGroup.
But experts say China also wants to maintain full control. In recent months the Chinese government has taken other actions to rein in aspects of China's media landscape that it finds problematic.
Regulators this month enacted new laws eliminating more than two-thirds of prime-time entertainment programs, such as dating and reality shows, on satellite television, targeting what they call "excessive entertainment and a trend toward low taste."
Authorities have encouraged broadcasters to air more news and educational programming.
"It's not about creating a thriving, creative industry," said one film executive. "It's about creating a way to guide the direction of the culture."
In mid-December, the Legislative Affairs Office of the State Council, the country's cabinet, drafted laws to ban socially disruptive film content. Movies that "propagate obscenity, gambling, drug abuse, violence, and terror" would be prohibited along with those that promote religious fanaticism, disturb social order, and spread evil cults and superstitions, the draft said.
Officials haven't stated when or if the draft laws will go into effect.
The ticket price cap proposal may also be aimed at limiting ticket pricing and profit disputes between distributors and cinemas.
Distributors of the film "The Flowers of War," China's most expensive movie made and its Academy Award entry for best foreign-language film, announced prior to its December release that it would increase ticket prices by five yuan, requiring a minimum price of 40 yuan, and maintain the right to 45% of its profits, limiting the profits of cinemas.
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